“…Idiot.” Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue, who was still holding his head up and hadn’t moved, and sighed with a hint of amusement. “You can put your head down now.”
…Ah, Cheng Yue was startled for a moment before quickly lowering his head.
“Let’s go home.” Ji Xu took his hand and led him inside, glancing back at Bai Zhen, who was standing not far away, staring at them without blinking.
Bai Zhen, gripping the gift in his pocket, was so stiff that he could hardly breathe. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen.
Wasn’t that man Cheng Yue’s uncle?
Then why did that man kiss Cheng Yue, even if it was just on the face?
But the way that man looked at him—with an aggressive and masculine territorial defense—made Bai Zhen doubt whether he had seen it right.
As Bai Zhen walked away, his mind preoccupied with the incident, he was a bit dazed and just turned a corner.
A sudden screech of brakes filled his ears, followed by the sound of wind and the heavy thud of being knocked to the ground.
“I…” Duan Changsheng, gripping the steering wheel in shock, saw the person lying on the ground and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly got out of the car.
He walked over to the person on the ground and was about to say something when the person slowly got up.
“Damn… Your brakes are pretty responsive. Where did you get them fixed?” Bai Zhen, grumbling and rubbing his leg, stood up with a limp. When he saw the face of the person who had hit him, he was a bit surprised. “How is it you?”
“You?” Duan Changsheng was also surprised, but quickly reached out to help. “Are you alright? Why weren’t you watching for cars?”
“It’s none of your business.” Bai Zhen swatted his hand away and tried to walk forward.
“Hey…” Seeing him limping, Duan Changsheng frowned and grabbed him. “Did you hurt your leg just now? Let me give you a ride…”
Bai Zhen’s leg hurt badly, and his mind was in chaos. The moment Duan Changsheng’s hand gripped his arm, it felt like a fire exploded in his brain. He twisted Duan Changsheng’s arm and pushed him against the car hood, gritting his teeth. “I said! I’m fine!”
Duan Changsheng was so frustrated he nearly spat blood. This kid had twisted his arm last time too, and now he was being so violent again. And why was he so strong…
“Alright! You’re fine! Let go of me!” Duan Changsheng struggled but couldn’t break free and finally couldn’t help but shout.
Bai Zhen frowned and released his grip.
Duan Changsheng, still angry, reached into the car window and grabbed the documents that Tang Jing had asked him to deliver to Ji Xu. Seeing Bai Zhen struggling to stand, he felt a bit sympathetic. “Wait here, I’ll go up and deliver the documents and take you to the hospital.”
“Wait for your grandpa…” Bai Zhen, losing his temper, kicked the tire of the small Magotan as he watched Duan Changsheng run into the apartment building.
After kicking, he staggered and sat down on the ground due to the pain in his leg.
Bai Zhen’s face was truly dark. As he stood up slowly and was about to leave, the sharp pain in his ankle made him frown and he walked back to the small Magotan. Hesitating for a moment, he reached out and opened the car door.
Damn.
How could this person leave the car door open?
After Cheng Yue returned home, he felt a bit dazed and confused. Ji Xu pressed him down on the sofa and pinched his buttocks to bring him back to his senses.
“Go do your homework.” Ji Xu patted his buttocks as his phone rang.
Cheng Yue squinted and quickly took the phone from Ji Xu’s pocket.
Seeing the caller ID, the smile on his face disappeared.
It was a call from Duan Changsheng.
Cheng Yue didn’t dislike him, but Duan Changsheng’s presence always made him uneasy and tense. Cheng Yue had vaguely suspected for a while that there was something wrong with him, but he absolutely didn’t want Ji Xu to find out.
How frightening; what if he had some hidden mental illness?
“Who is it?” Ji Xu leaned on his head, smiling and asking.
Cheng Yue forced himself to suppress a certain fine panic and handed the phone over.
Ji Xu took the phone, glanced at the caller’s name, and answered the call on speakerphone.
“Hello, I left the documents Tang Jing wanted at your apartment’s front desk. Go down and get them yourself. I have something urgent, so I’m hanging up now.”
Ji Xu opened his mouth but couldn’t get a word out before the call was already disconnected.
Cheng Yue let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“I’ll go downstairs and get the documents.” Ji Xu got up from the sofa, but was stopped by Cheng Yue grabbing him. “What’s wrong?”
Cheng Yue looked at him, worried about him going downstairs alone.
Ji Xu knew exactly what Cheng Yue was thinking. He tightened his grip on Cheng Yue’s hand and led him downstairs to get the documents.
After Ji Xu finished reviewing the last document while sitting on the sofa, he let out a complete sigh of relief. Liang Siwei’s fate was now sealed.
Cheng Yue also took a look at a document, which showed the names of doctors and nurses from a hospital in their city, along with details about cremation. He pointed at the document and looked at Ji Xu, tilting his head.
“Do you remember when you told me that you didn’t see the body at the hospital and directly received an urn?” Ji Xu looked at the document with a somber tone.
“Hospitals have no right to cremate a body without family consent. I checked all the doctors and nurses who handled this case at the time, and found out that the person who signed the body claim list was a distant relative of your father. I also checked his bank transfer records and found a payment from Liang Siwei’s assistant.”
Cheng Yue clenched his fists and glanced at his room, where his parents’ urns were kept.
He suddenly felt so foolish. Even though he had sensed something was wrong when he carried the urn from the hospital, he hadn’t thought further. After crying over the urn, he returned home.
But then he found his house sealed off, leaving him with no time to think about the inconsistencies.
Fortunately, he met Ji Xu.
Ji Xu held Cheng Yue’s sweaty hand and continued to explain.
“But this payment was made a week before your parents’ accident. This timing strongly suggests that the whole thing was intentional and deliberately caused. So we immediately checked the traffic footage from that time.” Ji Xu observed Cheng Yue’s emotions closely.
“However, the footage showed that the car your father was driving collided with a truck next to it. Although there were no suspicious points in the surveillance video, the transfer record indicates that Liang Siwei had a motive for hiring someone to kill. This will need to be investigated by professionals.”
Cheng Yue nodded, not too emotional. He couldn’t accept the idea that his parents’ accident might have been a murder.
Even though it was just a possibility.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue’s expression and suddenly regretted telling him this, even though it was part of the truth Cheng Yue had the right to know.
Before Cheng Yue had a chance to think further, Ji Xu picked him up from the sofa and carried him to the kitchen.
“Today, I’ll teach you how to cook.” Ji Xu aimed to distract Cheng Yue as much as possible.
Cheng Yue blinked, and interest quickly appeared on his face.
Seeing his interest, Ji Xu immediately asked, “What dish do you want to learn? I can teach you anything.”
Cheng Yue’s eyes brightened, and he immediately typed three characters on Ji Xu’s phone and handed it over.
Ji Xu, confident at first, looked at the three characters and his expression fell.
[Buddha Jumps Over the Wall]
Ji Xu: “…”
Ji Xu looked at the three characters on the phone in silence for a moment before responding, “Alright, then we’ll start with tomato scrambled eggs today.”
Cheng Yue: “…”
Cheng Yue pouted in disdain but remained energetic while Ji Xu taught him how to beat eggs.
After a few days of egg-beating practice, Cheng Yue finally learned to cut tomatoes…
That evening, Cheng Yue proudly brought a plate of tomatoes to the table, his smile a bit too wide, looking somewhat silly.
“Can we eat it?” Ji Xu, uncertain, picked up a piece of slightly burnt tomato with chopsticks.
Cheng Yue eagerly nodded.
After Ji Xu took a bite, he cried out and then pretended to clutch his stomach in pain.
Cheng Yue’s eyes widened in alarm as he hurriedly reached out to support him, calling Ji Xu’s name with his mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out.
For the past few days, Ji Xu had been trying various methods to get Cheng Yue to speak, even just a single word.
Ji Xu stood up and pinched Cheng Yue’s face, and asked helplessly, “Why can’t you speak yet? Don’t tell me you’re really turning into a mute.”
Cheng Yue opened his mouth, and a fleeting look of confusion and bewilderment crossed his face, but he still managed to smile, trying to reassure Ji Xu.
“How about seeing a psychologist?” Ji Xu suggested.
Cheng Yue’s smile stiffened. He didn’t want to see a psychologist.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Xu noticed Cheng Yue’s discomfort.
He sensed that Cheng Yue was unwilling, even somewhat resistant to the idea of seeing a psychologist.
Cheng Yue shook his head, lowering his gaze and remaining silent.
Ji Xu watched Cheng Yue for a while in silence before reporting the situation to Song Yi.
Song Yi was also taken aback for a moment and finally said, “Don’t force him.”
Ji Xu was increasingly worried that Cheng Yue’s inability to speak might become a more serious issue. After some thought, he suggested, “How about we arrange another meal together like last time? Without revealing identities?”
“No,” Song Yi refused. “This process can’t be resolved by just a few words from me. He has to face it on his own; he has to let go of himself. It’s like a city plagued with disease. I’m a divine doctor, but if the city gates remain closed, even if I have the cure, I can’t get in.”
Hearing the answer, Ji Xu could only drop the matter.
Since Cheng Yue didn’t have to attend academic classes, his daily task was just to spend five hours drawing.
Time passed quickly, and before long, it was the day of the court hearing for Liang Siwei’s financial crime.
That morning, Cheng Yue got up early.
“Don’t be nervous.” Ji Xu patted him on the head.
Although Ji Xu brought Cheng Yue to the hearing, he didn’t want Cheng Yue to meet Liang Siwei or Tan Minmin and others.
So, he arranged for Cheng Yue to stay in the lounge with Tang Jing while he himself left, still feeling somewhat uneasy.
After an hour or so, Cheng Yue’s palms began to sweat, and he started uncontrollably worrying whether Ji Xu might lose.
But once this thought arose, he quickly dismissed it because Ji Xu had never lost before.
However, as time passed, Cheng Yue, who was pacing the lounge, felt increasingly anxious. Tang Jing sighed and explained again, “Yue’er, can you stop pacing? My eyes are getting dazzled. This type of case usually takes half a day to a day, sometimes even longer. Although our lawyer Ji Xu is extraordinarily talented, akin to the modern-day Zhuge Liang, it still takes time. Don’t worry.”
Cheng Yue stopped pacing, frowned, and, afraid that Tang Jing might notice his abnormal behavior, forced himself to sit down. The sweat on his back was increasing.
At this point, he wasn’t worried about the case anymore; he was just missing Ji Xu too much.
Just as Cheng Yue’s vision started to blur and darken, the lounge door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Cheng Yue took a deep breath and jumped up from the chair, rushing towards Ji Xu, who walked in with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Ji Xu immediately caught him and, lowering his voice, asked with a smile, “Are you happy?”
Cheng Yue nodded, and his dimpled smile appeared.
Ji Xu didn’t hear the expected response and closed his eyes helplessly before letting Cheng Yue go.
Cheng Yue continued to smile, even uncontrollably wrapping his arms around Ji Xu’s neck.
Ji Xu’s expression gradually dimmed, his eyes filled with hesitation and guilt. “Cheng Yue, let’s go see a doctor.”
Cheng Yue’s grip on him tightened, and then he slowly let go.
He knew what Ji Xu was hoping for, but he couldn’t speak. It felt like his throat didn’t belong to him. He could feel it, but didn’t have the key to unlock the door.
He was scared. He woke up in fear in the middle of the night, afraid he might never speak again, standing in front of the mirror after showers, making silly gestures with his mouth opening and closing.
He was afraid. No one wants to become a mute.
But what scared him more was Ji Xu knowing he had a mental illness. While Cheng Yue couldn’t be certain if he truly had a problem, he was sure he wasn’t like other normal people.
So, Cheng Yue remained silent when Ji Xu asked.
He didn’t want to see a doctor. He was scared.
