LWDC Chapter 81
by VolareHow Duan Yunhong deceived Ji Yuechi by claiming he was too drunk and tired to get up, leaving Ji Yuechi to rescue his own father, is another story. In short, Ji Zhenwei spent a solid night in the police station.
Lawyers were still quite rare in this era, and even with money, Ji Yuechi couldn’t drag one out of bed in the middle of the night and rush to the police station. It wasn’t until the next morning that the lawyer finally arrived to bail out Ji Zhenwei. However, things didn’t go so smoothly. The police stated that Ji Zhenwei still needed a blood test, and further steps could only be taken after the results were out.
This statement was rather vague, and Ji Yuechi didn’t understand what the blood test was for. The lawyer pondered for a moment and roughly guessed that it was likely someone had been caught using drugs during the crackdown the previous night, so everyone had to undergo a blood test. It was even possible that the crackdown that night was specifically aimed at finding drug users. Ji Zhenwei was caught for soliciting prostitutes, and the place was a “heavy drug-use area,” so he couldn’t avoid being checked as well. The Ji family didn’t have deep connections in Shenzhen, and drug involvement was a very serious matter, so bail was not allowed before the results came out.
This test took another day, and it wasn’t until the afternoon of the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month that Ji Zhenwei was released. As soon as he left the police station, he berated Ji Yuechi and the lawyer who came to pick him up, blaming them for being slow and for booking such a terrible hotel. Ji Yuechi was an adult, and he was furious at being scolded despite his efforts. He sent his father to a new hotel, too lazy to offer any more greetings, and left immediately. He also dumped all the flight information for the next day on his secretary to communicate with Ji Zhenwei, and Ji Yuechi himself directly gave his father the cold shoulder.
As for Duan Yunhong, he didn’t bother to pick anyone up. Even if Ji Zhenwei scolded him, he would pretend not to hear it.
Duan Yunhong was too lazy to wait for the results. On the twenty-eighth, he took Ning Fei back to Nancheng and made it in time for the Lin family’s small dinner party. At Ning Fei’s urging, Duan Yunhong even had the driver, Xiao Huang, deliver some Shenzhen specialties to the Ji family. When Madam Ji asked, she was a little confused as to why her husband and son hadn’t returned together to prepare for the New Year.
It would have been better if she hadn’t asked. As soon as she asked, the driver stammered. Xiao Huang was also running errands for Duan Yunhong, and he had heard Duan Yunhong talking to Ning Fei in the car about Ji Zhenwei being arrested for soliciting prostitutes, but he couldn’t say anything. Madam Ji knew something was up when she saw his reaction, but she couldn’t get an answer no matter how she asked. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became, so Madam Ji simply called Duan Yunhong directly to ask.
Of course, Duan Yunhong gave her a polite reply, “Sister-in-law, you should ask Ji Zhenwei about this directly.”
“Don’t try to fool me. He definitely won’t tell me the truth!” Madam Ji was even more certain that something had happened when she heard Duan Yunhong’s tone. “What exactly happened? Where is he?”
“He’s still in Shenzhen. He should be back in Nancheng tomorrow,” Duan Yunhong continued to dodge the question, but at the same time gave a hint. “I don’t know the details very well. I was too drunk that night. Yuechi took care of it, he knows the details best, so ask him.”
“I will ask him,” Madam Ji replied, “but even if you don’t know the details, you definitely know the general idea. Don’t you two brothers hide things like this. If you don’t tell me, I’ll really hire a detective to investigate!”
Duan Yunhong then said rather helplessly, “Sigh, alright then. I can tell you, but don’t let this cause you to quarrel. It’s almost New Year’s, it’s not easy for anyone to be back.”
Ning Fei was sitting next to him, drinking water, and almost spat it out when he heard this four-character idiom.
He silently gave Duan Yunhong a thumbs up.
Duan Yunhong grabbed his thumb and continued to act for Madam Ji on the phone. “It’s like this, Ji Zhenwei he… had a little accident and was detained for two days. But don’t worry, he’s already out now and will be back in Nancheng tomorrow.”
“Uh, it’s just… he was caught during a crackdown while ‘playing around’ at night.”
“Me? I didn’t do anything, and neither did Yuechi. This all happened after we left. We only found out about it later. I don’t know the details, you have to ask Yuechi.”
“It’s just a bit of fun, how can you take it seriously? Don’t get too excited…”
Ning Fei listened as he seemed to be appeasing her, but was actually adding fuel to the fire. He had already collapsed in laughter on his leg. But Ning Fei couldn’t laugh out loud, so he rolled over and bit the hem of Duan Yunhong’s clothes, stifling his laughter with great effort.
Duan Yunhong intentionally fanned the flames a bit more, and when Madam Ji’s anger grew even higher, he casually found an excuse and hung up the phone.
“Hahahaha…” Ning Fei finally burst out laughing, “You’re such a good actor, your tone sounds so real. She must be furious, right? I can’t even imagine how lively the Ji family will be tomorrow when Ji Zhenwei gets home, hahaha!”
Duan Yunhong calmly added, “You told me to imply to her that Ji Zhenwei was cheating, and I already mentioned it. But I suspect she’s thought about it for a long time, but she doesn’t have any evidence, so it’s hard to confront him.”
“Oh?” Ning Fei looked at him and blinked.
“Don’t expect me to go to the Ji family tomorrow to give you live ‘coverage’,” Duan Yunhong slapped him on the forehead, “The Ji family will definitely blame me for this. I don’t want to listen to their brainless nonsense in person.”
“Ah…” Ning Fei looked disappointed, “You’re not even going, if I could find a legitimate reason to go, I would.”
Duan Yunhong said, “Weren’t you afraid of trouble before? Why are you so eager to watch the fun now? Or do you only like to watch the fun when it doesn’t involve you?”
“I really enjoy seeing those arrogant people get embarrassed, especially those who have targeted me before.” Ning Fei hooked Duan Yunhong’s collar with one hand, “Why don’t you go take a look? You’re so good at this, you might even be able to add more fuel to the fire. I’ll give you some benefits.”
Duan Yunhong lowered his head to look at him, “What benefits?”
Ning Fei: “Um… ‘Submarine’?”
Duan Yunhong reacted for a second, realizing what he was talking about. President Duan was a little speechless, but he also faintly felt that he would regret it if he refused. To be honest, few men could refuse this kind of “benefit”.
While Duan Yunhong was stunned, Ning Fei poked his chin with the tip of his index finger.
“Really not going to play? It’s a one-time opportunity. If you’re willing, I’ll be waiting for you in your apartment with the big bathtub tomorrow.” Although his words were full of hints, Ning Fei’s tone was very natural. “But if you’re not eating at the apartment on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year, you have to order New Year’s Eve dinner for me. Oh, that’s not right, even if you want to come back to eat, you have to order food, I don’t want to cook…”
“Alright, I’ll order it for you.” Duan Yunhong replied with this sentence, and leaned down to kiss him.
*
Duan Yunhong went to the Ji family the next day as promised to “watch the fun”.
He neither arrived early nor late, but arrived just a little before Ji Zhenwei and his son returned home. Their flight was also delayed, missing the dinner time and arriving home after 8 PM. When Duan Yunhong arrived, he heard the housekeeper say that Madam Ji had already eaten by herself, but Ji Xingzhe was still waiting. The housekeeper didn’t know why this was the case. Neither of them were waiting in the living room for the head of the family to return. Instead, the Ji family, which was supposed to be celebrating the New Year, felt a sense of desolation.
Duan Yunhong had just sat down in the living room when Ji Xingzhe appeared at the top of the stairs, probably thinking that his father had returned. However, when he saw that it was Duan Yunhong, the jinx, Ji Xingzhe was a little confused. But he couldn’t just turn around and run, so he braced himself and greeted Duan Yunhong.
Duan Yunhong called him down, “Your family is quite interesting. Your father and brother came home today, and I came here specifically to have dinner together. I, as a guest, am still waiting to eat, but your mother ate first. And even though she ate alone, why didn’t you eat first?”
Ji Xingzhe had only felt that Madam Ji was in a bad mood these past two days, but he didn’t know the reason. Because of this, he didn’t dare to talk to this nominal mother, and basically used the excuse of leg pain to hide in his room, not coming out to meet her. For example, right now, if Duan Yunhong hadn’t reminded him, Ji Xingzhe wouldn’t have known that Madam Ji had eaten dinner alone first.
“I don’t know…” Ji Xingzhe was called downstairs and didn’t dare to refuse, slowly moving down the stairs step by step. “Maybe she’s not feeling well, so she wanted to eat earlier and rest earlier.”
Duan Yunhong didn’t expose him, and followed his words to ask, “If she’s not feeling well, why doesn’t she see a doctor? It’s almost New Year’s, does she want to bring the illness into the New Year and make herself uncomfortable?”
“I don’t know, Mom didn’t tell me,” Ji Xingzhe struggled to find a topic. “Uncle, why didn’t you come back with my dad and brother?”
“They have some things to do, they’ll be back a day later.” Duan Yunhong’s tone was casual, “Oh, your mom isn’t still angry about what happened yesterday, is she?”
Ji Xingzhe was puzzled, “What happened yesterday?”
“Kids shouldn’t ask.” Duan Yunhong threw out the bait and stopped when he saw the opportunity. “Adults handle adult matters, it’s not your business.”
The more he said this, the more curious Ji Xingzhe became, and he had a bad feeling, “Uncle, did something happen to my dad?”
“It’s not a big deal, men are just like that, these things are normal.” Duan Yunhong said deliberately, “If your mom is angry, you should persuade her. It’s just playing around, don’t take it seriously.”
Ji Xingzhe understood, and then he was shocked, “Uncle, are you saying that my dad… cheated?!”
“It’s not that serious, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.” Duan Yunhong leaned back on the chair, appearing nonchalant. “No matter what, he didn’t get anyone pregnant, right?”
As soon as children were mentioned, Ji Xingzhe didn’t dare to respond.
*What does this mean? He only did a paternity test between me and Dad, does he think I’m Mom’s child with someone else?*
*If that’s the case, can I rely on Mom? Anyway, Uncle is Dad’s younger brother, he wouldn’t want to test the relationship between me and Mom, right…?*
Ji Xingzhe lowered his eyes and didn’t dare to speak, but he silently turned many thoughts in his heart. However, he quickly dismissed this idea, because he knew very well that once everyone started accusing his mother of “having a child out of wedlock,” Mom would definitely drag him to do a paternity test. When the results came out, Ji Xingzhe would be completely finished.
Before he could figure it out, Ji Zhenwei and Ji Yuechi arrived home.
Both of them had varying degrees of exhaustion on their faces, and they were several meters apart, seeming to harbor some resentment towards each other. Ji Xingzhe greeted them, but they weren’t in a high mood. Ji Zhenwei also looked at Duan Yunhong with some confusion and dissatisfaction, “Why are you here?”
“I’m not coming to eat on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year, so I thought I’d take advantage of the fact that you’re both back today to have a meal together.” Duan Yunhong replied leisurely, “But Sister-in-law doesn’t seem to be feeling well, she ate alone first. I haven’t even seen her since I got here.”
“What kind of trouble is she making again? If she’s not feeling well, why doesn’t she see a doctor?” Ji Zhenwei didn’t expect that Duan Yunhong had already leaked his experiences in Shenzhen. He was very annoyed and didn’t bother to care about his wife, and his words were full of displeasure. “And you, you’re not coming to eat with your family on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year, where are you planning to go?”
“To play.” Duan Yunhong replied succinctly, and then turned the topic back to the father and son, “What’s wrong with you two? Why do you both have such ugly faces when you come back? Did you quarrel?”
“…Nothing, let’s eat first.” Ji Zhenwei also wanted to keep the “family scandal from being exposed” in front of his younger brother, pretending that everything was under control. “Did Xiao Zhe eat?”
Ji Xingzhe was secretly relieved when he heard him still calling him by his nickname, and replied, “I haven’t eaten yet, I was waiting for Dad and Brother to come back.”
“You know to wait, but some people aren’t even as good as a child…” Ji Zhenwei found a little bit of authority in his younger son, and finally instructed the family’s housekeeper to set the table, and sat down with the three so-called “Ji family members”.
Even though it was the day before New Year’s Eve, the meal was very quiet, so quiet that it was embarrassing. Everyone had their own thoughts, and even Ji Xingzhe, who was the best at setting the atmosphere, was silent. Duan Yunhong thought to himself that he was here to watch a show, not to actually eat, and if this continued, Ning Fei would nag him again when he got back.
So he broke the silence and asked, “Was the matter in Shenzhen resolved? Will I have to go to the police station again afterwards?”
“Why are you talking about this?” Ji Zhenwei didn’t want to talk about this matter at all. “There are lawyers handling it over there. What’s the point of paying so much in lawyer’s fees every year if they can’t even handle this little thing? Are the lawyers in Shenzhen just that bad?”
“Handle what? The fact that you went whoring and got detained for soliciting prostitutes?”
Madam Ji’s cold and angry voice rang out from the second-floor staircase.