Chà Chà Novel

Ji Shileng was reluctant to believe it. Frowning, he asked the doctor, “Surely it can’t be that serious?”

Granted, it really did hurt, and he could not put any weight on his foot.

But he had once fallen from thousands of meters in the air and come away without a scratch.

Now a little twist of the ankle had damaged his ligaments?

That sounded far too serious.

The doctor moved a little farther away and said cautiously, “My preliminary assessment is ligament damage. You’ll need further examination at the hospital to determine the extent”

Ji Shileng’s brow remained furrowed. “Do I really have to go?”

He knew he should seek medical attention immediately after an injury.

The problem was that he either wanted to wait for his ankle to heal on its own or have it examined after returning to the Federation.

The doctor nodded. “Yes. A ligament injury is no small matter”

Ji Shileng: “…”

Taking a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao spray from his bag, the doctor told Shang Jianli, “For now, you could apply some of this. It may help relieve the pain”

He did not dare address Ji Shileng. At this point, he could not even meet his eyes.

Ji Shileng seemed so cold and unapproachable, rather like an exquisitely crafted figurine.

The doctor averted his eyes again, admitting to himself that he was a coward.

Shang Jianli accepted the spray. Ji Shileng gave him a cool glance. “No need to trouble yourself. I’ll contact Su Ke”

Shang Jianli tightened his grip on the bottle. He admitted he was a little jealous of Su Ke.

Su Ke, Su Ke, Su Ke… That name was always on Ji Shileng’s lips.

What was so good about Su Ke?

In what way was he inferior to him?

Shang Jianli reminded himself to stay calm and composed.

There was already more than enough distance between him and Ji Shileng.

If he lost his temper again, he would only push him farther away.

“There’s a signal jammer in the private room. Communicators won’t work here” Shang Jianli approached with the spray.

Ji Shileng thought he was being deceived. Deciding to test it for himself, he took his communicator from his pocket.

Sure enough, just as Shang Jianli had said, there was not the slightest trace of a signal.

Ji Shileng looked up, his eyes full of bewildered suspicion. “What genius designed it this way?”

He was almost angry enough to laugh.

Who could stand spending hours in an auction hall with no signal?

Especially in a private room, the equivalent of VIP seating—and now he was being told that even the VIP seats had no reception.

Ji Shileng could only marvel at how absurd it was.

Their seats seemed less like VIP accommodation and more like discounted tickets a scalper could not get rid of. Everything about them was terrible.

Shang Jianli did not dare admit that he had just secretly instructed Chu Wan to cut the private room’s signal.

It was rare enough to get a chance to be together. He could not let the opportunity slip away so quickly.

“They might be repairing the transmission lines. The building has been here for several years, after all” Reacting swiftly, Shang Jianli immediately dug up an excuse.

The suspicion in Ji Shileng’s eyes did not diminish. “If I remember correctly, Balemate Royal Church was built to the highest specifications. Specialists service the equipment every month”

If things went wrong this easily, was the Empire paying those specialists to do nothing?

It all felt like an amateur operation.

Shang Jianli’s expression did not change. “Everyone’s probably been focused on the interstellar military competition lately and hasn’t paid much attention to this place”

Ji Shileng looked away and pressed his temples. “Will there be a signal outside the room?”

He really did not want to remain alone with Shang Jianli.

Shang Jianli pressed his lips together and considered it for a moment. “I’ll check by the door. If there’s a signal, I’ll let you know”

Ji Shileng thought nothing more of it. He did not believe Shang Jianli would stoop to any tricks.

What he did not expect was that, the moment Shang Jianli reached the door, he sent Chu Wan a message without the slightest hesitation.

[Admiral Shang]: Cut the signal throughout the auction hall.

[Admiral Shang]: Restore it after the glass dolls have been auctioned.

Chu Wan was full of questions when she received the messages.

Cutting the signal to a second-floor private room was one thing. There were only a few people there, after all.

But cutting reception throughout the venue was bound to cause a stir downstairs.

Wasn’t it rather rash to order something like that on a whim…?

[Chu Wan]: Admiral, there are so many people downstairs… Wouldn’t cutting the signal cause problems…?

Chu Wan hesitated.

Shang Jianli had already thought of an excuse. He offered it again, explaining how she should handle the situation.

[Admiral Shang]: Cut it first. Anyone who needs to contact someone can leave the auction hall.

[Admiral Shang]: Make an announcement. Say that Balemate Royal Church is an old building, its transmission lines have deteriorated, and an unexpected fault occurred this evening.

Reading his messages, Chu Wan was briefly speechless.

She did not need to think to know why he was doing this.

Other than Ji Shileng, she could imagine no possible reason.

What could an unfortunate employee like her do? Nothing, of course.

With a sigh, she replied, “OK”

Then she went to the central control room and quickly disconnected the transmission lines.

The communicator detected the change immediately. A message flashed onto its screen: Signal lost. Please try reconnecting.

Shang Jianli nodded in satisfaction. After putting his communicator away, he resumed his detached expression and returned to the private room.

Affecting indifference, he said, “There’s no signal outside either. It’s probably deterioration throughout the transmission system”

Ji Shileng remained suspicious. How could the timing possibly be so convenient?

The lines had not failed earlier or later.

They had chosen the exact moment everyone was gathered here.

There had to be a limit to how absurd things could get.

Before he could question it, the host appeared onstage on the live-feed screen.

She looked a little flustered, gripping her microphone as she forced herself to remain composed. “Our sincere apologies, distinguished guests. Due to deteriorating transmission lines, reception is temporarily unavailable throughout the auction hall”

“If you have anything urgent to attend to, you can make contact near the entrance”

She wiped away sweat as she spoke. It was not difficult to imagine how strongly the guests were reacting.

After hearing the announcement through the screen in the private room, Ji Shileng fell silent for a while.

He felt that he and the Empire were astrologically incompatible in every possible way.

He should never have made this trip.

Their incompatibility had now become so powerful that even the transmission lines inside a building were conspiring against him.

Unless exceptional circumstances demanded it, he did not think he would ever set foot in the Empire again.

“Fine” Ji Shileng forced the word through his teeth.

“Specialists are already working on it. It should be fixed soon,” Shang Jianli reassured him. “Let’s get some medicine on your ankle”

“No need. I can bear it”

What was this little bit of pain?

Compared with what he had endured before, it was nothing.

Although he and the Empire were destined to clash, it all came down to Boss Bai in the end.

And so, in his heart, Ji Shileng quietly added several more grievances to Boss Bai’s account.