The greedy Ji family

The front courtyard was small, and Ji Mingzhu crossed it in just a few steps.

Before pulling open the carved door, Ji Mingzhu glanced back at his husband. The man's eyes were calm, and he gave a steady nod, indicating that he would wait outside patiently, just as he had promised the night before.

Unlike usual, the man hadn't slicked all his hair back today, giving him a faintly languid air.

He looked like a mysterious black panther, well-fed and watered, exuding authority without a hint of anger.

Ji Mingzhu had gone for a relaxed look today too. Somehow, they actually looked like a married couple.

In fact, ever since he had started sleeping beside Ji Mingzhu, Gu Shang's hair gel hadn't had a chance to make an appearance. He always got up late now, leaving him no time to fuss over his hair.

All he could do was give it a quick comb, make himself look presentable, and leave it at that.

He wondered whether the young man was a sleeping pill come to life. Whenever he held him, he slept incredibly well. Since sharing a bed with Ji Mingzhu, Gu Shang hadn't just stopped using hair gel-he had stopped taking sleeping pills too.

Gu Shang's frequent stomach discomfort was partly due to his regular use of sleep medication. But without it, he often lay awake until dawn, and his sleep quality was abysmal.

There had been no way around it.

His husband looked a little younger without all his hair slicked back. So handsome.

Gu Shang: "..."

What was that look the pampered brat was giving him, as though he was begging to be fucked?

The man reluctantly looked away, lest prolonged eye contact make the pampered brat dawdle and start wheedling for affection again.

The young man broke into a smile and walked inside.

The Ji Family had been eating breakfast. Without Ji Mingzhu, the three of them sat at the ornately cut marble dining table, chatting happily together. At the sound of the door opening, all three turned to see a young man standing in the entryway, his face bare of makeup yet radiant with breathtaking beauty.

Ji Yonglin wasn't old yet, but his eyesight had already begun to blur. While he was still craning his neck to identify their visitor, Ji Zhian had already gone pale.

The young man standing some distance away wore clothes that were clearly expensive, making his slender figure look all the more ethereal.

It would take a guilty conscience to call that face anything but beautiful. Powder would have made it too pale and plain; rouge would have made it too vivid and red.

In truth, the young man's complexion hadn't fully recovered yet. Previously, malnutrition and a lack of exercise had left him with poor circulation and dull skin.

Since Ji Mingzhu had transmigrated here and stepped up his exercise, his skin had gradually become clearer and more luminous, though it was still a little pale on closer inspection. Yet that pallor did nothing to diminish his looks. His striking features and dark tea-brown hair brought his otherwise muted complexion to life, making him look like an exquisite porcelain doll.

He ought to have been pampered in a luxurious golden house, sheltered from the sun.

"Ji Mingzhu!" Ji Zhian exclaimed.

At those words, all three members of the Ji Family set down their cutlery and rose in unison, as though facing a formidable enemy.

Looking at the clear line they had drawn between themselves and him, Ji Mingzhu almost wanted to laugh.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was the impostor who had usurped someone else's place and enjoyed twenty years of privilege at their expense.

"Good morning, everyone." Ji Mingzhu smiled. "I've already had breakfast, so there's no need to set a place for me."

Ji Yonglin's face twisted for an instant. He nearly snapped back on instinct, demanding who would set a place for him, but before the words left his mouth, he suddenly remembered that Ji Mingzhu was here for his first post-wedding visit. At the very least, they shouldn't make things ugly on the surface. Besides... they had another objective to accomplish today.

With that in mind, he forced his expression to soften and stiffly changed the subject. "Mingzhu, you're here rather early."

Ji Yonglin looked the young man over. His hands were empty, and a little more contempt crept into Ji Yonglin's expression.

Just as expected of someone raised in a backwater. He had no manners at all. He didn't even know to bring gifts for his post-wedding visit.

Yet Ji Yonglin hadn't considered that people brought those gifts to thank their spouse's parents for raising their child to adulthood, while they hadn't spent so much as a single second raising Ji Mingzhu.

Ji Yonglin saw that he had indeed come alone, as instructed in his text message. Never mind Gu Shang-there wasn't even a servant accompanying him on his visit. It was clear how little importance the Gu Family attached to Ji Mingzhu.

"Gu Shang didn't come... well, he's a busy man. It's only natural that he couldn't make it. At least you didn't cling to him and make a scene. That shows some sense on your part," Ji Yonglin said dismissively.

As he spoke, his gaze kept drifting toward Ji Mingzhu's hand. "I heard from Xiao An that the wedding ring Gu Shang gave you is especially beautiful, even more impressive than the prize piece in our shop. You brought it today, didn't you?"

At the wedding banquet, Ji Mingzhu's parents had kept their distance from him because they felt embarrassed and were busy trying to curry favor with the rich and powerful. They hadn't noticed what sort of ring Ji Mingzhu was wearing.

Many people had complimented their eldest son that day, praising his poise and ethereal bearing.

But in his parents' eyes, how could anyone sincerely praise a son who was such an embarrassment? They must have been speaking ironically to mock them. Deep down, they even resented Ji Mingzhu for making a spectacle of himself everywhere, leaving their younger son-their greatest pride-completely overlooked.

As far as they were concerned, their first attempt at raising a son was already a lost cause.

And since Ji Mingzhu bore the surname Ji, he naturally shared in their honor and disgrace and ought to keep the Ji Family's interests in mind at all times.

Thanks to them, Ji Mingzhu had married into the Gu Family. Naturally, he ought to look after his younger brother, Ji Zhian, too. How could he think only of himself?

Moreover, after they returned from the wedding banquet, not a single promising young man had taken notice of Ji Zhian or asked for his contact information. Their younger son had been particularly aggrieved, saying that the large diamond ring he had borrowed had been outshone. Ji Mingzhu had an even more dazzling and valuable one, and he had stolen all the limelight.

The couple had spent ages coaxing him. Only when they told him that whatever belonged to his brother belonged to the Ji Family, and whatever belonged to the Ji Family belonged to Ji Zhian, did their younger son finally manage a smile.

So the couple had become intensely curious themselves. Just what sort of diamond ring could be so unforgettable even to their younger son, who was accustomed to all the gold, silver, and jewels in their jewelry shop?

At those words, Ji Mingzhu raised his left hand. Even from a distance, the pink diamond on his ring finger gave off a dazzling brilliance. Against the young man's smooth, fair hand, the delicate pink ring was as stunning as a pink rose blooming in the snow.

"So what if I brought it? You can't have this," Ji Mingzhu said.

This was the ring his husband had given him.

One glance from afar was enough to captivate Ji Yonglin, his eyes bulging with greed. "What do you mean, yours or mine? I'm your father. What's yours is mine!"