Chapter 176: You Are My Medicine (1)
Night fell. Countless high-rise buildings stood tall, crowded together and brilliantly lit, making even the bright full moon seem dim.
Young girls wearing sexy miniskirts and exquisite makeup, with hot figures, carried chips as they moved between the countless gambling tables.
Some were crying, some were laughing; smoke curled through the air amidst an unceasing din.
On the top floor of the largest and most extravagantly inhumane casino in Jinsha City, it was remarkably quiet.
It was so quiet that the ticking of the wall clock was clearly audible.
The 270-degree floor-to-ceiling windows provided a panoramic view of the city lights.
At this moment, the curtains were half-drawn. Several empty bottles of red wine sat on the transparent glass coffee table, and on the spacious, heavy leather sofa nearby lay a person.
A man wearing a black silk shirt.
A knock at the door broke the silence in the room. Xiao Ji opened his eyes and rubbed his throbbing temples, his voice raspy as he spoke:
“Come in.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the heavy double doors of the large room were pushed open, and a man in a black suit walked in.
The man looked at Xiao Ji lying on the sofa and said respectfully:
“CEO Xiao, the young master of the Chen family is here again.”
The overhead lights were a bit dazzling. Xiao Ji raised a hand to shield his eyes and summoned the system.
[A cold, electronic female voice sounded:]
[Please receive the mission details, Enforcer.]
037 was now prioritizing being responsive to every plea, making things convenient for others and benefiting itself.
Jinsha was a special city—a paradise for the rich, a holy land for gamblers, and a representative of a life of debauchery.
The original Xiao Ji was born and raised in this affluent place. With a massive family business, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and could have anything he wanted.
Logically, with an excellent family background, broad horizons, and good looks, he should have become a representative playboy.
But in reality, the original host was born emotionally detached and couldn’t muster any interest in romantic affairs.
In his early years while studying abroad, countless “birds and butterflies” had swarmed him, but not a single one had any effect.
The only person who could get close to him was his classmate, an exchange student named Wen Jie.
Wen Jie was diligent, studious, and had delicate looks, but his family background was ordinary. Half of his tuition was earned through his parents’ desperate hard work, and the other half came from his own work-study programs.
He and a young master like the original host were from two different worlds.
But perhaps because there was some fate between them, the original host inadvertently helped Wen Jie with a few small favors. Wen Jie then clung to the original host, chattering in his ear all day long.
Initially, the original host found it irritating, but over time he grew used to it, and the two became friends.
Originally, the host intended to invite Wen Jie to work in Jinsha after graduation. But unexpectedly, before graduation, Father Xiao suddenly fell seriously ill. The host had no choice but to return home early to inherit the family business.
In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed. The original host was now thirty-three, living a numb and peaceful life of wealth day after day.
He never expected that the appearance of another person would break his current tranquility.
Translator’s Note: Welcome to the modern arc! We’ve traded warlords and cheongsams for CEOs and casinos. Xiao Ji is now a cold “CEO Xiao” (Xiao-zong). Let’s see how he handles this “wild” fragment of Yinnian.
Terms used:
- CEO Xiao (蕭總 – Xiāo zǒng): A formal title for a company president or high-level executive.
- Birds and butterflies (鶯鶯燕燕 – Yīngyīng-yànyàn): An idiom referring to a group of pretty young women.
- Jinsha City (金沙市): Literally “Golden Sands City,” a fictional gambling mecca.
Chapter 177: You Are My Medicine (2)
The Chen and Xiao families were considered old family friends.
Back in the generation of the original host’s grandfather, the two old patriarchs were brothers who had gone through thick and thin together, starting their businesses from scratch in different fields.
Later, Father Chen married a daughter from a great family in Hong Kong and gradually shifted the family’s focus there.
By the time it reached the host’s generation, the host was an only child, while the Chen family had two brothers.
The older brother, Chen Ni, was the same age as the host and had already taken over nearly half of the family’s industries.
The younger brother, Chen Yinnian, suffered from bipolar disorder. From the onset of his illness at sixteen until now at twenty-three, the Chen family had exhausted themselves caring for him for seven years, yet it remained futile.
They could only prioritize his safety as the primary factor, trying to restrain him slightly without triggering him.
While Chen Yinnian was following Chen Ni to handle business in Jinsha, he walked into the Xiao family’s casino.
On the first night, he lost seven million.
The original host recognized this young master of the Chen family and called Chen Ni. Chen Ni simply told him to let the boy play, asking the host to keep an eye on him and ensure nothing happened.
As a result, Chen Yinnian came back the second night.
Not only did he lose money, but he also hit someone.
Out of consideration for the old family friendship, the host had to step in to handle it.
Consequently, this appearance caused Chen Yinnian to fixate on the host.
The more Chen Yinnian lost control of his emotions during a manic phase, the more he wanted to harass the original host.
The host was emotionally detached, and this fire-like harassment was the medicine that caused his emotions to fluctuate.
And for the extremely unstable Chen Yinnian, the host—who was always incredibly stable—became a sort of special existence.
Back and forth, a bond grew between the two.
It wasn’t quite love; it was more like an antidote for each other’s emotional regulation.
Until one day, Wen Jie appeared before the host again, debt-ridden and incredibly fragile.
Out of old sentiment, the host cleared Wen Jie’s debts and kept him to work at the casino.
But people change. Having experienced the beatings of society and suffered countless hardships, what Wen Jie dreamed of most was a life in high society.
Thus, he once again set his sights on the original host.
Chen Yinnian was domineering by nature. Although he didn’t “love” the host, this bond meant he wouldn’t allow anyone else to interfere.
The consequences were predictable. A fresh, “triangular” dog-blood cliché script, the kind the God of Fate loved most, was born.
The original host had no love and didn’t care for others’ feelings. Whether it was Wen Jie or Chen Yinnian, he treated them according to his own mood.
Before either of them expressed their heart, he acted as if he couldn’t perceive others’ emotions at all.
He wasn’t overly enthusiastic, nor did he push anyone away.
One was in it for the money, the other for emotional relief; both treated the host as an “object” they had to hold in their hands, and they began to compete.
Wen Jie didn’t understand Chen Yinnian’s illness. He only thought the boy had a bad temper and was prone to anger, so he frequently provoked Chen Yinnian.
He thought of every way to make Chen Yinnian lose face in public and did everything possible to sow discord and make the host loathe Chen Yinnian.
In the end, after being provoked over and over, Wen Jie was dismembered by Chen Yinnian.
When the original host arrived at the scene, what he saw was this horrifying sight.
He tried to calm Chen Yinnian’s emotions first, but unfortunately, Chen Yinnian was in a state of extreme rage and was even experiencing auditory hallucinations and delusions. Ultimately, he accidentally killed the original host.
[Mission: Eradicate the soul fragment of the fugitive Wen Jie and obtain Chen Yinnian’s true heart.]
Xiao Ji pinched the bridge of his nose: [Was the fugitive in the last world Fu Hui?]
037 gave an affirmative hum: [The fragment’s power is unstable; it’s strong in some worlds and weak in others. In the last world, after Fu Hui died, I received the notification that your mission was complete.]
To become a fugitive of the Heavenly Realm, one must have committed heinous crimes.
Even if this person’s soul fragment did nothing in a small world, it still had to be recovered and processed.
Xiao Ji composed himself and looked at the employee still standing before him, asking:
“Is he already at the table?”
The man nodded: “He’s already lost six million and exchanged for another fourteen million in chips.”
This amount of money was practically an astronomical figure for an average person.
But for the Chen family, it was a drop in the bucket.
A jade bracelet Mrs. Chen bought for her collection would be worth tens of millions.
But throwing such a sum of money away in a place like this was clearly not something a “good family” should do.
Xiao Ji stood up, straightened his shirt collar, and said faintly as he walked toward the door:
“Let’s go take a look.”
At least for now, Chen Yinnian hadn’t started hitting people yet.
Xiao Ji took the elevator downstairs. Walking through the corridor and entering the main hall, he saw behind a partition a young boy in biker gear standing on a chair by the roulette table, shouting:
“34! Go in!”
Roulette—a game of probability. There are many small grooves on the revolving wheel, and a small ball randomly falls into one of them as the wheel turns.
The numbers on the wheel range from 0 to 36. If you bet on a number and the ball lands in that number’s slot, you win.
The odds and gameplay weren’t complex; it was suitable for beginners.
As soon as Xiao Ji appeared, the staff and some veteran players present all greeted him:
“CEO Xiao.”
Xiao Ji nodded slightly, walked to the table, tapped the surface, and said to Chen Yinnian:
“Get down.”
Chen Yinnian looked down at Xiao Ji. In the next second, the ball on the roulette wheel landed in the slot numbered 2.
Chen Yinnian narrowed his eyes, jumped down from the table, stood in front of Xiao Ji, and stared at his face for a long time.
In truth, by this generation, the interaction between the Chen and Xiao families was no longer close.
Particularly after Father Xiao passed away, they had distanced themselves significantly.
However, Chen Ni and Xiao Ji were the same age, and they would occasionally meet for a meal or a few drinks.
Chen Yinnian was younger; the last time he remembered seeing Xiao Ji’s face was before the onset of his illness.
Counting back now, it had been eight or nine years.
He only vaguely remembered that the Xiao family had an older brother. Back at an age when he hadn’t seen much of the world and had no sense of aesthetics, he had thought the man was very good-looking.
Later, they never met again. His own situation was special, so he gradually forgot about it.
Now, looking at Xiao Ji’s face, that blurry shadow from many years ago gradually overlapped with reality.
He was clearly in his thirties now, yet he seemed no different from how he looked many years ago.
It was just that his temperament had become increasingly steady, and that face, which already lacked expression, appeared even colder.
The nobility and indifference emanating from his bones pierced through Chen Yinnian’s agitated heart in an instant.
“There’s something wrong with your roulette wheel.”
He stared into Xiao Ji’s pitch-black eyes and spoke.
Xiao Ji was also sizing up Chen Yinnian.
Tall with long legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist—he wore a biker suit, and his hair was slightly messy, likely from wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle here.
His skin had an unhealthy paleness, which made his lip color look very vivid. He was on the thin side, with very distinct facial contours. He clearly had deep, soulful features, but they held a hint of difficult-to-hide ferocity.
At this moment, the distance between Xiao Ji and Chen Yinnian was less than a foot, far exceeding the comfortable social range for normal strangers.
And Chen Yinnian’s aggressive expression didn’t spark any romantic sparks between the two.
On the contrary, it made people feel that these two might immediately come to blows if a single word went wrong.
But Xiao Ji didn’t retreat. Instead, he stood motionlessly on the spot and said indifferently:
“Perhaps your luck is just too poor.”
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