Was he actually implying something in his words, secretly reporting on someone?
Ji Boyang was completely unaware that Ms. Zhao's thoughts had already wandered dozens of kilometers. He was still enthusiastically promoting how well his second uncle and aunt were matched: "I'm not exaggerating, the roles they played were just too perfect! Director Chen really knows how to cast actors. My brother He is indeed excellent in every way, and he's so handsome. Just standing there, wow! That presence!"
This old-fashioned flattery suddenly enlightened Old Master Ji! He had a flash of inspiration, and a brilliant idea popped into his head!
He cleared his throat, solemnly took out his phone, put on his glasses, unlocked the phone, and began to browse with a furrowed brow.
His actions piqued the curiosity of everyone present. Zhang Chaohe, especially concerned about the old man with a tragic past, volunteered to speak for him and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Ms. Zhao also put down her chopsticks and looked over—and then Mr. Ji said in a clear and resonant voice, "I am cheering for the Western-style food I support."
Everyone present slowly typed out a question mark: ?
Is the "Western Pi" you're talking about the same "Western Pi" I'm thinking of?
Seeing everyone looking dazed, the old man smiled slowly, revealing the mysterious expression of a reclusive master: "west Pi, you young people often say that, west Pi!"
Ms. Zhao: ...
Ji Boyang's expression was completely chaotic: Seeing that no one could catch the joke he had carefully crafted, the old man repeated it again, enticing others to ask, "Aren't you going to ask me what kind of 'west Pi' I'm taking?"
Ms. Zhao calmed herself down and took the initiative to ask, "So, which couple do you ship?"
Fortunately, she's a pro at surfing the internet and knows all sorts of trending topics and memes. Even if the old man mentioned Lin Daiyu x Voldemort today, she could still respond!
Old Master Ji gave a wicked smile: "Of course it's Qiuyue Xipi. I'll be voting for them every day at noon." He enunciated each word clearly: "A beautiful love story, ah, k, s, w, l!"
Upon hearing this, the main characters of the Qiuyue CP were completely flustered, and Ji Boyang was even more dumbfounded... Ms. Zhao felt like her brain wasn't working properly, and her blood pressure was also on the verge of skyrocketing—she gave a forced smile, her hand holding the spoon trembling slightly: "Excuse me—what did you say?"
Zhang Chaohe's mind was already screaming like a groundhog: "Aaaaaah, help me, help me! I've dug out an upside-down Himalayas!!"
Why would an octogenarian like him ship couples?! At his age, are his teeth even okay?!
Cheng Jixue would rather hear news of the family's stock price falling than hear his wise and powerful grandfather speak again. He desperately signaled to his great-grandfather with his eyes to shut up, so as to prevent himself from losing his right to choose a spouse on the spot!
But today, Grandpa Ji was determined to declare his fandom, and he kept spouting strange fandom slang that even Ms. Zhao couldn't understand: "I hope the two darlings can work hard on after-sales service, my goodness I'm so happy!"
Ms. Zhao was on the verge of fainting. She tried her best to understand every word the old man said, but reason told her that this was not right.
That's absurd—is the old man being sarcastic? There's probably no need for that!
Ms. Zhao was a strong-willed woman. She tried to adjust her mental state to be on the same page as the old man, and she used a trick to deceive him: "Why do you say that?"
A real-life explanation of the saying "the father pays for the son's debts": Just as Cheng Jixue chased after Zhang Chaohe's thought process for so long, Ms. Zhao is chasing after Old Master Ji's thought process for just as long.
And there's a faint downward trend?
The old man chuckled arrogantly and beckoned to Cheng Jixue and Zhang Chaohe. But Zhang Chaohe remained wary and did not make a move. He held his chopsticks with one hand, like a chivalrous knight-errant ready to draw his sword at any moment.
Grandpa Ji laughed wildly and unleashed his final, decisive move: "May my West Pi never be ruined!"
The entire room fell silent; you could hear a pin drop. Old Master Ji was still secretly worrying whether he had used the wrong word when he heard Ji Boyang burst out laughing: "The Autumn Moon Party is under the heavens!"
Ms. Zhao looked left and right, and then, as if struck by a sudden realization, she felt a buzzing in her head, as if she had been enlightened by Buddhist teachings. A terrifying idea immediately came to mind!
She glanced at the identical cheekbones of Grandpa Ji and Ji Boyang, then at the high, straight noses of Grandpa Ji and Cheng Jixue, which also seemed to have been carved from the same piece of wood. Finally, a string of reason snapped.
Ms. Zhao's mind went blank on the spot. She felt she needed to sort out the current situation, so she leaned back slightly to find the right angle, closed her eyes, her body tilted, and she fainted!
"Ah!!" The room instantly descended into chaos. Zhang Chaohe, supporting Ms. Zhao, frantically called the private hospital under Hengxiang Group, asking them to send an ambulance immediately. Cheng Jixue also rushed out to contact the club manager to call a private doctor.
Only Old Master Ji walked out of the private room alone.
Indeed, feigning unconsciousness can break through all obstacles.
He smiled knowingly and drifted away.
⚹
"Madam is much better now," the doctor said, carrying a small notebook and closing the door behind him. "Would Mr. Zhang like to come in and see Madam?"
The doctor thought to himself that Ms. Zhao was not only fine, but she was so healthy that she could get out of bed and perform a set of military boxing moves right away.
Zhang Chaohe rushed in—he was terrified by Ms. Zhao's sudden collapse. He already suspected he had done something wrong, and now he was even more frightened, wondering if he had made Ms. Zhao faint from anger.
He pushed open the door and walked into the VIP ward... The ward looked like a large apartment, with the bed by the window. The dappled sunlight filtering through the hinged window fell on Ms. Zhao, who was dazed and hugging the blanket, making her look sad and vulnerable.
"Auntie..." Zhang Chaohe hurried over, just as he was about to give a speech, when he saw Ms. Zhao grab his hand, her eyes deep and thoughtful: "Dian Dian!"
Zhang Chaohe immediately stood at attention, ready to listen to Ms. Zhao's teachings.
"Dian Dian, do you like Ji Boyang?"
Ms. Zhao's words were like a thunderbolt, leaving Zhang Chaohe completely dumbfounded!
Zhang Chaohe was horrified and tried so hard to deny it, his nostrils flaring: "How could this be?! How could I possibly harm such a young child!"
Of course, it would be best if she were two years older than me!
The thought of holding hands sweetly with such a young child like Ji Boyang almost made him a fellow patient with Ms. Zhao. But then he saw Ms. Zhao looking unsteady, her gaze fixed blankly: "So, do you like Cheng Jixue?"
This time, it was Zhang Chaohe's turn to stare blankly: "Hmm...that's true—"
When Ms. Zhao saw Dian Dian like this, tears welled up in her eyes. She choked back sobs and tugged at Zhang Chaohe's hand, saying, "I'm sorry... Dad and Auntie are so sorry..."
Zhang Chaohe was terrified. He quickly grabbed Ms. Zhao's hand and said, "What's wrong, Auntie? Don't cry, tell me slowly!"
Just then, a splashing sound like penguins running errands echoed down the corridor—the next second, the door opened, and Mr. Zhang, who was on a business trip in the city, appeared, panting: "Are you alright—"
Zhang Chaohe's hand suddenly went empty, and he saw Ms. Zhao, tears streaming down her face, reach out her hand to Chairman Zhang, crying, "Husband!!"
Mr. Zhang jogged a few steps and put his arm around Ms. Zhao, ignoring her tears and snot that soaked his shirt, while still reassuring her, "It's okay, it's okay, the doctor said you're fine, don't be afraid—"
Zhang Chaohe, who had been pushed to the side, tried to blend into the family atmosphere: "Auntie..."
Ms. Zhao wiped away her tears and said, "Dian Dian, can you go out for a bit? Your father and I have something to talk about."
Zhang Chaohe: I understand. Even if my parents' love can squeeze in, I'll still be an outsider!
As Ms. Zhao watched him slowly leave the ward and close the door, she quickly recounted the series of events that had occurred that day. Finally, she concluded with a guilty sigh, "If I hadn't been so hasty, I wouldn't have made such a huge blunder."
Chairman Zhang pondered for a moment: "So you think it is..."
Ms. Zhao confidently analyzed: "It must be that the Ji family's son is new to the business world and wants to cooperate with Dian Dian. As parents, they are afraid that their child will be taken advantage of, so they came to find out about Dian Dian's character first."
Since they're not looking for a son-in-law, they must be looking for a business partner—what a reasonable guess!
Moreover, his family name is Ji... The Ji family, which doesn't even trust the reputation of the Zhang family and insists on visiting them personally, must be the one in the capital!
Chairman Zhang said solemnly, "Don't worry, I will definitely have someone investigate this matter thoroughly. Just focus on your recovery..."
"Well, actually..." Ms. Zhao said coyly, "I was just pretending to finish this quickly."
Chairman Zhang: ...
"You did a good job, but next time you can let Dian Dian do it; he's not afraid of falling."
Zhang Chaohe, standing outside the door, had no idea that he had been sold out by his own father. Ma Gaozhu was watching him from the side, the smiling old man with a cunning look in his eyes. Zhang Chaohe didn't even dare to peek through the crack in the door.
Zhang Chaohe thought sourly, "That's all there is to it. Well then, I'll call my darling too."
Great, I've gotten away with it again with a verbal exchange. I'm really something!
However, no one answered his phone.
Zhang Chaohe glanced at his phone with a puzzled look, but he didn't think much of it, assuming that Cheng Jixue had already returned to the film set to shoot, so he didn't call again.
So he had no idea that three generations of the Ji family were sitting together, intensely discussing today's major accident.
Grandpa Ji closed his eyes to rest. His appearance already perfectly matched the image of a "general" in the traditional Chinese mindset. When he was silent and not smiling, his long eyebrows drooped slightly, and his deep nasolabial folds made him seem even more unapproachable and intimidating.
Cheng Jixue remained expressionless, his usually smiling eyes devoid of any trace of amusement, as he lightly tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers. His unfathomable gaze rested lightly on Ji Boyang, his tone seemingly gentle, yet inexplicably tinged with murderous intent: "What are you thinking, hmm?"
Ji Boyang broke out in a cold sweat. After all, if it weren't for his sudden idea today, things wouldn't have progressed to this point. He lowered his head in guilt, ready to accept his second uncle's punishment.
If his second uncle is willing to turn against him, that's fine. But if he doesn't even bother to give him a second glance, he'll just have to wait to die.
Old Master Ji slammed his teacup down: "Let's not talk about that. Tingduan, I only want to ask you, are you sincere?"
Cheng Jixue lowered her head slightly: "Yes, no matter what the result is, I will try my best."
On the way back, the old man had considered many possibilities. Seeing that Cheng Jixue had made up her mind, he was relieved: "Now there are only three paths to choose from. Since you have made up your mind, there are still two paths."
"First, you should tell Zhang the boy everything and see if he is willing to accept your feelings."
Cheng Jixue firmly denied it, saying, "No, given his personality, if he were to confess rashly, there would probably be no room for negotiation."
He had also thought that if he hadn't hidden it from the beginning and had told him frankly that the person he spent every day with was named Ji Tingduan...
However, there are no "what ifs" in life. Without the identity of Cheng Jixue, Zhang Chaohe's gaze would never fall on him even slightly—a thought that is unbearable to bear.
"The second path is—" Old Master Ji paused, "Boyang."
Ji Boyang felt a chill run down his spine for no reason and immediately lowered his head and obediently responded.
I'm so sorry, Uncle. I'd do anything to help you keep this lie a secret, even go through fire and water for your beautiful love!
"You've gotten yourself into this mess, so you might as well take the blame."
Suddenly, Cheng Jixue let out a cool, light laugh, and in an instant, it was as if a guillotine that had been hanging for a long time had fallen from the sky. Ji Boyang looked at his second uncle pitifully, trying hard to discern his second uncle's micro-expressions.
Hmm, his eyes were slightly narrowed, his eyebrows were furrowed, and he even gave a standard, insincere smile.
Finish the big egg.
"What did you talk about with Mrs. Zhang?"
Cheng Jixue didn't say the second half of what he meant—"Could people mistake you for their future son-in-law?"
"I absolutely cannot admit it!" Cheng Jixue thought to herself, her face expressionless.
Ji Boyang immediately presented the written documents with both hands... He had originally thought that he could gain favor through his aunt, but who would have thought that his second aunt would have such a wild idea and kick him into a pit!
He only asked his second uncle to give him a chance to redeem himself, and he was even willing to deliver takeout to his second aunt every day to show his filial piety!
Cheng Jixue quickly skimmed through the self-criticism. Ji Boyang's words were somber, and his remorse was evident throughout.
He glanced at Ji Boyang, who immediately pounced on him pitifully like a puppy: "I'm sorry, Second Uncle, I originally wanted to infiltrate Mr. Zhang's family to get firsthand information..."
As a result, he was almost kicked out of the Ji family and ended up homeless on the streets.
Ji Boyang: Too much scheming and cleverness will only lead to your own demise.
The situation wasn't beyond repair, and besides, Ji Boyang meant well—Cheng Jixue sighed, "Next time... never mind, there won't be a next time."
Ji Boyang was deeply moved. As soon as his second uncle finished speaking, he felt his blood flow back to his head and his cold fingers regained their warmth. He thought to himself that although the revolution had failed this time, his comrades would definitely try harder next time!
I'm just a brick on the road to my second uncle and aunt's beautiful love; I'll be there wherever I'm needed!