"I know. I'll ask him." After all, he needed someone in the family to help him ask for leave, and his eldest brother was the best choice. His reason was perfectly legitimate, so he had nothing to feel guilty about.
Actually, he wasn't very confident. If his eldest brother wouldn't let him go, he could only go in secret. If he refused, then he could only beg his father.
But compared to his father, his eldest brother still held the deciding vote.
"You want to go see your friend?"
Ji Wangchen had seen Xie Zhuzhou frowning even before he entered the study. It was easy to imagine just how anxious he was. That morning, he had even mentioned having dinner and meeting with Ms. Sheng that evening.
Now, even if he refused, Xie Zhuzhou would probably sneak off anyway. From what Ji Wangchen knew of this hardheaded younger brother, once he made up his mind about something, he wouldn't change it.
Ji Wangchen thought coming to discuss it with him was already a sensible choice.
"Big Brother, help me ask for leave..."
Sitting in his swivel chair, Ji Wangchen chuckled. "If I help you, what do I get out of it? If you go abroad and get killed without anyone knowing, that would be a good thing for us."
Xie Zhuzhou knew he was joking. After spending so many days together, he knew his eldest brother had a cold exterior but a kind heart. Not everything that came out of his mouth could be taken at face value.
"Big Brother..." Xie Zhuzhou didn't know how to act spoiled, but just thinking about skipping classes and seeing his friend made him feel that he would be very happy if he succeeded.
This was an eye-opener for Ji Wangchen. Normally, no matter how their second brother, Ji Wangyun, teased Xie Zhuzhou, he remained mild and unruffled, calm and composed. His temperament was much like Ji Wangchen's own.
Yet an outsider could actually stir their youngest brother's emotions. That displeased Ji Wangchen, and suddenly he didn't want to agree anymore.
"Big Brother, please." Xie Zhuzhou opened his mouth, then finally thickened his skin and said, "Big Brother, aren't you worried about the Cloudheart City project? I have a way to get that business partner to concede another ten percent of the profits to you."
"Oh?"
Ji Wangchen hadn't expected Xie Zhuzhou to make such a leap in topic, either. Their father had asked him about the progress of the Cloudheart City project that morning, so it wasn't strange that Xie Zhuzhou knew about it.
The same incense fragrance that clung to his eldest brother drifted through the study.
Xie Zhuzhou didn't know how Ji Wangchen's deliberations were going. Looking up, he saw the other man's well-defined index finger tapping intermittently against a pale blue cup, as though he were thinking.
Uh, hearing what I just said, Big Brother probably thinks I'm going back on my word. I clearly said I didn't want to fight over the family assets, yet here I am secretly getting involved in company affairs.
"All right. Go. Take the family plane."
Xie Zhuzhou's eyes lit up.
"You'll cover your own expenses abroad."
Xie Zhuzhou hurriedly nodded and thanked him. "No problem. Thank you, Big Brother! Big Brother, you're so good to me."
Ji Wangchen: "..." So even his youngest brother could be such a suck-up. What an eye-opener.
This was the most sincere smile Xie Xiaozhou had shown since coming to this home. Sure enough, everyone had something they wanted.
He had thought his youngest brother was indifferent to everything, but now it seemed... there were things he cared about after all.
Xie Zhuzhou packed quickly, and the panda plush he had asked Xiao Nan to buy on the way earlier had arrived too. Xiao Nan couldn't come along; he had to stay here and handle the things Xie Zhuzhou had assigned him.
His eldest brother assigned him two bodyguards. They weren't the tough guys he had pictured, because people who were too conspicuous and heavily built couldn't carry out their tasks efficiently.
They couldn't make too much of a stir, and someone would meet them once they reached the other side. For an impoverished family, never mind traveling abroad for fun-even surviving was difficult.
Without capital, background, and connections, nothing was easy to accomplish. Having enjoyed the Ji Family's benefits, Xie Zhuzhou felt indebted and decided to carefully review the original novel's plot, helping his eldest brother maximize the company's profits as much as possible.
In reality, Ji Wangchen had merely listened. He hadn't expected his brat of a younger brother to solve any problems for him.
More than ten hours later, Xie Zhuzhou marveled at the power of modern technology. Back in the Great Yan Dynasty, traveling thousands or tens of thousands of li in a day would have been utterly unimaginable!
During his time on the plane, Xie Zhuzhou hadn't forgotten to cultivate, either.
"I'll carry the little panda plush myself."
After they got off the plane, the bodyguard Yang Da carried all the luggage in both hands while Li Er went to complete all the formalities. The three of them got into the car sent to meet them and left the airport.
Xie Zhuzhou wasn't in the mood to take in the local customs and culture. All he could think about now was how he had actually come all this way, just like that!
Having left on a whim, Xie Zhuzhou was wrapped in a red scarf, wore a black knit hat, and held a marvelous hand warmer in his arms.