ST CHAPTER 11

Wei Jiayi looked thin, but he wasn’t uncomfortable to lean on. Zhao Jing held onto him for support, steadying himself as he managed to sit securely in the bumpy car. His leg soon stopped hurting, and before long, they arrived at their destination.

Compared to the resettlement area they had visited earlier in the day, Lini’s aunt’s house had a more modern feel. It was about half the size of the guesthouse where Zhao Jing and the others were staying and was constructed from gray brick.

Li Mingcheng opened the car door for Zhao Jing, who released Wei Jiayi and propped himself up with his crutch to get out. At the door, a young couple greeted them warmly, introducing themselves as Lini’s aunt and uncle. They had recently married.

The interior of the house was simply decorated. As soon as they stepped inside, the aroma of food wafted toward them. Lini was already seated at the dining table, waiting obediently.

Lini’s aunt had prepared local dishes, and Zhao Jing found the flavors quite good as he sampled a few bites. While they ate, the group chatted, with Wei Jiayi and Li Mingcheng leading most of the conversation. They talked with Lini’s aunt and Nick about the rescue efforts and life on the island.

Being small, Lini didn’t eat much before feeling full. He ran to the living room to work on a puzzle. Meanwhile, Lini’s aunt began quietly discussing the boy’s parents.

Mario had been a longtime employee at the hotel, while his mother made handicrafts at home, selling them to tourists to earn a living. Their life had been simple but happy—until the tsunami swept everything away. That Lini had survived at all was a miracle. His aunt and her new husband had already decided to take him in and assume the role of his parents.

She mentioned that Lini had been waking up frequently at night, screaming. However, after the visit to the forest yesterday, his sleep had significantly improved. Nick told her that the volunteers in the forest were the ones who had rescued Lini, and the boy was eager to meet them to express his gratitude in person.

Zhao Jing wasn’t much for conversation and focused on eating. However, when the topic shifted to Lini’s grandfather’s illness, he made a mental note to provide financial assistance later.

As the meal wound down, Lini finished his puzzle and returned to the dining room. He stood by Zhao Jing and asked, “Will you always stay in the mountains?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the adults around the table fell silent.

Zhao Jing didn’t understand why everyone had gone silent. He gave Wei Jiayi a questioning look, only to find Wei Jiayi looking back at him, his expression hinting at something. Zhao Jing wasn’t a mind reader and couldn’t interpret it, so he simply replied, “I’m planning to go back next week.”

Lini’s shoulders drooped slightly.

“Do you want to come with us?” Zhao Jing asked. By the time they left, the runway would be repaired, and there would be enough seats on the plane. The boy wouldn’t be of much help staying on the island, and taking him along for a change of scenery wasn’t a bad idea.

But Lini immediately shook his head.

“Maybe that’s not what he meant,” Wei Jiayi interjected. His tone was polite enough that Zhao Jing let it slide and turned back to Lini. “Come with Nick to the forest tomorrow. After lunch, I’ll keep teaching you how to operate the excavator.”

Lini, ever well-behaved, first looked at his aunt. She thanked Zhao Jing before telling Lini, “You can go, but be careful.” Only then did Lini smile and nod at Zhao Jing. “Thank you.”

The boy was skinny but had sharp eyes. Like Zhao Jing, he had survived the tsunami. As he looked at Lini, Zhao Jing was reminded of the simple joys of his own childhood, digging up turf in the golf field. He promised softly, “I’ll send you a construction vehicle you can actually drive. I think I still have the blueprints, and it shouldn’t take more than a month to build.”

However, Wei Jiayi suddenly spoke up. “There’s not much flat land here. Playing with it might be a bit dangerous.”

Once again, Wei Jiayi had questioned him, though Zhao Jing had to admit it was a fair point. For the boy’s safety, Zhao Jing suppressed his irritation at having to revise his promise and said, “I’ll send you a remote-controlled version instead. You won’t be able to drive it yourself.”

Fortunately, Lini was an easy child to please. Even a remote-controlled construction vehicle would make him happy.

Lini’s aunt informed them that the island was in its rainy season and that the weather forecast predicted heavy rain throughout the day. Nick suggested they take the day to rest, noting that they had been working too hard recently.

After lunch and a brief tea break, they decided to return to the guesthouse.

Zhao Jing climbed into the back seat first. Once Wei Jiayi got in and shut the door, Zhao Jing reached out and rested his hand on Wei Jiayi’s shoulder.

Wei Jiayi flinched for no apparent reason and turned to Zhao Jing in surprise. Zhao Jing was annoyed by his obliviousness. “Did you forget? The road’s uneven.”

“Oh, right.” Wei Jiayi finally realized and said “Sorry, I forgot,” gripping the handle for support.

Li Mingcheng glanced at them in the rearview mirror. Zhao Jing thought he might have imagined it, but it seemed there was a flicker of sympathy in his eyes for Wei Jiayi.

As the car hit a particularly rough patch of road, Zhao Jing tightened his hold on Wei Jiayi. Even afterward, he didn’t let go. Instead, his grip shifted to draping an arm over Wei Jiayi’s shoulder. He wanted to be ready in case the car hit another pothole that might jolt his still-recovering leg. Just the night before, the doctor had warned him that his injury wasn’t healing as well as it should due to too much activity in the past few days.

Wei Jiayi dutifully let Zhao Jing use him for support while gazing absentmindedly out the window.

Wei Jiayi’s slenderness gave his face simple lines, with a straight nose and a natural shadow outlining his jawline. His soft hair was tied at the back, and from Zhao Jing’s slightly elevated angle, he could make out the curve of Wei Jiayi’s cheek. In the right light, even the faint veins beneath his skin and the fine peach fuzz on his face were visible.

Zhao Jing watched him for a while, noticing the phone in Wei Jiayi’s shirt pocket buzzing a few times. Wei Jiayi ignored it, making no move to check the screen.

Earlier during their trip, Zhao Jing hadn’t said anything. But he’d noticed Wei Jiayi’s unread messages and realized that several of the senders’ names included either “Pan” or “Fei.” He wasn’t sure about “Fei,” but he suspected “Pan” referred to Xiao Pan, the one who had cooked.

Wei Jiayi had locked his phone so quickly back then that it was clear he didn’t want Zhao Jing to see more.

Zhao Jing had studied behavioral analysis for two years as a child. He would have continued if his teacher hadn’t left unexpectedly and if they’d been able to find a suitable replacement.

However, his exceptional memory and intelligence meant the lessons he had absorbed remained intact. Combining Wei Jiayi’s behavior—such as having his assistant log into the account for him and avoiding his own messages—Zhao Jing quickly deduced that Wei Jiayi was evading something. Maybe it was an attack, or perhaps it was something hurtful.

In Zhao Jing’s mind, no problem was unsolvable. Over the past few days, Wei Jiayi had done a lot for him. Regardless of his earlier feelings about Wei Jiayi, his opinion had changed. If Wei Jiayi was facing difficulties, Zhao Jing was willing to help. After all, such matters were trivial for Zhao Jing.

Since Li Mingcheng was in the car, Wei Jiayi probably felt too embarrassed to speak openly. Zhao Jing decided to wait until they returned to the guesthouse to ask him privately. He figured this approach would also subtly showcase his reliability, setting him apart from others.

Moreover, due to the limitations of his fractured leg, Zhao Jing hadn’t been able to fully demonstrate his abilities beyond his driving skills. His pride couldn’t accept that.

When they reached the guesthouse, Zhao Jing finally let go of Wei Jiayi.

Wei Jiayi appeared to have a stiff neck and raised his left hand to rub the back of it. His fingers brushed against Zhao Jing’s face, the touch unintentionally firm.

Wei Jiayi’s nails were rounded, and his fingers were long. He immediately apologized. Seeing the guilt in Wei Jiayi’s expression, Zhao Jing touched his own face. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry, which he found a little strange.

That afternoon, Zhao Jing had a meeting to attend. His company needed to appoint a new Chief Financial Officer to replace Tang Ting, who had been involved in the car accident. The board had already made nominations, and it was up to Zhao Jing to finalize the decision during their discussion.

Upon entering, Zhao Jing noticed Secretary Wu waiting, holding the phone he had requested. Zhao Jing gestured with his chin for Secretary Wu to hand the phone to Wei Jiayi, then headed to the study in the spare bedroom to join the meeting.

Zhao Jing connected to the meeting via video call. He asked a few initial questions as the candidate began speaking on the other end. While listening, Zhao Jing opened a search engine and typed in “Wei Jiayi.” Before he could even finish adding the next character, “Pan,” a long list of search suggestions appeared.

• “Wei Jiayi and Pan Yifei’s relationship”
• “Wei Jiayi & Pan Yifei photos”
• “Wei Jiayi & Pan Yifei cohabitation”
• “Wei Jiayi and Pan Yifei not close”

As the candidate described the greatest financial risks they had faced and ambitiously outlined their future plans, Zhao Jing nodded absentmindedly and selected the first suggested term. The top search result was titled: “The Past Between Youngest Best Actor Pan Yifei and Renowned Photographer Wei Jiayi.”

Zhao Jing clicked on the article and began reading.

The article’s author did not appear to have a high level of education, as repetitive sentences were scattered throughout the text. The accompanying photos were low-resolution, featuring a man Zhao Jing didn’t recognize. Wei Jiayi was nowhere to be seen in the images.

The man in the photos had an unremarkable appearance—likely Pan Yifei.

The article detailed how Wei Jiayi and Pan Yifei had met during their humble beginnings. They had shared a rented apartment as roommates in S City when Pan Yifei was a struggling actor with no roles, and Wei Jiayi, despite graduating from a prestigious school, could only find odd jobs after returning to China as a photography graduate.

Later, Wei Jiayi had taken a series of photographs of Pan Yifei that went viral online. These photos earned Pan Yifei an audition with a famous director, leading to a role that ultimately won him a Best Actor award.

Wei Jiayi’s sexual orientation was no secret in the industry. When Pan Yifei received the award, rumors spread about him being attracted to men, with speculation that he and Wei Jiayi were romantically involved.

However, the rumors quickly died down when Pan Yifei began dating a socialite. As his fame grew, mentions of Wei Jiayi and the photo series became increasingly rare.

Three years ago, Wei Jiayi helped Pan Yifei shoot a jewelry campaign, reigniting public speculation about their relationship. The online buzz escalated, prompting Pan Yifei’s agent to address the rumors in an interview, asserting that the two were not close.

The article concluded with a selection of photos from Wei Jiayi’s first shoot with Pan Yifei.

The photos were taken in their rental apartment. Pan Yifei was either sitting by the refrigerator or standing by a window, the camera positioned intimately close. Although Zhao Jing found Pan Yifei’s facial features quite average, he had to admit that the overall atmosphere and color tones of the photos left a lasting impression.

In contrast, the photos Wei Jiayi had taken of Zhao Jing had an entirely different style.

Zhao Jing couldn’t help but think about how intimately Wei Jiayi had photographed Pan Yifei back then.

The thought made him frown deeply, startling the candidate into halting their passionate speech.

Noticing the sudden silence, Zhao Jing glanced at the camera and urged impatiently, “Continue explaining your major negotiation experience,” before clicking on the next news article.

By the time the meeting ended and the company’s new CFO was selected, Zhao Jing had pieced together most of the story between Wei Jiayi and Pan Yifei. Over the past two years, nearly every media article had harped on Wei Jiayi’s “not-so-secret” sexual orientation and Pan Yifei’s reluctance. It was as if omitting those details would cause the journalist’s computer to explode on the spot.

Zhao Jing wasn’t stupid. Familiar with public relations tactics, he understood that such one-sided coverage was likely orchestrated. These reports had shaped public opinion to vilify Wei Jiayi.

Whether out of weakness or naivety, Wei Jiayi still referred to Pan Yifei as “a friend.” Zhao Jing glanced at the screen one last time, switched off the video call, and left the study.

In the living room, Wei Jiayi was transferring data from his old phone. The process dragged on due to the sheer number of photos stored on the device.

The new phone, prepared by Secretary Wu, was the same brand as his old one but a newer model. As Wei Jiayi watched the transfer progress bar inch forward, his emotions wavered.

To Zhao Jing, giving him a phone was likely a trivial matter—a casual gesture that didn’t even qualify as a gift. But for Wei Jiayi, it was rare. Most of the things he received were PR packages from celebrity studios or magazines. A part of him couldn’t help feeling touched, but he also knew it came at the cost of sacrificing his pride to serve Zhao Jing. His neck still ached from how Zhao Jing had held it earlier.

When the data transfer was finally complete, Wei Jiayi wiped the old phone clean, just as Zhao Jing and Secretary Wu emerged from the study.

By now, Zhao Jing seemed almost fused to his crutch. Before Wei Jiayi could blink a few times, Zhao Jing had already positioned himself directly in front of him. Secretary Wu departed the guesthouse, signaling that Zhao Jing’s work for the afternoon was done.

After Zhao Jing sat down, his gaze flicked to the new phone in Wei Jiayi’s hands. Wei Jiayi immediately expressed his gratitude. “Thank you, President Zhao. The phone works great.” Feeling that such a brief thank-you might not suffice for the young master, he added half-jokingly, “No one’s ever treated me this well before.”

After that, Zhao Jing looked at him, and for the first time, Wei Jiayi thought he seemed hesitant to speak.

Naturally, when Zhao Jing wanted to say something, nothing could hold him back. That look might not have been hesitation at all—perhaps it was deliberation over the right words. A few seconds later, Zhao Jing broke the silence with a single sentence that left Wei Jiayi’s mind completely blank.

Zhao Jing said, “I already know about your situation with Pan Yifei. To protect your reputation, you should sue him.”

“What?” Wei Jiayi thought he must have misheard. He stared at Zhao Jing, barely managing to keep his expression neutral.

“I said you should sue.” Zhao Jing frowned and informed him, “I’ll have someone connect you with a suitable lawyer.”

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Author’s note:

Wei Jiayi: The intention was good…