Chapter 165: Stealing Fragrance (20)
Xiao Ji’s strength went without saying.
With one punch, he sent the man sprawling backward. The man instinctively held onto Nan Siyan’s back collar, nearly pulling the boy down with him. Xiao Ji was quick, grabbing Nan Siyan’s front collar and pulling him back.
Unfortunately, the clothes on Nan Siyan were fragile and couldn’t withstand the force; the fabric at the back was torn open by the man. But before the boy could react, Xiao Ji had already snatched a coat hanging from the wrist of a bystander watching the scene. In the blink of an eye, he draped the coat over Nan Siyan.
Nan Siyan was terrified, looking at Xiao Ji’s face with shock as he stammered, “Th… Thank you…”
Xiao Ji released Nan Siyan. The man on the ground scrambled up, clutching his bleeding nose and glaring at Xiao Ji.
“You dare meddle in my business?”
Xiao Ji hated people who talked too much. Hearing this, he gave the man another punch and said:
“If you say another word, I’ll kill you.”
Bullying the weak while fearing the strong was a common human failing. Having felt the force of Xiao Ji’s strikes twice and hearing him calmly threaten to kill him, the man immediately wilted. He scrambled up from the ground, cursing under his breath, and fled in panic.
Nan Siyan stood there at a loss. Xiao Ji grabbed him by the back of his collar, hauled him back into the tea house, and sat him down on a small stool.
The crowd of onlookers quickly dispersed.
Sitting on the stool, Nan Siyan looked at the cold-faced Xiao Ji. His little face was pale, and he didn’t dare make a sound.
Xiao Ji looked down at him. “Where is your boss?”
Nan Siyan’s lips trembled slightly. “He’s not here.”
Xiao Ji could have redeemed Nan Siyan’s contract, but Nan Siyan was not his mission target, and it wasn’t convenient for him to meddle with the plot line written by the God of Fate.
So, he simply took several silver dollars from his pocket, placed them on the table, and said to Nan Siyan:
“If you can remember this, don’t forget to tell Changming to pay me back later.”
Nan Siyan didn’t understand what Xiao Ji was saying, but he nodded obediently, afraid that if he said the wrong thing, Xiao Ji’s fist would land on his face.
Xiao Ji didn’t even have much to say to Pei Yinnian, usually remaining silent; he certainly had nothing to say to someone else’s dao companion. He had helped this much for 037’s sake, and that was enough. After speaking, he didn’t stay and turned to leave.
Xiao Ji went home and ate a simple meal. He listened to Mother Xiao nag for half a day, appearing to listen intently while actually letting the words go in one ear and out the other.
Just as he was hesitating whether to return to the Pei Residence tonight, a knock sounded at the door. Xiao Ji opened it to find Pei Yinnian standing outside.
“Why are you back so early?”
Pei Yinnian smelled of alcohol; who knew how much he had drunk. Seeing Xiao Ji, he fell straight into his arms.
He muttered, “Taking you home.”
Mother Xiao and Xiao Ran stood at the door watching, exchanging glances but saying nothing. Xiao Ji bent down, slung Pei Yinnian over his shoulder, and turned back to Mother Xiao and Xiao Ran.
“See you next time.”
Then, he carried Pei Yinnian out the door.
Back at the Pei Residence, he prepared hot water and cleaned the drunk Pei Yinnian before tucking him into bed. He casually washed Pei’s undergarments and hung them up.
Just as he lay down to sleep, he saw Pei Yinnian staring straight at him.
“Where did you go tonight?”
Xiao Ji: “Home.”
Pei Yinnian was mostly sober now. Hearing those two words, his expression became cold and dangerous.
“And besides that?”
Hearing this, Xiao Ji knew Pei Yinnian’s eyes and ears were everywhere. He had likely heard about the incident at the tea house and rushed back. Xiao Ji had nothing to hide, so he simply said:
“I passed by the Bishui Tea House and saw someone bullying a kid, so I gave him a hand.”
Based on his understanding of Xiao Ji, Pei Yinnian felt that Xiao Ji wasn’t the type to act heroically for a stranger. But since Xiao Ji told him so openly, there probably weren’t any other shameful secrets. He wasn’t the type to fuss over every little thing, so he dropped the matter.
It wasn’t a big deal to begin with. Afterward, Xiao Ji returned to his regular routine—teaching at the school and returning to the Pei Residence. After a few days, both of them put the incident behind them.
But not long after, a letter arrived at the Pei Residence. The name of the recipient was Mr. Xiao.
At the time, Pei Yinnian had just picked Xiao Ji up from class and returned home. As he took the newspaper from the mailbox, the letter fell out. He bent down to pick it up, looked at the handwriting, and turned to Xiao Ji.
“Who would be writing to you?”
Xiao Ji was also confused. “You’ll know if you open it.”
Pei Yinnian opened the letter in front of him. Inside was a single line of elegant small script; the strokes were a bit unsteady, looking like they were written by someone who had just learned.
[Thank you for your rescue, Mr. Xiao. Siyan is eternally grateful.]
In addition, there were six silver dollars inside the envelope.
Now, Pei Yinnian was unhappy. He turned to Xiao Ji.
“You gave him money too? That’s my money!”
Xiao Ji had said to let Changming pay it back, but Nan Siyan clearly hadn’t understood. He could only tell the truth:
“I lent it to him. He’s returning it to you.”
Pei Yinnian was momentarily speechless, but he was inherently domineering and couldn’t stand Xiao Ji speaking more than a few words to anyone else. In his eyes, this situation had already escalated to the point of “hero saving the beauty,” with back-and-forth interactions that were about to sprout feelings.
His face was dark, and Xiao Ji was speechless too, saying to 037:
[It’s all your fault.]
037 was also speechless, not expecting the Phoenix to be so unreasonable when jealous. Unfortunately, Xiao Ji was being wrongly accused but couldn’t explain; he couldn’t tell Pei Yinnian that it was the system who asked him to help Nan Siyan.
It gave a dry laugh: [Sorry.]
Xiao Ji tried to explain: “I am innocent.”
But the jealousy-stricken Pei Yinnian felt at that moment that Xiao Ji was simply up to no good.
Suppressing his anger, he said to Xiao Ji: “From today on, you stay in the Pei Residence. Don’t go anywhere.”
Xiao Ji sighed silently and compromised. “Fine.”
That night, Xiao Ji stayed alone at the Pei Residence, while Pei Yinnian took Lin Shu to the largest nightclub in Huating, across from the Bishui Tea House.
The singing girl on stage wore a sexy, beautiful high-slit qipao, singing and dancing with extreme charm. But Pei Yinnian’s heart remained unmoved. He sat in the corner, drinking in silence.
Lin Shu was terrified. “Master, why are we here? I thought you’d at least go to the Bishui Tea House to see what that opera singer looks like.”
Pei Yinnian said, “Why would I go to the tea house? To show how narrow-minded I am?”
Lin Shu said bluntly, “Coming here doesn’t make you look open-minded either.”
And if Xiao Ji found out, the consequences would surely be disastrous.
Translator’s Note: “Bishui Tea House” (碧水茶楼) means Green Water Tea House. Pei Yinnian is such a tsundere! He’s so jealous he’s practically vibrating, but he wants to act cool. The “six silver dollars” being “his money” cracked me up—technically true, since he supports Xiao Ji!
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