"Where's Dad?"
Ji Nian woke up later than usual. The servant had delivered breakfast directly to her room. Dressed in her pajamas, she sat cross-legged on the small sofa on the terrace, poking at her salad with a fork.
"The master went to Tinglan," the servant said softly, following instructions given by Shen Qingtang earlier.
Ji Nian nodded to show she understood, but before the servant could leave, she suddenly remembered something. "Did Sister Jujube take leave?"
Normally, it was Sister Jujube who brought her breakfast.
The servant's expression remained unchanged. "Yes, she has some family matters and took a month's leave."
Ji Nian nodded again to indicate she understood.
After finishing her meal, she went to the walk-in closet to pick out an outfit. She chose a loose white camisole that reached her thighs and paired it with floor-length pants. Her wavy hair was tied to the right side, with a few rebellious strands sticking out, adding an effortless touch of laziness to her look.
She glanced at herself in the mirror and felt something was missing around her neck. She rummaged around and found a delicate, layered lace choker that Shen Qingtang had gifted her.
"Sigh, girls my age are already starting to develop, but why am I still so flat?"
Ji Nian sighed at her reflection in the mirror.
If it weren’t for the thin summer clothes, she could even skip wearing adhesive bra pads.
The system chimed in melodiously: "Can't hide it, a fourteen-year-old girl's little secrets~"
Ji Nian pulled a sarcastic smile.
Maybe it was because she hadn’t had her period yet?
She remembered getting her period early at twelve in her previous life, but this body hadn’t experienced it yet. It wasn’t a big issue though—her doctor had reassured her to relax and not worry about it.
After putting on her shoes, she was about to get on the elevator when she suddenly remembered something. She turned and headed to Ji Tingzhou’s room, casually humming a tune as she walked into her dad’s special room for accessories. She grabbed a pair of sunglasses and perched them on her nose.
If she remembered correctly, these were a custom-made pair Ji Tingzhou had received just a few days ago.
Ji Tingzhou hadn’t even worn them once, but Ji Nian shamelessly took them for herself.
"Anyway, if one pair goes missing, he won’t even notice," she muttered.
The servant responsible for cleaning the room, standing in the corner watching her actions: I noticed though~
"Miss, where to today?"
Once she got in the car, the driver asked her cheerfully.
Ji Nian gave him an address.
Wei Yang wasn’t there—or at least it seemed like he wasn’t.
In reality, he was secretly protecting Ji Nian from a distance, making sure she stayed safe.
Originally, Wei Yang thought Ji Nian was just going to hang out with a few of her little friends. But when they arrived at the location, he saw Ji Nian smiling as she walked toward a blond-haired guy who was just standing there, causing pedestrians to stop in their tracks, their faces blank, and severely disrupting the flow of traffic.
Wei Yang stood hidden in the shadows, practically biting down on his handkerchief in frustration.
You again, Blondie!
Ignoring the business cards offered by talent scouts, Lu Jinghuai shed his earlier gentle demeanor and brushed off those trying to talk to him. He walked toward the girl who had just stepped out of the car and waved at him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
If it weren’t for his strikingly unique appearance, Ji Nian might not have recognized him at first.
After all, his outfit today was quite different from his usual style.
A black short-sleeved shirt paired with wide-legged, floor-length leather pants, with a striking silver thigh ring on the left leg, and his golden hair tied in a half-bun.
He looked very much like the protagonist in the novel Shen Qingtang shared with her a few days ago—a character who outwardly served the divine with compassion but secretly indulged in rebellion and desires, using holy scriptures as toilet paper, the rebellious and lustful villain.
Of course, that was only in appearance.
Even dressed coolly, Lu Jinghuai was still the gentle and soft-spoken young prince when he spoke.
"You look... pretty cool."
Ji Nian commented.
Lu Jinghuai tilted his head, reached out to pull her bag strap, and led her from the scorching sun on the street to the mall entrance.
Upon hearing her comment, he merely smiled.
"Didn't we agree to disguise ourselves?"
Ji Nian pointed to her sunglasses, indicating that this was her disguise.
Lu Jinghuai leaned forward, offering the little bun of hair at the back of his head to her: "Mine is right here."
She couldn't help but reach out and give it a playful tug.
"Ugh!"
Darn it, is this pesky habit of hers going to flare up anywhere, regardless of the person or place?
Lu Jinghuai, who was spat at by Ji Nian: ?
"Doesn't it look good?"
He pretended to reach for the hair tie, but Ji Nian stopped him: "No, no, there was just a bug."
Lu Jinghuai blinked: "Oh~"
Clearly, he didn't believe her.
"I brought that note."
Back to business, they had serious matters to attend to today.
Ji Nian fished out the note that Lu Jinghuai had previously stuffed into a food-grade plastic bag with cookies.
On it, the young prince had written in his textbook-perfect handwriting: Yu City, Qishan Jinghe Road No. 345 Water Treatment Plant
"When you were away, I personally went to check it out."
"That water plant has been abandoned for two years, but the electricity meter is still running, which is very suspicious."
Lu Jinghuai lightly tapped the long-dried ink on the note and spoke softly.
Ji Nian couldn't help but take a closer look at him.
This guy was eerily smart, deducing what she was investigating and suspecting just from Sun Xiao's situation.
Although the Lu family's base was in O Country, their roots were indeed in China. During wartime, they were involved in the underworld, and their ancestral business had developed from it, making them formidable even today, which made investigating these matters somewhat convenient.
Ji Nian suspected that the group called Crow was conducting human experiments and had been investigating this matter. It was said that a powerful dragon couldn't suppress a local snake, and Yu City was too far from S City, making the investigation slow.
After Lu Jinghuai gave her the note, news soon came from Right Two, who was responsible for tracking, saying that there might be clues she was looking for in Yu City.
But Ji Nian didn't expect that he would personally go there.
Their relationship was quite good, and there had been life-saving grace, but the young prince's dedication was too...
Perhaps sensing Ji Nian's complex thoughts, Lu Jinghuai took the initiative to speak: "Do you remember why we met?"
Ji Nian's mind stirred.
Of course, she remembered.
The young man's silver-gray eyes in front of her darkened, his tone gentle yet firm: "I don't want there to be any more victims like me."
"My family is wealthy, and I was very lucky, so I could be saved."
"But what about ordinary people?"
"What should those ordinary people do who don't have a lot of money or very good luck?"
As a selfish adult, Ji Nian was momentarily shaken by his thoughts.
After all, Ji Nian's initial intention was simply to find out what kind of experiment they were conducting, and whether the potion they developed had any connection to the vegetative state of Ji Tingzhou from the original book, nothing more.
Ji Nian patted the shoulder of the true angel in front of her, "Come on, let's find a place to sit and talk."
Watching Ji Nian walk ahead, Lu Jinghuai, who was following behind her, let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
Why so suspicious?
He will grow up too, and even now, he is no less than Chen Mo.
