CFRFGC Chapter 142

⌈My name is Ranran[mfn]燃燃[/mfn], not Ranran[mfn]染染[/mfn].⌋

After Ji Chi left, Lu Ran didn’t show much reaction.

However, Ji Min could clearly feel that the child had taken Ji Chi’s words to heart.

Although the child had no memory of the past, he was gradually starting to understand the meaning of the words “orphan” and “home”.

Ji Min saw this but didn’t know how to comfort him.

A few days later, a distant relative of the Ji family came over and the household became lively for several days.

Ji Min happened to take the child out for a walk to clear his mind.

When they arrived, Ji Min realized he had been mistaken.

He often attended such occasions, listening to the elders discuss news from the business world with great interest.

But the child, clearly, had no interest in these matters at all.

He didn’t cause a scene, though.

He sat beside Ji Min, slowly peeling pine nuts.

After peeling them, he didn’t eat them but gathered them in a small pile.

When he had a handful, he gave half to Ji Min.

Ji Min, engrossed in the conversation, was brought back to reality when a handful of pine nuts was shoved into his hand.

Looking down, he noticed the child’s fingers were all red from peeling the nuts.

An elder beside them saw this and praised, “This child is really obedient.”

Ji Min smiled and, seeing the child’s eager look, popped a pine nut into his mouth.

At that moment, the conversation at the table shifted to the ownership of a recent project: “Who would’ve thought the Li family got it?”

“Yeah,” someone agreed, “This is a field that the Shen family is good at, right?”

At this, Ji Min, sitting beside Lu Ran, gently squeezed the child’s fingers and asked, “Are you a bit bored?”

The child shook his head and then nodded.

The conversation at the table continued.

“That’s because the old man of the Shen family is sick and his son…”

The speaker shook his head and sighed, his attitude clear.

Someone asked in surprise, “Shen Hanshan has been ill for some time, right?”

“This time… looks like it’s really serious. I wonder what the Shen family will become after this.”

Ji Min overheard a bit of the conversation but didn’t pay much attention to it.

He was more concerned with the child’s recent behavior.

Since Ji Chi left last time, Lu Ran’s usually mischievous behavior has calmed down quite a bit.

It’s been several days since he last caught any insects.

Someone at the table asked: “But it shouldn’t be like this. Old Master Shen is just over sixty, right?”

“They say he has underlying health conditions. He worked so hard when he was younger. And now, he really can’t hold on anymore.”

At this, everyone at the table sighed in regret.

The child sitting beside them tilted his head, his eyes filled with pure confusion.

Ji Min took the child’s hand and softly asked, “How about I take you to pick lotus pods?”

Upon hearing this, the child’s eyes lit up.

They had just passed by a pond, where the lotus leaves were large and the lotus flowers were still blooming.

Ji Min noticed the child’s expression and immediately picked him up.

The main hall where the guests were gathered was lively and bustling.

But the side courtyard was extremely quiet.

Ji Chi walked past the front gate of the main courtyard, peered inside, then stepped back and began pacing anxiously in the remote area.

Since that day when Ji Min spoke up, Ji Chi has tried to approach Ji Min several times, but each time he was stopped.

This matter gradually spread. Ji Chi felt that the other members of the Ji family had started to treat him and his mother more coldly.

Ji Chi was feeling restless and anxious.

Since he was a child, Ji Chi had always been aware that, as an illegitimate child, his relationship with Ji Min shouldn’t have been too close.

It was because their father had been such a poor excuse for a man.

That was why this illegitimate child, who shared a bloodline with Ji Min, managed to catch Ji Min’s eye.

No matter how outstanding Ji Min was, he would still long for familial affection.

Ji Chi understood this well.

So, every time Ji Min was upset because of their father’s actions, Ji Chi would immediately approach to comfort him, in an attempt to elevate his own position in Ji Min’s heart.

Though, often…

The look Ji Min gave him always made Ji Chi feel as if Ji Min could see right through his intentions.

But then Ji Chi would think that he was overthinking it.

Amid his anxious pacing, Ji Chi suddenly looked up and saw a small figure by the pond in the side courtyard.

The child was crouching by the pond, peering inside.

Ji Chi looked at the child’s back, his gaze becoming somewhat complicated.

In truth, he was very jealous of this child.

Although he had gotten lost and didn’t have a family, this child was so lucky—he met Ji Min.

Ji Min took him back to the Ji family and showered him with all his care.

Since he was young, Ji Chi’s mother had always taught him to think hard and please Ji Min.

But Ji Min had always kept a distance from him, never once eating or living with him.

Yet this four-year-old child, who knew nothing, effortlessly received the treatment Ji Chi had longed for.

What made Ji Chi even more anxious was that ever since this child arrived, he couldn’t even find an opportunity to comfort Ji Min anymore.

The child was still crouching there, completely focused on staring at the pond, completely unaware of the person behind him.

For such a small child to be alone by the water’s edge was somewhat dangerous.

Ji Chi thought for a moment and realized this was a good chance to earn some merit.

If he took the child back, Ji Min might just forgive him.

Making up his mind, Ji Chi walked toward the child.

But after taking a few steps, Ji Chi suddenly stopped.

He glanced around.

There were no servants passing by.

This was a secluded area and there were no surveillance cameras.

At that moment, a bold idea popped into his mind.

What if… something happened to the child in the Ji family?

According to regulations, the orphanage would probably come and take him away right away, right?

Ji Chi thought again. If he just watched from the side, nothing serious should have happened. As soon as the child fell in, he could immediately shout for help.

He didn’t want to harm the child, he just wanted him gone.

Ji Chi felt a bit nervous.

But when he thought of his mother’s anxious face, his resolve slowly firmed.

He took soft steps, inching closer to the child, and slowly stretched out his hand.

But just as Ji Chi’s hand was about to touch the child’s back, another hand—thin and bony—gripped Ji Chi’s wrist tightly.

Ji Chi froze.

He looked down.

There, Ji Min was standing, his pant legs wet up to the knees, holding two lotus pods and a large lotus leaf, climbing out of the weeds.

At that moment, Ji Chi was completely stunned.

He had thought that Ji Min might have just realized the child was missing, or was anxiously searching for him.

But what Ji Chi hadn’t expected was that the heir of the Ji family, the celebrated Ji Min, the very person he felt he could never catch up to, would actually wade through the water, stepping through the mud to enter the pond and personally pick a few lotus pods.

Ji Chi’s astonishment at Ji Min’s actions nearly overshadowed his panic from being caught.

“What are you doing?” Ji Min asked, each word crisp and deliberate.

The teenager’s face was terrifyingly cold.

Ji Min hadn’t expected that someone from the Ji family would dare to harm such a small child, especially someone he considered a relative—Ji Chi.

“Brother? Brother, don’t misunderstand!” Ji Chi forced a smile.

He quickly explained, “I—I was just afraid that Ranran might fall in. I wanted to remind him.”

“Do you believe that yourself?” Ji Min replied.

Ji Chi lifted his head and saw, in addition to the coldness in Ji Min’s eyes, a trace of disappointment.

The teenager took two steps onto the shore, pushed Ji Chi aside, and picked up the child, who still had no idea what had happened.

“Get out of the Ji family.”

Ji Min’s voice was heavy.

Ji Chi froze.

Not being allowed into Ji Min’s courtyard was one thing, but being told to get out of the Ji family altogether—it was a whole different matter.

“No, no, no, Brother, I’m your brother! What will my mother and I do if we leave the Ji family?”

“Brother, you can’t do this!”

Ji Min sneered, “What does this have to do with me? Go ask your father.”

At this moment, the butler, hearing the argument, rushed over.

Ji Min gave orders, “From now on, I don’t want to see him in the Ji family.”

The butler was stunned for a moment but quickly nodded and called for security.

“Ji Min!”

Ji Chi couldn’t accept this outcome at all. “Why? I’m also a young master of the Ji family! Who are you to arrange this for me?”

Ji Min remained expressionless, carrying the child in his arms as he walked toward his own courtyard.

His steps were heavy.

Each step felt like wading through a cold swamp.

“Brother?”

The child in his arms called out to him softly.

Ji Min’s throat tightened. He couldn’t respond.

At this moment, Ji Chi, who had already been restrained by the security, suddenly yelled at him again: “Ji Min, do you know how your mother died?”

The teenager paused, stopping in his tracks.

“Your mother didn’t die from illness.”

“She died while she was pregnant, traveling abroad with another man for their honeymoon! When she died, she wasn’t thinking about you—she was thinking about the child in her belly!”

“Do you think your mother cared about you?”

“If she really cared, why would she let me, this bastard son, be your playmate?”

Ji Min’s lips moved, but no words came out.

Servants and security hurriedly passed by, casting sympathetic glances at him.

Ji Min didn’t know what to say at that moment.

He also didn’t know how to respond.

“You think you’re so great? At least I still have a mother—what do you have?”

Ji Chi continued shouting.

Ji Min stood there in a daze.

Suddenly, he felt warmth by his ears.

A pair of soft little hands gently covered his ears.

Ji Min finally came to his senses.

He looked down and heard the child say to him: “Brother, don’t listen to him. It’s all lies.”

The child’s words were thin.

But they carried an inexplicable strength.

Ji Min took another step forward.

He held the child tightly in his arms.

The heavy weight felt like the string that held a kite.

The warm temperature pressed against his ear, blocking out the cold words from behind.

Ji Min held the child even tighter.

He thought, I only have you now.

Soon, Ji Chi and his mother moved out of the Ji family.

Along the way, Ji Chi came to beg Ji Min again, crying and apologizing.

But Ji Min had already calmed down.

Even if Ji Chi repeated the words from that day, Ji Min didn’t feel much anymore.

It was just that there were many people from the Ji family present. With all the commotion, another scandal spread.

But most people dared not gossip about the Ji family.

Two weeks later, it was Old Master Ji’s seventieth birthday celebration.

None of the guests attending the banquet dared to bring up Ji Chi’s matter in front of Ji Min.

Everyone tacitly accepted that Ji Chi was never a part of the Ji family.

They also secretly feared Ji Min, the heir of the Ji family, who was so young yet so ruthless.

Although Ji Chi was a bastard, he had grown up alongside Ji Min.

But Ji Min had decisively and without hesitation expelled him.

On the day of the birthday banquet, Ji Min had specially styled the child, bringing him along to attend.

The child, with his short arms and legs, looked especially adorable in a small white suit.

All the guests present, whether sincerely or with false politeness, praised the child with a smile.

It was a joke really.

Who didn’t know that Ji Chi, the one who had been kicked out, had offended this little child?

Once this matter came out, who would dare to treat him lightly?

They might as well treat him like an ancestor and revere him.

Ji Min and the child walked around the banquet.

Worried the child might feel suffocated by the crowd, Ji Min took him to the garden.

Just as they stepped out, they ran into the Gu family’s people who came to offer their congratulations.

Old Master Gu was in the tea room talking to Old Master Ji.

Gu Zhi was lazily strolling around the garden.

When he looked up, he saw the child that Ji Min was leading and exclaimed in surprise, “Ranran?”

Hearing the familiar name, the child peeked at Gu Zhi, blinking curiously.

Seeing the familiar face, Gu Zhi immediately ran over and called out, “Ranran, you’re here too? Did your grandpa come?”

Gu Zhi’s voice was warm and familiar.

Ji Min slowly furrowed his brows.

The child looked at the unfamiliar older brother in front of him and corrected, “Big brother, my name is Ranran[mfn]燃燃[/mfn], not Ranran[mfn]染染[/mfn]. You said it wrong.”

Gu Zhi, seeing the unfamiliar look in the child’s eyes, was taken aback and said, “What’s wrong? It’s only been a few months since we last met. I’m your uncle, Gu Zhi.”

“Uncle?” The child frowned and thought for a moment.

Gu Zhi, surprised by the child attending the birthday banquet and being so familiar with Ji Min, was about to say something.

But when he looked up, he saw Ji Min’s expression suddenly turn very cold.

The teenager’s face was tight as he threw out a curt response: “You’re mistaken.”

He then picked up the child and quickly walked away.

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