Chu Wan held back the ache in her chest and gave Shang Jianli a look she could not put into words. She remembered the video on the disk: a gifted, privileged boy who seemed to become the center of attention wherever he went, surrounded like the moon by stars. Gentle and reserved, yet filled with an aloof pride that placed him beyond reach.
Humility and pride blended perfectly in Ji Shileng.
She knew how difficult it would be to make someone like him turn back.
“General, I’ll leave you to it”
Chu Wan did not have the courage to watch the video again.
Shang Jianli nodded without another word.
He returned to the game. The chat box below was flashing with unread messages.
[Shileng]: Li, I’ve put the guild benefits in the announcements. Just ask if anything’s unclear.
[Shileng]: Our guild war is during the military competition. If you’re busy, let me know beforehand so I can find a substitute.
[Shileng]: Add our deputy leader—the one you just demolished in the arena. You can contact him when I’m not around.
Perhaps because Shang Jianli had taken too long to respond, another message appeared.
[Shileng]: Hey, don’t just run off on me. You’ll really break my heart if you disappear.
At last, feeling returned to Shang Jianli’s cold body. The hand on his knee stirred, then he slowly began typing, answering Ji Shileng’s messages one by one.
Once, replying to messages had been beneath him. He had considered it nothing more than a waste of time.
He had barely read the messages Ji Shileng sent. He deemed them unimportant, so he did not look—and never replied.
He had never imagined that an accident would later tear his heart open.
Shang Jianli had been forced to face his own feelings and desires.
Countless times, he had woken from dreams in the middle of the night, clutching his phone and drenched in cold sweat.
In those dreams, the messages he sent were like attempts at atonement, each marked with a bright red exclamation point.
But reality was often worse than dreams.
Because of the Empire’s bereavement policies, he had long since lost Ji Shileng’s contact information. He could not even send a message that would come back with an error.
Now, in the game, Ji Shileng did not know who he really was. He treated him like an ordinary online friend.
That was enough.
At the end of the conversation, Shang Jianli sent: I won’t run off. Don’t worry, Guild Leader.
Ji Shileng seemed to have been waiting at his screen. His reply came quickly.
[Shileng]: Good. Don’t worry, Li. I’ll make sure you’re all well rewarded.
[JianliShiFangLeng]: All right.
Shang Jianli exited the game and inserted the data disk into his computer.
He wanted very much to keep talking to Ji Shileng, but he could not.
He was afraid that a few more words would give him away.
He had finally found a chance to be a little closer to Ji Shileng. He could not bear to lose even this last opportunity.
The disk connected, and a file window appeared.
It contained just one video, titled Third Young Master Ji.
Not long ago, he had sent Chu Wan to investigate Ji Shileng’s family background.
Official channels had yielded nothing. The Ji family had protected his information too well.
With no other option, Shang Jianli had resorted to paying terrorists a high price for information.
He double-clicked the video. Before the picture appeared, Ji Shileng’s voice rang out.
“Do you need me to say it again?”
“Yes, Su Ke and I argued. What does that have to do with you?”
As the image slowly appeared, Ji Shileng stood in a gray VEKAL tracksuit, resting a golf club against the ground.
His brows were slightly drawn, his expression puzzled.
Even as a teenager, Ji Shileng had been strikingly beautiful in a crowd.
Red lips, white teeth, a slender stretch of exposed neck, and a cool, distant air.
Shang Jianli stared at him without blinking.
Unless he was mistaken, this was Ji Shileng before he transferred to Imperial No. 1 High School.
“Shi, I’m just saying, do you need me to teach Su Ke a lesson?”
Despite being reprimanded, the other boy showed no anger. He edged closer with the same ingratiating grin.
The people beside him rubbed their hands and chimed in.
“Exactly, Shi. Su Ke doesn’t know his place. How could he argue with you?”
Ji Shileng tapped the golf club against the ground twice, impatience showing on his face.
“I’ll be friends with whoever I like and argue with whoever I like. Since when did you get to tell me what to do?”
Even after an argument, he still protected Su Ke.
The golf club pointed straight at the boy’s face. Ji Shileng stood perfectly upright.
“I’ll count down from three. Get out of my sight”
“Three”
“Two”
Before he could reach one, the boy had fled the golf course in a panic.
Ji Shileng pointed his club at the patch of grass where the boy had stood. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he beckoned a caddie over.
“Call that man named Ye…”
Before he could finish, a man in a suit came hurrying toward him from a distance.
Stopping before Ji Shileng, he bowed and scraped, all obsequious smiles.
“What can I do for you, Young Master Ji? You should have told me you were coming to play golf. I would certainly have come to keep you company”
“No need”
Ji Shileng yawned. The interruption had drained most of his interest in golf.
“I was just about to send the caddie to find you. Since you’re here, there’s no need to trouble him with a message”
“Whatever you need, Mr. Ji. Just say the word”
The man wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead.
“Tear up the turf and replace it. An idiot’s walked on it”
The man froze for a moment.
“Right now?”
He tried to negotiate.
“Young Master Ji, could we wait until closing time today? We still have other guests…”
Ji Shileng was not looking at him. Fortunately, he was more accommodating than expected.
“Fine”
“What do you mean, fine?”
His eldest sister, Ji Shiyun, approached in high heels.
Her appearance made it clear she had been conducting business with someone at the golf course.
“Someone I dislike dirtied my grass. I want it all torn up and replaced”
With his sister there, Ji Shileng made no attempt to hide his thoughts.
Ji Shiyun lifted her eyes and glanced at him. As expected, she said, “Then tear it up now”
“See the guests out and compensate them as needed. The Ji family isn’t short of that little bit of money”
The golf course had been built for Ji Shileng in the first place.
Cold sweat streamed down the man’s face. He bowed so low his head almost seemed to reach the ground.
“Yes, Ms. Ji. I’ll arrange it immediately”
Ji Shiyun acknowledged him.
“Come on. I’ll take you somewhere else”
“Throw that club away too. It touched the dirty turf. We don’t need it anymore”
The video ended abruptly.
Shang Jianli remained stunned for a long time.
The Ji Shileng in the video was so different from the gentle, unassuming Ji Shileng he had known afterward.
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