Facing Ji Chen’s increasingly freezing gaze, Fu Chi smiled: “Wasn’t it the little young master who told me to thoroughly enjoy myself before returning to the capital?”
Standing up and walking, the hot spring water just barely submerged his scimitar-like waist, ripples washing over his well-defined abdominal muscles, and moving further upward, his perfectly curved collarbones, slightly hooked red lips, and handsome, seductive phoenix eyes.
For a fraction of a second, Ji Chen was momentarily dazed, but the moment he was pulled into an embrace, his senses came rushing back.
The others in the adjacent area were enjoying the hot spring comfortably, but they were quickly drawn in by the various sounds of splashing water.
They couldn’t see a thing, but Ji Chen’s voice kept ringing out.
“Fu Chi, are you out of your damn mind? You’ve got a doctor friend, which makes surgery even more convenient. If you undergo a sex change, this young master might actually spare you a glance.”
“I’ve tolerated you for way too long. Do you really have to keep making a scene? Fine, this young master will grant your wish!”
“What the hell even are you? Who gave you the gall to lay hands on this young master?”
“Your Fu family isn’t even worth this young master crushing with a single hand. If you have a death wish, go jump into a cesspool outside, stop looking to die right in front of this young master.”
“Bang, bang, bang.”
“Splash, splash, splash.”
The two of them were clearly throwing hands. Ji Chen’s tirade abruptly cut off, and after a brief silence, an outburst of exasperated fury followed, with him cursing even more viciously.
Then came another round of splashing, followed by Ji Chen kicking a door and yelling curses in pure frustration.
Two minutes of quiet later, the door to the hot spring cottage where Beishan was staying swung open.
Ji Chen, wearing a drenched short-sleeve shirt with flushed, bright red lips, stalked into the water with a dark face. He leaned against the edge of the hot spring without uttering a single word, looking the spitting image of an inflated bag of pure rage.
If you looked closely, there were still red marks left on his neck.
Immediately afterward, Fu Chi climbed in wearing only a bath towel wrapped around his lower half, joining him in the water, though he didn’t dare go back to teasing the thoroughly infuriated Ji Chen.
His chest, neck, and shoulders were covered in claw and fist marks, and his lower lip had a split that was still oozing blood.
Beishan and Cheng Qu exchanged glances, neither of them daring to make a sound.
Soaking in a hot spring wasn’t even peaceful. Coming out on this trip with Fu Chi was practically asking for torture.
Soaking by herself, Zhou Qing couldn’t hear any more noise and began to panic slightly, probing tentatively: “Ji Chen, are you okay?”
Seeing that there was no response for a long time, Zhou Qing grew anxious: “Say something! You didn’t get…”
A chilling voice drifted over: “What does this young master look like he got? Do you want to come over and keep me company in the water?”
Zhou Qing let out a breath of relief: “As long as you’re fine. Don’t be mad, I just wanted to tell you that this kind of thing isn’t shameful. When I first started college, I ran into people who wouldn’t take a hint, and it really is disgusting, but the shameful one should be the person who won’t leave you alone.”
“Only guys would pull stunts like this, a normal girl wouldn’t be this shameless. You need to hit the gym, get the upper hand physically, and absolutely cannot end up on the bottom…”
“Zhou Qing, shut your damn mouth!” Ji Chen snapped angrily. How could he possibly ever have anything to do with the word bottom?
A familiar burst of crying echoed through the hot spring area.
Irritated, Ji Chen slapped down hard on the water, sending a massive spray splashing all over Beishan and Cheng Qu, soaking them straight from head to toe.
Then, staring blankly at the two dripping-wet heads, Ji Chen seemed to have found an outlet for his frustration. He scooped up another handful of water and threw it across, bursting into a manic, neurotic fit of laughter.
Beishan and Cheng Qu wiped the water droplets off their faces simultaneously and, with the maturity of children, started splashing back. An all-out water war erupted instantly.
The crying had stopped. Zhou Qing stared curiously at the wooden partition wall, utterly clueless about what kind of drama was playing out on the other side.
Fu Chi watched with a constant smile in his eyes. Seeing Ji Chen outnumbered two-to-one and forced into a retreat, he joined the fray, and a grinding tug-of-war began as the water level visibly dropped.
Four grown men were currently behaving worse than children, with an additional curious girl squatting in the corner listening in through the wall.
Exhausted from the hot spring session, Ji Chen politely declined Bai Lie’s invitation for a grand dinner, but he did manage to pick up a juicy piece of gossip.
Word had it that Fu Xi had gone out riding in a car belonging to the Lin family when he was struck by an advertising billboard blown down by a gust of wind. He reportedly suffered a fractured arm, and after getting treated at the hospital, he immediately boarded a private Fu family jet and headed straight back to Beijing.
Hearing that, Ji Chen couldn’t help but chuckle, offering a dry observation: “Talk about terrible luck.”
Bai Lie chimed in as the straight man: “You can say that again.”
The friction between Lin Si and Bai Lie wasn’t something that could be smoothed over easily. To avoid becoming the focal point of a turf war between the two factions, Ji Chen purchased tickets that very night—he bought plane tickets, and he bought high-speed rail tickets too.
He had Bai Lie quietly leak word that he would be leaving by plane first thing in the morning.
In reality, by the middle of the night, all five of them were already aboard a high-speed train.
Half-asleep and drowsy, Zhou Qing mumbled: “Why on earth are we leaving in the middle of the night? Did something happen in Beijing?”
Cheng Qu let out a cold laugh: “If we don’t leave now, we’re the ones who are gonna end up in trouble.”
Zhou Qing didn’t understand what he meant, but she didn’t dwell on it either. She curled up into her business-class seat and fell fast asleep, possessing a truly impressive capacity for unbothered ignorance.
Ji Chen, however, had lost all sleep. There were plenty of things that needed handling once they got back to Beijing. He looked over at Beishan and said: “Director Bei, would you mind looking after Zhou Qing for a bit?”
It was just a tiny favor, and since Ji Chen had asked, Beishan naturally nodded in agreement.
Ji Chen then turned to Cheng Qu: “President Cheng, how’s our cooperation sounding? Liuguang’s new seasonal line still hasn’t locked down a spokesperson, and your company’s top-tier traffic is looking pretty good right now.”
Cheng Qu chuckled: “Now that’s a gig that raises our profile and pays well—no reason our agency would turn that down. This trip to the Golden Triangle was a solid win for me.”
Fu Chi asked with total shamelessness: “What about me? I went through all that trouble dragging the little young master to the Golden Triangle, risking my neck to play bodyguard, do I get zero perks out of this?”
Ji Chen paused for a moment before pulling out his phone to initiate a transfer.
Beishan’s phone buzzed. Glancing at the amount deposited into his bank account, he paused: “1 million?”
“Yeah. Book a VIP hospital ward, plus medical expenses. By the time we hit Beijing tomorrow, someone’s probably checking in by nightfall.”
Silence crawled into every corner of the compartment, broken only by Zhou Qing—who knew absolutely nothing—sleeping like a log.
Cheng Qu let out an awkward cough: “Um… the final stop for this train doesn’t seem to be Beijing. Fu Chi, why don’t you just stay on, a little vacation out of town is good for you.”
Fu Chi stared at the little young master, whose silver hair looked even paler after his hot spring soak.
“No need. Going to the hospital after a long trip is just a hassle; it’s much more convenient to stay at a friend’s hospital. Besides, someone else already paid the medical fees, can’t let that money go to waste.”
Cheng Qu twitched the corner of his mouth: “Accidents are unpredictable, you know. If you kick the bucket right then and there, I’ll have to go cry at your grave, what a pain.”
Ji Chen said with a completely placid expression: “Stop fishing. I didn’t plan on letting him have an accident. I hired professionals for this job, so I’ll let you pick which limbs get broken.”
Cheng Qu sighed. It looked like this particular bullet had Fu Chi’s name on it.
He shot a look at Beishan: “Which limbs? You’re a doctor, say something.”
Beishan pinched the bridge of his nose: “Speaking from a medical perspective, breaking any bone carries the same level of risk, the degree of damage varies, and the lingering side effects differ too. My personal advice is: unless it’s a blood feud, just beat him up and leave him with some flesh wounds.”
Ji Chen sneered: “Put yourself in my shoes, would you think a simple beating cuts it?”
Cheng Qu and Beishan instantly shut their mouths, as if they had never been part of the conversation at all.
A tiny fruit fork pressed right against his throat, and Fu Chi smiled: “No need to trouble anyone else, I’ll do the honors myself. How long do you need me laid up?”
Seeing that fork make contact with his windpipe, Ji Chen’s pupils abruptly contracted. Damn it, this bastard is fair game to be disciplined, but he cannot be allowed to kick the bucket, otherwise I’ll have to reset and start all over again, completely wasting this run!
His mind went blank, and he lunged forward.