Chapter 167: Stealing Fragrance (22)
Normally, given Xiao Ji’s speed, he could have saved Pei Yinnian directly. But just as he was about to make a move, 037 suddenly reminded him that Nan Siyan was helping. Thus, Xiao Ji hadn’t acted prematurely and only performed the follow-up cleanup.
Now that the matter was settled, he entered the small alley, sat on the wall, and waited until dawn. After confirming no more trouble would come, he quietly returned to the Pei Residence.
The next day, after a night of deep conversation with Nan Siyan that perfectly resolved his inner conflict, Pei Yinnian first went to the military camp to handle some business. By the time he returned to the Pei Residence, it was already afternoon.
He went straight to his room but didn’t see Xiao Ji. Coming back out, he found Nanny Liu.
“Where is Mr. Xiao?”
Nanny Liu didn’t know about the conflict between them and only asked in confusion:
“Didn’t he go to school?”
Pei Yinnian frowned. “When did he leave?”
Nanny Liu thought for a moment. “He left at noon. Eh? Shouldn’t he usually go in the morning—”
Before she could finish, Pei Yinnian turned and went back to the room. This time, he saw the watch sitting on the bedside table.
An ominous feeling rose in his heart. He pulled open the wardrobe; the clothes were all hanging neatly. He looked closely—all the clothes he had made for Xiao Ji were there. When Xiao Ji left, he had worn his own old clothes.
His heart began to race. He walked to the sofa, lit a cigarette, and looked down to see a newspaper on the table. He picked it up; the lead story was about the attack at the nightclub last night. The text didn’t mention Pei Yinnian, but in the photo taken this morning, his black vintage car was visible. Although the license plate was obscured, a coat folded inside was visible through the rear window.
The image was blurry, but that coat had been personally folded by Xiao Ji.
Pei Yinnian thought, This is bad. He tossed the paper aside and rushed out, heading straight for the National First High School.
At that moment, Xiao Ji had already submitted his resignation at the principal’s office and completed the departure procedures.
Xiao Ji could understand, forgive, and even let Pei Yinnian’s jealousy and anger slide. But now, there were two reasons he didn’t want to deal with him.
First, the less important point: when they had a misunderstanding, Pei Yinnian didn’t try to resolve it properly but instead chose to go to a nightclub. If Xiao Ji hadn’t been with Yinnian for several lifetimes and knew him so well, a misunderstanding would have surely taken root.
Second, the most important point: Pei Yinnian knew his high position made him a target, yet he dared to go out at night with only Lin Shu. If it hadn’t been for 037’s real-time monitoring and urgent reminder—and if he hadn’t helped Nan Siyan, who in turn helped back—there was no telling what the consequences would be.
For Xiao Ji, the fact that Pei Yinnian didn’t protect himself properly while he wasn’t there was the greatest sin.
Just as he walked out of the school gate, he saw the jeep pulling up. Xiao Ji acted as if he didn’t see it and turned to walk away.
Pei Yinnian got out of the car and ran aggressively toward Xiao Ji, grabbing him.
“I told you to stay at the Pei Residence and go nowhere. You take my words as a joke?”
Xiao Ji looked at him. “Stay at the Pei Residence and wait for you while you mess around at a nightclub?”
It was a fact that Pei Yinnian had gone to the nightclub, but he wouldn’t admit to “messing around.”
“I just went for a couple of drinks.”
Xiao Ji nodded. “Then I hope you enjoyed your drinks.”
Who was Pei Yinnian? He was the master of Huating, the Governor-General of three provinces. Whether at home or abroad, he was the one who called the shots. Being handled by Xiao Ji in bed didn’t mean he had truly weakened. The temperament of a high-ranking official of this era and the deep-seated chauvinism made it hard for him to admit he was wrong, even if he knew it.
Hearing Xiao Ji’s cold tone, in a fit of pique, he said:
“Didn’t you also go to the tea house?”
His intention was to say that Xiao Ji’s visit to the tea house was innocent, and his own visit to the nightclub was just out of temporary anger for a drink—also innocent. But to Xiao Ji’s ears, it didn’t sound that way at all.
Xiao Ji said bluntly, “Did I stay overnight at the tea house, or was I attacked there?”
Pei Yinnian didn’t know Xiao Ji had arrived last night and knew he was already safe. Hearing this, he felt that Xiao Ji didn’t care at all about him being attacked and was just fixated on the nightclub. He felt that Xiao Ji really didn’t have much genuine heart for him.
He also grew angry and said domineeringly, “Come back with me, or don’t even think about keeping your job.”
Xiao Ji didn’t care. “I just resigned.”
Pei Yinnian was stunned. “Where are you going?”
Xiao Ji gave Pei Yinnian one chance. He said, “Apologize to me.”
Pei Yinnian said perfunctorily, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”
Xiao Ji looked at him. “What were you wrong about?”
Pei Yinnian gritted his teeth. “Don’t push your luck, Xiao Ji. I don’t have that much patience.”
If it were before, when Xiao Ji didn’t care about anything, he wouldn’t have held onto this matter. Whether Yinnian lived or died or got hurt would have had nothing to do with him. But now Xiao Ji had emotions, and when it came to Pei Yinnian’s affairs, he would also get angry.
Seeing that Pei Yinnian not only didn’t know his mistake but also had this attitude, his already cold expression turned even icier.
“Then I wish you the best of luck.”
With that, he turned and left without looking back.
Pei Yinnian’s stubbornness flared up. Looking at Xiao Ji’s back, he went straight back to the car and said to Lin Shu:
“Back to the Pei Residence.”
Lin Shu was so scared he didn’t dare breathe as he drove back.
During this time, Mother Xiao—who had received a box of gold bars—hadn’t chosen to move. Instead, she bought the empty neighboring courtyard, knocked through the wall, and fixed it up. With new windows, doors, fresh paint, and new furniture, the place was quite nice.
Xiao Ji had his own room. Now that the family had money and Xiao Ran’s health had improved, he wasn’t in a rush to find a job and stayed home doing odd chores.
Pei Yinnian was stubborn, and Xiao Ji was even more so. Since Pei Yinnian wouldn’t apologize properly, Xiao Ji would wait for him to do so.
But after staying home for less than half a month, gossip began to spread through the neighborhood.
“The Xiao family’s son is back. He stays home all day and doesn’t do any proper work.”
“Proper work? What do you call proper work? Haven’t you heard? When he was teaching, he was kept by Young Master Pei! Mother Xiao stopped working at the restaurant, and they fixed up the courtyard. They’re living quite comfortably now; their backs are straight.”
“Tsk, truly shameful. The son is used as a plaything outside, and they bring that dirty money back. What’s there to be comfortable about? If it were me, I’d be so sick I couldn’t eat!”
“Exactly. A healthy, able-bodied man—can’t he do anything else? To think he’d do such a business!”
“Alright, at least they got something out of it. Your son is hardworking, but he’ll pull a rickshaw for the rest of his life and still won’t be able to fix up your courtyard!”
…
Xiao Ji didn’t care about this, acting as if he didn’t hear it. It didn’t bother him anyway. But Xiao Ran, who was sitting in the courtyard washing clothes, couldn’t swallow this insult. She knew those people were standing at her door saying those things on purpose.
She picked up a basin of dirty water, walked to the door, kicked it open, and forcefully splashed the dirty water over the gossiping women. She shouted:
“A bunch of long-tongued hags! Shut your dog mouths! My brother doesn’t care to deal with you, and you really think you’re something?”
“I’m telling you, if anyone dares to spray filth again, see if I don’t tear your mouths apart!”
Translator’s Note: Xiao Ji resigning is a big move! He’s punishing Pei Yinnian for his recklessness.
- “Long-tongued hags” (长舌妇): A common idiom for gossipy women.
- Xiao Ran is such a protective sister. In this era, rumors could destroy a family’s reputation, so she has to be fierce!
- The gossip reflects the social stigma of the time regarding “kept men,” even if the “patron” is as powerful as Pei Yinnian.
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