NOVEL WEB Chapter 440
System: ["Ji Tingzhou's aggressiveness has always been undeniable."]
Ji Nian: ["………"]
After speaking, Ji Tingzhou's expression instantly cooled.
"Get out. I need to talk to her alone."
Lu Zhi was so infuriated by his attitude that he laughed. "Ji Tingzhou, do you even realize you're in my house, telling me to leave so you can speak privately with my child?"
"Her household registration is still under the Ji Family. You call her yours?" Ji Tingzhou met Lu Zhi's gaze without hesitation.
Unfortunately, the latter refused to back down.
Lu Zhi not only knew about Ji Nian's struggles but also understood Ji Tingzhou—understood just how much this man despised the bloodline of the Ji Family.
Even though Ji Nian showed none of the madness typical of those people, Lu Zhi feared he might harm her.
At that moment, Ji Nian spoke up.
"Uncle Lu, don't worry. I can protect myself. Nothing will happen."
She smiled at him and blinked.
To Ji Tingzhou, this scene was unbearably irritating.
Only after Lu Zhi left did Ji Tingzhou glance at Ji Nian's outfit and comment, "Ugly."
Ji Nian: ["………"]
It had been a while since she last felt the urge to punch Ji Tingzhou.
"Is this how you approach a conversation?" Her face darkened instantly.
Her reaction unsettled Ji Tingzhou. In his memories, she had always been grinning and acting spoiled.
What was this? The same face, yet such different treatment. That other Ji Tingzhou had called her ugly too, but she only glared at him.
Then again, this hostility was justified.
In her world, she had been coddled her whole life—protected by Wei Yang, Zhiliao, that naive uncle who mistook enemies for friends, even Shen Qingtang and Young Master Gu had treated her well.
But here? She had lost her home, endured insults, and even resorted to working at a convenience store just to survive—suffering hardships she had never known before.
Ji Tingzhou didn't know where this sudden rage came from, but it left him restless.
"Go back to your own world. That's my stance in this conversation."
The moment he said it, both Ji Nian and the system exclaimed: ["What the—!?"]
["How does he know??"]
Ji Nian was stunned. Tentatively, she called out, "...Dad?"
All she got was a mocking look from Ji Tingzhou.
Right. Not the father she knew.
So, her real dad hadn't crossed over with her.
"How did you figure it out?"
No wonder he had remained so calm when her face returned to normal and her personality shifted entirely—he already knew who she was.
Ji Tingzhou didn't explain.
Instead, he stared at her with an expression so complex she couldn't decipher it.
"Knowing changes nothing."
"I don't need you, nor your medicine. Get out of my world."
Ji Nian had been calmly piecing things together until then.
But those words made her snap.
Her mind buzzed.
She shot up from her seat, glaring at Ji Tingzhou with fury, all the pent-up frustration and pain from her time here exploding at once.
"Did I choose to come here!?"
"Do you think I don't want to go back!?"
"You think I enjoy saving you!? You're nothing like my dad—if you didn't have his face—"
Ji Nian took a sharp breath.
"Who told you to wear his face while acting like a corpse, making me miserable just looking at you!?"
By the time she finished shouting, her eyes were red, her chest heaving. She looked less like the aggressor and more like the one who'd been wronged.
Then, she grabbed her skirt, kicked Ji Tingzhou's leg hard, shot him one last glare, and stormed off.
Outside.
The butler glanced at Lu Zhi. "They... had a fight?"
Lu Zhi hesitated, unsure whether to intervene, but worried Ji Nian might have been hurt.
Just as he was about to order the door opened, someone stepped out.
Ji Nian.
Eyes red, lashes damp, her little hat crooked.
Lu Zhi's expression darkened. "Did he hit you?"
Ji Nian sniffled and shook her head. "No. I yelled at him."
"Uncle Lu Zhi, I need some time alone."
Seeing her like this, Lu Zhi couldn't refuse.
"Go ahead. I'll make sure no one disturbs you."
Watching her leave, Lu Zhi mulled over her claim of having "yelled at Ji Tingzhou" before heading inside.
There, he found Ji Tingzhou wiping his pants with a wet tissue, bent over.
"I've never seen Ji Nian cry before. Impressive work."
Lu Zhi sat across from him, mockery dripping from his peach-blossom eyes.
Ji Tingzhou ignored him. Once done, he tossed the tissue and pulled out another to clean his fingers.
"That person you caught years ago—where is he now?"
Lu Zhi had captured plenty of people, but under Ji Tingzhou's gaze, realization struck.
"The madman researching souls?"
...
Though Ji Nian had said she wanted space, she didn't actually isolate herself.
She went to see Lu Jinghuai instead.
He was still the same.
Even with medication applied to begin repairing his face, the early stages only made the damage look worse.
Ji Nian set down the things she'd bought earlier and slumped beside his pillow, voice muffled.
"I saw my dad today."
"Well, not really him. But someone who looks exactly like him."
"I lost my temper. Kicked him too."
"Honestly, I regretted it the second I walked out."
Because this Ji Tingzhou wasn't the one who would endure her tantrums and awkwardly comfort her afterward.
This one might hold a grudge—she knew from observation that his chronic illness left him perpetually irritable.
"I miss my dad so much, Ah Huai."
Ji Nian sniffled. Maybe it was her approaching period, but today, she felt like crying.
Lost in her sadness, she suddenly felt something brush against her hand.
Blinking away tears, she looked down.
Lu Jinghuai's heavily bandaged hand had inched closer, moving slowly—uncertainly—in an attempt to comfort her.
"Are you... trying to cheer me up?"
She was genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected him to respond at all.
But what came next shocked her even more.
A hoarse, barely audible voice—
"...Mn."