Ji Shileng had only just reached the meeting room when the sharp-eyed publicity minister spotted him through the wide-open door.
He hurried over and extended a hand.
“Ah, you must be Mr. Ji! I’ve heard so much about you”
Ji Shileng clasped his hand. Neither released their grip first.
“I should be saying that to you. I trust Minister Zhou won’t make things difficult for us during the meeting?”
Minister Zhou secretly gritted his teeth and tried to free his hand. Outwardly, he turned toward the others and laughed heartily.
“Of course not. We’re all here for a friendly discussion, aren’t we?”
Ji Shileng’s lips curved. He gave the minister’s hand one final, forceful squeeze before lightly letting go.
“A friendly discussion indeed. I hope we all enjoy it”
Minister Zhou inwardly cursed the brat’s strength. His hand had been squeezed red, yet he still had to smile and agree.
Was any of this easy for a man his age?
When it came to shaking Su Ke’s hand, he had learned his lesson. He withdrew at the first touch, never allowing a proper grip.
Shang Jianli entered immediately afterward. As though finding someone to shelter behind, Minister Zhou promptly approached him.
Ji Shiyun handed the two newcomers staff badges, which would make getting in and out much easier.
Meanwhile, Ji Shifeng caught Su Ke off guard, put an arm around his shoulders, and praised him.
“Your hair looks good today”
They had been short on time. Initially, the stylist had suggested slicking Su Ke’s hair back, but he was not dressed formally.
Who wore a casual jacket and trousers with a sleek, swept-back hairstyle?
It would have looked hopelessly mismatched.
Su Ke had adamantly refused. In the end, the stylist hastily gave him a textured seventy-thirty part. It looked reasonably presentable.
At Ji Shifeng’s compliment, Su Ke’s ears reddened. He glared at him.
“No taste. My hair looks good every day”
Ji Shifeng stroked his hair and said leisurely, “If it looks good every day, you should at least let me see you every day”
“You’re always ridiculously busy. How am I supposed to see you daily? Keep dreaming”
“Then you can come by my workplace for a free meal every day”
Treated as though they were invisible, Ji Shileng and Ji Shiyun exchanged a look. Both could see something suspicious in the other’s eyes.
When had those two become so close?
People continued filing into the room.
Ji Shileng raised a fist to his lips and coughed twice, reminding them that they were still in public and should keep their hands to themselves.
Ji Shifeng ruffled Su Ke’s hair one last time.
“Back to work. Try not to say too much during the meeting”
He remembered to warn Su Ke, but forgot his own little brother.
Su Ke tried to protect his perfect side part.
“Don’t mess up my hair! With all of you here, of course I won’t need to talk much”
After watching Ji Shifeng slip effortlessly into the crowd, Ji Shileng stared at Su Ke without a word.
Su Ke glanced at him twice. Unable to bear it any longer, he bumped his shoulder.
“Brother Shi, what is it now?”
“Confess and receive leniency. Resist and face punishment. What’s going on between you and my brother? Tell me everything”
“We’re perfectly innocent, completely platonic friends. What could possibly be going on?”
“The way you look at each other is practically dripping with affection”
Ji Shileng’s expression made his disbelief plain.
“But fine. Better to keep a good thing in the family”
Su Ke was about to object when Ji Shileng continued.
“No, wait. Even rabbits don’t eat the grass beside their own burrows… I’ll steal my brother’s car for a drive sometime and teach him a lesson”
Su Ke fell silent.
If he wanted to drive the man’s car, why not just say so?
Besides, didn’t Ji Shileng already own all the best cars?
“Brother Shi, Second Brother mostly has armored cars and official vehicles. What’s so fun about driving those?”
Ji Shileng lowered his voice.
“You don’t understand. They have military plates. Any penalty points go on his license”
That possibility had never occurred to Su Ke. He could only concede defeat.
The air-conditioning was set low, but it could not overcome the crowd. With noise and conversation filling the room, the temperature somehow rose.
The two stood in a corner, fanning themselves with their badges.
Enjoying the leisure, Su Ke whispered, “Brother Shi, look! You’ve scared Minister Zhou out of shaking hands. Hahaha!”
Up ahead, the minister kept withdrawing his hand before the next person could properly clasp it.
“Serves him right”
“Did he offend you?”
Leaning against the wall, Ji Shileng rubbed his wrist and explained succinctly.
“Imperial Capital News was under the publicity department. It was only separated from them recently”
Hadn’t Imperial Capital News led the charge on all those nasty reports about him?
Debts might have their rightful owners, but he would not spare anyone involved.
Su Ke folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at Minister Zhou.
“What a sly old fox. He doesn’t even look guilty seeing you”
“Guilty? Even Shang Jianli doesn’t look guilty seeing me. Who does he think he is?”
Ji Shileng’s voice was scornful. He did not even raise his head.
“Who in this room isn’t a monster wearing human skin?”
Su Ke considered that.
“Brother Shi, could we avoid insulting ourselves?”
Speechless, Ji Shileng humored him and amended his statement.
“Everyone in this room except us Federation citizens is a monster wearing human skin”
“Yes!”
They leaned against the wall in identical poses.
After another stretch of boredom, Su Ke saw that everyone was still exchanging pleasantries and asked, “Brother Shi, did your sister or brother tell you exactly what this meeting is about?”
“I’m guessing Mr. Bai’s sentence and Imperial Capital News’s false reporting”
“Sounds like a very long meeting”
Just imagining being trapped in his chair made Su Ke’s backside ache.
Ji Shileng covered a yawn.
“Barring any surprises, half the time will be spent arguing”
As he predicted, the meeting had barely begun before everyone launched into a “debate,” exchanging words as sharp as blades.
Besides the Ji family, the Federation had sent several officials responsible for legal affairs.
Their remarks were so sophisticated that it took some thought to recognize them as insults.
Su Ke did not join the argument, but listened in awe.
Ji Shileng, meanwhile, propped up the proposal booklet before him to hide his face.
He desperately wanted to switch on his microphone and shout at the man seated up front: Focus on the damn meeting and stop sneaking glances at me!
Exasperated, he took his pen, circled Shang Jianli’s name on the first page, and crossed it out hard.
“Does Mr. Ji have any thoughts?”
Minister Zhou asked with a pleasant smile.
Ji Shileng’s doodling stopped. He lowered the booklet and openly asked his sister, “Thoughts on what?”
Ji Shiyun could only marvel at him. He could have whispered, though asking out loud was technically an option too.
“Mr. Bai’s suspended death sentence”
Ji Shileng paused.
He spent a few seconds distinguishing a suspended death sentence from immediate execution.
A suspended death sentence allowed certain offenders sentenced to death a period of assessment rather than immediate execution.
Good behavior during that period could result in commutation to life imprisonment.
An exceptional meritorious contribution could lead to a fixed prison term.
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