Ji Ear hit me, and he called me a bastard?
...Was this really the same upright, noble Academician Ji?
Whether it hurt no longer mattered to Ji Yanzhi. He lifted his head in disbelief. "You... you actually hit me?"
Ji Ting said coldly through his teeth, "Try saying one more nasty thing. I'll hit you again."
Ji Yanzhi scoffed. "You really think punching me once makes you so impressive?"
"Who else in this world besides me would dare hit you?"
Ji Yanzhi abruptly choked on his words, and Ji Ting continued, coldly and with impeccable logic, "I'm the only person who dares hit you. How does that not make me impressive?"
"You..."
Left speechless by that retort, Ji Yanzhi could only watch as Ji Ting pulled over a chair and sat down beside the bed.
"Tell me. What you said to me that day-did you mean the opposite, or did it come from your heart?"
Ji Yanzhi remained silent, but his breathing immediately grew noticeably heavier. He quickly turned his face away. "What, didn't you understand? You want me to say it again?"
[Involuntarily tightened lips, a brief tensing of the cheeks from clenched teeth, and rapid emotional shifts are all characteristic microexpressions of suppression.]
Ji Yanzhi's heart suddenly clenched. It was as though his sore spot had been exposed without warning, and even his breathing stopped.
That brief pause cost him his chance to speak. Ji Ting continued, "You don't want to answer? Then don't. Whatever you say could very well be a lie anyway."
"Stop acting like you know everything!" Ji Yanzhi suddenly erupted in fury, though his face remained pale. "You think being a little clever means you can see through everything and manipulate people however you please?"
Ji Ting fell silent for a moment,