“Yeah, a little.” Shen Li looked at him.
His stomach had already felt uncomfortable when he went out to eat, and after drinking quite a bit of red wine, the burning sensation grew worse.
“Hospital.” Ji Zhouye didn’t give him a chance to refuse and led him straight toward the parking lot.
On the way to the hospital, Shen Li leaned back against the seat, frowning slightly.
The pain intensified. His bangs were soaked with sweat.
It hurt on normal days too, but it had never been this bad.
Ji Zhouye raised the partition inside the car, tension he’d never shown before creasing his brow. “Does it hurt a lot?”
“It’s okay.”
“Do you know which part of your body is the hardest?” Ji Zhouye asked.
Shen Li looked at him. “President Ji, I’m already like this—can you focus on driving?”
Ji Zhouye: “……”
“I meant your mouth. What were you thinking of?”
Shen Li: “……”
Left speechless, he replied, “I was talking about teeth. Teeth are the hardest part of the human body. President Ji doesn’t know that?”
“We’ll find out tonight.”
Shen Li: “……”
This man’s head was full of filthy thoughts.
At the hospital.
After the examination, the doctor gave some instructions.
“No smoking, no drinking. Eat on time. If you keep ignoring proper meals, your body will be ruined. Take your medicine as prescribed.”
Shen Li responded obediently.
The doctor had seen plenty of patients like Shen Li and could easily tell he was being perfunctory. Turning to the man standing behind him, the doctor asked, “What are you to him?”
Ji Zhouye parted his lips slightly. “A friend.”
“This young man doesn’t look like someone who knows how to take care of himself,” the doctor said. “Since you’re his friend, keep an eye on him. He’s still young—if he ruins his body now, he’ll regret it later.”
“Understood,” Ji Zhouye replied.
After taking the medicine, the pain eased considerably. Shen Li followed Ji Zhouye out of the hospital.
“I’ll transfer the money to you tomorrow,” Ji Zhouye said. “Starting today, you’ll live at my place.”
“Got it.”
“From now on, I want to see you every night before ten. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself.”
Shen Li: “……”
There’s even a curfew…
He went back to the estate with Ji Zhouye. He’d thought it would be a sleepless night, but unexpectedly, Ji Zhouye didn’t do anything. He just poured him a cup of hot water and left.
Shen Li was sensitive to beds. In a strange environment, he couldn’t quite get used to it.
But whether he was used to it or not didn’t matter. He’d signed away his freedom—he had no choice.
Still, with these ten billion, Jiangqing’s finances could finally stabilize. It wouldn’t return to the level it had reached when his father was alive, but at least it could stand firm, no longer teetering on the edge of bankruptcy every day.
The next morning, seven o’clock.
Shen Li was about to head to the company when he was stopped just as he reached the first floor.
“Eat the breakfast on the table,” Ji Zhouye said, sitting on the sofa with his long legs crossed.
“I don’t have a habit of eating breakfast.”
“Hmm?” Ji Zhouye’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously.
“I’ll eat.”
How could he disobey his sugar daddy? Shen Li walked over, sat down on the carpet beside him, took a couple of sips of porridge, then looked at him. “Aren’t you eating?”
“Already did.”
“Oh.”
After finishing breakfast, Shen Li stood up to clear the dishes.
“No need.” Ji Zhouye placed the medicine in front of him, his tone leaving no room for refusal. “Take it.”
Shen Li glanced at the medicine, then at Ji Zhouye. “Did something short-circuit in your brain?”
Ji Zhouye: “……”
It slipped out before Shen Li could stop himself—and he immediately regretted it.
He grabbed the pills, shoved them into his mouth without water, and said awkwardly, “Uh… I’m leaving.”
The bitterness spread across his tongue. He frowned as he swallowed.
He had no idea what was wrong with Ji Zhouye today.
“Wait.” Ji Zhouye tossed him a set of car keys. “Drive me to the office.”
Shen Li: “……”
So now he wasn’t just a lover—he was also a chauffeur.
At the company, Ji Zhouye got out of the car.
“Have a good day, President Ji.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Zhouye tapped on the car window. Shen Li rolled it down. “Yes, President Ji?”
“Pick me up at five sharp.”
Shen Li: “……”
Congratulations—chauffeur position officially unlocked.
Shen Li drove Ji Zhouye’s Maybach to his own company. When Ling Feng saw Shen Li get out from the driver’s seat, his jaw practically hit the floor.
After locking the car, Ling Feng circled it once. “Boss, you changed cars?”
“It’s not mine.” Shen Li patted the car body. This Maybach was leagues ahead of the one he’d been driving. He had to admit—current Ji Zhouye was far beyond him.
Times really do change.
“Not yours?” Ling Feng looked even more shocked. “This thing costs at least tens of millions. In Jiangcheng, anyone who casually lets someone else drive a car like this—what kind of background do they have?” He lowered his voice. “Boss, are you being kept?”
Shen Li’s eyelid twitched. Was it that obvious?
“Which rich lady?” Ling Feng asked.
Shen Li: “……”
He shot Ling Feng a glare, and Ling Feng immediately shut up. “Meeting at nine.”
Before heading upstairs, Ling Feng couldn’t resist touching the Maybach again. Even touching it once in this lifetime was worth it.
Thinking of something, he sighed. Why hadn’t a rich lady kept him?
“Boss, am I ugly?”
Shen Li: “……”
“Not ugly, right?”
“Then am I handsome? Could I charm a rich lady? Do you think my life has a shortcut? I have a bad stomach—I want to live off someone else.”
The elevator doors opened. Shen Li glanced at him and smacked the back of his head. “Stop daydreaming. Get ready for the meeting.”
That slap woke Ling Feng right up.
With the ten billion in operating capital, the crisis passed, and all projects resumed normal operation.
After the meeting, Shen Li stayed in his office, reworking the business plan. He wanted to repay Ji Zhouye the full amount—with interest—as quickly as possible.
Now that Jiangqing had survived its hardest moment, he could finally breathe a little.
But compared to Jiangqing’s crisis, Ji Zhouye was harder to deal with. Shen Li couldn’t read his thoughts at all.
At lunchtime, Ling Feng came in to say someone was looking for him downstairs. Shen Li told him to let the person come up.
It was Ji Zhouye’s assistant, carrying a lunchbox. “President Shen, it’s time for lunch.”
Shen Li: “……”
Did he really look like someone who couldn’t afford to eat?
He took the lunchbox. “Thanks.”
The assistant smiled. “President Shen, I’ll watch you eat.”
“……”
With no choice, Shen Li sat down on the lounge sofa and started eating. He asked, “What’s your name?”
“Song Yan.”
“When did you start following Ji—” Shen Li paused. “—President Ji?”
“Less than a year.”
Shen Li ate absentmindedly, deliberately or unintentionally probing for information about Ji Zhouye.
Song Yan didn’t dodge any questions—he answered whatever was asked.
Shen Li thought it would end after the meal and Song Yan would leave to report back, but instead, Song Yan handed him another box of medicine. “Take your medicine, then I’ll go.”
It was the stomach medicine prescribed by the doctor.
Shen Li popped the pills into his mouth, took a sip of water, and swallowed. Only then did Song Yan leave.
As Song Yan was leaving, Ling Feng happened to walk in. His gaze lingered briefly on Song Yan before they brushed past each other.
“Looks kind of familiar,” Ling Feng said, looking at Shen Li curled up on the sofa. “Boss, who was that?”
“My creditor’s assistant.”
“So the ten billion our company got came like this?” Ling Feng asked.
“Yeah.”
“I thought you were really being kept, boss.”
Shen Li: “……”