Chapter 12
Chapter 11
As he turned around, his smile disappeared instantly, replaced by irritation and impatience.
Could just anyone become a relative of the Ren Family?
**
Today, with Ji Shaorong present, Bai Lian didn’t have to wash the dishes after dinner, as Ji Shaorong did it.
Ji Heng watched him searching for the bucket, “The bucket is in the storage room, have you forgotten again?”
Ji Shaorong smiled and then looked around the courtyard before heading to the storage room.
Ji Heng sat on a stool by the door, with paper and pen laid out on the table.
Bai Lian had just taken off her headphones when she saw Ji Heng wearing glasses, sitting alone under the yellow light, his figure elongated by the shadow.
She clenched her headphones in her hand, walked over, and squatted beside his feet, looking up, “Grandpa.”
Ji Heng paused in his work and looked down at her, “What is it?”
“Here,” she opened her palm to show him a little blue toy, “I got this with my bubble tea today.”
Ji Heng looked at the little blue rabbit in her hand and reached out to take it.
“Look at this pattern, do you like it?” He showed Bai Lian the painting on the table.
Bai Lian glanced at it.
It was a meticulous traditional Chinese painting of plum blossoms, the yellow stamens distinct and lifelike, “It’s beautiful.”
“Well then, I will submit it for printing tomorrow.” Ji Heng shifted his gaze away and gestured for Bai Lian to return to her own business, “Go back to your reading. Remember to get up early tomorrow; your uncle is taking you to school.”
He was talking about Ji Shaojun, whose school registration had already been transferred.
“Oh,” Bai Lian stood up, and as she went back to her room, she made a request, “After that is mounted, can you stitch me a peony? I like peonies too. Make one for me next time.”
“You’re picky now?” Ji Heng glanced at her.
After she went inside her room, Ji Heng stayed sitting where he was, motionless for a long while.
Mounted on a frame…
It had been so long since Ji Heng had heard this term.
He seemed to have gotten used to people nowadays liking fashion, preferring high-end dresses and haute couture clothing.
No one liked the flowers he embroidered, and no one appreciated the clothes he made. Even the ones he made for Ji Mulan, she didn’t take a single piece when she ran away from home.
He looked at Bai Lian’s retreating figure, then lowered his gaze to the little blue rabbit in his hand.
**
Inside the room.
Bai Lian was in a good mood since she didn’t have to wash dishes. She returned to her room, placed her opened headphones on the table, and the first thing she did was look up the book Jiang He had sent her.
She opened Baidu and searched—
[Jiangjing University Physics]
However, the results were bizarre, there was everything except for the book from Jiangjing University and Jiangjing University Physics. She glanced at her phone screen and there was even a result—
[Got 17 points in Physics]
Bai Lian: “…”
Good for you, classmate.
She went back to WeChat, tapped on Jiang He’s profile, and politely greeted—
[.]
On the other side of the phone, Jiang He sat on the carpet, a life-size synthetic cabbage plushie in his lap, holding a seven-layered twisty puzzle in his hand, slowly working on it while the watch on his wrist chimed.
He glanced at it and saw the message was from someone with a Xiangcheng Building profile picture, his eyes lighting up.
He threw away the pillow, tapped his smartwatch, and a slim, floating 3D page appeared with Bai Lian’s message.
Bai Jian: [.]
Jiang He replied, one character at a time: [Bai Sister.]
Bai Jian: [I won’t go to the library tomorrow, I have classes]
Jiang He: [Okay.]
Bai Jian: [I can’t find the book you sent, it’s not on Jingbao either]
Jiang He rested his chin on his knee, blinking.
Jiang He: [I’ll ask brother.]
He got up from the carpet to go to the study.
Jiang Fulai was in a video conference. He wore a white lounge suit, leaning back with a relaxed posture, his pale fingers resting on the table, his light and lofty eyes half-lidded, exuding a sense of nobility and indifference.
Upon seeing Jiang He, he slowly straightened up, switched off the camera, and muted the microphone, “What is it?”
Jiang He approached and showed him the watch screen.
“Are you asking for her?” Jiang Fulai raised an eyebrow, his soft lounge suit making his coldness seem a bit diluted.
Jiang He nodded.
Jiang Fulai took from him the half-solved twisty puzzle, “I hear you want to go back with them?”
Jiang He nodded again.
Jiang Fulai methodically restored the puzzle to its original state, casting him a glance in-between, “You can’t.”
Jiang He looked at his puzzle, this time not nodding.
“Go back to bed,” Jiang Fulai handed the puzzle back to him, “I’ll have someone send the book over tomorrow.”
The delivery of his laboratory detector did not meet his standards this time; he needed a detector capable of sensitively sensing recoil nuclei.
But the detecting medium in the laboratory was not large enough.
So he was altering the design to ensure the detector was large yet had a very low detection energy threshold. There was not much time.
Conveniently, Jiang He had recently found a playmate, so he didn’t need to be distracted by looking after him.