Chapter 54#

Ji Yansong had gone abroad in secret, and his return was equally low-key.

But it was a critical period, and every single movement related to the Ji family was the focal point of outside attention.

Ji Yang broke free from the lingering humiliation and speechlessness of Nie Xu’s remark about “not dirtying the sofa,” and quickly came to realize that some tranquility was only relative.

It was the top-tier security management of the Boman apartment that made everything here seem so private and immune to prying; it was Jian Yuan’s massive investment that gave him enough confidence to not be swayed; and it was Nie Xu’s dialogue that suddenly broke past preconceived impressions, which left him still in the mood to analyze the limitations of his own perspective and explore the space for male instinctive desires.

In fact, from the moment Nie Xu stepped out of this house, the storm surrounding the Ji Group played out right on schedule.

Even though Ji Yang had no choice but to stay indoors, he could still feel the urgency and the air of impending crisis from the television and every major online platform.

#HaichengGroupTradingSuspended#

#JiShippingAssetsFullyFrozen#

#IllegitimateSonRumorsResurface#, #JiFamilyLegitimacyWarIntensifies#

The top slots on the trending search lists were completely taken up by news about the Ji family. Clicking into any of them, he found analyses and commentaries from various financial bloggers and legal experts.

—Ji Shipping Haicheng was temporarily suspended from trading early this morning. The announcement stated that there were major matters pending disclosure. According to insiders, the trading halt was directly related to the asset freeze in the shipping sector.

—Related investigations revealed that Yongsheng Enterprise, under Ji Chengyi’s name, was suspected of fraudulent capital injection and related-party transactions, with the sum involved reaching tens of billions. Industry insiders predicted that this incident was highly likely to trigger a chain reaction of bankruptcy at Haicheng.

—It was rumored that the Ji family patriarch had returned to the country ahead of schedule, but had not made any public appearance so far. Sources said that emergency negotiations were underway within the Ji Group, attempting to preserve core industries before bankruptcy proceedings.

Ji Yang scrolled through his phone while wandering around the house. Tens of billions. That number was even larger than he had imagined.

Ji Chengyi’s intention to abscond with the funds and jump ship was already quite clear.

It was just that he probably hadn’t expected that the cold-chain factory incident would set off a chain reaction affecting everything.

Ji Yang had deliberately brought up the car accident and the swapped medication at the time, because he was certain that since Ji Chengyi had already set up the bidding trap, waiting for him to fall into it, the man would certainly take action under such an unexpected turn of events.

The facts proved that being locked in the freezer had, on the spot, already thrown Ji Chengyi into disarray.

The situation now was beyond the control of any single person.

Ji Yang’s mind churned through these thoughts.

His wheelchair accidentally bumped into the divider shelving unit. He changed direction and discovered that on the far left of the first floor, there was actually another room with the door closed.

Ji Yang didn’t exactly want to snoop. He was purely killing time.

It was too boring.

The study was on the second floor, and he couldn’t even go find a book to read.

Ji Yang arrived at the door of the room. What he had in mind was probably a storage closet, after all, the fitness area was on the other end. He even half-expected that, given their profession, opening the door might reveal an armory.

The result left him greatly disappointed.

It was too empty.

His first reaction was that there was nothing inside.

But on second glance, almost instinctively, his attention was drawn to the enormous mural on the wall. The mural looked like an enlarged version of Nie Xu’s messaging app avatar—a moon suspended over the nighttime sea. Looking closely, however, one would realize it was not quite the same.

The avatar photo was a real nighttime photograph.

The one in the mural was more like a blood moon.

Faintly visible were the surging, ink-black waters; sailboats of various sizes dotting the sea with yellow lights; and the distant sparks of a coastline that seemed both very near and very far away. A painting that appeared beautiful at first glance, but after gazing at it for a while, a sense of the unknown and fear would slowly seep up from the bottom of one’s heart, creating an immersive feeling of being swallowed by the ocean.

You Li had once said that the original members of Building Four all basically had years of experience sailing the seas.

Had Nie Xu seen this himself?

Otherwise, what kind of taste did he have—hiring someone to paint such a massive mural inside his house, specifically placed in an empty room, and not even worried about having nightmares?

This question was answered when the housekeeper came over to cook.

The housekeeper was about the same age as Aunt Mo, a very cheerful and smiley person, though Ji Yang could tell she didn’t talk much and would never discuss the employer’s private matters even a single word.

It was only when the topic of the mural in that room came up that the housekeeper seemed indifferent about it.

She said with a smile, “Mr. Nie said it’s fine—that he painted it himself. I go in there every time I clean.”

“He painted it himself??” Ji Yang was shocked again.

He had this skill too?

The housekeeper picked green beans while saying, “Right. When I first started working here, I thought Mr. Nie was an artist by profession. After all, he hardly stays here more than a few days a year or two. I only found out later that he’s someone who does big things.”

Ji Yang thought that the profession of painter certainly had nothing to do with him at all. He wheeled himself over. “Big things?”

The housekeeper: “Take two years ago—the richest family in Fanzhou was called… what was it called again? We ordinary folks don’t really understand these things. Anyway, they wanted to do some bay area project. They even said it was a joint development with the government, but in reality it was forced demolition. Most of the people living there were ordinary workers employed at the sea salt factory. Wasn’t that basically cutting off people’s livelihoods? Mr. Nie was the one who resolved it. He negotiated with the government side for proper resettlement, and in the end, he put up a substantial sum for the resettlement compensation. Everyone was very grateful to him at the time.”

The bay area project from two years ago—wasn’t that Lanhai Bay?

Ji Yang was astonished by the balance Nie Xu had managed to strike in all of this.

The Ji family had used this project to fabricate nearly ten billion in fraudulent accounts. One could only imagine how many chaotic consequences had been borne by ordinary people as a result. Nie Xu was clearly the project manager at the time, needing to perform impressively on Haicheng’s end while simultaneously being accountable to every ordinary person.

The book said he would stop at nothing for revenge.

Ji Yang didn’t believe it.

For a person like that, even the so-called “stopping at nothing” depended on who it was directed at, didn’t it?

Ji Yang reached out to help, and the housekeeper quickly stopped him.

“Mr. Ji, how can I let you do this kind of work? Put it down, put it down.”

Ji Yang dodged her, smiling. “It’s fine, just call me by my name. I’m just someone freeloading here—it’s boring anyway.”

The housekeeper looked skeptical.

At her age, she might not even know Nie Xu’s true identity, let alone the news online.

Her gaze fell on Ji Yang’s strikingly handsome face, and she thought of the dietary details Mr. Nie had specifically relayed over the phone. She ventured: “So Xiao Yang, what exactly is your relationship with Mr. Nie?”

Ji Yang answered: “I suppose… a house-guest arrangement? I was just discharged from the hospital and had nowhere to go, so he took me back with him. Auntie, didn’t you say yourself that he’s a good person?”

“That’s certainly true.” The housekeeper nodded in agreement, then looked at him with some sympathy. “If there’s anything you need help with in daily life, or whatever you want to eat, just tell me. I can also tell that Mr. Nie treats you differently.”

Ji Yang snapped off both ends of a green bean, curious. “Differently how?”

“I can’t really put it into words.” The housekeeper waved her hand with a laugh. “Anyway, I’ve been cleaning this house for Mr. Nie for five years now, and you’re the first person other than Mr. Nie himself to move in. I’ve also cooked for Mr. Nie—he’s not particular about anything—but this time he specifically instructed me, saying your leg pain is severe and you’re a picky eater, so he asked me to prepare some nourishing medicinal meals.”

Ji Yang thought to himself—was he a picky eater? How had he not noticed?

Half-believing, Ji Yang said: “Maybe he just couldn’t stand me eating luosifen in his house?”

The housekeeper shook her head with a smile and stood up to go cook.

The housekeeper’s cooking was excellent. Lunch and dinner were completely different meals, and they were indeed two of the most substantial meals Ji Yang had eaten since being hospitalized.

After the housekeeper tidied up the kitchen, Ji Yang told her to head home early.

He turned on a lamp in the living room and lay on the sofa scrolling through his phone.

Time passed from eight o’clock, to nine, to eleven. Ji Yang didn’t even realize himself how often he was checking the clock. Eventually, so drowsy he couldn’t stay awake, he collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep.

When Nie Xu drove to the apartment building below, raindrops were tapping tap-tap against the car window.

His brows knitted together.

On the phone, Jiang Lei’s voice was lowered, making his speech seem somewhat rushed. “You’re really something—saying you wanted to go back right in front of the old man, and telling him that Ji Yang is at your place. I bet the old man still thinks you’re doing it on purpose to show him up.”

Nie Xu drove into the garage. “What he thinks is his business. Keep an eye on that overseas deal for me—I reckon it won’t be long before the foreign police make a move.”

Jiang Lei acknowledged this, then added: “Today at the Ji family assembly there were so many people there. Everyone in the entire Ji family knows now that you brought their young master home. Ji Yang has publicly severed ties with Ji Changshou. I wonder if the old man regrets using him as a pawn. At least it gave you a perfectly legitimate excuse.”

Nie Xu parked the car and turned off the engine.

“It’s too late for regrets.”

He’d spent his whole life accustomed to keeping everyone in the palm of his hand.

It was time he tasted what it felt like to not be in control.

Jiang Lei: “You there?”

“Mm.” Nie Xu stepped into the elevator and was soon at the door.

Jiang Lei: “I don’t understand. Why does it have to be tonight?”

“I promised him,” Nie Xu said. He glanced at the time. “That’s all. He should already be asleep. Calling would be too noisy.”

Jiang Lei: “…Fine.” After a one-second pause: “When Qi Songqing mentioned it, I didn’t believe him. I can understand that the thrill feels especially different when you’re standing on the edge of a cliff, but at least give me a heads-up so I can mentally prepare.”

Nie Xu: “A heads-up for what?”

Jiang Lei: “A heads-up that you’ve decided to stop acting like a normal human being. Under normal circumstances, would you rush back in the middle of the night just because of a promise you made?”

Nie Xu offered no comment on that. Simply annoyed by the man’s endless rambling, he hung up directly.

When his hand touched the doorknob, there were really no thoughts in his mind.

Until the door opened and a beam of warm yellow light from the living room spilled out, which made him freeze for a good while.

He had rushed back because of a promise made that morning.

Also because of the fleeting worry that had flashed through his mind when the weather forecast showed rain in the evening.

This feeling of caring—for him, it was a novel experience.

The person sleeping on the sofa was not at peace.

Nie Xu took off his coat and tossed it aside, then crouched down in front of the sofa.

Seeing that his breathing was especially rapid and cold sweat was beading on his forehead, Nie Xu took no other measures. With a furrowed brow, he decisively reached an arm under Ji Yang’s nape and scooped him up.

He sat down on the sofa and let the nightmare-disturbed person lean against his chest.

He patted his face. “Ji Yang, wake up.”

Ji Yang didn’t know whether it was the mural in Nie Xu’s room that had caused it, but he had genuinely dreamed of disaster-movie-like scenes.

Surging seawater capsized the sailboats. Heaven and earth were in chaos. A blood moon gaped open its maw like a man-eating monster, and countless people ran and screamed across the deck. Despair, cold, suffocation—every sensation wrapped around him tightly, impossible to break free from.

He felt difficulty breathing, yet couldn’t make a sound.

Until a distant voice kept reaching him.

“Ji Yang.”

“Ji Yang!”

Each call was clearer than the last, and increasingly stern.

A warm touch pressed against his cheek and the side of his neck, dispelling that bone-deep chill.

Finally, Ji Yang’s eyes snapped open with a gasp of air, at the sound of a whispered threat pressed close to his ear: “If you don’t wake up, I’m going to hit you.”

In that instant, he felt disoriented, not knowing where he was. He passively waited for that all-encompassing, exitless terror to slowly recede.

Based on past experience with nightmares, as long as he woke up and waited a little, it would pass in a moment.

But this time was slightly different.

He felt a hand press lightly on the second vertebra of his spine, followed by an audible sigh of relief: “There, it’s fine. Just a dream.”