Ji Shiyun feared that, while clearing up the lies, Shang Jianli might resort to drastic measures and ruin his own reputation, then use that as leverage to “blackmail” Ji Shileng.
Ji Shileng gently took his sister’s free hand. His body temperature was lower than hers, and his hand felt like a piece of ice against the back of hers.
“Sis, thank you for everything”
For thinking of so much on his behalf, quietly behind the scenes.
Ji Shiyun’s eyes stung, her heart melting.
How could Shang Jianli have dared?
How could he have treated Xiaoshi like that…?
“As long as you’ve thought things through”
Ji Shiyun turned her hand over and clasped his.
“We’re all here behind you”
He could be bold and do whatever his heart told him to do.
Ji Shileng smiled gently.
“Thank you, Sis”
“Mm-hmm”
Ji Shiyun’s tenderness lasted only a moment.
She released his hand and raised her glass to Qin Si.
“I still have a few things to discuss with someone. Mr. Qin, would you mind taking my brother back to rest?”
Qin Si could not have wished for anything better. He exchanged his drink for a glass of juice from a passing server’s tray and clinked glasses with Ji Shiyun.
“I’ll be driving, so I can’t drink. I’ll offer you a proper toast another time, Miss Ji. Please forgive me for now”
Ji Shileng blinked. There he sat in his wheelchair, empty-handed, while Qin Si and Ji Shiyun settled his plans for him.
What was this supposed to be?
Ji Shiyun took a couple of sips of champagne.
“Safety comes first. There’s always next time”
After his sister left, Ji Shileng fixed his eyes on Qin Si.
“Did you make some kind of deal with my sister?”
He distinctly remembered Ji Shiyun dismissing Qin Si before, saying he was the same sort of person as Shang Jianli.
Why had her attitude suddenly taken a complete turn tonight?
Qin Si smiled warmly.
“No deal whatsoever. But if your family ever needs my help, I’ll certainly do everything in my power”
He had not said Ji Shileng, nor Ji Shiyun, but the entire Ji family.
Ji Shileng blinked and replied politely:
“Thank you. If there’s anything you need my help with, you can tell me too”
“All right”
Qin Si wheeled him toward the exit.
People in the banquet hall lowered their voices when they saw them, afraid of offending someone they should not, while still watching discreetly from the corners of their eyes.
Ji Shileng took it in stride. Qin Si had weathered plenty of storms himself and was hardly nervous.
Just after they left Balemate Royal Church, someone called them to a halt.
Seeing them stop, Shang Jianli strode quickly over to Ji Shileng.
Without so much as looking at Qin Si, he held out an exquisitely wrapped gift box.
“This bracelet, I’ve already…”
Ji Shileng could not be bothered with him. He pushed the box away and prepared to leave.
Shang Jianli frowned, swallowing his hurt as he tried to press it into his hands.
“This gift is…”
This time, Qin Si intervened. He took the box and stepped in front of Ji Shileng, shielding him.
The two men moved a few paces away and exchanged a few words.
Qin Si moved quickly. With one hand, he tossed the gift away. At the same instant, his other hand curled into a fist and struck.
The punch drove upward into Shang Jianli’s jaw with both force and precision, sending him half a step backward. He only just steadied himself by bracing a hand against one of the church’s marble columns.
Meanwhile, the gift box traced a perfect arc into a roadside trash can.
The imperial-green jadeite bracelet inside shattered with a sharp, clear crack.
Shang Jianli rubbed his jaw with the back of his hand, his eyes vicious.
Mindful of Ji Shileng’s presence, he did not hit Qin Si back.
Qin Si flexed his fingers.
“Admiral Shang, please stop appearing in front of Xiaoshi all the time. He doesn’t like it”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“Of course it has something to do with me. I’m his friend now. Keeping someone unpleasant away from a friend is perfectly normal”
Seeing their prolonged standoff, and signs that another fight might break out, Ji Shileng hurried over in his wheelchair.
He caught Qin Si’s sleeve, took a black card from his pocket, and said to Shang Jianli:
“My apologies, Admiral Shang. Qin Si’s hand slipped, and he accidentally damaged your auction purchase. We’ll cover the cost”
Shang Jianli clenched his teeth, resentment filling him.
“You’ve become friends so quickly?”
When he turned to Ji Shileng, his tone softened considerably.
“Xiaoshi, you can’t just befriend any stray that comes along”
Ji Shileng’s irritation was plain.
He threw the card at Shang Jianli. It slid down his clothes and fell to the ground with a faint tap.
“Get lost. Stop acting insane in front of me”
Once or twice, he might have let it pass. But every single time? Did Shang Jianli think he had no temper?
Qin Si bent to retrieve the black card, wiped the dust off with a handkerchief, and returned it to Ji Shileng.
“I threw it away, so naturally I’ll pay”
He took a bank card from his pocket.
“Admiral Shang, you spent sixty million star credits on that bracelet. There are seventy million on this card. Consider the extra my apology”
Shang Jianli did not take it. When Ji Shileng had thrown his card, he had not felt humiliated.
Qin Si’s actions now, however, truly enraged him.
“Do I look as though I need your money?”
His hostility was directed squarely at Qin Si.
Ji Shileng promptly took Qin Si’s card back.
“You don’t? Fine, then”
“My sister invested a hundred million in Imperial University. Let’s call the two things even”
Still holding Qin Si’s sleeve, Ji Shileng turned his wheelchair away, with no intention of entertaining Shang Jianli any further.
He looked up at Qin Si.
“Let’s go”
Naturally, whatever Ji Shileng said went.
Afraid Ji Shileng would tire himself out wheeling his own chair, Qin Si resumed his role as wheelchair attendant.
Shang Jianli remained where he was, engulfed by sorrow and a pain he had not seen coming. He felt as though he were standing in a fog of chaos.
Dazed and disoriented, he could no longer seem to make out anyone or anything clearly.
The wheelchair stopped. Ji Shileng looked up in confusion.
Qin Si smiled apologetically and bent toward him.
“I’m sorry. Did I frighten you?”
“You don’t need to apologize. I should be thanking you”
At last, someone could put Shang Jianli in his place. Thank heavens.
“Don’t thank me. It’s only what I should do”
Qin Si’s gaze slowly traced the features of Ji Shileng’s face.
“I just remembered something else I forgot to tell you”
“That’s all right. You can tell me now”
“My car is terrible. I came in too much of a hurry”
Seeing Qin Si’s solemn expression, Ji Shileng had thought it was something serious.
He shook his head, a gentle smile curving his lips.
“It’s fine. The brand doesn’t matter. As long as it gets us where we need to go, that’s enough”
Qin Si did not agree.
“I want to give you the best, even if it’s only as a friend”
A battered car was not good enough for Ji Shileng.
“Next time, then”
Ji Shileng said no more, his hair impossibly soft.
“When we’re back in the Federation, make sure you give me a ride in a nice car”
Qin Si stared at him for several seconds, his heart pounding.
He heard himself answer:
“All right”
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