I'm the demise's white moonlight of the bigshot - Chapter 96 (Extra-12)
Chapter 96
When the two of them returned, Shiqi had just finished doodling on a sheet of drawing paper. He was carrying the paper around looking for someone to review it, obviously finding that his great-grandmother and great-grandfather’s evaluations were not enough to satisfy him.
As Ji Ran and Shen Zhi walked up to the doorway, the little fellow scampered over to them in a flash.
“Mom, look, this is what I drew.” Shiqi held the drawing paper up high, attempting to let Ji Ran see it more clearly.
So Ji Ran rested her hands on her knees, bent over slightly, and looked down at the paper. Originally, she expected it to be just another mess of random scribbles, but to her surprise, she actually spotted a small house and a large tree.
When she took a closer look, she realized that while it had indeed been Shiqi’s random scribbles at first, a few strokes added at the end had turned it into a surprisingly decent-looking drawing.
Those final few strokes must have been added by Yuan Sheng.
“It’s drawn so nicely. Did Shiqi draw this all by himself?” Ji Ran asked deliberately with a smile, looking down at the little fellow.
Sure enough, Shiqi turned to glance at the drawing, lightly scratched his cheek with his little hand, and shook his head, “No, Grandma drew on it too.”
Ji Ran widened her eyes on purpose to display an expression of surprise, marveling softly, ” Wow, so Shiqi and Grandma drew this together. It’s so pretty.”
Hearing her praise, Shiqi asked happily, “Mom, do you like it?”
Ji Ran nodded immediately, beaming with a smile, “I like it.”
Upon hearing those words, Shiqi became exceptionally happy. Moreover, he shoved the drawing straight into Ji Ran’s arms with great generosity, “Mom, if you like it, I’ll give it to you.”
Who would have known that the moment he finished speaking, Shen Zhi, who had been standing to the side without saying a word, asked flatly, “Daddy likes it too.”
Ji Ran turned her head to look at the man with slight astonishment. How should she put it—she was simply shocked by his childishness. Was this man actually competing with her for their son’s drawing right now?
Suddenly, Ji Ran felt a sense of being ‘betrayed.’ Just a moment ago, he had called her his sun and said he would always face toward her, yet now he wouldn’t even let her have a single drawing.
Ji Ran gave a light cough, trying her best to make Shiqi shift his attention back to her.
However, the little fellow’s entire attention had been captured by a single sentence from his dad. Shen Zhi rarely chatted with him about such things, especially when it came to praising his items directly, so the little fellow asked happily, “Daddy likes it too?”
Shen Zhi nodded.
Consequently, in the very next second, the drawing that was originally meant for Ji Ran was shoved unhesitatingly into Shen Zhi’s arms.
After Ji Ran shot him a side-long glance, this man showed not a shred of guilt, even having the audacity to say, “Didn’t Shiqi give you a drawing before? Can you give this one to me now?”
Ji Ran looked at him with some surprise. She truly hadn’t expected him to ask for it proactively, so she asked in a low voice, “Don’t you think it’s too childish?”
After all, things drawn by a child like this—calling it a drawing was a stretch, it was really just random doodling.
Holding the drawing paper in his hands, Shen Zhi reached out to gently ruffle the top of the little fellow’s head, his voice exceptionally gentle, “Shiqi gave it to me, so I’ll treasure it properly.”
When Shiqi happily hugged his leg, he bent down and scooped the little fellow into his arms.
Because today was Yuan Sheng’s birthday, Ji Ran had specially prepared a gift for her. After presenting hers, she turned to glance at Shen Zhi, “Did you prepare a surprise for Mom too?”
Ji Ran knew that Shen Zhi had always been very filial, and Yuan Sheng had never been an ordinary presence in his heart.
Yet Shen Zhi only smiled and said nothing.
Thinking that he had forgotten to prepare a gift and wanting to spare him any embarrassment, Yuan Sheng immediately stood up and said, “It’s getting late, let’s have dinner. Shiqi must be hungry, too.”
Just as she finished speaking, however, Shen Zhi bent down and gave her a gentle hug, “Mom, happy birthday.”
He didn’t pull away immediately, instead saying in a low voice, “Thank you for bringing me into this world.”
Yuan Sheng’s body stiffened slightly. Shen Zhi had never said these words to her before; he was not someone skilled at dissecting his inner world for others to see, aside from Ji Ran.
Even though Yuan Sheng was his mother, he habitually took care of her rather than opening his heart to her.
Yuan Sheng’s eyes grew a bit damp. She lifted her head slightly to look at Shen Zhi, asking softly, “Why are you suddenly saying all this?”
“I just feel that over all these years, you’ve suffered a lot,” Shen Zhi said with a gentle voice.
If Yuan Sheng hadn’t chosen to have a child out of wedlock back then, perhaps her life would have headed in a completely different direction, and she might not have fallen ill either.
After all, the doctor had also said that Yuan Sheng’s initial illness was triggered by postpartum depression.
Thinking back to that time, it had been sheer despair—no job, no father for the child, only herself and an infant wailing for milk, making it all too easy to sink into that kind of desperate emotional state.
Looking at Shiqi today and thinking of herself, even Shen Zhi felt an overwhelming wave of emotion.
To raise a child is to understand the grace of one’s parents. Although Shen Zhi had known from the very beginning how deep Yuan Sheng’s love for him was, only when he truly raised a child of his own did he experience the hardships involved.
Yuan Sheng looked up at him—her child, who had grown from a tiny baby in her arms into such an upright, handsome man before her eyes.
She said softly, “If Mom’s best decision in this life was anything, it was definitely choosing to bring you into this world. Xiao Jing, thank you for being my son.”
Her Xiao Jing had long since grown into a towering tree capable of protecting her.
Ji Ran stood nearby, quietly holding Shiqi in her arms, feeling deeply moved.
As a mother, she understood Yuan Sheng’s feelings all too well.
Until Shiqi, resting in her arms, asked in a small voice, “Mom, who is Xiao Jing?”
The little fellow had been listening carefully to Grandma’s words. Although he was still young, he could understand many things; he simply didn’t know who Xiao Jing was.
Ji Ran pressed a kiss to the little fellow’s head, whispering, “Xiao Jing is Xiao Jing. When Shiqi grows up a bit more, Mom will tell you, okay?”
Shiqi was very obedient and didn’t press further.
“I know you don’t lack anything, so for your birthday this time, I’m donating a Hope Primary School in your name.” Shen Zhi released Yuan Sheng and said softly.
Yuan Sheng revealed a look of astonishment, her eyes widening slightly, “In my name?”
Shen Zhi smiled and nodded.
Yuan Sheng didn’t have an excessive pursuit of material things, so Shen Zhi hadn’t sent her any expensive jewelry or other gifts. Instead, using Yuan Sheng’s name to help more children seemed far more meaningful.
“Thank you, this is Mom’s favorite gift.” Yuan Sheng reached out to give Shen Zhi a hug.
At this moment, Shiqi, who had been waiting patiently all this while, finally said eagerly, “I’m hungry, Grandma, I’m hungry.”
Yuan Sheng immediately apologized, “I’m so sorry for making our Shiqi wait for so long.”
As soon as they sat at the dinner table, Shiqi sat obediently in his chair. After Ji Ran fastened his bib and placed a bowl of rice in front of him, the little fellow picked up his spoon, scooped up a huge mouthful, and began shoveling it into his mouth.
Ever since he was old enough to eat solid food, he had never given anyone cause for worry regarding mealtimes.
He would always sit obediently in his chair and disliked being fed by others. He would scoop a spoonful of rice and eat it, though every time he ate, grains of rice would scatter everywhere.
Yet Ji Ran never scolded him for it, letting him eat however he pleased.
Yuan Sheng picked up a piece of egg and put it in his bowl. The little fellow confidently hoisted his spoon back up to his mouth, blinking his big, water-washed black-grape eyes twice, “Thank you, Grandma. I love eating this the most.”
“Such a sweet little mouth, I don’t know how many times sweeter than your daddy’s when he was little.”
Yuan Sheng reached out and tapped his little nose.
Shiqi had always been skilled at coaxing the elders, to the point that Ji Ran had secretly asked Shen Zhi who on earth he took after.
As a result, Shen Zhi answered without missing a beat: he takes after you.
Ji Ran had been a bit bewildered at the time because in her memory she hadn’t really been that smooth-talking as a child, but Shen Zhi had stated unhesitatingly, “You were just as sweet as him back then.”
Not sweet-mouthed in speech, but the mere appearance of that little girl had made him feel she was his little sun.
Clearly still a small child herself, yet she had stepped forward to speak up for her maternal grandparents.
Therefore, when Ji Ran asked who Shiqi took after, Shen Zhi would say he took after her. To him, a Shiqi this sweet could only take after her.
Who would have known that after finishing what was in his mouth, Shiqi answered Yuan Sheng’s remark by saying, “I take after Mom.”
Everyone at the table burst out laughing. Yuan Sheng sat beside him, reached out to tap the tip of his nose, and said softly, “That’s right, Shiqi takes after Mom.”
In truth, Shiqi’s features did resemble Ji Ran’s a bit more.
As a little boy, he had that overly refined and delicate appearance, which often led to him being mistaken for a little younger sister.
Before long, after finishing that bowl of rice, Shiqi lifted his empty bowl and announced loudly, “Mom, can I have a little more, please?”
Ji Ran looked at the bowl in his hands, stunned for a few seconds before breaking into a helpless smile, “You want more?”
She was worried he might eat too much all at once and have trouble digesting it, but the little fellow nodded with absolute certainty, “Just a little bit more.”
Once a fresh serving of rice was dished out, the little fellow exaggeratedly cupped his small bowl in both hands and said earnestly, “I’m going to eat a lot so I can grow tall quickly.”
“And what will you do once you grow tall?” Yuan Sheng asked with curiosity.
Shiqi replied with utmost firmness, “When I grow tall, I can protect Mom.”
Ji Ran was somewhat surprised because she had never told Shiqi anything like protecting Mom. She knew that boys ought to have a sense of responsibility, but she felt her Shiqi was still far too small.
He didn’t need to grow up so fast or shoulder the responsibilities of this world so soon.
Thus, when the two of them brought their child home, Shiqi fell asleep nestled in Ji Ran’s arms from playing too hard. She suddenly looked toward Shen Zhi in the driver’s seat up front and asked in a low voice, “Did you teach Shiqi to say those things?”
It happened to be a red light, so Shen Zhi slowly brought the car to a stop, glanced back at her, and answered in a very soft voice, “We will protect you together.”
As the car slowly started moving again, the streetlights on both sides of the road drifted gradually past Ji Ran’s cheek, the flickering light and shadow sliding softly across her face like silent running water.
Slowly, the corners of her mouth curved upward into a shallow arc as she held the sleeping Shiqi a little tighter in her arms.
This moment filled her with boundless contentment.
Shiqi attended classes regularly, mainly to let him interact with children his own age. On weekends, if Ji Ran or Shen Zhi had free time, they would take him out.
However, since there were no scheduled lessons this weekend, Ji Ran stayed home to play with Shiqi.
While the two of them were in the playroom, Ji Ran received a phone call from the company, so she asked the nanny to keep Shiqi company while she went to the study to take the call.
The call lasted quite a while, taking around twenty minutes or so.
When she finished the call and returned to the playroom to find Shiqi, she pushed the door open only to see Shiqi riding piggyback on Ji Qingli. The boy must have been having the time of his life, happily shouting, “Giddyup, giddyup.”
Clutching the doorknob, Ji Ran stood in the doorway with the distinct posture of someone caught between stepping inside and backing away.
Until Ji Qingli, who had been laughing happily, turned his head and collided with Ji Ran’s gaze. Their eyes met, and for a split second, each saw mutual embarrassment reflected in the other’s eyes.
Yet Ji Qingli didn’t stand up immediately because Shiqi was still sitting on top of him.
“Grandpa, move!” Shiqi’s crisp voice rang out.
Ji Qingli was truly feeling awkward now, caught in the dilemma of whether standing up or staying put was worse. In the end, Ji Ran walked over, lifted Shiqi down, and whispered, “Shiqi, you can’t ride on Grandpa like that.”
However, after wriggling free from her grasp with a roll, the little fellow ran right back to sit in Ji Qingli’s lap.
Looking awkwardly at Ji Qingli, Ji Ran asked, “Dad, why did you come over?”
Ji Qingli immediately offered an explanation, “I just happened to be passing by your neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop by for a look.”
Ever since Ji Ran gave birth to Shiqi, the frequency of Ji Qingli’s visits was astonishing, yet every single time he came, he claimed to be just passing by to take a look.
To the point that Ji Ran couldn’t help but inwardly self-reflect—what was wrong with her house, anyway? Couldn’t Ji Qingli just openly and honestly come over for a visit?
Still, she knew Ji Qingli was the textbook definition of someone who cared far too much about saving face and would rather suffer in silence.
Yet he genuinely loved Shiqi. Ever since Shiqi was born, his blatant favoritism toward the boy was visible to the naked eye. Someone as proud as him was actually willing to get down on his knees and act as a horse for Shiqi to ride.
Furthermore, Ji Qingli was still dressed in a crisp, tailored business suit at this very moment.
Without exposing him, Ji Ran simply nodded.
Until Ji Ran asked somewhat awkwardly, “Are you staying for dinner tonight?”
Dinner?
Ji Qingli glanced over at her, but Shiqi chimed in from the side, “Grandpa, have dinner with me.”
“Do you want Grandpa to stay for dinner?” Ji Qingli asked intentionally.
Shiqi nodded immediately. Putting his little hand beside his mouth, he said in a small voice, “Thank you for the toy, Grandpa.”
It was only then that Ji Ran noticed a large toy box tucked away in the corner of the room, and indeed, a brand-new Transformer had been added next to Shiqi’s collection.
Ji Ran had told her parents before not to buy too many things for Shiqi.
Yet both Pei Yuan and Ji Qingli turned a deaf ear to her words, continuing to buy whatever they pleased. When Ji Ran had said a little too much about it last time, Pei Yuan had immediately expressed with slight displeasure, “Our family isn’t short on money; we don’t subscribe to that ‘raising children in hardship’ theory.”
Before long, the nanny brought up a tray of fruit. Ji Qingli stood up and called Ji Ran outside, saying he had something to tell her.
“Why did you object when I mentioned setting up an educational trust fund for Shiqi?” Ji Qingli looked at Ji Ran with some dissatisfaction, having never seen anyone complain about having too much money.
Ji Ran sighed helplessly, “Dad, you offered fifty million right off the bat. Do you think Shiqi needs that much money just to go to school?”
That sum was enough for him to donate an entire building directly to a school.
Ji Qingli spoke without room for argument, “This is my gift to him as his grandfather. You rejected it outright like that—did you bother asking Shiqi for his opinion?”
Ji Ran: “…”
For a toddler of Shiqi’s age, the temptation of fifty million probably couldn’t even match a five-hundred-yuan Transformer.
Actually, she was just slightly worried that Shiqi would be spoiled into not knowing how to cherish things, growing indifferent to everything because things came too easily to him.
Seeing her remain silent, Ji Qingli sighed and asked, “Ranran, are you still angry with Dad?”
Startled for a moment, Ji Ran didn’t quite catch the meaning behind his words.
Soon, Ji Qingli explained, “Jiang Yi is going to be released from prison in another year. The reason I agreed to give Jiang Liqi money back when we divorced was precisely because I wanted to wait until Jiang Yi was released so she could take her away.”
When Ji Qingli divorced Jiang Liqi, according to their prenuptial agreement, Jiang Liqi shouldn’t have walked away with much money.
Even so, Ji Qingli still gave Jiang Liqi a sum of money, doing so solely for the purpose of ensuring that once Jiang Yi got out of prison, the mother-daughter pair would leave the country for good.
The reason Ji Ran had been kidnapped in the first place was due to Tang Zhenpeng’s retaliation against Shen Zhi.
Of course, Ji Qingli wouldn’t say that what Shen Zhi did back then was wrong. On the contrary, he had done the right thing, yet ended up getting those close to him implicated. Thinking far ahead, Ji Qingli wanted to prevent anything of the sort from happening again.
Ji Ran remained silent for a long time. Over the years, her relationship with Ji Qingli had indeed been, as he put it, not particularly close.
They say a daughter is a father’s little padded jacket, but she hadn’t managed to become Ji Qingli’s little padded jacket.
She had always assumed Ji Qingli felt similarly detached toward her, but later she discovered that Ji Qingli was simply someone obsessed with saving face; deep down, he cared about her very much, but felt too awkward to say it out of loud.
Back when she went abroad, he had traveled to the United States several times just to look for her.
He had always claimed he was just visiting the US while passing by, and Ji Ran had always believed it really was just by chance. Only much later did she realize that even when his trips weren’t meant for New York, he would still make a special flight there just to check on her.
Much like right now—he was clearly here specifically to see Shiqi, yet insisted on claiming he was just passing by the neighborhood.
So Ji Ran shook her head, “It’s really not what you think. I just want Shiqi to have an ordinary upbringing; I’m afraid that at such a young age, his eyes will be blinded by so much money.”
Even with his privileged background, she hoped Shiqi would grow up to become an exceptional individual in the future, rather than someone who only knew how to bask in the shelter of his parents or elders.
Ji Qingli nodded, considering her concerns understood.
Thus, after a brief moment, he went back into the playroom to continue playing with Shiqi. Standing just outside, Ji Ran suddenly called out, “Dad.”
Ji Qingli turned back to look at her.
Ji Ran smiled, her tone relaxed as she said, “Next time you come to see Shiqi, you don’t have to keep saying you’re passing by. I know you missed him.”
A flash of embarrassment crossed Ji Qingli’s face, though he quickly pulled a stern, solemn expression and nodded.
Yet the moment he turned back around, he couldn’t help letting out a smile.
Ah, this child—she couldn’t even leave her old man an ounce of dignity.
When Shen Zhi returned that evening, Ji Qingli was still around. Since it was a rare half-day off for him and he was currently a single bachelor, he had decided to spend every last minute keeping his grandson company.
This led to the father-in-law and son-in-law crossing paths and actually sharing a few drinks.
The two of them usually only drank a couple of glasses during the Lunar New Year, yet tonight they ended up going cup after cup. Because she needed to give Shiqi a bath, Ji Ran carried the child upstairs first.
Shiqi had a dedicated bathtub. Fearing he might dislike bathing, Ji Ran had bought a lot of bath toys, including baby store shower heads and various floating water toys.
As a result, her estimation had backfired—not only did the little fellow not hate bathing, but every single time it was time to lift him out of the tub, he would raise a ruckus of shrieks.
Once she finished washing him, the nanny helped fetch the towel, and as Ji Ran lifted him out, the little fellow pleaded, “Mom, I want to play more, I still want to play.”
She rejected his request, resulting in the boy starting to roll around all over the small bed the moment he was placed on it.
He wasn’t a particularly willful child, but he could throw a bit of a tantrum every now and then. Holding his clothes, Ji Ran knelt quietly by the bedside. Once he finished rolling around, she asked calmly, “Can we put our clothes on now?”
The little fellow’s skin was exceptionally fair—the kind that seemed to glow with whiteness even when standing among a group of other children.
Standing unclad on his bed right now, despite his slender limbs, his little tummy poked out roundly, looking utterly adorable.
Every time Ji Ran looked at his little face, even if she had been holding back an urge to lose her temper just moments before, the flames of annoyance were instantly quenched. She said softly, “Come here, let Mom give you a hug.”
The little fellow was quite obedient, walking over immediately to wrap his arms gently around her neck.
Before giving birth to him, Ji Ran had occasionally read online descriptions of the dangers of childbirth, where the sheer number of potential complications sounded terrifying, yet she hadn’t felt an ounce of fear.
Because she loved Shiqi so much—this child carrying her own blood.
When she went back downstairs after soothing Shiqi to sleep, she discovered that Shen Zhi and Ji Qingli had relocated to the basement bar counter to continue drinking. Ji Ran had a basement in her house that she had converted into a dedicated relaxation bar area.
She hadn’t expected the two of them to actually be drinking down there.
When she went down, she heard Ji Qingli saying with slightly slurred words, “To be honest, I think your mother-in-law is the truly smart one.”
Shen Zhi, sitting opposite him, raised an eyebrow slightly without speaking.
“Really, your mother-in-law is the smartest woman I’ve ever met, even smarter than Ranran,” Ji Qingli remarked, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle before draining the rest of the liquor in his glass.
Finally, he concluded, “That’s why she divorced me early on. Look how carefree she is now—wealthy and knows how to take care of herself.”
Standing at the doorway, Ji Ran couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
It felt rather surreal to hear Ji Qingli bring up Pei Yuan out of nowhere like this.
Finally, he trailed off, “And she still looks so young. Plenty of people want to chase after her, you know.”
Ji Ran abruptly reached up to cover her face with her hand. She really had no desire to witness any middle-aged or elderly romance stories—not even if they involved her own biological parents. Turning around immediately, she headed back upstairs, leaving the basement entirely to Shen Zhi.
Around ten o’clock that night, the two of them came up from the basement. Ji Ran, who had been waiting in the living room the whole time, stood up immediately upon hearing movement.
“Why did you guys drink so much?” Ji Ran asked as she walked over, catching the heavy scent of alcohol radiating from both of them.
Refusing to yield, Ji Qingli waved a hand dismissively and said unconcernedly, “This is hardly anything. I’m heading home.”
“It’s so late,” Ji Ran said in surprise, immediately adding, “Why don’t you stay over tonight?”
However, Ji Qingli insisted on having the driver take him back. Ji Ran tried to persuade him otherwise, but he remained set on leaving. Having no other choice, Ji Ran arranged for the driver to take him home and instructed the home nanny to keep a close eye on him.
After seeing him off, Ji Ran turned back to take care of the other one.
“Why did you drink so much with my dad?” Ji Ran poured him a glass of ice water to help him sober up.
Holding the glass, Shen Zhi watched the ice cubes slowly swirl around in the clear water. With a slight flick of his finger, the water inside rippled, “We had a good chat, so we drank a bit more.”
A good chat?
Ji Ran looked skeptical.
Shen Zhi chuckled immediately. Leaning in close, he pressed a kiss to Ji Ran’s soft lips and murmured, “Actually, your father-in-law confided a tiny worry of his to me.”
Ji Ran raised an eyebrow slightly, having a rough guess as to what her dad’s “tiny worry” might be.
So she reached out to steady Shen Zhi and said helplessly, “You should go take a shower first.”
“Don’t you want to know what your father-in-law specifically said?” Shen Zhi rested his chin against the top of her head, his voice dazed with the haze of alcohol—exhibiting a rare, everyday kind of cuteness.
It turned out that when a thirty-year-old man was a bit tipsy, he could be this cute.
Ji Ran genuinely wanted to drag him off to shower, but Shen Zhi murmured, “He said the only piece of wisdom he has to pass on to me is that I must have a daughter.”
“Especially a daughter like Ranran.”
“Because you are his greatest pride—his absolute greatest!”
As Shen Zhi finished saying this while holding her in his arms, Ji Ran’s nose suddenly stung. Over all these years, she really had always been their pride, hadn’t she?
Just as her emotions were simmering as if soaking in strong liquor, bringing a sudden rush of redness to her eyes, Shen Zhi bent down and scooped her directly into his arms.
“Let’s go make a daughter.”
