Chapter 021
Ji Tingqian returned to the country in late May. This trip abroad had been for a follow-up medical examination. Several years prior, Ji Tingqian had been involved in a severe car accident. The crash was devastating; afterwards, he remained on a ventilator and stayed in the ICU for over a month before regaining consciousness. He then lay bedridden for another two months to achieve slight recovery, followed by a long and arduous period of rehabilitation.
Such a major incident led to Ji Tingqian’s retirement from the entertainment industry, yet the matter was concealed exceptionally well. The news was suppressed by the Ji family right at its source, so his fans back then always believed he had gone abroad for further studies.
Initially, Ji Tingqian received treatment in the United States. The Ji family owned an estate there; several years prior, they had invested a substantial sum to renovate one of the villas on the property, transforming it into something akin to a small hospital. A full medical team resided there, dedicated to crafting his rehabilitation plan.
The hardships involved need hardly be mentioned, but fortunately, Ji Tingqian possessed a remarkable capacity for recovery, and ultimately, his legs healed enough for him to walk as he once did.
Once he had largely recovered, Ji Tingqian returned to Haiyu Entertainment, though with a new manager. He became selective about the roles he accepted, yet his popularity remained so immense that even after all that time, everyone still remembered him.
In fact, Ji Tingqian’s parents had initially been absolutely opposed to his return to the entertainment industry. After all, he had suffered such severe injuries, and they had hoped he would focus on resting and recovering. However, they ultimately could not sway Ji Tingqian’s determination and had no choice but to let him go back.
For the past two years, Ji Tingqian has been traveling back and forth between China and the United States. Whenever he wasn’t filming, he would stay in the U.S. It was only earlier this year, when medical check-ups confirmed that his health no longer posed any major concerns, that the frequency of his trips decreased.
Following this latest examination, the next one wouldn’t be until the end of the year.
Upon returning, Ji Tingqian first went back to the Ji family residence. Ironically enough, since his accident, he had hardly ever returned home; even during Chinese New Year, he had spent the holidays in the U.S. with his aunt and her family. This visit marked his first return to the family home in a year. As soon as he stepped inside, Ji Tingqian even felt a strange sensation, as if an entire lifetime had passed since he last stood there.
Ming Huai’s parents were on a business trip abroad, and her elder brother and second sister also owned properties elsewhere, so they rarely stayed overnight at the family estate for convenience. Thus, only Ji Tingqian remained in the old mansion.
Over the past two years, the Ji family estate had changed significantly; nearly all the staff had been replaced. Several of the older maids had retired to live with their children due to their age. Now, only Aunt Li remained in the house, though she was already in her fifties. According to her, she planned to return to her hometown after working for just two more years.
Aunt Li’s duties at the Ji residence were quite light. The household already had an elderly butler, making her role similar to his, yet she preferred staying active and couldn’t bear idleness. Whenever Ji Tingqian and his siblings returned home, she would invariably prepare many delicious dishes for them.
That afternoon, while Ji Tingqian was reading in the conservatory, Aunt Li entered carrying a small tray holding a plate of cookies and a pot of milk tea.
The milk tea was chilled, and the cookies were freshly baked and cooled before being served.
Ji Tingqian didn’t have a sweet tooth; in fact, neither did his eldest brother or second sister in the Ji family. Yet Aunt Li was exceptionally skilled at making desserts, as if she had trained specifically for it. Aunt Li was well aware of their preferences, but strangely, in his memory, he had eaten plenty of these treats before. He felt something was missing, some thread that would tie everything together.
“Thank you, Auntie,” Ji Tingqian said with a slight pause before smiling warmly.
Aunt Li arranged each item carefully on the platter, her face bearing a kind smile. “Tingqian, this is my first time making these cookies. Please try them and let me know if they’re not to your liking.”
That phrase again.
“Auntie,” Ji Tingqian set the book down, his fingers slightly curled as he rubbed the cool surface of the cup. He lifted his gaze, a hint of confusion on his face. “Did you used to enjoy having me taste these desserts very much?”
“Ah…” Aunt Li’s expression faltered for a moment, her smile becoming somewhat unnatural. “Oh, Tingqian, do you not like them? Then Auntie won’t ask you to try them anymore.”
Ji Tingqian certainly had no such intention, but the auntie’s behavior was always strangely inexplicable.
“Nothing like that, I was just asking,” Ji Tingqian explained. Fearing the auntie wouldn’t believe him, he picked up a cookie and popped it into his mouth. “It’s delicious.”
“That’s good.” Aunt Li seemed to be hiding something; after saying this, she left the greenhouse immediately, unwilling to stay a moment longer.
Again, like this. Ji Tingqian gazed deeply at the plate on the table. Ever since his return, he’d harbored a persistent feeling: everyone even slightly close to him seemed to be conspiring to conceal something from him. The moment the subject was broached, they would deftly steer the conversation away, leaving no trace behind.
He knew he had forgotten something, and he had once asked the doctor whether his memory could be restored. Yet the doctor could offer no definite answer; the human hippocampus was truly too miraculous, and amnesia remained exceedingly rare. No one could provide an absolute certainty. The best reply he had ever received was simply, “It might be possible.”
A while later, Ji Tingqian left the flower room and was heading toward a bedroom on the third floor when two maids emerged from a room on the second floor, apparently having just finished tidying up.
Their faces were unfamiliar to him. Ji Tingqian changed direction and stepped in front of them. Glancing at the bed sheets in the basket they carried, he asked with a hint of confusion, “Have we had guests at home recently?”
“The young master came back and stayed for two days,” the younger of the two women replied with a smile.
Before Ji Tingqian could entertain any other thoughts, the older woman frowned and spoke up, “What young master? That’s the eldest young master.”
Then, gently, she explained to Ji Tingqian, “The eldest young master and the second young lady have returned for a short stay. Xiao Fang is new here and doesn’t recognize everyone yet.”
After speaking, the two women hurried away. Ji Tingqian quickly approached the room, eagerly reaching out to turn the knob, wanting to go inside and take a look. But the door was locked. In that instant, he calmed down. This was his elder brother’s room; barging in would seem rather impolite.
Yet reason seemed unable to restrain his actions. By the time he realized this, he was already standing before the butler, asking for the key. The butler smiled kindly, produced a bunch of keys, followed Ji Tingqian to the door, and unlocked it.
Ji Tingqian walked inside. There was nothing particularly special about the room; if anything had to be mentioned, it was that the warm, cozy decor clashed strikingly with his cold, aloof elder brother.
“Is this really Big Brother’s room?” Ji Tingqian found it hard to believe that the man he had seen not long ago could have undergone such a drastic transformation in such a short time.
The butler smiled and replied, “Yes, indeed. The young master moved his room from the third floor to the second last year.”
That night, Ji Tingqian fell into a long, tangled dream that lasted until dawn. Yet, the moment he opened his eyes, he remembered nothing of it—only a lingering sense of shock and fear etched deeply into his mind, refusing to fade.
Ji Tingqian rested his hand against his forehead, gazing blankly upward. After a while, he rose and picked up his phone. It was only six-thirty; as expected, Ming Huai hadn’t sent any messages yet. Pondering for a moment, he typed out a few words and hit send: [Good morning].
Glancing further down, he saw a message from Fu Hairong sent last night, containing just one short sentence: [You’re the male lead in the new drama. Recommend a few actors for the supporting roles].