“Babe, is that what you call not stirring up trouble?”
[Jing Xi: Yeah, I happened to perceive purple air from the east[1] when I awoke this morning. In a blink of an eye, I garnered enlightenment that allowed me to elucidate new insights on life.]
[Duan Chi: What?]
[Jing Xi: I believe one should venture outdoors more often.]
On seeing that, Duan Chi was rendered speechless.
Without giving him a chance to send a response, Jing Xi carried on to explain.
[Jing Xi: The crux of the issue is that my friends are far too warm-hearted and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Anyway, you have nothing to worry about since our destination is some distance away. That’s why there’s no way I can ever hold your nephew back from having fun.]
[Duan Chi: His destination is also some distance away.]
[Jing Xi: Is that so? Whereabouts is he?]
Even when his fingers were typing away on his phone, Jing Xi did not remain idle and inquired, “Has anyone asked you for our location?”
Amid the dandies, two immediately informed him that their dads had just checked in with them.
Initially, Jing Xi was meant to figure out some excuses to ensure they kept their location private from others. Only then did it dawn on him that he was a step too late. Come to think of it, Duan Chi must have sent someone to investigate whilst sending Jing Xi messages.
So when Duan Chi replied with the male lead’s current location, Jing Xi dialed his number and sighed, “That’s my current location as well. Should I have known earlier, I would have called to ask you last night… But what’s done is done. Since your nephew is out on vacation, let’s not spoil his fun.”
Duan Chi made his way to a mostly deserted area. “And?”
Jing Xi suggested, “How about this? You give me his number, and I’ll add him as a friend. That way, I can avoid him effortlessly for the next couple of days once he shares his real-time location with me. So what do you think?”
Duan Chi’s eyes arched in a smile, yet remained noncommittal.
Two seconds later, Jing Xi defended, “Oh, come on! You wouldn’t be suspecting me of traveling there intentionally, now would you? You’re simply overthinking this! As of right now, I’d want nothing more than to make myself scarce, so I’m sure you must have some sort of misunderstanding. After all, I’m not overly fond of stirring up trouble.”
Upon hearing such an utterance, Duan Chi could not help but deadpanned inwardly, ‘I’ve not encountered another person whose love for stirring up trouble is greater than yours.’
Even so, he had no intention of making his thoughts known to the other. Instead, he changed the subject in order for the other party to divulge their location. “Enjoy your vacation, and don’t let this dampen your mood. I’ll have them keep an eye out for themselves instead.” Get faster updates on novelping(.)com.
With System’s help, Jing Xi had no qualms about acquiescing to his suggestion.
“Alright, then,” he drawled somewhat hesitantly. After a momentary pause, he fretted, “Your nephew wouldn’t have a sudden change of heart and come searching for me, right?”
Duan Chi reassured, “No, he wouldn’t.”
The moment the word left his mouth, Jing Xi heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled, “In that case, I’ll take your word for it.”
His laughter might have been somewhat faint, but it was imbued with a hint of relief. When it slid into Duan Chi’s ears, it evoked a sense of being enthralled to feel trusted and depended upon.
At this juncture, he could discern pure seduction from Jing Xi’s laughter, scratching at his heart. Although he was not held spellbound by his beauty, he had a nagging suspicion that this kid was, in fact, deceitful.
Before long, he noticed that the other party had hung up the phone. Mulling over this matter, Duan Chi sent him his nephew’s contacts.
Even though they might not have known each other for long, it was still sufficient for him to be cognizant of the fact that Yi Zhou was brimming over with enigmas to be solved and riddles to be unraveled.
First of all, Yi Zhou’s genes had risen from Class B to Class S.
To date, humans have seen a scant number of cases where one had undergone a sudden enhancement in their genes. After all, every individual from past cases had been triggered by an abnormally brutal predicament. Yet, the changes in this young man came unnoticed. If the two Lupinus Mutants’ pursuit were to pose a crisis for him, his genes must have risen dramatically at that moment. However, no one could ever withstand that sort of pain, so how did he manage to do it without a flicker in demeanor?
Another mystery was Yi Zhou’s exceptional skills.
To have subdued two crazed Lupinus Mutants so ruthlessly, it was far from sufficient to merely possess Class-S genes. One was also required to gain considerable combat experience, but where had he garnered such skills?
Next, there was a massive change in Yi Zhou’s temperament.
During the engagement party, Duan Chi had heard quite a number of things about the Yi family — the eldest son of the Yi family had always been cold, aloof and was never fond of socializing with others. For some apparent reason, he seemed to have rewired himself from the inside out and had now become a flirtatious flaneur who was particularly adept in business.
At that time, Duan Chi had sent someone to keep an eye on the subsequent actions that followed the engagement party, one of which was that both Yi Jun and Xiao Hui wanted to sue Yi Zhou for an invasion of privacy. Much to their dismay, the recording was set to self-destruct automatically once it finished playing at the venue, and trained professionals could not find any form of spyware on their mobile devices. Later, they attempted to search for listening devices in their bags and clothes. Even so, their endeavor still ended up fruitless, for which anger thrummed through their veins when they began suspecting that Yi Zhou had taken them away beforehand.
Furthermore, he was perturbed about how the ringing would draw much attention at the restaurant the other day. Without a second thought, Duan Chi had his trusted aide handle this furtively for fear of the young man being ferreted out. In the end, they found that the photo had vanished without a trace, and he was adamant that the owner had not deleted it by mistake.
Lastly, it was Duan Chi’s intuition.
Although Yi Zhou appeared to be a young man on the surface, Duan Chi had a faint suspicion that he did not seem much like a youth. Instead, he gave off a particular vibe as though he should have been someone more mature and powerful.
Be that as it may, he came to find that this treasure was far too mysterious and seductive, so much so that he could barely contain his ever-growing obsession.
Despite coming as a massive blow, he had not lost any shreds of sanity. With how all this was panning out, he was beginning to think that things were not as simple as they appeared and that a certain individual might be up to his antics again.
The said person, who wished to stir up trouble, hung up the phone and sent the male lead a friend request before making his way to the beach with his friends.
In spite of knowing the root of this unforeseen issue, System still had the urge to shake some sense into him. “Is it necessary for you to have fun with them now, of all times? Nothing would have happened to us if we sneaked out here ourselves, so what’s the point of having them tag along?!”
Jing Xi humbly asked for advice, “I’ve been cast out of the family house, helpless and left to my own devices. One moment I was persuading the female lead to take a vacation, the next I happened to cross paths with her here. Moreover, she also knows I’m fond of putting on a facade. So tell me, what are the chances of the female lead suspecting me of creating chances intentionally to set her up with him?”
“… You can always cover it up later!” System refuted, “At the very least, that beats letting Duan Chi find out the truth and making things all the more difficult… Oh, right! Wouldn’t Duan Chi be suspicious of you arriving in the same region the second the male lead left for his holiday?”
Jing Xi snickered, “What made you assume that he has never been skeptical of me? Jeez, what did you take him for? A lovestruck idiot?”
System puzzled, “Huh? What would he be skeptical about?”
“Everything that appears illogical about me.” As he said so, Jing Xi noticed the male lead accepted his friend request. Without further conveyance, he sent a smiley face emoticon.
At this moment in time, the three wolflings were already aware of the reason. Yet, a sense of grief and indignation lurked within their bodies at the sight of this emoticon.
[1] 紫气东来: It is a Taoist anecdote or allusion that originates from the Intimate Biography of Guardian Yin (关令尹内传). “Purple Air” signifies royalty, so this phrase both denotes a propitious omen, as well as symbolizes the coming of a great emperor or saint throughout the lands. You can read more about it here: https://en.daoinfo.org/wiki/Purple_Air_Coming_from_the_East