Chapter 18 - 2#

He smiled at Ji Yang with an air of knowing him well: “Fourth Young Master, we know you’re not feeling great tonight.”

The person beside him echoed the sentiment.

“If you have any grievances, just say it. Everyone can understand.”

“Yeah, the one standing beside Old Master Ji today should have been you…”

The livestream viewer count had already surged past twenty thousand.

The platform apparently saw him as a new account, and since his traffic kept climbing, it gave him a homepage recommendation directly. More and more people were flooding in.

Newcomers didn’t know what was going on and were asking in the comments.

Who is this guy?

What’s happening?

And so the bullet comments spiraled into an infinite loop of explanations, questions, and questions about the explanations.

Twenty thousand people watched the figure leaning against the sofa on screen, watching the person across from him slowly say: “Ah, thank you all for your heartfelt words. Actually, I’ve been in quite a good mood tonight.”

“Fourth Young Master.” Fu Cheng cursed inwardly, but his tone still softened by two notches. He got straight to the point: “I came to see you tonight because I actually need a small favor from you.”

“Sure. Give me fifty million.” Ji Yang suddenly said.

Fu Cheng seemed to suspect he’d misheard. “What?”

Ji Yang: “I said, give me fifty million.”

Fu Cheng’s expression shifted several times before he forced out a laugh.

“Fourth Young Master must be joking.”

Ji Yang raised his eyes and smiled faintly: “My memory’s been a bit spotty lately, but I still know that if you’re asking someone for a favor, this isn’t how you do it. Not willing to spend a single cent, and why should I help you? Someone was just asking me for five million.”

【Hahaha, is he talking about that netizen from earlier?】

【Opens his mouth and demands fifty million. I no longer understand this world.】

【Clearly just trying to disgust the other side.】

【I guarantee the other guy’s expression right now must be absolutely priceless.】

【This really doesn’t look scripted.】

Just then, a message arrived on Ji Yang’s phone.

The man’s message was brief. It seemed to be the first time he’d ever messaged him unprompted.

NX: “So this is the surprise you kept talking about?”

Ji Yang: "?"

NX: “Using your own strength to force the entire public opinion risk control team into night shift.”

Ji Yang: "??? This is also under your jurisdiction?"

NX: “Yes.”

Are you sure it’s not about that person?

Ji Yang: “I just borrowed Ji Chengyi’s name to run a livestream—killing two birds with one stone by boosting his exposure. I didn’t introduce any risk, I didn’t stir up any narrative, and the platform hasn’t flagged me for a single violation.”

NX: “Look up.”

Ji Yang instinctively raised his head.

The man was leaning against the second-floor railing, one hand pressed to his earpiece as he spoke, his body angled downward.

It was as if, on his command, several men in black would charge out from the surrounding shadows at any second and confiscate his phone.

Ji Yang immediately forwarded the report results to him.

He typed rapidly: “I told you I’d send them to you as soon as I got them.”

Then he added: “The fact that I’m not having a breakdown right now means I’m exercising great restraint, okay?”

Nie Xu glanced at the photo of the paper report on his phone and raised an eyebrow. “You want to make a big deal out of it?”

“Not necessarily.” Ji Yang tilted his head back and flashed the man a smile.

There’ll come a day when I hold the initiative, right?

Ji Yang thought: If Nie Xu really suspected that I started this livestream to sabotage Ji Chengyi, he wouldn’t mind me turning his destined soulmate’s shining moment into a dark scene of the Ji family’s internal strife. Right here and now.

In the distance, the person hosting the banquet was officially moving into the main program.

Through the microphone, Ji Yansong’s voice carried clearly: “Today, thank you all for attending from all walks of life. The Ji family has reached where it is today thanks to… The Llan Bay Project has officially launched today, and I would like to formally introduce to you all…”

Amid thunderous applause, Ji Chengyi walked up to the stage, step by step.

The champagne tower was stacked as tall as a person.

Ji Chengyi picked up the topmost glass, clinked cups with someone, and exchanged words with laughter and ease.

Good.

No one had rushed out from nowhere to seize the glass and declare something had been put in it.

But before Ji Yang could fully relax, just as the glass was nearly empty, he heard a smack—the sound of a glass shattering.

Ji Chengyi clutched his forehead, looking visibly unwell, and said to the crowd gathering around him: “Excuse my impropriety—I may have drunk too fast.”

Ji Zhonglin, the closest to him, pulled him in, clearly sensing something was wrong. He murmured something to the person beside him and was about to help him leave.

The old master stopped him, insisting he handle the remaining socializing properly.

Not half a minute later, Ji Yang watched Nie Xu coming down the staircase and began to feel numb.

See?

This really looks like there’s some kind of plot-controlling supernatural thing at work.

Then again, it didn’t quite add up.

If there really was a plot controller, only a small amount of the wine in the glass should have been drunk. Modern security wasn’t for show, and he himself should have already been turned into the prime suspect by now.

If you can’t beat them, join them.

Someone happened to ask if something had happened, so Ji Yang gave them a live commentary: “Nothing major, really. To sum it up: the large-scale group doting scene in which a wealthy family’s illegitimate son is suspected of being framed…”

Half an hour later, in the largest lounge on the left side of the first floor, quite a crowd had gathered.

Because it had been handled promptly, no large-scale impact resulted.

But the most respected elder families of Fanzhou, along with the younger generation connected to Ji Chengyi, Ji Zhonglin, and the Ji family’s circle of allies, were essentially all present.

When Ji Yang entered, the livestream camera had already been turned off—only the audio remained.

The online viewer count had climbed to fifty thousand.

【Don’t turn it off! Don’t turn it off! Let us watch the drama together!】

【What drama? Ji Yang is done for.】

【Did you not hear the tone of the person who came to call him? It sounded like he was the culprit.】

【Well, I disagree. This young master has been chatting all evening.】

【His butt hasn’t left the sofa, right?】

【I can testify—he even roasted Ji Corporation’s President Ji’s posture when holding someone, saying it looked like a mother hen guarding her chicks.】

【Said his third brother was looking at the big picture (just noting: the tone was a bit sarcastic).】

【Said his father’s face was blacker than Guan Gong’s.】

【Said his stepmother’s qipao splitting open was purely out of motherly devotion.】

For Ji Yang, this was already the second trial.

The auction night counted as one, and today made two.

Ji Chengyi was lying on the lounge sofa, his face and neck flushed red. A middle-aged doctor crouched on the floor, administering an injection into his arm.

“What exactly happened?” Ji Zhonglin stood to the side, his expression anxious.

The doctor pushed the medicine in before straightening up and saying: “It’s an aphrodisiac. Fortunately, Third Young Master drank slowly, so the drug took effect gradually rather than hitting all at once. Once this injection kicks in, it’ll take effect in ten minutes. No need to worry too much.”

Upon hearing it was an aphrodisiac, most people in the room showed looks of contempt, all asking who could be so despicable.

Ji Zhonglin looked at Ji Yang as he pushed the door open.

He asked: “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Didn’t you all invite me here?” Ji Yang leaned against the doorframe, sweeping his gaze across the so-called upper crust filling the lounge. “Why ask me what I have to say? If you ask, my answer is: nothing.”

Ji Zhonglin took two steps forward.

Remembering what had happened earlier, he paused, then said: “Who else would have something like this besides you? Grandfather has already sent people to investigate. With so many witnesses present today, if you confess now, I can still plead with Grandfather to spare you punishment.”

Ji Yang found it funny, so he actually laughed. “Big brother, should I thank you for not pointing at my nose the second you walked in and saying, ‘Look what you’ve done!’”

Ji Zhonglin froze, the embarrassment on his face unmistakable.

Meanwhile, two young men in the room—presumably Ji Chengyi’s friends—spoke up.

“Fourth Ji, there’s no use arguing. This isn’t the first time you’ve pulled something like this.”

“Exactly. From childhood to now, when have you ever not targeted him?”

“With so many reporters outside today, if word of this scandal gets out, let’s see how you’ll survive in Fanzhou after this.”

At this point, Ji Chengyi had regained a bit of his senses. He sat up from the sofa, clutching his head, and stopped the two people speaking on his behalf: “Enough. The matter hasn’t been investigated yet. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“It’s still Third Brother who’s most reasonable.” Ji Yang said with a lazy, offhand smile.

With so many people in the room—including the fifty thousand listeners in the livestream with their ears perked—they all heard him say: “Drugging someone from across the room? I kind of have to admire myself.”

One of the people beside Ji Chengyi couldn’t hold back: “Of course you’d have someone else do it for you.”

“Wow, thank you for that analysis, my friend.” Ji Yang went on: “Then why don’t you analyze further—what’s the usual purpose of drugging someone like this? To take photos? To humiliate them? So in that case, shouldn’t I also have arranged for a lover-in-ambush to be waiting for them on the second floor?”

The other person choked: “Who knows where your planted person went!”

“Fine, even if I had prepared a lover, the Ji family had so many security guards present today. I trust you all noticed who Grandfather’s people went to find at the time.” Ji Yang watched as one by one, these people fell into recollections and whispered discussions, and continued: “You should all have heard—the person they went to find was someone I’ve set my sights on. Drugging someone and pushing them into the arms of the person you like? What a lovely thing to do.” Ji Yang looked at Ji Chengyi, enunciating each word: “Why on earth would I give that up to you?”

The room erupted.

And at that critical moment, the lounge door was pushed open once more.

The person who walked in was Nie Xu.

Ji Yang happened to be leaning against the doorframe, and his sidelong glance met Nie Xu’s sweeping gaze head-on.

Ji Yang looked up at the ceiling.

Don’t look at me. I didn’t say anything.

Nie Xu was still carrying someone—a waiter.

Nie Xu tossed him forward, and the man nearly collapsed onto the sofa surrounded by a ring of elders.

He looked like he’d already been threatened or roughed up beforehand. Spilling everything like beans tumbling from a jar, he said: “It really wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me! It was Mr. Qi who gave me the drug and told me to put it in the wine glass. He said if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t be able to keep working here.”

With only one surnamed Qi present, there was no need to speculate further.

Qi Yiming, who had originally been at the very back of the crowd, saw everyone’s eyes swing toward him and panicked instantly.

He shouted loudly: “Why is everyone looking at me?! The drug in Ji Chengyi’s wine wasn’t put there by me!” Seeing that the crowd continued to stare at him without relenting, he changed his tune: “Fine, I admit I did have someone put a drug in the wine, but it wasn’t for Ji Chengyi! As for how the wine ended up in his hands, how should I know?! Maybe he was just unlucky and grabbed the wrong glass!”

Finding the culprit didn’t lighten the atmosphere in the room.

If the drug Qi Yiming had prepared wasn’t meant for Ji Chengyi, then who was it intended for?

When they thought about the stalled marriage alliance between the Qi and Ji families, the question remained unanswered.

Slap! Ji Mingyue stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

The Qi family parents looked utterly mortified, able only to bow their heads repeatedly in apology to the elders of the first and third branches.

The scene devolved into chaos and farce.

On Ji Yang’s phone screen:

【Brilliant!】

【Absolutely brilliant!】

【Do you rich families live this kind of exciting life every day?】

【I always thought those aphrodisiac things were pure fiction. So they actually exist!】

【Shouldn’t these people be apologizing to Fourth Ji?… This is completely an unprovoked disaster for him.】

【Probably no time for that—they’re busy punishing the scumbag.】

Just then, someone’s phone rang with an incoming call.

Then it spread like wildfire—one person told ten, ten told twenty. The entire lounge, and even the main hall outside, suddenly became clamorous.

Someone else rushed in hurriedly.

This time it was a management-level employee of the Ji Corporation—equivalent to a salaried hand of the shareholders, someone who monitored the group’s stock price at all times.

The man was at least forty years old.

Fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead. Upon entering, he spoke directly to Ji Yansong and Ji Zhonglin: “Old Chairman, President Ji—just now the group’s stock price dropped sharply in a very short period of time.”

“What?” Ji Zhonglin frowned.

Ji Yansong turned more serious as well. “Have you found the cause?”

The man stealthily glanced toward the door.

And everyone discovered that there was only Ji Yang standing there.

Ji Zhonglin said irritably: “Why are you looking at him?”

The middle-aged man swallowed. “Fourth Young Master has been running a livestream all evening. During the sudden drop just now—it was because the news about Third Young Master being drugged hit the trending search and was classified as negative public opinion. As the person in charge of the Llan Bay Project, Third Young Master inevitably caused panic in the stock market.” The middle-aged man didn’t dare look at the shocked expressions around him upon hearing the word “livestream,” nor did he dare pause for breath. He continued: “But it recovered very quickly—really, it even surpassed the previous high. It’s still climbing.”

The middle-aged man felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

As for the reason it was climbing…

He really didn’t have the face to spell it out: it started when Fourth Young Master went through every member of the Ji family with his sharp tongue. The project’s popularity had surged to unprecedented levels, and it was still sitting near the top of the trending search rankings.

Nobody had predicted this miraculous turn of events.

After a brief stunned silence, Ji Chengyi stood up and was the first to apologize to Ji Yang: “Ji Yang, I’m sorry. What happened tonight was so sudden, and my friends were just anxious—they weren’t targeting you.”

“Why would Third Brother apologize?” Ji Yang said. “You’re the victim here.”

Ji Chengyi nodded. “As long as you don’t mind.”

Ji Chengyi turned around.

“Nie Xu. Would you be able to escort me to a room upstairs to rest? Sorry for the trouble.”

Everyone turned to look at the man who had carried the person in and hadn’t said a single word from start to finish.

“Can’t do that,” Ji Yang suddenly spoke on Nie Xu’s behalf.

Everyone saw him leaning against the doorframe with languid ease, but if they looked closely, they’d notice his face was faintly pale. The reason he’d been propped against the door the entire time looked more like he had no choice but to brace himself.

He said “can’t do that,” and in barely half a minute, the hair on his forehead was already damp with sweat, as though he couldn’t stand steadily.

People in the room noticed something was wrong too. “Are you alright?”

Ji Zhonglin frowned, guessing the cause: “The medicine? You didn’t bring it with you?”

Ji Yang’s gaze swept across each Ji family member present, his mind working through who might have swapped out his medicine. He said with deliberate ambiguity: “Mm. Didn’t bring it.” Then his eyes passed over the silent Ji Chengyi as he said weakly: “Third Brother, I can only say sorry to you too. Phantom limb pain is acting up. I need him to come with me.”

【………………What a boomerang of “I’m sorry."】

【I hereby declare that the livestream I accidentally stumbled into tonight is an epic-level aristocratic family drama, live edition. This young master’s influence is unreal. Who said he doesn’t have brains?】

【I can smell the gunpowder through the screen.】

【Who’s this “Brother Xu”? What are they actually fighting over—a man or the family fortune?】

【Everything! This is reality. Anyone who grew up in this kind of environment from childhood—only a fool would believe such a family has brotherly love and respect.】

【Why is everyone suddenly worried about him? Is the phantom limb pain real or fake?】

【Using phantom limb pain to assert dominance? Is this a full combo with follow-up moves—taking them out in one wave?】

While the netizens were still in heated discussion, they suddenly heard Ji Yang mutter: “Stop talking nonsense, you guys. I’m logging off.”

Those dissatisfied voices, those cries of don’t go and that’s way too fast, couldn’t reach the real world.

Everyone only caught a single blurred, soft, and raspy murmur.

“Brother Xu. Come over and hold me.”

Then the screen went completely dark.

Netizens: Still denying it? Just listen to your own voice—are you sure that wasn’t on purpose, acting cute so Ji Chengyi could hear?

Five minutes later.

The second-floor corridor was carpeted, and the fabric swallowed the sound of footsteps.

Ji Yang was carried in someone’s arms, cradled horizontally. Unlike the strict boundaries of the previous times, his cheek brushed against the other’s shoulder, and he caught that familiar scent again.

Thinking of what the netizens had said, he closed his eyes and stated: “I swear, I really wasn’t trying to embarrass Ji Chengyi on purpose just now.”

The man above him said nothing.

Ji Yang lifted his eyelids to look and saw a sharply defined jawline.

“You don’t believe me?” Ji Yang asked.

Nie Xu looked down at him, his voice deep and low: “Do you believe that yourself?”

Ji Yang: “…” He muttered: “Who told him to act so tea in the first place?”

Ji Yang: It’s fine for me to be tea, but I just can’t stand other people being tea, okay?

Nie Xu evaluated him: “Right now, aside from looking like a drowning dog, you still have the energy to talk. You don’t look like you’re in much pain.”

Ji Yang reached up and rested a hand on his shoulder.

His voice was barely a breath: “Just putting on a brave face, that’s all. If you hadn’t picked me up just now, I’d have fainted on the spot right in front of everyone.”