[Research Subject]: Dish Soap.
[Current Observed Fluctuations]: Temporary recovery of spiritual power, autonomous control of tail feathers restored, ability to display tail regained, with a maximum recovery duration of 23 hours and 30 minutes.
[Medication Usage]: No external drug intervention.
[Cause of Fluctuation]: Kissing. (Details of the three instances are as follows…)
[Future Research Direction]: Continue observation based on current findings to extend the duration of tail display.
Zhu Ming closed the light screen in his hand.
For now, the issue of displaying the tail had a somewhat reliable temporary solution. Although uncertainties remained, Zhu Ming could finally breathe a little easier, and his work and rest had improved significantly.
Feeling a bit hungry, he planned to order a bowl of wonton noodles using Bang Bang—this little guy was practically a gadget designed to make people completely reliant and lazy.
However, after searching the living room for a while, he couldn’t find Bang Bang. Instead, he ran into Xi Xianqing, who had just come to the living room to get some water.
Zhu Ming asked, “Have you seen Bang Bang?”
“I’m using it,” Xi Xianqing glanced at him, paused, “Do you want to join?”
Zhu Ming: “…Join what?”
Following Xi Xianqing back to the study, Zhu Ming saw that Bang Bang’s screen was lit up, displaying a real-time video call with Yang Jiahe’s face on it.
Yang Jiahe smiled and waved at him. Zhu Ming quickly realized that Xi Xianqing was actively inviting him to join his meeting with Yang Jiahe.
He looked at Xi Xianqing in surprise. “Yi? I’m allowed to join today even though I’m a layman who knows nothing about design?”
Yang Jiahe on the other end of the video, “Pfft—”
Xi Xianqing’s expression shifted. “…I was just being polite by inviting you to listen in. Join if you want or don’t.”
“I’m more than happy to.” Zhu Ming grinned and extended his hand. “But, uh… can I borrow the light screen to order some noodles first?”
So while Xi Xianqing and Yang Jiahe discussed craftsmanship and techniques, Zhu Ming sat beside them, biting into the greens in his wonton noodles, listening with great interest.
At first, it was about bezel setting, flush setting, and channel setting.
Then, it moved on to cloisonné enamel, miniature enamel, and grand feu enamel…
In any case, when he opened his eyes again, Zhu Ming felt like he had never slept so comfortably in his life.
He sat up and wiped the corner of his mouth. “Sorry, got a bit of carbon monoxide dizziness.”
“Alright, alright, let’s call it a day.”
On the other end of the call, Yang Jiahe was also struggling to stay awake. “But seriously, aren’t you overdoing the contingency plans this time? There’s still plenty of time, but you should focus on refining one or two of them ah.”
“Given their current relationship… I had to make two preparations.”
Xi Xianqing raised a hand to rub his temples. “If they divorce, the designs will align with their individual careers—solo pieces. If they stay together, it’ll focus on their relationship—a dual-themed project.”
As an eager melon eater,1Gossiper Yang Jiahe was curious. “There’s not even a whisper of this outside—everyone’s still singing praises about their perfect love. Why would they be heading for a divorce? Whose fault is it?”
For a brief moment, the air went still. Xi Xianqing cast an unreadable glance at the person beside him. “Who knows? Maybe, as time passes, one of them just… stopped feeling anything new for the other.”
Zhu Ming lazily yawned, holding his empty noodle bowl as he maneuvered his wheelchair toward the door. “Or maybe one of them committed an unforgivable mistake. Who knows?”
“What you two said…” Yang Jiahe pondered for a moment and nodded. “You both make some valid points.”
Given the potential risks, the second meeting was once again held separately.
Xi Xianqing and Feng Jiachi met this time at the LotusX headquarters office.
Xi Xianqing presented some initial design concepts, had Feng Jiachi try on a few pieces of jewelry, and took measurements of his wrist and ring sizes—data that might be useful later.
As Feng Jiachi cooperated, he couldn’t help but express his thoughts on the situation. “Back in the day, Old Master Xi would occasionally come to our school to give lectures. Everyone would fight to attend his architecture seminars—the auditorium would be packed beyond capacity.”
“I was just a university student then. If someone had told me that in a few years, I’d become District Four’s representative and be casually chatting with Old Master Xi’s own grandson, I’d have thought they were dreaming.”
He clicked his tongue. “Back then, I was just aimlessly sketching, never expecting to find a field I loved so much in District Four, to meet a like-minded team, to get to know Tan Yu, and then…”
His mood had been relatively upbeat—until he mentioned “Tan Yu.”
As soon as the name left his lips, it was as if all his energy drained away. His voice grew quieter and quieter, and even the massive Tibetan mastiff beside him slowly curled up, its tail drooping.
Xi Xianqing let out a soft sigh and set down the measuring tape. “How are things between you two lately?”
“How else?”
Feng Jiachi turned his face away irritably. He almost reached into his pocket for a cigarette but stopped himself at the last moment. “He hasn’t mentioned divorce these past two days, but I know him—the quieter he gets, the more he’s holding something big in… Forget it, let’s not talk about it.”
Seeing Xi Xianqing’s face, something came to his mind. “Oh right, did you use that face mask I gave you last time? How was it?”
Xi Xianqing paused for a moment. “Not bad.”
Feng Jiachi raised an eyebrow smugly. “Of course. Oh, by the way, are you free tonight?”
“I’m taking you to a great place.” He hooked an arm around Xi Xianqing’s neck and lowered his voice. “But this place is a little unusual ah. You have to promise me, no matter what, you must keep it a secret—not even from your partner ha…”
Zhu Ming and Tan Yu met at an elegant tea house this time, and the meeting went smoothly.
Xi Xianqing had suggested that Ye Lu accompany Zhu Ming to assist with Tan Yu’s jewelry fitting, but Zhu Ming declined, stating that he alone was an entire army.
Now, wearing gloves, he carefully searched through the safe. “Hold on a sec ha, I remember he told me to let you try on a sparkly white stone, a sparkly blue stone, and a half-green, not-quite-yellow one… Ah, got them all. Let’s try them first, and I’ll take some pictures.”
Last time, Tan Yu had only mentioned Feng Jiachi’s infidelity without going into details, and Zhu Ming understood that he didn’t want to talk about it.
So this time, Zhu Ming didn’t ask any further questions either. Instead, as he helped Tan Yu try on the jewelry, he simply listened to him talk about the journey of building his company.
“When our first one launched, I didn’t even want to stop to breathe. I just wanted to create more, better pieces, to show the world what we were capable of.”
As he recalled the past, the usually indifferent eyes behind Tan Yu’s glasses softened slightly. “But now, all I want is to take a long vacation.”
“But sitting in this position now, stopping isn’t something I can just decide to do anymore.”
His gaze drifted toward the window as he murmured, “Time is the most valuable cost. We spent all of it on our careers, leaving less and less… to communicate and be with each other.”
Meeting Zhu Ming’s eyes, Tan Yu seemed to remember something and smiled. “Sorry, I never finished my story last time and left you hanging for so long.”
Zhu Ming shook his head. “If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t force yourself.”
“It’s not that I can’t talk about it.” Tan Yu lowered his eyes. “About half a year ago, I started noticing that he was going out alone more often, using business dinners or catching up with friends as an excuse.”
“At first, I didn’t think much of it, but as the frequency increased, I started finding it really odd.”
Tan Yu said, “Because, as you know, people from District Six are terrible at lying.”
Zhu Ming: “…Indeed.”
“I didn’t initially suspect cheating. I even asked him what he’d been up to. Honestly, even if he had made a mistake, if he had been honest about it, this marriage wouldn’t necessarily have to end.”
Tan Yu pressed his palm against his forehead. “But he kept avoiding my gaze, brushing me off with clumsy excuses. And I started noticing something else… Lately, he’s been more obsessed with his appearance than ever, putting more and more effort into how he looks.”
“So, a while ago, I hired a private investigator. Turns out, for the past six months, he’s been frequently visiting a villa in the suburbs.”
Tan Yu exhaled lightly. “Inside that villa, different young women have been coming and going.”
Zhu Ming took a silent, sharp breath. “That really does sound…”
It sounded like undeniable proof.
Tan Yu let out a soft chuckle. “At first, I didn’t want to take it as far as catching him in the act, because I knew—if I saw it with my own eyes, I’d be haunted by that scene for the rest of my life.”
“So I just wanted a divorce, to end things with some dignity—for both of us and for the company.”
He pressed his fingers against his temple and said quietly, “But now, I regret it. I can’t just end it like this. I need to see it with my own eyes before I can truly let go.”
“Because I owe it to the Tan Yu who chose him ten years ago,” he said.
His phone vibrated. Tan Yu glanced down at the message on the screen. After a long pause, he closed his eyes.
He let out a breath, one that sounded like a mix of deep disappointment and exhaustion. “The private investigator just told me—he’s driving to that villa again.”
Zhu Ming’s breath hitched slightly. “Mr. Tan, you…”
“Mr. Zhu.” Tan Yu rolled up his sleeves and stood up. “I have a feeling tonight’s going to get ugly.”
His expression remained calm. “This might be a bit difficult to say, but since this will likely end with calling the police, would it be too much to ask you to come with me?”
Feng Jiachi’s secret villa was located in a secluded, remote area of District Four, and the drive alone took nearly an hour.
By the time they arrived, it was already evening. Standing before the villa’s entrance, Tan Yu slowly raised his hand, but just before touching the doorbell, he hesitated and curled his fingers back down.
Zhu Ming knew he was still wavering, so he pressed the doorbell for him and said, “I’ll do it.”
The moment the intercom was connected, a young woman’s voice came through, “Who is it?”
Zhu Ming saw Tan Yu’s body sway slightly.
Zhu Ming exhaled, “Express delivery.”
Sure enough, the door was opened by a young girl.
When she saw Zhu Ming sitting in his wheelchair, empty-handed, she froze for a moment.
Then her gaze shifted past him to Tan Yu, and her pupils widened abruptly as she took a step back. “You’re… you’re President Tan?”
The moment he saw the girl, Tan Yu closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, all that remained in them was an icy coldness, like frost and snow. He stepped straight into the villa, and asked in a cold voice. “Where is Feng Jiachi?”
“You can’t come in, you—”
Realizing she couldn’t stop Tan Yu at all, the girl turned back toward the villa’s interior, shouting anxiously, “You guys, go tell President Feng! President Tan found his way here and came!”
At her words, Zhu Ming and Tan Yu suddenly realized that the girl who had opened the door wasn’t the only one in the house.
In the back of the living room, four or five other young girls gathered, looking at them with expressions ranging from confusion to fear.
Tan Yu laughed in anger. “Feng Jiachi… you really are capable.”
His face darkened as he strode further into the villa, repeating his question to the girls, “Where is Feng Jiachi?”
The young women stammered, unable to form a coherent answer.
Tan Yu nodded, no longer wasting words. He started opening doors one by one, searching for the person himself.
The girls shrieked—“You can’t go in!”, “President Feng really isn’t here!”, “We don’t even know who President Feng is!”—while a series of spiritual manifestations flitted chaotically behind them, making the scene all the more chaotic.
Not only had Tan Yu completely lost control of his emotions, but even Zhu Ming was stunned by the sheer mess of it all. He had assumed Feng Jiachi was just another guy who puts on airs with a messy private life.
However, as he scrutinized the young women more closely, Zhu Ming vaguely felt that something felt off.
—Because they were all wearing identical outfits. The design was comfortable and practical, almost like a uniform issued by an institution, and it wasn’t overly revealing.
However, before he could think any further, he looked up and came face-to-face with someone stepping out from around the corner.
This time, it was Zhu Ming’s turn to be shocked. “…Xi Xianqing?”
Xi Xianqing froze as well. “Why are you here?”
Zhu Ming found it completely absurd. “You’re asking me? Why are you here?”
Xi Xianqing’s expression shifted from shock to a slight furrow of his brows, and then to a mild look of confusion as he noticed Zhu Ming’s accusatory tone.
His gaze swept past Zhu Ming to Tan Yu, whose face became unpleasant beyond recognition, and to the trembling young women behind them. His pupils contracted sharply as he realized what they must be thinking. “It’s not—”
Tan Yu cut straight to the point. “Where’s Feng Jiachi?”
“He’s…” Xi Xianqing pointed toward a room behind him, his expression impossibly complicated. After a long, exasperated sigh, he said, “I’ll tell him to come out and explain himself.”
Xi Xianqing entered the room behind him.
A few minutes later, Feng Jiachi rushed out, wearing nothing but a bath towel around his upper body.
The moment he saw Tan Yu, his eyes flickered between shock and guilt, his face carrying an expression that could only be described as “I’m screwed.”
And then, as if he was determined to pour oil on the fire, the first thing out of his mouth was: “Tan Yu, let me explain—”
“You do need to explain yourself, Feng Jiachi.”
Tan Yu’s expression was calm, but there was an almost imperceptible tremor in his voice. “This villa, the girls outside, and the clothes that have mysteriously disappeared from your body—what exactly is the reason for all this?”
“Of course, if you don’t want to explain, that’s fine too. I’ve already prepared the divorce papers; they’re in the car. If you sign them right now, I’ll leave immediately and never bother you again in this life,” he said.
At first, Feng Jiachi still looked somewhat guilty and embarrassed.
But the moment he heard the words “divorce papers,” his expression twisted into rage. “Divorce papers?! I say you haven’t been mentioning it in the past two days. So that’s what you’ve been planning, huh? Tan Yu, in the end, you have it in your heart—”
Xi Xianqing, arms crossed, had reached his limit. “So, President Feng, would you care to explain the current situation first?”
Feng Jiachi froze, his face flushing red. After a long moment, he squeezed out a barely audible response through clenched teeth: “You also know, in a situation like this… how am I supposed to explain it?”
Something flickered in Xi Xianqing’s eyes. His expression turned complicated for a brief moment.
But when his gaze landed on Zhu Ming, standing beside Tan Yu, his expression instantly regain firmness. His voice was slightly cold. “If you won’t say it yourself, then I’ll say it for you.”
Feng Jiachi was sad and indignant. “Alright, alright! I’ll talk, okay?!”
He stared at Tan Yu’s face for a few seconds, took a couple of deep breaths, then clenched his teeth and swung open the door behind him. “Just come in and see for yourselves.”
The curtains in the room were tightly drawn, the light was dim. Soft, soothing music played in the background.
The moment Tan Yu and Zhu Ming stepped inside, they both froze in place.
They first saw a bed.
But it wasn’t a regular bed for sleeping. Instead, it resembled the kind used in clinics where the back could be adjusted and be used for receiving some kinds of treatment.
Next to the bed stood a young woman wearing gloves, her expression startled. Around her were several high-tech, intricately wired white machines. To the right was a massive storage cabinet filled with neatly arranged boxes of injectable medications.
Zhu Ming narrowed his eyes and scanned one of the boxes, reading the label: Human-Derived Type III Collagen.
A realization struck him like lightning. He whipped his head toward Xi Xianqing at the door, mouthing: No way…?
Xi Xianqing, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, nodding to him with a faint expression.
Meanwhile, Tan Yu silently fixed his gaze on a large, wheeled white device labeled: BB Photon Skin Rejuvenation Equipment—60th Gen Intense Pulsed Light Technology.
“Feng Jiachi.”
Tan Yu took a step back, raising a hand to his forehead. His shoulders slumped, as if utterly drained. “So this is what you’ve been sneaking off… to do every day?”
Feng Jiachi didn’t say anything.
Tan Yu stared at him, his eyes faintly red at the corners. After a long silence, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “Did you know that I-I always thought you were…”
He didn’t continue.
“Thought I was doing what?”
Feng Jiachi hesitated slightly as he repeated the question, still not fully processing it. A moment later, his eyes widened in shock, nearly failing to keep his towel in place. “How can it be!”
Behind him, the Tibetan mastiff bared its teeth in fury, its tail lashing wildly. Feng Jiachi practically roared in his own defense, “How could you think of me like that! Tan Yu, I would never do such a thing in my life!”
“I-I was just—” He panted heavily, staring intently at Tan Yu’s face. After a moment, he lowered his head, the force in his voice gradually fading. “I was just secretly getting beauty treatments all this time ah…”
Author’s notes:
The little bird, fox, cat, dog, and 芥菜糊糊,2The author’s name in the site. Jie Jie: I was thinking whether I should add this part since it wasn’t really related to the chapter but I already translated it so XD wishes everyone a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
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