Xie Zhuzhou kept Chu Yanzhang company. Neither was much of a conversationalist, but they felt especially comfortable together.
It was past nine that evening when Xie Zhuzhou got home. The two rows of maids standing at the entrance trembled with apprehension, lowering their heads even further when they saw him return. After walking for who knew how long, he reached the living room and spotted his older brothers from a distance, their faces dark and the air around them frighteningly cold.
As for his father, he was nowhere to be found.
The maids had special group chats for finding work, especially those for maids working in wealthy households. Any news not covered by confidentiality could spread throughout wealthy circles, and they generally knew any gossip that outsiders were allowed to hear.
As such, they had heard the rumors circulating outside. Thinking of Xie Zhuzhou as a vicious man who even hit people, the maids were terrified of making a mistake. Before, they had dared to sneak glances at his expression; now, they did not dare look at him at all.
They should not have believed it, but the air the young master exuded told them he was a volatile person.
After all, relying on his father's favor, this young master even looked down on his own grandfather. It was like accepting the old man's gifts only to slap him afterward.
They even imagined that if the young master was in a bad mood, a dog passing by would probably get slapped too.
Xie Zhuzhou also noticed something strange about their demeanor. After nodding to his brothers in a perfunctory greeting, he made to head upstairs.
"Zhuzhou."
His eldest brother stopped him.
Xie Zhuzhou halted and withdrew his hand from the banister. Turning to see their dark faces and thoughtful frowns, he assumed the family was going bankrupt and wondered whether what he had on hand could help.
He glanced at his eldest brother and walked over after all.
In this family, the person Xie Zhuzhou feared most was Ji Wangchen. Although he appeared calm before his eldest brother, inwardly he trembled, afraid Ji Wangchen would take a dislike to him.
After all, he was the legitimate eldest son. There was a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.
That deeply rooted belief made his feet obediently carry him over.
"Eldest Brother, did you need something?"
Relieved to see that he had not been affected yet, Ji Wangchen spoke with a trace of weariness. "You... if you hear any rumors later, don't pay them any mind."
"What?"
Xie Zhuzhou's brain was receiving the signal. After turning it over a couple of times, he combined his years of experience reading storybooks with his behavior over the past few days and his eldest brother's hint, and quickly arrived at an answer.
"Someone's spreading rumors about me?"
"Yes." Ji Wangchen was a little surprised by Xie Zhuzhou's quick thinking. The fact that this fellow had actually guessed he was in serious trouble left him unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"What kind?" Xie Zhuzhou wanted to know what storm had blown through the outside world to make his brothers act as though they were facing a formidable enemy.
Ji Wangchen cast a look at Ji Wangyun, who turned to Xie Zhuzhou. Seeing that he still wore a calm expression, Ji Wangyun began to feel annoyed. This little brat. Everyone was so worried about him, yet he acted as though nothing had happened.
So he gave Xie Zhuzhou a very realistic account of everything that had happened, along with how the news was spreading.
He even deliberately exaggerated parts of it, expecting Xie Zhuzhou to be frightened, but he was not.
It drove Ji Wangyun mad.
Xie Zhuzhou had not expected his image to become so dark in a single day, as though he were a cancer on society, a demon on earth whose name could silence a crying child at night.
Yet instead of getting angry as he should have, he could not help curling his lips upward.
Perfect. If I attend any banquets in the future, hardly anyone will try to strike up a conversation with me.
Excitement faintly showed on his face, and he almost blurted out, "Excellent!"
Then he remembered that his brothers seemed quite concerned about him. Although he did not know whether they were concerned about the family's reputation or something else, this had started because of him, after all. He cleared his throat and rather awkwardly reassured them.
"It's fine. Let them spread whatever they want. I don't want to get married anyway."
Someone as insignificant as him would not affect the company's market value. These negative rumors had come at just the right time! How much trouble would they save him in the future?
Rather than be looked down on, he would prefer to be feared.
Xie Zhuzhou calmly accepted this persona and planned to stick with it to the end. He saw his brothers looking at him in silence, their gazes startled and complicated.
Although he did not know what they were thinking, he pressed his lips together and said earnestly, "Eldest Brother, you don't need to worry about me. Besides, they aren't wrong. I did treat Grandfather that way, and I do have a bad temper. As for using violence... that's not impossible in the future either."
Ji Wangchen frowned, his gaze conveying both disapproval and incomprehension. "Think this through. You have a long road ahead of you. You'll join the company after you graduate, too. These negative rumors aren't good for your personal development."
"I don't want to work."
Ji Wangchen froze. "What?"
"I said, I don't plan to inherit anything. You don't need to worry that I'll take what's yours, either."
Under their gazes, Xie Zhuzhou laid his cards on the table without warning.
Ji Wangyun was stunned, his expression filled with disbelief.
The servants and butler were all absent from the living room, leaving the surroundings utterly silent.
Ji Wangchen was only briefly taken aback. He did not take Xie Zhuzhou's words to heart, merely thinking it was normal for a child to be a little rebellious.
Xie Zhuzhou said, "There's no need to clear anything up. Just leave it for now. Grandfather probably wants to force me to bow to him before stepping forward to clear things up. But he's miscalculated. I don't plan to take the bait."
With that, Xie Zhuzhou went upstairs, leaving his brothers utterly bewildered.
Ji Wangyun still had not recovered. It had all happened so suddenly, and there was so much information that his brain felt overwhelmed. He murmured, "Eldest Brother, did our little brother lack love as a child, then grow up and see through life, so now he can't muster any interest in anything?"
For once, they looked at things from Xie Zhuzhou's perspective and put themselves in his shoes. Xie Zhuzhou was a poor little thing abandoned by his parents.
Ji Wangchen pondered for a moment, and his stern face suddenly grew a little heavier. "Father said he knew he belonged to the Ji Family when he was five, but he never once thought of coming back."
Ji Wangyun said, "Both parents abandoned him when he was so young. It's understandable that he'd have a bad temper and a difficult personality, but isn't he a little too free of desires?"
Xie Zhuzhou's experiences told them that he was actually very perceptive, so much so that he could steel himself to give up enormous benefits.
Of course, as Ji Wuqiu's son, even if he neither fought nor competed, he would never receive any less than his share. Everyone understood that perfectly well.
It was just that his three older brothers liked to play, and they actually very much wanted to drag Xie Zhuzhou onto the battlefield.
Despite their outward harmony, they had done plenty to trip one another up at the company. Once work ended, they would put on a show of brotherly affection and respect in front of their father again.
Only those who knew the inside story would marvel at how bizarre the Ji Family truly was.
The living room fell silent again.
Ji Wangyan's gaze darkened slightly, but with the conversation having reached this point, he added, "Doesn't he like guys? He pursued three guys at once and even went on a dating show. That hardly counts as having no desires, does it? All he has to do is say the word to Father, and Father will give him anything."
At the mention of Xie Zhuzhou liking guys, Ji Wangyun's gaze grew complicated. He wanted to speak, stopped himself, then wanted to speak again.
Our little brother is still young. There's still time to correct him. It won't be good if he goes down the wrong path later!
After Ji Wangyan brought it up, he immediately agreed. "Since he likes them all, let's just grab them all and bring them back."
Ji Wangchen could not understand what terrible idea his two addlebrained younger brothers were cooking up now. "Hasn't it occurred to you that Little Brother could capsize if he keeps a foot in several boats?"
This was not salvaging Xie Zhuzhou's reputation at all.
"..."