The other diners at the hotpot restaurant paid no mind, merely viewing it as a couple’s playful banter.
Some even cheered on Jiang Chi, “Brother, that’s manly of you!”
Jiang Chi smiled and shook his head, ignoring the onlookers’ gazes. He reached into his shoulder bag, pulled out a thermos, and handed it to “Ji Qingchan.”
“This is for you.”
“A thermos?” Ji Yue’nian took it, noting the yellow teddy bear painted on the cup. She weighed it in her hand—it felt a bit heavy.
“You only give this to your girlfriend?” She poked the yellow teddy bear and teased with bright eyes, “Don’t girls usually like pigeon egg–sized diamond rings?”
“There will be one in the future.” Jiang Chi’s lips moved quietly, but the girl didn’t catch what he said.
Soon after finishing their hotpot, Ji Yue’nian left holding the thermos Jiang Chi had given her. After paying the bill, Jiang Chi didn’t leave but instead walked into a milk tea shop. He ordered a glass of lemon water, then took out his phone and opened an app.
On the screen, a lonely red dot slowly drifted away from his center.
“Lang ge li lang ge lang ge lang ~~”
Humming a tune, Ji Yue’nian leisurely returned to her second secret base. It was just past 1 p.m., with an hour left before afternoon classes.
Back in the small room, Ji Yue’nian casually placed the thermos on the table, then picked up a pink diary and sat down in her gaming chair.
She deftly lifted her legs to rest on the desk, leaned back, sinking into the soft seat. Taking out a pen, she began to write in the diary.
June 29th: Ate hotpot with Jiang Chi. He felt a little strange, but the progress bar is full. Time to execute the final step—I can’t wait to see him break down in tears!
Hehehehe!!
Finishing the entry with a flourish, Ji Yue’nian closed the diary. This 《How to Make Jiang Chi Break Down in Tears: A Practical Manual》 had accompanied her through almost the entire semester.
Setting the notebook down, Ji Yue’nian began unbuttoning her clothes one by one, shedding garments to reveal her tender, youthful body.
It had to be said—“Ji Qingchan” had a great figure: a slender yet powerful waist, long, straight legs, and those two perfectly proportioned little white bunnies, fully matching the pure young girl image Ji Yue’nian had fantasized about.
After removing her underwear, she took off her shorts and stockings as well. Turning off the light, she lay down on the bed.
The room was dark and quiet now. Ji Yue’nian yawned, then closed her eyes, sinking into sleep.
She had unknowingly developed a habit of sleeping naked, especially in her female form. It was extremely comfortable, and every time she woke up, the world seemed clearer.
……
Hongyuan Group, Clothing Design Department Office.
“That’s how it went.” Ji Haotong finished recounting the fishing trip with Ji Yue’nian and looked at his mother, shrugging.
“Mom, I don’t think my little brother has any problems.”
“He’s probably just a guy in love—overthinking and acting strangely. He even asked me what the essence of love is for an old bachelor like me?”
“How can Tongtong say that about himself?” Hearing his eldest son’s self-mockery, Huang Qingchuan frowned and pinched his cheek in mild scolding:
“What do you mean old bachelor? Don’t you know men get more attractive with age, especially diamond bachelors like you—handsome and rich.”
Ji Haotong’s face went dark. His mom was truly forever an eighteen-year-old at heart—old in age but youthful in spirit, especially with some rather childish behaviors.
Fortunately, no secretary was around to bring in materials. Otherwise, if anyone saw the future company president being casually pinched on the cheek, his image as a business elite would be shattered.
“As for Yueyue…” Huang Qingchuan saw Ji Haotong wasn’t responding, so she took the initiative.
After a moment’s thought, she said, “I’m still uneasy about him. Sometimes, the ones who seem fine are actually the ones with the most problems.”
“Should we just drag little brother to the hospital for a forced checkup?” Ji Haotong suggested.
Bang!
Huang Qingchuan gave him a hard slap and rolled her eyes. “What are you thinking? The fewer people who know about this illness, the better. If Yueyue finds out, he’ll start overthinking and lose sleep. He might imagine he’s sick even if he’s not.”
Hearing this, Ji Haotong’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Mom, what exactly is this illness? Sounds mysterious.”
“A hereditary family disease,” Huang Qingchuan sighed deeply, looking Ji Haotong in the eye. Then she poked his cheek and explained, “As long as you have the blood of the Huang family flowing in your veins, this illness is encoded in your genes. You and your descendants may suffer from it.”
Huang Qingchuan continued, “Have you heard of the online gene superiority theory? Caucasians, Asians, and Africans have the same genes but with different strengths and weaknesses.”
“Our family’s ‘illness’ is less of a disease and more like a side effect. How to put it? Our family is more prone to producing geniuses—like me, a natural piano prodigy; or your grandmother, a master in the biological world who succeeded entirely on innate talent.”
“But there’s a saying: ‘The gifts of fate always come with a hidden price.’”
“Perhaps it’s because one aspect is too outstanding, another becomes weak.”
……
“Ahhhhh!!!”
“I’m oversleeping, oversleeping, oversleeping!!!”
A certain naked-sleeping girl awoke with a start, seeing the time and letting out a piercing scream.
She hurriedly threw on men’s clothes to transform back into her male identity and dashed out.
Ji Yue’nian ran so frantically that she didn’t notice the thermos left forgotten on the desk.
The yellow teddy bear on the cup suddenly flickered with a strange red glow in its eyes, the light eerie in the dim room.
As day turned to night, and daytime rested while night awoke, the twilight sky like a painted scroll seemed to be slowly pulled down by an invisible giant hand, and gradually the world sank into deep darkness.
Night fell like a massive curtain, quietly descending.
Most students at Wanqing School returned to their dorms, starting their exciting ranked matches.
At this moment, a vague shadow quietly scaled the perimeter fence outside the school, entering the campus with quick but steady steps.
Before long, he arrived at a remote corner of the school, beneath an abandoned building.
In the night, the derelict building loomed like a sleeping giant, exuding a mysterious and sinister aura.
Oh no
Oh no. The day of reckoning is about to arrive