Ji Nian still had homework to finish, so after dinner, she went upstairs to work on it.
Ji Tingzhou instructed someone to prepare a bowl of strawberry milk jelly with sago for her to enjoy once she was done.
Then, he turned his gaze to Chen Mo, who was sitting across from him.
The meal was over, yet Chen Mo hadn’t left. It seemed he had something to say.
Facing Ji Tingzhou’s unfriendly stare, Chen Mo smiled gently, though his face quickly showed signs of exhaustion—his body still hadn’t fully recovered. "Shall we talk somewhere else?" he suggested.
Ji Tingzhou was almost worried Chen Mo might die in his house.
"Tea room," Ji Tingzhou said curtly, standing up and heading in that direction. Chen Mo was pushed in his wheelchair by Number One, following behind.
Once seated, a servant served tea to both of them.
Ji Tingzhou, having just eaten, didn’t feel like drinking tea, while Chen Mo, too weak to move, also didn’t touch his cup. The steam from the tea rose, briefly obscuring Chen Mo’s face.
"I’ve already apologized before. Now, it’s time to say thank you," Chen Mo began.
"Consider the medicine that cured me as something the Ji family sold to me. I’ll pay whatever price is required."
At first, Ji Tingzhou felt a little disgusted hearing the word "thank you" come from Chen Mo’s mouth, but the latter part of his statement piqued his interest.
Ji Tingzhou leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the armrests of the wooden chair. He repeated Chen Mo’s words, "Whatever price?"
Chen Mo, seeing Ji Tingzhou’s expression, knew exactly what he was thinking.
Calmly, he added, "But I won’t stay away from Ji Nian."
The smile on Ji Tingzhou’s lips vanished.
He clearly had little patience for Chen Mo—or, to be more accurate, he had little patience for most people when he wasn’t bored.
He waved his hand dismissively, like shooing away a pig, and said bluntly, "Ji Nian made her own decision. I had no intention of saving you."
Hearing this, Chen Mo quickly deduced that Ji Nian hadn’t begged Ji Tingzhou for help. She must have contacted the pharmacist herself.
People in that line of work tended to be eccentric and reclusive. Chen Mo wondered if the pharmacist had given Ji Nian a hard time or if she had pleaded with them on his behalf.
Without Ji Tingzhou’s approval, he didn’t know what Ji Nian might have sacrificed to get the medicine.
Having learned what he wanted to know, Chen Mo didn’t linger. He had Number One wheel him out, not wanting to disturb Ji Nian while she was doing her homework.
He left quietly.
As soon as Chen Mo was gone, Ji Tingzhou ordered the air to be purified and the room disinfected.
When Ji Nian finished her homework and came downstairs, she noticed Chen Mo was gone and realized he must have left.
She had his contact information, so she sent him a message:
"Uncle, once you’ve recovered, will you come back to school?"
Chen Mo had just arrived home when he received Ji Nian’s message. Thanks to the special ringtone he had set for her, he saw it immediately.
After nearly losing her once, the word "uncle" now brought him a deep sense of comfort.
"If you want to see me, I’ll come back," he replied.
Being a teacher wasn’t easy, especially since Chen Mo also had to manage the Chen family’s affairs and their overseas business. But the thought of seeing Ji Nian every day made the exhaustion feel worthwhile.
However, Ji Nian’s response surprised him:
"No, I’d rather you focus on recovering."
"Boss?" Number One called out, noticing Chen Mo staring at his phone, lost in thought.
"What is it?" Chen Mo looked up, a smile softening the coldness of his features, making him appear almost approachable.
It was a radiant smile.
Number One felt a shiver run down his spine. "The woman we captured earlier... she’s dead."
"She was foaming at the mouth, her face turned blue. We had someone examine her—she died from poisoning."
"There were signs of plastic surgery on her face. Our people dug up a decomposed body in the backyard. After identification, it was the maid she had strangled and replaced. They looked and were the same height, so no one noticed anything at first."
Mentioning this person brought Chen Mo’s mood crashing down again.
He wasn’t surprised by this outcome.
After all, whoever sent her had likely prepared for her to be discovered.
They wouldn’t find any clues.
It was also a form of provocation.
"Send her blood for analysis," Chen Mo ordered.
As long as she was human, there would be traces of her existence in this world.
Number One nodded, indicating he understood.
Seeing Chen Mo yawn, his eyelids drooping with exhaustion, Number One gestured for Number Two to come and help him take Chen Mo upstairs to rest.
Before leaving, Number One instructed someone to call the doctor, planning to have Chen Mo’s health checked once he fell asleep.
When Number Two carried the doctor over, the doctor thought Chen Mo was on the verge of death and was prepared to offer condolences.
But the examination results were shocking.
Chen Mo was fine...
In fact, he was in such good health that it was almost unbelievable. The doctor kept muttering "miracle" and looked at Chen Mo as if he wanted to put him in a museum.
It was then that Number One realized Ji Nian hadn’t come under Ji Tingzhou’s orders to harm Chen Mo—she had come to save him.
Later, when Chen Mo woke up and explained that he hadn’t been sick but poisoned, Number One finally understood the whole situation.
He was also deeply alarmed.
He had been with Chen Mo almost every day. When had the poisoning occurred?
Aside from the woman, investigating the source of the poison would be key to uncovering the mastermind behind this.
Having a direction to pursue was better than being completely in the dark.
...
Shen Qingtang had been invited to her deskmate’s birthday party today, so after her extracurricular class, she went straight there and didn’t return for dinner.
"When I arrived, my deskmate looked disappointed," Shen Qingtang said as soon as she got back.
After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, she went to Ji Nian’s room.
She sat on her favorite pale pink cushioned chair, casually placing a plush toy on her lap as she ate the bowl of strawberry milk jelly with sago that had been saved for her.
The two girls sat close together, watching cartoons.
"Huh? Why?" Ji Nian asked, turning her gaze from the screen to Shen Qingtang.
"She thought I’d bring you along," Shen Qingtang replied with a smile.
Hearing that it wasn’t about bullying, Ji Nian said, "Oh~ Next time, let me know, and I’ll go with you."
Shen Qingtang didn’t respond, quietly thinking to herself, "No."
For the most part, Shen Qingtang was a well-behaved, active, and studious child who loved learning new things and was very intelligent.
Over time, everyone had forgotten that Shen Qingtang had once been a child who craved attention and wanted everyone to like her.
Though she seemed to have changed, something had shifted beneath the surface.
Shen Qingtang had never shown it, but she secretly enjoyed the fact that, in their class, she was the only one close to Ji Nian.
Whenever someone wanted to talk to Ji Nian or ask her for something, they would always turn to Shen Qingtang first.
Only Shen Qingtang was special to Ji Nian.
So, when her deskmate hinted that she should bring Ji Nian along, Shen Qingtang pretended not to understand.
So, she didn’t tell Ji Nian in advance about the party. She waited until Ji Nian asked why she wasn’t back yet, and only replied when she was almost at her deskmate’s house.
As long as Ji Nian was closest to her, that was enough.
She didn’t want any other child to become special to Ji Nian.
This was Shen Qingtang’s selfish desire.
Seeing that Shen Qingtang had finished her dessert, Ji Nian, who had been holding back, finally spoke up.
"There’s something I want to tell you."
