For Ji Nian's sake, Ji Tingzhou temporarily let Ji Xi go and took Ji Nian back, summoning a doctor.
After examining her, the doctor stepped out and said her back had been bumped but no bones were injured, and her wrist was fine too—she just needed a few days of rest to recover.
Wei Yang ruffled the child's hair, his heart aching. "My brother really is a piece of work."
Ji Nian: "……"
If Ji Tingzhou heard that, her backside would really be in trouble.
"Where's Sister Zhile?"
She looked around at the people gathered near her but didn’t spot that striking figure among them.
Wei Yang’s eyes darted around.
"Hmm…"
She was probably off beating someone up.
Ji Tingzhou walked in, rubbing his shoulder with a dark expression, Shen Qingtang following beside him.
"Ji Nian!"
Shen Qingtang rushed into the crowd, her face full of worry. "How did you get hurt again?"
Had she somehow offended some unseen force? Maybe she should visit the temple tomorrow to pray and get a protective charm for Ji Nian.
Ji Nian patted her reassuringly, explaining that she was fine—she’d just lost her balance and bumped into something. Ji Tingzhou had overreacted by calling in a whole team of doctors.
Could you imagine? A group of doctors staring wide-eyed at the faint red mark on her skin.
Relieved to hear it was nothing serious, Shen Qingtang let out a sigh. She was still in her tennis outfit, having rushed back the moment she heard Ji Nian was hurt.
"You’ve been so busy lately, disappearing all the time. Gu Xiuyuan tried several times to return, but his father stopped him."
Young Master Gu had gone abroad to study some time ago and still didn’t know about the injury on Ji Nian’s neck. Shen Qingtang hadn’t dared to tell him.
"Tell him to focus on his studies. Once things settle down here, I’ll go see him."
...
"What did you say to Liu He to get him to betray Commander Yu and hand me over?"
After having his blood drawn again, Ji Xi couldn’t help but ask the red-haired man in front of him.
Bruce had initially ignored him, but hearing this, his blue eyes gleamed. "Kid, you’re too naive."
"Betrayal? This isn’t some TV drama."
"Commander Yu abandoned you because you’re useless to him now."
"Let me make it clear—Madam Yu’s illness has already been cured by my mentor."
Though Ji Nian had repeatedly insisted the medicine wasn’t her doing, Bruce wasn’t wrong in saying it had been "solved."
Ji Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief. "That’s impossible!"
How could it have happened so quickly?
Bruce snorted dismissively and, once the blood draw was done, promptly called a robot to toss Ji Xi out of the lab.
Ji Xi was released.
He had initially thought this red-haired man was the legendary Ji family pharmacist.
But after hearing his words, he knew that wasn’t the case.
As someone who worked with medicine himself, Ji Xi realized they must have discovered his secret—hence all the blood they’d taken.
But what shocked him more was the redhead’s claim.
After some thought, he decided the man must be lying.
Because that was simply impossible.
His attention soon drifted elsewhere.
This lab was incredible…
Compared to this place, his own small lab, which he’d once been proud of, looked like a shabby hut.
All Ji Xi could see was: Money, money, money, money, money.
Everything here was top-tier. Whoever built this lab must have poured in an enormous amount of resources and care.
How nice…
Stuck in the Ji household with nothing to his name, he couldn’t escape, and no one paid him any attention.
He wondered how his mother was doing. Would she come to save him if she knew he’d been captured?
Ji Xi was terrified, but he refused to show weakness. Holding his head high, he blinked back tears and wandered aimlessly, pretending to be calm even though he had no idea where he was going.
Eventually, he spotted a small pavilion hidden among bamboo groves. Exhausted, overheated, and still shaken, he walked over without hesitation and plopped down inside.
He hadn’t been sitting long when footsteps approached in the distance.
His body tensed up again.
Fortunately, the person didn’t come closer, stopping instead near a bench not far away.
"Ji Nian, let your uncle see—where are you hurt?"
Ji Nian had originally come here for some quiet reading.
Her father had gone into a funk after her minor accident, and too many people were fussing over her, so she’d slipped away to review some documents Wei Yang had brought back from Crow’s side.
She hadn’t gotten far when Chen Mo suddenly appeared, startling her into hastily covering the papers with her summer homework.
"Uncle, what brings you here?"
How’d you even find me?
Chen Mo had rushed over, his fair cheeks flushed.
Since recovering from the poison and taking up the habit of beating up Ji Tingzhou, his health had improved drastically. Now he even dared to wear short sleeves. Kneeling beside Ji Nian, his soft black hair framing his delicate face, he looked youthful under the sunlight—almost too youthful.
Ji Nian couldn’t help but smile.
"No. 2 came by to deliver something and mentioned you were hurt, so I came right away."
"It’s nothing, Uncle. I just lost my balance and bumped into a table."
Chen Mo frowned. "How is that ‘nothing’?"
"What kind of lousy table dares to bump into our Ji Nian? I’ll chop it up for you."
Ji Nian: "……"
She was grown up now, yet Chen Mo still treated her like a child.
"Here, let me see your hand. It’s all red—does it still hurt? Want me to blow on it? You shouldn’t be reading when you’re hurt. Need me to turn the pages for you?"
Ji Nian politely declined. "No need, Uncle. Dad already blew on it for me."
He’d even offered to find someone to turn the pages for her…
What was wrong with these two?
Mentioning Ji Tingzhou made Chen Mo shake his head. "Your father’s hopeless. He’s been working you too hard lately."
"I bought you a horse ranch a while back and had them gather some fine young horses. Once things calm down, take your friends there to relax."
Knowing kids her age preferred hanging out with peers, Chen Mo thoughtfully didn’t suggest going with her himself.
But Ji Nian surprised him. "You should come too, Uncle. Let’s go together."
Hearing her invitation, Chen Mo’s eyes crinkled with joy, like clouds parting to reveal the moon. "Of course," he said softly.
Their conversation drifted on the breeze to Ji Xi’s ears.
Learning this was Ji Nian’s uncle, Ji Xi was puzzled—she had an uncle?
Hearing she’d been hurt made his chest tighten inexplicably, but knowing she was fine eased his tension.
A horse ranch… full of adorable little horses.
A spark of longing flickered in Ji Xi’s eyes.
He wanted to go too.
He’d never ridden a horse before.
After Chen Mo left, silence returned, but Ji Xi remained lost in thoughts of horseback riding.
A while later, he heard Ji Nian speak again.
"Huh? Uncle You Er, what are you doing here?"
When You Er first returned, Ji Nian had visited him in the hospital. He’d been frighteningly thin, and after hearing what he’d been through, she was grateful she’d sent help in time.
"I’m alright now."
You Er was still weak, but he wasn’t one to stay idle, especially with things weighing on his mind.
"These are for you. There were a lot of these flowers where I was hiding."
He remembered Ji Nian loved such things—she even had her own little flower garden.
It was rather amusing—in that moment, when she saw that box of flowers, her first thought was still whether Ji Nian would like them.
"Thank you, Uncle You Er."
She took the strangely colored little green flower handed to her by You Er and had only glanced at it twice when a sudden realization struck her.
[This isn’t a flower…]
Inside the pavilion, Ji Xi wanted to lean in for a closer look, but he didn’t dare, afraid of being discovered. Listening to their conversation, it never crossed his mind that they were actually talking about Crow’s laboratory.
This person didn’t seem to be Ji Nian’s relative, and the mention of hiding… sounded terrifying.
Even in such a situation, they still remembered to give Ji Nian flowers.
Like a little mouse sneaking a peek at someone else’s happiness, he pricked up his ears and listened intently, chattering away in his mind.
Unconsciously, he began making comparisons.
That intimidating Ji Tingzhou, who had accidentally pushed Ji Nian, had been so nervous it almost felt out of character.
The one who claimed to be Ji Nian’s uncle also cared deeply for her, even encouraging her to go out and have fun when he worried she might be feeling down.
Thinking about how he himself was confined to the laboratory day after day, studying tedious pharmaceutical knowledge, with only his mother occasionally stopping by to check on him…
Ji Xi didn’t quite understand this feeling, as if his heart had crumpled up.
And this stranger—who knew what his relationship with Ji Nian was—giving her flowers.
So, it was possible for someone to receive so much care?
Is this what care feels like?
He traced the characters for "care" on the chair with his finger.
Meanwhile, after You Er left, Ji Nian stared at the plant in her hand—its stem thin and short—before suddenly standing up.
[What’s wrong?]
The system yawned.
It had been keeping her company while she reviewed documents.
[I’m going to test the effects of this thing.]
Somehow, she had a premonition that it might come in handy…