During this segment of time, countless friends offered their condolences and extended invites to Jing Xi, yet he simply declined them for the time being. Rolling up his sleeves, he got his hands dirty as he planted several shrubs in his garden, as well as instilling the travel ads through different ways into the wolflings every day.
As Jing Xi predicted, the scumbag had actually gone to the Jin family’s residence. Despite his efforts, it was a shame that Jin Yumeng had left for her trip as soon as she was done talking with Jing Xi. As such, he could only drink himself into a stupor. As for his future love rival, the male lead finally wrapped up his work and was just about to head out with his childhood friends to have some fun.
That night, Jing Xi received a video call from Duan Chi.
He accepted the call, only to see the CEO sitting in his study and was clad in his loungewear.
Noticing Jing Xi was dressed in his sleepwear, Duan Chi asked, “Hope I’m not disturbing you?”
Jing Xi responded, “No, you aren’t. What’s up?”
Duan Chi queried, “I’m just curious whether you have any plans for the upcoming weeks?”
Jing Xi replied, “Not at the moment. I’m probably just gonna be staying home to do some gardening, look after my fish, and ponder about life.”
A ripple of astonishment disturbed his expression. “Don’t tell me you wish to arrange another meet up so soon?”
Only then did Duan Chi come to realize that Jing Xi was unwilling to meet up with him again. With a tinge of sorrow, he answered, “No, it’s just that my nephew is a Lupinus Mutant, and he’s planning to go on a trip these few days. Just to be safe, I thought I’d better run it by you.”
It was not difficult to read between the lines, so Jing Xi reassured, “I won’t be heading out any time soon, so let him have his fun.”
Duan Chi stated, “Alright.”
Jing Xi prompted, “That’s it, then. I’ll be heading to bed.”
Duan Chi wondered, “So early?”
Jing Xi commented, “Yes, having an early bedtime is good for your health. So I suggest you shouldn’t stay up late so often. Alright, I gotta go.”
To think that a Class-S genius was actually leading a healthy lifestyle… With that in mind, Duan Chi gave a throaty laugh. On the other hand, the three wolfings, who were currently seated on the sofa, could not help but shudder at the sound of his laughter.
Perplexed, the three wolflings could not determine whether that glance was a sign that they could head out to have fun. Just as they were about to ask, they heard him speak with a curious drawl, “If I were to… send him a pot of flowers, do you think he’ll accept it?”
“…” After a brief pause, the three wolflings cursed inwardly, ‘How the hell should we know?!’
Fortunately, Duan Chi no longer dwelled on this question as he waved his hand, signaling for them to take their leave.
Making their way out of the study, a grimace of pain contorted the three wolflings’ faces as they lamented inwardly, ‘Uncle is no longer the same person anymore! Is ‘that scent’ really so terrifying that even their incredible uncle has ended up in this state?!’
One of them questioned, “Do you guys reckon that… this thing will change people’s brains?”
In a split second, the three of them shuddered once more and exchanged looks for a moment. Ashen-faced and visibly shaken, they clutched at one another for support while making their way out of the vicinity. “We can make some prayers to the sacred tree at the place we’re traveling to. May it bless us with a lifetime of abstinence…”
On the other side, Jing Xi learned that the three wolflings had set off on their trip in the early morning as soon as he roused from his slumber.
Patiently, he kicked his heels at the house, only to receive the dandies’ greetings. Due to his perfunctory response that he required one more day to calm down, the dandies were worried that he might become depressed from locking himself in his mansion. That was why they would take some time to contact him at least once every day, in hopes of getting him out of his house.
After numerous attempts, he exhaled softly and finally acquiesced to their wishes, revealing that he wished to go away on vacation.
On seeing this, the dandies expressed immediate readiness to accompany him to his destination and quickly gathered people for the group vacation. As a result of his inducements, everyone eventually agreed to travel to the city where the male and female leads were currently visiting. Without further ado, they boarded the plane and made their way there.
Meanwhile, System marked the male and female leads’ exact locations at his behest. “You have 3 days in total since the female lead intends to return home the day before the start of university. In this case, we can always ‘bump into’ the female lead first before pulling her in the male lead’s direction. But keep in mind that you must keep your distance from the male lead and his friends, so they would not smell your blood first.”
In his mind, Jing Xi noticed the two marks on the map were relatively close to each other.
Out of a sudden, an arm draped itself around his shoulder.
Several dandies were currently discussing and researching where they should have a scrumptious meal. At the mention of a renowned restaurant, the image of a certain individual sprung to mind — Duan Chi.
“Based on the direction you took previously, you would have to pass by their branch. So did you manage to see CEO Duan?” One of the dandies gossiped, “Recently, I read somewhere online that his bracelet began ringing halfway through his meal that day.” This story is hosted at novelping dot com.
Jing Xi questioned, “Is that so?”
“Yep, he even mentioned that he managed to take a photo of them leaving the restaurant. Yet, the image has mysteriously disappeared.” Lowering his voice, the dandy’s voice added, “They are suspecting that either the original poster might have just been spouting nonsense, or Duan Chi actually had a hacker remove it. However, I still believe that one can’t simply utilize science to understand the subtleties of the Celestial Lupin Clan’s blood pact. Seeing how impeccable CEO Duan’s prowess is, would you say that… he is somewhat proficient in Neo-Taoism[1] and pulled it off by tapping on some mysterious power?”
The moment the words left his mouth, both Jing Xi and the primary offender of these neo-Taoist events, System, lapsed into silence.
Even so, Jing Xi deemed these friends of his somewhat gifted as humor curled at the corner of his lips. “I guess it’s possible…”
Duan Chi, who was regarded to be “proficient in Neo-Taoism,” was attending a business summit at the time of their discussion. His countenance, as always, was void of all expression, yet his heart was wrenched by thoughts of how to invite a certain individual out.
He remained silent for a long time as a plethora of thoughts flashed across his mind. From the sidelines, a business owner’s voice resounded, outlining the recent matters that had befallen the Yi family. It appeared that President Yi had fallen out with his eldest son, so his face was always contorted into a dark scowl as of late. Before long, he described how impetuous youngsters these days were before touching on President Yi’s unfilial son and how infuriating it was that he had dragged others out to have fun.
Without a moment’s delay, he could not refrain from querying more about it, only to discover that they had hopped onto an aircraft and left for their vacation on this very day. After two seconds of silence, he began sending a certain individual messages, asking for his current location.
[Jing Xi: What?]
[Duan Chi: I heard you’ve headed out for a vacation.]
On seeing that, System screeched, “You must never divulge your destination to him!”
As it said so, something took root in its mind —‘Now that Duan Chi is aware of him going on a vacation, it is just a matter of time before he figures out his destination.’ Suffice to say, its thoughts had indeed pushed System into the trough of despair. “At this rate, Duan Chi would surely call away the male lead. No, this is the end now! We are done for! Are you certain you do not wish to enter a blood pact?”
Drafting out his reply to Duan Chi, Jing Xi muttered offhandedly, “What are you fretting for? Doesn’t a Feeding Frenzy occur when there are more than two Lupinus Mutants in the vicinity? If worse comes to worst, I can always traverse the area slightly further up from the male lead and his childhood friends before leading them around the city in the female lead’s direction. When the male lead stops to search for her, I’ll just have to ensure the other two continue their pursuit of me.”
Upon hearing such an utterance, System was left bereft of speech. ‘How deranged must you be to have conceived such an idea?!’
[1] 玄学: Also known as Neo-Daoism, Neo-Taoism is a Chinese metaphysical philosophy that dates back to the Six Dynasties. It basically involves theories developed from reinterpreting both the Taoism and Confucian ideals on society. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanxue