PTBLSI chapter 10

 

Qi Xi finally noticed Fu Yanchuan’s gaze. He subconsciously closed his legs together, hugged the cat tightly, and said, “I was just going to get my clothes. They’re in the laundry room.”

After saying that, he ran off. Fu Yanchuan watched him run into the laundry room, his silky shirt fluttering in the wind. Then, he turned back to his room to call Uncle Quan.

Upon hearing Fu Yanchuan’s request, Uncle Quan asked somewhat uncertainly, “Is it for Qi Xi?”

“Yes, all the clothes he’ll need for every occasion. Prepare more: Make sure they’re conservative and restrained. Don’t use silk.”

Uncle Quan didn’t know what had happened, but Fu Yanchuan’s detailed requirements must have something to do with silk clothes. He was curious about what Qi Xi had done to Fu Yanchuan.

However, he maintained his professionalism as a butler and replied, “All right, sir.”

Qi Xi searched the laundry room but couldn’t find his clothes. Thinking they were gone, he hurried back to his room, planning to continue wearing Fu Yanchuan’s pants. However, he found his clothes folded neatly on the bench at the foot of the bed.

Who put them there?

Qi Xi didn’t think about it too much. He changed out of the ill-fitting clothes, washed up, and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. There, he ran into a very kind-looking aunt.

“You’re Qi Xi, right? Can I call you Xiao Qi? Breakfast will be ready soon. When Sir comes over, he can eat right away.”

Qi Xi realized that she was Fu Yanchuan’s family’s nanny. “Did you help me get my clothes?”

“Yes.” As she cooked, the nanny told him, “Sir gets up at six every morning. I usually come at six, too. When he goes to exercise, I clean and make breakfast. By the time he comes back and finishes showering, breakfast is ready.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Qi Xi’s plan to make breakfast fell through. At the same time, he realized that Fu Yanchuan didn’t seem to be planning on firing the current nanny. The nanny must also be working here to earn money, just like him. He couldn’t take someone else’s job just because he didn’t have a job.

He was stuck for a moment. He had promised to be Fu Yanchuan’s nanny, but now he wasn’t needed. Would Fu Yanchuan still pay him?

Fu Yanchuan happened to come out of the room. Qi Xi looked over, anxious about getting kicked out. When Fu Yanchuan came in front of him, he saw that same direct gaze again. Qi Xi became even more uneasy, afraid that Fu Yanchuan was about to tell him to leave immediately.

“Brother Yan.”

He softly called to Fu Yanchuan, stepped in front of him, lifted his face, and asked pitifully, “Do you still want me as the stand-in?”

“Mm.”

Fu Yanchuan answered with a noncommittal sound. He stood very close to Qi Xi, almost pressed against him, for quite a while before stepping back.

Qi Xi didn’t understand and chased after him, asking, “I can help Auntie. I can do other things for you. I’m very capable. I can wash clothes and mop the floor.”

“You don’t need to do those things.”

This time, Fu Yanchuan didn’t step back. Looking down at Qi Xi, he spoke in a heavy tone. “You just need to live here and follow my rules. What I promised you, I will definitely do.”

“Rules? What rules?” Qi Xi widened his eyes in surprise. The contract never mentioned any rules.

“First, when you leave the room, you must be properly dressed. Absolutely no going around naked. Second, you can’t do rude things like suddenly rushing over to hug me.”

Qi Xi immediately retorted, “Why can’t I hug you? If we don’t hug, how are we supposed to go to bed later? You—”

“Qi Xi.”

Fu Yanchuan cut him off. The nanny was still in the kitchen and could clearly hear them. Fu Yanchuan added another rule: “Third, you’re not allowed to talk while eating.”

Qi Xi strongly disagreed, but he was accustomed to living under someone else’s roof. He silently accepted Fu Yanchuan’s rules. During the meal, he didn’t make a sound. Several times, he almost couldn’t hold it back, but each time, Fu Yanchuan shot him a look, and he stopped.

After breakfast, Qi Xi went back to his room to feed the cat. He found the orange cat in the luxury cat villa. Because the house was so big and its colors were too cold, the cat hid inside and wouldn’t come out on its own.

However, the litter box and food bowl were on the balcony, so Qi Xi had to carry the cat out and stay with it while it ate.

The balcony connected the living room and dining room. Uncle Quan had arranged the cat’s spot in the corner of the dining room.

Qi Xi suddenly heard Fu Yanchuan making a phone call on the balcony outside the living room. He couldn’t hear clearly, but Fu Yanchuan’s expression was even more frightening then when he looked at Qi Xi before.

Qi Xi quickly turned his head back. After finishing the call, Fu Yanchuan walked over to him. Qi Xi thought he was coming to scold him again. Instead, Fu Yanchuan asked, “Where is your school? Do you have classes today?”

“In the university district. I have class at nine.”

Qi Xi squatted on the ground and looked up. Fu Yanchuan’s expression no longer seemed scary; he was still as handsome as a manga protagonist.

Fu Yanchuan thought for a moment. “It’s a bit far. I’ll send you.”

“Really?”

Qi Xi instantly felt that Fu Yanchuan wasn’t scary anymore. He jumped up and said, “I’ll go pack my things. Wait for me a moment; I’ll be right back.”

Seeing Qi Xi leave, the orange cat stopped eating and followed him, step by step.

Qi Xi packed his backpack and went out to the foyer, followed by the orange cat. He crouched down and patted the cat on the head. “Dasheng, I’m going to class. Stay home and wait for me.”

“Meow!”

“Are you scared to be alone in your new home?” Qi Xi drew a few strokes on the orange cat’s forehead. “I drew a courage-blessing talisman for you, so don’t be afraid. I’ll come back after class.”

Fu Yanchuan happened to come over and see Qi Xi drawing the talisman. It was something childish that he had never done, not even when he was young. Even the orange cat seemed unimpressed.

Qi Xi said to Fu Yanchuan, “Brother Yan, wait for me.”

He shut the orange cat back in the room and told the nanny, “Auntie, after I leave, can you let it out? Dasheng won’t rummage through things except the trash can. It knows how to use the toilet by itself. You don’t need to take care of it.”

“Alright, I know.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

After thanking the nanny, Qi Xi went to find Fu Yanchuan, but he was nowhere to be found. He hurried downstairs. Fu Yanchuan still wasn’t in the garage and the car that had taken him to the hospital the night before was gone. However, the driver and car they had met that day were waiting in the garage.

The driver said, “President Fu drove himself today. Mr. Qi, please get in.”

Qi Xi got into the car, feeling a little disappointed. His school was quite far away. Because of the morning rush hour, it took almost an hour to arrive.

The luxury car stopped at the school gate. Before it had even fully stopped, it attracted the attention of passersby. The driver jogged over to open the door for Qi Xi and, immediately, all the onlookers’ gazes fell on him.

Qi Xi felt uncomfortable being stared at. Although his dad also had a driver, it wouldn’t be like this. Every gesture was so precise and attentive that it made people feel embarrassed.

He hurriedly bent down to thank the driver. The driver gracefully returned the gesture. “This is my duty. Take care.”

“Qi Xi!”

Someone suddenly squeezed out of the onlookers. It was Qi Xi’s classmate, Zhou Yuxuan. They weren’t really close; Qi Xi even felt that Zhou Yuxuan seemed to dislike him a bit.

The driver went back to drive the car away. Zhou Yuxuan put an arm around Qi Xi’s shoulder and looked toward the car that had just left. “This is the first time I’ve seen you come to school by car. That car costs several million, right?”

Since Qi Xi was a day student, his classmates knew he lived in a gated community and assumed he was wealthy.

Uncomfortably, he pushed Zhou Yuxuan’s hand away. “Don’t put your arm on my shoulder. I don’t know how much that car costs. Go ask the driver.”

Zhou Yuxuan avoided Qi Xi’s gaze, frowned, and then looked at him again with a smile. “I was just asking. Why did you take leave yesterday? I answered roll call for you, but you had requested time off, and I almost received a demerit.”

“Why did you answer roll call for me? I didn’t ask for your help.”

Zhou Yuxuan immediately found it difficult to keep up the pretense. Qi Xi was just good-looking and had money, yet he was extremely aloof. At first, some people in the class thought he was personable, but over time, they realized that he really didn’t know how to read the room and often embarrassed people.

Zhou Yuxuan wouldn’t come looking for trouble unless he had a purpose. Despite Qi Xi’s unsociable demeanor, Zhou Yuxuan swallowed his temper and put on a smile. “Yes, yes, I was meddling. Um, there’s a class gathering tomorrow night. Do you want to come?”

“What gathering? There was no notice in the group.”

“The class monitor organized it. All the boys in the class are going. If you’re the only one not going, it’ll look unsociable. Someone deliberately didn’t notify you. I was the only one kind enough to tell you.”

Qi Xi didn’t live on campus, play games, or join clubs. He had poor grades, didn’t go clubbing, and didn’t have a girlfriend. He almost couldn’t blend into any circle in the class. Naturally, he didn’t have any close friends.

When he heard Zhou Yuxuan, he thought it was a class activity. His grades were already precarious, and he didn’t want them to be affected further, so he agreed. “Thanks. When is it? Where?”

“Don’t leave after class tomorrow afternoon. I’ll take you there.”

“All right, then remember to call me.”

Qi Xi suddenly thought to check the time. Seeing that Zhou Yuxuan was unhurried, he hurriedly said, “Class is about to start. Hurry up.”

Zhou Yuxuan wasn’t in a rush to go to class. After watching Qi Xi run off, he took out his phone and replied to someone.

Got it arranged.

Qi Xi’s school was one of the lowest-tier undergraduate schools. Naturally, the students weren’t the type to love studying. Most of them just wanted to muddle through and get a degree.

In class, everyone did all kinds of things. Qi Xi listened quite seriously, but he couldn’t understand anything. Before long, he started yawning. To keep himself from falling asleep, he quietly took out a notebook and started drawing.

At first, he drew the teacher giving the lecture. But as he drew, it was as if magic had been cast. The picture became bizarre, and the classroom turned into an indescribable otherworld under his pen.

Finally, class ended. He closed his notebook and left the classroom. There were still classes in the afternoon. He planned to eat in the cafeteria first, then take a nap in the library.

Although he hadn’t made friends at university, he had a friend from childhood who had known him since middle school, Xie Hui.

However, Xie Hui went abroad for college and only came back twice a year.

While Qi Xi was eating, it was evening for Xie Hui. He told Xie Hui what had happened these past two days. Two seconds later, Xie Hui sent him three voice messages.

“Qi Xi, are you crazy? Why on earth would you be someone’s stand-in?”

“Did you get scammed? What kind of person is that man? What does he do?”

“No way! I’m going back to the country right now.”

After listening to this, Qi Xi didn’t understand why Xie Hui was so agitated. He slowly typed:

[Don’t be anxious. He’s a good person. He even reminded me to take my medicine.]

Xie Hui almost swore. He held it back again and again before saying, “Do you know how stupid you are? You’d get sold and thank the person for it. Does telling you to take medicine count as being good? Back then, I practically acted like your mom. Why didn’t you ever say I was good?”

[Mama Xie, don’t be angry. I’m serious. His name is Fu Yanchuan, and he’s very handsome.]

Xie Hui was so angry that he didn’t want to talk anymore and started typing, too.

[You just care that he’s handsome!]

[Wait, Fu Yanchuan? That Fu Yanchuan?]

[Which one?]

After a while, Xie Hui sent him a photo. It was a candid shot from a meeting of some kind. Fu Yanchuan’s face looked flawless, like a manga protagonist.

[That’s him. How do you have his photo?]

[Idiot. How could you agree to something like this when you know nothing? A stand-in—I really want to punch you twice.]

Qi Xi thought for a moment and asked Xie Hui.

[You know him?]

[You’re the only one who doesn’t know him. The Fu family is a wealthy family with a history spanning over a century. Their family situation is so complicated that it would take ten of your brains to figure it out. If you get involved with him, you’ll definitely be eaten alive and not even your bones will be left.]

[He doesn’t eat people.]

Seeing those four words, Xie Hui almost died of anger and sent a voice message directly. “I’m not joking with you. Go search online yourself. Look up how Fu Yanchuan’s dad seized power back then and how people evaluate Fu Yanchuan.”

[How do they evaluate him?]

“They say he’s ruthless and cold-blooded. He stops at nothing and even forced his former brothers to jump into the sea and commit suicide.”

“In short, you need to leave his house immediately. If you don’t have a place to live, stay in a hotel for now. I’ve saved some money these past two years. When I go back, I’ll rent a place for you.”

Qi Xi tried hard to imagine the Fu Yanchuan that Xie Hui described but couldn’t match him to the person he knew. He stubbornly replied, “He really is a good person, and we’ve already signed a contract. I can’t break it.”

“I told you he scammed you! How could this kind of contract be legal? Listen to me—leave his house.”

Qi Xi knew that Xie Hui wouldn’t lie to him, but he also knew that Fu Yanchuan wouldn’t lie to him. Feeling conflicted, he didn’t know how to respond.

Before Qi Xi could answer, Xie Hui knew the idiot was probably overthinking again, so he called him directly.

As soon as Qi Xi picked up, Xie Hui shouted, “If you insist on staying at his place, it’s fine, but you’re not allowed to have sex with him for the next few days, understand?”

“But—”

“No buts, idiot! Do you know how two men do it? Are you sure you can really accept it? Are you gay? Do you like men?”

Qi Xi was stunned by the last question. Only then did he start to think about his sexual orientation. Because he had read BL comics for a long time, he naturally accepted Fu Yanchuan’s desire for him as a stand-in.

However, he hadn’t deeply considered whether he was actually gay. It seemed he had never really liked anyone before.

After pondering for a long time, he asked Xie Hui, “Do you think I’m gay?”

“Like hell you are. Remember what I said. Wait until I get back.”

Qi Xi received Xie Hui’s scolding for half an hour. Finally, he hung up. After holding his phone and seriously considering things for a long time, he sent Fu Yanchuan a message.

[Do you think I’m gay?]

 

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