Chà Chà Novel

According to the original plan, everything should have gone smoothly.

Ji Shileng only needed to wait for the military technology exchange to end and return to the Federation. After that, none of it would concern him.

Joker Studio had already sent a technical consultant as its representative to oversee support at the interstellar military competition.

Ji Shileng himself was simply along for the ride.

Who could have expected Boss Bai to be so unwilling to accept defeat that he had to cause trouble, just to prove his miniature surveillance technology was better than Joker Studio’s 3D engine rendering technology?

Dragging Joker Studio and Ji Shileng into the mess had apparently not been enough. He had also caused several contestants to come to harm, ultimately leading to Shang Jianli’s disappearance.

Ji Shileng lowered his gaze, lost in thought. Even his ankle seemed to hurt less.

His expression was indifferent, his eyes ice-cold. Perhaps he ought to call in a few connections and ask the interstellar court to make sure Boss Bai was properly looked after.

The length of his sentence did not really matter. Once Boss Bai got out, Ji Shileng would make sure something happened to him anyway.

What mattered was that, for now, his time in prison could not be too “unpleasant.”

Someone bold enough to cause so much trouble certainly deserved everyone’s special attention.

Shang Jianli checked the time and crouched beside Ji Shileng.

“How about going to the hospital now? The Imperial Central Hospital is very close. We can get you examined and still make it back for the banquet”

Ji Shileng slowly lowered his trouser cuff himself. “No need. I’ll ask Su Ke to go with me after the auction”

Right now, he could not even find Su Ke. The auction hall was packed, its lighting dim.

He should simply have stayed where he was when he first twisted his ankle.

Su Ke would have retraced his steps to find him.

Now Su Ke had no idea where he was, and Ji Shileng himself did not know where Shang Jianli had whisked him away to.

He wanted to contact Su Ke, but his communicator had no signal.

It was a perfect case of when it rains, it pours.

Shang Jianli shook his head. “That’s too late. We should get you to the hospital promptly. Let’s not put it off, all right?”

His temperament had changed so much that Ji Shileng could only marvel.

“You never used to say things like that,” he remarked coolly.

Shang Jianli had once been like a robot, incapable of empathy and seemingly unable to register pain.

Whenever Ji Shileng hurt himself, he would merely tell him to go to the hospital when he had time, rather than showing concern.

Back then, he would never have asked over and over like this.

“Xiaoshi, there’s no greater virtue than recognizing your mistakes and correcting them” Shang Jianli had read enough books to quote an old saying offhand, trying to forestall Ji Shileng’s objections.

He attempted to lift Ji Shileng’s trouser cuff to apply the medicine.

Ji Shileng’s patience ran out. He slapped his hand away, irritation plain on his face.

“My affairs are none of your concern”

He struggled to keep his emotions in check. “You should have left me alone and let me stay there. Once Su Ke realized he couldn’t find me, he would have come back the way we came. Instead, you had to make all this happen”

Su Ke did not know where he was, and his communicator had no signal.

One word summed it up: MISERABLE!

Already in a bad mood, Ji Shileng felt an inexplicable urge to lash out.

He knew, of course, that tonight’s accident had ultimately happened because he had not watched his step.

He even had Shang Jianli to thank for catching him. Otherwise, he might have fallen flat on the floor.

Yet he was not upset about twisting his ankle, nor was he upset because Shang Jianli had treated him badly.

It was simply an ill temper he could not help.

Shang Jianli caught the hand that had struck him. How could he fail to hear Ji Shileng’s impatience?

He remained firm, yet willing to take whatever blows or insults came his way. “Xiaoshi, if you’re in a bad mood, you can curse at me. I don’t mind”

Then he changed tack. “If you won’t go to the hospital now, at least let me spray some medicine on it first”

He could not shy away from treatment.

Ji Shileng could not pull his hand free. His emotions swelled inside him like an overinflated ball, with nowhere to escape.

“Why would I curse at you? There’s nothing between us” He was reminding himself as much as Shang Jianli.

He should not take his anger out on Shang Jianli, even if the man had invited him to.

At present, they were nothing more than colleagues.

Hitting and scolding him felt far too intimate.

Besides, he had no intention of sharing any of his emotions with Shang Jianli, good or bad.

Shang Jianli felt him struggle briefly, then give up when he could not break free. He loosened his grip.

He still remembered their first meeting after Ji Shileng’s “death,” when he had forcibly seized his arm and left the skin red.

“I know. I know there’s nothing between us,” Shang Jianli heard himself say.

He was utterly calm now. “So even if there’s nothing between us, you can still curse at me for shamelessly clinging to you like this”

After shaking the bottle, he removed the cap and carefully sprayed the Yunnan Baiyao onto the injury.

The clear, cold liquid coated Ji Shileng’s swollen, bruised ankle, making him instinctively draw his foot back.

The pain grew sharper. He clenched his back teeth, suppressing a groan.

Shang Jianli felt his heart ache in helpless, tightening spasms.

“Idiot” Ji Shileng frowned.

He rarely insulted anyone. When he did, that was usually the word he used.

“Mm,” Shang Jianli agreed.

Ji Shileng: “…”

He wanted to ask: What are you agreeing with? What is there to agree with?

In the end, he settled for a polite smile, afraid that he might actually drive Shang Jianli mad if he kept insulting him.

The man’s mental state already seemed a little questionable.

Watching from the corner, the doctor scratched his head.

Was it just him, or did these two seem rather intimate?

He desperately wanted to take out his communicator, log into the Imperial forum anonymously, and discuss it with everyone.

Unfortunately, the circumstances did not allow it. Taking out his device and tapping away would be far too conspicuous.

Ji Shileng could not be bothered with Shang Jianli. His gaze swept the room and found the doctor standing in a shadowy corner.

Noticing the way the doctor’s eyes kept wandering, he narrowed his own slightly.

As the doctor idly looked around, his gaze somehow met Ji Shileng’s.

The doctor: “…”

Ji Shileng curved his lips into a smile, frightening the doctor considerably.

He immediately turned his back as discreetly as possible, no longer daring to openly “observe” the injured “patient” and the “patient’s guardian.”

Seriously, he had only been daydreaming about a little gossip, and the person in question had already caught him.

The doctor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He still dared to keep gossiping!

As long as there was life, there would be gossip!

Shang Jianli finished applying the medicine with gentle movements and asked, “Would you like to bid on anything? You haven’t finished looking through the catalog”

Ji Shileng honestly wanted to throw the catalog straight into his face.

His upbringing and manners stopped him.

“What lots are still left?”