That night in the study, Ji Yuzhou quickly noticed something was off with Jiang Xunyu.

Things were fine while he was explaining the problems to him, but as soon as he let Jiang Xunyu work on them by himself, the kid would zone out after a short while, his pen unmoving for a long time.

Ji Yuzhou tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. “Focus.”

Jiang Xunyu flinched, hurriedly apologized with a “Sorry,” and started writing again, but before he’d written more than a couple of words, his pen stopped once more.

His expression was hesitant, clearly preoccupied with something.

After this repeated several times, Ji Yuzhou finally closed his laptop. “Xunyu.”

A soft “click” sound echoed as Jiang Xunyu’s body trembled. He snapped his head up to look at Ji Yuzhou but then quickly lowered it again, mumbling an apology. “S-sorry… I zoned out again.”

“Something on your mind?”

Jiang Xunyu instinctively shook his head, but after a moment of hesitation, he lifted his gaze to Ji Yuzhou. “Mr. Ji…”

So there was something troubling him.

Ji Yuzhou frowned slightly. “Speak.”

Jiang Xunyu struggled with how to bring it up. He couldn’t just keep avoiding it, so he clenched his teeth and said, “The school is having a parent-teacher meeting, and I, I…”

He stammered for a while but couldn’t finish his sentence. Even so, Ji Yuzhou easily guessed what he meant.

The kid was afraid he wouldn’t want to go.

Ji Yuzhou chuckled lightly and teased, “What’s the matter? Don’t want me to attend?”

“No!” Jiang Xunyu shook his head hastily. Then, realizing the implication in Ji Yuzhou’s tone, he widened his eyes in surprise. “You-you’ll attend?”

“Do you want me to?”

Jiang Xunyu couldn’t lie, his voice trembling slightly as he replied, “I… I do…”

“Then I’ll attend.” Ji Yuzhou’s tone was matter-of-fact. “Even though you’re an adult now, I’m still your guardian until you graduate. That’s a legal fact.”

“But…” Jiang Xunyu hesitated, “Won’t it cause trouble for you?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Ji Yuzhou lowered his gaze, his tone calm yet carrying an unintentional authority. “They wouldn’t dare gossip.”

Even if someone wanted to say something, with Ji Yuzhou’s power and influence, he could easily squash any rumors before they spread.

Compared to the worries Jiang Xunyu had, Ji Yuzhou felt a pang of sadness instead.

The kid had no parents. By all accounts, he was the closest thing Jiang Xunyu had to family, yet even for something as ordinary as a parent-teacher meeting, Jiang Xunyu had to tread so carefully and ask so tentatively.

Not to mention that Ji Yuzhou, as this “family,” didn’t have purely selfless intentions either. At first, he had only approached Jiang Xunyu to use him.

Yet Jiang Xunyu bore no resentment. When Ji Yuzhou agreed to attend, his eyes lit up, his blue pupils shimmering like they held an entire galaxy.

Still, Jiang Xunyu had to confirm once more. “Really?”

“Yes,” Ji Yuzhou replied with certainty.

….

That evening, Jiang Xunyu returned to his room, and Ji Yuzhou headed back to his own. Regardless of his initial motives, Ji Yuzhou was gradually getting used to having the boy around.

Though he often returned home late and frequently traveled for work, every time he came back, the house was lit up, reminding him that someone was waiting for him.

Ji Yuzhou realized he probably couldn’t bring himself to send Jiang Xunyu to the pirates after all.

He was afraid the boy might get hurt. Afraid the boy might hate him.

Forget it, Ji Yuzhou thought helplessly. I’ll just consider this an act of charity. A way to repay the life-saving grace of Jiang Xunyu’s father.

Having resolved the matter that had been weighing on his mind, Ji Yuzhou felt noticeably more relaxed. For once, he even planned to go to bed early. But just as he lay down, his communicator rang. A message indicated that one of his guards was requesting a call.

Curious, he accepted the request. The guard’s voice came through the receiver. “General Ji… I’d like to request some leave.”

“Oh? What happened?” Ji Yuzhou knew his subordinates well. This guard was diligent and rarely took time off, even during holidays.

There was a hint of embarrassment in the guard’s voice. “Well, my daughter just started school this year. I’m usually stationed far away and barely get to see her, let alone help her with her studies. Her first final exams are coming up, and I want to be home to support her.”

This reminded Ji Yuzhou that Jiang Xunyu also had finals approaching.

As a guardian, his situation wasn’t too different from that of the guard.

Neglectful, uninvolved—he had indeed been somewhat irresponsible.

“What do you plan to do with her?” Ji Yuzhou asked.

“Well… at the very least, I want to wish her good luck in person.”

“I see.”

Ji Yuzhou granted the leave, his thoughts wandering. He opened his digital calendar and marked a day two weeks later.

….

Time flew by. Every night, Jiang Xunyu came to Ji Yuzhou’s study, and before they knew it, two weeks had passed.

Ji Yuzhou usually left for the corps much earlier than Jiang Xunyu woke up. By the time Jiang Xunyu got out of bed, Ji Yuzhou was typically already seated in his office. However, that morning was different. Ji Yuzhou deliberately delayed his departure, sitting on the sofa and waiting for Jiang Xunyu.

Jiang Xunyu walked out of his bedroom, still groggy with sleep. When he reached the staircase and saw Ji Yuzhou, he thought he was seeing things. “Mr. Ji? Are you off today?”  

“I’m leaving soon.”  

Ji Yuzhou was already dressed, wearing his pristine white military uniform. The star emblem on his cap glinted under the light, and his polished leather shoes shone.  

Walking over to Jiang Xunyu, he placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “Good luck on your exam.”  

It had been a long time since Ji Yuzhou had stood face-to-face with Jiang Xunyu. Most of the time, he was seated when they interacted. Only now did he notice the boy seemed to have grown taller. What used to be a height difference that left the top of Jiang Xunyu’s head at his nose now had him standing nearly eye level.  

Thinking back to their first meeting, when Jiang Xunyu was timid and afraid to even look him in the eye, Ji Yuzhou couldn’t help but feel sentimental.  

Still, he had matters to attend to and couldn’t stay long. After wishing Jiang Xunyu good luck, he quickly bid him farewell and headed to the corps headquarters.  

Left alone, Jiang Xunyu stood there in a daze until the sound of the door locking pulled him back to reality.  

That day was indeed the day of his final exam.  

So… Mr. Ji had waited for him to wake up just to personally wish him good luck on his exam?  

Jiang Xunyu felt a twinge of emotion in his heart.  

He had been alone for so many years, enduring countless hardships and malice, but none of that had ever made him feel as close to tears as he did in this moment.

Mr. Ji was too good to him—accepting his unusual appearance without a trace of prejudice, giving him care and protection, and pulling him out of the abyss he had been trapped in. Just meeting Mr. Ji was already more than he could ever ask for.

Though naturally introverted, Jiang Xunyu had the sensitivity and intuition of a small animal. From the start, he had vaguely sensed that Mr. Ji was hiding something from him.

With Ji Yuzhou’s influence and connections, even if Jiang Xunyu’s father had truly saved him, he could have simply arranged for Jiang Xunyu to live in a reliable welfare institution. That would have been more than enough. There was no need to take him in personally.  

But Jiang Xunyu didn’t mind. Even if Mr. Ji asked him to give up his life now, he would do so without hesitation.  

His life belonged to Mr. Ji.