Although Qi Qinxue’s focus landed on both the old master and Ji Chengsi, it was clearly tilted more toward Ji Chengsi.
Ji Xiu stared at her worried expression and raised his brows slightly. The question he had previously suppressed surfaced again.
Why was it that, in both her previous life and this one, she treated Ji Chengsi especially well?
Ji Xiu was not a careless person. It was just that these past few days, he had been preoccupied with Ji Xian’s matters and had no time to pay attention to Qi Qinxue’s attitude, so he temporarily forgot about this issue.
But Qi Qinxue had repeatedly and unmistakably shown her difference toward Ji Chengsi.
Even if Ji Xiu wanted to pretend not to notice, he could not anymore.
However, this kind of problem could not be handled by directly questioning Qi Qinxue.
Behind such abnormal behavior, there had to be a private reason.
Ji Xiu suspected that if he truly asked her outright, he would not get an answer and would instead leave a rift between them.
Keeping the doubt in his heart, Ji Xiu looked at Qi Qinxue and followed along with her words.
“As long as we explain it clearly to Chengsi before we leave, there is no need to worry about him misunderstanding.”
Ji Chengsi was someone who had returned after rebirth. His mentality was mature. How could he care about such things?
Besides, he was annoyed with Ji Xiu as his second uncle, and his feelings toward Ji Linlang, who had hurt him in his previous life, were complicated. Perhaps in his heart, he even wished that their whole family would go out.
Yet Qi Qinxue still hesitated and did not agree to Ji Xiu.
Ji Xiu understood it clearly now. He nodded. It seemed that when counting everyone in their family together, in Qi Qinxue’s heart they could only rank third.
First was her elegant image presented to the outside world. Second was Ji Chengsi.
To be honest, this was somewhat unexpected.
After reading the original body’s memories, Ji Xiu had thought that although Qi Qinxue’s behavior in the later stage of her previous life was slightly strange, her love and care toward the entire second branch of the family had always been genuine.
Now it seemed that the original body had overthought it.
Ji Xiu could not be bothered to force Qi Qinxue. Seeing her hesitant expression, he took the initiative to step back.
“Forget it. You stay home and rest. I will take the two kids with me.”
Qi Qinxue was startled. “How can that be?”
“Then will you come with us?” Ji Xiu gave her another chance.
Qi Qinxue froze. Struggle flashed through her eyes as she gently asked, “Can I not stay at home and go after some time?”
Ji Xiu smiled as if nothing was amiss. “Linlang has a break recently. It is not easy to come by. I will take the kids first. When there is another chance, we will go as a whole family.”
Qi Qinxue let out a sigh of relief. “That is fine too. When the time comes, you can decide the destination.”
Ji Xiu responded lightly and let Qi Qinxue continue her skincare routine.
He went downstairs to tell the children.
Qi Qinxue felt that Ji Xiu’s reaction was slightly off, but she was even more immersed in the relaxation of not having to go out. She smiled and nodded, watching Ji Xiu leave.
Ji Xiu stepped out and closed the door behind him, standing at the doorway lost in thought.
Qi Qinxue’s reaction was truly not right.
Ji Xiu began recalling everything that had happened since he interacted with Qi Qinxue these past few days.
Clearly, the original body was a muddle headed fool who had never noticed anything strange about his wife, so in his memories he automatically beautified Qi Qinxue’s image.
The real Qi Qinxue was not as the original body had thought, merely a leisurely, affluent, carefree rich madam.
She had her own secrets.
Ji Xiu stood outside the door, as if he could see Qi Qinxue inside the room. His gaze flickered, and he quickly walked away.
…
Although the change in travel members had been mentioned as an excuse to end the topic with Qi Qinxue, it was still better to inform Ji Linlang and Ji Xian.
Ji Xiu went downstairs to look for the two children but could not find them anywhere.
After asking the butler and the servants, the butler said that both Ji Linlang and Ji Xian had gone out. Ji Xiu nodded.
“Understood. Let me know as soon as they are back.”
The butler agreed.
Two hours later, Ji Xiu received an internal call from the butler. He stood up from the living room and went toward the entrance, just in time to see Ji Linlang stepping in on slender high heels, her brows confident and flamboyant.
Ji Xian followed behind her with a troubled expression.
When they saw Ji Xiu, both of them stopped at the same time.
Ji Linlang calmed down. Her expression turned slightly subtle as she called out, “Dad.”
Seeing this, Ji Xian did not have time to dislike how Ji Xiu used to gloat in the past and loudly complained.
“Dad, Sis ran off to the company and accepted a job!”
Ji Xiu frowned slightly and looked at Ji Linlang.
“Linlang also does not want to go out and have fun with us?”
Ji Linlang did not notice the word “also” and shot her brother an annoyed glare.
She should never have brought him out with her.
Her mind spun rapidly as she found an excuse.
“No, it is not that. I just thought that since we are going to travel anyway, doing work at the same time would not be bad. Coincidentally, the company pushed a travel reality show to me a few days ago, so I went back to take a look.”
Ji Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly. He did not expose Ji Linlang’s lie and nodded.
“And the result?”
Ji Linlang froze. Noticing that her father seemed a bit cold today, she felt a slight unease and spoke hesitantly.
“The result… the program only needs three people. I thought Mom probably would not go with us, so the three of us would be just right, and I agreed.”
“Is that so?”
Ji Xiu discreetly observed Ji Linlang’s micro expressions. He could see her guilt and felt that something was off. He decided not to mention Qi Qinxue’s refusal yet and deliberately acted displeased.
“But Qinxue has already stated her stance. Are the three of us supposed to leave your mother behind?”
Ji Linlang had anticipated this outcome. She quickly regained her composure and acted calmly.
“Mom is going too? Then I will contact the company and turn down the program.”
After she finished speaking, she seemed to think of something. A trace of regret flashed in her eyes.
“My agent said this show is Xiangjiang TV’s major push this year. The exposure and resources are very good, and it can bring family members along. It suits me well and will prevent the audience from feeling distant because of the Ji family name. What a pity…”
Ji Xiu stopped speaking and stared at Ji Linlang.
Her performance was flawless. Aside from the slight abnormality at the beginning, every word, every movement, even the changes in her gaze afterward were perfectly normal.
Yet her behavior this time was truly too strange.
Before he had even given a reply on whether Qi Qinxue would go or not, she had already rushed to the company to accept a job.
With this premise in place, no matter how normal Ji Linlang looked, there was a problem in Ji Xiu’s heart.
She did not want to go out together with Qi Qinxue?
This thought flashed through his mind. When he recalled the details of these past days, Ji Xiu confirmed this guess inwardly.
It was only because his attention had been entirely on the reborn male lead Ji Chengsi these days that he had missed so much plot happening right beside him.
But between the clearly problematic Qi Qinxue and Ji Linlang, who also had issues but was mainly targeting Qi Qinxue, Ji Xiu thought for a moment and chose Ji Linlang.
“Wait. Do not turn down this program yet,” Ji Xiu said casually. “Your mom was not too keen on traveling anyway. Since this is such a good opportunity, we will delay the whole family trip and accompany Linlang on the show first.”
The Ji family had been accustomed to public attention since childhood. Not to mention Ji Xiu, whose personality was flamboyant, even Ji Xian, after becoming the Ji family’s heir, had been interviewed by the media many times.
Participating in a television program was not a first for them, nor was it difficult.
Ji Xiu agreed in one go.
Ji Xian: “!!!”
He had wanted Ji Xiu to stand up for him and teach Ji Linlang a lesson, but instead Ji Xiu switched sides so easily.
Ji Linlang also had not expected things to go so smoothly and widened her eyes slightly.
She had thought that at the very least, she would have to tangle and argue for several days and put on several acts before she could shake Qi Qinxue off.
Ji Linlang revealed a surprised expression. She hooked her arm around Ji Xiu’s, her emotions complicated and moved, and murmured, “Dad is really good to me.”
Ji Xiu patted the back of her hand and did not continue the topic.
Ji Chengsi was no longer his main observation target.
Sooner or later, he would find out the reason behind the strangeness on Ji Linlang and Qi Qinxue.
…
Fearing that delays might cause problems, the travel reality show Ji Linlang accepted sent an urgent invitation. Filming would begin three days later.
The full name of the show was “Poor Travel Family.” The core concept was that celebrities would bring their ordinary family members to participate in travel, gaining emotional experiences along the way and deepening family bonds.
According to the requirements, there would be six guests. Each guest would bring two family members, forming a massive travel group of eighteen people.
Originally, all six guests had already been confirmed, and the official account had even announced them publicly. However, a few days ago, one of the scheduled guests suddenly became embroiled in a scandal and was boycotted by the public. The program team had no choice but to reselect someone within three days.
For Ji Linlang to find such an opportunity was rare, and giving it up would truly be a pity. She was not entirely lying to Ji Xiu.
Unlike the small program team that Ji Linlang had publicly confronted before, Xiangjiang TV had abundant resources. “Poor Travel Family,” as Xiangjiang TV’s flagship program, had already filmed one season and enjoyed high popularity. It was not the kind of show one could enter solely through connections.
Ji Linlang’s selection was mainly due to her current hot popularity and the possible appearance of her family members behind her.
No matter which member of the Ji family came on the show, the program team would warmly welcome them.
The audience likely felt the same.
Who would not want to see the true nature of the Ji family in private?
Ji Xiu’s Weibo usually only shared some photos and whimsical thoughts, yet he already had sixty million followers. From this, one could see the public’s curiosity and desire to peek into wealthy families.
If Ji Xiu personally appeared on screen, the program effect would explode and be even more exciting.
Because this show focused on poor travel, it was completely opposite to the meaning and image associated with the Ji family. This strong contrast would certainly bring even higher ratings.
Ji Xiu only learned about the show’s poor travel nature after agreeing to Ji Linlang’s participation.
Ji Xiu: “…”
Beside him, Ji Xian expressed his dissatisfaction with a cold face.
“I told you to criticize Sis’s behavior, but you did not even look and just agreed. Now look, we are all doomed together.”
Ji Xiu rubbed his nose, unable to refute it, and looked helplessly at the contract Ji Linlang handed over.
But since he had already agreed, it would not be good to go back on his word.
Ji Xian likely understood this as well. After complaining once, he did not say more. He patted Ji Xiu’s shoulder and spoke in a resigned tone.
“Dad, I will go upstairs to pack first. You should pack properly too.”
At first, it was just about sneaking out behind the old master’s back. Now it had turned into going on a show.
Such a change was truly something else.
Ji Xiu glanced at Ji Linlang sitting across from him, shook his head, and said helplessly, “Why does a family like ours still need to experience poor travel?”
Ji Linlang felt a bit guilty.
She had been reckless. In order to avoid Qi Qinxue, she had complicated what should have been a simple matter.
Even though Ji Xiu only said one sentence and did not blame her, she still felt extremely embarrassed.
She only hoped that this reality show filming journey would be a bit easier.
Ji Linlang had not watched the previous season of “Poor Travel Family” and had not participated in reality show recordings before. However, she had heard from friends in the industry that reality shows were all shows with scripts. So even when her agent said it was very tough, with the program only providing meager daily funds while requiring travel to multiple places, she did not think it was a big deal and readily signed the contract.
But after returning home and calming down, it felt unreliable.
Even if the show had a script, in front of the cameras, her father and younger brother would definitely have to appear more tired to act out the feeling of poor travel.
Just thinking about that period of performance made her heart ache.
Unfortunately, she was now riding a tiger and could not get off. She had already told her father that this show suited her very well. Without an unexpected reason, if she wanted to change her decision and withdraw from the program, her father would definitely not agree.
So annoying. Ji Linlang frowned, regretting her panicked decision.
…
As usual, Ji Xian attended his tutoring lesson and brought Ji Chengsi along.
However, unlike usual, Ji Xian was extremely distracted that day. He kept spacing out. In the middle, the tutor asked him two questions, and he did not answer either.
Ji Chengsi found it strange. After the tutor left, he packed up his notes and asked him what was going on.
After these days of getting along, the relationship between the two had become more harmonious. Mainly because Ji Xian wanted Ji Chengsi to replace himself as the heir, he treated Ji Chengsi very attentively and closely.
Ji Chengsi was not an arrogant person. Even though his emotions were complicated and he did not quite dare to face Ji Xian, under Ji Xiu’s initiative, he gradually opened his heart.