“Huh? You’re leaving after just asking?”
“I heard that the big guy got ambushed earlier. How is he now?”
Ji Tingzhou didn’t even turn his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
Lu Zhi looked at him with the expression of someone betrayed.
Before Ji Tingzhou walked out, Lu Zhi’s expression turned more serious. “The Vengeance organization’s influence is complex and tangled. I’ve investigated it too, but I still haven’t found their headquarters or figured out the identity of the person behind it.”
“They sell toxic agents, picking their clients at will, and the quantity they release is minimal.”
“If you’re planning to deal with them, you’d better be careful.”
Ji Tingzhou’s steps didn’t falter. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a silver-plated conch cup on the wall cabinet. It was quite beautiful, the kind of style Ji Nian would like. So, he took out a handkerchief, covered the cup, and casually pocketed it.
The move was so brazen that Lu Zhi couldn’t help but laugh behind him.
“Hey.”
“Are you really not considering an alliance through marriage? My Ahuai is the most beautiful one the Lu family has produced in centuries.”
This time, Ji Tingzhou responded.
“Dream on.”
Lu Zhi snorted. “As if your kid is some kind of treasure.”
He heard the girl looked exactly like Ji Tingzhou.
Thinking of Ji Tingzhou’s handsome but overly arrogant face, Lu Zhi decided it wasn’t worth it.
His Ahuai wouldn’t like that type anyway.
...
Ji Tingzhou returned on the night of his birthday.
As expected, just as the System had said, he didn’t celebrate his birthday.
The entire Ji household acted as if nothing was happening, as if they didn’t even know what day it was.
Even Zhiliao and Wei Yang were their usual selves.
“Aren’t you going to sleep? The family head won’t be back for a while.”
Seeing Ji Nian struggling to keep her eyes open, Zhiliao tried to take the book from her lap and gently patted her little face.
Ji Nian pouted, asking for a hug.
Zhiliao naturally picked her up and held her in her arms.
“What’s wrong?”
Ji Nian wrapped her arms around Zhiliao’s neck and gazed into her bright, striking eyes. Suddenly, she grinned mischievously.
Taking advantage of Zhiliao’s confusion, she leaned up and planted a wet kiss on her cheek.
Right at the end of that terrifying scar.
“Zhiliao, you’re so pretty.”
The soft, damp sensation lingered on Zhiliao’s cheek for a long time.
Zhiliao stiffened for a moment but quickly recovered, her gaze softening as she looked at the child.
“You’re pretty too, Ji Nian.”
Ji Nian nuzzled her chin and carefully reached out her hand. When she saw that Zhiliao didn’t resist or stop her, she gently touched the scar.
“Does it still hurt?”
Zhiliao held her tightly, not shying away from talking about the scar.
“It stopped hurting a long time ago.”
In fact, she hadn’t felt much pain even when it happened.
“Did someone hurt you?”
Zhiliao looked into those soft, sorrowful eyes and shook her head slowly.
“I did it to myself.”
Ji Nian’s eyes widened in shock, as if she’d been frightened.
Zhiliao was amused, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
“The man who fathered me sold me off, forcing me to marry someone. I didn’t want to, so I cut my face.”
“The other side thought I was ugly and returned the money.”
She spoke of the past lightly, as if it were someone else’s story, her words brief and unemotional.
In reality, the situation back then was far more complicated than she made it sound.
At just fifteen years old, Zhiliao had been determined to resist her fate, even if it meant mutual destruction.
In the end, she won.
The scar on her face was a symbol of her victory.
All she lost was half her face, while the “culprits” lost their lives.
Ji Nian’s heart ached so much it felt like it might shatter. She clung to Zhiliao, kissing her over and over.
Zhiliao seemed surprised by the child’s reaction and ended up comforting her instead.
Back and forth, half an hour passed.
“The family head is back.”
Hearing the news, Zhiliao patted the drowsy child, straightened her messy curls, and adjusted the bow on her pajamas.
When Ji Nian heard Ji Tingzhou was back, her attention shifted immediately.
“Really!?”
She glanced at the box she’d hidden under the bed, then stood up, slipped on her slippers, and ran out the door.
Zhiliao watched her go.
She had a feeling Ji Nian had been busy these past few days, probably preparing a birthday gift for Ji Tingzhou.
In truth, not just Ji Tingzhou, but even she and Wei Yang didn’t celebrate birthdays.
They didn’t have the concept of birthdays.
But seeing the child secretly working on a gift in her little hideout for days, Zhiliao couldn’t help but hope that maybe this could be the key to healing the deep wounds in Ji Tingzhou’s heart.
...
By this time, the child was probably asleep. After Ji Tingzhou entered, a servant took his coat to be disinfected.
He walked to the elevator, eager to take a shower.
Just as the elevator dinged open—
“Daddy!”
The soft voice of a little girl rang in his ears.
Before he could even see her, Ji Tingzhou instinctively opened his arms.
Then, two little legs wrapped around him.
Looking down, he met Ji Nian’s emerald-green eyes, filled with joy and laughter.
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he picked her up and held her in his arms.
He pinched her cheeks, which he hadn’t done in a while.
She’d been eating well—she’d gained some weight.
“Why aren’t you asleep?”
Ji Nian hadn’t seen her father in days. Up close, she admired his beauty and was suddenly struck by how handsome he was.
Thinking that she had the same face, she felt even happier.
“I was waiting for you, Daddy~”
Hearing this, Ji Tingzhou didn’t say anything, but he was pleased.
“Zhiliao said you’ve been holed up in the base these past few days. What have you been up to?”
He didn’t say “lab.”
Even at home, Ji Tingzhou remained cautious.
Ji Nian grinned mysteriously. “You’ll see in a bit.”
He tapped her nose, not too concerned.
As long as the child wasn’t hurt, it was fine.
After Ji Tingzhou finished washing up, Ji Nian pulled him to sit on the bed.
She bent down, pulled out a lacquered box from under the bed, and handed it to him. “Look!”
Ji Tingzhou took a disinfectant wipe, cleaned his hands, and then accepted the box.
He stared at it for a long time before looking up, his expression unexpectedly calm. “For me?”
Ji Nian nodded vigorously.
She was a little nervous inside.
Would he be angry?
After all, Ji Tingzhou didn’t celebrate birthdays.
His fingers traced the lotus pattern carved into the lacquered box. Under Ji Nian’s expectant gaze, he opened the lid.
A gradient emerald-green lotus came into view, emitting a pleasant and unique fragrance.
Ji Tingzhou recognized it as incense.
Thinking of Zhiliao’s report about Ji Nian’s recent activities, he raised his eyes to look at the child.
His voice was unexpectedly hoarse.
“Why did you give me this?”
Ji Nian wanted to say there was no reason, that she just wanted to give him something.
But when she met Ji Tingzhou’s inscrutable emerald-green eyes, which even the light couldn’t penetrate, she suddenly didn’t want to lie.
She took a step forward, lowered her gaze, and whispered—
“Because… I wanted to celebrate your existence.”
“Thank you for being here with me.”
