The person on the bed lay still, their black hair dull and lifeless, spread out on the white pillow. Their eyes were closed, unresponsive to any attempts at calling out.
Erhao let out a clear, choked sob, his hand reaching halfway into the air before stopping, afraid to proceed further.
“At least… at least our boss still has all his limbs, and he hasn’t been mistreated.”
Yihao lowered his head, his hand clenched into a fist at his side, trembling.
Even though they had imagined this scenario countless times, when it actually happened, it was still hard to accept.
Yihao and Erhao, brothers, had been orphans since childhood. They only managed to graduate from university with the help of kind-hearted people.
Those kind-hearted people were the Chen family, who had been wealthy businessmen at the time. Who would have thought that the Chen family would suffer a huge setback, abruptly cutting off their support?
Close to graduation, the brothers got into a dispute with the principal’s son and were expelled, overnight becoming high school graduates. They were devastated for a long time.
Later, they were found by Chen Mo and brought under his wing.
This had been their life for years.
Although they were technically superior and subordinates, they had also shared a close companionship.
The brothers had witnessed Chen Mo transform from a naive young man who drank himself to the point of stomach bleeding during business dinners to the person he was today.
Yihao turned his head away, his heart aching.
Erhao, struggling to hold it in, eventually burst into tears, kneeling by the bed. “Woohoo, Boss, Boss, woohoohoohoo.”
“Who will tolerate me eating scallions with soy sauce now, woohoohoo? Don’t die on me, woohoohoohoo.”
“Boss!!!”
“Shut up, it’s too loud.”
Erhao was howling in grief when suddenly, the person on the bed furrowed their brows, briefly opening their eyes to glance at Erhao before turning over and pulling the blanket up to cover their head.
Erhao’s voice was instantly cut off, his eyes wide like a cow’s, staring blankly at Chen Mo on the bed.
Then he turned to look at Yihao.
Yihao reacted quickly.
Realizing that Chen Mo wasn’t just alive but could speak and move on his own, he turned and bolted out of the room, only to remember to grab his foolish brother on the way out.
“Boss isn’t dead, he’s not dead.”
Erhao whispered excitedly, repeating it several times.
Yihao simply “mm-hmm”ed, indicating he had seen it, but the turbulent emotions in his eyes meant he wasn’t as composed as he appeared.
Despite their different reactions, both were thinking the same thing:
What the hell just happened?!
...
Ji Nian fell asleep in the car.
As a child, she had only managed to stay awake this long because of the coffee she had secretly sipped.
As she dozed off, she couldn’t help but reflect.
She had expected the thief who stole her poison to be some daring criminal.
Instead, it turned out to be a shockingly huge rabbit.
But…
Thankfully, it was Chen Mo.
Thankfully, it was Algernon.
In her half-awake state, she seemed to see again.
The blazing fire that had seemed to turn the whole world orange, the air thick with smoke, burning everything to ash.
Behind her, her mentor and colleagues offered false words of comfort.
“Asleep?”
Ji Tingzhou took the sleeping child from Wei Yang, glancing aside and stifling a yawn. He didn’t inquire about Chen Mo’s situation, simply carrying Ji Nian upstairs.
However, halfway up, the child seemed to dream of something, her forehead sweating, her brows furrowed tightly, appearing very restless.
Zhiliao, who had followed up, was about to speak when Ji Tingzhou raised his hand and patted her back gently.
“Don’t be afraid.”
As soon as the two words left his lips, the child seemed to hear them. She tried to open her eyes but couldn’t, as if her eyelids were glued shut. However, once she settled back into sleep, her state visibly calmed.
No more sweating or furrowed brows.
Zhiliao, witnessing the entire scene, looked at Ji Tingzhou with a deeply meaningful, even approving gaze.
It was as if she was saying: You’ve grown up, finally becoming a qualified father.
Her gaze was unconcealed, direct, causing an odd pink tint to appear on Ji Tingzhou’s ears.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, he practically bolted out, eager to escape the same space as Zhiliao.
Zhiliao followed behind, her gaze unchanged.
If it weren’t for the child in his arms, Ji Tingzhou probably would have sprinted away.
Finally, at Ji Nian’s room door, he turned his head and shot a glare at Zhiliao.
Zhiliao took Ji Nian and gently wiped her down, changed her into her pajamas, then tucked her into bed.
As she pulled away, the sleeping child seemed to sense her presence and rubbed her cheek against Zhiliao’s wrist.
It felt like being gently scratched by a small animal’s paw. Zhiliao’s gaze softened, and she stroked the child’s cheek before turning to leave, thinking she could add an extra lesson for Ji Nian next week.
Downstairs, Ji Tingzhou was listening to Wei Yang recount their visit to the Chen family.
“The Chen family thought we came to kill him, all of them on edge.”
Thinking of how he had played Yihao and Erhao, Wei Yang felt a surge of satisfaction.
It was a pity he hadn’t seen them kowtow and call him “dad,” even going so far as to cripple themselves.
Wei Yang had said it was letting him off cheap, and he truly meant it. Normally, those who offended him either became human torches or had their bones shattered into tiny pieces.
“But since Ji Nian arrived, I didn’t make any more moves.”
After all, it wasn’t good for a child to witness such a bloody scene.
The last time Ji Tingzhou and Ji Nian had been in danger at Wei Yang’s father’s funeral, they had arranged for a psychologist to regularly counsel Ji Nian, worried that the child would develop psychological trauma.
Ji Tingzhou glanced at the bruise on Wei Yang’s face.
It was clear the injury had been self-inflicted.
Frowning at the sight, Ji Tingzhou quickly looked away, unwilling to dwell on Wei Yang’s foolish appearance.
“Did you not see Chen Mo?”
Wei Yang shook his head. “Ji Nian went up on her own.”
“Judging by the time, they must have talked for quite a while.”
He wondered how Chen Mo, sick as he was, still had the energy to chat for so long, even if he had been momentarily saved.
Ji Tingzhou nodded, sipping the Sidecar someone had prepared. The sweet and tart taste spread across his tongue, and he relaxed his posture.
What could Ji Nian and Chen Mo possibly talk about? Most likely, it was about the Vengeance poison.
With Chen Mo’s character, once the truth was exposed, there was no point in hiding anything.
So, the child now knew the long-awaited truth.
Tonight, she should sleep soundly.
Indeed, since discovering her poison in the world, this was the most restful morning Ji Nian had experienced.
Especially since her pink-headed tortoise hadn’t woken her up, taking a half-day leave.
When she arrived at school, she just made it in time for gym class. Today’s class was equestrian, and Shen Qingtang, having finished her tasks, came over in her riding gear to chat with Ji Nian.
“Why did Teacher Mo resign?”
Ji Nian explained that he wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t work, so he decided to resign and focus on recuperating.
Shen Qingtang nodded understandingly.
She also mentioned something.
“During the days you were gone, a transfer student joined our class.”
