My Best Friend's Crush Is A Spoiled, Dramatic Girl [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 9

Ji Tan pretended to be groggy, leaning against Zhou She’s chest as he murmured, “Dr. Zhou, I think I have a fever again.”

Zhou She lowered his head, glancing at the small, curly-haired head nestled against his chin. Ji Tan looked wilted and listless, even though his forehead had felt cool just this morning.

“You…” Why was he running a fever again?

Zhou She’s brow furrowed, but his words were suddenly cut off.

Zhou Wenbai stepped forward, stroked the back of Ji Tan’s soft neck, and played along. “Oh, poor Tuan Tuan.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yao’s professional habits took over. “A secondary fever? Wait, let me get you a thermometer.”

Ji Tan’s ears slowly turned red.

“No need for the trouble,” Zhou Wenbai refused on Ji Tan’s behalf. “I will check it for him in a moment.”

Seeing this, Zhang Yao scratched his head, confused by the dynamic between the three men, and walked away, completely bewildered.

“Our Tuan Tuan did not mistake the person this time.” Zhou Wenbai scooped Ji Tan out of Zhou She’s arms.

Ji Tan blinked innocently, slowly wrapping his arms around Zhou Wenbai’s waist, saying nothing about how he had just been led astray by Zhang Yao.

“Ji Tan.”

Ji Tan’s ear tips twitched. He pulled on Zhou Wenbai’s arm and looked toward the source of the voice.

Ji Yunxin was pushing Ji Enyi’s wheelchair from behind. “Enyi told me that you have something to say to me.”

“Why not go to the garden together?” Ji Yunxin invited. “The sun is nice today. We can chat there.”

Ji Tan glanced at Zhou She’s cold, hard face, then nodded quickly without a second thought, eager to escape this awkward situation.

Zhou Wenbai followed them. After a few steps, he turned back. “You should come too. We can discuss what time works best.”

Zhou She, who had only come to pick up the insulated container, asked, “Steven?”

Zhou Wenbai smiled, then quickly dropped the expression. “No, Ji Yunxin.”

Zhou She began to walk.

“Ji Yunxin wants to marry you,” Zhou Wenbai stated.

Zhou She remained composed. “I cannot marry anyone.”

Zhou Wenbai raised an eyebrow. “Are you blaming me?”

Zhou She fell silent.

“Just a joke.” Zhou Wenbai stopped at the entrance to the garden, his gaze falling gently on Ji Tan, who was coaxing a crying child. A warmth flickered in his eyes. “Ji Yunxin wants the Ji family, and marrying you is the shortcut he has chosen.”

“The Ji family will not agree to Ji Yunxin’s request,” Zhou She said, tracing the faded patterns on his bronze lighter.

“It does not matter,” Zhou Wenbai said, lifting his chin. “Ji Yunxin can get the Ji family without marrying you. I do not think he will refuse.”

Zhou She finally understood what Zhou Wenbai meant. “You want to use Ji Yunxin to handle the Ji family.”

“With Tuan Tuan and me together, neither family agrees. What other choice do I have?” Zhou Wenbai’s refined, gentle features revealed a hint of imperceptible arrogance. “I have no choice but to make them all listen to me.”

Zhou She remained noncommittal.

“He does not necessarily like you that much,” Zhou She said, his gaze also shifting to Ji Tan, who was squatting and gesturing animatedly with the child. “Be careful that you do not lose more than you gain.”

Zhou Wenbai, as the person involved, saw this much more clearly than Zhou She.

“When I am by his side, he pretends to be obedient and sticks to me,” Zhou Wenbai laughed. “If I go on a business trip, he will not even think of me for ten days or half a month, just as if I did not exist.”

“Isn’t this emotional apathy strange?” Zhou Wenbai marveled. “In his eyes, everyone is like an NPC. If they are in front of him, they exist in his world. If they are not in front of him, the person simply does not exist.”

Zhou She replied calmly, “The clinical manifestations of the same condition are not the same. You should know that better than I do.”

Zhou Wenbai knew that well.

“Right,” Zhou Wenbai raised an eyebrow with a smile. “That is why he still cannot tell the difference between you and me to this day.”

Zhou She’s face darkened.

“Actually, my ability to accept things is quite good,” Zhou Wenbai said, not quite comforting him. “At least he can still tell the difference between me and Ji Yunxin.”

Zhou She was utterly speechless. “He is not stupid.”

Not being able to recognize people was just a minor issue. “A lack of empathy easily leads to antisocial personality tendencies,” Zhou She had warned Zhou Wenbai more than once.

“He is much better now; Ji Yuan taught him well.” Zhou Wenbai watched Ji Tan in the distance, crying on cue with pear blossoms in the rain. “Look how well he knows how to cry, how pitiful he looks. He has already learned a way to express his emotions.”

Zhou Wenbai took out a handkerchief to wipe Ji Tan’s tears, but Ji Yunxin got there first.

“When you cry, do not look around. It is easy to be discovered that you are faking it, and then you will just get beaten,” Ji Tan instructed passionately. “You have to cry immersively, like me, so Mom will think you are wronged and feel bad for you.”

Ji Tan was well-versed in his own skills. Clear, round teardrops immediately rolled from his light-colored, glassy eyes. The beautiful tears, illuminated by the bright sun, refracted warm halos of light.

When Ji Tan was a child, he did not know what tears were. He watched as he pushed Ji Yunxin down the stairs, and Ji Enyi cried in fear nearby. He did not understand why Ji Enyi was crying. The crying Ji Enyi was picked up and taken away by Cheng Jiayan. He, too, was picked up by Ji Yuan, who had just returned home.

Ji Yuan taught him many things, almost all of which violated Ji Tan’s instincts. Ji Tan was always making mistakes, so over time, he learned to fake tears to avoid punishment. At first, Ji Yuan could tell, but after Ji Tan gained experience, he appeared so pitiful and innocent that Ji Yuan would pick him up, just like Cheng Jiayan did with the crying Ji Enyi.

“Tan Tan.” Ji Tan’s delicate, white chin was pinched up by Ji Yunxin, who leaned in. Ji Yunxin wiped the tears from Ji Tan’s cheeks, his gaze lingering on Ji Tan’s seemingly soft and warm amber eyes. “Brother has never seen you cry.”

Ji Yunxin’s gaze slid downward, sweeping over the tiny teeth marks on Ji Tan’s crimson lips, before he looked away without leaving a trace.

“If Aunt has taught you how to have normal emotions,” Ji Yunxin paused, “then break up with Zhou Wenbai.”

“Dr. Zhou’s mother will not agree to let Tan Tan be with him.” Ji Yunxin spoke like a good older brother, analyzing the pros and cons for his young brother. “Dr. Zhou’s family hopes that Tan Tan will marry Lawyer Zhou She.”

Ji Tan’s long, curled eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly in flight.

“523, the family background of the main lead, Zhou She.”

“Unable to provide; the missioner must explore it themselves.”

Ji Tan was the owner of a small game company. The holographic games they developed claimed that their lead characters had normal human emotions and were not controlled by programs. AI with normal human emotions was the most prominent highlight of Ji Tan’s game development, representing more exploratory potential. It also attracted more investment for Ji Tan’s games. However, since it was unprecedented, Ji Tan could not convince people just by producing a sheet of paper.

To prove it, Ji Tan entered the game himself to verify. As long as the main lead, Zhou She, fell in love with any NPC in the game, Ji Tan would be successful. Ji Yunxin, who had been infatuated with Zhou She for many years without changing his mind, was the partner Ji Tan chose for him.

“If I can marry Zhou Wenbai, will the probability of Zhou She and Ji Yunxin marrying increase?”

Ji Tan, in order to complete the task faster, had added Zhou Wenbai, who had the same code as Zhou She, even though he was not in the original game. Being with Zhou Wenbai was equivalent to an extra opportunity to test Zhou She. This was cheating within Ji Tan’s authority.

“The missioner can try.”

The characters were Ji Tan’s, and the game background was a new version created by investors to prevent Ji Tan from utilizing the plot line. Ji Tan knew nothing about the plot of the True Love game.

What Ji Yunxin said today was enough to alert Ji Tan. According to Ji Yunxin, the reason Zhou She’s emotional line had been slow to progress had a lot to do with his family background. If he could break through the Zhou family and be with Zhou Wenbai, the obstacles in Zhou She’s emotional line would be reduced accordingly.

Thinking of this, Ji Tan blinked at Ji Yunxin. “But I would rather marry Dr. Zhou.”

Ji Yunxin paused. “Why? You like him very much, but Tan Tan, you still cannot tell the difference between him and Zhou She.”

Ji Tan’s light-colored pupils revealed confusion. “Mom told me to find a good person with a decent job who will not spend a penny of my money to marry. Ji Yunxin, such people are very rare.”

Ji Yuan worried that Ji Tan would fall back into his old ways after she died, so she strictly formulated rules for Ji Tan to follow. She had requirements for Ji Tan’s future partner. They had to be a normal, good person, a partner who could prune Ji Tan’s overgrown branches and supervise him so he would not cross legal lines or do irreparable things. She made Ji Tan keep a firm grip on all the inheritance she left him and did not allow Ji Tan to spend money on anyone else, avoiding a situation where Ji Tan would fall into a state of no material security.

“Aunt was really good to you.” Ji Yunxin changed the subject. “But Zhou She might be able to do that, too.”

Since Ji Tan could not tell the difference between Zhou Wenbai and Zhou She, what did it matter who he chose? At least if Ji Tan chose Zhou She, he would not face opposition from Zhong Peiyi.

“But I like the doctor more.” After saying this, Ji Tan stood up and ran toward Zhou Wenbai.

Ji Yunxin gripped the tissue soaked in Ji Tan’s tears, his fingertips stained with dampness.

“Aunt was a doctor.” Ji Enyi rolled his wheelchair over. “He is not choosing Zhou Wenbai; he is choosing Zhou She, the doctor.”

Ji Enyi summarized, “He has a filter for the profession of doctor.”

“Grandfather has already discussed it with the Zhou family; they want to send Ji Tan to Zhou She so they can cultivate feelings.” Ji Yunxin also stood up. “Zhou She cannot change Zhong Peiyi’s decision.”

“Neither can Zhou Wenbai,” Ji Yunxin lowered his gaze. “No child can refuse their mother’s demands.”

“Then it is over.” Ji Enyi said with some irony. “Grandfather holds what Aunt left behind before she died; he is not afraid of Ji Tan being disobedient.”

Ji Enyi’s dark eyes fixed on Ji Yunxin’s face. “I am curious why the Zhou family and the Ji family want Zhou She and Ji Tan to get married. Does Big Brother know the reason?”

Ji Yunxin remained silent.

Ji Enyi understood. “It seems Big Brother knows.”

“It is not necessarily a bad thing,” Ji Yunxin said.

Ji Tan ran up to the two tall, handsome men who looked and stood similarly. He stopped hesitantly. He held out his hands to see which boyfriend would catch him first; the one who did would be Zhou Wenbai.

Ji Tan’s arm was gripped by a large hand fiddling with a bronze lighter. Ji Tan instinctively wound himself around him. Ji Tan’s soft palm pressed against the back of Zhou She’s hand, the heat and flesh stimulating his sensitive nerves to tremble.

Zhou She pushed Ji Tan into Zhou Wenbai’s arms in a fluid motion. “You two decide the time. I will go if I am free.”

Zhou She turned and walked away with long strides.

Ji Tan looked at the gentle eyes of Zhou Wenbai looking down at him. He swallowed and muttered, trying to brainwash Zhou Wenbai, “Dr. Zhou, I recognized you. Zhou She was the one who grabbed me first.”

“Really?” Zhou Wenbai held Ji Tan in his arms and playfully pinched the soft flesh around Ji Tan’s waist. “I do not believe you.”

“Really, really.” Ji Tan was so tickled that he dodged, his small head nodding, and he stickily reached out his arms to wrap them around Zhou Wenbai’s neck.

Zhou Wenbai obediently lowered his shoulders, letting Ji Tan’s arms wind around the back of his neck, and picked him up. Ji Tan’s soft lips brushed against Zhou Wenbai’s chin. He opened his mouth to hold the skin on Zhou Wenbai’s chin and took a bite.

Zhou Wenbai hissed and laughed. “What is Tuan Tuan doing? Embarrassed that you did not recognize me?”

Ji Tan released his teeth, pointed at the tooth mark on Zhou Wenbai’s chin, and curved his clear, glassy eyes like a cat that had stolen some cream. “Dr. Zhou has a tooth mark on his chin; Zhou She does not. I really did recognize you.”

Zhou Wenbai was amused by Ji Tan and pressed against his nose. “Tuan Tuan is bullying people.”