Ji Jue swore that he really hadn’t stirred up any trouble at all this ti. He had spent the entire day being brutally beaten by a health-obsessed old man at the training ground, and then drank so much that his head pounded all night.
There was no way that, while drunk, he had dragged Wen Wen along to deal with that scoundrel Yu Hanguang, right?
That would have been... cough, cough... terrible!
“It’s not you, it’s the workshop.” Ye Chun sighed and picked up another pair of chopsticks. “Here, eat up. Good thing I ran fast, otherwise we might not even be in the mood to eat later... Wait, what are you looking at?!”
Alert, she glanced at Ji Jue’s phone. On the screen was the Tiann University library app, still recording Ji Jue’s access history. Unexpectedly, it didn’t contain professional papers at all, but textbooks from the dical school. Anatomy, surgery... and at the very end, even bionics.
Ye Chun froze for a mont, then exploded in outrage. “Ah, you’re grinding again, Ji Jue!!!”
Hadn’t they agreed to just lie back and relax together?!
She had thought that after adding alchemy courses, he’d take a break. Instead, while she had been playing gas, watching shows, and eating chips with him, he was quietly reviewing behind her back to put pressure on her?!
Are you even human?!
Ji Jue scratched his head awkwardly. “I-I was just curious, that’s all. I happened to get so inspiration related to spirit matter applications. I’ll explain later. What exactly is this ‘trouble’ you ntioned earlier?”
Ye Chun sighed. “You’ll see soon enough. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll handle it once we get to the workshop. If not, then we’re in trouble.”
Ji Jue didn’t dare waste ti. He finished his noodles as fast as he could, then rode with Ye Chun toward the workshop.
On the way, Horsey kept twitching and squirming, like sothing was itchy. Even kicking it a couple of tis didn’t help. Ever since they fed it the urn yesterday, it had been acting like this. Maybe it had indigestion? Its shell felt loose and wobbly.
Should he have the professor check it later? He pondered lazily as he parked in the factory area before freezing in place.
As soon as they entered the gate, he noticed the workshop looked different from usual. The front gate was open, and in the parking area, there was an unexpected luxury car besides Professor Ye’s vehicle.
It was a Lumina A800. Judging by the exterior, it seed like a limited edition. Ordinary people called it the “top throne” because anyone who could sit in such a car was basically untouchable, as if they were sitting on a literal throne. It was one of the famous brands under Universal Heavy Industries. Just the pure gold emblem on the hood alone cost 2.69 million, and a single scratch on the body required 900,000 in factory repainting.
Back at Mainland Auto Shop, Ji Jue had never even touched a car with specs this absurd. People who owned cars like this would look down on a repair shop just for existing. His professional instincts kicked in imdiately. He bent over to inspect it, almost crawling under the car.
“Wow! This suspension is really sothing.”
“Alright, alright, stop looking,” Ye Chun told him. “Just follow my lead when we get inside.”
Ji Jue looked both puzzled and helpless. Every ti he had to follow her lead, he never quite understood what she wanted him to do. What if her eyes flicked a certain way? Should he play dead imdiately or turn and run? Too bad there wasn’t ti to discuss it further.
Right at the workshop entrance, a neatly dressed figure had already stepped out, looking their way and giving a slight wave. The handso young man offered a gentle smile. Sothing about him seed familiar.
“Chun, long ti no see. Master Ye said you were out, so I thought I wouldn’t get to see you this ti.”
“Ah, Mr. Lou! Long ti no see.” Ye Chun shook his hand warmly. “Are you here with Master Kong? On a trip?”
“I’m just helping her out a bit,” he replied.
The young man smiled, revealing nothing, then finally turned his gaze to Ji Jue, who was following behind. His eyes briefly scanned Ji Jue curiously, and he extended his hand warmly.
“Hello, I’m Lou Feng from Tide City. And you must be Master Ye’s top apprentice? What’s your na?”
“I’m Ji Jue, pleased to et you,” Ji Jue responded with practiced courtesy. He noticed the hand he was shaking seed to hesitate for a mont.
Lou Feng looked puzzled. “Ji Jue? Could you be from the Nan Yao Ji family from Vast City in Huangzhou? Or the Ji family of Shangui Hall from Central City?”
“...Sorry, neither,” Ji Jue said, understanding the situation imdiately. “I’m just a local from Cliff City.”
Even in Cliff City, the Lou family of Tide City was a na that carried weight. Across Haizhou, it was a prominent, wealthy clan, an influential pillar of the region. Like the Tong family in Cliff City or the Yu family in River City, even calling them rely wealthy would be an understatent; they could easily be described as an aristocratic household.
As everyone knew, the Federation’s corrupt system was different from the Empire’s, There were no formal nobles. Of course, everyone also knew that the so-called “nobles” were just nobles in na. Even if they did exist, ordinary people would never see them.
So this young master had taken Ji Jue for an equal, a mber of the upper echelon? How amusing.
The Nan Yao Ji family of Vast City? Honestly, Ji Jue had never even heard of them. They were too far away to matter. He hadn’t entirely dismissed the idea that he could be a lost heir of so powerful family, especially when he had been nearly broke. But that was a fantasy every Federation citizen had entertained at so point.
The iron-clad truth was that he had absolutely no connection to any prestigious family. He knew this because, though his father had died young, the family had lived in Shuzhou for generations, and had nothing to do with Huangzhou. And his mother was a native of Haizhou, born and raised in Cliff City.
In the Federation, whether soone was upper-class could be seen from their citizen ID number. If it didn’t start with “01,” forget it, you were never going to make it.
Ji Jue’s ID started all the way at 90. There was no way he had even the slightest connection to the elites!
He smiled, unbothered.
By contrast, the Lou family young master, after realizing Ji Jue was just an ordinary citizen, didn’t lose composure or walk away. He maintained a polite, cool deanor, though the slight raise of his eyebrows betrayed a faint hint of surprise.
They exchanged a few words. Overall, the conversation flowed smoothly, with no sign of tension.
Just like that, they stood at the doorway chatting, unbothered by the sun. Ji Jue yawned and glanced at Ye Chun beside him, who was chatting with a smile.
Where’s your cue?
Ye Chun shot him a glance with a mix of resignation, irritation, sympathy, and sothing else Ji Jue couldn’t quite place. He had no idea what she was trying to convey.
You upper-class people are seriously annoying when you talk. Normal folks et, ask “have you eaten?” or “where are you going?” and that’s it. How co your conversations have to be so formal?
Just then, the dialogue inside the hall seed to reach a pause. Professor Ye called out, “Since you’re here, co in. Why are you standing at the door? To sunbathe?”
“Oh, my bad.” Lou Feng finally seed to register how long the conversation lasted. “Haven’t seen Chun in a while, so I got carried away.”
“Right, right.” Ji Jue nodded, feeling completely excluded from this little performance.
Next ti, don’t bother including .
When they stepped into the hall, he finally saw the guest seated on the sofa and felt his chest tighten. She was a sowhat thin and old-looking woman with a polished appearance. Her narrow eyes made him instinctively tense when she looked at him.
Though judging by appearances wasn’t ideal, in a repair shop, Ji Jue had learned to be cautious with clients like her. One careless word or gesture could lead to complaints like, “You didn’t fix my car properly,” “You didn’t clean it at all,” “I don’t like your attitude,” or worse, being accused of replacing parts, which basically implied that he wasn’t trustworthy at all.
Seeing Professor Ye’s expressionless face finally gave him a clue that this guest probably had not co with good intentions.
Kong Qingyan smiled warmly from the sofa, her expression kind. “This is Master Ye’s top apprentice? Indeed, quite remarkable.”
“Just barely passable,” Professor Ye said, holding her teacup and taking a sip. Slowly, she added, “His talent is ordinary, but he’s hardworking. He’s only been studying for a little over half a year, just scraping by as an apprentice. Still, he’s better than your student. At least he doesn’t put on airs.”
For a brief mont, Ji Jue’s expression twitched in sync with Master Kong’s. As for Lou Feng behind him, there was no need to look; he was sure the guy’s expression was priceless.
Professor Ye, if you’re socially awkward, just say so! No need to completely kill the conversation and drag down in the process. This lady is a master! A master! She can crush with a flick of her hand, okay?
Still, being a master ant Kong Qingyan carried herself with dignity even while speaking sharply. She just smiled faintly and calmly replied, “Since you say so, why don’t we have these two kids spar a little? Just a friendly match for them to get to know each other.”
Ji Jue just wanted to say, We already know each other well enough! No need for a match! What is this? Always pushing kids to fight... I might as well put on a show for you, you hand out so lucky money[1], and go ho already!
“There’s really no need to be that formal.” Professor Ye’s words gave Ji Jue so relief, but she bluntly added, “Master Kong, if you feel bad about losing the bid for Skytop back then, you can challenge directly. All these years, you kept challenging again and again. That’s fine, but dragging your students into it just to embarrass them? What’s that about?”
She slowly set down her teacup. “The workshop’s right here, and there’s plenty of space outside. If you want a match, just say it.”
Ji Jue felt like he was gonna faint.
Damn it, you say you don’t want your student to fight, but now you wanna fight her yourself? You wanna fight just because of a few crossed words? Fine, fine, enough talking, you’re clearly a master at conversation; many big shots don’t hold a candle to you!
“Ye Xian!” Kong Qingyan’s smile finally froze, as if she was holding back her anger. “Setting aside old grudges, I’ve been polite during my visit here today. I didn’t offend you, Master Ye. Is this really how the Ye family treats guests?”
“That’s why I hate formalities,” Ye Xian said, shaking her head. “Everyone knows what you’re thinking, yet you still go through all this politeness like a clown. It’s aningless.”
Kong Qingyan’s face reddened. She stood up, about to scold Professor Ye, but Lou Feng stepped forward. He was as expressionless and calm as ever, revealing neither joy nor anger.
“Master Kong, Master Ye’s insight is sharp. If she says I’m no match, I trust she isn’t wrong about that.” He paused, then looked at Ji Jue with a warm smile. “I’m just very curious about how wide the gap is between and Mr. Ji here. I would be honored if Master Ye would allow to see for myself.”
For once, Ji Jue was angry too.
Damn it! Picking on the weakling now, huh?!
1. Lucky money (压岁钱) is a red envelope given by elders to younger family mbers during the Lunar New Year. Its purpose is to ward off evil spirits and bring safety and good health (“压祟”). It originated in the Han Dynasty as “Yasheng coins” (压胜钱) and, through the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, evolved into the modern New Year red envelope tradition. It expresses the elders’ care for the younger generation, wishes for good fortune, and embodies the traditional cultural values of respecting the elderly and cherishing the young. ☜
User Comments
0 comments from readers