“Who family do you belong to? Why is my impression of you so vague?” Ji Chen suddenly asked.
Zhou Qing’s crying stopped instantly. In a panic, she grabbed Beishan’s arm, breathing heavily—she clearly looked nervous to the extreme.
Ji Chen chuckled. “There really is something fishy going on. How did you even sneak into my circle? Tell the truth, or else believe it or not, I’ll throw you out of this plane.”
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Zhou Qing mustered up her courage and spoke.
“I’m from Liangcheng. My parents divorced when I was very young, and my brother and I were separated ever since. I knew he was in the capital, so I got into Beijing University to find him.”
“But… after studying for only two years, he suddenly disappeared. Some people said he offended someone he shouldn’t have. I investigated for a long time and found out this matter had something to do with the Ji family.”
“Those young masters around you are all quite foolish, so it was easy for me to get close to you guys and slowly infiltrate your social circle. This is actually the first time you’ve ever asked me out.”
After listening to the whole thing, Ji Chen was stunned for a long time before saying, “So you’re actually holding a revenge script in your hands? Don’t you think this is a bit ridiculous? What era is this? If someone goes missing, you call the police! You’re just claiming it has to do with the Ji family because you said so?”
Zhou Qing raised her gaze. “I have no proof, and I don’t even know if my brother is still in the capital. What can I use to report to the police? With just my personal speculation, what are the police going to do to your Ji family?”
Ji Chen let out a long sigh. “Come on, tell me what you’ve investigated, and this young master will help you clear it up. First of all, what makes you convinced this has anything to do with the Ji family?”
Zhou Qing hesitated for a moment before speaking, “All of my brother’s university records were wiped clean, but someone saw him with your sister, Ji Fei, before he disappeared. To be able to erase a person’s records completely, the Ji family is definitely capable of it.”
Ji Chen, who had been calmly drinking water and listening to the story, choked on a mouthful right then. “Cough, cough. Cough, cough.”
Fu Chi frowned and gently stroked Ji Chen’s back.
With a look of astonishment, Ji Chen said, “Your brother wouldn’t happen to be called Lin Yunzhou, would he? You don’t even share the same last name!”
Zhou Qing was overjoyed, her fingers almost digging into Beishan’s wrist. “You’ve seen my brother? I took my mother’s last name. Where is he?”
Ji Chen’s expression turned bizarre. “Your brother entered the military-industrial research institute. He’s a national-level talent, so it’s completely normal for his information to be classified. It has zero to do with the Ji family. You’re staging a suspense movie all by yourself—you and your brother are both true talents.”
Zhou Qing’s face instantly turned bright red, and she said in disbelief, “He got into the military-industrial institute?!”
Ji Chen pulled out his phone and searched for a contact number.
Handing the phone over, he said, “This is Brother Yunzhou’s number. Once we get off the plane, you can take the high-speed rail back yourself, or have him pick you up. Let me give you some advice: next time, stop acting purely on your own wild fantasies.”
“It’s a good thing we weren’t close over the past two years. If I had actually done anything because of this, my sister would skin me alive. Your brother and my sister are dating—stably, to the point where they’ve already met my parents. Understand?”
Zhou Qing’s motion sickness was completely overridden by the consecutive shocks. Her eyes widened as she asked, “Dating?”
Ji Chen said casually, “The Ji family is already at its peak and doesn’t need to rely on children’s marriages for political alliances. Your brother is exceptionally talented, and that’s enough. My parents don’t have any objections.”
Zhou Qing suddenly broke into a smile. “It looks like my brother is doing well, and that’s enough for me. I’m not in a rush to see him right away anyway. Since it’s rare to come out and broaden my horizons, you’ll take care of me, right?”
Ji Chen froze. This crying little thing seemed to have completely latched onto him…
Damn it, the military-industrial institute wasn’t a place you could just wander in and out of freely. He hadn’t seen Ji Fei in nearly half a year, which was a major reason why Zhou Qing couldn’t track her down.
If that was the case, did the responsibility of looking after Zhou Qing alone in the capital now fall squarely on his shoulders?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Ji Chen put on a deadpan expression and said, “Everything this young master just said was fake. You should keep looking for your brother, preferably by going abroad. The capital isn’t a suitable place for you to stay, really.”
Zhou Qing started crying again. “It’s fine, I can ask your sister to help me find him. Is your sister easy to get along with?”
Ji Chen clutched his chest and collapsed backward, completely unwilling to say another word. He pulled his eye mask down over his face, shutting out the entire world.
“It looks like your motion sickness is gone.” Beishan pulled his hand back, took out a wet wipe, and began meticulously wiping the spot Zhou Qing had touched.
The crying grew louder, so Ji Chen simply fumbled around, put on his earplugs as well, and ignored everything. Beishan’s wiping motion paused for a moment, as if he suddenly realized his behavior was inappropriate.
He furrowed his brows and offered a brief explanation: “I’m a doctor and I have severe mysophobia, it’s nothing personal against you.”
“You’re a doctor? I’m a medical student too. Which hospital are you at? I’m going to start my internship at Jing’an Hospital next month.”
Ji Chen abruptly yanked off his earplugs and eye mask, smiling brightly. “Quick, let me introduce you to Beishan, the director of Jing’an Hospital. You’ll be working under him soon, and Director Bei will surely look after you.”
“Doctors are always super busy, and working year-round without days off is standard operation. Don’t go running around playing on the weekends, study hard under Director Bei instead. Your brother is so outstanding, as his younger sister you can’t afford to shame him.”
“Cheer up, work hard, and don’t give up. Strive to drop the intern label as soon as possible, and you’d better delete this young master’s number too, so it doesn’t distract you or delay your work. Director Bei despises interns who don’t put in effort the most.”
Zhou Qing looked at Ji Chen’s face, which was plastered with a fake, forced smile, and shook her head with absolute determination. “I’m not stupid, I’m not deleting your number. I’m not that lofty—if there’s a shortcut, I’m going to take it.”
“Damn it!” Cursing softly, Ji Chen collapsed backward once more.
Unsurprisingly, the moment he swore, Zhou Qing started crying again—she was basically an endless water bag.
Fu Chi handed over a business card and said, “People entering and leaving the military institute face strict security restrictions, so your brother probably won’t be able to look after you much. If you need anything, you can call me. Ji Chen doesn’t like taking care of others.”
Zhou Qing accepted the business card, looking at Fu Chi with wide, bewildered eyes.
Fu Chi maintained a completely normal expression, draping a lightweight blanket over Ji Chen, who was still wearing his eye mask. Meanwhile, one of his hands stealthily slid under the blanket and firmly grasped Ji Chen’s hand.
Ji Chen: “… Very glad to flip the table, but with so many people watching, any commotion would expose him immediately. He still valued his dignity, so he had no choice but to endure it.”
Little did he know that aside from Fu Xi, who looked at Fu Chi with deep contempt for acting so spineless just to cozy up to the crown prince, and Zhou Qing, who felt utterly clueless, both Beishan and Cheng Qu were playing dumb while knowing the whole truth.
Haunted by the endless echoes of little young master in his dreams, Ji Chen did not sleep peacefully, yet he instinctively tightened his grip around Fu Chi’s hand.
Most of the passengers on the plane were fast asleep by now. Cheng Qu had long since grown sick of watching the couple’s sickening display of affection and had crawled off to find a vacant seat all to himself.
Seeing that Ji Chen seemed to be having a nightmare, Fu Chi leaned over, intending to adjust his sleeping posture.
He never expected to hear the little young master murmuring in his sleep, sounding both exasperated and helplessly alluring as he called out “Fu Chi.”
Almost instinctively, Fu Chi lowered his head and captured those bewitching lips in a kiss. The little young master was dreaming entirely of him, and nothing could possibly be more gratifying than that.
In such a short span of time, he had no idea why he had fallen so deeply, but it felt as though they were destined to be this intimately intertwined all along.
“Gasp!” Zhou Qing clamped both hands tightly over her mouth. What on earth had she just witnessed?
Beishan, sitting right beside Zhou Qing, opened his eyes, glanced in the direction of her gaze, and froze for a moment as well.
Then, with a completely deadpan expression, he picked up an eye mask, handed it to Zhou Qing, and said in a low voice, “The more you know, the faster you die.”