Xu Long sat as still as a statue on the bench outside his boss's house. He held the piece of paper on his lap with eyes never moving away from it.
After what felt like a long day had gone by, he sounded a broken laugh in disbelief.
'Toosexyformyshirt123'
Who in the world would use that as a pseudonym?
His head clocks to the side at this thought, and he looks up at the aloof man.
"Were you able to find out who this is?"
Lu Tian never moved from his position, with eyes still staring out into the distance. He takes one last puff of the cigarette and then turns away from the view.
"Jiangyu is on his way."
He says no more and makes his way inside the house, leaving a comprehensive Xu Long alone.
The assistant's head turns, following his boss's steps. Even when Lu Tian had disappeared inside the house, Xu Long was still in a stricken state of mind.
His eye blinks a few times before looking back at the paper in his hand.
"Does this mean we finally have a lead on this person?"
Judging from Lu Tian's words, it could only mean that the aloof man was able to find something. Even if it was a slight lead, it was better than reaching a dead end again.
However, knowing he could not answer the hundreds of questions in his mind, he stood up to find the person who could.
Inside the house, Lu Tian reached the study room within seconds. He sits behind his desk and lightly taps the mouse.
The monitor screen opens up an encrypted black screen.
He stares for a long minute at the information converted into secret codes that hides the information's true meaning.
His posture slouches slightly as he leans back against his chair. His right elbow rests on the armrest, and his fingers touch his chin.
He skimmed through the codes before gradually shifting his eyes behind the monitor screen.
He stares at his wife's desk, and his thought deepens into the abyss.
Xu Long enters the room and calls out to his boss in case the man has entered a different room. However, seeing the person he was looking for, he smiled.
"Do you need my help with anything? I'm sure Secretary Ye knows what to do even if I'm not there."
Having his thoughts disturbed, Lu Tian looks away from his wife's desk to his assistant. He reaches for a piece of paper set at the side and hands it to the man.
Xu Long's eyes lit up at his words. He thought Lu Tian was going to send him back to Lu Corps but knowing he was able to stay, how could he not be excited?
He giggles and happily takes the paper before picking a sitting spot on the floor. He opens his laptop and looks over the report.
When he saw the printed contents of it, his eyebrows arched. He looks up at his boss and then back down at the paper.
"Wow. I am truly amazed by your skills."
His boss gave him the pseudonym found and all the sites this person might have visited. The only thing he had to do was find out why.
He combines his fingers, stretches his arms forward, and tilts his head left and right to crack it.
"Don't worry, boss. I will not disappoint you. For I, James Long Bond, have never failed you."
Lu Tian stares at his assistant with heavy eyes. He closes his eyes and massages his temple. At the same time, he couldn't help but question whether he should order Xu Long to return to Lu Corps or let him stay.
However, when his eyes opened and landed on his wife's desk, he had to go with the latter.
He ponders with an expression that blocks anyone from reading his thoughts, then reaches for the keyboard and begins to type away to decipher more of the encrypted screen.
For now, he should focus on finding the person before jumping to conclusions.
Outside, away from the house, Grandfather Ji's white Rolls-Royce parks in front of Ji Jingxu's school again. He looks out the window and stares at the building in deep thought.
"Chairman, should we go inside?"
Zhong Yang asked from the driver's seat while looking at his boss's reflection in the rearview mirror. When Grandfather Ji hears the question, he nods without uttering a sound and opens the door.
"Let's go. I want to see the child who dares to mess with my Jingxu."
Oblivious to Grandfather Ji's arrival, Ji Jingxu sat like a role-model student inside his classroom. He listens to his teacher speak, but instead of taking notes, he stares out the window.
The entire morning of class, he was lost in thoughts. He couldn't help but feel that something was going to happen from his grandfather's behavior. However, he couldn't put his hand on what it was.
"Alright. Can anyone tell me what—"
The teacher closed the book and looked at the class. However, before he could finish his sentence, the door opened, and a staff member entered the classroom.
"Mr. Wang, sorry to disrupt your class, but is Ji Jingxu here? The school director and principal would like to see him."
Mr. Wang paused his teaching to look at the staff member. He looks away from his students and searches for the person in question.
He spots Ji Jingxu sitting near the window in the back and smiles.
"Ah, Ji Jingxu, go with Mr. Wei."
Ji Jingxu was too deep in his thoughts that he did not hear Mr. Wang. It was only when Zhuang Li nudged him did he return to reality.
"Jingxu, they're calling for you."
Zhuang Li whispers, and Ji Jingxu stands up from his seat without a word. He walks around the desk to the front of the class and leaves the room with Mr. Wei.
"What did he do that caught the director's and principal's attention?"
"Do you think this about the fight between him and Deng Xian? I heard Ji Jingxu started it."
"Really? Then why did he get suspended?"
"Someone like him should leave the school. He gives the school a bad name."
A commotion of whispers echoed inside the classroom, but before it could escalate further, Zhuang Li stood up from his seat and slammed his fist on his desk angrily.
"If you all have nothing good to say, then don't say anything."
He glares at the students who spoke ill of his friend with eyes that could kill them and sneers.
"Before you open your mouth and accuse someone, make sure you know both sides of the story."
He couldn't believe these children dared to spit nonsense about Ji Jingxu. The entire school knew that Deng Xian was always finding ways to target Ji Jingxu, but no one dared to step up.
"Alright, that's enough."
Mr. Wang cuts in to stop the situation and walks over to Zhuang Li. He places a hand on the boy's shoulder, indicating for him to sit.
"Ji Jingxu is your classmate. We should welcome him with a smile when he returns."
The students listened to their teacher, but some sulked in annoyance as they were friends with Deng Xian. When they see Mr. Wang returning to the front of the class, they look at Zhuang Li and give him a cut-throat hand gesture indicating what they will do to him.
However, instead of getting the terrified response they wanted, Zhuang Li rolled his eyes at their childish behavior.
He shrugs his shoulders and spreads his arms out in a taunting gesture. His response tells them that he welcomes their threat any time and can handle himself.
His chin raises, and one corner of his mouth curves into a devilish smirk to mouth the words.
"I'll take you all on any day."