They had become a couple, then naturally gone on to marry. He had taken every step seriously, yet forgotten the responsibilities he owed Ji Shileng as his partner.
He had not returned Ji Shileng’s devotion, cared for his feelings, or protected his dignity.
The music in the conference hall stopped abruptly. Shang Jianli remembered how Ji Shileng used to ask the household robot to play music when he was home alone. When Shang Jianli returned from work, the robot would see him and stop the music.
Then Ji Shileng would smile sleepily and say softly, “Welcome home”
But now the music had stopped, and that scene would never play out again.
An overwhelming sensation of weightlessness swept over him, as though the ground had fallen away. Shang Jianli gripped his pen tightly.
For the first time, he truly understood how much he had done wrong.
Ji Shifeng led Ji Shileng to their seats as the final notes faded. Unwilling to leave his brother alone at the back again, he had spoken to the coordinator and simply arranged an extra seat beside his own.
“Honestly, I’m a little intimidated”
The front row was filled with national representatives and leading figures in the industry. What had Ji Shileng done to deserve a place among them?
Ji Shifeng kept him in his seat.
“Behave. You’ll be going onstage later, too. The front row is more convenient”
Ji Shileng fell silent.
He should have switched with Su Ke. Representing the Ji family sounded much more entertaining. He could even have attended the sealed-bid auction.
He understood the studio’s operations despite his years in the Empire, but knowledge on paper was no substitute for practical experience.
Su Ke had spent countless nights working alongside the teams on major projects. He knew the realities better.
“You should have told me earlier,” Ji Shileng whispered in complaint. “Why not have Su Ke do it?”
Ji Shifeng set an opened bottle of water before him and gave him a look.
“Who issued that statement recently?”
“You announced that Joker Studio’s owner was named Ji Shileng. The least you can do is show your face”
Initially, Ji Shifeng had worried that his brother, having spent so many wasted years tucked away in that miserable corner of the Empire, might struggle to say anything substantial onstage.
Su Ke, who had been getting his hair curled at the time, had still made time to reassure him.
“He won’t. Shi reads all the project reports. He even watches the recordings of the online meetings. He knows more than I do”
With Su Ke’s assurance, Ji Shifeng had felt at ease.
“Fair enough”
Ji Shileng took a sip of water to moisten his throat.
“Showing off is hard. I’m not doing it again”
Issuing a statement felt great in the moment. Having to show his face afterward was another story.
Ji Shifeng sighed. “Never serious”
When the host finished the opening remarks, both brothers fell quiet.
Ji Shileng listened for a while before leaning toward his brother’s ear.
“I’m dying of sleepiness. If I sneak in a nap, will the cameras catch every detail?”
Sitting perfectly upright, Ji Shifeng offered a smile without warmth.
“If you actually fall asleep, shouldn’t we arrange an international trending topic in your honor?”
Ji Shileng’s hand jolted around his pen. He was instantly awake.
“Never mind. Forget it. I’m not that sleepy”
During his years in the Empire, he had endured every imaginable insult. At least the audience had been limited to the Empire.
For now, he had no desire to become a celebrity or trend internationally.
Shang Jianli and the Ji brothers sat at opposite ends of the front row, an enormous distance apart.
Watching the brothers whisper into each other’s ears on the large screen, his expression grew colder beneath the camera lights.
The conference now reached a high point. Qin Si, the organizer from Sitejiala, took the stage to announce the arrangements for the next interstellar military competition.
Ji Shifeng continued whispering to his brother.
“So this is your type?”
Ji Shileng had been lost in thought and caught only half the question.
“What type?”
“The kind who put on a suit and manage to pass for respectable men?”
Ji Shileng followed his brother’s gaze. Onstage, Qin Si wore a well-fitted suit, his bearing elegant, his speech confident and fluent.
“He actually is respectable,” Ji Shileng said in his defense. “Besides, I don’t like him that way”
“You’re not even dating yet, and you’re already defending him?”
“Not interested. Not happening. Just friends”
Ji Shifeng stopped talking.
A little later, Ji Shileng leaned over again and asked curiously, “What makes you think Shang Jianli only passes for respectable?”
“Do you need me to remind you about the kidnapping at the thirtieth-anniversary celebration of relations between the Empire and Shaye?”
Between an allied nation’s prince and the “lover” who had spent years beside him, he had chosen the former without hesitation. Wasn’t that despicable enough?
“I see”
Ji Shileng lowered his eyes with a faint smile and said no more.
Onstage, Qin Si had reached the crucial part of his presentation.
“As we intend to change the format of this year’s interstellar military competition…”
He paused, allowing everyone ample time to be surprised.
Those who had attended the previous evening’s reception already knew.
Once the murmurs had subsided, he continued.
“We have therefore decided to adopt a monitoring system that combines Joker Studio’s 3D engine rendering technology with BeiDou satellite navigation”
“This system will also allow us to livestream the competition for viewers”
Another wave of discussion swept through the hall.
A vote would determine whether the new competition format would replace the old.
The slides behind Qin Si explained both technologies in detail.
Both large screens displayed close-ups of Joker Studio’s owner, Ji Shileng.
The moment he heard “3D,” Ji Shileng put away his listless, bored expression.
A slight smile touched his lips, his eyes gentle as spring water. He looked every inch the accomplished young entrepreneur, gracious and refined.
He had known the broadcast director would put his face on the screens.
His appearance sent the audience’s enthusiasm for voting soaring even higher.
From the press section, cameras with lenses of every size turned toward him and fired away.
Ji Shileng felt his face growing stiff from smiling.
Shang Jianli sat with his back straight and his head slightly lowered. He did not dare look at the screens.
Ji Shileng could smile at anyone now.
Anyone except him.
Apart from a few key notes on weapons, the sheet of paper before him was densely covered with a single name.
Ji Shileng.
Amid the seemingly harmonious atmosphere, someone finally lost patience and raised a hand.
He could not accept the direction the vote was taking without trying to reverse it.
Qin Si raised an eyebrow.
“Mr. Bai, do you have a question?”
Mr. Bai stood and spread his hands.
“Even if these new technologies are used together, surely our established miniature surveillance cameras haven’t reached the point of being obsolete?”
Every previous interstellar military competition had relied on miniature surveillance cameras.
Qin Si narrowed his eyes slightly and offered a tactful rebuttal.
“In everyday life, I’m sure your cameras still have many valuable uses”
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