Family feuds, illegitimate daughter, pre-marital accident.
Gazing at the strand of hair in the palm of his hand, Jiang Chi couldn’t stop the thoughts flooding his mind.
He knew his speculation was baseless, but his intuition told him that Huang Qingchuan, Ji Qingchan, and even Ji Yueni’s family must be connected somehow.
He had no proof yet, but it wouldn’t be long before he did.
His eyes flickering, Jiang Chi recalled how, while tidying his room last time, he had found several strands of hair stuck in the pillow’s crevices.
At the time, he had collected them and stored them in a small bottle.
If it was true…
Then did that mean he had gained another, no, two new older step-brothers?
A slightly manic smile tugged at the corners of the boy’s lips.
People, after all, always clutch at the last straw in despair, no matter how fragile that straw might be~~
Suddenly, his pocket vibrated.
Jiang Chi pulled out his phone to see a message from someone special.
His pupils constricted sharply.
Because the sender was named Ji Qingchan.
Ji Qingchan: “Sorry, Senior Jiang. I know I’ve made you worry lately. I haven’t been avoiding you on purpose this past week, it’s just… sigh. Come to my place this Saturday. I’ll send you the address then, and explain everything properly.”
Jiang Chi’s heart fluttered, ripples forming within… No, it was like a giant meteor crashing into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, stirring up a towering wave!
Ignoring the earth-shattering storm rising in the boy’s heart, trouble was brewing on Ji Yueni’s side.
*****
“Yuèyuè, why have you been standing on the balcony for so long?”
“Nothing.” Ji Yueni stopped staring blankly at his phone and quickly switched accounts, hiding the phone behind his back.
“Don’t tell me you’re up to something bad?” Huang Qingchuan eyed him suspiciously, worry flashing in her eyes.
In this family situation, their second son was the most troublesome. And now, nearing adulthood, he was at the peak age when the hereditary illness might awaken.
“How could that be, Mom? I’m determined to be a good man!” Ji Yueni smiled awkwardly and turned his head away, unable to meet Huang Qingchuan’s gaze. He pretended to play with his phone to cover his unease.
Seeing this, Huang Qingchuan grew even more suspicious: “Really nothing?”
“Of course not.” Ji Yueni raised three fingers, swearing, “How could a good man like me do bad things? If I did, then I wouldn’t be a man.”
After his earnest assurances, Huang Qingchuan reluctantly gave up on pressing further and went back to her room for an afternoon nap.
Once she left, Ji Yueni was alone on the balcony.
After making sure no one was around, he exited the game and sent two messages.
The first went to Su Tian, asking him to use his connections to find a rental apartment near the school by Thursday.
The second message logged into his female account, posting a help request on Little Red Potato.
“Sisters, does anyone know? I’ve ignored my boyfriend for a week, and now he seems angry. What excuse should I use to explain? Please help (I accept criticism, but will delete nasty comments).”
*****
“What? Ah Chi, you want to hear about my and Huang Huang’s high school life?”
As soon as he got home, Jiang Chi pulled Chen Mengrou down to sit, saying he wanted to hear about their high school days.
Chen Mengrou smiled and pinched Jiang Chi’s cheek: “Our Ah Chi has really grown up. Not only is your germophobia better, but you even care about your parents now.”
“Mom.” Jiang Chi looked at her seriously, correcting her, “I’m not a big boy anymore. I’m a man now.”
He straightened his back, showing off his nearly 1.8 meters tall height.
“Pfft.” Chen Mengrou laughed, rubbing his hair hard. “Our big baby really has grown up!”
“Looks like I’ll be holding grandchildren soon~”
After saying that, she took Jiang Chi’s hand and began recalling her and Huang Qingchuan’s high school days.
“Back then, Huang Huang and I were inseparable good friends. We went to classes and ate meals together…”
“Actually, the young Huang Huang back then was very different from the Huang Ayi you know now. At that time, she was the school’s recognized big sister, with dirty dreadlocks, carrying a steel pipe every day to beat up local thugs, even dyed her hair red, looking like a delinquent girl…”
Jiang Chi listened quietly, slowly painting a picture of his mother and Huang Qingchuan in their youth in his mind, contrasting it with Ji Qingchan.
Dirty dreadlocks…
Delinquent girl…
Could she really be Aunt Huang’s illegitimate daughter?
No, he had to believe in science…
The boy’s deep blue eyes flickered faintly, revealing no trace of emotion.
*****
Wanqing Yongxing School, Sports Class Office.
The office walls were decorated with posters of sports stars.
Ji Yueni sat before a brand-new desk, sunlight streaming through half-closed curtains, casting mottled shadows on the floor.
In front of him lay the sports department scholarship application forms, his pen circling and marking details.
“Old Su, for Mo Jiayi’s scholarship, should it be first class or second class? What do you think?” Ji Yueni looked up, asking the boy beside him.
Su Tian held a novel in both hands, barely lifting his eyes from the page as he mumbled, “I listen to you, Ji Ge. Whatever you say, that’s what it is.”
Ji Yueni was momentarily speechless, cursing silently, “This kid.”
Seeing Su Tian so focused, he leaned in.
“What novel are you so absorbed in? ‘The Three Ghosts of the Huang Family’?”
“‘Squid Girl’s Bestie’. I haven’t looked up once.” Su Tian replied without raising his head.
“Isn’t it finished already?”
Ji Yueni remembered the nights he stayed up chasing that novel.
As a fitness enthusiast, he knew staying up late hurt the body, but the story was just too gripping — more thrilling than chewing gum, impossible to stop.
“It’s a physical book, just released this month. I bought the volume about the Faceless Man.” Su Tian closed the book and looked at Ji Yueni.
“Ji Ge, if you had the abilities of the number five Faceless Man from the novel, what would you do with it?”
“Let me think.” Ji Yueni rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
If he really had that ability, it would definitely be more useful than the double-sided silver coin he had now.
He could become whatever he wanted, cosplay anything.
Unlike now, when transforming into “Ji Qingchan” made him small and weak, unable to even beat a thug, although it had a special effect against Jiang Chi, sometimes it was too immersive.
“I guess I’d find some fun, like tricking people… cough cough, streaming on Douyin to make money. Isn’t this the cyberpunk age now? Stream a carnival, even Hawking would stand up in place. Then I’d do a face-changing dimensionality reduction strike!”
“What about you, kid? What would you use it for? Spy work, serving the Federation?”
“I…” Su Tian opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a voice came from outside.
“Su Ge, Ji Ge, the student council is having a meeting about the awards from the last arts evening. Come to the third floor.”
“Coming.” The two answered simultaneously, then left the office.
The physical book lay open on the desk.
A breeze stirred the pages, revealing an inscription on the title page.
【You can pretend to be anyone, but you can only be yourself】
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LOTM 😂