Powerful Investment Chapter 28: Ji Huan

Chapter 28: Ji Huan

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

“Why didn’t you tell Lu Yao…” Ji Jin was momentarily stunned by the question.

To be honest, even he hadn’t figured out why he hadn’t told Lu Yao. At the time, he was still young. When the unexpected pregnancy happened, his first thought was to keep the child. But the cost of doing so was simply too high.

He could accept the cost of retirement, but Lu Yao might not have been able to. Even if Lu Yao had been willing to bear such a price, Ji Jin couldn’t bear to let someone who had just joined a professional team as a rookie shoulder such a burden.

But fortunately, he no longer needed to answer that question, because just then, he saw Lu Yao approaching with a bottle in hand, storming over like a husband catching his wife cheating.

The comparison wasn’t exactly right, but it did feel like that. If Ji Jin hadn’t clearly seen the bottle was just a drink, he would’ve suspected Lu Yao had secretly filled it with acid to throw on Jiao Yue in a sneak attack.

Luckily, although Lu Yao approached with fierce momentum, he stopped in front of Ji Jin and didn’t make any other moves.

An omega’s susceptible period usually lasted about three to five days, with the first three being more intense. Ji Jin guessed Lu Yao had applied a suppressant patch, but he could still faintly smell his scent.

Jiao Yue had also put on a patch and had no detectable scent. The sudden hit of Lu Yao’s pheromones made him choke for a second, and then his expression changed slightly.

Because he smelled that same scent—on Ji Jin.

Although the scent was faint, it wasn’t something you could pick up from casual contact. It was more like… it came from inside out. He suddenly looked up at the back of Ji Jin’s neck—and there, he saw a piece of medical tape.

A gland wouldn’t be covered unless it was hurt. And glands like that were protected for a reason—unless they had been bitten.

“It’s time for you to go home, brother,” Lu Yao said as he stood in front of Ji Jin, not sparing even a glance for Jiao Yue. “Little Xingxing is still outside waiting for you.”

Jiao Yue was shocked speechless by the double hit—first that Ji Xingxing was Lu Yao’s child, and second, that Ji Jin had been marked. He stood there in a daze, his expression exaggerated with disbelief.

Thankfully, Lu Yao was still affected by his susceptible period, and all his attention was on Ji Jin.

Ji Jin gave Jiao Yue a look, silently asking him to keep quiet. But before he could finish the gesture, Lu Yao intercepted it.

“Uh, Jiao Yue’s leaving tomorrow—I should at least see him off,” Ji Jin said. After all, Jiao Yue had come all this way to see him. He figured he should at least be a proper host.

“No need, brother,” Lu Yao said, glancing at Jiao Yue. “Ke Yu will have someone else take care of it. Aren’t you worried about Xingxing? He cried for a long time after waking up and not seeing you.”

Even though Ji Jin suspected Ji Xingxing probably didn’t cry and Lu Yao was just lying to get him to leave, he couldn’t help but feel anxious. Without even saying a proper goodbye to Jiao Yue, he turned and rushed off.

Leaving Jiao Yue standing there alone.

Lu Yao followed closely behind Ji Jin with the water bottle in hand, shooting a smug and victorious smile at Jiao Yue.

Even someone as mild-tempered as Jiao Yue had the sudden urge to punch Lu Yao.

Ji Jin ran all the way out of the hotel and into the parking lot, where he immediately spotted Ji Xingxing wearing a little checkered shirt and holding a leash. Ke Yu stood nearby watching him while Ji Xingxing squatted, completely focused on an anthill on the lawn.

As soon as the little one heard movement, he looked up and spotted Ji Jin. He grabbed the other end of the leash and sprinted toward him, his short legs pumping wildly, and threw himself between Ji Jin’s legs.

“Daddy!” Ji Xingxing clung to Ji Jin’s leg, whining sweetly.

Ji Jin noticed that all of Ji Xingxing’s clothes were brand new—Ke Yu had probably bought them—and without even checking the tags, he could tell they were expensive.

“Daddy, kiss!” Ji Xingxing held up his little chubby hands, asking to be picked up. Ji Jin, unable to resist his clingy charm, gave in and scooped him up for a kiss.

Satisfied after getting a kiss, Ji Xingxing shyly buried his face in Ji Jin’s neck. He sniffed, then smelled something different from strawberries. He wriggled forward a little and reached for the bandage on Ji Jin’s neck.

But since Ji Jin was carrying him, his movements were slow. Before his tiny hand could touch the tape, Lu Yao reached out and slapped his own hand over Ji Jin’s gland protectively, glaring warningly at Ji Xingxing.

But the motion was a bit too forceful—Ji Jin’s gland was still swollen, and Lu Yao’s touch made him shudder and almost tear up from the pain.

Ji Jin turned to glare at Lu Yao, then, still holding the kid, walked past Ke Yu’s car and headed straight for Zhao Ze’s. Zhao Ze and Cheng Pian had assumed he’d be leaving with Ke Yu, so their car was already running—but Ji Jin climbed in instead.

Lu Yao tried to follow, but was a second too slow. Ji Jin shut the door in his face.

“Drive,” Ji Jin ordered.

“Huh…? Oh.” Zhao Ze nearly didn’t react in time but quickly stepped on the gas.

Ji Xingxing, still sulky from getting glared at for no reason, stuck his tongue out and made a cute little face at Lu Yao through the window.

Lu Yao: …

Ke Yu sat in his own car, shaking his head as he watched Lu Yao’s back. He had just gone inside too and saw God Ji’s press conference—saw that calm and composed God Ji who never seemed afraid of anything, not even in front of the media.

In truth, he had never worried about Ji Jin being unable to handle things. From the moment Ji Jin joined the professional league, Ke Yu had been the team manager and had witnessed his growth every step of the way. Ji Jin was an Omega, but his personality was no less strong than that of an Alpha. He never feared challenges.

Not even when he had been forced to retire.

In fact, Ke Yu had been the one who personally handled Ji Jin’s retirement procedures. At the time, Ji Jin was still the God of Esports. Every player believed in one truth: as long as Ji Jin was on the team, they would never lose.

Yet right at the height of his career, Ji Jin had gotten pregnant. For ordinary people, an Omega pregnancy was nothing special. The general consensus was that Omegas should stay home, raise children, and support their spouses. But Ji Jin was different. He was the team’s core player. If something happened to him, the entire team would be affected.

At that time, IKW had gone through three years of adjustments and had become the best team in the league. But no one on the team was as outstanding as Ji Jin. He was far ahead of the average player—too advanced, too exceptional.

So the higher-ups believed his pregnancy would impact their performance. They didn’t want him transferring to another team either. In the end, they gave him a small sum of money and forced him into retirement.

Ke Yu had tried to fight for him back then—tried to get him more—but all he managed was a slightly better payout. He hadn’t been able to keep Ji Jin on the team. Now that Ji Jin had returned, Ke Yu truly felt no regrets.

But then… a thought suddenly struck Ke Yu like a jolt.

Why did Ji Xingxing and Lu Yao… look kind of alike?

The idea startled him so much that he immediately shook his head to banish it. Ji Jin and Lu Yao had never officially been on the same team. One was on the youth training squad, the other in the main lineup. Besides training, they barely had any contact.

He had to be overthinking things. Ke Yu took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

Soon, Lu Yao returned and got into the passenger seat.

“Didn’t catch them, huh?” Ke Yu teased him.

Lu Yao shook his head, looking a bit downcast. But he quickly returned to his usual cold and distant self. “Jiao Yue’s going back to C City tomorrow. Help me see him off.”

“You being that nice?” Ke Yu raised an eyebrow, momentarily forgetting to reject the task that really wasn’t his responsibility.

“Make sure he gets on the plane and stays there. Don’t let him come back,” Lu Yao said “fiercely,” though his eyes weren’t on Ke Yu—they were locked on the back of Zhao Ze’s car, now long gone.

Ke Yu thought: Fine, fine. You’re the team captain. Whatever you say.

On the way back, Zhao Ze briefly explained the upcoming arrangements to Ji Jin and then asked him to post something on Weibo to clarify the situation to fans and players.

Because this year’s Legend Reappearance World Championship had been moved up, the Autumn Tournament—which determined the qualification for the finals—would also start earlier, around July. All the teams’ summer breaks would be shortened, with the extra time devoted to training.

For professional players, there was no one who didn’t want to get on stage and win a championship—even if it meant giving up their break. Ji Jin was no exception and agreed immediately to return to training in a few days.

The entire way back, Ji Jin’s phone kept buzzing non-stop. He didn’t even need to look to know it was Lu Yao messaging him. Since Lu Yao likely received the same update about training being moved up, Ji Jin figured the message bombardment would stop soon.

Sure enough, by the time Ji Jin returned to the dorm carrying Ji Xingxing in his arms, his phone had finally fallen silent. But just as he and Zhao Ze and Cheng Pian went upstairs, he spotted a familiar figure standing outside his dorm room.

That figure was far too familiar to Ji Jin—so familiar that, at just a glance from behind, he felt like a mouse spotting a cat and instinctively wanted to run back downstairs while clutching Ji Xingxing.

But it was too late. The man had already turned around and was now facing the three of them, his gaze landing squarely on Ji Jin holding Ji Xingxing.

“God Ji, this is…” Zhao Ze was nearly speechless as he looked at the man in front of them. From the first glance, he had sensed something unusual about this person.

“This guy… kind of looks like you,” Cheng Pian murmured in surprise. But their temperament was completely different.

The man in front of them appeared to be a few years older than Ji Jin and bore a striking resemblance—four or five points at least. But unlike Ji Jin’s lazy, casual air, this man wore a sharp, tailored suit and had a cool, refined demeanor. He gave off a distinctly elite vibe.

His expression had been cold and aloof, but the moment he saw Ji Jin, he suddenly smiled. That smile was like a breeze in early spring—gentle and warm.

“Jinjin, I finally… caught you,” Ji Huan said softly as he turned toward Ji Jin. “And these two are…?”

Though Ji Jin could clearly hear the gritted teeth in Ji Huan’s voice, Zhao Ze and Cheng Pian somehow still found his tone tender and pleasant. Ji Jin truly couldn’t understand it.

“I’m Zhao Ze, MOE’s team manager, and this is our squad leader, Cheng Pian,” Zhao Ze replied. He could tell this man had a refined aura and likely held some status, though he didn’t recognize him. When Ji Jin first signed with them, he’d been completely broke—Zhao Ze had never imagined he might have wealthy relatives.

“A pleasure,” Ji Huan said with a soft smile and nodded slightly before turning his gaze back to Ji Jin. “Jinjin, why so quiet, hmm?”

Ji Xingxing could sense that Ji Jin was nervous. As a child, he was especially attuned to his dad’s emotions. Frightened, he curled up tighter in Ji Jin’s arms and used his father’s hand to cover himself, daring to peek out with only his big round eyes.

“Uhhh… Bro, what wind blew you in from the east, west, north, or south?” Ji Jin asked with a pained tone, still holding the child.

Bro?!

Zhao Ze and Cheng Pian exchanged a look. Both of them saw the same thing in each other’s eyes—shock.

 

Author’s note:

Lu Yao: You watch Jiao Yue, Naisi, and Cheng Pian. Don’t let them come back. Keep them far away from my brother!

Ke Yu: Should I change careers and become a private detective? Only take on cheating cases.

Congrats to God Ji for unlocking: one overbearing, matchmaking big brother—Ji Huan!

 

 

 

 

 

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