Huo Zhenyan was stumped. In her context, he suddenly became the one making a scene.
But how could he forget—just a few days ago, he'd heard someone say she was very good at listening, very compliant.
And now she'd turned around and skipped dinner at home, dragging friends over to raise the roof.
Ji Jie couldn't find an answer in his brief silence.
Bosses were always so enigmatic—they never said what they meant outright, always making their subordinates guess.
Just to be safe, she decided to confirm the big boss's intentions once more. "Then… should I check in with you in advance next time?"
"Hey!" Before she could finish, He Lingfeng poked his head out. "Bro? You're home?"
He had no idea he'd just dodged a beating because there were guests around. He cheerfully introduced them. "Xiao Qiao, this is our big brother. And this is Xiao Qiao."
"Hello, big brother!" Qiao Ling said immediately.
If she weren't holding that laser gun in her arms, she would have looked quite well-behaved.
"Mm." Huo Zhenyan couldn't muster any anger at this point—he just felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. He said to his handful of a younger brother, "Do you know what time it is? You're tearing the house down right above my head?"
His bedroom was directly below. He'd just gotten home and was still jet-lagged, and he'd barely slept two hours before being woken up. It was hard to stay in a good mood.
"I thought you were on a business trip." He Lingfeng scratched his head. "The soundproofing in this old house is terrible."
"…"
"Since you're awake anyway, come in and play for a bit! The four of us can make a full table for mahjong!"
Ji Jie said, "You know how to play mahjong?"
"Of course I do. Don't you?"
"I do too."
Qiao Ling also chimed in adorably that she knew how to play.
The situation had become an irreversible one-short-of-a-full-table. In the middle of the night, Huo Zhenyan was inexplicably dragged inside to play mahjong. "…"
Ji Jie looked at him and felt like a meme was floating above his head—
I really don't have time to mess around with you guys.
Surprisingly, he didn't kill the mood and refuse. Coming in was fine—it gave him a chance to teach a lesson. "Are you sure you want to play against me?"
"What's a few rounds?" He Lingfeng said defiantly. "My skills are great now. You think it's still middle school?"
"Fine then. I won't bully kids." Huo Zhenyan said to the two girls, "The final settling of the score is only between him and me. You two pick your sides."
Once money was on the table, Ji Jie quickly raised her hand. "I pick big brother."
Qiao Ling nervously followed. "I want to pick him too."
He Lingfeng's heart was shattering. "Wait, no—Xiao Qiao, you two… both of you…"
"Fine. They're both on my side. If we win, we collect from you. If we lose, it comes out of my pocket."
Huo Zhenyan said, "What stakes?"
He Lingfeng had originally wanted to boldly call out a hundred. But thinking about who he was up against, he had to be more careful. "Let's do… ten!"
Although no one was on his side, all the losses would also fall on Huo Zhenyan. It was indirectly easing his pressure.
All he had to do was go all in and fight for himself!
Ji Jie was curious too. She'd played mahjong with clients before and had encountered some impressive players, though they were usually older bosses.
He Lingfeng was determined to show off in front of the girl he liked. And he was competitive—he didn't even think about asking his brother to go easy, focusing entirely on the battle. "Come on, let's start."
Huo Zhenyan hadn't planned on going easy anyway.
The mahjong machine began to rise and fall, stacking the tiles. From the very first draw, he had ready-made sets, reached tenpai early, made concealed kongs and exposed kongs, drew the winning tile off the kong, and his point multipliers kept climbing.
His momentum was too fierce. So fierce that Ji Jie sighed inwardly—not sleeping well really was a serious matter.
All three players were avoiding him, but no matter how they dodged, they couldn't stop him from winning a hand, and they couldn't win off his tiles at all.
He Lingfeng especially—nothing he discarded worked. His tiles seemed transparent, and Huo Zhenyan specifically won off his discards. "Are you cheating or what?"
"Against you? I'd need to cheat?"
Huo Zhenyan even had the leisure to teach him. "There are already two four-characters in the tile wall. You keep not discarding your four-character—either you're holding a pair or you've got a closed wait."
"…"
"Full flush."
"Damn! How did he win again!"
Ji Jie also counted tiles, but found it too mentally exhausting, so she generally didn't play with particular seriousness.
He Lingfeng was being tormented rather pitifully, and she didn't really want to win his money. Anyway, if she lost, there was a safety net. Even at the fever pitch of the game, she still had the attention to spare to stare blankly at the wrinkles in Huo Zhenyan's pajamas.
She wondered what material they were made of—they really looked comfortable.
She'd ask Auntie Ping another day.
She secretly estimated the price of Huo Zhenyan's pajamas, weighing the number and drawing a line. She decided that if it didn't exceed her acceptable psychological price, she'd buy herself a set too, as a gift for her first New Year after being reborn.
Huo Zhenyan won consecutive dealer rounds, and the point multipliers stacked up frighteningly. Even Qiao Ling started to worry, quietly asking the boy next to her, "Do you have enough allowance?"
Being cared about, He Lingfeng felt warmth in his corpse-like body. "Enough! Don't worry, just play."
Huo Zhenyan laughed without giving him any face. He flew into a rage, then looked at Ji Jie beside him, who was minding her own business, yawning while playing tiles, and dug up old accounts relentlessly. "How much allowance did you actually give Duan Baoni? A few days ago I asked Assistant Sun, and he said there was no such expenditure."
Giving absolutely nothing was impossible. He Lingfeng believed that opaque transactions were bound to have problems. "Did you secretly add money for her behind our backs?"
Huo Zhenyan answered with a question. "Have you paid off what you owe her?"
"All paid off! Otherwise where would I get the money to play cards with you guys?"
Mm. He had money again, and it was about to be squandered again.
Huo Zhenyan had been thrown abroad by unreliable parents very early on. During his American high school days, his monthly allowance was ten thousand dollars. This was free spending money on top of basic living expenses—besides satisfying personal social needs, it could also be used for stocks and hobby investments, and over time he spent more and more.
It could be confirmed that it was enough. He had initially planned to manage his younger brother and sister the same way, but facts proved that individual differences were far too significant.
He Lingfeng loved to spend money recklessly. Give him ten thousand dollars today, and that very night he'd dare to spend nine thousand nine hundred, then spend the rest of the month mooching food and drinks off friends.
If not for this, Huo Yuxi wouldn't have been dragged down along with him, having her allowance controlled and distributed weekly like an elementary school student.
Huo Zhenyan thought this younger brother was missing a nerve and couldn't be bothered to explain too much to him. "Got it. Starting next week, everyone gets the same allowance."
The newbie protection period was over. Ji Jie had long anticipated this, and drew a tile with perfect composure. "Whether thunder or dew, all is the Master's grace."
"…"
Same starting next week—which meant what she'd been given before was indeed different!
What could He Lingfeng do? He could only accept it aggrievedly. "Oh."
"Did you also invite Huo Qiyuan the day you went to the racetrack?" Huo Zhenyan asked again.
"Yes, why? I haven't seen him in a long time."
"Huo Qiyuan was street racing on the inner ring that night. He caused an accident while driving drunk and hit someone," he said, looking at He Lingfeng. "He's currently facing a lawsuit, confined at home and not allowed to go anywhere, waiting for the severely injured passenger to wake up for mediation."
He Lingfeng was stunned, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Huo Zhenyan had never approved of him hanging out with spoiled rich kids. But there was no helping it—when it came to having fun, those rich kids really did have more expertise, so he would sneak out from time to time to try different things with them.
But if he had actually been with Huo Qiyuan that day, then the person who hit someone while driving in the middle of the night… he might have been part of it too.
Seeing that he had been sufficiently shaken, Huo Zhenyan didn't need to say more. But then he noticed that Ji Jie also seemed dazed. "Scared?"
"…No." She rubbed her eyes. "Just tired."
She was just thinking that her own lawsuit from the accident probably couldn't be fought anymore.
When her family got the news, they would most likely extort a sum and bury her hastily.
And because they lacked awareness, facing the shrewd lawyer the other side would hire, they probably wouldn't even be able to extort much money in the end.
Ji Jie felt her death was a bit unfair. She secretly prayed that the victim in Huo Qiyuan's case would wake up soon and extort a large sum from him.
Not like her.
**
Final settling of the score. They had been playing for less than an hour, and He Lingfeng had lost over ten thousand yuan. The other three had all won.
His big brother really went that hard on him. Reluctantly, he transferred the bulk to Huo Zhenyan, then transferred over two thousand yuan to Ji Jie.
Only when transferring to Qiao Ling did his expression turn bashful for a moment, and he even rounded up the amount for her.
It was almost midnight, and everyone went back to their rooms to rest. The three of them went downstairs. Ji Jie couldn't wait to head to her room, but before she took two steps, she was called back. Huo Zhen gestured to her. "Come here and say a few words."
How could someone still not be done settling the score?
She had no choice but to open her room door, let Qiao Ling go in first to wash up, then dawdled over to the common area, muttering quietly, "Didn't you say you wouldn't bully kids?"
"This is bullying you?" Huo Zhenyan's ears were really sharp. She had to laugh awkwardly.
"Next time you bring someone home, tell me in advance and arrange a room, so you don't have to squeeze in together."
After he said this, he thought for a moment, appearing somewhat cautious. "I won't force you to check in. But if you really want to, I won't blame you either."
He had raised kids starting from when they were little brats—one was even placed in his arms right after being born.
Suddenly being handed a girl this grown, he really had never dealt with that before. Hard to gauge the right approach.
"…Ah." Ji Jie finally understood.
Huo Zhenyan was dissatisfied that her motivation wasn't sincere enough, wasn't earnest enough.
What he wanted was willing obedience. For her to proactively want it, need it—not to be forced into compliance because it was demanded of her.
"Actually, I really do want to check in with you. I'm just afraid you won't like seeing it, afraid of disturbing you," Ji Jie said.
"You know, my mom loves going out traveling and shopping. I'm always home alone, without even someone to talk to."
She pressed her palms together, her gaze earnest, showing complete sincerity. "So, please—I really do lack someone to keep me in line."
This time it sounded somewhat believable.
Huo Zhenyan nodded reluctantly. "Alright, understood."
Done coaxing him!
Ji Jie was satisfied.
She had never believed in the existence of perfect humans in this world, nor did she wish for there to be any.
Everyone has their own character flaws, and the way to deal with them is hidden within. As long as you figure out the approach to solving the problem, you'll be able to handle similar issues with ease in the future.
In short, different strokes for different folks. She casually asked, "When's your birthday?"
"January 13th, why?"
Capricorn, just as she thought—an earth sign.
Ji Jie muttered inwardly, keeping a straight face. "Then it's coming up soon. Winter break is almost here—I'll prepare a gift for you! Goodnight, gege."
With the score settled, she left a little sweetener behind and dashed back to her room without looking back.
The scent of fragrance drifted from the bathroom. Ji Jie flopped onto the bed, and for some reason, she felt a little giddy.
Perhaps because it was the first time she felt she'd gotten a grasp on the big boss's temper.
She tossed and turned, fidgeting pointlessly for a few seconds, then sat up intending to grab pajamas for Qiao Ling—when something flashed before her eyes.
【To be completed — Have a verbal altercation with Huo Yuxi before the party ends】
【To be completed — Pour a drink on Huo Yuxi】
【Countdown — 00:30:00】
【Current — 35/100】
**
What party? What altercation?
Pour it on whom? Now?
She'd missed the plot tonight?!
"Your body wash smells so good… What's wrong, Nini?" Qiao Ling came out after her shower and saw her sitting by the bed, face a little pale.
"Nothing, the room's just a bit stuffy." She simply stood up and headed out again. "I'm going downstairs to find something to drink. Pajamas are in the wardrobe—grab them yourself!"
"Oh, okay."
Her footsteps quickened. She left the room and headed straight for the courtyard, arriving below Huo Yuxi's building. Pitch-black—she really wasn't home.
She'd been too careless, only knowing they were playing tennis today. But that didn't mean only one activity would happen in a day.
And of all things, two tasks came at once—that was 10 points. If she got docked, who knew how long she'd have to wait to make it even again.
Ji Jie forced herself to calm down, squatting by the door and searching for a bug again.
Making it to the party was definitely too late. But the second task had no location restriction—as long as she saw Huo Yuxi before the countdown ended, there was still a chance to complete it.
Completing even one would be good. That way, positive and negative would cancel out, and at least she probably wouldn't get docked.
【Incomplete】
【To be completed — Pour a drink on Huo Yuxi】
【Countdown — 00:28:09】
【Current — 30/100】
Looks like the party was over. Ji Jie took a deep breath and, steeling herself, called Huo Yuxi.
Since adding each other on WeChat, they hadn't chatted even once. Calling out of the blue like this—she didn't even know if Huo Yuxi would pick up.
Fortunately, after just a few seconds, the WeChat call connected. Huo Yuxi's voice carried the expected surprise. "Is something the matter?"
"I saw your lights are off—are you not home yet?" Ji Jie scrambled for a reason. "How about I drive over… uh, I'll take a car to pick you up?"
Huo Yuxi said, "No need, I'm already in the car on my way home."
"Then how much longer until you arrive?" she immediately followed up.
"……"
How strange. Huo Yuxi asked directly, "Is there something you want to tell me? Just say it now."
"There are some things… but it's better to say them in person."
Ji Jie herself couldn't think of any topic that absolutely required a heart-to-heart conversation in the dead of night. She'd figure it out later. "I'll head out first—I'll meet you at the entrance of the neighborhood."
Time was tight; every second saved counted. After hanging up, she ran back to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of drink. She thought for a moment, then put it back. Crouching down, she dragged out the box of room-temperature drinks from the storage cabinet and took one.
She always felt a twinge of guilt when she was about to go stir up trouble for someone else. But survival still came first.
As she organized her words, she shuffled toward the neighborhood entrance in her slippers. She'd rushed out so quickly that she hadn't even put on a coat. Afraid that going back would waste time, she crouched at a fairly conspicuous intersection in her pajamas, hugging her arms and shivering in the cold wind.
The countdown slipped away rapidly amid her anxious anticipation. With only a few minutes left, a van emerged from the darkness, flashing its hazard lights at her from a distance.
Ji Jie shot to her feet. Watching that Lexus pull to a smooth stop at the curb, her heart rate hit its peak.
The sliding door opened. Duan Feihong, wrapped in a hand-tailored cashmere scarf, hopped out with the lightness of a young girl, beaming at her in surprise.
"Baby, did you come out specially to welcome me?"