True and False Daughters of a Wealthy Father 6
Qin Jingzhou rarely took a proper look at Ji Chun, who was now shivering with fear and pain, his face deathly pale.
Father Ji and Sister Ji both had an intelligence of 16, and so did his precious daughter and He Chunxi. As for Ji Chun, he only had 12. Among everyone present, Ji Chun’s intelligence was actually lower than even the gate guard bodyguard’s.
Yet, despite being the least intelligent, his perceptiveness was the highest in the room.
Unlike the Jiang father and son, whose spiritual power had also transformed but who could only sense that Qin Jingzhou was of their kind and stronger than themselves, Ji Chun could, with his high perception, actually discern something special about Qin Jingzhou’s spiritual power.
Unfortunately, lacking in intelligence, Ji Chun misunderstood the truth.
Qin Jingzhou glanced at Ji Chun again. “Let him exercise a bit, treat him like a ‘treasure-finding rat’ and have him go around gathering plants with trace amounts of spiritual energy. Actually fits him.”
The System chuckled. “Making the best use of each person.”
“But I have to see what my daughter wants first.” Qin Jingzhou didn’t want to pull his arm out of his daughter’s embrace. With a cigarette in his mouth, he freed a hand to ruffle his daughter’s hair, then took the smoke from his lips. “So, what do you say? Darling, should Daddy save him or not?”
He Chunxi looked up at her father. She didn’t say whether Ji Chun should be forgiven or not—just said, “Dad, he’s about to faint from the pain. He does bully people, but he doesn’t deserve to die for it… I think.”
Even if he was dimmer than everyone else here, Ji Chun still understood that He Chunxi’s words had let him off the hook. The relief swept over him, and his head lolled to one side as he flopped onto his back.
Qin Jingzhou looked at Father Ji and Sister Ji, both of whom appeared anxious. “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get him to the hospital!” Then he turned to the gate guard bodyguard. “Give them a hand.”
The bodyguard stood up with a grin, strode over to Ji Chun, and once Sister Ji stabilized his injured arm, he scooped Ji Chun up in a princess carry and walked briskly out.
In a few moments, the living room quieted again. Gao Wen adjusted his glasses, noticed the boss didn’t seem tired and had lit another cigarette, so he carefully asked, “Why did Ji Chun say he’d been cursed?”
Qin Jingzhou didn’t answer directly. “Give me a few more days. When I get back to the lab, I’ll formulate some intelligence potion myself. Once you drink it, you’ll understand.”
As far as Gao Wen knew, the two vials Grandmaster Qin had brought to the Elders were already taken for testing, but the effects had been publicly praised by Grandmaster Qin and Dean Qin right in front of all the bigshots. None of the bigshots could keep from longing for it…
Honestly, he was happily working as the boss’s assistant because he firmly believed in the boss’s bright future, but also because he wanted to get his hands on some intelligence potion sooner.
He didn’t mind that the boss knew his hidden motive. “Then I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. Lowering his gaze, he bumped into his daughter’s bright, eager eyes. “My daughter gets to go first.”
He Chunxi leaned against his arm. “Okay.” She yawned as she spoke.
“Go on and sleep.” Qin Jingzhou held his daughter’s hand, enunciating each word, “With Daddy here, do whatever you want.” So much had happened in a single day—he definitely needed to give her a little time to sort herself out before talking more.
He Chunxi nodded, pulled her suitcase, and went to her room.
Qin Jingzhou, supported by Gao Wen, returned to his bedroom. Gao Wen would sleep in the guest room tonight—at least until Qin Jingzhou could move around by himself, Gao Wen needed to stay close.
The bodyguards, since they could rotate shifts, didn’t need to stay at the He household.
At quarter past five in the morning, Father Ji brought his younger son to their usual private hospital.
The truth was, the moment Ji Chun got into the car, his eyes popped open. After arriving at the hospital, the doctor fixed up his arm and applied medicine to his swollen cheek. Only then did he fake a wipe at his forehead and cheerfully reassure his dad and sister, “My self-sacrifice act was pretty solid, huh?”
His sister slapped him lightly across the face. It looked fierce, but she didn’t really use much force.
Ji Chun realized his words sounded off, and managed only a sheepish smile.
His sister covered her face and began to cry.
Father Ji was far less gentle than his daughter. He landed a heavy slap. “You little bastard! Making trouble again?”
Father’s slap nearly swiveled Ji Chun’s head off his neck, but he wasn’t mad at all. He just muttered, “Dad, listen to me!”
That expression was the spitting image of his older son. Father Ji took a deep breath and pressed a hand to his chest, forcing himself to calm down.
In fact, Father Ji had three kids: one daughter and two sons. The sons were twins; Ji Chun was the younger of the two. His older twin brother, due to severe psychological trauma, had to spend most of his life in a sanatorium.
As for the cause—the siblings’ mother died in a car accident while driving her elder son home. She sacrificed herself to save him, dying instantly. The elder brother was so shocked that he never recovered.
Their father and sister doted on the older brother. Ji Chun grew up rebellious, hanging out with spoiled brats and troublemakers, drinking and fighting as daily habits.
That was why he could break his own arm with nunchacku without a second thought.
But after his brother was diagnosed and deemed unable to live like a normal person, their father seemed to age overnight, and his sister grew gaunt. Ji Chun suddenly understood. After three days of mulling it over, he gave up his wild ways. He couldn’t be called a changed man, but at least he became the kind of brat who, though he still loved food, drink and play, never crossed the line and spared his family any real worries.
These past few years, Ji Chun changed girlfriends constantly, but he was generous and neat about it, never entangling himself. He actually had a good reputation in entertainment circles.
At the same time, Ji Chun wasn’t just a wastrel—his small investments with his allowance turned respectable profits. Father Ji basically stopped worrying about him and let him be.
Now, seeing his father lost in memories, Ji Chun’s own annoyance faded. He rubbed his face with his good hand and muttered, “Dad, Sis, listen to me. Jin Li—that girl in the apartment tonight—she’s really strange. The first time I met her, I felt this weird, inexplicable attraction. After seeing her three times, I just… I can’t really describe it—felt like I’d do anything for her. If I didn’t do what she said, I’d feel uncomfortable all over…” He tried to organize his thoughts again. “Back then, I just thought He Chunxi was pitiful and wanted to help her out. And since there’s Shang Xi... I figured I’d give him some face… But then, for some reason, Shang Xi seemed to get close with Jin Li too, so I said she must have cast a curse! Before that, I might not have been that nice to He Chunxi, but I never would have made Professor He hate me…”
Sister Ji hesitated. “What’s Shang Xi’s connection to He Chunxi?”
Ji Chun quickly explained, “Sis, before his parents divorced, Shang Xi lived in the Capital University faculty quarters! He and He Chunxi grew up together! I might be a jerk, but I know enough not to go after a friend’s girl!”
Though both Sister Ji and Father Ji remained full of doubts, hearing this made them both exhale in relief. At least there were no romantic entanglements. Now that Xiao Chun had used self-sacrifice, as long as the family came to apologize, Professor He and his daughter probably wouldn’t make things too hard.
Ji Chun continued, “I’m not completely stupid. Even Brother Wen went to work as an assistant for Professor He, and he’ll at least be selected as an Academician… And just like how I think Jin Li is freaky, I’m guessing Professor He… let’s say, he probably isn’t an ordinary person either.”
Father Ji finally nodded and even gave him a hint of approval. “I’ll go ask around.”
Seeing his sister had dried her tears, Ji Chun asked, “By the way, where’s my phone?”
Sister Ji blinked. “Have your assistant get it for you.”
Getting woken up past five by the boss’s sister’s frenzied calls was nobody’s idea of a good time, but she sent him 10,000 yuan right after… Which immediately balanced the assistant’s mood. He splashed his face awake and went out to fetch the phone.
Ji Chun got his phone at six thirty. So much had happened overnight that he couldn’t sleep either. After confirming the apartment was empty with his assistant, he sent Shang Xi a message with one hand.
As soon as he sent it, Shang Xi called him.
Ji Chun answered, only to hear, “Are you insane? How could you let Xiao Li be wronged?” He hung up at once.
By then, Father Ji had gone to rest, only his older sister was still with him. Ji Chun waved the phone. “Sis, you heard that? Shang Xi and I are both pretty even-tempered. Even if I’d woken him up in the middle of the night, he wouldn’t blow up. But whenever Jin Li’s involved, both our personalities flip.”
He couldn’t really explain his talent in words, so he did his best to lay out the facts. Honestly, to him, Jin Li’s skill was probably worse than “witchcraft”—but thankfully, no matter how powerful Jin Li was, there was someone in this world who could crush her.
On the other side, Shang Xi, after hanging up the call, recalled Xiao Li’s teary complaints. Fury flooded him, nearly consuming all reason. He couldn’t hold back and stormed out to confront Ji Chun. But after getting into his car and driving for five minutes, his mind went fuzzy, as if something was pulling him.
When he parked and got out, he realized he was standing right in front of his own building and… He Chunxi’s. No, Xiao Xi’s.
His head buzzed. In a daze, he got out and pressed the intercom.
The bodyguards protecting Professor He kept eyes on Shang Xi from a distance and notified Gao Wen upstairs. They knew Shang Xi was He Chunxi’s childhood friend, so they didn’t intervene.
He Chunxi was full of complicated feelings and hadn’t slept. When she heard the doorbell, she went to her door and, seeing his face on the camera, emotions surged. She let Shang Xi in.
Before his parents’ divorce, Shang Xi had lived downstairs from the He family.
Familiar with the way up, he entered and snapped, “Why don’t you ever listen to me? Hanging out with Ji Chun now? Are you asking for it—” He barely swallowed the end of his sentence. “How could you let Ji Chun embarrass Xiao Li?!”
He’d barely finished when a warm stream slid down from his brow. Shang Xi blinked and promptly… collapsed, flat on his back.
He Chunxi set down the ashtray she’d used and turned to see her father standing in the bedroom doorway, smiling as he applauded. She forced out a grin. “I could beat him up when I was only three.”
Qin Jingzhou said sincerely, “My daughter is truly awesome.”