With that, he brushed past Ji Yanzhi's shoulder and went straight upstairs.
Ji Yanzhi knew Ji Ting was angry, but he couldn't have cared less. He chuckled and went back to his room.
Just before bed, he suddenly remembered the insult Ji Ting had directed at him in his thoughts, so he searched for it on his phone.
The progress bar flashed, and Ji Yanzhi found himself staring into the eyes of a dog that looked like a cross between a bat and a rat.
The Tasmanian Devil was known for its foul odor and volatile temper. Its terrifying cries had earned it the name "Devil of Tasmania" among the indigenous people.
Ji Yanzhi narrowed his eyes as he finished reading, then gritted his teeth and locked the screen.
He never bothered learning anything useful, but he certainly had plenty of creative insults.
He tossed his phone back onto the nightstand and said, "Close the curtains."
A dozen seconds later, Ji Yanzhi turned his head and looked in confusion at the curtains, which hadn't moved an inch.
He tried the command again. This time, the smart control system responded-but it turned on every light in the room.
He froze. Before he could react, the television, sound system, and holographic projector switched on one after another. A soaring, impassioned aria rang out in 3D surround sound, instantly turning his room into the Golden Hall, complete with a symphony orchestra.
Ji Yanzhi jabbed frantically at the control panel. When none of his commands worked, he stormed out of bed to switch everything off manually.
For over ten minutes, he played whack-a-mole, switching off one thing and then another, only for the first to turn itself back on the moment he turned around.
Just as Ji Yanzhi was about to cut the power cords, every sound abruptly vanished. Even those damned curtains slowly drew shut.
The room was plunged back into darkness, leaving Ji Yanzhi standing there, his chest heaving.
His anger was still burning in his throat when a strange sound came from the door.
Thud, thud, thud.
Three slow, evenly spaced knocks, eerie yet unmistakably deliberate.
Ji Yanzhi gritted his teeth, his cold gaze fixed on the door. He would see who dared play these tricks on him.
He yanked the door open, but there wasn't a soul in sight.
Something suddenly bumped against his toes. He instinctively looked down and, to his surprise, saw something that resembled a robot vacuum.
Ji Yanzhi frowned. Was this thing what had been knocking on the door?
He was wondering whether a servant had left it behind while cleaning when the green light on the disc suddenly flashed several times-
"Heh." A crisp, perfectly articulated sneer rang out.
Ji Yanzhi's eyes widened in shock. "You..."
Before he could finish, the robot vacuum leisurely turned around, then zipped away at high speed.
Ji Yanzhi could only watch as it mocked him and fled, disappearing down the far end of the hallway.
Only after a long while did his dark eyes shift slightly.
Too many strange things had happened that night.
First, his room's smart control system had malfunctioned. Then, inexplicably, a robot vacuum had laughed at him. Ji Yanzhi felt as though he had suddenly fallen into some absurd, uncontrollable dimension where everything around him defied his logic.
He turned to look at his trashed room and decided to sleep in a guest room tonight, just to be safe.
Ji Yanzhi deliberately went up to the third floor. As he passed Ji Ting's door, he stopped.
He hesitated, wondering whether to knock and ask if Ji Ting had experienced anything similar, but decided against it. If the same thing had happened to that scaredy-cat, he would have raised a fuss long ago. There was no way he could still be asleep.
Ji Yanzhi turned and went to the second room on the right. He switched on the lights after entering, and none of the earlier incidents happened again.
He stood beside the bed and stared at it for a while. In the end, his germophobia kept him from simply lying down, so he returned to his own room to fetch his personal bedding.
By the time he had replaced the sheets, pillowcases, and comforter, Ji Yanzhi was thirsty from all the hassle.
He went downstairs to the dining room, only to hit another obstacle when he tried to open the refrigerator.
[Facial verification failed. Please try again.] [Facial verification failed. Please try...]
Bang.
Ji Yanzhi slammed his fist into the control panel, so furious he nearly cracked his teeth from clenching them.
What the hell was wrong with these damned appliances? Even getting a bottle of water meant they had to fight him?!
"Heh."
Without warning, that sneer rang out again.
Ji Yanzhi turned, his expression icy, and once again saw the robot vacuum that had mocked him.
The disc spun in circles, its green light flashing merrily, as though celebrating what it had just witnessed.
Ji Yanzhi clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. He took a deep breath, then slowly raised his foot.
But the moment he took a step closer, the disc stopped spinning and shot out of the dining room.
"Get back here!!"
Ji Yanzhi gave chase. Man and disc circled the living room several times, made the rounds of every room, and finally charged toward the front door.
With a thud, the robot vacuum hit the front door and stopped.
Panting, Ji Yanzhi let out a cold laugh. Looming over it, he advanced with his foot raised. "Go on, run. Why aren't you running anymore?"
As the distance between them shrank, the red light on the disc began flashing urgently.
A shadow finally fell over the disc. Ji Yanzhi stepped on it, pinning it firmly against the door.
He kept his foot on it and slammed it against the door several times. Having vented a little of his anger, he was about to bend down and pick it up when-whoosh-
The front door opened.
The disc instantly slipped out from under his foot, shot down the steps, and vanished into the depths of the garden in the blink of an eye.
Ji Yanzhi: "..."
At six in the morning, the butler headed to the kitchen to check the breakfast menu, as usual.
As he passed the living room, however, he was startled by an unexpected sight.
"Young Master." He stared, his mouth half-open. "Why... why are you sitting here so early?"
Ji Yanzhi sat on the sofa in his pajamas, looking decidedly off, as though he hadn't slept all night.
He fixed the butler with an exceptionally chilling stare. "Uncle Yang, how many robot vacuums do we have in this house? Find every last one of them for me. Now."
The butler froze, utterly baffled. "We... we've never used those things here."
Because of Ji Yanzhi's germophobia, servants cleaned every inch of the old residence, inside and out. After all, no machine, however good, could match a person's meticulous attention to detail.
A chill swept through Ji Yanzhi's eyes. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Then go find Liao Kai right now and have him pull up all the surveillance footage from after ten last night."
"Yes. I'll go right away."
The butler turned around just as Ji Ting came down the stairs.
"Second Young Master."
Ji Ting nodded. "Good morning, Uncle Yang."
Ji Yanzhi stiffened slightly on the sofa. Realizing he was still in his pajamas, he stood up as though nothing had happened.
"Did you sleep well last night, big brother?"
Ji Yanzhi hadn't expected Ji Ting to speak to him first. He sneered. "What, a good night's sleep made you stop being angry?"
Ji Ting considered this. "To be precise, I've vented my anger."
"What nonsense are you spouting so early in the morning?" Ji Yanzhi glanced at him and walked away, his face taut.
Watching Ji Yanzhi step into the elevator, Ji Ting's lips curved upward almost imperceptibly.
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