Chà Chà Novel

Understanding dawned on Su Ke. “So that’s how you knew”

Ji Shileng frowned slightly. “Shifeng, transfer the money for me, would you? I haven’t added his contact”

“Good. You were right not to. I’ll handle it”

Without another word, Ji Shifeng took out his communicator, found the recipient, and transferred one million star credits.

Standing behind him, his assistant watched him enter a string of zeros without hesitation and could not help reflecting: To these filthy rich people, one million star credits was nothing more than a cold string of numbers.

Ji Shifeng did not forget to warn Su Ke. “Don’t you add him either”

“Of course I won’t,” Su Ke promised solemnly.

Ji Shifeng snorted. “You’d better not. I’m worried you’ll add him just to give him a good cursing-out”

There was precedent for that.

Given Su Ke’s temper, it was exactly the sort of thing he would do.

Su Ke gave a few sheepish laughs and fell silent.

Ji Shileng’s disrupted mood finally improved.

“Let’s eat. We still have a meeting this afternoon”

“Wait. You haven’t told us why you clashed with Shang Shengge”

Ji Shifeng was not so easily distracted.

Ji Shileng blinked at him. “I just didn’t like the look of him”

If he told Ji Shifeng the truth, there was no telling what quiet retaliation Shang Shengge might face.

He really was a kind person, after all.

Seeing that his brother did not want to talk about it, Ji Shifeng did not push.

At least Ji Shileng had not been bullied.

The break passed in a flash. That afternoon’s military competition organizing committee meeting was an even grander affair than the morning’s military technology conference.

Reporters filled the press section with cameras and long lenses. An intelligent laptop stood before each of them, ready to capture any sensational story.

Ji Shileng trailed behind his brother, looking listless.

“Shifeng, I’ve asked the studio to send someone. They can take my place later”

Ji Shifeng kept walking, flipping through the printed documents in his hands while sparing a moment to respond.

“Are you the boss, or are they?”

This time, Ji Shileng was entirely sincere.

“If possible, I don’t see why we can’t give them a chance to experience being the boss”

Ji Shifeng could not be bothered to answer.

Beside them, the assistant struggled to hold back his laughter. Ji Shileng was nothing like the person he had imagined.

He had expected a handsome, unsmiling man who kept strangers at a distance. After meeting him, all those assumptions had been overturned.

Ji Shileng was clearly warm, gentle, and quick to smile.

Realizing that Ji Shifeng was deliberately ignoring his nonsense, Ji Shileng asked, “Where did you send Su Ke?”

Ji Shifeng gave an inscrutable scoff.

“With a situation like this, can you imagine what would happen if I put the two of you together?”

Given Su Ke’s temper, after Shang Jianli had upset him over lunch, would the committee meeting even be able to proceed if he encountered another crowd from the Empire that afternoon?

“We’re adults. We don’t act that impulsively”

Ji Shileng understood the implication, but defended both himself and Su Ke anyway.

Honestly, Shang Jianli had pestered him that much at noon, and he had not even hit anyone.

He was a mature adult now. He no longer let his feelings dictate his actions.

Besides, even if one wanted to stretch the point, there were no feelings left between him and Shang Jianli.

Ji Shifeng answered with unmistakable perfunctoriness.

“I understand. You were possessed this morning. That’s why you poured a whole bottle of mineral water over Shang Shengge”

Ji Shileng fell silent.

Now it was his turn to strategically say nothing.

Shang Shengge had simply needed to be taught a lesson.

He had no idea how Shang Jianli’s family raised their children. When the elders set a bad example, the younger generation followed.

The useless nephew’s parents were a pair of grown-up good-for-nothings. Naturally, they had produced a junior good-for-nothing in Shang Shengge.

Thinking of Shang Jianli’s mother, Ji Shileng could not help coughing a few times.

His mother was useless too.

When it came to the Shang family, he insulted them all equally.

Ji Shileng sat obediently beside Ji Shifeng. Joker Studio’s technical consultant had barely settled into his chair before leaning over to whisper to him.

“Boss, are we really going to work with the Empire?”

“What else can we do?”

Ji Shileng yawned, bored enough to feel sleepy.

“Honestly, we’d be better off not cooperating than working with those Imperial idiots—especially the Shangs”

As one of Joker Studio’s veteran members, the technical consultant knew about Ji Shileng’s past.

Because of that, he hated the Empire and loathed the Shang family.

Just as affection could extend to everything connected with someone, so could hatred. A conversation kept replaying in the consultant’s mind.

“Let’s get ready to move back to the Federation”

“Why the sudden move?”

He had been puzzled.

It was not that they could not move. The announcement had simply come out of nowhere.

There had been a long silence on the other end, broken only by Ji Shileng’s slightly heavy breathing.

After thinking for a long time, Ji Shileng had finally given a helpless laugh.

“Shang Jianli doesn’t seem to like me. I don’t really want to keep wasting time in the Empire”

As the hectic memories of moving “home” faded, the technical consultant sighed.

What a miserable entanglement.

Ji Shileng smiled and patted his shoulder.

“We’re making the Ji family proud. After this, they won’t dare bully me again”

Ji Shileng was the one who had been hurt, yet he was gently comforting those who felt distressed on his behalf.

Representing the host nation, Shang Jianli led his delegation through the entrance. He had changed into military uniform, his boots lending crisp precision to every step.

The silver insignia on his shoulders caught the light in dazzling flashes. Wherever he appeared, he drew attention.

Ji Shifeng was circling and marking sections of a document. Hearing a sudden burst of camera shutters, he glanced up and offered his assessment.

“Looks like a gentleman. Acts like a dog”

Ji Shileng nodded in agreement. Handsome he certainly was.

His judgment might have been poor back then, but at least his taste in looks had been sound.

Shang Jianli had noticed Ji Shileng in the front rows the moment he entered the hall.

Apparently bored, Ji Shileng had slightly tousled hair falling over his forehead. He propped an elbow on the table and twirled a pen.

The technical consultant beside him wore black-framed glasses and a buzz cut, exuding professional competence.

The Imperial delegates following Shang Jianli wore varied expressions. They had indeed heard that a Ji Shileng had appeared in the Federation.

Newspapers, online communities, and forums were furiously debating the connection between Ji Shileng, the general’s “former” spouse, and the Ji family’s third child of the same name.

Not long ago, malicious posts and false reports about the general’s former spouse had mysteriously been wiped out by hackers. They could no longer be found.

Thinking of that, the Imperial delegates began to form their own suspicions.

Who could slip in and out of an entire nation’s networks without leaving a trace? There was no more likely suspect than the Ji family.

After all, the Ji family’s cybersecurity team was known to outsiders as the Federation’s invisible people.

They could enter and leave any nation’s networks without a trace.

Even the Federation’s royal family had made an exception and sought their help. As a result, the Ji family’s cybersecurity team had also earned a joking nickname: the Federation’s strongest unofficial personnel.