After drinking the water Ji Xu poured for him, Cheng Yue seriously finished all the questions he knew how to do on the papers. For the ones he didn’t know, he nervously consulted Ji Xu under the threat of being hit on the backside and barely managed to complete them.
The spanking was painful, but what worried him more was his uncontrollable erection.
By around eleven o’clock, Cheng Yue had finally packed all the papers into his backpack, taken a shower, and then reviewed the English vocabulary with Ji Xu in the living room.
The stack of materials given to him by Teacher Chen was thick, and the legal terms were too specialized. By the time Cheng Yue reached the end, he was so exhausted that he curled up on the sofa and fell asleep.
After finishing his work, Ji Xu turned around and saw Cheng Yue, curled up and sound asleep on the other end of the sofa.
Sleeping Cheng Yue looked much more obedient than usual. Ji Xu smiled and went over, ready to pick him up, but after a moment of thought, he reached out and gave Cheng Yue’s head a gentle ruffle.
“Mmm…” Cheng Yue opened his eyes groggily and looked at him.
“Go to bed.” Ji Xu said.
“But I haven’t finished my vocabulary…” Cheng Yue mumbled as he sat up.
“I don’t know how fast the lawyer will speak tomorrow…”
“Enough.” Ji Xu flicked him on the forehead and said, “He’ll speak slowly, I promise. Now hurry up and go to sleep.”
“Mm.” Cheng Yue didn’t actually hear what Ji Xu said clearly, but he instinctively obeyed and slowly walked back to his room.
The next morning, Cheng Yue, wanting to get to school early, barely had a few bites of breakfast before preparing to leave, but he was stopped by Ji Xu.
“I’ll take you today,” Ji Xu said, then looked at Cheng Yue’s puffed cheeks and added, “Eat your breakfast properly, don’t rush. It’s not good for your stomach.”
“My stomach is perfectly fine.” Cheng Yue countered while obediently sitting down. He drank the remaining half of his milk, struggled to swallow, and added, “Aren’t you going to work today?”
“Mm.” Ji Xu finished his breakfast at a leisurely pace and then looked at Cheng Yue, saying, “I have a lecture at the school today. I don’t know if the students will think I’m all talk and no substance, just a smooth talker who relies on empty words.”
Cheng Yue: “…”
When they reached the school gate, Cheng Yue didn’t react immediately. It wasn’t until he followed Ji Xu into the school that he finally stopped him and, with a blushing face, asked cautiously, “You’re the lawyer giving a lecture at our school?”
Ji Xu turned around, put an arm around Cheng Yue’s shoulders, and pulled him under his arm, then pinched his face and smiled, “Guess.”
Cheng Yue was frustrated but could only huff and pull Ji Xu’s hand away, quickly saying, “I’m going to class.”
Ji Xu smiled as he watched Cheng Yue’s swiftly retreating figure and then walked towards the principal who was waiting ahead.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two quickly became engaged.
During the early self-study period, Cheng Yue was restless, and it wasn’t until after the first class when Teacher Chen led him to the auditorium, and he saw the foreigners involved, that he managed to focus.
Soon, the students began entering the auditorium in an orderly fashion. All grades were present except for the senior year.
The lecture was primarily about legal education related to recent high-profile child abuse cases.
The principal gave a solemn opening speech, and while it was quiet below, there were murmurs of dissatisfaction.
The auditorium became completely silent when a tall man in a suit walked up to the stage.
Barely half a minute later, the female students in the audience erupted in excitement.
Cheng Yue glanced at the surrounding girls admiring and the boys envious, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. He turned his gaze to the silent Ji Xu on stage and found him somewhat unfamiliar.
Ji Xu’s expressionless face and slightly indifferent gaze were how he had looked when Cheng Yue first met him.
Ji Xu noticed the chatter from the audience below, squinted, picked up the microphone, cleared his throat, and tested the sound.
The audience fell silent.
“Hello, everyone.” Ji Xu said as he scanned the audience, spotting Cheng Yue sitting among a group of foreigners in the front row, slightly to the left.
Cheng Yue was chatting with a girl next to him, and since they had to speak softly, their heads were close together, appearing intimate.
When Ji Xu began speaking formally, Cheng Yue quickly refocused his attention, staring at the person illuminated by the stage lights.
“Hey, that man on stage is really handsome. I think…”
“Don’t think about it.” Cheng Yue quickly interrupted the blonde girl next to him, speaking in fluent English with a cold expression, “He’s my dad…”
The blonde girl looked a bit awkward: “…”
Cheng Yue didn’t notice her discomfort and continued to speak, “My dad has had a hard time. He raised me alone and works hard every day giving lectures just to earn ten bucks per lecture…”
The blonde girl hurriedly nodded in agreement before Cheng Yue finished.
Satisfied, Cheng Yue turned his attention back to the speaker on stage. Halfway through, he suddenly looked down at his erection, sighed, and went to the restroom.
When Ji Xu glanced left and noticed Cheng Yue was missing from his seat, he frowned but continued speaking. Despite being distracted, Ji Xu’s professionalism kept the audience engaged.
However, the temperature seemed to drop among the audience.
Cheng Yue stood in front of the restroom, not urinating but standing still for a while before pulling up his pants and sneaking back to his seat.
Ji Xu was concluding his topic when he saw Cheng Yue hunched over, sneaking in.
Cheng Yue blinked and lowered his head, feeling a bit guilty. He thought Ji Xu had given him a disapproving look.
After the 40-minute lecture ended, the principal and the head teacher took turns speaking.
As Ji Xu finished and descended from the stage, Cheng Yue started feeling restless. However, Teacher Chen had come over and sat behind him, so Cheng Yue didn’t manage to go backstage to find Ji Xu.
When the meeting dispersed, Cheng Yue went backstage only to find that everyone had already left.
Breathing heavily, Cheng Yue slowly walked back to the classroom, pressing his chest and feeling a pang of unease.
Ji Xu left immediately after his talk. He had intended to say a few words to Cheng Yue before leaving, but he received a call from Tang Jing as soon as he got off the stage.
“Ning Zhengyu has arrived! He just landed this morning.” Tang Jing’s voice was somewhat garbled, with background noise from an early morning bar still open.
“How do you know?” Ji Xu asked.
“He’s so showy, he posted a message in our class group saying he’s treating us to a meal,” Tang Jing chuckled. “The group’s gone wild over it. Oh, and Duan Zhangsheng, who used to chase after you in college, has been transferred to our city. I hear he’s doing well now.”
“Give me Ning Zhengyu’s contact info,” Ji Xu said, frowning and focusing on the important details.
“Che, look at you, still single…”
Before Tang Jing could finish, Ji Xu hung up the call. Less than a minute later, Tang Jing’s message arrived.
Tang Pang: [Here’s his phone number: 157********. But are you planning to have a meal with the people from our class? It’s been a while since we got together.]
After reading the message, Ji Xu directly dialed Ning Zhengyu’s number.
When Ning Zhengyu answered, he expressed his surprise at Ji Xu calling him but quickly agreed to meet up.
When Ji Xu arrived at the location, he found that Ning Zhengyu had arrived early.
“Here.” Ning Zhengyu, who was tall and had a charismatic demeanor, waved at Ji Xu.
“Sorry I’m late.” Ji Xu took a seat and smiled at him, asking, “Why did you come so early?”
“I was staying at a hotel nearby, so I arrived quickly.” Ning Zhengyu said as he snapped his fingers at a passing waiter, then asked Ji Xu, “What would you like to drink?”
Ji Xu ordered something casually from the waiter and didn’t speak immediately.
Ning Zhengyu couldn’t help but break the silence first, “What did you want to talk to me about today?”
“I wanted to discuss some matters about Ke Miao.” Ji Xu replied with a faint smile. “I found the divorce agreement documents you sent her in her email.”
“You know Ke Miao?” Ning Zhengyu looked a bit surprised.
“I’m her brother.” Ji Xu answered briefly.
“Brother? She never mentioned having a brother.” Ning Zhengyu’s eyes showed some skepticism.
Ji Xu knew he wouldn’t believe it. If someone else told him this, he wouldn’t believe it either. He took out the will from the file folder and handed it to Ning Zhengyu.
Ning Zhengyu looked at it and was still somewhat surprised. “So you really are her brother? Her son is living with you now.”
Ji Xu nodded and smiled lightly. “The main reason I asked you out today is to understand more about Ke Miao.”
“Ask away.” Ning Zhengyu responded readily.
“How much do you know about the company’s bankruptcy?” Ji Xu asked straightforwardly.
“The issue started when Ke Miao’s husband, Cheng Ye, wanted to acquire a piece of land. The rumor was that the land would appreciate significantly. Because the amount involved was huge, if they acquired it, all the company’s liquid assets would be invested in it. Ke Miao disagreed because at that time, a large portion of the company’s receivables hadn’t been recovered, and the villa project was ongoing, making finances tight. Cheng Ye wanted to take the risk, but Ke Miao didn’t agree to it for safety reasons. She even threatened divorce, and the divorce agreement was drafted by me.”
Ning Zhengyu chuckled, “Cheng Ye feared his wife, so the deal fell through. But later, the villa project encountered major issues. After a heavy wind and rain one night, one of the buildings collapsed, killing two workers. This incident caused the initial investment to be sunk, and with no funds coming back in, the company’s stock fell due to the shoddy construction. Cheng Ye, desperate, tried to get the land again and took a huge risk by borrowing from the bank.”
Ji Xu’s expression darkened upon hearing this.
“The result was predictable.” Ning Zhengyu continued, “Cheng Ye was clearly duped. The land couldn’t be developed, and it became wasteland. The company declared bankruptcy, mortgaging what could be mortgaged and repaying debts.”
“And the car accident?” Ji Xu frowned.
“Ke Miao called me that day. She and Cheng Ye were planning to go to the U.S. to find Cheng Yue. The accident happened on their way to the airport.” Ning Zhengyu took a sip of his coffee. “It was quite a coincidence. After the accident, I checked the surveillance footage of that stretch of road, and it did seem random.”
Ji Xu replayed the whole incident in his mind. Could it really be so coincidental? He didn’t believe it.
On Friday, after school, Cheng Yue was eager to get home. When he arrived and knocked on the door for a long time, he realized that Ji Xu wasn’t home and then belatedly realized he had forgotten his keys.
He had no choice but to call Ji Xu.
The call was quickly answered, but the voice on the other end wasn’t Ji Xu’s.
“Who are you?” Cheng Yue asked warily.
“I’m your dad.” Ning Zhengyu, having met Cheng Yue once, recognized him as an arrogant, difficult child, so he spoke informally.
But before he could continue, Ji Xu came back from the restroom and quickly took the phone.
As soon as Ji Xu held the phone to his ear, a furious shout came from the other end.
“I’m your dad! Who the hell are you? Look in the mirror and see who your real dad is! Have you even grown up enough to call me your dad?”
Cheng Yue initially thought Ji Xu’s phone had been stolen and was naturally upset. Just as he was about to shout back, a familiar voice came through the phone.
“I remember warning you not to use foul language.” Ji Xu’s deep voice was filled with danger.
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