Qin Si rejected his suggestion immediately, without the slightest hesitation.
“No. I don’t mind the drive. I’ll come to you. Otherwise, you’d have to make an extra trip”
Ji Shileng tilted his head at him and tried to reason with him.
“The hotels are in opposite directions. Driving there and back would take at least an hour and a half, wouldn’t it?”
Both hotels were in busy central districts, too.
If he encountered traffic or some other unexpected delay, losing two hours would be perfectly normal.
More to the point, Ji Shileng genuinely did not understand why Qin Si needed to make the trip.
“Mm, perhaps. I haven’t really checked”
Qin Si smiled unconcernedly and set the freshly boiled kettle on the coffee table.
“If it’s about the public relations battle, you can discuss it with me online”
There was no need to come all this way.
“But I want to see you in person”
Qin Si’s voice was low and husky, carrying what sounded like a trace of disappointment.
He poured Ji Shileng a cup of hot water and asked again:
“So, can I see you tomorrow?”
Through the rising steam, Ji Shileng looked straight at Qin Si’s lowered face.
Why was he so… so determined never to learn?
Unable to find a suitable description, Ji Shileng reluctantly settled for that one.
He stared at Qin Si for a long time. Seeing that the man remained utterly composed, he finally surrendered.
“Cancel your hotel booking. I’ll call Su Ke”
Surprise flickered in Qin Si’s eyes, but he obediently canceled the reservation on his communicator.
“Su Ke?”
“La, la, la”
Hearing the commotion on the other end, Ji Shileng held the communicator farther away and frowned at the contact name displayed on the screen.
It was the right person.
“Did a ghost possess you for the Ghost Festival?”
“La, la, la, la, la”
Ji Shileng: “…”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he hung up in exasperation and called Ji Shifeng instead.
He was willing to bet they were together.
“Xiaoshi”
This time, the correct human voice answered, though Su Ke’s repeated “la, la, la” continued in the background.
Ji Shileng could not help asking:
“What’s wrong with Su Ke?”
In excellent spirits, Ji Shifeng patted Su Ke’s back and poured him another full glass of cold milk.
“A ghost possessed him for the Ghost Festival”
Apparently receiving a hard pinch, Ji Shifeng sucked in a breath and immediately gave a proper answer.
“The food’s too spicy for him”
“Too spicy?”
Weren’t they at the banquet?
Out of consideration for the distinguished guests’ dignity, everything served there was small, delicate, and easy to eat, with no pungent spices.
“Su Ke wanted to try the extra-hot pizza. Since you can’t handle spicy food, he asked me to go with him”
Ji Shileng fell silent for quite a while.
Sometimes, he truly did not know what to say.
So the sounds on the phone had not been singing after all. Su Ke had been crying, “Hot, hot, hot!”
He strongly suspected that something had definitely happened between Ji Shifeng and Su Ke during his years in the Empire.
After all, no one in their family particularly liked spicy food, except for the housekeeper’s spicy prawns, which were simply too delicious to resist.
Ji Shifeng was especially sensitive. Even the smell of strong chili could make him cough until his face turned red.
“Doesn’t the smell of chili make you choke? Why did you go with him?”
“Because Su Ke begged me. He looked so pit—”
Ji Shifeng was abruptly cut off.
After a burst of scuffling, Ji Shileng guessed Su Ke had seized control of the communicator.
Sure enough, Su Ke spoke, his tongue thick and his words slightly slurred.
“Shileng, don’t listen to his nonsense”
He downed another glass of cold milk, caught his breath, and protested:
“Who begged him to come? I was going by myself. He insisted on tagging along!”
Ji Shileng: “…”
Their relationship was growing more baffling by the minute.
He decided that once he got home, he would take a few more of Ji Shifeng’s cars out for a spin. His brother rode in an official vehicle anyway. Were those expensive cars supposed to sit in the garage gathering mold?
Su Ke was panting, clearly still suffering from the spice.
Ji Shifeng showed no impatience at having his communicator snatched away. He even had the leisure to ask:
“Want more cold milk?”
Su Ke gave up. Su Ke surrendered. Su Ke stopped trying.
“Yes”
Seriously, did they put chemicals in that extra-hot pizza?
How else could it possibly be so spicy?
It was all Ji Shifeng’s fault, ordering spicy dishes while coaxing him to eat the pizza.
Ji Shifeng smiled and pushed the refilled glass toward Su Ke. While Su Ke was distracted, his gaze slowly traced his tear-reddened eyes and the tip of his nose, flushed from the heat.
“You two…”
Ji Shileng abandoned the sentence halfway through and remembered his actual purpose.
“Su Ke, sleep in my suite tonight. There’s still a spare bedroom”
“Sure. Why all of a sudden?”
Ji Shileng briefly explained:
“Qin Si came over from the Federation tonight. He doesn’t have anywhere to stay”
Su Ke murmured an acknowledgment. Then the words registered, and his voice shot up.
“Qin Si? He came from the Federation tonight?”
He and Ji Shifeng had left the banquet before Ji Shileng, so naturally they had not heard about Qin Si’s arrival.
Wait. Put the person and the circumstances together, and something seemed off.
“Stegala has entered into cooperation with the Federation. Qin Si will be working in the Federation for quite some time. He came to the Empire to assist us”
Suddenly, Su Ke no longer felt the burn. He sat up cross-legged, no longer twisting miserably from the spice.
“Assist us? With what? Everything’s nearly finished”
Qin Si’s intentions could hardly have been more obvious.
Had he arrived a few days earlier and said he was there to help, Su Ke might have believed him.
But everything was practically settled now. Wasn’t it a bit much to suddenly appear out of nowhere?
Ji Shileng glanced at Qin Si. His communicator was on speaker, so none of their conversation had been kept from him.
Qin Si gave him a small smile, apparently unoffended.
“With public opinion, I suppose. There’s been quite a storm lately, hasn’t there?”
To make the explanation more convincing, Ji Shileng added:
“People are still discussing our studio’s 3D engine rendering technology, aren’t they?”
Su Ke clicked his tongue twice and could not resist another sip of cold milk.
“True”
Since Ji Shileng had put it that way, he would not ask any more questions.
What did they have to fear from a public relations battle? They had not even shown their real capabilities yet.
At this point, Qin Si was merely joining in the excitement.
“Then I’ll have someone pack up your luggage and bring it to my suite”
Ji Shileng accepted the cup Qin Si handed him. The water had cooled to a comfortable warmth.
“All ri—”
Before Su Ke could finish, Ji Shifeng’s voice cut in.
“Bring it to my room”
There was some noise on the other end, and Ji Shileng did not quite catch it.
“What?”
Ji Shifeng forcibly reclaimed the communicator, holding Su Ke back as he told Ji Shileng:
“Have Su Ke’s luggage brought to my room”
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