Shencheng President’s Office, Chenzhou Technology
“Boss, it’s a call from Mr. Ji Xiangdong.”
Assistant Li’s voice came from the side.
Jiang Yanqin lifted his gaze from the documents, a barely perceptible flicker passing through his eyes.
“Put him through.”
The call connected, and a loud voice filled with absolute trust immediately came from the other end.
“Yanqin, I’m not interrupting your work, am I? There’s something I need to talk to you about. Your sister-in-law insisted that I call you right away!”
“Brother Ji, go ahead.”
Jiang Yanqin leaned back into his spacious chair. His voice was as calm and dependable as ever, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
“It’s all because of Xiaxia!” Ji’s father launched into a stream of complaints. “That girl! Without saying a word to us, she actually got herself a student exchange spot at Nanda! For a whole year! She’s going all the way there by herself. Your sister-in-law and I really aren’t comfortable with that!”
Jiang Yanqin listened quietly, his gaze settling on the view outside the window. It was almost as though, across that distant stretch of space, he could see the young girl who was currently giving her parents such a headache.
“Ji Xia is very capable. That’s a good thing.”
His tone was calm and matter of fact.
Ji’s father sighed.
“That girl has been spoiled by us since she was little. She doesn’t have a suspicious bone in her body! Your sister-in-law and I are genuinely worried that she’ll be alone out there and get fooled by some smooth talking, no good boy! Shencheng is full of temptations! We really can’t rest easy!”
“We discussed it and don’t want her staying in a dormitory by herself. We absolutely have to find someone reliable to look after her. After thinking it over, you’re the person we trust most in Shencheng!”
Jiang Yanqin was about to respond when a soft, slightly complaining female voice suddenly came from the other end of the phone.
It was sweet and soft, like a strawberry milk candy, unexpectedly slipping through the receiver and striking directly into the man’s ears.
“Dad, Mom, I’m already an adult! Staying in the school dormitory is perfectly fine. Why do I have to trouble Uncle Jiang~?”
Immediately afterward, Ji’s mother’s lowered but perfectly clear voice came through.
“Xiaxia! How can the dormitory compare to home? Your Uncle Jiang’s place in Shencheng is huge! With him looking after you, your father and I can finally relax!”
Jiang Yanqin didn’t hear another word of the conversation.
His entire sense of hearing had been completely captured by those soft words—
“Uncle Jiang.”
They echoed endlessly in his mind.
“Uncle?”
He savored the title silently, the depths of his eyes gradually darkening.
The fingers resting on the armrest suddenly tightened.
…A bother?
He couldn’t have wanted it more.
“Yanqin? Yanqin, are you listening?”
Ji Xiangdong’s voice pulled him back to reality.
“I’m listening.”
Jiang Yanqin’s voice was a little lower and huskier than before. Without showing the slightest emotion, he loosened his tie.
“Brother Ji, don’t worry. I know Shencheng very well. I’ll help you… get her settled.”
He deliberately emphasized the words “get her settled,” as though savoring some delicious delicacy that was about to reach his lips.
“With you saying that, I’m a hundred percent reassured!”
Ji’s father sounded as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Then it’s settled! I’ll give Xiaxia your number later. She can contact you directly when she arrives!”
“Okay.”
Jiang Yanqin’s voice was deep and measured, but a subtle meaning appeared in his expression.
“I’ll be waiting for her call.”
The Ji Family Residence
The moment Ji Xiangdong hung up, Ji’s mother couldn’t resist lowering her voice curiously.
“Old Ji, tell me, how is it that someone as outstanding as Yanqin is already in his thirties and still hasn’t settled down? We haven’t even heard the slightest hint of him having a girlfriend.”
At that, the smile on Ji’s father’s face faded.
He instinctively glanced toward his daughter, who was sitting not far away, hugging a cushion while scrolling through her phone.
His voice dropped even lower, carrying a heaviness and sorrow that only true old friends could understand.
“Ah… don’t mention it. I’ve always felt terrible about this.”
“Back when he was in the military, during that joint border operation, he…”
Ji Xiangdong didn’t explain the exact circumstances. Perhaps it involved classified information, or perhaps there were other reasons he couldn’t speak of.
“In any case, he suffered extremely severe injuries. He almost didn’t make it.”
Ji’s father’s voice became slightly choked.
He pointed toward his abdomen and the area below it.
“The injury was… to the most vital part.”
“The senior military hospital specialist who treated him said it himself. Even if a miracle happened and he survived, the impact on that aspect of his body would be devastating. He wouldn’t…”
He paused before choosing a different way to phrase it.
“He would most likely never be able to have children.”
He took a deep breath and spoke with utmost seriousness.
“This is strictly confidential! It’s enough that we know. Absolutely do not tell anyone else, and especially don’t mention it in front of Yanqin! It would be like stabbing him straight in the heart. It would hurt his pride.”
Ji’s parents thought they were speaking quietly enough, immersed in their own emotions and warnings.
They didn’t notice that on the sofa not far away, Ji Xia had already gone completely rigid.
Her phone screen had gone dark, but she didn’t notice.
“The injury was to the most vital part.”
“Devastating impact.”
“He’ll never be able to have children.”
“Stabbing him in the heart.”
“Hurt his pride.”
Those terrifying phrases exploded like bombs inside her mind!
In an instant, she understood everything.
Oh my God!
So Uncle Jiang had never married because of this?!
A man as capable and perfect as him was carrying such an unspeakable pain behind that flawless exterior.
How much suffering must he have endured all these years?
In an instant, overwhelming sympathy—and what she considered her “filial devotion” flooded over her.
The slight reluctance she’d previously felt about “troubling Uncle Jiang” vanished without a trace.
Instead, it transformed into a noble sense of mission.
Once she went to Shencheng, she would definitely treat Uncle Jiang well and show him all the care and respect a younger person could possibly give an elder!
Of course, that sense of mission was soon replaced by another, much stronger thought.
Shencheng! Nanda! Fu Yichen was there too!
Thinking of that night on her eighteenth birthday, when Senior Fu had kissed her so domineeringly that her legs had gone weak, Ji Xia’s face instantly flushed crimson.
Her heart began pounding wildly.
To be able to breathe the same air as Senior Fu in the same city
This had to be fate!
This time, she absolutely couldn’t miss her chance again!
Back in the living room, Ji Xiangdong had already moved on from the subject of Jiang Yanqin’s injuries and thought of something else.
“You know, there are so many students at Xiaxia’s school. Plenty of them have better grades than she does. So how did the exchange opportunity with Nanda end up going to her?”
Ji’s mother was packing Ji Xia’s luggage as she proudly replied,
“Although our Xiaxia doesn’t have the very best grades, she has excellent overall abilities! She’s kind-hearted and well-liked. She must have left a deep impression on the teachers during the interview!”
Ji Xiangdong nodded along.
“That’s true! Xiaxia can also make such wonderful soup, grow flowers, and take care of little animals. That shows she has great practical skills! Universities like well rounded students like her nowadays!”
“Exactly. And our Xiaxia has always been lucky. Her school never even had an exchange program with Nanda before. This was the first year they had one, and she just happened to get the opportunity!”
Ji Xia barely heard a word her parents were saying.
At that moment, her mind was filled with pink bubbles, and there was only one thought spinning wildly through her head—
Senior Fu… wait for me!
Thousands of miles away in Shencheng, Jiang Yanqin hung up the phone but didn’t move.
He simply remained in the same position, holding the phone to his ear, his fingertips unconsciously brushing along its edge.
A new message from Assistant Li had just appeared on the screen:
[Boss, President Chen of Nanda just called. He once again expressed his sincere gratitude for your decision to place the Future Intelligence Laboratory project at Nanda.]
He stared at the message.
The corners of his lips slowly curved into an extremely faint smile one so captivating that it seemed capable of making everything else fade into insignificance.
Deep within his dark eyes was the unmistakable glimmer of a hunter who had already laid his trap and was simply waiting for his prey to walk into it.
His gaze lingered on the two characters
Nanda.
His lips moved silently.
In a breath soft voice, he whispered:
“Welcome to Shencheng, my… baby.”