Chapter 72 Are you mistaking me for a water buffalo?

Jiangcheng in November is colder than Xunning.

It's especially bad in the morning.

In just a short while, a thin layer of withered leaves fell again on the path that had just been swept clean.

A fallen leaf gently brushed past Ji Jingyu's shoe and rolled away, the soft rustling sound awakening him from his wandering thoughts.

After a moment of panic, Ji Jingyu regained her composure.

Now is not the time to think about these things; the most urgent task is to figure out Yu Juncheng's purpose.

When a man who had been "dead" for over ten years suddenly reappears, Ji Jingyu doesn't believe he has no ulterior motives.

“It doesn’t look right to stand here. Let’s find somewhere to have a proper talk.”

Yu Juncheng wasn't seeking Ji Jingyu's opinion; his tone carried an air of superior patriarchy.

In his mind, Ji Jingyu had no right to offer opinions; he only needed to obediently listen to him.

Ji Jingyu found it all absurd and laughable; what was he anyway?

"Say what you have to say here."

Ji Jingyu's uncooperative attitude caused Yu Juncheng's expression to change slightly. He explained, "Actually, Dad has always wanted to see you, but your maternal grandmother has always forbade me from getting close to you. The gifts your mother brought back were all carefully selected by Dad. When she told me that you liked every single one of them, Dad was overjoyed."

—

When Ji Lanwan went to the hospital to pick up Ji He and the child, she warned Yu Juncheng never to come near them again in his life.

“He is a child of the Ji family, and he has absolutely no relation to you.”

At that time, Yu Juncheng's lawfully wedded wife, Deng Yi, had only recently given birth. This child, whom Ji He insisted on having on her own initiative, was a burden to him, a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment and ruin his hard-earned future.

Ji Lanwan's willingness to take the child away and raise him was the best solution Yu Juncheng could think of at the time. As for the suggestion that they could not get close to the child, Yu Juncheng would not have any objection. On the contrary, it was exactly what he wanted, since he had other children.

He can still distinguish between legitimate children and illegitimate children, and which is more important.

The former is a treasure that can solidify his position, while the latter is a stain on his life that must never be known to anyone.

As for Ji He, Yu Juncheng could only guarantee that he wouldn't go looking for her, but if Ji He came to him on her own initiative, then he couldn't be blamed.

And that is indeed the case.

Ji Lanwan was old, and taking care of a newborn baby already took up most of her energy. How could she possibly stop Ji He, who was physically healthy but stubborn?

Every time Ji He came to find Yu Juncheng, she would tearfully tell him that Ji Lanwan was extremely heartless and forbade her to take the child out, making her the "culprit" preventing their family of three from reuniting.

While casually comforting her, Yu Juncheng secretly rejoiced that Ji Lanwan was a sensible person who hadn't let Ji He act recklessly.

His relationship with Ji He was clandestine. He could manage to cover up Ji He's whereabouts, but if there was another uncontrollable child, things would be different.

For the past ten years or so, Ji Jingyu has only existed in Ji He's words.

Ji He always tirelessly told him about Ji Jingyu.

He's grown taller and more handsome, and he perfectly inherited his intelligence, always getting first place in every exam...

The Ji Jingyu she spoke of was the most outstanding child in the world.

Yu Juncheng knew that this woman had been dreaming of having Ji Jingyu acknowledge her ancestors and return to her family.

He would never have allowed such a thing to happen before, but now it's not impossible.

—

“I don’t have a maternal grandmother,” Ji Jingyu replied, forcing back her nausea. “Similarly, my biological father died before I was born.”

He only had one grandmother from beginning to end.

"As for those things you mentioned, I haven't touched any of them."

Since Ji He had been trying to reunite the father and son, she probably wouldn't tell Yu Juncheng these unpleasant things, and would only say nice things to him, and even lied.

It just so happens that Yu Juncheng doesn't care much about this son and has never investigated the illogical parts of Ji He's words.

Perhaps Ji He was really easy to fool, which gave Yu Juncheng the illusion that he could appease Ji Jingyu with just a few words.

Having probably never been disobeyed like this before, Yu Juncheng's face stiffened, and he almost failed to maintain his so-called image as a loving father.

He gradually began to realize that the act of filial piety and parental love was useless and was just a waste of each other's time.

So Yu Juncheng started blaming Ji Lanwan again, saying that she had taught Ji Jingyu to be so ungrateful.

Both grandfather and grandson are equally ungrateful and pretentious.

"I heard that you and Jiang Sui are very close."

Ji Jingyu suddenly looked at Yu Juncheng, his originally indifferent black eyes revealing a hint of malice, like the midnight sea when a storm suddenly rises, making people's hearts jump in fright.

This time, Yu Juncheng did not miss the fleeting wariness and hostility in Ji Jingyu's eyes.

A smug, confident smile crept across his face.

He's just a child after all; no matter how well he tries to hide it, he'll eventually slip up.

Ji Jingyu was not as invincible as he had imagined; Jiang Sui was indeed the weak point.

—

The acquaintance between Yu Chen and Jiang Sui was not accidental.

Yu Juncheng took Yu Chen to the hospital only at Jiang Zhenkai's behest.

Strangely enough, Jiang Sui, who had just woken up from the car accident, felt an inexplicable fondness for Yu Chen the first time they met, and the two children quickly became best friends.

Yu Juncheng still doesn't understand the reason, but none of that matters. What matters is that he used this opportunity to get close to the Jiang family.

Before this, although he had successfully married Deng Yi, his situation in the Deng family was still awkward. He was controlled by Deng Yi's father at every turn. The old man wanted him to be a servant for the Deng family, but at the same time he looked down on him and was wary of him, and was unwilling to give him any power.

Therefore, Yu Juncheng was always happy to see Jiang Sui and Yu Chen get along, and even dreamed of forming a marriage alliance with the Jiang family and using it to rise to the top in one step.

But things didn't go as planned. Yu Juncheng discovered that the two children had inexplicably broken up. Jiang Sui stopped contacting Yu Chen and even sent him to the police station when Yu Chen came to her door in a panic.

That day, Yu Chen arrived home looking disheveled and was immediately dragged into the study by Yu Juncheng, who grabbed him by the collar.

"Speak! Tell me everything that happened today!"

Faced with the enraged Yu Juncheng, Yu Chen trembled in fear, and it took him a long time to find his voice, "I originally planned to go and make up with Jiang Sui today..."

"Useless thing!"

Yu Juncheng grew angrier the more he thought about it, and grabbed the documents at hand and threw them at Yu Chen.

Hearing the commotion, Deng Yi rushed over and quickly protected her son, demanding sharply, "Yu Juncheng, what's wrong with you?!"

Yu Juncheng's face was gloomy, and he was still not satisfied. "Ask your son what good deeds he has done. If he has really offended Jiang Sui, none of us will have a good outcome!"

"Jiang Sui?" Deng Yi found Yu Juncheng's outburst of anger even more incomprehensible. "Everyone knows that little girl was sent to the countryside because she fell out of favor. Jiang Yunzhao's heart and mind are now completely focused on his unborn son, how could he possibly care about her?"

Yu Juncheng's gaze fell on Deng Yi and Yu Chen, who was being protected by her, and an uncontrollable feeling of disgust spread throughout his body.

Two idiots!

If Jiang Yunzhao really didn't care about Jiang Sui, would Yu Chen and his group have been dealt with so badly today?

I heard that the Tan family's illegitimate son didn't even get to go home before being urgently sent to the countryside. He probably won't have the chance to set foot in Licheng again in his lifetime.

Moreover, everyone has witnessed Jiang Yunzhao's attitude towards Fang Yanya over the years.

To put it bluntly, Fang Yanya is more likely to be pregnant with Jiang Zhenkai's child than with Jiang Yunzhao's.

Even if Fang Yanya were to become pregnant with Jiang Yunzhao's child, Jiang Sui's place in Jiang Yunzhao's heart would remain unshakable.

Only fools would believe those rumors.

Given the recent flurry of activity from the Jiang family, Yu Juncheng is more inclined to believe that Jiang Yunzhao is trying to settle accounts with his father.

As for Jiang Sui...

It's probably to ensure her safety that they sent her away.

"Dad," Yu Chen poked his head out from behind Deng Yi, "Jiang Sui still likes me."

"Where do you get your confidence from..."

“It’s true!” Yu Chen hurriedly interrupted Yu Juncheng, “The man next to her now looks a bit like me, he’s clearly a stand-in she found.”

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, “Dad, you’d better transfer me to another school quickly, otherwise that imposter will really climb over me to get ahead!”

The thought of the other person having such a face and being seen with Jiang Sui made Yu Chen extremely anxious.

“No, that kind of place is dirty and poor. I can’t bear to let you go there and suffer.”

Deng Yi never liked the way Yu Chen was always hanging around Jiang Sui, so naturally she wouldn't agree to him transferring schools.

Yu Chen hadn't considered any of this. When he heard Deng Yi say this, his attitude immediately became less resolute than it had been a second ago.

"But……"

"Since Jiang Sui still likes you, why are you in such a hurry? Anyway, she will eventually go back to Licheng, and that poor boy can't possibly come with her."

Deng Yi straightened Yu Chen's disheveled collar and continued, "Besides, Mom thinks you've spoiled her too much before. It's good to let things cool down a bit during this time, so she knows you don't have to live without her."

"Think carefully about transferring schools yourself. Don't make a fuss about transferring back later because you can't handle the hardship. That would backfire and make Jiang Sui look down on you even more."

Yu Juncheng felt annoyed just looking at the mother and son. "Alright, you've been up all day. Go back to your room and rest."

"Okay, Dad."

Yu Chen assumed that Yu Juncheng was just feeling sorry for him, unaware that the other party already had other considerations in mind.

Xunning.

She looks like Yu Chen.

They were around the same age.

Yu Juncheng had a guess in his mind.

It was purely coincidental that I ran into Ji Jingyu at Jiangda University today.

Yu Juncheng hadn't actually planned to reunite with his son so soon, but since they'd run into each other, it wasn't a bad idea to move things forward a bit.

Ji He's beauty is undeniable; otherwise, he wouldn't have risked being discovered by Deng Yi to secretly keep her for so many years. Ji Jingyu, who combines their best qualities, is even more outstanding than his predecessors.

He doesn't seem like someone who grew up in a poor, remote place like Xunning.

Almost from the moment Yu Juncheng saw Ji Jingyu, he knew that Yu Chen had no chance against him.

However, there is always a way out. After all, whether it is Yu Chen or Ji Jingyu, they are both Yu Juncheng's sons.

—

Ji Jingyu raised her eyelids, her dark eyes coldly glancing at Yu Juncheng, her words clear and chilling, "What exactly do you want?"

“You shouldn’t be so hostile towards your father. I just wanted to help you.”

Yu Juncheng looked at him like he was a child who didn't know any better. He smiled and continued, "Jiang Yunzhao loves his daughter dearly. He might agree to a poor boy befriending his daughter, but he would never allow an illegitimate child with no status to get close to Jiang Sui."

Ji Jingyu put her hands into her hoodie pockets. "So?"

"But if you were my son, everything would be different."

Yu Juncheng didn't spell it out very clearly, but he knew that Ji Jingyu would understand his unspoken meaning.

"What, you want a divorce?"

“Being too greedy is not a good thing,” Yu Juncheng didn’t think Ji Jingyu could bargain with him. “I can help you change your mother and give you a respectable identity. Other than that, there’s nothing to discuss.”

He will absolutely not divorce Deng Yi.

Unless Ji Jingyu can bring him more benefits.

But that's all in the future.

Ji Jingyu had never met anyone more shameless and despicable than Yu Juncheng.

He was clearly the culprit behind all of this, yet he could still stand smugly on his high ground, issuing orders and attempting to control everyone's fate.

In Yu Juncheng's eyes, his mother was nothing more than an insignificant burden that could be discarded at any time.

For a moment, Ji Jingyu didn't know whether she should hate Ji He or pity her.

If only there were real retribution in this world.

"You know Uncle Jiang loves his daughter dearly. If he knew you were plotting against him like this behind his back, what do you think he would do?"

Yu Juncheng narrowed his eyes, his tone unfriendly, "Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm just warning you that since you've been 'dead' for so many years, then keep 'dead'."

Only at this moment did Yu Juncheng truly begin to take his son, whom he had disliked since birth, seriously.

He was far more difficult to deal with than Yu Juncheng had imagined.

A normal person would be overjoyed to hear such good news, but Ji Jingyu was able to find loopholes in his words and turn the tables on him, without showing the slightest panic throughout.

Such scheming...

Is he really only seventeen years old?

This meeting was far too hasty.

Yu Juncheng was furious.

—

As soon as Yu Juncheng left, Jiang Deyu walked up to Ji Jingyu with the milk tea in his arms.

"Brother Ji, who was that guy just now?"

Before he could even catch his breath, his voice rose at the end, making the question sound unusually casual, as if Ji Jingyu could tell him or choose not to say anything at all.

Jiang Deyu is mostly carefree and easygoing, but sometimes he is overly perceptive.

Ji Jingyu has always played the role of protector, but occasionally he also wants to protect Ji Jingyu in return.

"A neurotic in the late stages of paranoia."

"Haha, since he's a lunatic, let's just ignore him."

Ji Jingyu's tightly clenched fist gradually relaxed. "What just happened..."

"Huh?" Jiang Deyu feigned ignorance. "Weren't we just queuing up to buy milk tea together?"

"Um."

Ji Jingyu didn't want Jiang Sui or her grandmother to know that Yu Juncheng had come looking for her.

This kind of thing is disgusting enough for just one person.

"So, shall we go find Jiang Sui now?" Jiang Deyu shook the milk tea in his hand.

"I won't go see her for now."

He needed time to process what had just happened, and he was even more afraid that Jiang Sui would notice something amiss.

Even though he had already decided he didn't like Jiang Sui, he still wanted to leave a good impression on her.

"Oh, what about her milk tea?"

"You drink it."

"Hehe, there's such a good thing."

"You should drink mine too."

Jiang Deyu said in a low voice, "Brother Ji, are you treating me like a water buffalo?"

"..."

Author's note: Our little Jiang is still very reliable [crying emoji]