Chapter 51#

The two nurses hesitated at the door for a moment before steeling themselves and knocking.

The commotion inside the ward had already ceased, but the atmosphere within was anything but relaxed. Nie Xu was a stranger to the nurses, as Four Young Master always called him. The moment they entered, they only registered that the man standing by the hospital bed was tall, his face cold and severe, his presence so heavy it was almost suffocating.

The reason, it seemed, was that Four Young Master’s acute episode of pain had lasted far too long.

The nurses went about setting up the IV as usual. Ji Yang lay half-reclined on the bed, flashed a smile at them, and cooperatively extended his arm. Then he said to Nie Xu: “The doctor mentioned we could consider the latest spinal cord stimulation therapy. It’s a very minor minimally invasive procedure.”

Nie Xu: “You’ve been off medication for so long, and it’s finally started to improve. Now they’re suggesting surgery, and you still don’t think you have a problem?”

“The outcome is good, isn’t it?” Ji Yang grimaced slightly as the needle pierced the back of his hand, muttering under his breath.

Nie Xu frowned: “Say that again?”

“Fine, I’m wrong, I’m wrong, okay?”

The nurse administering the IV had been particularly nervous, but seeing Ji Yang’s perfunctory apology paired with that slightly irritated expression, she found it hard not to laugh.

She couldn’t help chiming in: “Minimally invasive is just a suggestion. Whether to go through with it depends on whether it affects quality of life. But phantom limb pain really can’t handle cold and freezing temperatures — you can’t be careless in daily life.”

The IV drip was finally hung.

The nurse stood up, and as she prepared to leave, she glanced at the person by the hospital bed.

She hesitated for two seconds, then continued: “The acute phase has passed. If there are no major issues, the patient can be discharged after today’s IV is done. But the patient will likely experience discomfort over the next few days. Family members should keep a close eye — don’t leave him alone.”

Ji Yang: “He’s not family.”

Nie Xu nodded: “Understood. Thank you, nurse.”

Given their contradictory answers, the two nurses exchanged a glance, both secretly chuckling, and then turned and left the ward.

Nie Xu stepped closer, checked the medications hanging from the IV stand, then said nothing and retreated to the sofa. He pulled a laptop and documents from his bag, looking for all the world as if he intended to work right there.

Ji Yang: “…Aren’t you busy?”

Nie Xu didn’t even lift his head: “I am.”

Ji Yang said again: “Then go do your work. Why are you being so dedicated at a time like this? The old man must have gotten the news too, so he probably doesn’t have anyone following you around.”

Nie Xu: “Quiet down.”

Ji Yang: “…”

Complaining about him talking too much again.

Ji Yang couldn’t be bothered to deal with him anymore, so he lay back down and played on his phone.

In the meantime, Peng Jiaying sent him messages telling him that Ji Corporation’s bidding process was still underway, but the qualification review materials they had submitted had already passed. Ji Mingyue’s father and Ji Zhonglin had signed off on the joint recommendation letter they’d prepared.

Ji Yang wasn’t surprised. This was something he had discussed with Ji Zhonglin long ago.

Considered an exchange of conditions.

What surprised Ji Yang was that Ji Zhonglin was truly showing no mercy to Ji Chengyi this time. According to Peng Jiaying, he hadn’t left Ji Chengyi any way out at all, resulting in Ji Chengyi being investigated, his accounts frozen, his capital chain under severe strain. Compounded by his originally planned cash-out scheme being scaled back, he was now forced to sell off his early holdings of Ji Corporation shipping shares to plug the holes.

This was Ji Chengyi’s first decision upon taking power, and now he was besieged on all sides — certainly at his wit’s end.

The only question was whether he regretted what he’d done to Ji Yang at the cold chain factory.

Ji Yang hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

That way, when the time came and they won the route operating rights from Zhouzhou to Nandao, it would be a contest of genuine ability — not something obtained through underhanded means and petty retaliation.

Ji Yang’s mind wandered through a jumble of thoughts while Nie Xu’s keyboard clacking filled his ears.

The scorching summer heat seemed to be slowly receding. The sunlight fell on his eyelids, bringing a warm touch.

Ji Yang drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

This nap felt exceptionally comfortable. When he opened his eyes, his mind was clear and refreshed. Then he noticed the curtains had been drawn at some point, and — astonishingly — Nie Xu was still here, pressing a cotton swab against the back of his hand with one hand while talking on the phone with the other, something about a debt-to-equity swap.

The IV infusion had already finished.

Ji Yang glanced at the hand pressing against his injection site. The moment he moved, Nie Xu noticed, and said into the phone: “That’s all for now.”

He ended the call. “You’re awake? Get up.”

“What time is it?” Ji Yang sat up and took over pressing the cotton swab himself.

Nie Xu raised his wrist and checked his watch. “Eleven. Perfect timing — let’s go out for lunch, then head back to the hotel to move your things.”

Ji Yang was puzzled: “Move what things?”

Nie Xu looked at him: “Your hotel room’s one-month stay is about to expire, isn’t it? The two properties Peng Jiying showed you aren’t suitable to invest in anytime soon, and you don’t have much liquid capital on hand right now, do you?”

Ji Yang: “…You even know about that?”

Nie Xu didn’t answer that question. He simply said: “Boman Apartments, thirty-second floor, in the city center. Go stay there first. I rarely stay at that place, so you can have Lin Yue look after you these few days. If he can’t manage, I’ll bring You Li here.”

Ever since moving out of the Ji family, Ji Yang had been keeping an eye on city center property prices in Fanzhou. The moment the name “Boman Apartments” came up, even knowing how wealthy Nie Xu was, he still really wanted to comment. In a place where every inch of land cost a fortune, buying a place and leaving it sitting empty — that was quite extravagant.

But Ji Yang said: “Wouldn’t that be inappropriate? Surface-level appearances are one thing, but me moving into your place — the nature of that is quite different.”

Nie Xu’s hands, busy packing his things, paused.

He turned his head: “How is it different?”

“Look,” Ji Yang sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed. “If I live in your place, you can still explain it to the old man as you fulfilling your duty of care as a bodyguard. But one day, you won’t need to hide anymore, and you won’t need to arrange everything according to what the old man wants. When that day comes, I won’t be some shameful black mark you can just erase. I don’t want to end up there.”

Nie Xu paused, then threw the piece of clothing he’d just picked up back onto the hospital bed.

He suddenly bent down, bracing both hands on the edges of the bed, and looked at him at eye level.

The oppressive force bearing down on him made Ji Yang lean back to create distance. “What are you doing?”

“When you were confessing you liked me, you were pretty bold,” Nie Xu dismissed his little retreat without a glance. “What’s wrong? Talking all high and mighty now, scared?”

“Who’s scared?” Ji Yang stubbornly refused to admit it, the corner of his mouth hooked as he gritted his teeth and deflected: “I was leaving you an out.”

Ji Yang admitted that ever since learning it was very likely Ji Chengyi who had orchestrated the car crash and switched his medication, there had been a deliberate element of wanting to get back at Ji Chengyi when he got closer to Nie Xu. He figured that given how differently Ji Chengyi treated Nie Xu, if something really happened between him and Nie Xu, Ji Chengyi would probably be furious. Ji Yang even felt he could tolerate whether Nie Xu ignored him or indulged him purely based on their cooperative relationship, all for that outcome.

But now that Nie Xu was telling him to move into his place, he was the one hesitating.

He had experienced countless acts of malice.

So when he clearly sensed that there had never been that kind of malice in Nie Xu — that when Nie Xu used someone, it was purely for use, and when he protected you, it was purely protection — and now, Nie Xu was even willing to let him stay at his private residence, that felt somewhat special to Ji Yang.

He didn’t want a day to come when someone unilaterally decided to end their cooperation, and looking back on the relationship they had built along the way, all that remained was hollow affection and humiliation.

At least, between himself and Nie Xu, Ji Yang didn’t want that kind of ending.

“No need to,” Nie Xu said, his gaze steady on him. “That’s not something you should be worrying about.”

Ji Yang was a little bewildered: “Then what should I be worrying about?”

Nie Xu pulled a smile that carried no warmth. “As long as you move into Boman Apartments, all your actions must follow my directives. Every decision of ‘One Yuan’ must first be submitted to Jian Yuan for review. I don’t want what happened with the cold chain factory to occur a second time.”

Ji Yang was unhappy about it: “‘One Yuan’ is only affiliated, not acquired by Jian Yuan. Isn’t this a bit too dictatorial?”

“You’re free to ignore it,” Nie Xu said.

Ji Yang eyed him warily.

Nie Xu: “No more investment talks.”

Ji Yang’s fists clenched.

At that moment, the ward door was suddenly shoved open. Lin Yue walked in and said: “Young Master Ji, Assistant Nie, the discharge procedures are… done.”

The word “done” came out as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

He took in their posture — with Young Master Ji glaring at him with those gorgeous, fiery eyes — and no matter how he looked at it, something seemed off.

“I’ll come back later!” Lin Yue said, turning to bolt.

Ji Yang: “Get back here! Where are you running?”

“I… I…” Lin Yue glanced nervously at Assistant Nie.

Nie Xu withdrew his hands and straightened up, his expression returning to normal. “Pack up Young Master Ji’s things and take them down to the car first.”

“Right, right.” Lin Yue hastily agreed.

When Ji Yang was discharged, he once again sat in a wheelchair.

He had a lot going on right now, so he generally didn’t resort to the thing unless absolutely necessary. But when he ran into a swarm of reporters blocking the way upstairs, he reconsidered — at a time like this, a wheelchair was quite useful.

A naturally disadvantaged image, no need to manufacture it.

Several bodyguards held off the reporters, their only purpose to keep people from crowding close to him, with no intention of driving anyone away.

Ji Yang sat on the steps with a thin blanket draped over his legs, a pair of sunglasses still perched on his face — as if deliberately meant to conceal his haggard appearance.

Reporter: “Young Master Four, is this hospitalization consistent with what’s circulating online — that it’s the result of a family power struggle?”

Ji Yang spoke slowly: “I long ago drew a clear line between myself and the Ji family’s affairs. This time is merely an unexpected intersection related to my professional plans. So naturally, it doesn’t constitute a family struggle.”

Reporter: “So Young Master Four doesn’t deny that this matter is connected to Young Master Ji, the Third?”

Ji Yang looked troubled: “Everything must be based on the official investigation results.”

…

And at that moment.

“You brat — shut your mouth!”

A middle-aged couple suddenly emerged from a car pulled up at the main road.

It was Ji Changshou and Yao Zhaoling.

Ji Changshou pointed at him from a distance: “What nonsense are you spouting to these reporters?!”

After his tirade, he turned to the reporters with an apologetic smile: “Sorry about that, everyone. My son here is being thoughtless.”

Yao Zhaoling’s eyes were brimming with tears: “Xiao Yang, your father and I came all the way to the hospital to see you. We know you have grievances in your heart. If you’re unhappy about something, take it out on Auntie, okay? Chengyi has worked so hard for his grandfather’s wishes. It doesn’t look good for brothers to air their disputes so publicly.”

Ji Changshou: “Hurry up! Explain things clearly in front of the reporters, and we’ll let bygones be bygones. You can still come back to the Ji family and be the Fourth Young Master of the Ji family properly.”

The crowd of reporters buzzed even louder, cameras pushing in closer as they watched the spectacle of father and son confronting each other.

In the end, everyone watched as Ji Yang said nothing and simply pulled out his phone.

He put it on speaker.

“Third Brother.” Ji Yang’s voice carried a smile.

Ji Chengyi’s voice echoed through the reporters’ recording devices as well: “What is it?”

Ji Yang’s gaze drifted toward the live-stream cameras at the scene: “Why did you send your parents over? And at a time when there are so many reporters around — you’re the one losing face here.”

Ji Chengyi’s voice turned slightly cold: “I didn’t send them.”

“I know,” Ji Yang sighed. “Having parents like that — that’s probably just the karma Third Brother deserves.”

Ji Chengyi: “He’s still your father.”

“Sorry,” Ji Yang said. “I don’t have a father.”

Having delivered this message to Ji Chengyi, Ji Yang hung up the phone directly.

Ji Changshou exploded, pointing at him and cursing: “Say that again — that you don’t have a father?!”

Ji Yang couldn’t even be bothered to waste a single word on him.

“You’ve all seen it, reporters.” Ji Yang swept his gaze across every camera on the scene. “There really are fathers in this world who only show up when their son has been hospitalized for three days and is about to be discharged. He didn’t come out of concern — he came to clear the name of his lover’s son.”

Yao Zhaoling dug her nails into her palms and shrank behind Ji Changshou.

The reporters erupted, their faces full of reproach directed at the couple.

Ji Yang spoke, word by word: “This matter was supposed to be settled already, but since you’re here, I’ll make a formal announcement in front of all these reporters today. I, Ji Yang, as of today, officially sever all ties of father and son with Ji Changshou. From now on, he is him, and I am me.”

The entire scene erupted in commotion.

Although rumors of the Fourth Young Master establishing his own independent path had been circulating for some time.

But severing ties publicly in front of reporters — that was an entirely different matter.

In an instant, the old scandals — Yao Zhaoling’s rise as the mistress, the unsavory origins of Ji Chengyi’s birth — came roaring back to the surface.

Ji Yang got into the car and watched through the rearview mirror as the middle-aged couple, hemmed in by reporters, couldn’t escape the encirclement.

Lin Yue eyed him cautiously and said: “Young Master Ji, please don’t be sad.”

“Where do you see me being sad?” Ji Yang laughed in disbelief. “I just think they showed up at the perfect time. Another layer to our bargaining chips — now winning the project is practically a sure thing.”

Lin Yue glanced again at the person driving the car.

Nie Xu — the one who hadn’t said a single word from the moment the reporters appeared, through the arrival of that couple.

Lin Yue wanted Assistant Nie to offer a word of comfort, but couldn’t figure out how to bring it up.

Finally, Assistant Nie spoke.

“Ji Yang.”

“Hm?” Ji Yang looked over.

Nie Xu: “That’s already the second pair. Give my sunglasses back.”

Lin Yue: “…”

Nie Ge, wouldn’t it be better if you thought about what to say before saying it?