After a night's rest, An Yubei was discharged from the hospital the next day.
He had only just returned to the Ji family villa and stepped through the door when Zhou Kewei arrived with gifts.
Ji Shang greeted him politely, but he still did not call him Uncle, addressing him as Mr. Zhou instead.
Polite yet distant-even a fool could see that Ji Shang's attitude had changed.
That sense of distance made Zhou Kewei a little uneasy. He teased, "Why are you being so formal with me, kid?"
"Our families have been friends for generations, and your father and I are good friends. Calling me Uncle won't cost you anything."
Watching from the side, An Yubei was frantic. He wished he could expose Zhou Kewei's true colors right then.
That old fox was infuriating.
[Damn it, he's here to fool Brother Shang again. Shameless! Now he says our families have been friends for generations. Why didn't he remember that when he was screwing over the Ji family?]
[The Zhou Group is poorly run because you're an incompetent leader. It loses money every year, and you evade taxes, too. How could a company like that ever last?]
While An Yubei seethed, Ji Shang calmly invited Zhou Kewei to sit down.
An Yubei tugged at Ji Shang's sleeve and quietly called, "Brother."
Ji Shang turned his hand to take An Yubei's wrist and pulled him down to sit with him.
"Be good, Yubei. I'll go upstairs with you in a bit."
An Yubei grew even more anxious. [My dear Brother Shang, that's not what I mean! I'm trying to tell you how that fox Zhou is screwing you over.]
[He's a bad person. No matter what he says, don't fall for it!]
Ji Shang took An Yubei's hand reassuringly and chuckled. "Don't worry, Xiao Bei. It's all right."
An Yubei blinked, a tingling numbness spreading over his wrist.
He felt that Ji Shang could handle it even without him saying anything.
[My brother is the best. He'll definitely find a clever way to deal with the Zhou family matter.]
The interaction between the brothers stunned Zhou Kewei. Outsiders all said that Ji Shang and An Yubei, the adopted son, were like fire and water, and that An Yubei was ambitious and wanted to seize the family fortune.
Now it seemed that rumors were not necessarily all true.
Zhou Kewei offered a compliment. "Shang, you two are so close."
"People outside all say you've been fighting bitterly over the inheritance. It seems those rumors can't be trusted."
Still holding An Yubei's hand, Ji Shang lowered his eyes to glance at the back of it. "Of course I'll spoil my own little brother. If he wants it, I can simply give him the company."
An Yubei was moved to tears. [Brother Shang is so good to me. I'll absolutely be a good salted fish. I won't fight or compete for anything or cause my brother trouble.]
Zhou Kewei choked on Ji Shang's words. He had meant to sow discord, only to fail and get a retort instead.
"Did you come for something today, Mr. Zhou?"
Zhou Kewei stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point. "Here's the thing. Didn't you say you had no time to sign the contract yesterday? So I've brought it here myself."
Zhou Kewei handed over the contract and watched Ji Shang with a smile.
Ji Shang smiled, silently remarking on his poor memory and how he had forgotten amid all his work.
"I'm terribly sorry to have troubled you to come all this way, Mr. Zhou. That was remiss of me as your junior. I'll sign right now."
Zhou Kewei watched Ji Shang with satisfaction, a smug smile on his lips.
What did Ji Shang have to be so proud of? He was still dancing to Zhou Kewei's tune. All it had taken was a little trick, and Ji Shang had fallen for it.
Soon, everything the Ji family owned would be his.
Zhou Kewei's smugness was written all over his face, making An Yubei grit his teeth in anger.
"Brother, you can't sign it. This contract...!"
Before An Yubei could finish, Ji Shang covered his mouth and softly shushed him.
He whispered in An Yubei's ear, "Be good, Xiao Bei. Don't fuss. I know what I'm doing."
"Just be good and enjoy the show."
Enjoy the show?
What was his brother going to do?
An Yubei quieted down, his heart pounding with uncertainty. He had no idea what Ji Shang intended to do.
But he had a feeling that Ji Shang knew everything and wanted to toy with someone.
Now interested in watching the fun, An Yubei stopped worrying and sat leisurely at the side, obediently waiting for Ji Shang.
Zhou Kewei still had no idea what the brothers were doing and was completely baffled.
But that did not matter. Once the contract was signed, the Ji family would be finished.
Zhou Kewei could barely suppress his smile anymore. Just as Ji Shang picked up his pen, the Ji family's butler approached.
"Mr. Ji, Director Zhang is here."
At that name, Zhou Kewei stiffened slightly, then quickly turned to look.
Their eyes met, both filled with bewilderment and confusion. Seeing each other, they were shocked and afraid.
It was as though the secrets they had hidden were about to come out.
Ji Shang called Zhang Zhen upstairs to the study, leaving only An Yubei and Zhou Kewei in the living room. Zhou Kewei fidgeted restlessly, constantly checking his watch.
Only half an hour later, Ji Shang came downstairs in a fury.
"Mr. Zhou, I can't sign this contract. Butler, show our guest out." Looking as though he had been deceived, Ji Shang sat down angrily on the sofa.
Ji Shang's words frightened both Zhang Zhen and Zhou Kewei.
Zhou Kewei stood up and asked, "What's wrong, Shang? You need to explain yourself. We already agreed on this. How can you suddenly refuse to sign?"
Ji Shang snorted. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Mr. Zhou?"
Zhou Kewei looked utterly bewildered, even casting a guilty glance at Zhang Zhen. "What do you mean?"
"You're trying to get money from me in exchange for a problematic piece of land, Mr. Zhou. Isn't that a scam?"
Zhou Kewei panicked and demanded angrily, "Who said that?"
Ji Shang said nothing, merely glancing at Zhang Zhen. Zhang Zhen looked baffled. He had not said anything, so why was Ji Shang looking at him?
Having lost the contract and a great deal of money, Zhou Kewei flew into a rage. "Well, Zhang Zhen, so you stabbed me in the back! You two-faced bastard, all that money I gave you was wasted on a dog!"
"What the hell are you talking about? Haven't I given you enough benefits? Spit my money back out right now, or I'll sue you!"
Zhang Zhen was stunned by the abuse. What had he said? He had clearly said nothing at all, so how was this his fault now?
When he had been called into the study, President Ji had said nothing, and now he was being cursed out as soon as he came downstairs. Zhang Zhen had reason to suspect that Zhou Kewei had stabbed him in the back.
So Zhang Zhen threw caution aside and began exposing Zhou Kewei, too.
He revealed everything, including how Zhou Kewei had bribed him, what was wrong with the land, and some of Zhou Kewei's little schemes.
As they traded insults, the two revealed quite a few secrets, any one of which would have been enough for a prison sentence.
Only after they had argued themselves out did they belatedly realize that they seemed to have been tricked.
Ji Shang had played them.
Zhou Kewei changed his tune and denied having done anything. Only when Ji Shang pointed at the camera in the living room were the two finally left speechless.
In the end, the police came and took them both away.
Such a beautifully fought battle left An Yubei impressed, his heart filled with admiration for Ji Shang.
[My brother is incredible. He made those two tear each other apart with just one move. Absolutely brilliant.]
After cooperating with the police investigation, An Yubei and Ji Shang returned home, and An Yubei began praising Ji Shang's methods nonstop.
"Brother, you're really amazing. You're my idol."
"You're the fighter jet of schemers. No one can match your wits."
Ji Shang gave a snort of laughter and ruffled An Yubei's hair. "All right, stop buttering me up. Did you enjoy the show?"
An Yubei nodded vigorously. "Dogs biting dogs, both with mouths full of fur. That felt so good."
[You want to screw over my family? Not a chance. Got what you deserved, didn't you!]
Smiling, Ji Shang took An Yubei's hand and headed upstairs. As he walked, he said, "Since you're happy now, come to a banquet with me. No refusing."
An Yubei furrowed his brows. Why was it another banquet?
[That banquet is a Hongmen feast. How could he possibly fit in? Everyone there would be big bad wolves, while he was a little white rabbit. He'd get eaten.]
Lost in thought, An Yubei tripped on a step and pitched forward.
Ji Shang reacted swiftly, catching An Yubei. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
An Yubei looked up and met Ji Shang's eyes. Feeling reassured and at peace, he nodded and agreed to attend the banquet with him.
His sudden agreement was partly because he did not want to turn Ji Shang down, and partly because he had remembered that the male lead would appear at the banquet.
He wanted to meet the male lead, too.