After waiting quietly for an entire day, He Lingfeng didn't kick up a fuss at home.
She didn't know if he hadn't noticed, or if it had been covered up. After a bit of thought, Ji Jie decided to go all the way, and once again took advantage of the dark, windy night to sneak downstairs and, with painstaking effort, punctured his tires.
This time the reaction was obvious. On a weekend afternoon, He Lingfeng only discovered it when he was about to go out, and immediately got to the bottom of it, then stormed into her room and yelled loudly.
She covered her ears and pretended not to be there, only slipping out after he'd left.
Zhu Yixun came to pick her up and ended up waiting outside for half an hour. Seeing her come out in a light gray hoodie and jeans, he was a little surprised. "You're wearing that?"
What did "that" mean? Ji Jie looked down to check her outfit—no stains, nothing snagged or torn. "What's wrong?"
Apart from the uniform she had to wear to school, she rarely wore skirts. Besides, the weather had turned cold, so there was even less need to bare her legs.
"Fine. If you like it, then it's fine." Zhu Yixun gestured toward the passenger seat. "Get in."
She got into the passenger seat. It was still a bit early for dinner, so Zhu Yixun took her for a joyride along the Bund. After a loop, he parked at a high-end restaurant, and they had a romantic French meal.
The atmosphere was lovely, the head chef was very handsome, and the intervals between courses were very long. Ji Jie figured this meal would probably stretch until dark.
The two of them thus had a long time to talk. Zhu Yixun asked, "Why do you like Wei Chao so much?"
He asked abruptly. But Ji Jie's expression was indifferent, and she didn't look particularly surprised. "You looked into me."
"For something this small, did I even need to look into it? You did it with such a fanfare."
It had even spread to other schools. Ji Jie silently felt a second of shame, but when she spoke, it was still with complete conviction. "So what? Don't you like him too?"
"……"
Zhu Yixun scoffed. "You're playing me for a fool."
"I'm not playing you." She said, "Weren't you two good friends before? You should know—there's a lot about him that's worthy of admiration. I just like him more than other people do."
She said it as if it were only natural. But looking at her, Zhu Yixun found it truly hard to connect the girl in front of him with the person who had "broken into his bedroom at night" and "forced a kiss in public."
"Then what about me?" Zhu Yixun looked at her and said, "Where do I fall short of Wei Chao?"
The string music in the restaurant suddenly softened, as if helping to set off his resonant and commanding words.
Being confessed to by a boy ten years younger than her, Ji Jie found it truly hard to feel any so-called heart-fluttering. She could only say against her better judgment, "You're not lacking."
"Is that so." Zhu Yixun said, "But if you were going out on a date with Wei Chao, you wouldn't wear a hoodie, would you?"
"You didn't tell me this was a date." She said.
Otherwise she would have found another way to get to the racetrack.
She had only meant to catch a ride—she hadn't even thought about having a meal together.
She didn't understand the tacitly understood ambiguity of teenagers. Perhaps other girls his age, upon receiving an invitation, would immediately get into the zone, carefully pick out an outfit, and look forward to the date. But Ji Jie considered herself past that romantic age.
Before today, she and this boy had only met twice.
Ji Jie thought it was mostly curiosity and novelty at work.
"It's my fault." He suddenly smiled, nodding as he said, "Next time I'll make it more obvious."
The speed race was actually held at night, adding even more risk to an already unsafe activity. Zhu Yixun parked the car on the periphery and brought her inside.
Only then did Ji Jie fully understand why he had asked that question when they met in the afternoon.
It wasn't just because of a "date."
Laser lights illuminated the stands as bright as day. The girls who came to watch were all dressed like cheerleaders, a grander spectacle than when watching volleyball at the gymnasium—all that was missing were banners and flag-waving cheers.
Wei Chao wasn't participating in this race, so Cheng Yunqiao didn't come to join the fun either. Ji Jie didn't know a single person there, and Zhu Yixun led her around to meet a few friends.
They were all unfamiliar faces not in the storyline. She wasn't particularly invested, greeting them with a faint acknowledgment while keeping one eye on the countdown from her peripheral vision.
From the moment she entered the venue, her mission bar had begun to progress. But it was far too noisy—intense music blaring at a deafening volume, punctuated by the occasional roar of engines showing off. Ji Jie found it extremely hard to endure, checking the time every few moments. Forty minutes still felt impossibly far away.
By the fifteen-minute mark, He Lingfeng finally appeared.
He entered in a different car, less conspicuous than the orange-yellow one from before. But a clash of fates—consumed by rivalry—it was Zhu Yixun who noticed him first. Ji Jie looked over as well, her brow furrowing.
She saw Zhu Yixun walk over to his friends, exchange a few low words with two trust-fund brats who looked like lackeys, and then the two of them headed toward He Lingfeng's car.
Zhu Yixun soon returned, casually resuming conversation with her as if nothing had happened. "Want to make a bet? Guess who'll cross the finish line first? Or guess who'll be the first one out."
Ji Jie really didn't know what they were thinking.
Did they have to create heart-pounding memories to feel their youth was complete?
Call him utterly devoid of substance, yet he could find such a large racing venue and organize so many people to come play—he clearly had some capability. But call him clever—at such a young age, playing such high-risk games, with reckless disregard for his own life, willing to play dirty.
"I need to take a call." Ji Jie made a feint and slipped away from the crowd.
She scanned the distance for He Lingfeng, but it was too chaotic—late at night, with nearsightedness and astigmatism working against her, she couldn't find where he was.
She didn't understand cars either; there was no way she could fix his car before the race started. That left only one option.
She had to call off this race.
Before dialing, Ji Jie hesitated, then first tried Huo Zhenyan on WeChat.
No answer. She typed out a rough description of the situation, sent it, and then called the police.
"Hello, I'd like to report something."
**
Sirens wailed, growing from distant to near, red and blue lights cutting through the night. A car drifting on the track nearly lost control and crashed into the barrier, and the scene descended into chaos.
Even if the racing venue was professional, among so many cars there were bound to be illegal modifications. The spectators on the periphery were the first to panic—those with quick reflexes had already started fleeing, phone flashes blinking incessantly.
Ji Jie hadn't gone back after making the call. She'd originally intended to avoid the center of the chaos, but by a cruel twist of fate, she ended up blocking the escape route.
The crowd fled in panic. She couldn't dodge in time and was shoved, stumbling—her ankle twisted on a rock, and searing pain shot through her.
When Huo Zhenyan arrived, she was crouched beside the bushes, hissing through her teeth.
The event organizers were still young and had no say when it came to negotiating with the police. A scandal would be bad for the family business, so the news had to be suppressed immediately.
It was just that everyone else's family had sent assistants. Ji Jie was a little surprised that, in such a chaotic place, he had come personally.
Huo Zhenyan had even arrived faster than the others. When he saw her, his expression was far from optimistic. "Can't stand up?"
Actually, she could stand, but she still had two minutes left on her task timer. She held onto Huo Zhenyan's forearm and shook her head shakily, trying to stall. "Where's He Lingfeng? Is he okay?"
"His luck has finally run out," Huo Zhenyan said coldly. Seeing her in so much pain she couldn't even support herself, he simply crouched down, grabbed both her hands, and looped them around his neck. "Hold on tight."
The next second, Ji Jie was lifted clean off the ground. The sensation of weightlessness made her heart skip a beat.
A warm embrace completely cut off the faintly raw green scent of soil and plants, replaced by a vast oceanic fragrance that transitioned into oakmoss and musk in the base notes.
A very pleasant men's fragrance, but there was one small problem.
Ji Jie felt a wave of dizziness. She didn't know if it was the confounding misattribution of arousal, or simply because she herself would get fragrance-induced vertigo whenever she encountered aquatic notes.
So dizzy that even the swollen injury on her foot didn't hurt as much anymore.
Huo Zhenyan carried her straight to his car. By the time they left, the countdown had ended. Ji Jie saw her score change to [30/100] and finally closed her eyes in relief.
He Lingfeng came to the hospital on his own.
He had no clue about anything that had happened tonight; he was just grateful he hadn't been taken to the police station. But he wasn't even injured—he didn't know why Huo Zhenyan had summoned him here.
Ji Jie had just finished her scans and was resting in the hospital room. It was only soft tissue contusion; no bones were damaged.
Huo Zhenyan came out of the room, pulled the door shut, and met a pair of anxious eyes outside.
The moment He Lingfeng saw him, he stood up straight, every hair on his body standing on end. "Yan-ge."
Danger signals blared in his mind. He wanted to run, but didn't dare, because if he dodged this time, next time would be even worse. Unless he never went home again.
Huo Zhenyan walked up to him, looked at him expressionlessly, raised his hand, and slapped him into the wall.
"Yan-ge, I was wrong… Ge, ge, I know I was wrong! Ge!!"
The repeated cries of "ge" did not awaken any brotherly benevolence. Huo Zhenyan undid his belt and whipped him until he was squealing, his head ringing.
This was even harsher than the beating he'd gotten in middle school! Not even a shred of dignity left.
The private hospital corridor was filled with his wailing like a wounded animal. It only stopped when Auntie Ping arrived with late-night snacks.
Usually unbridled and wild, loving his freedom—now his face was covered in snot and tears. He Lingfeng wiped furiously with tissues, burning with anger but not daring to speak.
Huo Zhenyan took the thermos and went back into the hospital room. This time he didn't close the door.
Ji Jie was leaning against the headboard, straining to stick her head out and eavesdrop. When she saw him come in, she immediately sat up straight and prim, her face serious.
Huo Zhenyan opened the food container, ladled out some congee, and set it in front of her. "Tell me what happened."
In her WeChat messages, she'd only had time to check in about what she was going to do and what might happen, so Huo Zhenyan could handle the aftermath. She hadn't even had a chance to explain why she'd been at the racetrack in the first place.
"It's just… a few days ago at a class reunion, I heard them say they had a grudge against He Lingfeng and wanted to teach him a lesson. So I guessed they might make a move during tonight's race."
She picked up the spoon and took a sip of porridge. "I thought it was too dangerous, so I figured if he couldn't go, nothing would happen."
"So you slashed his tires again?" Huo Zhenyan said.
Ji Jie nodded.
She had known she'd be interrogated by the big boss, so she had rehearsed the full sequence of events in advance before taking action.
After all, if there was a problem with the tires, he'd notice as soon as he got in the car—it wouldn't fail him at a critical moment.
"I figured you wouldn't believe me even if I told you, so I took matters into my own hands," she said. "But I didn't expect him to have so many cars—more than just that one."
"…"
He Lingfeng, who was eavesdropping outside the door, turned bright red.
When he had gone to Ji Jie's room to yell at her earlier that day, he had never imagined there could be this kind of reason behind it.
He Lingfeng was surprised she would do such a thing.
He also felt a bit guilty.
"You're quite kind," Huo Zhenyan said. "Thinking of him like that."
Ji Jie agreed. "I suppose I am, a little."
Whether or not he believed her story, Huo Zhenyan gave her a look that was half-smile, half-something else, his gaze brushing past her bandaged foot resting at the end of the bed. She would have trouble getting around for the next few days.
"The friend you mentioned isn't worth keeping close. If you've been threatened, tell me now."
"I guess I… sort of have been?"
Ji Jie lifted her face and said seriously, "He wants to pursue me."
"…"
He Lingfeng's expression shifted again and again as he eavesdropped, the late-night snack caught in his throat.
"Aiyo," Auntie Ping hurriedly patted his back. "Drink some porridge to help it go down."
"Understood. No one will harass you again."
In the hospital room, Huo Zhenyan's reaction was far more composed. "Rest and recover. I'll let the school know."
"Mm… huh? What did you say?" Only then did Ji Jie have a big reaction, setting down her porridge bowl. "No way, I still have to go to school tomorrow!"
"How can you go to school like this? Two days of rest won't set you back much coursework."
What he said went. Ji Jie gathered from his tone that everything was already arranged and there was no room to argue. She felt a bit sulky.
She thought for a moment, then held out two fists toward Huo Zhenyan.
Huo Zhenyan raised an eyebrow, not understanding at first. "What else do you want?"
"Missed-class fee." She opened her left hand. Then her right. "Emotional damages."
Then she flipped both hands over and opened them once more. "Acting out of a sense of justice reward bonus."
He Lingfeng couldn't hold back anymore and burst in. "You're extorting her!"
"That's fine," Huo Zhenyan had already agreed.
"I'll deduct it from his allowance for you."