Pain...
But it wasn’t the kind of pain from a specific bodily ailment—more like phantom pain.
Most of the time, it felt as if a little chick were plucking at his nerves like strings, the sharp pecks driving him to seek even wilder emotions to drown out the torment.
"Mr. Ji! You must be suffering right now! I have a way to make it stop."
The butler was about to end the call when the seemingly well-behaved boy suddenly lunged forward and shouted.
Ji Xi had learned his lesson—this time, he didn’t call him "Dad."
"Young man, security!? Escort him out."
At the employer’s command, the butler, sensing the boy’s persistence, immediately signaled the waiting security to remove him.
Ji Xi watched them approach but didn’t flinch, standing as straight as a young pine, utterly unfazed.
"Let him in."
The next second, Ji Tingzhou’s voice crackled through the butler’s earpiece again.
The butler was a professional—one moment scowling, the next adjusting his expression with practiced ease as he addressed Ji Xi. "This way, young sir."
Ji Xi was momentarily stunned by the swift change. "Wow," he muttered.
He was led inside, but not to Ji Tingzhou’s current residence. Instead, they turned right, heading toward the garden in front of the estate.
Though the butler noticed the boy’s resemblance to his employer and was aware of the recent scandal, his face remained impassive.
Once Ji Xi was delivered, the butler and the others withdrew.
Before stepping in, Ji Xi took several deep breaths.
Given what had happened before, he still harbored a deep fear of that man.
But he couldn’t afford to be afraid.
He was his mother’s good boy, shouldering the responsibility of punishing the villain on her behalf!
Charge!
Ji Xi stepped forward.
It was called a garden, but upon entering, it was clear most of the plants were foliage, not flowers. Under a rustic Roman-style pergola, a couch—the kind that looked irresistibly nap-inducing—held a single figure.
Ji Xi’s legs trembled just from a glance.
Unlike him, the man lifted his gaze at the sound of footsteps, revealing piercing emerald-green eyes brimming with undisguised irritation. They cut through the air like blades, stabbing straight into the chest, stealing breath away.
Under that gaze, Ji Xi lifted his chin and marched forward, stopping right in front of him.
"Hello, my name is Ji Xi."
Staring at the face that mirrored his own—or rather, mirrored Ji Nian’s—Ji Tingzhou flexed his fingers, resisting the urge to twist that head right off.
Too filthy. Not worth the effort.
He’d grown spoiled over the years.
"You said you have a way to stop my suffering?"
Ji Tingzhou skipped the pleasantries, cutting straight to the point. His mesmerizing green eyes seemed to pierce straight through the boy’s thoughts.
Ji Xi felt a flicker of hesitation but pressed on, determined after finally getting this far. "Yes."
He pulled out a small black vial and shook it.
"This."
Unscrewing the cap, a strange, indescribable scent wafted out—foul yet oddly alluring.
Ji Tingzhou’s first reaction was to frown. "What disgusting concoction is this?"
Repulsive as it was, it had some effect.
For instance, the hallucination of Ji Wanting—who had been crouching beside him, cradling Ji Yanzhen’s severed head—vanished.
His headache eased slightly, replaced by drowsiness.
Ji Xi pouted at the insult. "It’s not disgusting! The ingredients make it smell this way. It took a lot of effort to make, and it works really well."
He added proudly, "I made it myself."
"Don’t care."
Ji Tingzhou scoffed, showing no regard for the boy’s age.
Before Ji Xi could gasp in outrage—how could the esteemed head of the Ji family curse like that?—Ji Tingzhou rose gracefully, looking down at him.
"Where did you get the idea that I’m in pain?"
He stood there, perfectly composed, his mocking gaze fixed on Ji Xi. He didn’t dismiss the boy for being a child, but then again, nothing about Ji Xi warranted his attention.
Ji Xi insisted, "You are in pain."
"Because you—"
Realizing Ji Tingzhou was baiting him, Ji Xi clamped his mouth shut.
"I just know. You came all the way to this remote rehab resort alone, refusing company. Something’s wrong with you."
"This potion only works if I make it. Once opened, it loses its potency after a minute if not consumed."
The boy was clever. He shook the vial again, and sure enough, the inky liquid inside began turning transparent.
"Are you sure you don’t want it? If you drink it now, it’ll still work. You won’t feel any pain for a whole week."
Lowering his voice, Ji Xi extended the vial toward him.
Ji Tingzhou inhaled—the revolting scent had faded, and the pain, momentarily subdued, was creeping back.
If he drank that murky liquid... the torment would stop...
The aroma teased his nerves, coaxing him to take the vial, this blatant trap disguised as salvation.
Ji Tingzhou yielded to the temptation, reaching out to accept it.
Ji Xi’s face lit up.
Until—
Crash.
The glass vial shattered on the ground like discarded trash, its contents seeping into the soil.
Ji Xi’s eyes widened. "You—"
The pain returned in full force. Ji Wanting reappeared, her haunting melody resuming, grating against Ji Tingzhou’s skull until he wanted to obliterate everything—and everyone—in sight.
"If you’re insane, check into a mental hospital."
With a flick of his wrist, Ji Tingzhou summoned a group of black-clad men who had been lying in wait.
As Ji Xi gaped, Ji Tingzhou strode away, his steps steady, his expression dripping with disdain—as if he’d expected something interesting, only to be bored out of his mind.
Ji Xi began to doubt himself.
Was Ji Tingzhou really unwell?
Before their first meeting, he’d already exposed him to E03 gas.
E03 was an odorless, harmless vapor—completely inert to ordinary people.
But for those with latent psychotic genes, it acted as a trigger, jolting dormant symptoms to life.
And this batch had been specially tailored for Ji Tingzhou. The effects should’ve been undeniable.
"Don’t touch me! If I don’t walk out safely, the police will come looking for me in ten minutes!"
Ji Xi dodged the hands reaching for him.
The lead guard’s expression darkened at his words.
"Even the slightest mishap, and I’ll make sure you regret it. I am a certified prodigy in pharmacology, after all."
Chin raised, he glared defiantly at the men surrounding him.
In the end, Ji Xi walked out unscathed.
What he didn’t know was that from the moment he took his first step, a shadow had begun trailing him.
"Sir, we let him go."
The reporting subordinate didn’t dare approach Ji Tingzhou directly—his bruised, swollen cheekbone was proof enough of the consequences.
Ji Tingzhou gasped lightly, as if the brief relief he had just experienced had only intensified the suppressed agony now surging back with doubled force.
Desire churned within him, and recalling that fleeting moment of calm, he was seized by the impulse to drag that young man back and seize the vial of medicine that could alleviate his symptoms.
Realizing what he was thinking, Ji Tingzhou's expression remained impassive as he paced the room. He found a fruit knife, sterilized it with alcohol, and then used it on himself.
The best solution was to pile pain upon pain, yet from start to finish, Ji Tingzhou never touched his already bandaged hand.
