Second Floor
The door to the study was open.
Knock, knock.
Ye Jiuliang casually knocked on the door, then strolled in slowly.
Ye Rong lifted an eyelid and nearly lost his stern composure upon seeing the girl who sat down across from him without a word.
He sized up the girl secretly, noting that she had grown even thinner.
Was she not eating well at school?
Ye Jiuliang leaned back, indifferently allowing the old man to scrutinize her.
Neither the grandfather nor the granddaughter spoke, as if competing in patience.
Clearly, in this aspect, Ye Rong was somewhat inferior.
He set down his teacup with a thud, splashing a few droplets of tea, and looking up with a stern face, he said, "Ye Jiuliang, tell me what you have been doing in Country Y?"
"Studying." Her response was light and breezy.
"Studying?" Ye Rong was so angry he literally hurt in his teeth, spittle flying, "I won't criticize you for your grades always ranking at the bottom, but you almost burned down the school's library, plucked the principal's beard, and sent him to the hospital from anger. What exactly do you want to do?"
He couldn't understand how her parents, both highly educated, produced such a rebellious child.
Ye Jiuliang cocked her head, the smile not reaching her eyes, "Look, you seem to know quite clearly."
Ye Rong was speechless, a breath stuck in his throat, neither here nor there.
It was terribly uncomfortable.
After a long while, he spoke again, his tone a bit softer, "I found a good school for you here in the capital. You'll report there tomorrow."
The tone of command was habitual.
Ye Jiuliang emitted a grunt, surprisingly agreeing readily.
"Anything else?"
Ye Rong pondered for a moment, just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Ye Miao.
He stormed in furiously, eyes bloodshot, "Ye Jiuliang."
"What happened?" Ye Rong looked toward Aren, who followed Ye Miao in, his demeanor commanding and imposing.
"Grandpa, look at what Ye Jiuliang has done." Ye Miao pointed at his swollen cheek, preemptively playing the victim.
The punch from Ye Jiuliang was not weak; Ye Miao's right cheek swelled quickly, a trail of blood congealing at the corner of his mouth, rather pitiful to behold.
Ye Rong also hesitated at the sight.
He frowned slightly and turned towards Ye Jiuliang, who was toying with a lollipop, "Did you hit him?"
"I did." She admitted openly.
Ye Rong's head ached, "Why did you hit him?"
"His mouth was filthy; I didn't like hearing it." Ye Jiuliang peeled the candy wrapper and bit into the lollipop, her tone lukewarm.
"..."
Aren seemed to meditate, unfazed.
No wonder that principal was driven to the hospital by Miss Jiuliang.
Given her knack for infuriating remarks, it was quite difficult not to be angered to death.
"Ye Jiuliang, don't be too arrogant," Ye Miao growled lowly, accidentally touching the wound on his face and breaking into a cold sweat from the pain.
Ye Jiuliang glanced at him disdainfully, "Am I arrogant? Is this the first day you've known that?"
"You…" Ye Miao clutched his swollen cheek, pointing at Ye Jiuliang but unable to complete a sentence.
It was unclear whether it was from anger or pain.
"Enough, stop this noisy quarreling," Ye Rong said firmly, "Aren, quickly find a doctor to look at Amiao. This matter ends here. Whoever dares to make more trouble will face family discipline."
Ye Miao's face showed his unwillingness, "Grandpa."
This was obviously favoritism.
"Do you have an opinion about my decision?" Ye Rong swept a look his way, and Ye Miao's knuckles tightened, turning pale.
In the Ye Family, Ye Rong's word was law; no one dared to defy him.
Ye Miao glared viciously at Ye Jiuliang, resentfully saying, "No objections."
Ye Rong's brows relaxed as he turned his gaze back towards Ye Jiuliang, "Your room has been prepared. If anything's missing, just tell Aren."
Ye Jiuliang nodded, stood up, and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I'll head back to my room to rest if there's nothing else."
As she passed by Ye Miao, her steps faltered.
"Remember to keep your distance from me, or next time you might not have a single tooth left." Her lips curled into a smile with a hint of frost and a touch of devilish charm.
Ye Miao's face darkened, anger swirling in his eyes.
Damn that Ye Jiuliang.
A jinx, a harbinger of bad luck.
...
Back in her room, Ye Jiuliang locked the door.
Out of habit, she carefully surveyed everything in the bedroom.
Once she was sure everything was in order, she tossed her bag aside, flopped onto the bed, and pulled over the blanket, ready to catch up on sleep.
Just as she was nodding off, her phone suddenly rang.
Ye Jiuliang frowned, turned over, and continued to sleep.
The persistent ringing of the phone seemed determined to continue until Ye Jiuliang answered.
After a moment, Ye Jiuliang groped around on the bed for her phone.
Without looking, she grabbed the phone and pressed the answer button.
"Ye Jiuliang, get your ass back here now," Ji Mingqian's enraged voice blasted from the other end.
Ye Jiuliang, with eyes still closed, spoke in a cool and ominous tone, "Ji Mingqian, don't you know I'm not a morning person?"
Disturbing someone's sweet dreams, that should incur divine retribution.
The man on the other end paused for a moment, his fury somewhat diminished, "Do you have any idea of the trouble you've caused this time?"
"Spit it out," her irritation teetered on the edge of explosion.
"That batch of goods from the Mei Organization, Achen had already said not to touch it, so why did you go and hijack it?" Ji Mingqian glanced at the computer screen filled with complex codes before getting up to pour himself a glass of water.
"Did Achen mention that?" Her voice was languid, as if she might fall asleep any moment now.
...
Ji Mingqian drew a "black line" over his head at the sound of her sleepy voice.
Does this little ancestor realize how seriously she's taking this situation?
He was trying to talk to her about something important.
"Ye Jiuliang, could you at least try not to fall asleep halfway through a meeting next time?" He was so frustrated he could almost cough up blood.
"Do you know whose goods those were?"
"Whose?"
"Li Mochan," he enunciated heavily.
Before Ji Mingqian finished speaking, the girl's tightly shut eyes snapped open, and she sat up, her gaze suddenly clear.
"You're saying that batch of goods was Li Mochan's?"
Ji Mingqian took a sip of water and returned to his desk.
"Yes, I just got the news. Listen, little ancestor, who gave you the guts to hijack Li Mochan's shipment? You do realize his people are already investigating who stole it, right?"
"If I hadn't sniped and intercepted them quickly, Li Mochan's men would have tracked it back to you by now."
It's true that their K organization was strong, but that killing god, Li Mochan, was someone to avoid if at all possible.
Ye Jiuliang raised an eyebrow, her demeanor as unhurried as ever, "What does Achen plan to do with that batch of goods?"
"Once it's in our hands, do you think there's any chance of returning it?" Ji Mingqian chuckled.
If they returned it now, with Li Mochan's resourcefulness, it wouldn't take long for him to trace the goods back to their K organization.
He wasn't that foolish.
Ye Jiuliang's lips curved slightly.
"Oh, and one more thing. Be careful in the capital. If you run into Li Mochan, try to avoid him as much as possible," Ji Mingqian reminded her.
Ye Jiuliang frowned, "What do you mean? Is he also in the capital?"