Chà Chà Novel

The speaker got to the point.

“Xiaoshi isn’t getting any younger. Wen Qin was asking me just a couple of days ago whether I knew any suitable young people he could meet”

Ji Shileng had just picked up a dumpling. His hand shook at those words, and it dropped onto the table, rolling over.

Every gaze immediately turned toward him.

Even Qin Si was watching him with amusement in his eyes, making Ji Shileng feel as though he were sitting on pins and needles.

Under all that scrutiny, Ji Shileng adjusted his chopsticks and offered an obedient smile.

“There’s no rush. My sister and brother don’t even have partners yet. Why should I hurry?”

He finally understood why Ji Shiyun had gathered so many people. This was a matchmaking session in disguise.

He had let his guard down when not everyone had arrived. Clearly, experience still won out.

The elders exchanged glances before advising him:

“Your sister and brother don’t need to hurry. It would be better if you settled down early, so Ji Jie and Wen Qin could worry less”

Beside him, Su Ke struggled to suppress his laughter. The day had finally come when Ji Shileng was being pressured to marry.

Ji Shileng wanted to ask what they meant by his settling down so his parents could stop worrying.

Was he some dangerous criminal? A terrorist?

Ji Shiyun’s gaze moved between Qin Si and Ji Shileng. She decided to spare her brother a little dignity.

“We can make plans once we’re back. We’re in the Empire now, so he can’t meet anyone anyway”

She had spared him some dignity, but not much.

Ji Shileng was speechless.

She really was his sister.

He felt Qin Si’s smile growing more frightening by the second. It was giving him chills.

“That’s true. Wen Qin has already made a list. Once you’re back, meet them one by one. Surely someone will catch Xiaoshi’s eye”

Ji Shileng went rigid.

Wonderful. Once he returned, whether he called it matchmaking or not, he would have to go out and meet people.

Everyone raised their glasses, smiling warmly.

“We can never get everyone together in the Federation, yet here we all are on business in the Empire. What a coincidence”

They began discussing the recent Interstellar Military Competition, finally moving on from matchmaking.

Ji Shileng relaxed a little. As he breathed a sigh of relief, the tension slowly left his shoulders.

Qin Si leaned toward his ear, his voice taking on an inexplicable huskiness.

“Mr. Ji, may I ask what you’re looking for in a potential match?”

His breath brushed Ji Shileng’s ear, making it heat up and turn red.

Ji Shileng strategically leaned back, putting some distance between them. His lashes fluttered.

“My mother and sister decide who goes on the list. I don’t have any particular requirements”

Qin Si watched him through lowered lashes, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“Then could we set a few?”

For some reason, Ji Shileng felt flustered. He tried to maintain his composure.

“I’ll try…”

He would agree first. Requirements or not, he probably wouldn’t be interested in any of them.

Just imagining being marched off to a blind date, sitting down, and finding someone he already knew across the table made him cringe.

Qin Si asked again:

“May I be added to the list Mrs. Ji and Miss Ji have drawn up?”

Ji Shileng couldn’t quite withstand that aggrieved tone, so he passed the question back.

“You’ll have to ask my sister. I’m just a poor little thing who does as he’s told”

Qin Si persisted.

“If I really make the list, will you run away and skip our date?”

“We’ll see…”

Ji Shileng tried to dodge the question.

“So you will run away”

Helpless under that gaze, Ji Shileng answered hastily:

“If you really make the list, I definitely won’t run away”

Qin Si waved the communicator in his hand, looking thoroughly satisfied.

“I recorded that. You mustn’t toy with my feelings, Mr. Ji”

Ji Shileng thought Qin Si was terribly annoying.

Su Ke coughed several times beside them, signaling for them to be more discreet.

They could at least make their whispering less obvious. Everyone around them was quietly watching.

Once the two finally returned to a normal conversational distance, Su Ke leaned over.

“Shileng, what was Qin Si saying? You were so close it looked like you were about to kiss”

Ji Shileng answered with a perfectly straight face:

“He asked when you and Ji Shifeng were getting together”

Su Ke was speechless.

Then he choked and coughed repeatedly. This time, the coughing was real, and his entire face turned red.

Fortunately, Ji Shileng had enough conscience to rub his back. Unfortunately, that conscience only went so far.

“That excited?”

Su Ke immediately protested.

“Startled! How could I possibly be excited?”

Please. Nothing had even happened between him and Ji Shifeng. What was all this talk of getting together?

“Are you sure it isn’t excitement?”

“I’m sure!”

Su Ke slung an arm around his shoulders.

“Stop changing the subject. What did Qin Si say to you? Aren’t I your best friend anymore?”

Ji Shileng had been wondering how to get some evidence on his brother. Here was his chance.

“Then get my brother’s communicator for me later. I need it for something”

“In exchange, I’ll tell you what Qin Si just said”

Su Ke looked at him with bright eyes. In the end, curiosity won.

“Federation citizens don’t lie to fellow Federation citizens?”

“Best friends don’t lie to best friends”

“Deal”

Su Ke nodded.

He wasn’t worried about Ji Shileng seeing classified information on Ji Shifeng’s communicator. They were both members of the Ji family.

At most, Ji Shileng would look at his embarrassing photographs.

He could also use the opportunity to check whether Ji Shifeng had restored them.

Someone at the table shared some news.

“Zhang Shu, the director of Imperial Capital News, was taken away this morning”

Ji Shiyun raised an eyebrow.

“Taken away? Into custody?”

“Most likely”

The speaker laughed as though recounting an entertaining story.

“Zhang Shu has had a terrible reputation in the media industry for years. He deserves it”

“Yes, the trending topics have blown up,” someone else added. “Probably because of that confession video he posted before dawn”

Ji Shileng paused while ladling soup. After his alarm woke him, he had come straight to lunch without checking the public response.

He set down his spoon and reached for his communicator to follow the latest developments, but Qin Si placed a dumpling in his bowl.

“Eat first?”

Ji Shileng looked up, expressing his protest through silence.

In fact, skipping breakfast had left him with little appetite for lunch.

“Could you eat a little now? We need to go to Imperial Capital News headquarters later”

Qin Si’s voice was gentle, yet Ji Shileng somehow heard something that allowed no refusal.

“Why are we going to their headquarters?”

“Mr. Chang has taken his pleas to your sister. He says that if we’re merciful enough to let them off, they’ll cooperate with the Ji family”

Ji Shileng raised his eyes, their mockery undiminished.

“Now that they’re at death’s door, they’ve finally realized they should cooperate?”

“Have a little understanding for the brainless,” Qin Si said. “So eat something first. I’m afraid that once you read the reports, you’ll be too angry to eat”