Chapter 312 - 311: Who’s Free to Come Over?

What was their relationship? How was she supposed to answer that?

Jian Yu hesitated, pressing her lips together.

’Shi Zhao and Master Hu Shishen call her Little Leader. In the context of human family structures, would that make her something like a Young Master?’

’As for those two from the Mecha division, despite their high positions and being older than Shi Zhao, if they had to address her formally, one would have to call her Aunt, and the other would have to call her Great-aunt.’

’The direct bloodline really is something else. She’d jumped up whole generations.’

Jian Yu faced the direct, blazing gazes of the Ji Clan Leader and the group behind him, her lips moving slightly.

’How could she possibly say the words, ’They’re my niece and grandnephew,’ out loud?’

’To adapt to the career development rules of interstellar people, aside from Commander Qi of the Mecha division, the other two were using their secondary identities. And the gender on those identities was: male.’

Jian Yu lifted her head and looked at Pei Yin.

When she was thinking, her gaze would inevitably fix on a single spot, and she would zone out.

Pei Yin thought Jian Yu was looking at him and subconsciously straightened his back, striking his most handsome pose.

’Why hasn’t she reacted after all this time?’

He couldn’t get on Jian Yu’s wavelength. Being stared at like this made his face flush, and he asked, a little lost, "What’s up, babe?"

Hearing the deliberately deep, booming voice next to her ear, Jian Yu blinked, a look of disdain on her face.

Ji Shiyin’s lips curved upward.

He pondered for a moment. "You have a very good relationship, but the specifics are inconvenient to disclose?"

He directed the words at the Ji Clan Leader, but his eyes were on Jian Yu’s face, a hint of a question in them, as if asking if that was what she meant.

Jian Yu nodded seriously.

The Ji Clan Leader raised a hand to suppress the eager looks from the people behind him. "Is it convenient to tell us their names?"

Jian Yu stated three names directly, "Shishen, Huo Shi, Qi Shan."

Facing a sea of shocked faces, she frowned and corrected herself, "To be precise, Shishen is also called Hu Shishen."

The Ji Clan Leader’s lips trembled.

’Is that the important part?’

The shock on his face shifted to scrutiny and suspicion.

After hearing this, Granny Ji burst out laughing.

She snorted with disdain. "Are you really going to listen to that little brat’s nonsense? A commoner? How could she possibly have connections to the head of the Mecha division?"

Granny Ji’s eyes were fixed intently on everyone. Her gaze swept over them one by one before finally locking onto Jian Yu.

"You’ve become quite famous recently, I know who you are. But it won’t be so easy to fool me. The Ji Family may be in decline, but we haven’t fallen so far that we’d blindly believe a few of your lies. You’re still too green to trick us."

"Ji Clan Leader, my eldest brother works directly under Huo Shi. Both President Huo and Commander Qi are orphans. In all these years, I’ve never heard my brother mention them being close to anyone. As for Hu Shishen, he only saves people based on his mood. He’s completely temperamental."

"In terms of ability, my second brother can’t compare to Hu Shishen. However, everyone knows Master Shishen doesn’t like saving people. When you actually need your life saved, he’s often nowhere to be found."

Seeing the Ji Clan Leader’s crestfallen expression, Granny Ji finally felt a bit of satisfaction.

She coldly questioned Jian Yu, "I can guarantee that as long as I am in the Ji Family, as long as I am still an Elder of the Ji Clan, my second brother will never stand by and watch a member of our family die. And you? What makes you think you can summon Master Shishen? And on what grounds can you guarantee that the Ji Family’s enterprises can function normally without me?"

The Ji Clan Leader said angrily, "As long as you’re not trying to sabotage us, why wouldn’t we be able to function normally?!"

Granny Ji scoffed. "Instead of arguing with me, why don’t you ask her if she can actually summon them."

The Ji Clan Leader was speechless.

Jian Yu lowered her eyes, her lashes fluttering for a moment. Her voice was mild as she said, "I’ll ask."

She activated her Star Brain, pulled Hu Shishen, Huo Shi, and Qi Shan into a group chat, and sent a message.

The message was concise: At the Ji Family’s gate. Granny Ji is picking a fight with me. Who’s free to come and back me up?

Everyone replied instantly. Huo Shi’s was the most formal: Great-aunt, I’m on a mission nearby. Would it be acceptable for me to swing by and back you up?

Huo Shi sent another message: Great-aunt, you’re still young. That time you tried to make an example of someone, you picked the wrong target, so no one took it seriously. Granny Ji has decent standing. Once you use her to make a name for yourself this time, no one will dare to be smug in front of you again.

Jian Yu glanced up at the smug old woman and replied: Then bring more people. Your great-aunt is being looked down on. I might not be able to go back to school after this.

With the back-and-forth messages, Jian Yu became absorbed in her replies. It felt pretty good to be warmly greeted and boldly supported by her juniors.

Ji Shiyin waited patiently.

Pei Yin stood there with an imposing posture, his eyes threateningly warning the others not to come closer.

He shot a glance at Granny Ji and said sarcastically, "Some old women just can’t seem to figure out their place, always thinking they can lord it over everyone else."

Granny Ji’s face flushed red. She stopped arguing and secretly sent a message to her eldest brother, telling him that regardless of whether Jian Yu really knew them, he absolutely had to intercept Huo Shi and Qi Shan first.

Her posture was elegant, her tone lofty. "Of those three people you mentioned, if you can get even one of them to show up today, I’ll admit defeat."

After speaking, Granny Ji turned her head back to the Clan Leader. "I won’t let today’s matter rest."

The Ji Clan Leader’s face alternated between pale and livid.

The other clan elders lowered their voices, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Maybe we should just drop it? Let’s try to persuade Young Master Ji again. It’s not a good idea to truly offend a Saint-level Healer. What if something happens to us later, Granny Ji says a few words to him, and he really refuses to save us?"

"Old Seventh, have you forgotten? When the poison in your leg was spreading the year before last, he was the one who saved you."

"He saved me, yes, but his price was sky-high! Don’t make it sound like I got some kind of bargain!"

"It is high. Last time he saved my grandson, it nearly cost me my entire fortune."

"Get a grip, all of you! We’re talking about our lives! If you’re going to be that calculating, be careful, or next time he won’t treat you even if you go bankrupt."

"..."

...

Jian Yu had excellent hearing. Seeing that these people were about to side with the opposition, she tugged on Ji Shiyin’s sleeve.

"Forget it. Leave the Ji Family. I’ll support you."

Ji Shiyin obediently bent down and answered without hesitation, "Okay."

In an instant, all the arguments stopped.

They all looked anxiously at the Ji Clan Leader.

The Ji Clan Leader tried to persuade them feebly, "It hasn’t come to that yet."

Ji Shiyin’s eyes curved into a smile. "I chose to be adopted into the main line to escape, but now I realize that as long as I’m in the Ji Family, I will always live in her shadow."

Pei Yin said mockingly, "You all better pick a side, you’ll have to sooner or later. Watching you sway back and forth like weeds on a wall is exhausting. With this old woman around, even being the Ji Family Head would be unstable. It’s better not to be it at all."

The Ji Clan Leader lowered his head in silence.

Pei Yin jutted out his chin. "And you, stop with the pitiful act. How did my Little Yanzi get so unlucky as to be stuck with a family like yours? If I had known, I’d rather have shoved him into the crack of a rock and let him be reborn from it."

Jian Yu: "..."

Ji Shiyin pressed his lips together, smiling.

"Of course, I’m on the Young Master’s side, but... the Young Master also has to give us subordinates a way to live," the Ji Clan Leader said, gritting his teeth.

He had a look of someone who was putting it all on the line. "I’m not even asking for Master Shishen to show up. As long as you can guarantee that our resources—Mecha parts, energy, and so on—won’t be blocked by the higher-ups, the clan will definitely give you a satisfactory resolution!"

Pei Yin cut in, "Does that include dealing with that old hag?"

The Ji Clan Leader glanced at the other clan elders and nodded in resignation. "It does."

Granny Ji’s face was grim. She said nothing. She held so many bargaining chips, yet she was still the one being abandoned.

’She was already planning how to make these people pay.’

’The next time there were deliveries, audits, or other complex procedures, she would have her eldest brother continue to make things difficult for them.’

’And her second brother... starting today, she would have him refuse to provide Healing for any member of the Ji Family.’

’Unless they obediently admitted their mistake and paid a hefty price, she would absolutely not plead their case.’

The Ji Clan Leader was filled with apprehension, not daring to look at Granny Ji’s dark expression.

He looked at Jian Yu expectantly. "Those three you mentioned... can you really get one of them to come?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a shadow fell over them from the sky.

Looking up, they saw... warships?

A full eight of them!!!