Su Ke hemmed and hawed for a while before saying, “I saw them when I was using his communicator this morning”
He had hesitated because he was afraid Ji Shileng would read something into his using Ji Shifeng’s communicator.
And that was exactly what Ji Shileng did.
Resting his chin on one hand, he swung his leg idly.
“Wait. You think Qin Si pulling out my chair and rinsing my bowl is flirting. Isn’t you using my brother’s communicator even more intimate?”
His brother’s communicator practically counted as classified material.
Photo albums, chat histories, specialized work apps—there was no end to the private information on it.
Crack just one of those, and the whole Federation might feel the shock.
Yet his brother had simply handed it to Su Ke. Su Ke even knew his screen-lock password and photo album password?
Who was being more intimate here?!
Su Ke struggled to defend himself. Then inspiration struck, and he decided to fight fire with fire.
“But I use your communicator all the time too. By your logic, we should have been together ages ago”
Ji Shileng was speechless.
He should have known. Sometimes, Su Ke’s brain simply missed a connection.
“Is my communicator remotely comparable to Ji Shifeng’s?”
Ji Shileng was exasperated. Su Ke was another hopelessly oblivious fool. Sooner or later, Ji Shifeng would have him wrapped around his little finger.
Listening to their lively conversation, Qin Si quietly kept topping up Ji Shileng’s water.
Su Ke still hadn’t noticed anything odd.
“Why isn’t it comparable?”
Ji Shileng took a sip of cold water to calm himself. Perhaps Su Ke wasn’t missing just one connection, but several.
“My brother’s albums probably contain all sorts of classified state information. Mine certainly don’t”
That subject left Su Ke particularly frustrated.
“His private album is full of embarrassing pictures of me! As for the other stuff, I couldn’t understand it anyway”
Then he fiercely condemned Ji Shifeng again.
“Instead of doing his job properly, he fills his private album with all that nonsense. What a creep!”
Ji Shileng looked up thoughtfully and studied his brother several times.
Honestly, he never would have guessed.
His brother looked so courteous and refined. Who would have thought he had such a perverse hobby?
Qin Si offered a guess.
“He probably has two systems. One for work and one for personal use”
“Oh”
Ji Shileng shook his head.
“Ji Shifeng wouldn’t bother. He thinks it’s too much trouble”
Remembering a past incident involving his brother, he lowered his voice.
“His supervisor once called to complain. Apparently, Ji Shifeng didn’t even have a password on his communicator. He just left it lying around the lab, without worrying about anyone finding things”
“My sister scolded him, and he got so annoyed that he finally set some random password”
Everyone in the Federation knew that if either of the Ji family’s younger children caused trouble, there was no point going to Ji Jie or Wen Qin. The couple were too busy enjoying romantic getaways and dates. Unless a serious matter of principle was involved, they stayed out of it.
Going to Ji Shiyun was the quickest solution. An eldest sister was like a mother, after all, and Ji Shiyun filled the father’s role too.
Back then, Ji Shifeng had resented being reported. Lounging against the sofa, he said lazily:
“Having a password makes no difference. If someone really wants to snoop, one password won’t stop them”
His eldest sister stepped on his foot and asked with a smile:
“They’ve called me about it. Could you at least do me this favor?”
Ji Shifeng sucked in a breath and swiftly tucked his legs beneath him.
“Please, Sis. Don’t wear heels at home next time. They look painful”
“I came back especially because of you. I still have to return for a meeting”
Under Ji Shiyun’s watchful eye, Ji Shifeng set a password, all the while complaining:
“Done. Those old men are such busybodies. So what if someone sees the pictures and files? Do they have the brains to understand them?”
Not one of the Ji siblings lacked pride.
Qin Si raised an eyebrow. The Ji family sounded rather different from their public reputation.
“That explains it. I was wondering who would choose such a careless password”
Su Ke muttered to himself.
“He even told you the password?”
Ji Shileng asked, “Actually, why did you ask for his communicator?”
Su Ke wouldn’t have asked without a reason.
“He kept taking pictures yesterday, so I asked whether he’d photographed the food”
Whatever else could be said, yesterday’s dishes had been beautifully presented.
Remembering them that morning, Su Ke had wanted to post a few pictures on his feed, only to realize he’d been so overwhelmed by the spice that he hadn’t taken a single one.
He went to ask Ji Shifeng, who was changing clothes. Ji Shifeng simply gave him the password and told him to choose for himself.
When Su Ke opened the album, he found it packed with mathematical modeling diagrams. There wasn’t a single ordinary photograph.
Ji Shifeng then told him to look in the private album. Its password was the same as the screen lock.
And there it was. Once he opened it, he saw every kind of picture, including plenty he would rather not have seen.
After hearing the story, Ji Shileng fell silent for a moment.
“All right. Didn’t you protest?”
“I did! I secretly deleted them all”
Su Ke gritted his teeth. Ji Shifeng really was a bastard.
“But then I found out the trash folder was locked too”
As everyone understood it, files weren’t truly deleted until they were removed from the trash as well.
Unfortunately, Ji Shifeng’s trash folder had a different password from his private album and screen lock.
Ji Shileng reassured him.
“Don’t worry. Even if you emptied the trash, Ji Shifeng could still secretly recover them”
To technical experts like them, it was all just data. Delete it, and they could restore it.
Besides, with pictures that important, Ji Shileng didn’t believe his brother had neglected to make backups.
Su Ke’s eyes widened as something suddenly clicked.
“No wonder he opened the trash folder right away and let me delete them again!”
Ji Shileng blinked at Qin Si, feeling as though he had done something naughty.
Qin Si smiled back and murmured, “It’s fine. Let Ji Shifeng smooth things over himself”
“True”
Unaware that his own brother had betrayed him, Ji Shifeng was openly restoring the photographs.
Please. As if he would simply delete a collection he had treasured for years.
Even with backups, he still needed a copy in his private album.
Letting Su Ke delete them was a way to appease him. He had to let him vent his anger first.
The server brought out the final dish just as the last guests arrived.
Everyone filled the seats around the table, making for a lively gathering.
Ji Shileng reluctantly straightened up and, under his sister’s kindly gaze, greeted everyone in turn.
He was a little puzzled. Why were all the later arrivals familiar faces who regularly visited his family?
Someone laughed.
“You Jis kept him well hidden. This is the first time I’ve seen Xiaoshi since hearing he’d come home”
Ji Shiyun raised her glass and smoothly replied:
“He never leaves the house, so it’s hardly surprising you haven’t seen him. It’s about time he got out more and met people”
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