VFGRC Chapter 47

“Ji Rongyu?”

The voice of Yu Bai, filled with confusion and surprise, came from behind the talent scout.

In an instant, the scout noticed the man standing in front of him, and his icy expression changed abruptly. It was replaced by a smile as warm as a gentle spring breeze.

Ji Rongyu took another step forward, his hands encircling Yu Bai’s waist, and he lightly rested his chin on Yu Bai’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Ji Rongyu apologized sincerely.

Since the day Ji Rongyu left Yu Bai, he had taken the time to sort out his emotions. Although they had only been together for a short month, Yu Bai’s exceptional culinary skills and charismatic personality gradually captivated him…

Yu Bai was a friend to Ji Rongyu, but the meaning of their relationship went beyond ordinary friendship.

Ji Rongyu’s approach to Yu Bai was not entirely pure in intention.

However, during the time they spent together, Ji Rongyu unintentionally gained a genuine and pure friendship that he had never experienced before.

Perhaps… this friendship, which wasn’t achieved through monetary means, was too rare for Ji Rongyu. So rare that he even developed a certain, unsettling possessiveness.

Yu Bai’s assistant, Hang Yuanshu, summarized, “This is also an important reason why you unintentionally developed possessiveness.”

His words snapped Ji Rongyu out of his confusion.

Yet, Ji Rongyu still had a question in his heart.

“Can possessiveness exist between friends?”

“Of course. The more valuable something or someone is, the harder it is to let go. This applies to objects and also to emotions,” Hang Yuanshu explained, “I’ve had a similar experience before. When I was in school, I had a good friend, but when he became close to someone else, I felt jealous of that person…”

Hang Yuanshu’s example made Ji Rongyu understand.

In this world, he wasn’t the only one who could feel possessive toward a friend.

“However, Boss, if you want to maintain a good relationship with that man, I suggest you apologize sincerely. But in daily life, it’s best to maintain a certain distance between you two…”

Ji Rongyu didn’t pay attention to the latter part of Hang Yuanshu’s advice.

Ji Rongyu was contemplating how to apologize to Yu Bai. It had been several days since they last contacted each other, and their relationship was undoubtedly in a precarious state.

If he chose to be honest and admit that he was jealous of the bond between Yu Bai and his wife… Yu Bai would surely think he was being petty and narrow-minded.

For some reason, Ji Rongyu always hoped to show his best side in front of Yu Bai. He didn’t want Yu Bai to dislike him or distance himself from him…

Perhaps it was because he cherished their friendship with Yu Bai so much?

After tossing and turning for a long time, Ji Rongyu found a suitable excuse.

“I’ve been busy these days because a family member fell seriously ill, so I’ve been running back and forth to the hospital to take care of them…” Ji Rongyu whispered, “I couldn’t even find time to charge my phone. The situation came up suddenly, so I couldn’t contact you in time…”

Yu Bai didn’t know where Ji Rongyu lived or the specifics of his family situation. So, using a sick family member as an excuse perfectly explained why he had been unavailable and hadn’t responded to Yu Bai’s calls and messages. Yu Bai had no way of verifying the truth behind Ji Rongyu’s words.

“A family member is ill? Is the situation improving? Is it your mom or your dad…” Yu Bai was successfully diverted by Ji Rongyu’s words.

Due to not having the love and care of his parents for two lifetimes, Yu Bai admired other kids who had complete families.

So when he heard that something had happened to Ji Rongyu’s family, Yu Bai’s first reaction was not to question the truthfulness of Ji Rongyu’s words but to unconsciously worry about Ji Rongyu’s parents.

In his memory, Ji Rongyu’s mother had an accident and hurt herself while she was planning on working at Yu Bai’s home.

Now, Ji Rongyu’s family had another serious illness…

“It’s my dad who’s ill. His condition has improved, so I came to see you and apologize in person,” Ji Rongyu said, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll continue coming to your home to…”

“Your dad is sick, and your mom broke her leg…” Yu Bai interrupted. He reached into his pocket and took out a stack of banknotes. “Take this money for now. Taking care of your parents alone must be overwhelming, so you don’t need to take care of Xing Xing these days.”

Coincidentally, Yu Bai’s snack business was also influenced by online rumors, leading to fluctuations in sales. Additionally, the Lunar New Year was coming next week, and Yu Bai needed to prepare for the festivities, so he planned to close the snack stall…

“I’m closing the stall next week, and I’ll have some free time. I’ll bring Xing Xing to help you at your place,” Yu Bai said, “It won’t take much effort, just lending a helping hand.”

The smiling Ji Rongyu listened to Yu Bai’s words, and his smile gradually froze.

What did they say about lifting a stone only to drop it on their own foot? This was exactly what was happening!

He thought he had found a perfect excuse, but as Yu Bai kept speaking, the situation had somehow turned into Yu Bai wanting to go to his house to help?

How could this be allowed!

He had no time to look for a mom with a broken leg and a dad in the hospital just to appease Yu Bai!

Yu Bai furrowed his brows lightly, concern evident in his deer-like, clear eyes.

He was genuinely worried about Ji Rongyu, and his attitude and expression were not insincere.

Having spent so much time together, although Yu Bai’s payment for Ji Rongyu’s part-time work was not high, Ji Rongyu’s genuine care for Xing Xing, and the gifts he gave Xing Xing during holidays and festivals, showed his fondness for the little boy.

Unknowingly, the two had grown closer and had become friends.

Yu Bai didn’t know how others treated their friends, but he was definitely sincere in his approach to friendships. Therefore, when a friend faced a problem, Yu Bai would never stand by idly.

Ji Rongyu’s heart skipped a beat, and feeling a bit guilty, he buried his face in Yu Bai’s shoulder.

“No, no need…” Ji Rongyu’s voice sounded muffled. “I have hired caregivers and aunties to take care of my parents at home and in the hospital. To be honest, I’m not experienced in taking care of people, and the caregivers and aunties can take better care of them than I can. So, you don’t need to worry…”

Ji Rongyu’s words weren’t finished before Yu Bai pushed him away, looking at him with an almost reproachful gaze.

Yu Bai said, “Hire caregivers and aunties? How much does that cost? Your family situation… That’s why I’m going to your home to take care of the auntie. She has rested for a month, and her leg should be nearly healed by now. The Lunar New Year is in two weeks, and I won’t be running my stall…”

Ji Rongyu: “…”

One lie leads to another, and a lie needs thousands of more lies to keep up with it.

Ji Rongyu now regretted a bit why he had chosen to get close to Yu Bai with such a poor disguise.

While maintaining a pretense of obedience on his face and listening to Yu Bai’s words, Ji Rongyu’s brain was racing, trying to figure out what excuse he could use to get through this with Yu Bai.

Just then, a savior appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh, you two seem to be having a good chat here… Snack owner, I asked you a question, and you haven’t answered me yet.”

The sudden interruption from the side drew Yu Bai and Ji Rongyu’s attention.

Seeing the talent scout standing in front of the snack stall, Yu Bai retracted the worried expression on his face and furrowed his brows.

“Why are you still here?”

The talent scout was taken aback, thinking that Yu Bai assumed he had already left and hadn’t even noticed he was still here.

He felt annoyed. How could there be such a lack of hospitality in this world?

The talent scout almost burst out laughing.

He finally realized that when he had thrown out a bunch of “wonderful plans to sign with their company,” Yu Bai didn’t even pay attention to what he was saying.

Realizing he had been treated like a fool by Yu Bai, how could the talent scout swallow this anger?

The internet celebrity company he worked for might not be the top one in China, but it was still considered one of the best in the industry. As a talent scout and manager, he was used to being respected and catered to by the small internet celebrities under his wing. How could he tolerate being ignored and not taken seriously?

Even if Yu Bai and Xing Xing had great potential as internet celebrities, he couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Fine, I understand. Your snack stall is obviously a shady business!” The talent scout raised his phone high and threatened loudly, “I’m going to call the food safety regulatory department right now and have them thoroughly inspect your snack stall…”

“Hello, we are from the food safety regulatory department, and these are our credentials. We need to conduct a food safety inspection of your snack stall. Until the inspection results are released, your snack stall cannot sell food…”

The talent scout stared blankly as two people in uniforms appeared beside him, holding up their credentials.

Do the food safety regulatory department’s people work this efficiently now? He hadn’t even had the chance to make the call, and they were already here for an inspection?!

 

Author’s Note:

PS: The queues for nucleic acid testing are sooooo long!!!

People are already exhausted.

I’ll have an extra update on Sunday night.