Chapter 21#

The plane touched down in Huizhou at around five in the afternoon.

They say every city has a distinctive atmosphere all its own, and compared to Fanzhou, Huizhou actually gave Ji Yang a more familiar feeling—the humid, muggy climate was strikingly similar to Jinzhou, where he had lived in his previous life.

Stepping out of the terminal, they were greeted by a black commercial vehicle sent to receive them.

The driver was a local.

The car followed the airport boulevard steadily toward the city center. The further they drove, the more off Ji Yang felt, and the more that sense of familiarity grew increasingly real.

Until he caught sight of that familiar International Trade Center building in the downtown area, his brain short-circuited on the spot.

“This is Huizhou, right?” Ji Yang asked.

The question completely stumped Deng Jiao and Qian Yitian, who were in the same car. Qian Yitian, still clutching his backpack to his chest, turned around silently. “It should be, right? Fourth Young Master, this is your first time here too?”

“I suppose?” Ji Yang said.

Reincarnating into a book had already happened, so a place in the novel copying the real-world cityscape wasn’t exactly strange.

Deng Jiao crossed her arms. “What do you mean ‘I suppose’? If you’ve been here, you’ve been here. If you haven’t, you haven’t.”

Ji Yang raised an eyebrow. “For all I know, I might have been from here in my past life—though not Huizhou, but Jinzhou.”

The driver uncle, who had been quiet throughout the journey, laughed at this moment and said, “Young man, that kind of supernatural joke from a past life won’t scare anyone these days. You know Huizhou is what Jinzhou used to be, right? It hasn’t been that many years—just fewer young people remember it now.”

Ji Yang: Jinzhou was still Jinzhou when I died. It couldn’t be that I only transmigrated into the book many, many years after my death, could it? And this doesn’t look like a place where technology has regressed by a decade or more either.

Seeing him spacing out, Deng Jiao asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Ji Yang said quietly, “Thinking about the probability that I’m your elder.”

Deng Jiao’s face turned green, teeth gritted. “Whose advantage are you trying to take?”

Qian Yitian burst out laughing.

“Exactly!” He had a high level of curiosity about the new city. Pulling his gaze back from the dazzling array of shops outside, he stated a fact: “Fourth Young Master, you’re the youngest one in this car.”

Ji Yang also felt it was unrealistic. In his past life, he’d had some measure of fame. Now the name of the Fourth Young Master of the Ji family rang loud—if both existed in the same reality, his past-life experiences would have been dug up and exposed ages ago.

But since the cities overlapped, certain things must have remained unchanged.

Ji Yang: “Uncle, is Huizhou’s salt-baked chicken and clay pot congee really that famous?”

“It sure is,” the driver said enthusiastically, “If you want to eat it, I can recommend a few authentic places.”

Ji Yang: “Sounds good. Now that I’m here, I’ve got to wander around and try the food no matter what.”

Deng Jiao glanced at the itinerary and reminded him, “There are field research sessions tomorrow morning and afternoon. The research is split across two companies—Hengyuan and Shengji. There’s no extra free time.”

Ji Yang looked over. “These are all your boss’s jobs, aren’t they? Shouldn’t I just be here to eat and drink?”

“The boss and the others won’t land until ten tomorrow morning.” Deng Jiao also gave him a somewhat sympathetic glance. “The contact people at Hengyuan rearranged things last minute—they said they’re only available in the morning.”

It was obvious they knew the Fourth Young Master was coming and didn’t take him seriously at all.

Deng Jiao: “The boss’s instruction is that you just need to get through the morning session.”

Ji Yang caught the underlying message too—field research had never been the priority.

Qian Yitian was different. The poor guy had no idea about any of it and had come genuinely wanting to do good work.

Upon learning the itinerary had been moved up, he immediately pulled out his notes and started reviewing them in the car, afraid that tomorrow he’d fall short on some step.

Ji Yang slapped the seat. “Stop reading.”

“Why?” Qian Yitian turned around, confused.

Ji Yang: “Don’t you have Nie Xu’s contact info? Consult him—whatever he says, follow it to the letter. Way more useful than your notes.”

Qian Yitian shrank his neck and said quietly, “I only dare say this now because Assistant Nie isn’t here. That aura of his—I get scared just talking to him. And for some reason, the company put me in the same room as Assistant Nie. Good thing he didn’t come tonight, otherwise I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

Ji Yang: “Who booked the hotels?”

Qian Yitian: “Probably Admin, but anything related to the Gulf Bay project should go through Boss Ji Chengyi’s office.”

Boss Ji, of course, could only refer to Ji Chengyi.

But arranging rooms—that shouldn’t be something he’d involve himself in.

The Ji Chengyi that Ji Yang knew wasn’t as upright and noble as the one in the book, but his surface manners were still impeccable. If he actually interfered in something like this, wouldn’t it completely break his character?

By the time they arrived at the hotel, it was nearly dark.

The hotel’s standard wasn’t high, but fortunately, the environment was passable.

Ji Yang’s room was between Deng Jiao’s and Qian Yitian’s. Before bed, Deng Jiao attempted to stand guard outside his door for the night. Ji Yang dismissed her on the grounds that they weren’t in Fanzhou, that he couldn’t accept having someone of the opposite sex stand guard outside his door while he slept in bed, and sent her back to her room.

She was right next door and could respond to any problem in time, so Deng Jiao didn’t insist.

The next morning, Deng Jiao knocked on his door an hour early, reminding him to start getting ready.

Ji Yang squatted in front of his suitcase, searching for clothes, and rubbed his still-aching knee.

His daily wear leaned casual; he had barely a couple of formal outfits. He’d left in a hurry this time and grabbed what Aunt Mo had stuffed into his closet before—she’d said that now that he was working at the group, he needed to have appropriate clothes.

A classic black-and-white dress shirt with a double-breasted vest. The moment he stepped out of the room, Deng Jiao, leaning against the doorframe, offered: “Such a narrow waist.”

“Is it ugly?” Ji Yang asked.

Deng Jiao shook her head. “Not ugly—it’s just…”

Deng Jiao didn’t know how to describe it precisely.

The young master had a slim waist and long legs. The formal wear, perfectly executed—collar fitting snugly against his neck, frog buttons cinching at the waist—actually outlined a kind of exquisite, faintly ethereal delicacy.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to command the room,” Deng Jiao said.

Ji Yang strode ahead. “It’s not as if I’m here to beg anyone.”

He said he wasn’t here to beg anyone, but the people at Hengyuan treated him as though he were.

The person Hengyuan sent was surnamed Ma—a vice president of marketing. Their side had five people total. Right off the bat, their lips said how Hengyuan and Haicheng had deep past cooperation, that any request was welcome—and in the next breath, they dragged the group into a drinking session.

Every ounce of workplace face-work polished to absolute perfection.

Since it wasn’t mealtime yet, they even specifically picked one of those all-in-one places for karaoke and dining.

Ji Yang was thoroughly bored throughout. When the other side flattered him insincerely, he just listened. When they probed about Haicheng’s investment projects, he said he didn’t know.

At one point, he went to the restroom.

Coming out, he heard that man surnamed Ma on the phone outside.

“Director Liu, rest assured—the rumors about that young master being exiled from the Ji family are probably true. These past couple of days’ news… probably just a coincidence catching a trending topic. Doesn’t seem like he’s here to cause trouble. Pulling the wool over a young heir’s eyes is hardly difficult.” At this point, his laughter turned salacious. “Isn’t there a rumor he likes men? I’ll line up a few more for him… Legs? Couldn’t tell—though he’s genuinely pretty good-looking…”

When Ji Yang returned to the private room, Qian Yitian was still sitting there awkwardly.

Seeing Ji Yang come in, he quickly whispered, “What exactly is going on? They won’t show us any venues.” Qian Yitian pointed at the remaining people in the room. “Even these so-called research subjects they specifically arranged—I just asked them, and they don’t know anything about anything.”

“They’re playing us for fools.” Ji Yang picked up his water glass and took a sip.

He hadn’t even set it down when the man surnamed Ma came back and immediately said, “Fourth Young Master, why drink water? Come on, let’s drink! Waiter! Bring the liquor—the best you’ve got.”

“Sure thing,” Ji Yang agreed readily. Under Qian Yitian’s worried gaze, he poured himself a glass of baijiu first—though in fact, he’d swapped it for water without anyone noticing—and clinked glasses with the man. “To Vice President Ma.”

By half past twelve.

Ji Yang pushed the thoroughly drunk man into the private room.

As he shut the door, he asked: “Sister Deng, did you get everyone else sorted? Today’s scene is really something.”

He turned around and bumped right into a wall.

Pressing his forehead, he hissed in pain.

“Who—” He lowered his hand to look and froze. “Brother Nie?”

Nie Xu still had a suit jacket draped over his arm, looking as though he’d come straight from the airport. He gazed at him. “Something?”

“It’s—nothing fun.” Ji Yang turned his head to look. Behind Nie Xu stood Deng Jiao gazing at the sky, Qian Yitian with his head down, and a female colleague of Nie Xu’s named Qiao Qiao, who had come along with him and was now smiling at him with such innocent brightness.

Ji Yang laughed it off awkwardly. “Drinking culture, everyone just had too much to drink, you know, jokes.”

The moment he finished speaking, a slightly shrill scream came from inside the private room behind him.

Then a roar: “Who the hell are you people! …Are you all blind?! The person you’re supposed to serve isn’t me! …I told you it’s not some goddamn kink, don’t come any closer!…”

Ji Yang touched his nose in embarrassment.

He said to Nie Xu: “You told me to get through it, but it was supposed to be proper communication. They played dirty first—I had no choice.”

Deng Jiao chimed in from behind: “I can testify to that.”

Nie Xu glanced back at Deng Jiao. She shut her mouth and continued gazing at the sky.

Nie Xu turned back, looked at the private room door in front of them, and made no further move.

He simply shifted the jacket to his other arm and said: “If anyone at Hengyuan asks, Deng Jiao—have someone handle it.”

“Understood,” Deng Jiao said.

Nie Xu then looked at Ji Yang. “No choice, was it? You seem pretty practiced at this kind of thing.”

“Pure illusion,” Ji Yang said.

The truth was, he’d worked part-time at places like this for quite a stretch. Calling him seasoned wouldn’t be unfair.

That afternoon, Nie Xu led the entire team in a proper, genuinely substantive exchange—nothing like the morning’s.

Shengji, while not as brazenly dismissive as Hengyuan, was equally perfunctory. Ji Yang watched with his own eyes as Nie Xu deflected four catties with a single ounce, steering the conversation from project details to promotional marketing strategies to survey questionnaires, leaving the person in charge speechless by the end. He conducted himself like someone truly there for publicity research—every detail clear, every aim precise.

In the end, the other side not only promised to personally introduce them at tomorrow’s seminar, but the dinner itself was nothing short of harmonious.

The assistant was responsible for all the detailed negotiations; Ji Yang’s job was to sit beside and eat.

Evening’s meal was, admittedly, another tedious dinner engagement.

But the food was genuinely authentic.

Ji Yang had already eaten his fill while the two men beside him were still going. He noticed that Nie Xu had an uncanny ability to shift his bearing depending on the environment. Just like now—top button undone, barely a trace of red left in his wine glass, leaning back in his chair with his head turned sideways, listening to the other person speak.

Ji Yang rose from his seat.

The person who hadn’t looked at him once from start to suddenly turned his head and looked over.

Ji Yang froze too. Suspecting the other might think he was going to repeat the past, he quickly said: “I’m just going to the restroom.”

Nie Xu’s gaze swept over the table in front of him.

Ji Yang followed his eyes. There sat a large soup tureen that he had unconsciously ladled empty.

Fine. He admitted that while half-listening to them talk, he’d absent-mindedly finished it all.

Ji Yang pushed his chair back and left.

Behind him, the person in charge was still chuckling: “Didn’t expect it, but Fourth Young Master voluntarily reporting before going to the john.”

Nie Xu: “Probably bursting.”

Ji Yang: ……

Nie Xu, you bastard!