Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Xia Yinxi couldn't be bothered to deal with him. If he hadn't already tossed the leaves, he'd have thrown them right in his face.

The two of them stood outside the company building. A few employees who'd just finished dinner walked by, greeted Ji Yunzhuo, and blatantly kept looking back at Xia Yinxi.

"..." Xia Yinxi didn't want to be stared at here. He muttered, "I'm heading home."

Ji Yunzhuo walked out with him. "Want to grab dinner together?"

"No."

"Breakfast tomorrow?"

"Cafeteria."

"Lunch."

"Cafeteria."

"Xia Yinxi." Ji Yunzhuo let out a laugh, annoyed. "I don't even get a shot at chasing you?"

Xia Yinxi shot him a sidelong glance, his tone pointed. "Go chase whoever you're supposed to be chasing."

The real young master's coming back in less than a year. He needed to get ready to make his escape.

The remark was ambiguous. Ji Yunzhuo figured some gossip from the old mansion had gotten back to Xia Yinxi and made him feel wronged. He softened his tone. "I don't need kids."

Xia Yinxi: "?"

"In the Ji family, I have the final say." Ji Yunzhuo explained quietly. "I'll take care of those people as soon as possible. You'll never have to see anyone you don't want to ever again."

He paused, then emphasized, "I don't need an heir."

"..."

Xia Yinxi slowly turned his head, looking confused.

How did the conversation suddenly jump to that?

Who asked?

"Mm..." Xia Yinxi nodded casually, about to say he wanted to go home for dinner, when Ji Yunzhuo suddenly grabbed his waist.

Before he could react, Ji Yunzhuo called out, "Dad." Xia Yinxi froze, turned his head, and sure enough, there was Xia Yucheng.

They hadn't headed to the parking lot after leaving the office. Xia Yinxi, who was bad with directions anyway, realized he'd been absentmindedly led by Ji Yunzhuo to a nearby shopping street.

Xia Yucheng looked like he'd just finished dinner with a business partner. He nodded at them. "Just getting off work?"

Ji Yunzhuo: "Mm, planning to take Xiaoxi out to eat."

"Go on, then." Xia Yucheng turned to leave but suddenly remembered something. "Xiaoxi, there's an auction the day after tomorrow. Wanna go? There are some nice jewelry pieces up for auction. They look like something you'd be into."

Xia Yinxi agreed. "Sure, I'll—"

"I'll take him." Ji Yunzhuo didn't give Xia Yinxi a chance to act alone. "Bai Yiheng sent over an invitation anyway."

"Alright, you two work it out."

Xia Yinxi, who'd been hoping to use the chance to stay home for a few days, shot Ji Yunzhuo a look. His face was written all over with "not happy," but he didn't argue further and followed him into a restaurant.

He still needed to eat.

Afraid Ji Yunzhuo would nag him about his eating again and say stuff he didn't want to hear, Xia Yinxi—for once—didn't just pick at his greens. He dutifully ate some meat and finished all his rice too.

But he couldn't stop Ji Yunzhuo from talking. "Why are you being so good today?"

Xia Yinxi shot back, "You're starting to sound more and more like my dad."

Who says "good" to a grown adult in their twenties?

Ji Yunzhuo had no shame. "I wouldn't mind if you called me Dad."

"Of course you wouldn't mind." Xia Yinxi gave a faint smile. "You're already in the same generation as my dad. That's what I thought the first time I met you."

Ji Yunzhuo: "..."

People often described him as "mature beyond his years." He first showed his brilliance at nineteen, fully took over the Ji family at twenty-two, and led Ming Ji back to its former glory at twenty-four. Anyone facing Ji Yunzhuo forgot he was still just a twenty-six-year-old.

Xia Yinxi was twenty-two, barely a few months out of university.

He'd been unconscious for so long saving the old man—he probably couldn't even make it to his own graduation, could he?

Silence hung between them. Xia Yinxi secretly glanced up to read Ji Yunzhuo's expression. Still that cold, unreadable look.

He probably wasn't mad, right? It's not like this was the first time he'd said that...

They didn't speak again until they got home, but Ji Yunzhuo's face never showed any sign of anger. Xia Yinxi couldn't be bothered to care. He washed up and went to sleep.

So what if he was angry? The whole point of provoking him was to make him mad. 🙂

Earlier that day, Cheng Hao had sent Little Orange back. Xia Yinxi lay in bed, tossing and turning with the cat in his arms, until Little Orange meowed and pushed his face away to run off.

Xia Yinxi called Little Orange ungrateful, then lay back down, remembering that this bedroom had been expanded by Ji Yunzhuo without his knowledge. The decor and furniture were all tailored to his tastes—even the fact that he disliked chandeliers had been noticed, with a less obtrusive ceiling light chosen instead.

When exactly had Ji Yunzhuo started having feelings for him?

...He really couldn't just brush it off.

"Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu": Mommy

"Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu": /kitten peeking emoji.jpg

Ms. Meng tapped his avatar: What's wrong, dear?

Xia Yinxi asked: That day, what did you and Ah Zhuo talk about alone?

Ms. Meng was sharp: What's up? Think he's being too good to you?

"Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu": ...A little bit

Ms. Meng: Isn't it only right for him to be good to you? I just told him what you like and don't like, and about your seafood allergy.

"Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu": You didn't specifically mention that I like big rooms?

Ms. Meng: Did that even need saying?

Ms. Meng: Was the room in that place too small? You can come stay at home tomorrow, and I’ll have someone adjust the layout.

Xia Yinxi quickly stopped her: No need, he already changed it a while back… I’m just curious how he knows me that well.

Ms. Meng: As your partner, isn’t it only natural he knows you?

Xia Yinxi couldn’t explain—they hadn’t been dating long before they got married; when they got their marriage certificate, the two of them barely knew each other.

He had no clue what Ji Yunzhuo liked or disliked, what he’s allergic to, what was up with his parents, or what he’d been through as a child.

Ji Yunzhuo was way too attentive to him; he should’ve noticed it sooner.

For some reason, Xia Yinxi lately felt like he was merging more and more with the “Xia Yinxi” of this world. Someone who grew up surrounded by love seemed to take every kindness and bit of care for granted, making it hard to see he was special to the other person.

But he had a rough relationship with his foster parents as a kid and was used to reading people—so why’d he suddenly get so clueless here?

After chatting with Meng Shuxue for a bit, a friend request suddenly came through on WeChat. He tapped it and saw it was from Grandpa Ji.

The old man’s profile pic was a piece of calligraphy. As soon as Xia Yinxi accepted, a really long message came through, and he couldn’t help sitting up straight.

Grandpa Ji apologized for what he said and did at the Ji family estate that day and offered him 1% of the shares as compensation, which had already been added to the transfer contract from that day and notarized as Xia Yinxi’s premarital property.

The apology was sincere, and the compensation was generous. Even 1% of Ming Ji’s shares was worth tens of millions—something a lot of people would kill for.

The message came through the second the friend request was accepted, meaning he’d drafted it in advance. Thinking about how the old man had privately put his words together to apologize, maybe double-checking before sending the request, Xia Yinxi found it kind of funny.

For someone who’d been in a high position his whole life to humble himself and apologize to a younger guy like him—no wonder he raised someone like Ji Yunzhuo.

…Why’s he thinking about him again?

Xia Yinxi replied: It’s fine, Grandpa. This is way too generous.

Grandpa Ji quickly responded: Not generous at all, it’s the least I can do.

A moment later, he added: I haven’t officially thanked you for saving me yet.

Xia Yinxi typed back quickly: It was nothing!!

Unexpectedly coming into another pile of cash, Xia Yinxi’s mood picked up. Xia Yucheng had a habit of sending him some spending money whenever he made a profit, and over time, he’d sent quite a bit, which Xia Yinxi had used to buy Ming Ji stock, and it kept making money.

Not to mention, the system’s luck buff was really handy—money was literally multiplying.

With money, he could buy a house, keep Little Orange, and live by himself in this world.

Thinking about this, Xia Yinxi stopped stressing so much about Ji Yunzhuo’s feelings. After all, the real young master would come back eventually, and the story would get back on track. By then, Ji Yunzhuo would be too busy chasing his white moonlight to bother coming around him.

As for Donghai and Lili… would they still want to stay friends with him?

A week later, at the auction, Xia Yinxi wanted to pick out a low-key formal suit. He didn’t have a single black outfit, so he ended up choosing a sky-blue blazer paired with a pure white shirt.

Before they left, Ji Yunzhuo looked him over from head to toe. Just as Xia Yinxi was about to kick him, Ji Yunzhuo asked, “Not a fan of ties?”

Even though Xia Yinxi’s suits were all cut loose and looked fine without a tie, he didn’t even button his shirt all the way. Ji Yunzhuo guessed he didn’t like having his neck constrained.

“Mind your own business.” It had been a week, and Xia Yinxi still wasn’t giving him a good attitude. “Where’s dinner?”

Ji Yunzhuo thought Xia Yinxi looked even more like a cat when he deliberately ignored him and couldn’t help but chuckle. “There’s a restaurant in the venue.”

Xia Yinxi gave a perfunctory “Mm-hmm,” got in the car, and closed his eyes to refuse any communication. After who knows how long, he suddenly heard a click.

He opened his eyes. Ji Yunzhuo had pressed a button beside him, and the originally transparent partition instantly fogged up.

Xia Yinxi had a hunch he was about to say something unpleasant. Sure enough, Ji Yunzhuo reached out a hand. “You’ve been cold to me for a week. Can you still pull off playing the loving couple?”

“We’re playing a fight today,” Xia Yinxi said, unmoved. “Don’t walk with me later.”

Sometimes Ji Yunzhuo wondered if Xia Yinxi had been telling the truth when he said he was “in it for the money.”

Right after they got married, Xia Yinxi was very polite, treating him like an elder with a constant “President Ji,” though Ji Yunzhuo always felt there was a hint of sarcasm.

Later, when pushed too far, he would snap back, but Ji Yunzhuo thought that was a good thing—at least Xia Yinxi was treating him like a man his own age.

He never expected things to turn out like this after returning from the Ji estate. Was it because his goal had been achieved, or because he really hated Ji Yunzhuo’s feelings?

Ji Yunzhuo couldn’t help staring at Xia Yinxi. He still didn’t believe Xia Yinxi married him for the money. The only child of the heads of the Xia and Meng families—could he really care about a mere 5% of the shares?

Xia Yinxi always teased him as “the crown prince,” but wasn’t he one himself?

So why had Xia Yinxi agreed to marry him?

He really couldn’t figure it out.

The faint light inside the car came from the starlight roof. The scattered starlight didn’t actually fall on anyone, but Xia Yinxi seemed to be bathed in a glow, his face, which had been gloomy for a week, now soft and obedient.

Xia Yinxi really looked cute when he slept.

During those two days at the Ji estate, Ji Yunzhuo couldn’t help stealing glances while he was asleep. Xia Yinxi liked to hide half his face under the blanket, breathing softly, barely moving all night—just like Little Orange.

In the silent night, Ji Yunzhuo would watch Xia Yinxi and wonder: if he slept so obediently, why did he like such a big bed?

Meng Shuxue had told him a lot about Xia Yinxi’s preferences, but he always felt it wasn’t enough.

He wanted to know more—more of Xia Yinxi’s little habits, what he was like as a child. As he thought about it, he started to envy Song Baichuan.

Xia Yinxi only had that one friend. They had grown up together and got along exceptionally well.

The car slowly came to a stop. Ji Yunzhuo pulled his thoughts back and watched Xia Yinxi get out and close the door, his gaze following his back to see Song Baichuan already waiting at the venue entrance.

“…”

“President Ji.” Song Baichuan greeted him, then turned to ask Xia Yinxi if he wanted to eat. Ji Yunzhuo answered for him: “He’ll eat.”

Song Baichuan: “?”

The atmosphere between the two was a bit strange—not like they had fought, but it felt subtly off, and no third person could fit in.

Song Baichuan stepped back a little from Xia Yinxi. “I’ll pass. I’ll go say hi to the host.”

Xia Yinxi: “…”

“Why are you giving Donghai that look?”

Ji Yunzhuo couldn’t believe it. “I didn’t.”

Xia Yinxi hadn’t even turned his head—how could he have given anyone a look?

He had never been so wrongly accused in his life. 🙂