Carrying his backpack on his shoulders, Ji Yan walked out of the barbershop and headed in the direction Chen Ye had driven off toward.
It was mentioned in the book that No. 1 High School was extremely close to both the Ji and Shen residences. Ji Yan’s insistence on having Chen Ye pick him up every day in a different luxury car was purely for the sake of showing off.
Although the sun was no longer blindingly intense, the lush green shade of the trees lining both sides of the road still couldn’t block out the oppressive heat radiating from the street. He hadn’t walked far before his short-sleeved school uniform was soaked with sweat.
The book’s descriptions of the luxurious surrounding facilities of the two residences were very detailed, making it easy for Ji Yan to find his way home.
Ji Estate.
Seeing the two gilded words engraved beside the grand iron gate, Ji Yan knew he had arrived at his home.
However, after the security guard opened the gate for him, he almost thought he was stepping into a beautifully landscaped park.
Walking down a stone path lined with green pines on both sides, a three-story villa came into view. Ji Yan stopped for a long moment, psyching himself up before pushing open the dark red courtyard door to step inside.
The courtyard spanned several hundred square meters. The stone path leading to the villa was interrupted by a garden, in the middle of which stood a vintage French-style fountain. Clear, crisp fountain water flowed, trickling down into the basin below.
When Ji Yan walked into the living room, Sang Yingxia was sitting on the sofa chatting on the phone with her best friend.
Is this reliable… Investing eight hundred thousand upfront? Well, that’s not too much…
The woman’s soft, glossy chestnut curls fell onto her shoulders, and her dark green silk robe set off her skin as white as jade. Without looking closely, one could hardly spot the subtle traces of time at the corners of her eyes.
His memory of his mother had remained stuck in his childhood; he only vaguely remembered that his mother was a long-haired woman who loved to smile. Yet, her facial features in his memories were always covered by a layer of fog, making them impossible to see clearly.
When she saw Ji Yan, Sang Yingxia’s eyes lit up immediately.
I’ll talk to you later; my son is back!
She got up and jogged over to Ji Yan, cupping his shoulders with a face full of admiration: Son, how did you change your hairstyle? This short haircut suits you so well!
Ji Yan smiled and touched his hair: I think so too. The previous one was too outdated; it was ruining my good looks a bit.
Sang Yingxia was in disbelief; her son was actually willing to joke around with her!
They say middle school kids have the worst rebellious phase, but she felt her son had stayed rebellious all the way into high school, and his temper had gotten worse and worse. She was usually terrified that any word she said might set him off, so she only picked pleasant things to say. Even so, Ji Yan would explode at the slightest provocation.
She gently and carefully touched Ji Yan’s hair, saying with deep relief: Exactly! My son is so handsome; he should definitely wear a clean, refreshing haircut like this!
As she spoke, she noticed the bulging backpack behind Ji Yan.
Why are you carrying this yourself? Where’s Old Chen?
Oh, I went to get a haircut, so I told Uncle Chen to come back first.
Unexpectedly, Sang Yingxia’s brow furrowed slightly.
Not knowing if he had said something wrong, Ji Yan explained: I really made him leave first…
Who would have thought that in the next second, Sang Yingxia hugged him tightly, her heart aching for him: Son, you’ve grown up.
Ji Yan: …
It’s just carrying a backpack myself; is it really that serious…
By the way, aren’t you going out tonight? Do you have enough money to spend?
In truth, she disliked Ji Yan hanging out at nightclubs with his friends every weekend. However, since the kid was grown up now, she believed in guiding rather than blocking; at least that way, their parent-child relationship wouldn’t become so strained.
Ji Yan thought of the nightclub location sent from the group chat named Bed Affairs Research Institute.
The original owner of this body usually fooled around with those few people, wasting no telling how much money.
I won’t go tonight. I want to stay home longer.
The woman froze for a moment, and then her eyes softened so much it looked like water melting. She reached out her arms again and pulled Ji Yan into an embrace: Alright!
Darling, what do you want to eat? I’ll have Auntie Zhao make it for you!
Feeling the warmth of the hug and catching a faint whiff of perfume on her, Ji Yan felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.
Anything is fine.
Sang Yingxia immediately called Auntie Zhao over in high spirits, drew up a menu, and told her to go buy the groceries accordingly.
It just so happens that Xiao Que is coming over for dinner today too. You two haven’t eaten together in a while, right?
Shen Que? Is he coming too?
Sang Yingxia found it quite odd. Her son usually loved clinging to Shen Que, so why didn’t he sound happy upon hearing this news today?
Did you two get into a conflict?
Ji Yan hurriedly shook his head: No, no! I just found it a bit strange that he’d suddenly visit.
Reasonably speaking, Shen Que should be avoiding him like the plague.
He comes over often; it’s just that you happen to be away most of the time.
Hearing this, Ji Yan let out a dry laugh.
It wasn’t a coincidence at all; that guy definitely specifically picked times when I wasn’t home to visit.
Sang Yingxia was overly enthusiastic and wanted to drag him into talking a bit longer, but Ji Yan was afraid of slipping up and exposing himself, so he simply used an excuse to head upstairs.
There were four or five rooms on the second floor. He pushed open the door to the first room; it was a storage room filled with a piano, a drum kit, and many other musical instruments, looking as if no one had touched them in a long time.
Adjacent to the storage room was a rather luxuriously decorated gaming room equipped with all kinds of gaming gear. He walked in slowly and flipped on the switch; metallic textures and sci-fi light effects instantly intertwined.
A wide leather sofa, a giant projector screen, and a wall full of collectible figurines.
Ji Yan couldn’t imagine how much all of this cost.
It wasn’t until he pushed open the third door that Ji Yan found his bedroom. The moment he stepped inside, he was stunned; the area of this bedroom was actually larger than his entire previous rented apartment.
He changed into slippers, threw his backpack onto the sofa, and walked across the cream-white wool carpet to a custom walk-in closet. The motion-sensor LED strips slowly lit up, making the whole room appear high-end and luxurious.
Against the wall stood a full set of custom cabinets displaying watches, bags, and various accessories, all of which looked extremely valuable.
As Ji Yan wandered around, he began calculating how much money he could get if he sold all of these.
Before he could explore enough, Sang Yingxia called his phone.
Son, come down to eat! Xiao Que is here too!
Dinner was exceptionally lavish, featuring many dishes Ji Yan had never tasted before.
Lychee shrimp balls, Huadiao drunken crab, almond tofu, crab powder lion’s head meatballs… Auntie Zhao brought out another large bowl of hot soup from the kitchen.
Try this lotus seed and old duck soup. I got the duck from my hometown, and the lotus seeds were freshly picked from the river; it’s extremely flavorful!
Shen Que handed the oyster omelet and steamed reeves shad he bought from Yuyuan to Auntie Zhao, asking her to reheat them.
Seeing Ji Yan come downstairs, Sang Yingxia greeted him warmly and invited him to sit: Come, sit with Xiao Que.
Sitting at the dining table, when Shen Que raised his face to look at Ji Yan on the stairs, a trace of shock flickered in the depths of his eyes, which was instantly covered up by the smile rippling at the corners of his mouth.
Got a haircut? He spoke with caring concern like a neighborly big brother once Ji Yan sat down beside him.
Ji Yan also put on a forced smile: Yeah.
His mind wasn’t actually on Shen Que at the moment.
He hadn’t eaten lunch at school and was starving, but it wasn’t polite to start eating first, so he could only pick up the cup beside him and take a sip of water.
It looks very nice.
Ji Yan nearly spat out his mouthful of water in shock. Turning his head, he saw Shen Que’s genuine and gentle smile, which gave him a full set of goosebumps.
As expected of the protagonist, his psychological strength is truly beyond that of ordinary people. He can actually give a compliment to someone he dislikes so much.
Ah… thanks. Ji Yan responded awkwardly.
Auntie Zhao brought out the reheated dishes, then picked up a ladle to serve soup for both Ji Yan and Shen Que.
Studying is hard work for you boys; drink more soup to build up your strength.
Shen Que took the soup and thanked her. Just as Auntie Zhao was about to serve Ji Yan another bowl, the ladle was snatched away by a hand.
It’s alright, it’s alright, I’ll do it myself.
Ever since he was little, his grandmother had taught him that when visiting someone’s house as a guest, he had to be proactive and helpful, rather than letting elders bustle about while he sat there idly.
Auntie Zhao’s hand froze in mid-air, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Just yesterday, when serving a dish, her hand had accidentally knocked off Ji Yan’s chopsticks. She was just about to pick them up to wash them clean, but Ji Yan snatched them back with a face full of disgust and threw the chopsticks straight into the trash can.
Was this kid… disgusted that she had touched the ladle?
She explained awkwardly: Young Master, I washed my hands several times; they aren’t dirty!
Ji Yan didn’t expect her to think of it that way. Even more anxious to explain than she was, he said: I don’t think you’re dirty at all! I was just afraid you’d be tired!
Auntie Zhao clearly didn’t quite believe him, still wearing a fearful and unsettled expression on her face. Helpless, Ji Yan handed the soup bowl in his hands over to her.
Please don’t keep bustling about either. Hurry and sit down to eat with us.
Looking at the soup bowl he handed over, Auntie Zhao didn’t know whether to take it or not, so she could only look toward Sang Yingxia helplessly.
Watching Ji Yan suddenly know how to be considerate of others, Sang Yingxia was touched beyond belief and hurriedly said: It’s Xiao Yan’s thoughtful gesture; sit down and eat together with us.
Only then did Auntie Zhao take the bowl: Alright, thank you, Young Master!
Taking the bowl, she sat down a short distance away from them.
Shen Que had been watching Ji Yan’s performance the entire time. He then picked up a pair of serving chopsticks and placed a piece of fish into Ji Yan’s bowl.
This piece is the tenderest.
Ji Yan knew he intended to play the role of the good neighborly big brother to the very end. Thus, he immediately put on a sweet smile, turned around, and placed a lychee shrimp ball into Shen Que’s bowl.
This one is the roundest.
Shen Que: …