Life-Saving Days by the Husky’s Side

When Ji Tianyang came back, there were still five days before school began.

The second generations who went abroad to play also returned to China one after another and, according to tradition, planned for a get together. However, before the gathering, Zhou Li, Ji Shaoyan, and Zhou Luwen returned to Xiangman Town to meet with the little brothers.

The final exam results came out, and the teachers specifically made a call to their parents.

No. 2 was the worst high school in Liuxi District. Every year, the passing rate into university was a heart wrenching number. The teachers who gave make-up classes for the little brothers were all famed educators. After half a year of tutoring, their presence in Liuxi No. 2 high school was like choosing a general from among the crowd of dwarves*. The effect was very significant. The one with the poorest performance placed 11th in his class, and the one who performed best of their bunch was Xiao Wu, who placed third in their grade.

[T/N: choosing the best person out of a bunch of mediocre ones]

Tears welled in the parents’ eyes.

These parents could not be more clear about what menaces these bear children brought about. They originally thought they were only getting together to mess around and didn’t hold any hope for a better outcome. Unexpectedly, they really were making up lessons, and it was actually super useful ah! 

They immediately prattled on and on about treating the Zhou family.

As for their own children, they naturally had to pay for all those supplementary lessons. Even if the price was too expensive, they had to pay half at the very least.

Er-ge and Lao San were earning money, and also felt that they had to shoulder the future of their fellow brothers.

However, they all understood the situation, knowing that if the parents were there then both sides would come to disagreements, so they all pushed their parents away, saying that they’ll treat the family themselves, hence today’s gathering.

When Ji Shaoyan arrived at the agreed upon location, he noticed that it was the barbecue restaurant where he first had a meal with them.

After the Chinese New Year, the little brothers were sick of all kinds of stir-fried dishes and wanted to switch things up for their taste buds. With Zhou Li’s consent, they quickly booked seats at the barbecue restaurant, wanting to eat something grilled. Ji Shaoyan heard Zhou Li order some savoury fragrant bing and remembered that this dish was what he had been fed last time. When it was served, he tore off a small piece and tasted it again.

Zhou Li looked at him. “Tasty?”

Ji Shaoyan’s lips hooked upwards in a faint smile. As if he was hinting at a hidden meaning, he said, “Of course; whatever you serve is tasty.”

Zhou Li was very satisfied with this answer and shared the bing with him.

Ji Shaoyan took his time wiping his hands clean while watching the cheerful and energetic little brothers. Recalling the circle of scrambled eggs and tomatoes he saw last time, then looking at them now, although he thought Silly Fool’s attempts of improving them was rather boring at the time, he had to admit that the versions of themselves now were a lot more pleasing to the eye.

From Qian Duoshu to the little brothers, Zhou Li seemed to have a magical charm. Anyone around him will change for the better, including Ji Shaoyan himself.

He looked at Zhou Li and helped select a few skewers of grilled vegetables for him. After doing so, he heard a WeChat notification; Yan Yunhui sent him a message, saying that someone had asked an expert about the jade, but it wasn’t directed at that one expert alone. Other professionals in the industry have also been asked the same.

His eyebrows lifted slightly.

Yan Yunhui’s grandfather’s family was in the jade business, and he was naturally acquainted with the people working over in Nancheng.

But as an outsider, for Ji Tianyang to be able to entrust someone to ask various jade dealers in just the span of one winter holiday, there was obviously deception at play.

He thought for a bit and replied: Is the jade drawing plan still there?

Yan Yunhui: Still here.

Ji Shaoyan: Make another two jade pendants following the plan.

Yan Yunhui: What do you even need them for? Fishing* again?

[T/N: setting up a trap]

Ji Shaoyan: En.

Yan Yunhui: Who’s the fish?

Ji Shaoyan: I’ll tell you guys when I have a chance in the future.

Yan Yunhui replied with a simple “okay” and stopped asking.

Ji Shaoyan switched off his phone and saw Zhou Li looking at him, silently questioning. He leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Er-ge lifted his head and was met with this scene, a little sick of it. “Say, can you guys judge the room, maybe consider the mood of us single dogs?”

Zhou Li smiled. “You can talk about it too, if you have one ah.”

Er-ge: “How can it be that easy.”

Lao San: “That’s right; right now, we don’t even dare to say a few words to the fangirls. If we do, there will be rumors that we sleep around with our fans.”

Fa Cai Qi*: “Ai, that’s right, we keep forgetting to ask you, how do you two get together?”

[T/N: lucky 7, aka the stingy one]

Zhou Li told them the truth: “We fell in love over time*.”

[T/N: 日久生情: familiarity breeds fondness]

Zhou Luwen was in the middle of drinking water and was unable to hold back for that important instant, directly choking on the sip.

The little brothers suddenly turned to look at him in surprise, then they realised that the words just now sounded a little dirty* and burst into uproarious laughter. They didn’t expect that Wen-ge, who has always been steady and serious, had such impure thoughts.

[T/N: not sure how, if anyone knows please tell me]

Zhou Luwen was embarrassed for a moment and quickly adjusted his expression, explaining that it was simply a coincidence.

Because there was really no way to tell them that the two people only grew closer after sleeping together, and even fought outdoor battles in the neighbourhood. Perhaps Zhou Li’s “love over time” actually meant the loss of some moral integrity.

The group of teenagers chattered and laughed, not leaving until after two o’clock.

The little brothers all drank a little too much. Zhou Li sent the boys home and was stuffed with piles of various goods from the enthusiastic parents. He accepted them all one by one with a polite smile and after saying goodbye, they drove away in the car. Feeling the alcohol settle in, he leaned lazily on Ji Shaoyan’s shoulder.

Maybe it was because the little brothers have always put Young Master Ji in the position of their sister-in-law, but Ji Shaoyan hardly touched the alcohol. Seeing his lazy actions, he hugged him and asked, “Do you have a headache?”

Zhou Li: “A little.”

He was a little scatterbrained. When he saw Ji Shaoyan tapping away on WeChat, he grabbed the other’s arm and wanted to take a look.

Ji Shaoyan lightly kneaded his forehead and lifted the phone to Zhou Li’s face instead.

Zhou Li glanced at the name and found that he didn’t recognise it. He asked, “Who’s this ah?”

Ji Shaoyan nestled Zhou Li into his arms and whispered against his ears, “Someone from Ji Tianyang’s uncle’s research project.”

Zhou Li reacted silently for a few seconds. “When did you meet?”

Ji Shaoyan said, “Towards the end of the term.”

Zhou Li looked up at him. “You really want to do it?”

Ji Shaoyan smiled and said, “En, otherwise, did you really think I can just forget about it?”

Zhou Li felt it really was impossible.

So was Young Master Ji trying to corner and take them down, or was he trying to steal their technology with the intention to use it sometime in the future?

Ji Shaoyan looked at him. “What do you want to say?”

Zhou Li: “You are neurotic.”

Ji Shaoyan smiled faintly. “Thank you for the compliment.”

Zhou Li: “But I like it.”

He looked at the person in front of him, feeling a wave of heat overcome his brain, and wrapped him in a tight hug, planting a big kiss on the other’s lips with an audible “chu”.

Driver: “……”

Zhou Luwen: “……”

En, we didn’t hear anything.

Zhou Luwen secretly thought to himself that fortunately, he was sitting in the passenger seat, otherwise he would’ve been a brand-new installed light bulb, with a wattage of one thousand.

Ji Shaoyan knew that Zhou Li was drunk. He looked at him and murmured in a low voice, “Want to open a room?”

After the “hourly room”, they only opened a room once, and it was even during broad daylight.

Because it’s inconvenient at home, and the excuse of sleeping over at the other person’s house overnight was easy to dismantle, if they don’t return home at night, it was tantamount to straightforwardly admitting to their families  “we went and opened a room”. This move was a bit too unscrupulous.

But looking at Zhou Li’s current state, Ji Shaoyan didn’t want to bear his desires this time.

They were already prepared to get engaged anyway, so it was natural for them to move out. He decided to no longer hide away his ‘shameless’ attributes.

Zhou Li was not completely drunk, and happily agreed, “Want.”

So the car headed into the city, where Ji Shaoyan signaled the driver to stop outside a hotel and asked Zhou Luwen to inform their families that they weren’t going back.

Zhou Luwen and the driver remained silent, sent them to their destination, then hastily ran away.

Ji Shaoyan pulled the other upstairs, going straight to the big bed the second he opened the door.

Zhou Li took a nap halfway through the ride and was already sober at this time. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Ji Shaoyan’s body. 

Once you eat bone marrow, you can’t forget the taste*; this phrase is far too accurate

[T/N: 食髓知味: once you taste something delicious, you become addicted]

The two of them indulged for a while, not even bothering to eat dinner. Ji Shaoyan was usually gentle and not mentally deranged, but once he’s on a bed, his possessiveness will spin out of control. In the end, Zhou Li only said a few words in a daze, and quickly fell asleep.

Ji Shaoyan caressed his face with a loving expression.

Zhou Li was so good. There had been many instances where he felt the urge to pack all the people and dogs around Zhou Li in boxes and throw them away, leaving only the two of them, just like now. How good would that be?

He happily pinched Zhou Li’s chin and kissed him, feeling that his body and mind were well pleased.

They stayed in the hotel for one night. The next day, they had to attend lunch with the second generations.

Zhou Li made Ji Shaoyan rub his waist and went home for a change of clothes, then headed to the restaurant to meet with Zheng San and the others. Everyone exchanged stories about their winter vacation. After dinner, Zhou Li saw that they were leaving straight away and said with dissatisfaction. “Why aren’t we going to the club for a round?”

That’s because you’re here!

The group of teens thought back to the tragic scene last time and tried to maintain their expressions, lightheartedly saying, “Some of us just returned back to China, don’t we need our rest?”

Zhou Li said, “That’s easy to solve; those that don’t need to rest can go ah.“

The small group silently peeked at him, then looked at Ji-shao for help.

Ji Shaoyan naturally stood on Zhou Li’s side, smiling with obvious agreement.

Everyone: “……”

Even if you think it sounds good, can you not f*cking drag us along?

‘Love leads to loss of reason’, this phrase can not be more true!

The group experienced a strong heartache, and in the end thought about how even if they could avoid him this once, they could not push him away forever. If they escape this time, who’s to say what will happen the next, so in the end they regrettably followed along. However, when Zhou Li opened his mouth, they were instantly stunned.

Zheng San was the first to recover from the great shock. “Holy shit. What’s up with you?”

Zhou Li smiled and said, “I specially took some lessons. How is it?”

So it turns out even you also knew how bad your own singing was ah. Everyone was so moved they almost started crying. 

Zheng San applauded: “Sounds amazing!”

Liu Xiaowei: “Zhou-shao, so awesome!”

Tang Zixin: “The Prince of Love Songs!”

“Thank you all, thank you all, I will now queue the next song.” Mic Hog Zhou held the microphone and stood with a serious stance, saying, “Next, I dedicate this love song to my boyfriend.”

Those who praised him just then rebelled immediately.

“Piss off, get off the stage!”

“We don’t wanna eat dog food!”

“Cut the mic, hurry up and cut the mic!”

Of course, no one really cut the microphone, Zhou Li acted as if didn’t hear the complaints about him and devotedly looked at Ji Shaoyan from the stage, singing a song for him before he was invited down by the majority.

When Ji Tianyang saw him run to the song station again, he leaned in, trying to find a conversation starter. “You learned all this?”

Zhou Li hummed “en” and glanced at him. “I heard your brother say you went travelling. Where did you visit?”

Ji Tianyang said, “Just randomly wandered around.”

Zhou Li didn’t ask any more, nimbly queuing a few songs before returning to Ji Shaoyan’s side.

Following their exchange, he found that Ji Tianyang would always have short chats with him from time to time, just casual conversations. All the way until the end of the get-together, he never appeared to have a ‘down to business’ attitude.

When the school term started, Ji Tianyang seemed to have returned to the attitude he held when he wanted to expose his secrets to Zhou Li before, like he wanted to build a good relationship with him.

Zhou Li silently observed for two weeks and found that his hunch was correct. He couldn’t help but share his findings with Ji Shaoyan; he felt that Ji Tianyang might know that the jade was with him.

Ji Shaoyan followed this line of thought, and remembered something. “Didn’t he say before that you two must be in the same camp?”

Zhou Li understood what he meant, despite the thought being almost inconceivable. “You mean, he realised he has been a bit unlucky lately, so he reasoned that I must have the jade?”

Ji Shaoyan said, “If that condition is true, it is possible.”

But whether it is true or not, they had to look into it more.

Zhou Li’s superficial skills are quite good and since Ji Tianyang wanted their relationship to be closer, he jumped directly to establishing their brotherhood. After another week, Ji Tianyang finally asked if he had seen the jade in this world.

“I haven’t.” Zhou Li looked at him. “Are you interested?”

“I am ah.” Ji Tianyang sadly reminded me, “In the case my brother wants to kill me, you won’t be able to stop him anymore. If I find that jade, I can have a chance to live again.”

Zhou Li said, “What if you’re still unlucky in your next life?”

Ji Tianyang froze. “That can’t be ba. Isn’t the Zhonglian’s whole premise based around how it can give people a good outcome?”

Zhou Li: “Likewise, as long as you stand in the same camp with me, the Zhonglian will not fail and we won’t run into misfortune, so don’t be afraid. Stay calm.”

Ji Tianyang fell silent for a moment. “You’re right.”

They chatted while walking towards the basketball court. When they arrived, they put away their conversation topic and entered a basketball game with the people who were waiting for them.

The school days passed quickly, and Ji Tianyang seemed to have forgotten the matters around the Zhonglian and Nancheng, and only focused on developing a revolutionary friendship with Zhou Li.

Over time, perhaps because of the increased contact, Zhou Li noticed that Ji Tianyang seemed a little anxious for a moment, but these moments were too quick. It only flashed past, like an illusion.

He couldn’t help but tell Ji Shaoyan about these occurrences. From the beginning, Ji Shaoyan didn’t approve of his plan to approach Ji Tianyang, so took advantage of these findings and told him to stay away from Ji Tianyang.

“Xiao Zhao has been rather unlucky lately. I can’t rule out the possibility that he is taking people out to vent his anger.” He looked at Zhou Li, “Anyway, we’re not in a rush. Let’s wait and see ba.”

Zhou Li knew he was right. The one who is impatient will be the one to unmask his true nature.

So Ji Tianyang quickly discovered that Zhou Li, who was already very sticky with his big brother, suddenly became stickier.

They used to be able to talk together every day, but now, they don’t even have the opportunity to exchange a sentence. He silently looked at the two people sitting in the coffee shop, realised that his brother was about to look over, and hurriedly turned his head to look away. Immediately afterwards, he saw his vision darken.The basketball had shot over and slammed into his face.

The string in his head was almost about to snap. “Who was that ah, is he fucking blind!”

Misfortune!

Even if his relationship with Zhou Li becomes closer, he still runs into misfortune!

Because no matter how indifferent he was on the outside, in his heart, he still wanted that piece of jade.

Liang Jingxiu walked over with a big grin. “I’m so sorry, I messed up while passing. Are you okay?”

Seeing who the perpetrator was, Ji Tianyang forced himself to suppress his anger, and said, “I’m fine.”

Liang Jingxiu smiled. “Want to play together?”

Ji Tianyang laughed dryly. “No thanks, I have something to do. Jing-ge, you guys can play by yourselves ba.”  

He found a place with no one around. It is unknown just how many times he thought about ways to get the jade from Zhou Li.

The Zhou family was not an ordinary family. He will not be able to find someone to make trouble in such a short time, not to mention that there was still Ji Shaoyan… The more he thought about it, the more irritable he became. At this time, he heard his phone ring from an incoming call. It was his little cousin.

He answered, “Wei?“

The little cousin said, “Biaoge*, I’ve finished investigating the things you asked me to check. Do you want me to give it to you now?”

[T/N: cousin]

Ji Tianyang: “En, send it to my email.”

After guessing that the jade pendant might be with Zhou Li, he suspected it was given to him by Grandpa Wei.

In order to confirm this, he had his little cousin research the auctions Grandpa Wei attended. There are countless auctions held domestically and abroad each year, but it was much easier to check only the ones that the old man has been to. The little cousin had limited ability. It took him two months to put together his findings and give him feedback.

He was just investigating casually and didn’t take it too seriously. Besides, the old man often went to the antique market, so the jade may not have necessarily been bought at the auction. As luck would have it, when he opened the email, he actually saw that the jade was a lot in a certain auction.

The little cousin was stupid. Fortunately, he was very careful. Even though he didn’t know what his sources were, he tried to mark all the items that Grandpa Wei bought every time.

After reading through the email quickly, Ji Tianyang found that the piece of jade had been lost to foreign countries a long time ago and was kept privately by wealthy foreign businessmen. It was only physically shown at that auction, and then it was taken by Grandpa Wei, therefore there were basically no photos of the antique online.

So if that’s the case…how can Xiao Zhao’s jade be such a highly detailed imitation?

He thought it was the Zhonglian that had fallen into the antiques market, and was taken by a certain master. Now, looking at it from the beginning, all this was far too much of a coincidence. Xiao Zhao’s matter was very likely someone’s attempt to test him.

Zhou Li was a transfer student. He hasn’t returned to the circle for too long and had limited contacts. It was impossible to buy Xiao Zhao so quickly and have him become so devoted.

Then there was only one possibility left: this was what Ji Shaoyan planned behind his back.

Ji Tianyang thought about how he had played himself into the palm of their hands for so long. His expression instantly became sullen. He hurled his phone into the ground. 

Now aware of everything, he won’t waste time anymore. When the weekend comes, he will ask Zhou Li to come out, to talk about something important.

After reading the message he sent, Zhou Li ran to find Ji Shaoyan. The two discussed it and temporarily pushed the plans back, setting for a meeting next weekend. Ji Tianyang had no objections and waited patiently for a week before he finally saw Zhou Li.

Zhou Li and Ji Shaoyan followed the same routine as last time, calling each other before one of them met up with Ji Tianyang. 

The two met again at the appointed private room.

Ji Tianyang watched Zhou Li sit down opposite to him and was silent for a while, then put Xiao Zhao’s jade and the auction information on the table with some hesitation, briefly giving an explanation then saying weakly, “Zhou-ge, are you trying to test me? Does my brother also know?”

Oh?

Zhou Li raised his eyebrow, commenting to himself that this guy had actually found a breakthrough from the auction.

After listening through the phone, Ji Shaoyan immediately hung up and got up, signaled the bodyguard guarding the door and went straight into their private room. After taking the seat next to Zhou Li, he displayed a slight smile. “Yes. What do you want to discuss?”

Ji Tianyang looked at him. “That piece of jade is also in your hands?”

Ji Shaoyan smiled. “It is me who is asking.”

Ji Tianyang was silent for two seconds. “I want that jade pendant.”

Ji Shaoyan: “Reason.”

“Isn’t the reason obvious?” Ji Tianyang was embarrassed for a short moment, then wiped his face, and said, “Who can guarantee that there will be no accidents? That piece of jade is a life-saving talisman. After knowing that the jade’s power is real, there is no way one can remain untempted ba?”

He looked at Zhou Li. “Aren’t you tempted?”

Ji Shaoyan answered, “He doesn’t have this inclination.”

When Zhou Li got his hands on the jade, his first thought was to transmigrate back to become a ghost, but Ji Tianyang probably won’t believe him if he voiced this.

Ji Tianyang: “Then since you guys don’t, why don’t you just give me jade bei? I have to stay in the same camp as him, and you won’t have to worry about me betraying you two.”

Ji Shaoyan nodded and opened a hand towards Zhou Li.

Zhou Li took out two jade pendants from his pocket and handed them over.

Ji Shaoyan placed the jade pendants on the table and pushed them forward. Still maintaining the attitude of a good big brother, he directed a gentle look at the person across from them. “Tell me which one is real, and we can continue our discussion today.”

The author has something to say:

What type of car do you want? In this situation, even riding a bicycle across the road will lead to your detainment, y’know?

Small tip*: The last confrontation between Zhou Li and Ji Tianyang was the dog snatching incident, not a matter from their previous life.

[T/N: 仿金鱼小贴士 idk what this means; actually idk what the authors note means at all]