Wealthy Servants and the Golden Black Card

The young man’s deep voice was laced with a hint of amusement. The night air was chilly, but Ji Yanli stood firmly in front of Chu Ci, acting as a perfect shield against the biting wind.

The youth’s back was straight, his white shirt pristine and without a single wrinkle. Compared to the decaying, grey backdrop of the old city district, he looked utterly out of place.

The gap between the original owner and Ji Yanli was vast. Even if the original owner were still alive, they likely would never have had any interaction beyond being classmates. It was as if a galaxy spanned between them; no matter how hard the original owner tried, he could never catch up to Ji Yanli’s silhouette.

In this moment, Chu Ci suddenly understood why the original owner remained obsessed with Ji Yanli even after death. It wasn’t about love or hate.

It was an obsession—a desperate wish for the other person to turn around just once and realize he was standing right there.

A passing breeze gently lifted the black bangs from Chu Ci’s forehead, making his vision of Ji Yanli clearer. The streetlights flickered, casting a warm yellow glow that pulsed over Ji Yanli like a heartbeat.

Chu Ci’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. He took several deep breaths, forcing the words that had bubbled up to his throat back down.

Ji Yanli watched him, his pupils darkening in the night. Even as the faint ambient light fell into his eyes, it couldn’t penetrate the shadows within.

[You—]

Chu Ci’s inner voice surfaced in Ji Yanli’s ears. Ji Yanli tilted his head, waiting to hear what else he wanted to say, but the voice cut off abruptly. In its place, a single tear escaped the corner of Chu Ci’s eye and slid down his cheek.

Eh?

Chu Ci felt his vision suddenly blur. Something overflowed from his eyes, tracing a path down his face before vanishing into the cool air.

He blinked in confusion, but the world only grew more distorted. Ji Yanli became a blurred black silhouette, and the streetlights behind him turned into hazy halos of light.

His tears were completely out of control, like a broken faucet. Chu Ci didn’t understand why he was crying; his heart felt no particular wave of emotion, and nothing had happened to make him feel wronged.

“It’s the original owner,” Xiao Ba spoke up suddenly, answering Chu Ci’s silent confusion. “Because the original owner’s will hasn’t fully dissipated, and this place likely has a deep impact on him, the host is being controlled by the original owner’s lingering consciousness.”

Chu Ci sucked in a breath. The reaction of the original owner’s will was so strong it made him feel like he was suffocating from the sobbing. He didn’t notice Ji Yanli silently stepping closer, raising a hand to gently stroke his back in a soothing rhythm.

Ji Yanli’s lips moved slightly, but Chu Ci couldn’t hear a word he was saying.

A wave of intense sorrow surged through him, causing Chu Ci to reflexively clutch his chest. He opened his mouth, gasping for air as ragged breaths entered his lungs. His head grew heavy from the lack of oxygen. If Ji Yanli hadn’t been supporting him, Chu Ci felt he would have collapsed onto the ground like a dead fish.

“The original owner’s will is actually quite weak. It can only control the host because you’ve just transmigrated and haven’t fully adapted to this body,” Xiao Ba continued, forcibly pulling Chu Ci’s scattered thoughts back. “Don’t worry, this state won’t last long. It will subside on its own.”

After providing the explanation, Xiao Ba vanished from Chu Ci’s mind.

Chu Ci choked back a sob, unable to speak. His trembling hands reached out, his fingertips catching the edge of Ji Yanli’s shirt as he leaned his forehead against the other’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Ji Yanli’s worried voice came from above. Perhaps because the original owner’s will had finally begun to fade, Chu Ci could finally hear him, and the crushing weight on his chest lightened significantly.

However, he still couldn’t answer. His mouth felt like it was glued shut, and only the occasional muffled groan escaped his throat.

Ji Yanli then took Chu Ci’s face in both hands, lifting his head. His warm palms pressed firmly against Chu Ci’s skin. Chu Ci frowned, his long, thick lashes still heavy with unshed tears.

He looked like a wreck—his eyelashes, nose, and ears were all flushed red. Teardrops stained his cheeks, and his small, wet face was still twitching with soft hiccups. He kept his eyes half-lowered, avoiding Ji Yanli’s gaze.

He looked both obedient and pitiful.

Ji Yanli’s gaze lingered on the reddened corners of Chu Ci’s eyes. His thumb brushed against them almost instinctively. He didn’t know why Chu Ci had suddenly broken down like this. Based on Chu Ci’s usual personality—

Could it be that one of his own sentences had broken his defenses?

Ji Yanli pursed his lips. Seeing Chu Ci like this, he felt a pang of guilt.

With cool fingertips, he gently wiped the corners of Chu Ci’s eyes. Once the sobbing had subsided, Ji Yanli asked softly, “Stop crying. If you’re unhappy, you can tell me about it.”

Chu Ci bit his lip hard and said nothing.

Ji Yanli lowered his head slightly, continuing in a gentle tone, “Who bullied you?”

Before Chu Ci could answer, another thought surfaced—

[God d*mn it, what a stroke of bad luck!]

The youth in front of him didn’t even twitch a lip, but Ji Yanli knew instantly it was Chu Ci’s inner voice.

[Why is it that when other people transmigrate, they’re either the ‘True Young Master’ or a CEO? When it’s my turn, I end up as a ‘Chosen Simp’ with no car, no house, a dad who doesn’t care, and a mom who doesn’t love me!]

Ji Yanli: “…?”

[I just don’t get it! If you had such a huge grievance, couldn’t you turn into a ghost and haunt your enemies or haunt Ji Yanli? Why do you have to mess with me!!]

Ji Yanli: “Uh… are you talking about a real person?”

[D*mn it! All rich people deserve to die!]

Ji Yanli: “…”

What was the connection between that sentence and the last one?

After silently cursing the ancestors of both the original owner and Ji Yanli for eighteen generations, Chu Ci finally calmed down. He raised his hand to messily wipe his tears and looked at Ji Yanli. “What did you just say?”

The surrounding darkness did a good job of hiding Ji Yanli’s sour expression. His lips parted and closed several times before he finally let out a helpless sigh. “Nothing. I said it’s late, we should head back early.”

Chu Ci shot him a strange look, suspecting Ji Yanli might be lying, but he couldn’t put his finger on why, so he let it go.

“Then…” Chu Ci spoke haltingly, still unable to shake his awkwardness. “Sorry for the trouble.”

The words fell softly from his lips into Ji Yanli’s ears.

Having said his piece, Chu Ci turned quickly and walked ahead, acting as if nothing had happened. Ji Yanli stood behind him, watching his back.

“Don’t you have anything else to say to me?” Ji Yanli asked quietly after a moment.

Chu Ci turned around, confused. He thought for a second, then had an epiphany. He walked back, took Ji Yanli’s hands in his, and held them to his chest.

He closed his eyes and said in a deeply pious tone, “From the moment you appeared, I knew you were my salvation. I must have used up all the luck of my current life just to meet someone as wonderful as you.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chu Ci let go of Ji Yanli’s hands and moved away so fast he looked like a scumbag who had just “used and dumped” someone.

‘What kind of fetish is this? He loves hearing this disgusting, sappy stuff, doesn’t he.’

Chu Ci hunched his shoulders, shivering as if hit by a wave of revulsion.

‘Yikes—people in this world really aren’t normal.’

‘Better stay away from him so I don’t catch whatever he has.’

Ji Yanli was stunned for a few seconds, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. Then he looked at Chu Ci, who was now swaggering ahead.

The boy had his head held high like a graceful little swan, humming an unknown tune. Compared to his fragile state moments ago, he was like a completely different person.

Ji Yanli’s expression darkened. He was beginning to wonder which one was the “real” Chu Ci.

Unaware of Ji Yanli’s internal musings, Chu Ci was busy calculating what he would do if the original owner’s will took over again and made him do something even more extreme.

He’d already been hit in the head and had a crying fit. He didn’t even want to imagine if the final plot would force him to walk to his death.

Is there really no other way besides completing the mission with Ji Yanli?

His thoughts were a tangled mess, and a sense of irritability began to wrap around him.

“Chu Ci!!” Naturally, Ji Yanli shouted his name from behind.

Chu Ci stopped, unable to hide his annoyance. “What! Didn’t you tell me to hurry up!”

“No!” Ji Yanli cupped one hand to his mouth while the other pointed at a black car parked by the road. “You walked right past it!”

The sounds of their voices echoed in the air.

As he sat in the car, Chu Ci was thinking about just giving up right then and there.

He leaned against the window, staring at the reflection on the glass. Ji Yanli got in after him. With a “click,” the door closed. Ji Yanli looked at the driver and said flatly, “Let’s go.”

The driver said nothing, simply stepping on the gas and turning the steering wheel toward the city center.

The car was so quiet he couldn’t even hear the wind outside. A faint scent of perfume lingered near Chu Ci’s nose, very similar to the scent on Ji Yanli himself.

The two sat in the back, neither speaking. One on the left, one on the right, with enough space between them to fit several more people.

Chu Ci’s neck was getting stiff, but he refused to stop staring out the window. The atmosphere was so awkward that if he accidentally made eye contact with Ji Yanli, he might just jump out of the moving car from embarrassment.

Determined not to turn his head, Chu Ci propped his chin on his hand and watched the passing streetlights. It took quite a while just to get from the old district to the city center. Chu Ci realized for the first time that he had walked a very long way on his own.

Time ticked by. Ji Yanli’s home was in a villa district on the other side of the city, a literal “East vs West” distance from where Chu Ci lived.

The quiet environment and the slight swaying of the car made Chu Ci drowsy. He lowered his head, his long hair luckily veiling his eyes. That surreal yet persistent scent made his eyelids start to fight a losing battle.

To keep from falling asleep, Chu Ci decided to get his brain cells moving.

Beside him, Ji Yanli glanced toward the boy out of the corner of his eye. The boy hadn’t said a word since getting in, behaving with almost zero presence. Ji Yanli assumed he was just uncomfortable since it was his first time in a classmate’s car. He didn’t realize that Chu Ci, head resting on his hand and breathing softly, looked like he was already asleep.

Ji Yanli stared at his profile, his gaze sliding over the tip of his upturned nose.

Although the AC wasn’t set very low, the cold air was blowing directly toward Chu Ci. Seeing Chu Ci shiver unconsciously, Ji Yanli thought for a moment. He picked up a soft pillow beside him, unbuttoned it to turn it into a thin blanket, and cautiously leaned closer to Chu Ci.

Just as Ji Yanli raised his hand to cover him with the blanket, Chu Ci’s voice suddenly rang out in his mind—

[I have been reborn. Reborn as a billionaire who controls the world’s economic arteries. Every day I wake up in a 500-square-meter bed, and 200 servants attend to me the moment I open my eyes. But today, because a new servant didn’t know I like to wear my socks inside out, I am absolutely furious.]

[So, I pull out my gold-rimmed black card and slap it hard against his face.]

[In a perfect, magnetic voice, I say: ‘Ji Yanli, here is ten million. Disappear from my sight immediately!’]

[…]

The boy’s inner world was incredibly colorful. In just a few minutes, he had transitioned from a global billionaire to the world’s number one genius, thoughtfully assigning Ji Yanli roles like “Servant Ji Yanli,” “Vicious Male Supporting Character Ji Yanli,” and “Scheming Green-Tea Ji Yanli.”

Ji Yanli felt his eye twitch.

The hand he had raised to cover the boy with the blanket was slowly pulled back.

Let him freeze.

He brought it on himself.