Chapter 57#
When the two returned to the banquet hall, the lights were bright, the music gentle, and everything was exactly the same as when they had left.
Nie Xu walked half a step behind Ji Yang, pushing open the side door of the banquet hall for him. His pace was neither hurried nor slow, once again wearing that flawless, indifferent expression.
The moment Ji Yang stepped into the banquet hall, he felt a subtle gaze sweeping over him from several different directions — so fast it might have been an illusion, yet carrying a professional wariness.
“Fourth Young Master.” Zhao Yuan appeared without a sound. “The old master wants you to go over.”
Ji Yang instinctively looked up.
At the main table, Chu Zhengqing was speaking with Ji Yansong. His peripheral vision glanced over where they stood, revealing a knowing, tacitly understood smile. He lowered his head and whispered something to Ji Yansong. Ji Yansong’s expression didn’t change, but the hand holding his teacup came to rest. At the same time, he turned his head, his gaze sliding slowly across Nie Xu before finally landing on Ji Yang.
Ji Yang looked at the main table and said to Zhao Yuan, “Uncle Zhao, I’m not a member of the Ji family anymore. I won’t go over and cause the old master any frustration.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yuan glanced at him.
He lowered his head and said, “Fourth Young Master, that’s too childish a thing to say. How can there be overnight grudges between father and son? No matter what’s insurmountable, blood ties can’t be changed. Your grandfather wouldn’t care what outsiders say.”
“It’s I who don’t want any entanglement with the Ji family.” Ji Yang lowered his head and twisted the plain ring on his index finger, casting Zhao Yuan an indifferent sidelong glance. “You can tell the old master directly — just consider me an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.”
On Zhao Yuan’s gloomy face, the corners of his mouth stiffened.
He tilted his head up slightly and looked at Nie Xu.
“Nie Xu, this is the old master’s order. Bring him over. Don’t cause a scene.”
With that, Zhao Yuan turned and walked away.
Ji Yang raised an eyebrow and looked back. “I have to go over, don’t I?”
“I can carry you over too,” Nie Xu said.
Ji Yang’s lips twitched. “Never mind. No need. I’ll walk over myself.”
Ji Yang went first, threading through the crowd all the way directly toward the main table.
When he arrived, everyone near the main table fell silent.
Ji Yang stood beside Ji Yansong and didn’t even greet anyone.
The old master turned his head to glance at him and lightly reprimanded, as if scolding a junior who didn’t know manners: “With so many elders here, why haven’t you greeted them yet?” Then he turned back to the people around him and smiled. “Young people — we’ve spoiled him. No manners whatsoever.”
The people nearby laughed and waved their hands. “Elder Ji is too modest. Fourth Young Master truly deserves to be called young and accomplished.”
“That’s right. The business isn’t small either. From that project with Huang Kai to now swallowing the Ji family’s airline operations — this business is really booming.”
“Blood is blood. The Ji family’s things belong to the young generation anyway. No matter how successful these young ones are, it’s still the Ji family’s.”
Hearing that last remark, Ji Yang spoke up unprompted: “That’s actually where you’re wrong.”
Across the table: “Wrong?”
“That’s right.” Ji Yang leaned on the back of a nearby chair. “The legal representative of ‘Yi Yuan’ is surnamed Peng — speaking of which, he’s also from Haicheng. I’m just a nominal figure collecting a bit of interest. I haven’t contributed to the company, and I wouldn’t dare presumptuously claim the company as mine.”
Ji Yang’s gaze swept around the room, and he smiled. “I’m just an internet vagrant, eating off traffic. I know the seniors here are all big shots in Fanzhou. If there are any opportunities, you could introduce them to me.”
His complete refusal to engage, his neither-humble-nor-pushy demeanor — no one could find fault with it.
President Chu, who was beside Ji Yansong, wore an ambiguous expression and said, “Elder Ji, I actually think this grandson of yours is something else.”
Ji Yansong’s gaze was deep, carrying a kind of evaluative quality that Ji Yang couldn’t name.
But he didn’t say much about it. Instead, his eyes swept across Nie Xu and returned to Ji Yang’s face, abnormally calm: “If you have the heart to run a business, then do it properly. Desperate deals aren’t worth much. If you’re truly smart, you should know what I’m talking about.”
Ji Yang understood perfectly.
That scene in the corridor earlier had done its work.
The old master had originally been intent on using him to bind Nie Xu to the family. Now, seeing the situation turning sour and realizing Nie Xu merely treated him as a plaything, he was issuing a warning.
Those words from the people around — what the Ji family’s is the young generation’s, and the young generation’s is the Ji family’s — must also have been Ji Yansong’s idea.
The old man’s abacus was clicking away. He was telling Ji Yang that if he was truly smart, he should know that even if the bid succeeded, even if the project ultimately fell into Yi Yuan’s hands, he ought to offer it up with both hands.
But—
Ji Yang lowered his head, looking dejected. “I understand, Grandpa.”
His sudden use of “Grandpa” made Ji Yansong glance at him.
The next second, Ji Yang turned around and hooked his arm through Nie Xu’s, saying to Ji Yansong: “Nie Xu is someone Grandpa values. His position in Haicheng today is of paramount importance. What happened in the past was all my fault. For the sake of friendly exchanges between Yi Yuan and Haicheng, no matter how he treats me now, it’s what I deserve. I can endure it. I won’t let Grandpa down.”
A brief, dead silence fell over the surrounding area.
Ji Yang could sense that even Nie Xu had lowered his head to glance at him.
Ji Yang’s lips twitched in barely suppressed amusement. He held it in.
After all, what Ji Yang had nearly said was: I know you had someone watching me.
You discovered that I’m not important to Nie Xu, and now you want to take what’s in my hands without paying any price. Why should I go along with you?
You were the one who set this all in motion in the first place.
If this result blocks your path — well, isn’t that exactly what you deserve?
Sure enough, Ji Yansong’s face turned ashen.
He apparently hadn’t expected him to pull a stunt like this in front of so many people.
Ji Yansong turned to Nie Xu.
“Xu.” The old master’s former air of cherishing talent, once worn in front of outsiders, was gone. Even Ji Yang could feel it — beneath the calm tone there was a churning storm. He picked up the napkin from the table, wiped his hands slowly, and asked: “Has the person of suspicious behavior that the security team mentioned been caught?”
“Apologies. He got away.” Nie Xu said the word sorry, but displayed no apologetic posture whatsoever.
The people nearby smoothed things over. “It’s normal for one or two people to slip into a banquet like this. Could be reporters. Since they weren’t caught, let it go.”
“That’s right. Even the people from the Ji family’s famous Building Four couldn’t catch him — what chance do the rest of us have?”
“Nie Xu.” Chamber of Commerce President Chu Zhengqing waved him over. “Events like today shouldn’t have been your job in the first place. Come back and sit down — let’s continue talking about that project we were discussing.”
Ji Yansong also gestured. “Sit.”
Nie Xu nodded, walked past Ji Yang, and took the empty seat in front of him.
Chu Zhengqing naturally changed the topic, as if Nie Xu had never left his seat and nothing had just happened.
Nie Xu took off his jacket and draped it over the chair, accepted the wine Chu Zhengqing handed him, and continued the conversation as normal.
And so, as a result, at the entire table, Ji Yang was the only young person left standing to the side.
Ji Yang didn’t care.
After all, his current image was that of a desperate, abandoned, disabled, love-struck young master. What he was more curious about was this: the people from the Chamber of Commerce had likely already caught wind of something. Otherwise, merely based on Nie Xu’s status as the Ji family’s chief security officer and a partial representative of Haicheng, it shouldn’t have been enough to earn these shrewd individuals this kind of attitude.
This thought hadn’t yet been confirmed before it was interrupted.
A slight commotion came from the direction of the banquet hall entrance. Ji Yang looked toward the sound and saw Ji Chengyi walking in through the side door in a light gray suit. He had no bodyguards with him, only a young assistant carrying a briefcase. His pace was noticeably steadier than the last time Ji Yang remembered seeing him, but the exhaustion in his eyes couldn’t be hidden — the dark circles under them were visible even from several steps away.
It seemed he’d been spending quite a bit of mental energy these past few days.
His appearance also caused quite a stir at the banquet.
After all, he was the new generation who had risen to power during the Ji family’s upheaval, already a figure of attention. And then, not long after, he’d been caught up in the scandal of using shell companies to transfer assets.
The outside world was naturally curious about how this would develop.
And what reaction Elder Ji, as the prime mover behind it all, would have.
Ji Chengyi entered and first surveyed the room, then walked past everyone and locked eyes with Ji Yang, who was standing there.
Ji Yang quietly shifted his weight to his left foot and watched him approach step by step.
His purpose for coming was quite simple.
After a series of seemingly passive blows, he had specifically chosen an occasion like this to come and make a statement.
“Grandpa.” Ji Chengyi stood beside Ji Yang and then skillfully greeted the others.
When it came to Nie Xu, he opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
The old master’s tone was flat. “Why did you come?”
“I’m here to apologize,” Ji Chengyi said.
Ji Chengyi appeared to have finally steadied himself from the earlier panic. First, he took a document from his assistant’s hands and placed it on the table. “This contains all the detailed evidence — the IP addresses associated with the factory’s surveillance and the operation records. I’ve submitted them to the authorities as well and will fully cooperate with the investigation.”
He then turned to Ji Yang: “The cold chain factory matter was mishandled by my people. I apologize to you.”
He said this very bluntly, with no hint of evasion. Ji Yang had expected him to at least claim it was a misoperation, an equipment failure, or push the blame entirely onto subordinates. But he just owned it outright.
Having owned it, he took out another document.
“My resignation letter.”
Taking the initiative to admit fault — retreating to advance.
Ji Yang understood, and everyone present likely understood as well.
Whispers began to ripple around.
The old master placed his hand on the document, still with that flat tone. “That’s enough. With so many Chamber of Commerce members here today, just learn your lesson for next time. Take this document back. I’ll pretend I didn’t see it.”
“Grandpa.” Ji Chengyi closed his eyes briefly. “I’m serious.”
Ji Yansong passed the document to the side. “Xu, you follow up on the investigation. As for the rest — we’ll discuss it later.”
Nie Xu took the folder.
He flipped through it. “Understood.”
The people around murmured:
“It looks like Third Young Master’s position won’t be shaken for the time being.”
“Isn’t the old master’s attitude obvious enough? He can even tolerate hollowing out the entire group — maybe the Ji family agreed on this among themselves.”
“The second branch definitely wasn’t involved. I heard that as soon as this came out, the eldest Young Master showed no mercy.”
“I’m still curious — who exactly is that person beside the old master?”
“Do you remember that news a few months ago about the two brothers of the Ji family’s first branch fighting over the same man? Just now, Fourth Young Master came out of the fire escape with him — I saw it. And the way Third Young Master looked at him… I feel like I’ve discovered something extraordinary.”
“Fourth Young Master’s been pretty quiet today, huh? Third Young Master apologized and he didn’t blow up or curse him out.”
……
Ji Yang couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath.
Ji Chengyi had made a special trip for this, but it only concerned his status within the Ji family — it had nothing to do with him personally.
The processes Yi Yuan needed to follow would continue. The appeals he needed to file would still be filed.
Only people who had nothing to do with any of this and were just watching the show would gossip in circles around the Ji family’s movements.
Ji Yang leaned against a window with nothing to do, looking at the lights of the hotel atrium outside the banquet hall.
People had dispersed by now.
The banquet was drawing to a close.
Ji Chengyi had appeared at some point without Ji Yang noticing.
He stood there, looking at Ji Yang for a long time — long enough for Ji Yang to turn around and spot him.
“What is it?” Ji Yang asked.
Ji Chengyi stepped forward two paces and spoke: “I thought you would bring up Tao Jisheng’s matter, and the car accident from two years ago, right then and there. Why didn’t you?”
“Why would I?” Ji Yang raised an eyebrow. The interplay of light from inside and outside highlighted Ji Yang’s face, making it appear even more otherworldly and exquisite. His beautiful eyes seemed to have seen straight through Ji Chengyi. “So I could announce it and wait for the ’evidence’ you already had prepared to turn things back on me?”
Ji Chengyi closed the distance another step, staring at him without blinking.
He lowered his voice and suddenly said: “You’re not Ji Yang. Who are you?”
“Your father?” Ji Yang asked calmly.
Ji Chengyi’s face twisted for an instant, then he sneered. “I’ve suspected it many times, but I had no evidence. Once you dodged it, twice you dodged it — and this time with the cold chain factory, you even jumped in voluntarily. The old you would never have thought this far ahead.”
Ji Yang: “Is it possible that you simply never got to know the real me?”
Ji Chengyi paused briefly, then sneered coldly: “What about Big Brother? I coaxed him for so many years, yet at the critical moment he sided with you. Ji Mingyue is the same. You don’t care about the Ji family, you don’t care about Mom and Dad — only Nie Xu, you just had to fight me for him. It shouldn’t be like this. None of it should be like this…”
Ji Yang looked at the person before him — still Ji Chengyi’s face, but the humility and gentleness had been entirely stripped away.
He said he had coaxed Ji Zhonglin for many years.
Which meant that from a very long time ago, he had been deliberately guiding all of this.
He had been guiding Ji Zhonglin to pay attention to him.
So he had orchestrated the car accident and sought out Tao Jisheng.
What did he mean by it shouldn’t be like this?
What was it supposed to be like?
Ji Chengyi: “Ji Yang. You were supposed to die under my wheels. What right do you have to stand here so detached from it all? If it hadn’t been an accident, how would I have been forced to relive everything all over again — while you, without lifting a finger, got it all?”
Rebirth.
Those two enormous words came crashing down on Ji Yang’s head.
Ji Chengyi had said it so bluntly — he must be certain that Ji Yang was not the original “Ji Yang.”
He had probably verified this fact for quite some time.
Now it seemed he had done too much, only to find everything going in the opposite direction. He didn’t want to keep enduring, nor did he intend to keep performing.
Though — he surely didn’t think Ji Yang had been reborn just like him, did he?
At this moment, Ji Yang finally felt that everything had a reasonable explanation.
Why he had felt this person was hypocritical from the very beginning.
Why his behavioral logic was always inconsistent.
Why he was so far removed from the person described in the book.
Because he had been reborn, and he was replicating the events of The Young Master’s Personal Bodyguard.
All the noise around his ears was receding.
Ji Yang looked at this reborn person — his third brother.
“I haven’t exactly done nothing either.” Before this person who seemed to share a similarly bizarre experience, Ji Yang felt not the slightest bit of commiseration. His gaze drifted to a figure not far away, and with a curl of his lips, he smiled: “The thing you want most — doesn’t it now belong to me?”