Xue Hui froze for a moment, then was overwhelmed with joy, his eyes full of gratitude. "President Ji! I'll do my very best!"
He also secretly thanked President Yan. It looked like his boss and President Yan were very close!
That flattery had hit the mark!
Ji Hanxing wanted to smile too, but suddenly, the system's warning sounded in his mind:
[Beep, beep, beep! Host, please take note! You are now a cold, stern, domineering CEO. Please maintain your aloof, unsmiling CEO image.]
Ji Hanxing said, "What? I'm not even allowed to smile?"
Then what did he have to look forward to in life?
[To avoid disrupting the plot and your characterization, please maintain your aloof, unsmiling CEO image in front of others.]
Seeing Ji Hanxing's lack of enthusiasm, the system added:
Seeing Ji Hanxing's lackluster expression, the system added, "Assessments are conducted in seven-day cycles. Maintaining your characterization in daily life will earn you one day of life."
Ji Hanxing perked up instantly. Wasn't it just a matter of not smiling in public?
What was so hard about that? He was born not to smile!
"Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz~"
Xue Hui's phone rang. He took it out and saw a string of digits. It should have been an unfamiliar number, but he looked at Ji Hanxing solemnly.
"President Ji, it's a call from Assistant Li, the assistant to President Jiang Yuzhuo."
Ji Hanxing glanced at the phone number with no saved contact name. Before he could ask, Xue Hui immediately understood what he meant and explained:
"Although I've never dealt with Assistant Li, I memorized his number before."
Ji Hanxing was impressed. He suspected Xue Hui knew the contact details of every big shot's assistant in City A!
"Assistant Li is probably calling me to ask about your condition."
Hearing that, Ji Hanxing wondered if they were here to settle the matter of him getting hit at Grand Prosperity.
His nerves instantly went on alert. He might get to fleece a fat sheep!
Although the system had been what hit him, he had still been drugged at Grand Prosperity, hadn't he?
But this young master Jiang was actually close to that villain, Yan Jinyue. Did that mean Jiang Yuzhuo knew about what he and Yan Jinyue had done?
Surely Yan Jinyue didn't have the nasty habit of telling everyone he met about that sort of thing?
Countless thoughts ran through Ji Hanxing's mind, but he nodded calmly. "Answer it."
Xue Hui answered and put the call on speaker. A smiling male voice came from the other end.
"Hello, Assistant Xue. I'm President Jiang's assistant at the Grand Prosperity Hotel. My surname is Li."
Xue Hui said, "I've heard much about you, Assistant Li. What can I do for you today?"
Assistant Li hesitated for a moment. "I heard President Ji was discharged from the hospital today..."
"You certainly are well informed, Assistant Li," Xue Hui replied. Judging by Assistant Li's tone, he immediately took the initiative. "Speaking of which, President Ji was hit quite badly at Grand Prosperity this time."
Hearing that, Assistant Li hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, it was indeed our fault here at Grand Prosperity."
Once Assistant Li accepted responsibility, Xue Hui felt relieved. He also secretly watched Ji Hanxing's expression, afraid he might have said something wrong just now.
Ji Hanxing's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he applauded Xue Hui. Impressive, Assistant Xue.
Assistant Li continued, "To express Grand Prosperity's apologies, President Jiang would like to invite President Ji for a meal at the Moonlight Pavilion in our Grand Prosperity Hotel."
"As well as offering our apologies, we'd also like to discuss a compensation plan for the losses President Ji suffered in this accident."
Xue Hui looked at Ji Hanxing. After a moment's hesitation, Ji Hanxing nodded. Xue Hui relayed his answer to Assistant Li, and the two discussed the time and place before ending the call.
The meal was set for the evening. It was still morning, so there was plenty of time. Ji Hanxing thought for a moment. "Let's head back to the old residence first."
He had been hospitalized for the past few days, and the news had been kept from Old Master Ji. He was afraid that if he kept failing to show up, Old Master Ji would eventually grow suspicious and worried, so he decided to visit him first.
Meanwhile, Assistant Li reported the situation to Jiang Yuzhuo. Hearing that Ji Hanxing was willing to attend, Jiang Yuzhuo sighed in relief.
He had been afraid Ji Hanxing would fly into a humiliated rage and refuse to show him even that much courtesy.
Although the Jiang Family was powerful, Grand Prosperity was ultimately at fault in this incident.
It was true that the Ji Group was no match for Jiang, but Ji Hanxing was at the helm of the entire Ji Group. And Jiang Yuzhuo? His father still ran the Jiang Family, and Jiang Yuzhuo had an older half brother, Jiang Yujing, who did not see eye to eye with him.
"Have you extracted and encrypted the surveillance footage outside room 5108?"
"President Jiang, everything has been taken care of."
Jiang Yuzhuo nodded, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes. Should he tell Yan Jinyue that he was hosting Ji Hanxing tonight?
After some thought, Jiang Yuzhuo called Yan Jinyue anyway and told him about inviting Ji Hanxing to dinner that evening.
Yan Jinyue was silent for a moment on the other end. "All right, I understand."
With that, he hung up without saying whether he would come. Jiang Yuzhuo shrugged. He had informed him, at any rate.
Ji Hanxing arrived at the Ji Family's old residence, but he did not get out of the car right away. Instead, he thoroughly prepared himself mentally inside the car. He was about to meet this body's closest family member.
He felt a little nervous and... guilty.
Once Ji Hanxing felt ready, he got out of the car, and someone immediately came out of the house to greet him.
An elderly man with a full head of silver hair looked at Ji Hanxing in delighted surprise. "You're home, young master?"
From the original owner's memories, Ji Hanxing knew this was the Ji Family's longtime butler, Wang Zhong, who had served Old Master Ji for many years.
He was just about to smile at the beaming old man when he remembered the system's earlier warning and the reward for maintaining his characterization. Struggling to keep the corners of his mouth down, he gave a slight nod. "Grandpa Wang."
Butler Wang showed no unusual reaction to Ji Hanxing's attitude. Still smiling, he welcomed Ji Hanxing inside.
Ji Hanxing understood. It seemed the original owner was normally this cold toward others too.
"The master has been talking about you these past couple of days, young master. He said you've been so busy lately that you haven't had time to visit him."
As Butler Wang spoke, he kept watching Ji Hanxing. Suddenly, he frowned, deepening the wrinkles on his forehead.
"It's only been a few days, young master. How have you lost so much weight?"
Ji Hanxing instinctively touched his face. Had he lost weight? He had thought that, with all the eating and sleeping he had been doing lately, he had actually gained some.
The two entered the living room and saw a hale and hearty old man sitting upright on the sofa, reading a newspaper through his reading glasses, his silver hair meticulously combed.
When Ji Hanxing entered, he merely glanced at him before quickly returning his gaze to the newspaper. "You're back?" he asked mildly.
A trace of amusement flashed in Ji Hanxing's eyes. He could see the old man's gaze shifting about. So he was an old softie who refused to show it.
He approached and called softly, "Grandpa."
Ji Hanxing did not sit down, but stood beside Old Master Ji.
Old Master Ji shook the newspaper in his hands. "So you do remember to come home."
He narrowed his eyes and gave Ji Hanxing another sidelong glance. "What are you standing there for? Sit down. Don't make it look as though I mistreat you."