Rong Yu sat in the back seat, feeling the breeze from the window, her mood slightly somber.
Being with Tang Che, she could keenly sense a heavy aura of aging surrounding him. No matter how desperately he wished to live, time had little left to offer him.
She turned her head and looked at Yingbao sitting beside her.
His hair was stark white, his face lined with wrinkles. Even though Yingbao’s health had improved recently, it couldn’t change the fact that he was a seventy-eight-year-old man.
The mere thought that one day, Yingbao would inevitably leave her sent an indescribable suffocating pain through her heart...
“What’s wrong?” Old Master Ji leaned closer. “Are you feeling unwell?”
Rong Yu shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
There was no need to grieve over something that hadn’t happened yet. Being able to cherish the time they had now was already a blessing from the heavens.
The car soon stopped at the entrance of the estate.
As soon as she stepped out, Rong Yu heard Nanny Zhang’s scolding voice.
“He Jingchuan, how many times have I told you not to provoke the Ji family? Why must you be so disobedient? Do I have to yell at you for you to listen?”
Nanny Zhang’s chest heaved with anger.
He Jingchuan pressed his lips together, trying to explain. “I didn’t provoke the Fourth Young Master. I was just—”
“Enough! Stop making excuses!” Nanny Zhang coldly cut him off. “Apologize to the Fourth Young Master right now!”
Ji Liuguang was furious.
He had merely been taking a stroll in the backyard when he somehow fell into a large pit, covering himself in mud.
“Fourth Young Master, I didn’t mean to,” He Jingchuan said, lowering his head. “Old Master instructed me to save this orchid. The soil in the pot wasn’t suitable, so I needed to replace it with richer soil. That’s why I dug a pit in the garden. I even put up a warning sign...”
“So, you’re saying it’s my fault for not seeing it? That I shouldn’t blame you?” Ji Liuguang jabbed a finger into his chest. “I was going to let it slide out of respect for Nanny Zhang, but—”
Nanny Zhang immediately interjected, “Fourth Young Master, punish him however you see fit. Consider it helping me discipline my unruly son. If only my son were half as obedient and sensible as you, I wouldn’t have to worry so much...”
He Jingchuan clenched his fists.
He had been living independently since he was four—cooking for himself, going to school, working part-time jobs since middle school, and supporting himself through high school. Was that not enough to be considered “well-behaved”?
Just because Ji Liuguang bore the Ji surname, did that make even a pile of dog dung seem noble?
“What’s that look in your eyes?!” Ji Liuguang was stung by the disdain in He Jingchuan’s gaze. He raised his hand and slapped him hard across the face. “This is for Nanny Zhang—to teach her useless son a lesson! Couldn’t even get into college, stuck farming in the countryside, forcing Nanny Zhang to work as a servant at her age!”
The sting on He Jingchuan’s face burned, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
After finishing middle school, his mother had refused to let him continue his education. It was only with the help of relatives that his tuition was paid, while he worked odd jobs to cover his living expenses.
Despite all that, he had managed to get accepted into Haicheng University. Just as his teachers were celebrating his achievement, his mother threw his admission letter into the stove.
She forbade him from attending university.
The argument had escalated—his mother even threatened to drown herself.
In the end, he had given in.
Not being able to go to college remained the deepest regret of his life.
Ji Liuguang raised his hand again. “The second slap is for—”
Before he could finish, his wrist was seized in an iron grip.
He turned his head and met a pair of cold, piercing eyes—Rong Yu’s.
The Ji family descended from scholars, a lineage of refined intellect and grace. Every member of the Ji family carried at least a baseline of gentleness and magnanimity, their bones steeped in innate kindness.
But this Fourth Young Master?
Not a shred of goodness in him.
His eyes brimmed with nothing but malice.
He didn’t resemble a Ji at all.
Then again, even the finest bamboo grove could sprout a rotten shoot.
Rong Yu flung his hand away with such force that he staggered, nearly falling if not for Nanny Zhang catching him.
Nanny Zhang bowed her head. “Old Master, Miss Rong.”
Old Master Ji’s face was livid. “Liuguang, have you no shame? How could you hit someone?”
“The Fourth Young Master was just disciplining Jingchuan for me,” Nanny Zhang hurriedly explained. “Jingchuan is the same age as the Fourth Young Master, yet he’s not even worth a fraction of him. I thought if the Fourth Young Master could guide him, Jingchuan might improve...”
Rong Yu nearly laughed in disbelief.
Her voice was icy. “You’re dismissed. Leave.”
Nanny Zhang’s head snapped up. “Miss Rong, I—I—”
“Did you not hear her?” Old Master Ji’s voice was frigid, his eyes blazing.
Not daring to say another word, Nanny Zhang cast a worried glance at Ji Liuguang before reluctantly stepping aside.
Ji Liuguang was also intimidated, but he believed he hadn’t done anything wrong this time.
“Now I understand why you’ve turned out like this,” Rong Yu said coldly. “Seems like these four years abroad, Nanny Zhang has been filling your head with nonsense. She has no place in the Ji family anymore.”
“What did you just say?” Ji Liuguang’s eyes widened. “Since when does an outsider like you decide what happens in the Ji family? I tolerated you out of respect for saving Old Master, but if you think you can boss us around, I’ll be the first to throw you out—”
Slap!
Old Master Ji struck him across the face.
Ji Liuguang clutched his cheek, his eyes reddening.
He had only been home for two days after four years away, and already, he’d been slapped twice.
The incident with the glass the other day—fine, he’d been wrong to scare Duoduo. She was family, after all.
But now? He Jingchuan was just a servant’s son, practically a servant himself. What was wrong with disciplining a servant?
Why did Old Master have to look at him with such disappointment?
“I’ve been out there begging favors to pave your way, and here you are, lording over others like some tyrant!” Old Master Ji’s hands trembled with rage. “He Jingchuan isn’t a servant—he’s a guest I invited to tend to the flowers! Have you forgotten every last bit of the Ji family’s teachings?”
His face was flushed, veins bulging at his temples.
Rong Yu quickly called out, “Steward Yu, bring the medicine, hurry!”
But Ji Liuguang showed no concern for Old Master’s condition. Instead, he shouted in indignation, “You’d humiliate me like this for an outsider? Do you even see me as your grandson? If the Ji family doesn’t want me, then fine—I’ll leave! Don’t expect me to come back, even if you beg—”
Rong Yu’s gaze darkened.
Yingbao was so furious his blood pressure spiked, nearly passing out. Any decent person would have stopped making a scene.
But Ji Liuguang?
Not a shred of consideration.
He hurled the most hurtful words, turned on his heel, and stormed off—kicking over a flowerpot on his way out.
He Jingchuan rushed to Steward Yu, took the medicine, and swiftly helped Old Master Ji take it.
“Go ahead, leave,” Old Master Ji said through gritted teeth. “But don’t you dare come back. As far as I’m concerned, I no longer have a grandson like you!”
"You can leave, but before you do, return everything that belongs to the Ji family," Rong Yu said coldly, gently patting Old Master Ji's back. "The Ji family raised you for over twenty years. We don’t expect repayment, but from now on, don’t even think about touching a single thing that belongs to us."
Ji Liuguang let out a mocking laugh. "Who do you think you are? Since when do you have the right to speak here?"
"So be it," Old Master Ji declared, his voice heavy with disappointment. "If you want to cut ties with the Ji family, then make it clean—leave nothing behind."
