Having said that, he gave Lu Yanchu no chance to answer and turned away. "Show him out."
Liao Kai immediately stepped forward. "Mr. Lu, this way, please."
Lu Yanchu did not move. Instead, he gave Ji Ting a meaningful look. "Ji Ting, I'm really looking forward to seeing you again."
Confusion flickered in Ji Ting's eyes, but Lu Yanchu merely smiled at him before turning to leave with Liao Kai.
After Lu Yanchu left, only the two brothers remained in the living room.
Ji Ting quietly glanced sideways at his brother, thinking, Ji Yanzhi is definitely going to lose his temper again.
Ji Yanzhi gave a contemptuous inward scoff.
Did Lu Yanchu think he couldn't see through that little scheme? His parting words were nothing more than an attempt to make him yell at Ji Ting. Once that brainless idiot got angry, he would turn around and run straight into the enemy camp.
At that thought, he merely shot Ji Ting a cold glance. "You'd better stay away from Lu Yanchu. Otherwise, he'll sell you out, and you'll even pay him extra for it."
"I'm not that stupid," Ji Ting said calmly.
"Oh, really?"
Ji Yanzhi gave a perfunctory twitch of his lips, then turned and left the living room.
After being dragged into a baffling argument, Ji Ting returned to the gaming room and continued organizing his materials.
Shili had been pressing Xu Ren, but he had made Unit One on a whim in a fit of anger, so Ji Ting now had to write up all the data and related documentation from scratch.
Late that night, Ji Ting returned to his room, rubbing his stiff, aching neck.
He showered and changed into his pajamas, but after emerging from the bathroom, he stood between the bed and the desk, seemingly considering something.
After a long moment, Ji Ting pulled out the desk chair. He opened the document for "Out of Control, Lost in Love" on his computer, entered "Edge of the Wind" into the search bar, and pressed enter.
[The official account for Edge of the Wind was no longer filled with the lavish praise once heaped on Lu Yanchu. As Ling Xi looked at the screen full of words like "lackey," "collaborator," and "traitor," his eyes ached and stung, and his heart felt as though it were being sliced apart.]
[Just then, a large hand with long, slender fingers pushed the screen down. Ling Xi looked up with reddened eyes to find Lu Yanchu still smiling gently. "Don't look," he told him softly. "There's no point."]
A trace of puzzlement crossed Ji Ting's eyes. How could making a movie turn Lu Yanchu into a traitor?
In the bedroom on the second floor, Ji Yanzhi slowly lifted his hand from beneath the covers and pulled off his sleep mask.
His dark eyes were filled with uncertainty as he stared at the ceiling. What? What had Ji Ting said?
Lu Yanchu was actually a traitor?!
Meanwhile, on the third floor, Ji Ting lightly curled his left hand and rested it against his lips.
A moment later, he shook his head, dismissing the guess that had come to mind.
Although much of the plot in this book made little logical sense, if Lu Yanchu had knowingly crossed the country's red lines, there would be absolutely no chance of a comeback afterward.
Rather than speculate, he might as well find the answer in the original text. Ji Ting pressed enter again, jumping to the next plot point that mentioned Edge of the Wind.
[Looking at Ling Xi's anguished face, Lu Yanchu finally realized he could not let the words "Edge of the Wind" imprison him for the rest of his life. Disheveled and unkempt, he reached out and held Ling Xi tightly. After a long while, tears began to glisten in his own eyes.]
[Ling Xi was doing everything he could to save him. What right did he have to give up on himself? A light suddenly broke through the darkness in Lu Yanchu's mind. He remembered the rights he had bought five years ago to a novel called "And Then There Were None," and the VFX team he had supported for so long. Lu Yanchu clenched his fists. He knew this would be his only bargaining chip for a comeback against all odds.]
Ji Ting: "..."
It took him all that time wallowing in despair to remember that? Could Lu Yanchu's intelligence be on the same level as Ji Yanzhi's?
He was comparing him to that idiot Lu Yanchu?
Downstairs, Ji Yanzhi gritted his teeth and drew a deep breath. His icy glare nearly bored a hole through the ceiling.
After confirming once more that the main storyline involving Edge of the Wind had nothing to do with him, Ji Ting was about to close his laptop when his hand suddenly paused.
He sat back down, his gaze settling on the last sentence he had just read.
"...the rights he had bought five years ago to a novel called 'And Then There Were None,' and the VFX team he had supported for so long..."
Ji Ting's brow shifted slightly, and a barely perceptible gleam appeared in his eyes.
He had told Xu Ren the other day that he planned to enter this year's World Rendering Competition, so besides organizing the materials for Unit One, he had also been developing an entirely new physically based rendering engine.
Having decided to fight his way back in the original story, Lu Yanchu would certainly strengthen his capabilities as much as possible-and he had to do it quickly. If speed was essential, he would inevitably forgo digging too deeply into where certain things came from. As long as they added to his bargaining chips, Lu Yanchu would take them without hesitation.
Ji Ting thought quietly, Wouldn't that make him the perfect buyer?
Once the conditions are right, I can sell it to Lu Yanchu through Xu Ren... At that thought, Ji Ting suddenly pressed his lips together.
He reminded himself not to rush things. It was still early in the timeline, and a hasty decision could easily leave room for mistakes.
Ji Ting reached out and closed his laptop. Just as he was about to switch off the desk lamp, heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside his door.
Bang, bang, bang-
"Open the door."
Ji Ting recognized Ji Yanzhi's voice. It was lower than usual and seemed laced with anger.
He did not answer immediately, and another blow landed on the door.
"Open the door." Ji Yanzhi's expression was dark, his eyes utterly cold. "Ji Ting, I know you're awake. Don't make me get the black box."
The black box was something only the most luxurious mansions had. It contained an AI controller that effectively served as a universal backup key for the entire house.
Although the threat did not intimidate Ji Ting, he still got up and opened the door.
At the sight of Ji Ting, Ji Yanzhi felt as though a kettle of boiling water were churning inside his chest, scalding steam rising endlessly from its surface, threatening to boil his very soul.
"Didn't Xu Ren tell you he's about to sign a contract with the group?"
Ji Ting nodded calmly. "I know. He told me the day before yesterday."
"Then why are you still..." Ji Yanzhi's voice suddenly rose, only to cut off abruptly, as though he had forcibly swallowed the words.
A few seconds later, he clenched his fists and took another deep breath. "Ji Ting, I've treated you terribly, but however awful I am, I would never harm you."
This sudden confession left Ji Ting baffled. He did not understand what Ji Yanzhi was trying to say, so he could only listen in silence.
"If a few sweet words from an outsider are enough to make you abandon your fundamental principles for him, then you really are hopelessly stupid."
Hearing him start insulting him again, Ji Ting grew even more confused. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Ji Yanzhi's breath caught in his chest. Furious, he looked up and glared fiercely at him. "Lu Yanchu is about to become a traitor, and you still want to get involved with him? Do you have a brain at all?!"
Before you continue