The one who shouted for him to stop was the young woman, Ji Liping's eldest daughter.
Ji Shilei stood up and marched over aggressively. "Grandpa hasn't said you can leave, yet you dare to walk away? Have you got no manners at all?"
Ji Ting watched her worked-up expression and paused for two seconds. "Who are you?"
Ji Ting couldn't be blamed for that.
The original owner of his body had visited Crane Garden only a handful of times growing up, and even when he did, he was too timid to look up at anyone. As a result, he still couldn't recognize everyone in the Ji Family.
Ji Shilei felt as though she had run headfirst into a wall. She choked with anger. "You..."
"Enough."
The moment Ji Zhenting spoke, the entire room went cold. The middle-aged woman hurriedly shot Ji Shilei a look, then started sniffling again.
Ji Shilei shot Ji Ting a vicious glare, returned to her seat, and resumed quietly comforting the woman.
The constant sniffling was irritating. Ji Zhenting frowned. "Liping's wife."
Those two words alone made Zhao Lin hastily dab her eyes twice with a tissue. She didn't dare make another sound.
Liping's wife? So these two were Ji Liping's wife and daughter.
Ji Ting had only just worked out who they were when Ji Zhenting turned his gaze on him. "I hear you were there the day your second uncle got into trouble?"
"You mean the day he knelt before Ji Yanzhi?"
Ji Ting was merely checking, but Ji Shilei bared her teeth at him as though she wanted to lunge over and bite him.
Ji Zhenting was clearly displeased with his wording as well. His voice deepened. "Since you know all about it, tell me exactly what you said to your eldest brother that day."
Ji Ting found the question strange, but still answered, "Before Ji Liping was dragged away, I didn't say a single-"
Ji Zhenting cut him off. "What I'm asking is why your eldest brother's attitude toward your second uncle changed after he went into your room and came back downstairs."
Hearing that, Ji Ting knew the man had already watched the surveillance footage from the old residence. If he had seen it and was still questioning him like this, there could only be one explanation.
"So you think I exposed something to Ji Yanzhi, and that's why he dealt with Ji Liping without mercy?"
Ji Zhenting said nothing and leaned back in his chair with deliberate ease. Ji Shilei, however, sprang up as though she had heard a starting pistol. "So you admit it!"
Ji Ting's brow twitched. "Can't you recognize a rhetorical question?"
Ji Shilei didn't care about any of that. She raised a hand and pointed at him. "It was you! You goaded our cousin into sending my dad to the Public Security Bureau!"
Ji Ting knew that even if he denied it, she would keep making a scene, so he said dispassionately, "Article 114 of our country's Criminal Procedure Law expressly states that citizens have both the right and the duty to report criminal acts or criminal suspects. Even if I did tell him, I was legally exercising my right as a citizen to report a crime."
Ji Shilei glared at him, her eyes brimming with hatred. "What did my dad and my brother ever do to you? How can you be so vicious?"
"They were the ones who broke the law. You-"
Ji Shilei refused to let him finish and screamed hysterically, "My dad told me himself that you pinned the charges on him and my brother! And you still had the nerve to turn around and report them? Ji Ting, have you no shame?"
Only when he heard those words did Ji Ting understand.
No wonder. No wonder Ji Zhenting, who had always looked down on the original owner, had gone to such lengths to summon him here today.
Everything before him suddenly became laughable. He looked at Ji Zhenting, seated securely at the head of the room. The man's eyes were half closed in indifference, as though the person standing before him wasn't a living human being, but a sacrifice he could casually shove forward.
An icy chill slowly spread upward from Ji Ting's chest. He withdrew his gaze, while Ji Shilei continued recklessly threatening him. "Hmph, don't think staying silent will get you out of this. I'm telling you, I'm going to make you pay for every last thing today!"
The moment she finished, Ji Ting abruptly spoke. "You said Ji Liping personally told you I framed him. When did he tell you, and where?"
"The day before yesterday, at the Detention Center!"
The corner of Ji Ting's mouth lifted coldly. "Family members aren't allowed to visit criminal defendants before sentencing. Only lawyers acting as defense counsel can apply for a meeting. Did you climb over the wall?"
Ji Shilei's face twitched as she was caught out. She changed her story. "It was Ji Rui! Ji Rui told me ages ago there was something wrong with you. He-"
This time, Ji Ting interrupted her. "If your brother had already found evidence of my crimes, why didn't he go straight to the police? Was he just waiting for me to frame him?"
"That was because Rui still thought of you as family, so... so he wanted to give you a chance." Zhao Lin spoke through choked sobs, sounding utterly heartbroken. "Who knew you could be so cruel as to pin all your crimes on them?"
Ji Shilei joined in with abuse. "A bastard is a bastard. You've got the same lowborn blood as that mother of yours. You're disgusting!"
Ji Ting couldn't help remembering Ji Liping. Back then, Ji Yanzhi had merely mentioned reuniting father and son, and Ji Liping had also leaped up to hurl abuse, his face twisted with rage.
They really were a family.
There was no way to have a productive conversation with people who resorted to insults whenever they had no argument, so Ji Ting said flatly, "If you're convinced I framed them, report it to the police."
With that, he stopped wasting time and turned toward the door.
Ji Shilei shouted for him to stop several times, but Ji Ting never broke stride. Seeing that he was about to walk out, she recklessly grabbed the vase on the table and hurled it hard at the back of his head-
Bang.
Liao Kai had picked Xu Ren up early that morning and taken him to the group's headquarters. On the way, Xu Ren had secretly sent Ji Ting a WeChat message, but he still hadn't received a reply by the time he arrived at Shili.
Liao Kai took him into the elevator from the parking garage, then brought Xu Ren to the conference room on the twenty-second floor.
Fang Jie, the president's secretary, was already waiting inside. Upon seeing him, he dipped his head slightly. "Sorry, Mr. Xu. President Ji still has some matters to attend to. Please wait a little while."
Xu Ren waved his hands awkwardly. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm in no hurry."
At around nine thirty, Ji Yanzhi arrived at the conference room with another man.
"This is Mr. Sun Zhixue, the group's optical engineer," Ji Yanzhi introduced him.
Sun Zhixue offered his hand and shook Xu Ren's with a smile. "I never expected the Mr. Xu that President Ji mentioned to be so young. Such an accomplished young man."
Xu Ren was so nervous that his palms were sweating. "You're too kind, Mr. Sun."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the three sat down. Xu Ren handed his external hard drive to the secretary, who connected it to the large screen.
Over two hours later.
Sun Zhixue's face was flushed with excitement, and his voice brimmed with energy. "If we really can implement this technology, our manufacturing process will be entirely distinct from micro- and nanofabrication!"
At that point, he suddenly paused. "There is one unfortunate issue, though. Mr. Xu currently has too little experimental data for us to fully guarantee stability."
Sun Zhixue considered it, then looked at Ji Yanzhi. "President Ji, do you think we could have Mr. Xu-"
Knock, knock-
A knock interrupted him. Ji Yanzhi's gaze darkened. "Come in."
Liao Kai pushed open the door. "President Ji, something has come up that I need to report to you."
Liao Kai had been with Ji Yanzhi for seven or eight years and knew the rules better than anyone. He would never interrupt at a moment like this unless it was extremely important.
Ji Yanzhi understood that perfectly well. "Continue your discussion. I'll be back shortly."
With that, he stood and left the conference room with Liao Kai.
"What is it?"
Liao Kai lowered his voice but spoke quickly. "Our people just found Mr. Ling at the Zundian Club."
Ji Yanzhi's brow furrowed. "What's he doing there?"
"Working as a waiter."
Ji Yanzhi drew a deep breath. "Bring him back." As soon as he said it, he added, "Don't force him. If Ling Xi doesn't want to come, keep him there for now. I'll go over after the meeting."
That was precisely the problem. Liao Kai said, "Our people just reported that Mr. Qin's men have arrived too. They're about to take Mr. Ling away."
The fingers hanging at Ji Yanzhi's side suddenly clenched. He fell silent for a moment, then said with an icy gaze, "Let's go."
A few minutes later, Liao Kai drove out of the parking garage.
Sitting in the back seat, Ji Yanzhi was messaging his secretary, telling him to arrange lunch for Sun Zhixue and Xu Ren. Just as he was about to hit send, the butler called.
Ji Yanzhi rejected the call. A short while later, the butler sent him a message.
[Eldest young master, the chairman's men just took the second young master away.]
Before you continue