SGSHE61

Xi Xinghe was so excited he forgot Jing Yongyan was even there, clinging to Jing Heguang like a koala.

Jing Heguang reached out to hold Xi Xinghe and smiled, saying, “Yes, I can see the yard, though I can’t make out colors in the distance yet.”

“It’ll get better! You’ll be able to see everything soon!”

The thought of Jing Heguang’s eyesight fully recovering made Xi Xinghe’s heart soar!

Once his vision was restored, there would be no need to worry about Jing Heguang doing something desperate again!

Overcome with joy, Xi Xinghe lowered his head and planted a quick kiss on Jing Heguang.

Jing Yongyan: …

Jing Yongyan felt a twinge of wistfulness, but he was happy that his son’s eyesight was improving!

He tugged at his clothes and asked Jing Heguang excitedly, “Heguang, can you tell what color the shirt I’m wearing is?”

Jing Heguang looked at him and said, “The shirt is light blue, and the tie has blue and white stripes.”

“You got it right, it looks like you really can see!” Jing Yongyan’s brows crinkled with a smile.

Only then did Xi Xinghe realize he’d gotten a bit carried away. He sheepishly slid down from Jing Heguang.

Jing Yongyan smiled at them. “You two keep playing for a bit. I didn’t board my flight, so I need to call a client and apologize.”

With that, Jing Yongyan picked up his phone from the ground and walked into the villa.

***

On the lawn.

Watching the older man’s solitary retreating figure, Xi Xinghe felt a pang of guilt. “Is Dad okay? blame me for getting too excited earlier…”

“Dad won’t blame you,” Jing Heguang said. “He probably really is making that call. But he might need a little time to be alone and collect his thoughts. We can call him when it’s time to eat.”

For the two of them, resolving the issue with Jiang Shi meant safety and security, a good thing.

But for Jing Yongyan, the situation was difficult to accept. Not to mention, he had been the one to personally hand Jiang Shi over to the police. The two of them strolled hand-in-hand across the lawn before returning to the art studio on the second floor.

Xi Xinghe busied himself tending to the small garden, while Jing Heguang continued working on his oil painting.

The subject of the painting was Xi Xinghe, specifically, the scene Jing Heguang had captured that morning while Xi Xinghe was watering the plants.

Now that he possessed the ability, Jing Heguang intended to fulfill a promise he had made to himself: to vindicate the original owner of the body through his artwork.

As for the content of his paintings, he planned to focus entirely on Xi Xinghe, though, naturally, without ever showing his face.

***

After get off work that evening, Jing Jie drove himself home.

Upon his arrival, however, he noticed that everyone in the house was looking at him strangely.

He also didn’t see his mother, Jiang Shi, who was usually in the living room at this time of day.

Puzzled, Jing Jie went to his room and tried calling Jiang Shi, but the call wouldn’t go through.

He went back downstairs, deciding to simply ask the housekeeper.

The kitchen was located near the foot of the stairs, so he went there to find her.

Smiling, Jing Jie asked, “Auntie Wang, where’s my mom? I haven’t seen her, and I can’t get through to her on the phone.”

Auntie Wang wore a peculiar expression, she didn’t know how to break the news to Jing Jie that his mother had been taken to the police station.

Noticing her expression, Jing Jie felt even more confused. “Why is everyone looking at me so strangely?”

“Well…it’s not really my place to say. Why don’t you go see the Master, Xiao Jie? He’s in his room.”

After some thought, Auntie Wang decided it wasn’t appropriate for a staff member like her to broach the subject.

Furthermore, knowing that Jiang Shi had been arrested for tampering with Jing Heguang’s medication, she started disliking the woman.

In Auntie Wang’s view, Jiang Shi lived an enviable life. She only had to teach one or two classes a day before returning home to enjoy the life of a wealthy lady in leisure.

Even though her eldest son wasn’t her biological child, he was a good, filial young man. Her own youngest son was learning the ropes at the company,his prospects looked so bright!

Yet, Jiang Shi was never satisfied; she had actually harbored malicious intent to harm others. Getting caught today was nothing but karma.

Jing Jie was momentarily stunned, a sense of foreboding rising in his chest.

However, since his mother was usually so meticulous, he dismissed the feeling and ran straight to knock on Jing Yongyan’s door.

He was startled when he saw Jing Yongyan.

“Dad, what happened to your face? Who scratched you?” he asked. He paused, then added, “And why isn’t mom here?”

Jing Yongyan looked at him and answered truthfully, “Your mother scratched my face. She’s at the police station.”

“Why is mom at the police station?!” Jing Jie’s heart sank as he looked at Jing Yongyan’s calm expression.

He was young, after all, his change in expression didn’t escape Jing Yongyan’s notice.

His suspicion had been correct. Jing Jie, too, had harbored malicious intent, all for what Jing Yongyan held in his hands.

It was just a question of who had influenced whom, mother or son…

Jing Yongyan sneered, “So, you knew about it? Resign tomorrow. I’ll be divorcing your mother, and you can go with her.”

“Dad! What crazy talk is this? Just because mom scratched you, does it really have to come to divorce?” Jing Jie asked, sounding flustered.

Jing Yongyan gave him a look of disappointment, then turned his gaze to butler Wang standing nearby. “Old Wang, keep an eye on him.”

With that, Jing Yongyan slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

***

Turning to face Old Wang, Jing Jie asked with a hopeful look, as if clutching at a last straw, “Uncle Wang, what exactly happened?”

Old Wang hesitated before saying, “Madam had someone switch young master Jing Heguang’s medicine, but she was found out. Then master came back early, called the police, and had both madam and the nanny who swapped the medicine taken away.”

Upon hearing this, Jing Jie’s face turned deathly pale.

It was over, truly over…

His father was so biased. His mother’s scheme had been exposed, and she had been hauled off to the police station!

Thinking of Jing Yongyan’s ruthlessness, Jing Jie felt a surge of bitter resentment.

He turned and ran toward the second floor.

Jing Jie rushed upstairs. Even though Old Wang tried to hold him back with one hand, he managed to break free and pounded frantically on Jing Heguang’s door.

***

Inside the room.

Jing Heguang glanced through the peephole and saw Jing Jie standing there, only then did he signal Xi Xinghe to step back before opening the door.

The door opened, and the two brothers came face to face.

Jing Jie, who had been knocking, grabbed Jing Heguang’s sleeve.

“Brother! Brother, please try to talk dad around, will you? Mom did something wrong, but it was just a momentary lapse in judgment!”

Jing Heguang looked at the fear and bewilderment on Jing Jie’s face, yet his heart remained as cold and unmoved as a stone.

He knew that Jiang Shi hadn’t just had a momentary lapse in judgment, she had been harboring twisted intentions for years. She had even succeeded, the last time around, in ‘killing’ the original owner in the most agonizing way possible!

Seeing that Jing Heguang remained silent, tears began to stream down Jing Jie’s face. “Brother, have you forgotten? When we were sick as kids, mom used to care for us together! She would stay up all night without sleeping, just so we could get better sooner!”

“Have you forgotten? Because you loved painting, mom eventually stopped me from painting!”

Jing Jie, too, had learned to paint when he was young. Jing Jie stopped taking art lessons once Jing Yongyan suggested that the original owner should try working at the company.

The original owner had even overheard Jiang Shi telling Jing Jie behind his back to give up art, claiming the family couldn’t afford to have both children studying it.

Looking back now, that moment, which had once made Jiang Shi seem so noble in the original owner’s eyes, was nothing more than a charade meant to fool a simpleton!

Jing Jie was only seven or eight at the time, he had barely scratched the surface of art. Moreover, he didn’t even enjoy it, he had simply followed suit because the original owner was doing it, and his talent and ability paled in comparison to what the original owner had possessed at that age.

Jing Heguang looked at the teary-eyed Jing Jie and asked, “Do you remember the oil painting you paint when you were eight?”

“What?” Jing Jie looked bewildered.

His older brother had always been soft-hearted, Jing Jie figured that if he cried, his brother would surely relent.

Jing Jie didn’t quite know what to do, but he knew the priority was getting his mother out first.

So, he racked his brain to answer Jing Heguang’s question.

Yet, after thinking for a long while, he still couldn’t recall what oil painting he had created at the age of eight. After all, his oil painting lessons had been nothing more than a casual hobby.

Jing Jie sniffled and ventured a guess: “Was it the painting of the little pink pig?”

Jing Heguang replied, “It wasn’t a pig. It was the family portrait, the one that didn’t include me.”

That family portrait had been a birthday gift from Jing Jie to Jiang Shi. The original owner had assumed Jing Jie left him out simply because he was too young and found it difficult to paint an extra person, he had even felt secretly hurt by it at the time.

The memory was too aggravating to dwell on, so Jing Heguang spoke bluntly: “To ‘give something up’ for my sake, you have to possess it in the first place. You never achieved anything in oil painting anyway, so what exactly are you giving up?”

“If you insist on bringing up how auntie took care of me, well, I treated you with wholehearted sincerity and took meticulous care of you when you were little, too!”

After delivering this retort, Jing Heguang yanked the door shut with a loud bang.

He didn’t want to argue with Jing Jie anymore. Surely, spending that time flirting with Xingxing would be far more enjoyable?

Jing Heguang turned around, only to find Xi Xinghe standing there, looking furious. Xi Xinghe said, “You weren’t even in the family portrait, yet he still tried to guilt-trip you! It makes me so mad!”

Seeing Xi Xinghe ready to rush out and punch someone, Jing Heguang wrapped his arms around him and smiled, saying, “You look so good, it wouldn’t be worth getting ugly just for anger.”

Xi Xinghe patted his chest. “You’re right. If getting angry makes me sick, no one else can suffer the consequences for me.”

Jing Heguang smiled. “Let’s go back to picking out bedsheets. Don’t pay him any mind.”

Jing Heguang had discovered that the mall they visited previously also offered online selection and delivery services, so the two of them had just been browsing for new bedsheet styles online.

Xi Xinghe was still fuming, so Jing Heguang pulled him down to sit beside him while he typed out questions to customer service.

Xi Xinghe glanced at him, then opened his own phone and went to his messaging app.

—Xinghe: Dad! Jing Jie just tried to guilt-trip Heguang into persuading you. He’s definitely taking advantage of Heguang’s good nature! QAQ

After lodging his complaint, Xi Xinghe leaned back into Jing Heguang’s arms, and the two of them picked out bedsheets together.

Once the selection was made, Jing Heguang entered the delivery address and contact details.

Three minutes later, the sound of a child being spanked rang out from downstairs.

Jing Yongyan, looking disheveled and haggard, had someone pin Jing Jie to the sofa while he picked up a feather duster and thrashed the boy’s backside.

“I told you to pack your things, is this how you pack?”

“After everything your mother did, you actually had the nerve to go to your brother? Have you no shame?”

***

Jing Jie moved out that very day, and the villa finally became peaceful.

A few days later, Jing Heguang visited the hospital again for a follow-up check on his eyes and mental health. His eyes had fully recovered, and he was mentally healthy as well.

After this ordeal, Jing Yongyan no longer had the heart to dye his graying hair, a sight that made the two young men in the house feel a pang of heartache.

It was the evening before Xi Xinghe was due to return to work. Jing Heguang said to Jing Yongyan, “Dad, since Xinghe is going to be busy at the shop starting tomorrow, I think I’ll go work at the company, too.”

Jing Yongyan was taken aback and looked up sharply. “You’re really willing to go? You don’t have to, you know. I can handle things on my own. We can just pick a manager later, and I’ll put the shares in your name.”

Jing Heguang replied, “I really want to go. But could I work at a company in the same area where Xinghe is opening his shop?”

With so many family companies to choose from, there was plenty of flexibility, he could go wherever he pleased.

But the specific location didn’t matter, the mere fact that Jing Heguang was willing to work at all came as a delightful surprise to Jing Yongyan!

He nodded. “I’ll drive you there tomorrow. You can start as an assistant to the president to get a feel for the operations. Once you’re familiar with things, you can take over that real estate company.”

Jing Heguang thought: Just like that, I’m the future president? It’s great having a rich dad!

Listening to this, Xi Xinghe felt a twinge of envy too. It really was great having a rich dad!

Jing Yongyan looked at his daughter-in-law and smiled. “Xinghe, your flower shop is at Hongxing Mall, right? That mall belongs to our family too, it even has the character ‘Xing’ in its name, which matches yours perfectly. How about I let you manage that mall later?”

Xi Xinghe: !!!

After the initial shock, Xi Xinghe shook his head vigorously. “No, thanks. My flower shop keeps me busy enough as it is. Dad, you’re joking, right?”

***

The next day.

Jing Heguang started his role as an assistant to the president.

As the great hope for the next presidential succession, Jing Heguang got the distinct impression that the current president couldn’t wait for him to take over immediately.

Jing Heguang, however, wasn’t keen on that. He didn’t intend to just play around, he genuinely wanted to learn the ropes.

But Jing Yongyan likely assumed he was just doing this for fun, so he assigned him to a company with straightforward operations and placed him in a high-ranking position right away. It was a far cry from Jing Jie’s experience, where he had to grind his way up from the bottom at the headquarters.

After spending the morning learning the ropes, Jing Heguang went to the flower shop located on the ground floor of the mall across the street to meet Xi Xinghe for lunch.

***

Xi Xinghe had been busy all morning and finally finished clearing the backlog of work at the shop.

Once the work was done, he felt a wave of loneliness and posted two updates on Weibo.

Jing Heguang is a CEO now. He would surely be exposed to a dazzling, vibrant world filled with handsome men and beautiful women. When he realized the world was full of such people, he would likely revert to seeing Xi Xinghe as just an ordinary, unremarkable person.

Sighing, Xi Xinghe plucked the petals off a daisy one by one.

“He likes me…”

“He doesn’t like me…”

“He likes me?”

Just as the flower was about to yield a satisfying answer, a tall figure blocked the light falling on Xi Xinghe.

“Who likes you? Whoever it is, you aren’t allowed to like them back!”

Jing Heguang hadn’t expected that on his Xiao Xing very first day of work, someone would already be trying to steal his partner away!

Jing Heguang’s reasoning was simple: he loved Xi Xinghe so much that the person Xi Xinghe was talking about couldn’t possibly be him.

If it wasn’t him, then it had to be someone causing Xi Xinghe distress, someone who had said or done something to make him so conflicted.

The more Jing Heguang thought about it, the darker his expression grew. He said angrily, “You’re married to me, so you can only like me! Aside from liking me back, you aren’t allowed to like anyone else!”

T/N: Tis world almost done _(:з)∠)_