Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 159 Entrustment
"Yeah……"

Ji Yelongjun felt somewhat disappointed. As expected, his granddaughter still hadn't won Akizuki Makoto's heart.

But you can't really blame Ji Yexue for this. He can understand to some extent that young people's views on love are different from those of the older generation.

In their time, as long as people were well-matched, both were outstanding, and they were attracted to each other, they could be together.

As for relationships...

Those skills are cultivated gradually.

If both parties are outstanding enough, they will be able to attract each other, and developing feelings will naturally follow.

"Sorry, Grandpa."

Ji Yexue subconsciously apologized, but Ji Yelongjun just stared at her with his cloudy eyes and gently shook his head.

"Go at your own pace, you're all grown up now."

This was the first time Ji Yelongjun had acknowledged Ji Yexue; perhaps it was because he was about to die that his words were kind.

He was no longer the dignified and rigid man he once was; he was now just a frail old man.

"grandfather……"

Ji Yexue stared in astonishment at Ji Yelongjun on the hospital bed, her emotions instantly becoming a mix of feelings.

"Xiaoxue, let Grandpa rest. Let's go outside and talk."

Mrs. Ji Ye took Ji Yexue's hand and beckoned her to leave the ward and go to a quiet spot outside.

She stopped and said earnestly, "Xiaoxue, things will be very tough for you for a while. I hope you can be mentally prepared."

"...Yes, don't worry, Mother, I will take on my responsibilities."

With a heavy heart, Ji Yexue nodded in response. Even she, who was always calm and confident, felt lost about the future.

Previously, she had never truly felt the weight of family responsibilities on her shoulders.

It was only at this moment that she suddenly realized that the reason she was able to grow up so peacefully without having to accept external pressure was because someone had taken on that responsibility for her.

"Don't be stubborn. Just like Grandpa said, take it slow at your own pace. Your mother and father are here for you."

Mrs. Ji Ye forced a smile, placed her hand on Ji Yexue's shoulder, gently embraced her, and held her in her arms.

"My mother, all I've ever wanted is for you to be happy."

"But things didn't go as planned. I'm so sorry that you were born into such a strict family and didn't have any happy memories."

“I’ve even neglected your inner thoughts. I’m such a bad mother.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Mrs. Ji Ye choked up and shed tears, revealing a rare vulnerable and sentimental side of herself in front of her daughter.

Ji Yexue hugged her mother back, gently shook her head, and said softly, "No, that's not true. I'm already very happy. I was just ignorant in the past."

Today, she can understand the strict education her grandfather and mother gave her, and she also understands the responsibilities of being the future head of the family.

That was a task even more important than Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in the island nation.

All her previous achievements pale in comparison to this responsibility.

"Xiaoxue, go after your happiness first. Your father and I will take care of things at home."

As Mrs. Ji Ye spoke, she released Ji Yexue, looked at her gently, and said softly, "You should go back first. Your grandfather and I still have some things to talk about."

"Okay, Mother, I'll go back now."

Ji Yexue nodded, bid farewell to Mrs. Ji Ye, and left the sanatorium.

On the way back, Ji Yexue took out her phone several times, opened the chat box in Line, typed a message several times, and then deleted it several times.

In the end, she didn't send anything, because she didn't want to show weakness again, nor did she want to be seen vulnerable twice in one day.

She is the future head of the Ji Ye family, and she must be strong.

"...But I still want you to firmly choose me."

Ji Yexue repeatedly opened the chat box with Qiuyue Cheng, staring blankly at the chat history.

……

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, several days have passed.

These past few days, Ji Yexue has been just as she said that day, busy with various things and hasn't had time to come to school.

Naturally, the Light Music Club was temporarily managed by Makoto Akizuki, but Rin Shiraishi's situation was not good either, as she had not been able to gain the approval of the original organization.

Just as Makoto Akizuki thought, the original Shiraishi Rin could not accept the existence of the clone, let alone accept it.

That day, after the clone explained the solution to her, she flew into a rage, threw a tantrum, and berated the clone.

Since then, the original Shiraishi Rin has told the clone not to come every day anymore; the clone can only come if she actively calls it over.

"It's almost time for our appointment..."

Akizuki glanced at the wall clock; the hour hand pointed to 1:47 PM.

Ji Yexue had arranged to pick him up at 2 PM on Saturday to meet Ji Yelongjun.

He returned to his room, tidied himself up, and made sure his appearance was neat and without any flaws before going out and waiting downstairs at his home.

In the past, Ji Yexue would always arrive early or on time, but today she was late for the first time, and by a full seventeen minutes!
Ji Yexue rolled down the car window and said apologetically to Qiuyue Cheng, who was standing outside the window, "I'm sorry, something came up suddenly and I was delayed a little."

"It's okay, I didn't wait long."

Akizuki Makoto shook his head, opened the car door, bent down and sat in the sedan, then said, "How is Grandpa Ji Ye's health? If I go to see him, won't it bother him?"

Judging from the fact that Ji Yelongjun has already moved into a sanatorium, his current condition must be very bad, otherwise he should be staying at home and being treated by a private doctor.

"My physical condition has stabilized; it hasn't worsened, but it hasn't improved either."

Whenever this matter was mentioned, a strange melancholy appeared on Ji Yexue's face, and she couldn't help but sigh.

Despite having consulted numerous renowned doctors and spent a fortune on expensive medications, with daily medical expenses reaching tens of millions of yen, the situation has only been barely maintained.

In other words, he was kept alive so that Ji Yelongjun wouldn't die, but he had to suffer from the torment of illness every day.

"Is that so... My condolences."

Akizuki Makoto nodded, his mood growing heavy as he felt apprehensive about his upcoming meeting with Himeya Ryusuke.

After that, the two did not speak again until the car drove into the private sanatorium located in a prime location in the port area.

Under the nurse's guidance, they underwent a disinfection process before being able to enter Himeya Ryushun's ward.

At this moment, Ji Yelongjun had just finished lunch. He was half-lying on the hospital bed, and his complexion was better than when he first arrived at the sanatorium. He also seemed to have more energy.

"It's been a long time, Qiuyue Sang. How have you been?"

Upon seeing Akizuki Makoto and Himeya Yuki enter together, Himeya Ryushun nodded slightly in greeting.

"Thanks to you, Grandpa, everything is fine." Qiu Yuecheng replied with his head bowed, then continued, "Grandpa, you don't seem to be doing well lately. Have you been working too hard?"

"Ha ha……"

Ji Yelongjun smiled weakly and said, "When people get old, their bodies can't keep up, and it's normal for them to collapse at some point."

He has a very open mind about life and death, and has long since become indifferent to them.

His only concern is the Ji Ye family, which is why he is still clinging to life.

Even though he was suffering from illness every day, he never gave up until he was sure that the Ji Ye family could continue to develop peacefully without him.

The hope for the continued development of the Ji Ye family rests on this young man before them.

Although Akizuki Makoto does not currently possess the demeanor of a leader, nor does he have deep schemes or cunning, he has one irreplaceable role: supporting Ji Yexue.

Ji Yexue is not mature or strong enough yet. If too much pressure is put on her, she will definitely break down.

The pressure she will face from now on will be on a completely different level than the pressure she faced before.

She not only had to deal with external threats, but also resolve internal problems.

The news of Ji Yelongjun's illness has spread like wildfire in the past few days. Not only are his business or political rivals eyeing him covetously, but even his branch families are considering turning against him and impeaching him.

It can be said that the Ji Ye family is now in dire straits, with a landmine quietly planted, waiting to explode when Ji Ye Long Jun finally dies of his illness.

"...Xiaoxue, you can go out first. Let me talk to Qiuyue Sang alone for a while."

Ji Yelong Falcon shifted his gaze to Ji Yexue, who was standing to the side with her head down, and spoke softly.

What she was about to hear was something she shouldn't be listening to anymore.

"Ok."

Ji Yexue nodded, turned and left. Before reaching the door of the ward, she couldn't help but stop and look back at Qiu Yuecheng's straight back.

She could more or less guess what her grandfather wanted to say to Qiuyue Cheng; he probably wanted to ask him to be her pillar of support so she could keep going.

Indeed, that's exactly why Ji Yelongshun wanted to swallow his pride and persuade Akizuki Makoto.

“Autumn Moon Mulberry, sit down.”

Ji Yelong raised a withered arm covered in IV needles, pointed to the caregiver's chair next to the hospital bed, and continued, "Akizuki-san, how have things been going with Yuki lately?"

"...It's alright."

After a moment of silence, Akizuki nodded in response, his words and attitude ambiguous and somewhat suggestive.

"Hehe, it's not bad..."

Ji Yelong Falcon laughed, filled with emotion: "I never imagined that just a few weeks after our last meeting, I would become like this. Life is truly unpredictable."

"Grandpa, don't be so pessimistic. You will live to be a hundred years old."

At this moment, all Akizuki Makoto could do was offer flattering words to appease Himeya Ryushun.

Ji Yelong Falcon didn't care and said to himself, "At my age, living to be a hundred is not a good thing. I suffer from illness every day, and each day feels like a year."

"..."

Akizuki Makoto fell silent, unsure how to respond.

"Hehe, we've gone off on a tangent."

Ji Yelong chuckled again, changing the subject from the uninteresting topic, and said, "Qiuyue-san, the reason I wanted to see you is simply that I wanted you to help Xiaoxue. You should understand what I mean, right?"

"Yeah, I understand."

Qiu Yuecheng nodded and agreed, "If Xue needs my help, I will certainly do my best without hesitation."

"Let's skip the pleasantries, I want to hear your honest opinion."

Ji Yelongjun waved his hand, his aged face regaining a hint of majesty, and his voice returning to its usual calm and steady tone.

"Akizuki-san, as you know, I've always wanted to match you up with Xiaoxue. I admire you and hope you can join the Jiye family."

"This is the kind of help I want: for you to support Xiaoxue as her fiancé, not for any other identity or reason."

"This is my last wish, I wonder what Qiuyue Sang thinks?"

In order to persuade Akizuki Makoto, Himeya Ryushun went all out and started to morally blackmail him.

Akizuki Makoto is a rather easygoing person, and he really found it hard to refuse the request from an elderly man who cared about his family and was very old and didn't have much time left.

Moreover, Akizuki Makoto doesn't dislike Hime Yuki, and has even recently considered the possibility of being with her, weighing it from various angles.

But he couldn't make a decision yet because he still had unresolved issues.

At the very least, you should settle things with Shimizu Rei before considering your own feelings.

If he doesn't resolve Shimizu Rei's situation first, it will always feel like there's a thorn in his side.

"...Grandpa, I'm sorry, I can't grant your request."

Upon hearing Akizuki Makoto's refusal, Himeya Ryushun simply nodded, showing no disappointment, and calmly accepted the fact that he had been rejected.

"These things really can't be forced; I must have said something strange."

"No, that's not true. I'm very grateful to you, Grandpa, for valuing me so much, but I'm afraid I'll have to let you down."

"Qiuyue Sang, don't speak too definitively, and don't refuse so decisively. It's always better to leave some room for maneuver in life and work, otherwise you might regret it at some point."

Ji Yelongjun gave a faint smile and then said, "In short, I'm entrusting Xiaoxue to your care. Please support her well."

"..."

Akizuki Makoto did not respond to Himeya Ryushun's words, which can be taken as an admission.

He will support Ji Yexue, but definitely not as her fiancé.

This was still too early for him, and he didn't dare to take on Ji Yexue's life directly and become tied to her.

Ji Yexue is not an ordinary person; she is not the kind of woman who can confess and get together on a whim, and then break up with someone when she no longer likes them or gets tired of them.

Her romantic history destined her to be widowed, not divorced.

If Qiuyue Cheng truly wants to make the decision to shoulder Ji Yexue's life, then she needs to have a greater and deeper understanding.

Ji Yexue also needs to touch his heartstrings even more so that he can understand her feelings.

"Akizuki-san, tell me, how did you and Xiaoxue meet..."

After that, Ji Yelong learned from Qiu Yuecheng that Ji Yexue was different from the one he remembered.

Makoto Akizuki's character, Himeyasu, is aloof, proud, and powerful, but this is only on the surface. These public labels and impressions are merely her disguise.

In reality, she was just a somewhat willful and wicked young lady.

(End of this chapter)