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Ch. 07 Fate!
The first thing Chi Ke did when he got home from work was turn off his phone, take a shower, and collapse into bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
He was so exhausted that he didn’t want to live anymore.
He slept straight through from noon until five in the morning when the notification sound from his phone woke him up. Still groggy, he unlocked the screen.
[Your bank account ending in 5129 has received a deposit of 130,000.00 yuan on October 18th at 4:59 AM…]
Chi Ke was instantly wide awake.
The 100,000 was his rightful salary—but what about the extra 30,000? Medical expenses and compensation for emotional distress?
Leng Yunting looks quite human when he is generous.
He buried his face in his pillow for a moment before sitting up, wrapped in his blanket. He messaged Secretary Sun to get the bank account number of the security guard who had helped cover for him earlier, transferred the guy 15,000 yuan, then ordered an 80-yuan takeout meal.
Suddenly, being alive didn’t seem so bad after all.
This bank card was brand new, completely his own, and spending money from it came with no strings attached.
But he had overestimated his stomach.
It had been too long since he’d had a proper meal. His stomach, empty for so long, kept contracting, and before he’d even finished a third of his breakfast, he couldn’t swallow another bite.
He hated the feeling of eating too much and getting drowsy, so the moment he felt about 80% full, he decisively put his chopsticks down, packed the leftovers into the fridge, and planned to have them as a midnight snack after work.
Just then, his alarm went off. 6:30 AM sharp.
Since he had woken up earlier than planned, he checked his schedule—he still had an hour before he had to leave for work.
After thinking for a moment, he went online and bought a programming course for beginners.
In his past life, he had completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Stanford with a double degree in both, management and law. He started his own business during undergrad, held meetings in skyscrapers on Wall Street, watched sunrises in Los Angeles, experienced the lavish extravagance of Las Vegas, and admired the night view of the Huangpu River from a Shanghai high-rise.
Chi Ke had already reached the top of his industry. His current job was so easy it felt like a downgrade. If his boss didn’t go crazy, working here would be as relaxing as taking a vacation.
Since his primary job right now requires nothing for him to learn, he might as well use his free time to acquire new skills.
Knowledge was never a burden, and he liked the feeling of absorbing new knowledge.
If circumstances had allowed, he might have pursued a career in research—maybe physics, chemistry, biology… even medicine.
Medicine?
Ji Qian.
It was strange. So far, he could match every person he’d met to their descriptions in the original novel.
Their real personalities might have had some minor differences, but overall, they fit. Unless you really got to know them, they weren’t much different from their one-dimensional portrayals in the book.
Except for Ji Qian.
That guy was a complete enigma.
Chi Ke clenched his jaw slightly.
So you think you’re the only one who can cosplay as Leng Yunting?
He thought coldly: Man, you’ve successfully caught my attention.
…
“Achoo!”
Inside the Director’s office at Sixth Hospital, Ji Qian sneezed loudly.
“What’s wrong? Caught a cold?” The hospital director quickly reached for a tissue, afraid of neglecting the young master sitting in front of him.
“Nope, still perfectly healthy.” Ji Qian pondered for a moment before smiling cryptically, “Once, thinking, twice, cursing, if thrice, then it’s cold— so someone’s thinking about me this early in the morning? How touching.”
The Director: “…”
He had long suggested that the hospital’s top heart surgeon get a brain scan, but, unfortunately, his advice had gone unheeded.
“You’re really resigning?” The director sighed, “Starting your own hospital now means a long road to get your investment back, especially with the scale and location of your hospital. I still think you have more room for growth at Sixth Hospital.”
“True, getting the investment back will be tough.” Ji Qian idly played with the hourglass on the desk, “But I’m not the one footing the bill, and the profits will all be mine, so it’s not too bad.”
The director clicked his tongue. After knowing Ji Qian for so long, he finally felt the weight of his family background. With a deliberate sarcastic tone, he said, “Great, at Sixth Hospital, I call you Little Ji. From now on, outside, I suppose I’ll have to call you Director Ji.”
Ji Qian chuckled before sighing, “I didn’t actually plan to leave so soon, but the elders insisted. I couldn’t say no.”
“Well, in that case, I won’t waste my breath trying to convince you.” The director handed over the prepared resignation documents, “It might not be so bad. I know you’ve always leaned more toward research than clinical work. Now you’ll have more time to contribute to the medical field.”
Ji Qian readily agreed and left the office, sitting in the hallway for a while.
If this had happened two years ago, he might have celebrated with a big dinner, marking the start of a new chapter.
But today, after thinking about it for a long time, he realized—he didn’t have a single close friend to invite.
The only one he could have gone out drinking and joking with was still abroad, mourning the appendix he had just had removed.
Besides him…
Ji Qian raised an eyebrow.
The second person to pop into his mind was someone he had only met twice.
The original novel’s Chi Ke wasn’t this interesting.
Ji Qian had been in this world for over a year now. He had spent his first year studying abroad, building connections, and familiarizing himself with the new world’s structure. But when it came to his future plans—he had none.
There were a lot of similarities between this world and his past one, but also many differences.
For instance, the superstar duo Phoenix Legend existed here, but no matter how hard he searched at Harvard, he couldn’t find any trace of his past professors or classmates.
It was as if the creator had left behind a half-baked setting, forcing the inhabitants to slowly fill in the gaps themselves.
Ji Qian had a sharp memory. He had mentally outlined the entire novel, then written over a million words in supplementary notes to sort out the world’s rules and relationships, ultimately confirming that the ‘parallel universe’ concept was real.
And he was certain—he was not the same person as the Ji Qian in the original story.
Most people would think being thrown into a melodramatic world like this was unlucky.
But from another perspective, he had died thoroughly in his past life—so thoroughly that he had clearly experienced the detachment of his soul and the silence of his consciousness. Now, getting a second chance at life didn’t seem so bad.
Just… a little boring.
There was no one he could be truly honest with, no one to share his past with.
If he told people he was a 25-year-old Harvard Medical School graduate, people would probably post about him online, calling him a delusional liar, right?
Ji Qian thought, what a shame.
So no one will ever truly get to know me?
He had once told the truth to the only friend he had made this past year—the guy who recently burned incense for his appendix.
And what happened? That guy immediately turned around and called a top neurosurgeon.
Ji Qian had not yet reached the state of being able to be happy in a mental hospital, so after that, he never revealed anything about his past again.
Yet just yesterday, in front of a stranger he had only met twice, he had nearly blurted out this earth-shattering secret!
What was this?
Ji Qian, momentarily dazed, thought: …fate.
Before returning to the country, he had thoroughly studied every person in the original host’s social circle. The first few meetings went smoothly—whether it was family or friends, no one noticed anything different about him.
Except Chi Ke.
From the very first glance, that man felt completely unfamiliar.
It was as if all those papers he had read about him were worthless, not a single piece of information matched the real person. Even the photos didn’t look right. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, but everything felt… just wrong.
In Ji Qian’s understanding, Assistant Chi should have been suffering from severe depression by now. So severe that, even without a medical diagnosis, Ji Qian could tell just from the subtle details in his writing.
As a doctor, he genuinely wanted to help and had mentally prepared himself for interacting with someone like that.
But when they finally met in person, he was caught completely off guard.
That guy—where did he look depressed?!
He seemed gentle and refined on the surface, but his mental state was sharp and vibrant. Any moment now, he might just use his tie-wrapped right hand to punch Leng Yunting’s face.
The thought of that scene made Ji Qian involuntarily shiver.
Then, right after shivering, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Before, working for Leng Yunting was just something he went along with. Now, he genuinely liked this job.
His colleagues were too interesting. His curiosity had never been piqued this much in his entire life.
It was like reopening a book he had read countless times, only to suddenly discover a hidden subplot he had never noticed before.
As if, in a city shrouded in smog and neon lights, someone had been walking against the crowd, skillfully avoiding everyone—yet somehow, they had crashed straight into him, the one submerged in the flow.
Ji Qian had always been someone who did whatever he set his mind to.
After coming back from the dead, he believed in instincts and fate more than ever.
When he told Chi Ke that they were destined to meet, he wasn’t joking. Chi Ke might not believe it now, but one day, he would.
Ji Qian left the Sixth Hospital empty-handed. He retrieved a document labeled ‘Chi Ke’ from his car, and without the slightest hesitation, shredded it to pieces, as finely as a paper shredder would. Then, he threw every last scrap into the trash can and drove off.
He liked change. He embraced turning points.
The moment his Ferrari sped out of the parking lot, a new chapter began.
“Chi Ke.”
Ji Qian found himself rolling those two syllables over and over in his mind—at traffic lights, after getting out of the car—the more he thought about it, the more he liked it.
How strange. Why did he like it so much?
He sat by the pond with his fishing rod, zoning out.
On his seventh failed attempt—both the fish and the bait lost—he suddenly stood up and sighed again.
Ahh… fate.
***
“Achoo.”
Chi Ke had been lectured by Leng Yunting in his office for a full hour before finally sneezing.
“Achoo? You actually have the nerve to sneeze?” Leng Yunting was incredulous, “You betrayed me to shield Meng Zao, and you dare to catch a cold? A cold that wasn’t even caused by your boss? You think I’ll allow that?”
The towel that certain ‘Doctor Someone’ had given him yesterday had arrived just in time, so Chi Ke hadn’t caught a cold.
He just couldn’t stand the cologne in this office—it made his nose itch.
Not wanting to waste words with Leng Yunting, he casually made something up.
“Once, thinking, twice, cursing, if thrice, then it’s cold—I…”
He had wanted to say, “I have a lover waiting for me, what’s it to you?”
But that was way too cheesy, even for him. He just couldn’t bring himself to say it.
So instead, he forced out another sneeze and switched to a robotic, business-like tone:
“Someone’s just cursing me. Do you need their information on your desk within three minutes?”
“No need.” Leng Yunting, appeased by his professional attitude, leaned back into his chair and fell into deep thought.
After a while, he said, “Your tone just now was a little off. I didn’t like it. Say it again.”
Chi Ke: “…”
The supposedly ‘insensitive’ Leng Yunting actually picked up on his sarcasm?
Holding back his temper, Chi Ke kept his tone as flat as possible and repeated, “Someone’s just cursing me. Do you need their information on your desk within three minutes?”
“Much better.” Leng Yunting was quite pleased, “No need for the information. It’s not worth your effort.”
He then added, “Oh, and get ready, in the next few days after Mianmian’s birthday on Thursday, we’re flying to the U.S.”
“Huh?” Chi Ke had triple-checked the schedule this morning—there was no business trip to the U.S.
“It’s a last-minute trip,” Leng Yunting pinched the bridge of his nose, looking tired, “My eldest brother was on a business trip in the States and suddenly had an acute appendicitis. He just got out of surgery—I need to go wrap things up.”
“Got it.” Chi Ke quickly adjusted the schedule, “For the birthday dinner on Thursday, should I send out formal invitations?”
“Just book a restaurant. No banquet.” Leng Yunting’s lips curled into a cold, humorless smirk, “It’s just a stand-in. No need to waste that much time.”
You spend twenty out of twenty-four hours on Xu Lemian, and you call that ‘not wasting time’?
Chi Ke smiled, “Understood, Mr. Leng. And about Miss Meng…”
“You dare mention her?!” Leng Yunting slammed the desk again, “Just do your job. Stay out of things that doesn’t concern you.”
Chi Ke shook his head, “Mr. Leng, the Meng family is not something to ignore.”
Leng and Meng families had been close for generations. No matter what, Leng Yunting shouldn’t be treating Meng Zao this way.
“I’ve already sent someone to apologize and smooth things over, but the compensation needs your approval. Given the situation, I suggest you handle it personally after returning from the U.S.”
As he finished speaking, Chi Ke frowned slightly.
He was used to giving orders—it wasn’t arrogance, just a habit of discussing matters with an equal footing.
This was fine among colleagues, but right now, he was just an assistant. And his boss was Leng Yunting.
That was definitely grounds for a pay cut.
Yet, just as he was about to sigh—Leng Yunting didn’t react at all.
In fact, he even calmly said, “Mm. Do it as you suggested.”
Chi Ke narrowed his eyes.
Leng Yunting’s reliance on the original host wasn’t an illusion. The original owner must not be an ordinary assistant.
“Assistant Chi,” Leng Yunting lit a cigarette, “Not much work today, and the weather is also nice. What do you think I should do?”
Chi Ke looked out the window.
It was a pleasant, cloudy day—not too sunny.
He wasn’t into outdoor activities. He could talk about astronomy and geography for days, but when it came to sports, his knowledge stopped at gym equipment.
After a long pause, he suggested, “Fishing?”
Leng Yunting rolled his eyes, “Call the stables. Get Amiri ready. Invite Li family’s eldest son and Yichen.”
“Understood,” Chi Ke replied. Then, as an afterthought, “Should I bring Mr. Xu to the stables after school?”
“No.” Leng Yunting’s voice was cold, “Send him home.”
Chi Ke said, “Oh.”, not caring much about their emotional disputes, but when he turned around, he simply thought,
…Riding horses?
Fishing is way more fun.
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