The Slacker Academic Always Gets Caught (SLACKER)
In his panic, Jiang Shijie inhaled sharply and accidentally sucked the scattered ash into his windpipe, triggering a violent coughing fit.
For a brief moment, his mind that was dulled by years of indulgence, snapped back to clarity.
Damn it, how did this little bastard know his surname was Jiang?
He hadn’t revealed his name at all when talking to Chi Ning earlier!
The Jiang family wasn’t prominent enough for their heir to appear frequently in the media, so an ordinary person wouldn’t recognize him so quickly.
This bouncer either moved in the same circles as Chi Ning or had been shown his photo and taught to identify him.
Damn, none of them are easy to mess with.
Jiang Shijie glanced up at Chi Ning.
Seeing Jiang Shijie grit his teeth in silence, Chi Ning knew he had finally caught on.
Good, at least he wasn’t hopelessly stupid.
From the moment Qin Heng decisively threw the first punch after that phone call, Chi Ning had guessed Xu Jiahao must be no ordinary figure.
Though the Shen Family was a rising force, they were already strong enough to rival the Chi Family. By having Qin Heng beat up Jiang Shijie—who had come to discuss business with President Shen—Xu Jiahao was essentially slapping President Shen in the face.
Boss Xu was a grown man. If he wasn’t afraid of President Shen, it meant he had enough leverage that even President Shen might have to show him some respect if things escalated.
In his past life, Qin Heng had managed to build the Qin empire, likely because he seized the opportunity presented by Xu Jiahao.
Chi Ning swept a glance at Qin Heng, who was dragging Jiang Shijie out the door.
Hmph. Some people were not only full of lies but also scheming as hell.
He’d picked the perfect place to work.
“Qin-ge, what about the carpet?” Zhang Qiuwen asked, troubled. “Is it our fault? Do we have to pay for it?”
Chi Ning curled up on the sofa and rested his chin in his hand as he watched Qin Heng with leisurely amusement.
He had already figured it out—young Qin and older Qin were practically polar opposites in personality.
Where the older Qin was generous, the younger Qin was stingy.
There was no way Qin Heng would pay for the damages.
Sure enough, Qin Heng flipped open the phonebook, skimmed through it with a flick of his finger, and stopped at President Shen’s contact. He picked up the landline receiver and dialed.
“Hello, is this President Shen’s secretary? I’m an employee at Xu Jiahao’s establishment. Was Mr. Jiang Shijie scheduled to meet with Mr. Shen here today?”
“…Here’s the situation. Mr. Jiang was smoking inside the hall and even climbed onto the billiard table, provoking other guests. Our boss had him removed, but the carpet was burned, and the billiard table might also be damaged. Would the compensation be handled by President Shen or Mr. Jiang himself?”
Polite and impeccable phrasing.
Zhang Qiuwen rubbed his arms as goosebumps rose. Who knew his Qin-ge could sound so cultured when he put on the act?
Chi Ning let out a soft, “Hmm.”
Qin Heng’s move was nothing short of masterful manipulation.
If Jiang Shijie had been the one to relay today’s events, it would’ve been easy to twist the narrative, and Boss Xu might’ve ended up taking the blame.
But with this phone call, the Shen Family would only see the Jiang Family as ungrateful troublemakers. After all, a Boss Xu who dared to beat up a prominent heir in Yangcheng carried far more weight than Jiang Shijie ever could.
If President Shen still wanted to stay on good terms with Xu Jiahao, he’d have to personally come and apologize, footing the bill for this mess. And any potential collaboration between the Jiang and Shen Families? Forget about it.
Without the backing of the Chongning and Jiuzhi conglomerates, the Jiang Family would never gain a foothold in Yangcheng again.
Though Qin Heng hadn’t intentionally done the Chi Family any favors, Chongning had profited effortlessly, nipping any future Shen-Jiang alliance in the bud.
All in all, the Chi Family had scored a free win.
Felt damn good.
“Qin Heng.” Chi Ning pointed at the drinks and snacks by the bar. “Do these count toward your commission?”
“Yes.” Qin Heng hesitated briefly.
Had he scared Chi Ning by beating someone up in front of him earlier?
Probably not.
He’d held back today—Jiang Shijie’s lips were intact, not even a scratch.
But Chi Ning seemed like the timid type. What if he got scared? What if he canceled his membership because of it?
Should he try to reassure Brother Xu’s client?
But comforting people cost money, didn’t it?
Qin Heng glanced at Chi Ning's eyes. Under the dim lighting, the young man's eyes looked moist—hard to tell if he'd been crying or not.
Whatever, splurge it is.
"What do you want?"
Chi Ning pointed from his seat. "The largest bag of red-braised flavored chips, and that bottle of orange juice—the one labeled 'freshly squeezed'."
Qin Heng skimmed the prices. The chips were fine, but the orange juice cost 30 HKD, bringing the total close to 50.
So expensive. That’d take selling ten bottles of bayberry juice to earn back. He was starting to regret trying to placate him.
Chi Ning always picked the table closest to the counter, so he could see the price tags clearly.
He pulled out a 50-dollar bill and handed it to Qin Heng, who had just brought the items over. "Here, keep the change."
One thing at a time—he measured his actions more precisely than a lab scale.
Though he disliked the swindler Qin Heng, the man had helped the Chi family resolve a problem. Gratitude was still necessary.
Qin Heng stared at the money, gritting his teeth before forcing himself to look away and push it back. "No need. It's on me."
He took a deep breath and spoke quickly, "This is the hall’s compensation for the unpleasant experience."
Zhang Qiuwen: "Huh?"
Since when was that a thing?
You gave Jiang Shijie psychological trauma—did you compensate him?
You even called President Shen to pay for the carpet.
Chi Ning, unsuspecting, took the chips in one hand and the orange juice in the other, already thinking of other ways to thank Qin Heng.
With a rip, he tore open the chips and leaned back in the lounge area, eyes on the TV mounted on the hall’s wall. It was broadcasting the 1999 Snooker UK Championship final.
One of the players was none other than Mo Yuanzhou.
Teacher Mo, true to his artistic nature, carried himself with far better poise and grace than his opponent. Even his attire was more refined.
Combined with his skill, it was a complete domination.
Crunch, crunch. Chi Ning munched on the chips, the sound barely noticeable under the clatter of billiard balls.
Qin Heng curled his lips.
Young Master Chi was easy to appease—just distract him with snacks, and he’d forget his fear.
"Tsk." Zhang Qiuwen thought: What the actual hell.
He sidled up to Qin Heng. "That’s not a real policy here, is it?"
Qin Heng shot him a sidelong glance. "What if Chi Ning gets so scared he never tops up for Brother Xu again? This is client retention."
Zhang Qiuwen understood, raising a thumb. "Got it. Small investment, big returns."
—
By the time Xu Jiahao arrived, Chi Ning was already stuffed from the jumbo-sized chips and hiccuping as he sipped from the large bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice.
After hearing the full story, Xu Jiahao immediately grabbed a level to check the billiard table. "Damn it, that sleazeball Jiang Shijie sat his ass down and knocked my table crooked."
Chi Ning licked the seasoning powder off his lips. "It’s fine. Qin Heng called President Shen and said Jiang Shijie was the one stirring trouble, so he’d leave it to President Shen to handle. He’ll definitely come to apologize soon."
Qin Heng: "..."
He’d been perfectly polite on the call. How did it sound so much like a provocation after passing through Chi Ning’s retelling?
To Xu Jiahao, Qin Heng clarified, "I phrased it more diplomatically. I recorded it."
Good thing he’d kept evidence.
Not that it was meant for guarding against Chi Ning…
After listening to the recording, Xu Jiahao’s gaze at Chi Ning turned almost pitying.
Chi Baichuan really raised his son with zero worldly awareness.
The same words spoken by Qin Heng had one effect, while coming from Chi Ning's mouth, they had a completely different impact.
Chi Ning: "..."
What's up?
"Nothing." Xu Jiahao wiped his face. "Take whatever you want from the counter, Brother Xu's treating you."
Chi Ning waved his hands repeatedly before pointing at the empty chip bag. "No need, Brother Qin already treated me."
Xu Jiahao let out an exaggerated "oh," before looking at Qin Heng with newfound interest.
The miser actually loosened his purse strings?
Qin Heng had handled things well this time, maneuvering between three factions with ruthless precision and wrapping things up smoothly.
Xu Jiahao patted Qin Heng's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "Not bad, kid. Heard you're an orphan—want to be my godson? I'm thinking of retiring anyway, and my business needs someone to take over. If you work with me, I'll teach you the ropes."
Chi Ning quietly gasped in awe.
Xu Jiahao was definitely no ordinary man—beating up Jiang Shijie and now this kind of opportunity?
As long as it wasn't illegal, Qin Heng stood to gain without any risk.
"Boss Xu, you have businesses?" Chi Ning leaned sideways on the sofa, melting into it like a lazy cat. "What does your family do? Want to collaborate with mine?"
Xu Jiahao paused.
In all his years in Yangcheng, he'd never received such an unconventional partnership proposal. But coming from Chi Ning, it made sense—after all, this was the same person who'd told President Shen to "figure it out himself."
Xu Jiahao chuckled. "Right now, it's real estate development and gambling, mostly overseas. What, the Chi family's upright reputation wants to get into gambling too?"
Gambling?
What kind of gambling?
Chi Ning guessed, "Selling lottery tickets? That could work—lotteries are super profitable."
Xu Jiahao closed his eyes.
How could a young master from a wealthy family think gambling meant just lottery tickets? Well, it did include that... but when a boss mentioned it, people usually assumed casinos, right?
Just how had Chi Baichuan raised his son?
So naive.
For the first time, Xu Jiahao hesitated to explain his actual business, mumbling vaguely, "Horse racing, sports betting, regular lotteries... and we run a magic hall."
What magicians play, they play too. No problem.
"Then maybe we can collaborate on real estate in the future." Chi Ning's hair was tousled and his eyelashes drooped dejectedly as he sighed with practiced melancholy. "My older brother isn’t very capable, and my dad worries so much he can’t sleep well at night. I don’t understand these things, so I can’t help."
Xu Jiahao stared at Second Young Master Chi’s face under the dim lighting, his thoughts momentarily stalling.
The billiards hall aimed for a quiet, intimate atmosphere. Though it was a single-floor hall, the billiard tables were spaced far apart to ensure privacy for clients. Only the overhead lights above the tables were on, leaving the rest of the space dimly lit to avoid discomfort.
The lounge area by the wall was even darker—so much so that one might not notice anyone sitting there unless they looked carefully. Yet Chi Ning seemed to glow faintly, as if bathed in a soft halo. Slumped on the sofa like a frostbitten eggplant, he looked utterly wilted.
Poor thing.
Xu Jiahao suddenly found his yet-to-be-adopted godson less appealing. Raising a sugar cube who knew nothing about finance didn’t seem so bad—this pitiful sight had already melted his middle-aged paternal heart.
Chi Ning’s expression stiffened slightly.
This was his first time lying through his teeth, and he wasn’t very skilled at it. If the lounge had better lighting, he wouldn’t have dared to say such things.
Why wasn’t Xu Jiahao responding? If he didn’t pick up the conversation soon, Chi Ning wouldn’t be able to keep up the act.
He twisted his fingers together and lowered his head further, hiding his face before murmuring, "It’s fine if we don’t collaborate. My words don’t carry much weight anyway."
Xu Jiahao, who had weathered storms and wielded blades in his youth, prided himself on keeping a cool head even in life-or-death situations. Yet now, his mind inexplicably faltered. "I’ll call Mr. Chi another day to discuss it," he blurted out.
"Really?" Chi Ning hadn’t expected his first attempt at deception to go so smoothly.
"Really."
Xu Jiahao released Qin Heng’s shoulder, dazed. "Think it over and let me know. You have a week."
He thought to himself: Damn, if I end up competing with Chi Baichuan to be this kid’s dad, will Chi Baichuan get upset?
Would the usually refined Chi Baichuan actually curse him out?
Chi Ning exhaled in relief.
He got up to wash his hands that were greasy from eating chips, then grabbed a paper towel from the wall dispenser and hummed as he dried them.
But when he tossed the towel away and turned around, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Qin Heng standing behind him. "You… what are you doing there?"
Qin Heng didn’t answer.
Chi Ning, pleased with himself for helping his father and brother, felt even better remembering how Qin Heng had eliminated Jiang Shijie for the Chi family.
Looking at the other man, he suddenly realized how to solve his housing problem.
He wasn’t of age yet, but Qin Heng was!
"Qin Heng, do you want to move to a bigger place? I need to rent an apartment, but the real estate agents won’t lease to me because I’m a minor."
Qin Heng thought to himself: Did the young master soften toward me just because I beat up Jiang Shijie and treated him to some food?
He didn’t agree, instead studying Chi Ning with a faint smile. "Was that your first time lying? You weren’t very smooth. I don’t know how Brother Xu fell for it."
His acting wasn’t even half as convincing as him.
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