Chapter 6: “You have a whole gang?”
The warm summer sun slowly rose into the sky, and by ten in the morning, it was shining brightly.
Silence stretched out under the sunlight. The two stood face to face, neither saying a word.
Qin Yan was the first to break the silence. “The protagonist shou died. What about the protagonist gong?”
Jiang Chi replied in a low voice, “Went insane.”
Qin Yan froze, repeating in disbelief, “Insane? One protagonist died, and the other went insane… Jiang Chi, what kind of stuff do you usually read?”
Jiang Chi avoided Qin Yan’s probing gaze, not even sure why he felt so guilty.
It’s not like he wrote the novel!
He was just some guy who read novels—why should he have to deal with all this?
After a long while, Jiang Chi finally said, “Causality can change. Didn’t he wake up earlier than in the original story?”
Qin Yan thought for a moment. “Wasn’t this the time he woke up in the novel?”
Jiang Chi shook his head. “The plot has shifted. That means the butterfly has already started flapping its wings.”
Qin Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, his gaze calm. “That just means the book you read wasn’t very accurate.”
Jiang Chi said, “It’s still pretty accurate. The book said you lived in the South Pavilion, and when I walked south, I really did run into you… We can treat the original novel like a field guide. It’ll help us avoid a lot of danger.”
Qin Yan’s brows drew together slightly as he pondered aloud, “So this whole marriage was a complete tragedy. No wonder you went to such lengths to stop the union between the Qin and Ji families.”
The mention of life and death suddenly made the mood heavy again.
Jiang Chi tried to comfort him. “The wise don’t fall in love. What’s the point of romance, if it always ends in life-or-death drama… Sure, the Qin estate is luxurious and grand, but there are definitely better places in this world than here.”
Qin Yan neither agreed nor disagreed, remaining where he was, lost in thought.
Jiang Chi’s phone vibrated. He glanced down at the notification and said, “Come with me first—my friend’s still waiting at the back gate. He just texted to hurry us up.”
Qin Yan let out a light hiss and looked Jiang Chi up and down. “You have a whole gang?”
Jiang Chi: “What gang?! It’s not a gang, it’s a team, a brotherhood team!”
Qin Yan shrugged, as if to say, ‘Call it whatever you want.’
Jiang Chi slipped his phone back into his pocket and carefully made his way toward the back gate, sticking to the blind spots in the surveillance. “My buddy’s super loyal. He’s terrified of Qin Yan, but he still insists on standing by me.”
Qin Yan couldn’t bring himself to tell Jiang Chi the truth—that their “battle line” had been off course from the very beginning. If he had to describe it, it was like Zhao Yun charging into the battlefield at Changban seven times and still missing baby Liu Shan, only to end up rescuing Cao Cao instead.
This really was a case of “capture the king to catch the thief.”
Qin Yan offered a sincere assessment: “Your battle line… is certainly unique. It’s like you’re fighting… an imaginary enemy.”
Jiang Chi chuckled. “It’s not imaginary. My buddy says Qin Yan is terrifying. He throws people into the sea, and everyone who crosses him dies in mysterious ways.”
Qin Yan, a top student since childhood with a knack for picking up on key information and giving sharp answers, responded, “Thrown into the sea? That’s just drowning. Nothing mysterious about that.”
Jiang Chi nodded in agreement. “That’s what I said, too. But my buddy’s kind of a coward. So if he asks, just say Qin Yan’s never killed anyone and is actually pretty easygoing.”
Qin Yan: “…Qin Yan hasn’t killed anyone!”
Jiang Chi made a vague sound, clearly unconvinced. “By the way, now that you’re back—did Qin Yan say anything?”
That was a good question.
Qin Yan thought to himself—if the person Jiang Chi had taken away yesterday was the real Ji Yu, what would he have said?
As the one Su Xiaowan had chosen to marry for luck, Ji Yu’s escape from the wedding was bound to implicate her. Su Xiaowan would certainly be held accountable, and Qin Yan would no doubt seize the opportunity to make her pay.
Unfortunately, Jiang Chi had grabbed the wrong person and failed to actually take Ji Yu away.
Qin Yan felt a slight sense of regret about that.
“He’s quite disappointed,” Qin Yan said truthfully. “But you don’t have to worry—he won’t cause you any trouble.”
Jiang Chi thought Qin Yan meant he regretted not being able to marry Ji Yu, and instantly snapped, “What’s he got to be disappointed about! It’s not like I’m scared of him causing trouble for me… whatever, it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re okay.”
As they spoke, the rear gate of the Qin estate came into view.
Jiang Chi glanced at the two-meter-high wall, crouched down slightly, and said to Qin Yan, “Come on, I’ll give you a boost.”
Qin Yan hesitated. “I’ve never climbed a wall before.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Jiang Chi encouraged. “Step on my arm, I’ll lift you up.”
Qin Yan wasn’t too eager to climb the wall, so he deliberately stalled. “What about you? How are you going to get up?”
Jiang Chi stood up, grabbed the top of the wall with both hands, pushed off, and leapt up with ease, landing nimbly on the top.
He reached a hand out to Qin Yan. “Come on!”
That agile move was truly impressive.
Qin Yan teased, “No wonder you’re the notorious playboy of Wuchuan. How many windows have you climbed to get skills like that? Even Romeo would have to bow to you.”
Jiang Chi leaned down slightly, grasped Qin Yan’s hand, and urged, “Hurry up, Juliet—someone might come any minute now.”
Their palms touched, warm against the summer breeze—warmer than the air itself.
From atop and below the wall, the two looked at each other across the distance.
Dappled shadows fell across their faces. The sunlight was just right, the breeze was cool, and the treetops swayed gently, pushing the drifting clouds southward.
Thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump.
Jiang Chi’s heartbeat was a little fast. He was still holding Qin Yan’s hand, and his fingertips just so happened to rest against Qin Yan’s wrist.
In that fleeting instant, Jiang Chi heard Qin Yan’s pulse—it was fast too.
Right at that moment, Qin Yan abruptly pulled his hand back and suddenly said, “I just thought of something.”
Jiang Chi snapped out of his thoughts. “What is it?”
Qin Yan walked toward the side gate built into the wall, lifted the latch, and said, “We’re inside the estate. Why are we climbing a wall?”
Jiang Chi: “……”
With a light creak, the bronze door slowly swung open.
Qin Yan stepped over the threshold and glanced back. “Dr. Jiang, after all those years of studying, all you learned was how to climb walls and jump out of windows? It never occurred to you that doors open from the inside?”
Jiang Chi flipped him off, then turned and jumped down from the two-meter-high wall.
…
Outside the wall, Hong Zixiao had been waiting so long that he was getting anxious—so anxious, in fact, that he was about to call the police.
Just as he was on the verge of losing it, he finally saw Jiang Chi strolling over.
Hong Zixiao got out of the car to meet him. “Brother—my dear brother—how’d it go? Everything smooth?”
Jiang Chi made a vague sound. “More or less.”
“Good, good.”
Seeing that Jiang Chi was safe and sound, Hong Zixiao finally had the mental bandwidth to check out the person Jiang Chi had brought out.
And at first glance, he was stunned.
Damn. Absolute top-tier.
“This guy is insanely good-looking,” Hong Zixiao whispered in Jiang Chi’s ear, full of excitement. “So worth it. Forget sneaking into the Qin estate—even if we had to go all the way to the moon, this would still be worth it. You really pulled it off, bro!”
Jiang Chi glanced at Qin Yan, who was also looking at him.
Jiang Chi cleared his throat. “Zixiao, enough already. It’d be awkward if anyone overheard.”
Hong Zixiao turned to look at Qin Yan, who was five meters away, and confidently said, “He can’t hear us.”
Qin Yan flashed a friendly smile. “Hello, I can hear you.”
Jiang Chi: “……”
Hong Zixiao’s back stiffened, and he froze in place, as though struck by some invisible force. “Ah, hello too, Young Master Ji. My name is Hong, Hong Zixiao.”
Qin Yan gave a slight nod. “So you’re Young Master Hong. It’s a pleasure.”
Hong Zixiao cleared his throat nervously. “Ahem, pleasure, pleasure.”
While Hong Zixiao fumbled with his words, Qin Yan remained calm and composed. “Are you a friend of Jiang Chi?”
“We’ve been friends since childhood,” Hong Zixiao quickly responded. “Our families are long-time friends. We grew up together, along with Fang Sizhe from the Fang family. The three of us have always been very close.”
Fang Sizhe?
Jiang Chi didn’t even know who Fang Sizhe was. Why was Hong Zixiao randomly bringing him up to Ji Yu?
Jiang Chi glanced at Hong Zixiao in confusion, not sure what he was trying to get at.
Hong Zixiao had no idea what was going on either. His throat felt dry, and his mind seemed to be temporarily out of his control. It was as if he were under some invisible pressure, and his words were tumbling out uncontrollably. He felt like someone in a jail cell under a truth serum, desperately spitting out answers, worried they wouldn’t be right.
It was all so strange. What was happening to him?
Hong Zixiao wasn’t one to ponder complicated matters, and he’d always been good at ignoring things he couldn’t understand.
Letting go of yourself is one of humanity’s rarest qualities.
…
The three of them had a meal together, and afterward, Hong Zixiao drove Jiang Chi back to his place.
At the hotel lobby, Jiang Chi waved goodbye to Hong Zixiao. “Brother, take it easy driving back.”
Hong Zixiao threw his arm around Jiang Chi’s shoulders, insisting they go buy some cigarettes, while giving Jiang Chi frantic glances, hinting that he had something important to say.
Jiang Chi handed the house keys to Qin Yan, who went upstairs first.
…
By the vending machine, Hong Zixiao bent down, picked up a small blue box from the dispensing slot, and turned to hand it to Jiang Chi.
Jiang Chi crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, assuming it was a pack of cigarettes. He took it without much thought.
The moment the box touched his hands, Jiang Chi immediately sensed something was off.
The box was about the same size as a cigarette pack, but it was surprisingly light, not the weight a cigarette box should have.
Jiang Chi looked down.
It was a box of condoms!
Jiang Chi: “???”
Hong Zixiao pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag, encouraging Jiang Chi with a grin. “Brother, if it works out, I’ll throw you a huge party to celebrate.”
Jiang Chi, utterly speechless, shook the small box in his hand. “Is this really the kind of ritual you’re going for?”
Hong Zixiao leaned against the wall, lowering his voice. “Bro, if it still doesn’t… if you still can’t find the right feeling, don’t get discouraged.”
Jiang Chi furrowed his brows, staring at Hong Zixiao in surprise.
Hong Zixiao hesitated, then muttered, “I heard there’s an old Chinese medicine doctor… he specializes in treating this kind of thing, and the results are really good. If it doesn’t work out, I can go with you to see him.”
Jiang Chi seemed to understand, but also seemed confused. “See what?”
Hong Zixiao looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in close to Jiang Chi’s ear. “Over the past two years, you’ve tried so many people, but still haven’t felt anything. I’m thinking… maybe it’s not about the person. Maybe your body… your body needs some care, you know? Once you get it all in shape, it should be fine.”
In that halting explanation, Jiang Chi finally grasped what Hong Zixiao was implying.
‘Get your body in shape… and it will be fine? What happens if it doesn’t work?’ Jiang Chi thought to himself, uncertain what to make of it.
Jiang Chi was utterly stunned. “Are you saying I’m… not capable?”
Hong Zixiao jumped in fright, his head shaking like a rattle. He quickly backpedaled, “No! No! Brother, how could you not be capable? It’s just that… your partners couldn’t… couldn’t catch your interest.”
Jiang Chi’s mind buzzed, and everything clicked into place.
No wonder the original owner kept switching boyfriends. It turns out… it was because of… because of some physical issues, and not because of other reasons?!
The original owner had denied that it was a physical issue, so he kept chasing after different beauties, hoping to find the right feeling, but it always ended in failure. That’s why he kept moving on to someone new—someone prettier, someone more beautiful.
Jiang Chi was stunned by this revelation, frozen in place.
Hong Zixiao, who was especially afraid of making Jiang Chi angry, never dared to speak so directly before. But today, seeing Jiang Chi in a good mood, he mustered the courage to bring it up.
Now, though, that bit of courage had completely evaporated.
With no time to linger, Hong Zixiao dropped the bomb and quickly ran off.
“Bro, I’m heading home for dinner. See you later!”
