Last night, a light snowfall covered the capital of the empire. The cold wind rustled the dead leaves on the branches and swept through the long, empty streets. The sky was gloomy, with golden sunlight piercing through the edges of the clouds.
The heavy iron door was pushed open from the outside, and Ji Shiqing raised his head. The beam of light streaming in from behind the door illuminated his pale cheeks, giving him an indescribable fragility. The person addressing Ji Shiqing said, “Director Ji, you can go home now. However, the investigation regarding your alleged theft of researcher Xie’s research results is not yet complete. You are still under suspicion and, for the time being, must remain at home to cooperate with our investigation.”
It was a form of house arrest, but Ji Shiqing nodded apathetically. Ever since he had been imprisoned in the Supervisory Court, he knew that this would likely be the ultimate outcome. Now, upon hearing these words, he wasn’t surprised.
Two months ago, the Supervisory Court received numerous reports from the public accusing Ji Shiqing, the director of the National Institute of Genetics, of corruption and stealing other researchers’ work. Forced to accept investigation by the Supervision Institute, Ji Shiqing faced pressure from both the Xie family and the Senate, leading to various excuses to prolong the investigation. What could have been resolved within three days was dragged out for an entire month, keeping Ji Shiqing confined.
Ji Shiqing left the dim room with the inspector, but his eyes struggled to adjust to the intense light outside. His vision remained blurry, and he could only vaguely make out the passing staff without distinguishing their features. Even after a considerable amount of time, his vision did not improve. There was a thin layer of white fog in front of his eyes, and Ji Shiqing suddenly realized that his eyesight had deteriorated. It was not surprising; he had already anticipated this day when he first noticed his condition worsening.
Walking through the bright corridor with the inspector, they arrived at the main hall. The inspector took the files handed to him by a colleague and signed them with a lowered head. Ji Shiqing silently surveyed his surroundings but couldn’t clearly see what was placed there. He relied on his memory from before to mentally match them up one by one. Some items were not in their usual places, and Ji Shiqing began to guess what had been rearranged.
Outside the hall, a young person stood tightly wrapped, peering inside with a slightly tilted head. As JiShiqing turned around, his peripheral vision caught sight of the young person. Despite his limited eyesight, he sensed a hint of familiarity about them. It was only when the inspector finished signing all the documents and led him out of the Supervision Institute’s gate that Ji Shiqing walked a few steps past the young person and suddenly recognized who they were.
“Ji Yu?” Ji Shiqing halted and turned his head to look at the young man, his expression devoid of much emotion. In his deep voice, he asked, “Why have you come?”
Ji Yu, Ji Shiqing’s younger brother.
Back then, the Ji family had three sons. However, in the year when the eldest son, Ji Shiqing, first entered the Imperial Academy, a tragic accident occurred, and both of them were buried under the vastness of the starry sky.
At the time, Ji Shiqing was fourteen years old, the second son, Ji Yuan, was eight, and the youngest, Ji Yu, had just celebrated his third birthday. At the tender age of fourteen, Ji Shiqing had to shoulder the responsibility of managing the vast Ji family and taking care of his two younger brothers. For many years, Ji Shiqing rarely had a good night’s sleep.
The two younger brothers grew day by day, becoming talented individuals. Ji Yuan inherited Mr. Ji’s business acumen and, during his schooling years, started a small company with the money earned from stock trading. Over the past few years, the company had grown significantly, earning Ji Yuan recognition in various financial magazines. Ji Yu, the youngest, was equally remarkable. He became the youngest mech pilot in the empire’s history, with a boundless future ahead of him. Individually, the three Ji brothers had the potential to create great waves. Politicians had long speculated that they would lead the Ji family to glory. But in the end, the three brothers became strangers.
Ji Shiqing hadn’t actually seen Ji Yu for quite some time. Ever since he insisted on completing the Saarland Experiment, he had a falling out with Ji Yu, and both of them had moved out of the Ji home for a while.
T/N~ Hi there
The Chapter are little bit too long so I will be breaking that into 2 parts
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sarcastisaurus On CFRFGC Chapter 80