Chapter 173: Stealing Fragrance (28)
Fu Hui was also a bit of a glutton for punishment.
Having been snapped at by Xiao Ji like this all week, he had actually grown used to it. He wasn’t angry.
Instead, fearing Xiao Ji would refuse his invitation, he changed his tune:
“Just a joke. I have official business. Tonight is Bureau Chief Zhao’s birthday banquet. I happened to receive an invitation, and I’d like to ask you to accompany me.”
Xiao Ji still intended to refuse.
How was this official business? He had met Bureau Chief Zhao once, but his birthday was none of Xiao Ji’s concern.
But before he could speak, 037 suddenly reminded him:
[Chief Zhao has ties to the Little Phoenix. He should be there tonight.]
Xiao Ji hadn’t seen Pei Yinnian for a week.
Xiao Ji himself was fine; having accompanied the Phoenix through several lives, such a short separation didn’t affect him much.
But he had slowly learned to consider Yinnian’s feelings.
After all these days, Pei Yinnian must be missing him desperately.
Since it was an opportunity to meet openly, Xiao Ji wouldn’t pass it up. After a moment of silence, he looked at Fu Hui and made a gesture for him to lead the way.
Xiao Ji had guessed correctly. Even though Pei Yinnian knew Xiao Ji was being watched and it wasn’t convenient to meet, the longing made him incredibly irritable.
Most importantly, he had been tracking Xiao Ji’s movements and knew that bastard Fu Hui had been seeking him out every day. He had no idea what the man’s intentions were.
Chief Zhao was busy welcoming guests today. When Pei Yinnian arrived at the Zhao Residence, he found a corner in the courtyard and sat facing Lin Shu, not saying a word.
Seeing Pei Yinnian’s gloomy expression, Lin Shu felt it was even hard to breathe.
Pei Yinnian was already in a bad mood, and there was a kid nearby running around—sometimes shouting like a whistle, sometimes jumping like a spring.
It was extremely annoying, and no one was controlling him.
It was unknown if it was Chief Zhao’s son or a child brought by another guest.
The boy played alone for a while before snatching a balloon from a little girl on a swing. The girl wailed, and the noise made Pei Yinnian’s ears ache.
The boy waved the balloon gleefully, jumping up to hit it.
Seeing him get closer and closer, Pei Yinnian didn’t react, but Lin Shu felt increasingly anxious.
Sure enough, the boy accidentally hit the balloon against Pei Yinnian’s forehead before it landed on the table.
The boy looked at Pei Yinnian and shouted:
“Hey, give me the balloon!”
Hearing this, Pei Yinnian expressionlessly took a box of matches from the table, pulled one out, struck it, and pressed it against the balloon.
With a bang, the balloon exploded. The boy froze for a second before bursting into a loud cry.
A woman in the distance heard him and was about to come over and curse, but as soon as she saw Pei Yinnian in his uniform, she immediately picked the boy up and covered his mouth, smiling apologetically at Pei Yinnian.
Pei Yinnian was annoyed to the limit. He waved his hand for the woman to take the child away.
Lin Shu coughed lightly. “Kids are made of springs and whistles; it’s normal. Calm down.”
Pei Yinnian wiped his face. “It’s a good thing Xiao Ji can’t give birth.”
Lin Shu pursed his lips. “You’re right.”
Just as he spoke, he saw Chief Zhao’s fat figure flash past the main gate, bowing and scraping as he invited two people inside.
One was Fu Hui.
And following behind him was the person Pei Yinnian had been pining for—Xiao Ji.
As soon as Xiao Ji entered the courtyard, he quickly located Pei Yinnian. He met his gaze from a distance and gave a subtle nod.
When their eyes met, Pei Yinnian narrowed his, showing both affection and dissatisfaction.
Xiao Ji sensed his mood. While greeting Chief Zhao with a deadpan face, he hooked his middle and ring fingers at his side—a soothing gesture for Pei Yinnian.
Seeing the gesture from afar, Pei Yinnian’s earlobes reddened. While cursing Xiao Ji for being a lecher in his mind, he did indeed feel more settled.
Originally, according to the normal procedure, Fu Hui couldn’t stay in Huating for more than half a month.
Half the time had already passed. As long as they lasted another seven days and Fu Hui returned to Jinghua, things would be temporarily fine for Pei Yinnian and Xiao Ji.
But no one expected things to go wrong as the banquet neared its end.
Xiao Ji originally intended to find a quiet corner while everyone was drunk to flirt with Pei Yinnian and soothe his feelings.
He gave Pei Yinnian a look and then excused himself to use the restroom, waiting in a quiet spot behind the Zhao Residence.
Instead of Pei Yinnian, he found Fu Hui.
Fu Hui had drunk quite a bit. Walking up to Xiao Ji, he said:
“President Xiao, would you be willing to return to Jinghua with me?”
Xiao Ji looked at him coldly. At this moment, he finally sensed that Fu Hui had developed some other intentions.
He said faintly, “You’ve had too much to drink.”
Fu Hui shook his head. “I know about you and Governor Pei, and I know your ambition.”
“You stayed with him just to become a person of status, didn’t you? Follow me, and I guarantee you a meteoric rise. This tiny Huating cannot contain you.”
Xiao Ji was not pleased by these words.
He was indifferent to the offer, but Pei Yinnian was likely on his way. If Pei Yinnian heard this, it would be another mess.
He frowned. “Shut up. I’ll treat your words as hot air.”
With that, he turned to leave.
Sure enough, he saw Pei Yinnian with a dark face at the corner.
Xiao Ji brushed past him, keeping it brief:
“I’ll handle it.”
Pei Yinnian didn’t doubt Xiao Ji’s heart, but for one, Fu Hui was tempting him with benefits, which made him uneasy.
Secondly, Pei Yinnian was just narrow-minded and prone to jealousy.
So that night, after the banquet ended, he thought about it and still couldn’t help but secretly follow Xiao Ji.
When Xiao Ji left the Zhao Residence, he didn’t go with Fu Hui. He left without even saying goodbye.
He hailed a rickshaw and headed toward the Xiao Residence.
As the rickshaw crossed a wide road and tried to take a shortcut through an alley, a car blocked the path.
Four men in Jinghua military uniforms stepped out. Without a word, they tied Xiao Ji up and carried him deep into the alley.
Xiao Ji didn’t react at all. He waited until they reached the depths of the alley and put him down before he twisted his wrists and asked:
“Do you know what you are doing?”
Fu Hui walked slowly out of the darkness and said to Xiao Ji:
“I invited you and showed you goodwill time and again, yet you always have this attitude. It’s truly heartbreaking.”
He walked up to Xiao Ji, untying the rope as he spoke:
“I am sincere toward you. You simply don’t know what’s good for you, forcing me to use such means.”
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, footsteps echoed from the alley entrance, followed by Pei Yinnian’s voice:
“You son of a bitch. You dare lay a hand on anyone. I’ve endured you for a long time.”
Just as Fu Hui turned his head, Pei Yinnian raised his gun, pointed it at his forehead, and pulled the trigger.
As the gunshot rang out, a large group of men in Jinghua uniforms suddenly rushed into the alley from the entrance.
Pei Yinnian, including Lin Shu, had only brought three men. He never expected Fu Hui to be so cowardly as to have so many men hiding in the shadows while doing something so sordid.
Pei Yinnian cursed his miscalculation. Just as he was about to pull Xiao Ji away to escape, another shot rang out behind him.
In the next second, he was pulled behind Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji, holding a gun that had appeared out of nowhere, began firing rapidly and accurately at the people rushing in from the alley entrance.
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