Old Master Ji's face was stern.
"It was him who incited his fans to cyberbully your Great-grandmother first. Now that he's facing backlash, it serves him right."
"At a time like this, he should reflect on himself and make amends instead of threatening suicide to gain your sympathy."
"Besides, if he swallowed sleeping pills, he should go to the hospital. What good would coming to you do?"
Ji Yanting pressed his lips together. "He's still a public figure. Being photographed at the hospital wouldn't look good. I happen to know a private doctor..."
It was only then that Ji Zhouye realized that while he'd been gaming all day, his Great-grandmother had been besieged by thousands of netizens online.
Zhou Yachen—he knew this guy.
Once, when his second brother was filming in Haicheng, he'd visited the set and run into Zhou Yachen. They'd even played a few rounds of games together.
Back then, that guy had kept calling his second brother "gege" in a sickeningly sweet tone, leaving him feeling sour.
He immediately pulled out his phone, opened the game app, glanced at it, and cursed under his breath before handing it over. "Isn't he supposedly dying from swallowing sleeping pills? Yet he's still online gaming. What admirable dedication."
Ji Yanting's eyes turned icy.
At this point, no matter how you spun it, Zhou Yachen had brought this upon himself.
The only reason he was willing to protect him was out of gratitude for the kindness Zhou Yachen's late mother had once shown him.
He sat down. "Let's eat."
Rong Yu remained expressionless throughout. As long as it didn't affect her or her family, most things didn't bother her.
After dinner, she returned to her room to work on her project.
Her involvement in aerospace was still shallow, so she started by reviewing research papers online.
Next door, Ji Yanting was playing chess with Old Master Ji.
He was usually swamped with work and rarely had time to come home. Now that he was back, he wanted to make the most of it by spending time with his family.
"A-Yan, now that you've won lifetime achievement awards in film, television, and music, isn't it time to retire?" Old Master Ji said. "I'm gradually stepping back from Ji Group. You need to return and help your eldest brother manage the family business."
Ji Zhouye, lounging nearby while gaming, chimed in, "Let Second Brother stay in the industry a few more years. When Great-grandmother officially debuts, he can protect her."
"Good point, good point." Old Master Ji nodded repeatedly. "Aye, you've finally said something smart for once. In that case, since you're familiar with the entertainment industry, why don't you take over Ji's Entertainment for now?"
Ji Yanting shook his head. "I'm preparing an exhibition. Let's discuss this again in a few months."
Ji Zhouye grinned smugly. "If the company's really short-handed, I could step in—"
Old Master Ji glared at him. "Focus on getting into university first."
Ji Zhouye's smile vanished instantly.
Given his grades, getting into university would be harder than reaching the heavens.
Before the chess game could conclude, Ji Yanting's phone buzzed again.
He glanced at the screen—Zhou Yachen's manager. He declined the call.
But the manager stubbornly kept calling.
Ji Yanting hesitated, looking at Old Master Ji.
The old man sighed.
The year Ji Yanting's mother passed away, he'd been eight or nine—old enough to understand loss but still a child drowning in grief.
Hadn't he been the same at eight, when he lost his own mother?
A child deprived of maternal love would cling to even the faintest resemblance of it... He couldn't blame A-Yan for that.
Older children, like Yuan, could grow up quickly after losing their parents.
Younger ones, like Aye, barely remembered their parents' faces and thus didn't grieve.
Old Master Ji stood. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
Ji Yanting picked up his phone and stepped out onto the garden balcony to answer.
"Mr. Yan, Yachen is awake now. He's in the bathtub trying to slit his wrists. If you have time, please come over. I can't talk him out of it..."
Ji Yanting's voice was cold. "If he'd listened to me and publicly apologized to Rong Yu, none of this would've happened. Adults must face the consequences of their actions."
The manager had put the call on speaker.
Ji Yanting's detached tone reached Zhou Yachen's ears clearly.
He was indeed in the bathtub—sipping red wine and playing games, planning to splash the wine into the water when Ji Yanting arrived to stage a dramatic scene...
Who would've thought Ji Yanting had no intention of coming at all?
He tossed his phone aside and beckoned. The manager hurriedly handed his own phone over.
"Ge, I'm in so much pain. I took half a bottle of sleeping pills, but I still didn't die. If I had, I wouldn't have to deal with this mess... I could've seen my mom again..." Zhou Yachen's voice cracked. "Ge, you remember my mom, don't you? That month before you started filming, you stayed at our place to bond with her. She made you breakfast every morning, mended your clothes, took you on boat rides, to the movies, to amusement parks... Do you remember?"
Ji Yanting's gaze darkened.
Back then, he'd only been a teenager in high school.
With Old Master Ji and his eldest brother both busy, the neglected boy had found a sense of home with the Zhou family.
He cherished those memories from the filming days.
After the woman who played his mother passed away, those recollections took on a golden hue, becoming even more precious.
"If Mom knew how badly netizens were bullying me, she'd be heartbroken..." Zhou Yachen sobbed. "Ge, I know I was wrong. Please, just help me this once?"
After a long pause, Ji Yanting said, "I'll handle the PR fallout. For now, stay out of the public eye. Join an acting workshop and focus on improving your craft."
"I'll listen to you, Ge."
Hanging up, Ji Yanting pinched the bridge of his nose.
He called his assistant. "Spend whatever it takes to suppress the trending topic. Have all the negative posts deleted—"
Before he could finish, a pink-streaked head popped into view. "Second Brother, you're hilarious."
Ji Zhouye leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Zhou Yachen incited his fans to cyberbully Great-grandmother and slander the Ji family. Someone like that deserves to be crushed. Yet here you are, digging into your own pockets to save him... Great-grandmother might be above it all, but Old Master Ji isn't. Tch, I'm telling him."
"Stop."
Ji Yanting halted him.
"What will it take to keep your mouth shut?"
Before Ji Zhouye could refuse, Ji Yanting continued, "Is a million enough? Two million?"
Ji Zhouye: "..."
Was he the kind of person who'd bend for money?
"Five million is my final offer." Ji Yanting pulled out a card. "Take it and seal those lips of yours. If not, I'll go confess to Old Master Ji myself."
"Deal!"
Hesitating even a second would've been an insult to money.
Ji Zhouye snatched the card and bolted.
Ji Yanting shook his head and resumed his calls, cleaning up the online dumpster fire.
