"You know Ji Hengzhi, he has enemies everywhere. It's said that the line of people who want to beat him could stretch for two miles from the city gate! Just from our academy alone, we've found out that at least three people have had disagreements with him in the past."
Amian was surprised, "I thought it was just Wang Zixuan."
Normally, Ji Hengzhi is accompanied by servants and guards, and he also has a pageboy with him on the road. However, it seems that now that he has returned to Zhoucheng, the place where he grew up, Ji Hengzhi is too lazy to have a group of people follow him. If Wang Zixuan wants to avenge the beating he suffered, this is a good opportunity.
"It wasn't him. Wang Zixuan also went to see the sea, and quite a few people saw it. It's said that after he saw the sea, he seemed to have gone mad, crying and laughing at the same time. He kept saying things like... this sea is the sea of his hometown or something, all sorts of nonsense."
"oh."
"Then the investigation continued. But ever since the news of Ji Hengzhi being beaten spread, his former enemies in Zhoucheng have insisted that they were the ones who did it, describing it in great detail. Now they are all vying to say that they beat him up!"
The city of Zhou is never short of spoiled brats, especially not the arrogant and foul-mouthed Ji Hengzhi.
Ah Mian wasn't particularly concerned about this matter, and instead steered the conversation elsewhere: "Wangwang, do you have feelings for that constable?"
"..." Wangwang looked around and said, "Keep your voice down."
“I’ve been looking all along. A scholar is definitely out of the question. With my legs like this, I need a man in the family who can do the work, otherwise even drinking water will be a struggle. Today, that rich merchant offered me gold and silver, and that’s when I realized that gold and silver really aren’t everything.”
Ah Mian recalled the wealthy businessman whose belly looked like that of a woman in her tenth month of pregnancy, and nodded solemnly.
"But it's no use for me to be happy. We're setting off home the day after tomorrow, and that constable is too stubborn, so there's no point in trying."
Ah Mian racked her brains but still couldn't come up with a solution.
The two chatted for a while when there was a knock on the door. Wang Zixuan, carrying a bundle on his back, was frantically knocking on each door: "Is anyone going for a night cruise to see the sea? Not from the clock tower, but from the beach!"
"Who wants to come with me to see the sea!"
"You're banging on and on, trying to rouse my soul!" the scholar in the next room cursed.
Meng Chijian happened to be coming upstairs, carrying a porcelain bowl. Hearing this, he said to A-Mian, "We're not going tonight; the wind and waves are too strong at the beach. If you want to go, we can go tomorrow during the day. Let's drink this first; we haven't had a proper meal all day, just snacks."
This is the inn's meal: a bowl of shredded chicken congee.
Meng Chijian didn't believe that A-Mian wasn't hungry, thinking that she would definitely cry out in hunger in the middle of the night, so he simply took a spoon and fed her spoonful by spoonful.
Wang Zixuan called out once, tossing his beautiful hair.
Actually, seeing that sea reminded him of many things.
The day he received his "leave of absence notice," he had a huge argument with his family. His parents pointed their fingers at him and berated him, "What can you do if you don't study? Nobody will hire you! We feed you and clothe you, and you've raised a troublemaker!"
The troublemaker, Wang Zixuan, slammed his fist on the table and stood up, saying, "Do you think I've been wasting my time all these years? I have brothers; we'll go work together when the time comes."
He ran out of his house and soon discovered that his brothers were loyal and righteous, but they didn't know how to make money.
The best solution I could think of was to collect protection money from the elementary school area.
Wang Zixuan didn't want to do this job, not because he was so moral or unwilling to do something that bullied others, but because a primary school student only had one or two yuan on him.
They're probably older students; you can't beat them anyway.
He remained impoverished for over half a month, and his parents didn't call him back. In a fit of anger, he packed his schoolbag, took a bus, and went to the beach.
There were very few people here on a weekday. He sat on the beach from afternoon until dark, but still got nothing. Finally, he decided to make everyone regret it.
So he took off his shoes and socks, slung his bag over his shoulder, and slowly walked into the sea. Soon the seawater reached his knees and thighs, and the cool, silent moonlight shone on the water's surface.
At that moment, Wang Zixuan heard someone shouting, "Call the police! Call the police! A student is trying to commit suicide!"
"There are bamboo poles and lifebuoys there..."
"You're so young, why are you so upset? Think about your parents at home, and consider their feelings more!"
It would have been better if he hadn't said it; as soon as he did, Wang Zixuan looked like he was about to sink.
He desperately wanted them to regret their actions, ideally to weep bitterly at his grave, telling him that they deeply regretted everything they had done, that they had reflected on their shortcomings as parents, and that they actually loved him very much, and so on.
Wang Zixuan couldn't remember what happened after that.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a very unfamiliar room.
—To this day, he saw that sea again.
As it will be a thousand years from now, azure, deep, and merciless.
A strong urge arose in Wang Zixuan's heart; he wanted to see this sea again.
"Let's go tomorrow during the day," Ah Mian mumbled, a spoon getting into her mouth as she spoke. "What if... there are sea ghosts?"
"Water ghost... Hahaha... What are you afraid of? It's just standing right in front of you, alive and well."
After letting Wangwang go back to his room, A-Mian closed her own door as well.
Wang Zixuan called out to everyone, but no one wanted to go with him.
The waiter told him that a curfew would be in effect soon, and it would be best not to go out. Besides, he wouldn't know the way at all if he was alone without anyone to guide him.
Wang Zixuan returned to his room dejectedly, took out his phone which was already out of battery, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
The inn, however, remained quiet all night.
Ji Hengzhi developed a high fever. He felt better after taking medicine during the day, but the fever returned at night. Strangely enough, after returning to Zhoucheng, Ji Hengzhi did not stay at the Ji residence, but instead stayed at an inn with them.
However, the Ji family also sent two servants over. Seeing that his fever was not going down, they quickly took the jade pendant from Ji Hengzhi's waist and traveled through the city to invite a doctor.
After drinking the fever-reducing herbal medicine, Ji Hengzhi was like an unkillable little bug. After waking up, he was as good as ever, except for the bruises on his body, he was full of energy again!
"Damn it, you all want me to get beaten down, don't you? You all want to see me make a fool of myself? You all want to eat delicacies at my table? I'm telling you, I'm not going to die!"
Despite still feeling slightly unwell, Ji Hengzhi swaggered over and closed the menu. "Bring me one of today's regular dishes!"
He ate heartily and saw Wang Zixuan acting crazy on the second floor. "What? Were you the one shouting and yelling about going to the beach last night? I know that place well. If I hadn't had a fever and couldn't get up, we could have gone together last night."
Wang Zixuan was dumbfounded.
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