Chapter 8

He paused, growing more self-righteous as he spoke. "I'm not going there to practice. I'm just playing around. There's no need to spend too much money."

Zhang Qiuwen was amazed. "What a thrifty rich kid."

In his impression, rich second-generation heirs were arrogant and extravagant, surrounded by women, throwing money around, and living decadent lives. But Chi Ning was completely different.

What a pity. Brother Qin liked making friends with tough guys, not young masters like him. He definitely wouldn't tell him where the gym was.

"Brother Xu's gym is at No. 26 Yongning Road in Gangnan District. It has a huge storefront," Qin Heng said.

Zhang Qiuwen: "..."

"Gangnan?" Chi Ning let out a small cry of surprise and smiled. "Isn't that very close to Gangnan International High School?"

Qin Heng saw the hope in Chi Ning's eyes and, somewhat irritated, unzipped his black jacket. "What is it? Do you have friends at Gangnan International High School? Do you need someone to pass along a message?"

Chi Ning's gaze shifted between Zhang Qiuwen and Qin Heng before he belatedly asked, "You're not students at Gangnan International High School?"

Zhang Qiuwen's stalled brain finally started turning again. "Hahaha, of course not. Brother Qin goes to No. 1 High School too. He's in my class."

The smile on Chi Ning's face abruptly faded.

In his previous life, Qin Heng had personally told him that he was a scholarship student at Gangnan International High School.

But things were different now.

Either Qin Heng had lied in his previous life, or everything in this life had deviated to some extent.

If it was the latter, then perhaps the initiative of fate was no longer in his hands.

Whether Qin Heng had lied in his previous life was impossible to verify, but whether he still held the initiative could be tested.

The silence was suffocating.

Both Chi Ning and Qin Heng looked unhappy. Caught between them, Zhang Qiuwen asked timidly, "Did I, uh... say something wrong?"

But it was only about where they went to school. What could possibly be wrong with that?

Chi Ning came back to himself and said lightly, distantly, "No, I was just asking. I'll be going now. Goodbye, you two."

Whether Qin Heng had lied in his previous life wasn't important, and where he went to school wasn't important either. In the end, they hadn't been together anyway.

Saving his older brother was more important. In this life, he didn't want his family destroyed again.

Chi Ning walked to the entrance of the night market street and took out his phone to call the driver.

Less than ten minutes later.

A silver-white business van stopped at the entrance. Uncle Chen rolled down the driver's-side window. "Young Master, it's hot outside. Get in quickly."

Chi Ning climbed in. The cool air-conditioning immediately dispersed the heat, making the lingering taste of waxberry in his throat all the more distinct and sending his thoughts drifting toward Qin Heng's leg injury.

In weather this hot, continuing to stand there probably wouldn't help Qin Heng's recovery.

Tsk.

Considering this guy had brought him meals for ten years in his previous life...

Chi Ning took 200 yuan from his pocket and handed it to the driver. "Uncle Chen, someone is selling iced waxberry juice near the west end of the night market. It's too hot, and it isn't easy for the old lady and the servants either. Buy all of it and bring it back for everyone to share."

"Sure. What does the stall look like?"

Chi Ning said, "A bicycle. The seller has a scar above his eyebrow."

"Got it." Uncle Chen answered and swiftly got out of the car.

Chi Ning adjusted the air-conditioning vent that was blowing at his face upward and lowered his eyes in thought.

The way to verify whether he still held the initiative was simple. He only needed to see who won the National Biology Olympiad.

If he didn't participate in this life, then the heir to Jiu Pharmaceutical, who had placed second in his previous life, would become first.

After the news coverage, Jiu Pharmaceutical's stock price should rise, while the Chi family's stock price, with its public image of lacking successors, would surely plummet off a cliff and might even face a wave of sell-offs.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination.

His father seemed not to care about the stock price. He would even leave the door open while scolding his older brother, as if deliberately trying to let the media report it.

Chi Ning's breath caught, a flash of insight passing through his mind.

If his father had deliberately let the media malign his older brother, and his older brother's rebelliousness had also been an act...

Then the doting father's double standards and his rebellious older brother bringing fried shrimp cakes home didn't seem so strange after all.

He had always known he had no talent for finance, but he hadn't expected real business warfare to involve manipulating public opinion to control stock prices.

The absurdity of it was only slightly better than pouring boiling water on a rival's money tree to kill it.

But why had his father and older brother hidden something so important from him?

Chi Ning clenched his fist against his lips, his mind nearly blank.

If his guess was true, then hadn't he accidentally ruined his father and older brother's plan in his previous life?

Click.

A soft sound of a latch unlocking rang out.

Uncle Chen opened the front passenger door, placed a box of waxberry juice inside, fastened the box with a seat belt, and laughed heartily. "Young Master, I bought it all. There's still more than ten yuan left."

"Keep the change. Thanks for making the trip," Chi Ning said.

"Alright. I'll have my mom make your favorite pineapple cakes later." Uncle Chen walked around to the driver's seat, fastened his seat belt, and sped back to the Chi Residence with Chi Ning and a box of waxberry juice.

It was Sunday. After finishing up his work at the company, Chi Baichuan had returned home and was currently sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.

With unfocused eyes, Chi Ning shuffled step by step to his father. After struggling for a long while, he finally decided to ask directly, "Dad, have you and my older brother been hiding something from me?"

Chi Baichuan paused as he turned the newspaper, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

"Are you thinking about where your act slipped up?" Chi Ning looked toward the old lady in the distance, who was preparing to go to the kitchen to make pineapple cakes. His tone carried the weary air of someone who had seen through worldly matters.

"You and my older brother pretending not to get along was all an act, wasn't it? You deliberately argued in front of the media?"

Chi Baichuan wasn't angry. Instead, his expression held a trace of appreciation. "You've grown up."

Chi Ning suddenly remembered what his father had said to him two days ago—when you grow up, you'll understand.

He sighed, then closed his eyes again. "Why didn't you tell me something so important?"

Chi Baichuan reached out and patted Chi Ning's head. "We've been acting for over three years. Things are already coming to an end, and barring any accidents, it'll be over soon. The company's affairs are too complicated for you. We were afraid you'd worry if you knew."

Chi Ning understood.

In his previous life, his father had never expected the news of him winning first place in the Olympiad to be hyped so intensely that it would even lead to the failure of "that matter."

After all, in previous years, the top winners of the Olympiad had never attracted media attention. The reports only occupied a small corner of the newspaper, and all news would vanish without a trace within a day.

Yet reports about him had occupied the entertainment pages for an entire week, mixing truth and falsehood in turn.

Once everything had completely failed, it was no longer appropriate to tell him the truth.

Because his parents and older brother had been afraid he would blame himself...

Chi Ning suddenly lifted his head and held back his tears. "Dad, don't hide anything important from me in the future."

"Alright." Chi Baichuan patted his shoulder. "Have you decided about the Olympiad? Are you still going?"

"No." Chi Ning refused immediately. "If Teacher Wang calls again to ask, just decline for me."

He paused before adding, "I won't be attending voluntary evening study sessions anymore either. Please let them know. After school ends at five-thirty, I'll go somewhere else to have some fun for a while. I won't come straight home."

Chi Baichuan: "..."

"You want to play the rebellious young master?"

Chi Ning froze. "Uh... I guess it isn't really an act?"

He was planning to make it real.

Chi Baichuan revealed an expression that said he understood and smiled. "Young people should have fun. When I was your age, I already knew how to fly a plane."

Mentioning flying a plane made him think of riding motorcycles.

Thinking of his older brother rolling down a mountain road in his previous life, Chi Ning couldn't help bringing it up. "Street racing in the wilderness and on public roads is still too dangerous. What if someone tampers with the vehicle? If you're going to put on an act, choose something else. If my older brother likes racing, you can let him go to a proper track."

"You really have grown up." Chi Baichuan said approvingly. "But the act has already reached this point. We can't stop now."

That was true.

Chi Ning frowned in thought.

In his previous life, Yangcheng's motorcycle ban seemed to have come within the past few years. After his older brother's accidental death, the policy had been fully implemented. In this life, it could happen earlier.

He wasn't good at finance, but he was quite capable when it came to writing papers and analyzing policies.

After all, academic papers were strange things. If they were published at the wrong time, they could very well have been written for nothing.

Chi Ning considered his wording and said, "Has Yangcheng been pushing a motorcycle ban recently?"

"People in Taiguan District are always roaring through the streets late at night. There are a lot of motorcycle robberies and motorcycle accidents. We can get the media to make an issue of it. Once public opinion supports the government, the policies and regulations will follow quickly."

By then, no one would be able to race in Yangcheng. If they wanted to ride, they would have to go to a proper track, so his older brother probably wouldn't be exposed.

Chi Baichuan slapped the armrest. "That'll work. I'll make a call in a moment."

His younger son really had a sharp mind. Aside from being too guileless and easy to deceive, everything else was great.

"Dad, there's one more thing. I think I'm too skinny. It's unhealthy." Chi Ning bent his arm, trying to flex some muscle, but unfortunately there wasn't even a trace of it.

Even Chi Baichuan's pace of eating Hong Kong-style snacks slowed. He hesitated. "Should I have the old lady stew pig trotter soup with goji berries and longan tonight?"

Chi Ning's mouth twitched. "No."

That stuff was practically a deadly dish.

"I mean, could you find me a kickboxing coach?"

Chi Ning thought of Qin Heng, who had deceived him in his previous life, and gritted his teeth. "At the very least... I can't look this easy to fool."

Chi Baichuan felt that made some sense. "You're right. Dad will definitely find you the best coach."

The knot of tension in Chi Ning's chest eased slightly.

With a stern face, he went upstairs to shower. After lying sprawled on the bed for a while, he changed into casual clothes and went downstairs, intending to use the allowance he had saved for more than ten years without touching it to make preparations for the patent application afterward.