Xu Ren jolted, his gaze turning dazed. "Th-there's something even better..."
"There will be in the future." Ji Ting pulled open a drawer and took out a document. "But before that, you need to sign this confidentiality agreement."
Xu Ren said, "Huh?"
Half an hour later.
Ji Ting slipped past the household servants and quietly brought Xu Ren to the west building.
"You can use this room freely from now on, but try not to let anyone see you coming or going."
Xu Ren nodded, unable to contain his curiosity. "What's this room for?"
"For now, I'm calling it the game room. If anyone asks, tell them that too."
Game room?
As Xu Ren stood there looking bewildered, the door opened. The instant he saw what was inside, his eyes went as wide as walnuts.
"My work requires a supercomputer, but I don't have the resources for one right now, so I bought the parts to assemble a basic, stripped-down version myself."
Ji Ting closed the door behind him, then gestured for Xu Ren to look to his left. "Today, we'll assemble one of the racks. Each rack contains twelve computers, each with eight modules and sixteen cores. It's fine if you can't remember all that. I'll give you the detailed schematics in a moment."
There was no response from beside him for a long while. Ji Ting turned and found Xu Ren looking as though his soul had left his body.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Xu Ren turned his head mechanically, his voice trembling slightly. "Ji Ting, I... my graduate degree is in optical engineering."
Ji Ting's brow shifted slightly. "I know."
"So I only know the basics when it comes to computers. I don't understand any of this." Xu Ren's hands and feet had gone numb. The last time he had heard the word "supercomputer" was on the evening news.
"That's why I'm teaching you now." Ji Ting remained perfectly calm. "Don't feel pressured. The steps are simple. You'll get it after watching once."
Please, God, let me actually be able to learn this.
Xu Ren was on the verge of tears. No wonder Ji Ting had made him sign a confidentiality agreement. Who built a supercomputer by hand in their own basement?!
It was completely dark by the time Xu Ren left the main building, his head swimming with information.
As he neared the gate, a car happened to pull in, and he stepped unsteadily aside to let it pass.
To his surprise, the car stopped in front of him, and the rear window rolled down.
"Xu Ren?"
A cool voice rang out. Xu Ren paused and raised his head.
A handsome, imperious-looking man sat inside the car, half his face submerged in shadow. His pitch-black eyes held an undercurrent of cold indifference, and simply meeting his gaze felt as though he could see straight through him.
Xu Ren couldn't help feeling nervous. "I'm Xu Ren. And you are...?"
The car door opened, and Ji Yanzhi stepped out. "I'm Ji Ting's older brother, Ji Yanzhi."
Older brother?
Xu Ren froze. If they were brothers, why didn't they look anything alike?
Ji Yanzhi watched him stare without blinking. Why does this student look so dim? "Have you been tutoring Ji Ting until now?"
Xu Ren abruptly snapped out of it. "Uh... yes, we just finished."
"How's he doing?"
"Really well!"
Ji Yanzhi narrowed his cold eyes. "Really well? Are you sure?"
Xu Ren immediately remembered Ji Ting's earlier instructions and hurried to cover himself. "Well, Ji Ting's foundation was really weak before, so just being able to learn already counts as doing really well."
That was true enough. Ji Yanzhi nodded. "Be patient with him and teach him properly. If his grades improve steadily, I'll raise your tutoring fee again."
Xu Ren's face burned, but he could only steel himself and say, "Thank you, Mr. Ji. I will."
Once they finished talking, Ji Yanzhi instructed the driver to take Xu Ren home, then went inside himself.
"Where's Ji Ting?"
The butler took his coat and replied respectfully, "The second young master is already sitting in the dining room, waiting for dinner."
That's all he's good for.
Ji Yanzhi inwardly scoffed, but said, "Have Old Liu make another meat dish. Something Ji Ting likes."
"Yes, sir."
Over an hour later, Ji Ting finished dinner and set down his chopsticks.
"Stay seated."
Ji Ting stopped midway through rising and looked at Ji Yanzhi impassively. "What do you want this time?"
Ji Yanzhi gave a cold laugh. "Getting impatient with me now? Did you do what I told you to do last weekend?"
Ji Ting thought for a moment, then asked blankly, "What was that?"
"That day, I told you to walk from this dining room toward the gate, and keep going until I told you to stop."
Ji Ting remembered. His brow furrowed, and he got up to leave.
"If you don't do it, I'll tell Xu Ren tomorrow that he doesn't need to come anymore," Ji Yanzhi threatened unhurriedly.
Ji Ting spun around. "Ji Yanzhi, you were the one who made me get tutoring."
"You're the one who took three million from me and had no choice but to get tutored."
Ji Yanzhi must have been a Tasmanian devil in his last life. A devil from Tasmania.
Ji Ting viciously repeated the comparison twice in his head, then took a deep breath. "Just walk toward the gate?"
A mischievous glint flickered through Ji Yanzhi's eyes. "Yes, and recite that joke of yours in your head as you walk."
"I'm not telling you any more jokes, not even in my head," Ji Ting declared solemnly, his face stern.
Ji Yanzhi chuckled. "You've got principles, haven't you? Sing, then."
"I don't know any songs."
"You must know 'The Internationale.'" Ji Yanzhi tipped his chin. "Go on."
Ji Ting gave him a long look, his fingers clenched white at his sides.
Arise, slaves suffering from hunger and cold.
Arise, suffering people of the world.
Between the lyrics of "The Internationale" and the sight of Ji Ting walking away with his back to him, Ji Yanzhi's chest began to shake.
Suppressing his laughter, he got up and went to the second floor, then stood on the balcony to keep watching.
Our blood is already boiling; we must fight for truth.
... Slaves, arise, arise.
Ji Ting had already walked twenty or thirty meters. He turned his head and looked at Ji Yanzhi from afar. "Is that enough?"
Ji Yanzhi held back the curl of his lips and called, "No. Keep going."
Those hateful vipers and savage beasts have devoured our flesh and blood.
Once we wipe them out, the crimson sun will shine across the world.
Gradually, Ji Yanzhi stopped laughing.
He hadn't expected Ji Ting to be so obedient, singing the entire song from beginning to end just because he had told him to, as though he would quietly follow through on anything he agreed to do.
As he watched Ji Ting approach the gate, his earlier thoughts suddenly faded.
Forget it, Ji Yanzhi thought. As long as Ji Ting isn't annoying, I might as well keep hearing him.
He had the butler call Ji Ting back. Once Ji Ting came inside, he asked expressionlessly, "Why did you make me do that?"
Ji Yanzhi folded his arms and put on an indifferent expression. "You looked like you'd eaten too much, so I took you out for a spin like a kite."
Ji Ting's gaze turned cold. "That was all?"
"What else would it be?"
Ji Ting looked at him and remained silent for a long time. "Ji Yanzhi, you're truly an awful person."
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