A Tasmanian Devil in Heat

Xu Ren had no way to argue with that. After all, if Ji Ting had not pretended to be a spoiled playboy before, he would never have had the chance to become his tutor.

"Teacher Ji, since Lu Yanchu is your romantic rival, why are you helping him?"

Ji Ting replied unhurriedly, "This situation is a special case. I'll explain it to you another day."

"Okay!"

After they turned another corner, Xu Ren suddenly pointed across the street. "There's a subway station over there. Just drop me off here, Teacher Ji."

"You're not going back to campus?"

Xu Ren gave a guileless grin. "My advisor said his paper is about to be published in an SCI journal, so we need to hurry and organize the materials. He's having me stay at his place for now to make things easier."

Ji Ting pulled over to the curb, then said, "The monitoring program should be ready tomorrow. Sorry for the trouble, but I may need you to come by around noon."

"No problem. Goodbye, Teacher Ji."

"Goodbye."

Over an hour later, Ji Yanzhi, who had been left behind at the club, took a taxi back to the family residence.

"Where's Ji Ting? Tell him to come out."

The butler looked a little troubled. "The Second Young Master seemed to be in a bad mood. He went straight to the gaming room when he returned and said not to let anyone disturb him. He said he wouldn't be having dinner, either."

Ji Yanzhi snorted coldly. His act was quite convincing. If Ji Yanzhi could not hear his thoughts, he really would have been fooled.

On the way back, he had been thinking about how he had told Lu Yanchu to hand Ling Xi over to Ji Ting. In the past, Ji Ting would have jumped for joy at having such a wonderful opportunity fall into his lap.

Why had he dodged and run away this time, even putting on an act for him?

Could it be...

The thought that instinctively surfaced made Ji Yanzhi scoff in derision.

How could Ji Ting possibly have stopped liking Ling Xi? He had been doing everything he could to compete with him for Ling Xi since his teens. After all these years, could he really just stop liking Ling Xi?

With that in mind, Ji Ting's behavior today seemed even more abnormal.

Ji Yanzhi narrowed his dark eyes thoughtfully. Or had Ji Ting and Lu Yanchu already struck some deal they did not want him to know about, which was why they had put on that show in front of him?

The moment he recalled Lu Yanchu's face, Ji Yanzhi's expression darkened again.

The two of them had argued at the club earlier, putting an end to any possibility of cooperation. Yet just before he left, Lu Yanchu had actually called him back.

"Don't be so harsh with Ji Ting. Care about him more, like a real older brother, or you'll regret it someday."

Ji Yanzhi had truly had enough of Lu Yanchu's hypocritical act. Now that he could make use of Ji Ting, he was pretending to be a good person and even turning around to lecture him.

Hah, of course. He sneered inwardly. If Lu Yanchu didn't put on such an act, how could he lead Ji Ting around by the nose?

"Eldest Young Master? Eldest Young Master?"

Ji Yanzhi came back to himself and found the butler still standing before him. "What is it?"

"Well, should I still fetch the Second Young Master?"

Ji Yanzhi turned his face away a little awkwardly. "No need. Let him play his games."

Wasn't Lu Yanchu just trying to drive a wedge between the brothers? Then he simply would not be harsh with Ji Ting anymore. He would see how Lu Yanchu managed to sow discord after that.

The next morning, at eight.

After staying up all night, Ji Ting closed the gaming room door behind him.

The monitoring program was finished. To be safe, he had also tested its stability over a hundred times.

Although he had a righteous reason for making it, the method itself was hardly aboveboard. To avoid being discovered by the internet surveillance authorities later, he had added a stealth program that ran in the background and left no traces.

Once Lu Yanchu's problem was resolved, the two of them would have little reason to meet again. If he did not see Lu Yanchu, he would not provoke Ji Yanzhi, and he could get back to quietly doing his own work.

Ji Ting had skipped dinner yesterday, and after staying up all night, he was already starving.

He headed to the dining room from the West Building. To his surprise, the moment he entered, he found Ji Yanzhi having breakfast.

Ji Ting had fair skin, so even the slightest dark circles stood out. Looking at his listless appearance, Ji Yanzhi asked coldly, "You played games all night?"

Ji Ting knew he would be angry, but all he could do was murmur an assent.

Ji Yanzhi's chest rose. Just as the butler thought he was about to lose his temper, he actually let the breath out again.

"Sit down and eat. Go upstairs and sleep afterward," Ji Yanzhi said icily.

Ji Ting looked at him in considerable surprise, but even after studying his face, he could not make anything out.

The Tasmanian Devil is acting out of character today. Is he feeling unwell?

Ji Yanzhi instantly tightened his grip on his chopsticks. After Ji Ting sat down, he turned toward him with a humorless half-smile. "I heard Unit One is called Tasmanian Devil. I asked Xu Ren why, and he said Tasmanian Devil was the nickname you gave me. He thought it rolled off the tongue, so he used it."

Ji Ting froze. Why would Xu Ren tell on me to Ji Yanzhi?

Ji Yanzhi folded his hands beneath his chin, looking very interested. "Can you explain why you gave me that nickname?"

Ji Ting fell silent for five or six seconds. "You're the one asking me to say it. You can't get angry."

"Let's hear it first."

Seeing that he had made no promises, Ji Ting mentally crossed out his original answer.

He pressed the corners of his lips down slightly and said with a straight face, "Because Tasmanian devils look very imposing, so I..."

Before he could finish, Ji Ting suddenly lowered his head.

Ji Yanzhi's lips curved, and he asked in an exceptionally pleasant tone, "Are you laughing?"

"No."

Ji Ting did not want to lie, either, but Ji Yanzhi's face and a Tasmanian devil's had just automatically merged in his mind. It had really caught him off guard.

Ji Yanzhi nodded with a smile, then beckoned to the butler. "Uncle Yang, dismantle that gaming room in the West Building today. Before I come back, I don't want to see so much as half a..."

Ji Ting abruptly looked up and said in one breath, "It's because Tasmanian devils in heat are irritable and aggressive, and they howl their heads off day and night, so I thought you were a lot like one."

Ji Yanzhi was so furious that he laughed. "Me? In heat?"

Ji Ting fell silent for a moment, but still offered a serious suggestion. "You could watch an animal documentary. Once you do, you'll find that male Tasmanian devils howling at each other while competing for mating rights look almost exactly like you and Lu Yanchu arguing yesterday."

Ji Yanzhi was so angry his lungs felt as though they were on fire. "Then why didn't you give Lu Yanchu a nickname?"

"Tasmanian Devil is already your nickname. If I gave it to him too, wouldn't you be even angrier?"

"Hah." Ji Yanzhi laughed once and looked at him. "So it's an exclusive honor now? Should I thank you for it?"

Ji Ting blinked softly, his eyes actually looking rather bright. "I understand. You're being sarcastic."

Was he playing dumb again?

Ji Yanzhi leaned back against his chair with his lips curved. "Uncle Yang, go get Liao..."

Before he could finish, Liao Kai walked in of his own accord.

"President Ji, Mr. Xu is here. He's at the front gate."

Before Ji Yanzhi could speak, Ji Ting asked, "Is it Xu Ren?"

"Yes."

Ji Ting's brow shifted slightly. Hadn't they agreed on noon yesterday? Why had Xu Ren come so early in the morning?