Powerful Investment Chapter 13: Explanation

Chapter 13: Explanation

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

The stadium was crowded, filled with bustling noise that echoed through the air, with glow sticks waving everywhere.

Ji Jin worried he might have missed something, so he hurried back to the MOE team area, but still did not see any sign of Ji Xingxing. Only Zhao Ze was there, his face full of anxiety.

“Where’s Ji Xingxing?” Ji Jin immediately ran up to Zhao Ze, his heart pounding as if it would leap out of his chest.

To Ji Jin, Ji Xingxing was the most precious gift—something absolutely irreplaceable.

“I… I’m sorry… God Ji…” Zhao Ze was anxious and guilty. “He was here earlier, but just now little Xingxing said he wanted to go to the bathroom. I didn’t hold onto his leash tightly and he ran off. I’ve already sent people to look for him. Please don’t worry, we will definitely find him.”

The stadium was full of people, and Ji Xingxing didn’t like anyone other than Ji Jin holding the leash. But because he was anxious to go to the bathroom, he had taken the leash himself and ran off. The child was under three years old and very small—hard to spot at all.

Except for Cheng Pian, the rookie of the year who was already preparing to go on stage and didn’t know about this, the rest of the MOE team had already gone to look. Zhao Ze was sweating profusely from the worry.

“What’s going on?” Naisi saw Ji Jin running back and knew something serious must have happened for him to be like this. Following him were Lu Yao and Jiao Yue, who had also come over after noticing the abnormal situation.

“Ji Xingxing is lost.” Ji Jin took a deep breath, feeling his hands tremble so badly he had to steady himself by holding the seat next to him. “Go inform the organizers immediately, and make sure the audience doesn’t leave the stadium yet.”

Zhao Ze hesitated for a moment, then nodded quickly and rushed off to find the organizers.

“We’ll split up to look,” Naisi said, helping Ji Jin steady himself before turning to Lu Yao and Jiao Yue. Jiao Yue was a veteran in the league; although he and Ji Jin hadn’t met much, they had frequently interacted during livestreams, so he was trusted.

But since Jiao Yue didn’t know anything yet, he followed Ji Jin to search.

Naisi went to the west side of the stadium, Lu Yao went backstage, and Ji Jin and Jiao Yue searched around the stadium bathrooms.

Honestly, Ji Jin doubted whether Ji Xingxing even knew where the bathrooms were in the stadium. Maybe right now… he was hiding in some corner, scared and crying.

Thinking this, Ji Jin felt as if his heart was put in a blender, mixed into a chaotic mess.

There were many bathrooms in the stadium. Ji Jin and Jiao Yue started from the nearest one, searching room by room, carefully checking the corridors and hallways leading to the bathrooms.

The corridor lights were bright, and Ji Jin began to sweat.

No sign anywhere. They searched every bathroom in the stadium, but saw no trace of the little Ji Xingxing.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic.” Jiao Yue, tall with long legs, took a couple of steps forward and steadied Ji Jin. “Maybe someone else has found him? City B has good security, we will definitely find him.”

His voice, like his stature, carried a calming power.

Ji Jin leaned against the wall and looked up at Jiao Yue, forcing a faint smile to reassure him.

Seeing Ji Jin’s bitter smile, Jiao Yue thought he might be better off not smiling at all.

They were from the same generation of players — from the “Legend Reappearance” closed beta, they were among the first players, and had seen each other’s IDs on the ladder rankings. Later they joined different teams and often studied each other’s tactics in matches.

Most studied was Ji Jin’s strategy.

Jiao Yue had seen Ji Jin at his most confident, on the winner’s podium under countless spotlights—but never like this.

Anxious, hopeful, relentless… this was the first time Jiao Yue had seen Ji Jin so close and like this.

“Let’s look somewhere else,” Jiao Yue said quietly. He noticed the tear mole near Ji Jin’s eye and somehow felt more sympathy.

Ji Jin nodded, casually wiped sweat from his temple, and continued searching for Ji Xingxing.

By some stroke of fate, Lu Yao was the first to find Ji Xingxing. The little baby was squatting near the backstage of the stadium stage.

Ahead were many busy staff, but the little one hadn’t gone there—he had found a corner to squat in, glancing around as if looking for something.

Lu Yao quickly ran over, startling Ji Xingxing, who stood up and turned to run—but forgot there was a wall behind him. He bumped solidly into it and immediately burst into tears.

“Ji Xingxing.” Lu Yao guessed the little one didn’t recognize him and hurriedly called out the child’s name. Ji Xingxing’s big eyes were full of tears and he looked up at Lu Yao with an extremely aggrieved expression.

Lu Yao crouched down and took out a tissue to wipe the child’s face.

The child’s skin was soft and tender; he cried while retreating cautiously.

“I’m your daddy’s friend, here to take you back.” Lu Yao tried to soothe him quietly. He had no experience coaxing kids, felt flustered, and didn’t know what to say or do.

“Bad guy! Daddy said bad guys all say that! Daddy said he doesn’t have any friends!” Ji Xingxing shouted loudly, panic-stricken, grabbing the leash on himself to keep it away. “Not daddy, no leash!”

Although he shouted, his voice was still babyish and the way he stood with his hands on his hips was adorably fierce, without a hint of real menace.

Lu Yao thought: It’s like without that leash, I can’t subdue this little thing.

But… what did it mean that daddy said he had no friends? Lu Yao suddenly laughed to himself.

“I really am your daddy’s friend, and I know your name is Ji Xingxing.” Lu Yao rubbed the little head and watched the confused expression on the child’s face.

At that moment, Lu Yao suddenly remembered to call Ji Jin. He took out his phone but found he didn’t have Ji Jin’s number. Ji Jin had retired three years ago so abruptly, leaving the country with almost no contact.

His old phone number had also been changed, and Lu Yao had called countless times in the past three years but never heard Ji Jin’s voice on the other end.

There was no hope left for him.

“Shall we go back to find your dad? Your dad couldn’t find you and was really worried,” Lu Yao looked down at the phone in his hand and paused for a moment, then gently coaxed him.

“But… baby wanted to… wanted to pee,” Ji Xingxing only then remembered why he had run out. He wanted his dad to take him to pee, but his dad was too far away, so he could only run here and got lost. “Can’t… can’t hold it anymore.”

Lu Yao’s expression changed slightly. He couldn’t let Ji Xingxing wet his pants. Without thinking twice, he picked Ji Xingxing up and ran toward the nearest restroom.

That finally solved the urgent problem.

Ji Xingxing, who had been holding it in and couldn’t take it anymore, didn’t care whether the person was a stranger or not. When he came out of the restroom, his serious little face finally relaxed with a breath of relief.

Lu Yao heard him muttering something quietly. When he listened carefully, it was—

“No pee-pee in pants, Daddy can’t scold baby.”

Lu Yao almost laughed out loud.

After helping Ji Xingxing solve the urgent problem, the little baby and Lu Yao became familiar with each other. When Lu Yao reached out to hold Ji Xingxing’s hand again, the baby didn’t resist, and even let Lu Yao carry him.

“I want a hug, tired, don’t want to walk,” Ji Xingxing stood on the ground, but since Lu Yao was so tall, the baby had to look up all the way to the back of his head.

Those two little chubby hands reaching out for a hug melted Lu Yao’s heart. That little look made him feel like he had seen it somewhere before.

Lu Yao lifted the little baby up. The child, who was not yet three years old, was still light and smelled like milk, so he was easy to carry.

After all the activity, even though Lu Yao had hidden pheromone stickers on, a slight scent still spread. Ji Xingxing lazily rested in Lu Yao’s arms and wrinkled his little nose when he smelled the plum wine scent. He didn’t seem to like it very much, but it wasn’t enough to make him hate it.

Because of the delay, Lu Yao was actually the last to return. When he appeared holding Ji Xingxing, dozens of eyes turned to him, especially Ji Jin’s gaze, which seemed to set fire in his eyes.

Ji Xingxing looked like a “hungry wolf” who hadn’t eaten for years suddenly spotting some yogurt. When he saw Ji Jin, his eyes lit up, and being held by Lu Yao, he tried to fly straight into his dad’s arms, flapping his little hands and feet.

Lu Yao, who often went to the gym, said he almost couldn’t hold onto this little thing.

“Daddy! Wuuu! Baby wants Daddy!” Ji Xingxing shouted. Lu Yao quickly put him down, and Ji Xingxing ran straight to Ji Jin. Tears immediately fell like heavy rain, as if deeply wronged.

Everyone there—whether from the MOE team or Naisi and Jiao Yue—watched Ji Xingxing’s rapid change of expression. When he came back, he was clearly happy, but the moment he saw Ji Jin, he immediately turned into a spoiled little creature.

Ji Jin hugged Ji Xingxing tenderly but knew the little one’s tears were fake. Still, being able to see Ji Xingxing again made him breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” Ji Jin whispered softly, holding Ji Xingxing. He looked up at the young man standing in front of him but felt a little uneasy. Actually, Ji Xingxing didn’t look like him as a child; he seemed to resemble Lu Yao more.

Though Ji Jin hadn’t seen Lu Yao as a child, the baby’s nose and eyes were somewhat similar to Lu Yao’s. Every time Lu Yao and Ji Xingxing met, Ji Jin was afraid the truth would be discovered.

It seemed Lu Yao hadn’t figured it out yet.

“Thanks, everyone, for helping.” By now, Ji Jin had composed himself and thanked everyone who had been busy.

Seeing Ji Xingxing return safely, everyone relaxed and waved off, returning to their positions, waiting for the next rookie challenge match.

Ji Jin carried Ji Xingxing back to his seat in the MOE team area, but unexpectedly, there was an uninvited guest.

It was Lu Yao. He hadn’t returned to the IKW team’s area or to the all-star players’ seats but secretly came to sit beside Ji Jin.

To conveniently take care of Ji Xingxing, Zhao Ze had cleared the seat behind Ji Jin for putting down belongings. All the other players were in front; the last row had only Ji Jin, Ji Xingxing, and Lu Yao, along with others’ jackets and bags.

“Brother, aren’t you going to explain?” Lu Yao sat beside Ji Jin, slightly tilted his head, and put his arm around Ji Jin’s shoulder. It looked like brotherly affection, but actually it blocked Ji Jin’s way out.

His voice was soft and sweet, like a honeyed hook that made Ji Jin’s heart flutter and itch. He whispered close to Ji Jin’s ear, loud enough only for Ji Jin and Ji Xingxing to hear; the front row couldn’t hear a thing.

But those words exploded like a little firecracker inside Ji Jin’s heart. Explain? Explain what? Did Lu Yao figure out Ji Xingxing’s origins just now?

Ji Jin, who had been calm and fearless during the match, suddenly became flustered.

 

Author’s note:

Ji Xingxing: I’m definitely not going with you! Daddy said he has no friends at all.

Lu Yao: He doesn’t have friends, he has a husband ^_^

 

 

 

 

 

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