A Little Trick, the Scumbag Dad Can't Hold the Knife After Understanding Love-Chapter 329

Hearing her say she couldn’t sleep and knowing she had been busy lately, Lu Jinghuai decided to lull her with the sound of his piano. The window was half-open, the white curtains fluttering in the night breeze like the hem of a maiden’s skirt.

It had been a while since he last played, and his fingers were a little stiff at first. But the thought of Ji Nian lying in bed, hugging a plush toy, listening drowsily to his music made his movements grow smoother and more fluid.

If Ji Nian fell asleep, she might forget to end the call. He could spend the night listening to the sound of her breathing.

Just the thought made Lu Jinghuai’s silver-gray eyes darken. He closed his eyes, his lips curling unconsciously.

His imagination was quite romantic.

Until a thunderous bellow exploded in his ears—

"I’ve got it!!!"

"I’ve got it, hahahahaha!!!!"

Startled, Lu Jinghuai’s fingers faltered, hitting a few wrong notes.

"Ji Nian, your phone just… spoke human words…"

He paused uncertainly, phrasing it delicately.

On the other end, Ji Nian flipped over like a carp leaping out of water, scrambling off the bed and grabbing her phone, unable to contain her excitement. "Thank you for the music, little prince! I’ve got things to do, so I’ll hang up now. Once I’m done, I’ll take you skiing, okay?"

Hearing her say she was hanging up, Lu Jinghuai pressed his pale lips together.

But then he heard her mention their prior agreement, and his expression softened into a smile. "Alright, but don’t stay up too late. Get some rest."

Checking the time, it was already very late in China.

Ji Nian muttered an acknowledgment before ending the call.

Still in her pajamas, she tiptoed stealthily out of her closet, slipping on a pair of slippers before heading out.

In the dead of night, she ran straight to the lab.

Once immersed in her work, she didn’t look up again until 3 a.m.

Her body was exhausted, but her mind was buzzing with excitement.

Ji Nian couldn’t stop herself—pacing back and forth one moment, scribbling furiously on draft paper the next, occasionally muttering under her breath.

Her system had been with her for years.

It had seen her in this state many times before and was used to it by now.

After jotting down all her ideas, Ji Nian slowly snapped out of her trance.

She considered crashing in the lab’s break room, but the thought of being scolded if discovered the next day made her drag herself back, even though her eyes could barely stay open.

But the moment she stepped out, she spotted Wei Yang yawning.

Wei Yang didn’t ask why she was here so late. He had been standing there for who knew how long—his body was chilled from the night air—but he perked up when he saw her.

"Tired? I’ll carry you back."

He crouched down, turning his back to her, signaling for her to climb on.

Ji Nian, her eyes swollen with exhaustion and tears, slumped onto him without protest.

Taking the drowsy girl from Wei Yang, Zhiliao tucked her back into bed and placed a large egg plushie beside her, gently stroking her hair.

"I’m back," she murmured as she entered Ji Tingzhou’s bedroom.

Ji Tingzhou wasn’t asleep. The medication Ji Xi had prepared had rid him of hallucinations and headaches, but his sleep had grown lighter than before—the slightest noise could wake him.

"Mmm…"

"The lab was destroyed. The higher-ups are furious."

Zhiliao replaced the burnt-out incense with a fresh one—this was a new blend Ji Nian had made, reportedly using the flowers You Er had brought back.

"Hah…"

"Send her a copy of those materials."

Those in power cared nothing for the process—only the results.

But clearly, fate wasn’t ready for human technology to advance that far. Though Mu Xiu had succeeded in creating clones, the side effects were likely more than they had bargained for. After over a decade with no progress, they weren’t about to keep throwing money into a bottomless pit.

Ji Tingzhou let out a low, humorless laugh. In the dim bedroom, his emerald-green eyes burned with fury.

The contents of the USB drive Wei Yang had brought back had sent his temper flaring uncontrollably.

Zhiliao didn’t try to soothe him—she was just as enraged.

"Ji Nian was sent back as a stillborn."

Before she had discovered the truth, no one knew why the infant, who had stopped breathing, had suddenly come back to life.

A craniotomy—

Performed on a newborn. From the moment Mu Xiu took Ji Nian away, he never intended for her to survive.

"Mu Xiu escaped. Let me hunt him down."

But Ji Tingzhou shook his head, his gaze inscrutable. "No. I’ll go myself."

"Once I’ve recovered."

At that, Zhiliao’s stoic expression flickered. free𝑤ebnovel.com

"Right… Ji Nian will heal you."

...

Ji Xi stared at the breakfast the servants had brought him, his confusion growing.

He had expected that once his secret was out, they would tie him up, drain his blood endlessly—maybe even dissect him for research.

Or lock him in a room, forcing him to make medicine for Ji Tingzhou.

But none of that happened.

Apart from drawing two vials of blood initially, no one paid him any attention.

They even fed him.

This only deepened his bewilderment.

What ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍did they want? If they kidnapped him for Ji Tingzhou, why weren’t they demanding medicine? Not even the formula. What were the Ji family’s pharmacists doing? Had they given up on saving Ji Tingzhou?

And then there was… Ji Nian. He hadn’t seen her since the day he arrived.

Had she gone riding at the horse ranch her uncle gifted her?

Ji Xi lost himself in thought.

...

"Teacher, the fusion was successful, but there’s a problem."

Bruce brought over the latest experimental data, his face twisted in frustration.

"EJ’s toxicity is too strong—it completely neutralized the base solution."

Once Ji Nian had her breakthrough, they had immediately begun working on the poison.

Yes, poison—not medicine.

Destroy and rebuild.

That was the revelation Ji Nian had, and it happened to fall right into her expertise.

It was the fastest, most effective solution they had so far.

Bruce and John Qiao had been stunned—even skeptical—when they heard it.

It sounded plausible in theory… but how could it actually work?

If they succeeded, the repercussions would be unimaginable.

John Qiao walked over then, his appearance far from the neat, composed man he had been on his first day in Ji Nian’s lab.

"Teacher, there’s another issue here… Xiao Mei’s medicinal properties are being diluted. It won’t fuse at all."

Xiao Mei was the name Ji Nian had given the plant You Er had brought back—its petals resembled plum blossoms.

Frowning at the new complication, Ji Nian’s gaze shifted to the specimen displayed on the top shelf of the cabinet opposite her—a semi-transparent, metallic-looking liquid.

Years ago, Ji Tingzhou had brought it back from the Lu Family—a substance extracted from ore, its effects unknown.

When Lu Zhi learned Ji Nian was fascinated by it, he gifted her the entire mine that produced it.

Over the years, while working on restorative medicines, Ji Nian had studied it in her spare time.

And she had gradually uncovered some of its properties.

For instance, when added to volatile compounds that fought each other during fusion…

The two would instantly settle, like tamed beasts sheathing their claws and fangs.

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