Ji Tingzhou's words seemed to carry a magical power.
By the time Ji Nian regained consciousness, it was already noon the next day.
Seeing her awake, Zhiliao, who had been waiting by her side, fed her a sip of water through a straw.
Ji Nian felt much better, at least the nausea and diarrhea had subsided.
She turned her head and asked, "Sister Zhiliao, where's Dad?"
Hearing Ji Nian call him "Dad," Zhiliao was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. "He's in the study," she replied.
"The master said to bring you to him once you woke up."
Ji Nian thought about the words she had blurted out last night when she had a fever.
She felt a bit embarrassed, but then reminded herself that she was only five years old now.
*I really don’t get it… Ji Tingzhou already knows, yet he isn’t planning to abandon me.*
The system, both frustrated and happy, chimed in: *Isn’t that good? He really sees you as his own daughter now.*
Ji Nian didn’t respond, quietly letting Zhiliao wipe her body, wash her face, and change her clothes.
Finally, she was wrapped in a fluffy little blanket and carried to Ji Tingzhou’s study.
Ji Tingzhou wasn’t working at his desk but was instead sitting on the sofa, his laptop resting on his lap.
When Ji Nian was brought in, he was in the middle of a meeting.
Seeing her arrive, he motioned for Zhiliao to bring the child over.
Ji Nian clutched the little blanket and sat down beside Ji Tingzhou’s legs.
Ji Tingzhou turned off his camera, reached out, and touched her forehead.
Her fever had gone down a bit, but she was still warm.
Ji Nian sat obediently, her eyes drifting toward his computer screen.
The meeting was still ongoing.
A servant brought in some food, and Ji Tingzhou took the bowl of porridge, feeding her spoonful by spoonful. His movements, initially clumsy, gradually became smoother.
Ji Nian sipped the bland porridge, her eyes fixed on him.
This was the first time she had seen Ji Tingzhou in work mode.
"If you can’t handle this, go to HR tomorrow and resign," he said sharply.
He seemed deeply dissatisfied, his face stern and his tone unusually severe. Even in his casual home clothes, his presence was commanding, making it easy to forget his age.
They say people are most attractive when they’re focused on work, and Ji Nian couldn’t help but stare.
Distracted, she accidentally bit her tongue while Ji Tingzhou was feeding her.
"Ouch…"
Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain.
Meanwhile, in the Ji Corporation’s conference room, the atmosphere was heavy. Several employees, having just lost a major project due to a failed bid, were being scolded mercilessly.
Just as the tension peaked, Ji Tingzhou’s voice suddenly stopped.
At the same time, they all heard a childish voice coming from the other end of the video call.
It was brief, but everyone heard it clearly.
They exchanged glances, and Ji Tingzhou quickly issued a few more instructions before disconnecting.
Someone hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "The boss’s daughter?"
They had all attended the banquet held for Ji Nian and knew that Ji Tingzhou now had a daughter who looked remarkably like him.
"Ah, thank you, young miss, for saving my life," one of the younger team members joked, clasping his hands together and bowing toward the now-dark screen.
"Who would’ve thought… our boss is such a doting father…"
The shadow of being scolded lifted, and the team couldn’t help but get excited.
But after a moment, they sighed again.
"That Chen family… where did they even come from? Our technical bid was top-notch, and we even greased the wheels with their procurement and the boss. Where did we go wrong?"
The mood grew heavy once more.
...
"Open your mouth."
Ji Tingzhou instructed Ji Nian to stick out her tongue. Seeing the blood on the tip, he had a servant bring some medicine and sprayed it on the wound.
A spicy taste spread through Ji Nian’s mouth, making her scrunch up her face like a little bun.
Ji Tingzhou pinched her cheek.
"Still daydreaming next time?"
Ji Nian mumbled, "Because you’re so handsome, Dad. I couldn’t help but stare."
She looked utterly sincere.
Hearing her compliment, Ji Tingzhou handed the medicine back to the servant and replied calmly, "Is that so?"
Ji Nian nodded.
Ji Tingzhou said, "Then you’ll end up biting your tongue off."
Ji Nian: "……"
Though she knew Ji Tingzhou wasn’t one for modesty, seeing it in action was another thing entirely.
"I might just bite it clean off," she said.
"Because every time I look in the mirror, I see it too."
She pointed at herself, then at Ji Tingzhou.
The two of them, one big and one small, with identical features, stared at each other.
Ji Tingzhou pulled up the blanket that had slipped down and wrapped her tightly, chuckling, "Little narcissist."
Seeing Ji Nian leaning against him with little appetite, Ji Tingzhou patted her head and asked the same question he hadn’t gotten an answer to yesterday.
"Is there anything you want?"
This time, Ji Nian didn’t think he was offering her a last meal.
She mumbled something, but Ji Tingzhou didn’t catch it.
"Speak up."
Ji Nian repeated herself.
This time, Ji Tingzhou heard her clearly.
She said—
"A laboratory."
His hand, which had been stroking her hair, paused.
Ji Tingzhou gave her a meaningful look, noting her lack of energy.
After a moment, he said, "Alright."
A strange but not uncomfortable atmosphere settled between father and daughter.
Ji Tingzhou didn’t ask why she wanted a laboratory, and Ji Nian didn’t specify what kind she wanted. Both of them tacitly avoided delving deeper into the topic, yet they understood each other perfectly.
Ji Nian was still running a slight fever. While Ji Tingzhou worked, he held her in his arms, letting her sleep against him. When she felt too warm, he moved her to the side, still keeping her close to his legs.
Eventually, Zhiliao entered and whispered to Ji Tingzhou, "We’ve caught them."
Glancing at the sleeping child, he took a small chicken-shaped pillow and tucked it into Ji Nian’s arms.
Once she instinctively hugged it, he got up and walked out.
"We’ve confirmed it’s the same group behind the previous attacks. The leader has been interrogated. He admitted the poison was bought at a high price from the black market."
"He targeted Wei Yang because five years ago, Wei Yang intercepted a shipment from them, leaving him with millions in debt. He’s been holding a grudge ever since."
"Originally, he wanted to kidnap you, but after failing, he shifted his focus back to Wei Yang."
Zhiliao’s hair was damp, and there was a faint smell of blood on her.
She hadn’t been by Ji Nian’s side last night—she had been out killing.
After listening, Ji Tingzhou’s lips curled into a faint smile, but his eyes remained icy, devoid of warmth.
"I had Bruce replicate the poison we confiscated."
"Let’s use it on him for testing."
Zhiliao nodded. "Understood."
Despite giving the order, Ji Tingzhou felt no relief.
Because it had been too easy.
He had sent people to investigate, and though the process was convoluted, they had eventually pinpointed the target.
After capturing everyone, all the evidence pointed squarely at the culprit.
The motive, the organization, the purchase records—everything fit perfectly.
It was as if an invisible hand knew exactly what Ji Tingzhou wanted to see and had laid it all out for him.
Ji Tingzhou stopped in his tracks.
"Did the hand in the surveillance footage match the suspect?"
Zhiliao nodded. "It did."
"The angle was a bit odd, so experts speculated the person might have been in a wheelchair. The one we caught, Li Xiangma, is thin and has disabled legs—he can’t walk. It matches the initial analysis."
"Plus, the gate surveillance did capture his men’s rented car."
Everything lined up.
It was airtight, leaving no room for doubt.
Ji Tingzhou’s emerald-green eyes swirled with a storm, but there was also a flicker of intrigue.
"Interesting."
After all this time, the one they caught was just a scapegoat…
...
"Cough… cough…"
A man bent over, coughing violently, his frail frame trembling as if it might collapse under the strain.
The person beside him paused, waiting for him to recover.
Once the man straightened up and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, he gestured for the other to continue.
"The latest news… Wei Yang has recovered."
"They’ve developed an antidote."
The man’s narrow eyes narrowed further. "Bruce isn’t capable of that."
"Then… was it the poison…?"
Before he could finish, the man cut him off. "Impossible."
"The poison was flawless."
His tone was absolute.
"Investigate. Ji Tingzhou must have a new chemist."
Who could it be, someone capable of creating an antidote for that poison…
"Once you find them, approach them discreetly. See if we can recruit them. If not…"
The low, measured tone was laced with danger.
Seeing that his subordinate had not yet left, he shot a glance their way, as if asking if there was something else.
The subordinate handed over a photograph: "This is the photo you requested, of Ji Tingzhou's daughter."
"Ji Tingzhou keeps a tight watch on her. All communication devices were confiscated from everyone attending the banquet, and our people only managed to capture this single shot."
The man lowered his gaze to the photo. The black-haired, green-eyed girl stood beside a man, her expression regal, her features exquisitely beautiful. Her face was a perfect replica of Ji Tingzhou's—the very man he despised.
He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the photo was tossed into a brazier, where it was swiftly consumed by eager flames, turning to ash.
"Why…"
The man's voice was so soft it vanished into the air the moment it left his lips.
Why should his loved ones have perished, two lives lost because of Ji Tingzhou, while this murderer reveled in the warmth of family?
