PTBLSI chapter 1

 

The October afternoon sun was no longer hot. Qi Xi set up his easel and sat by the bay window to paint. A pastoral orange cat, half a meter long including its tail, jumped down from the cat climbing frame in the corner. It landed on the large suitcase below before jumping onto the bay window.

“Don’t disturb me, Dasheng. It’ll be finished soon.”

Qi Xi pushed away the orange cat that wanted to burrow into his arms with his foot, but the cat refused to give up. Its head slipped under his arm, and it leaned over to watch him paint.

On the canvas was an orange cat stepping through a nebula. It was exactly like the cat in front of him, holding a planet full of fantastical beasts in its mouth. The planet was dazzling with light, as if the cat were about to step out of the painting and give the planet to the painter.

“Finally done!”

Qi Xi put down his brush, looked at his work for a moment, took a photo with his phone, and posted it online with the caption: “Thank you, Qi Tian Dasheng, for the birthday gift you gave me. Wishing myself a happy birthday!”

Unfortunately, he didn’t have many followers, so no one wished him a happy birthday.

Today was his twentieth birthday. Ever since his mother passed away, no one had celebrated his birthday with him again. No one even remembered his birthday—not a single “happy birthday.”

Never mind, though. Birthdays aren’t that interesting anyway.

Qi Xi indifferently put away the paints and easel. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Before he could answer, the visitor pushed the door open. A woman wearing heavy makeup stood in the doorway, glancing at him impatiently.

“Qi Xi, your dad is back. Come downstairs quickly; he has something to tell you.”

She was only there to notify him. Just as she had opened the door without waiting for his response, she didn’t even look at him properly after speaking and left.

At that moment, he heard the sound of a car coming from downstairs. He rubbed the orange cat’s chin. “Dasheng, I’ll be back soon.”

The living room downstairs was lively and cheerful. Today, Qi Zhounan won third place in an equestrian competition and invited some classmates and friends over to celebrate.

Qi Zhounan was his half-brother, sharing the same father. The woman from earlier was his father’s second wife.

His mother had died of an illness when he was twelve. Six months later, his father brought the woman and her son home. At that time, Qi Zhounan was already six years old.

Qi Xi walked to the stairway and stopped. His father, Qi Feng, happened to come in.

He handed his briefcase to the maid and walked in with a gift box in his other hand. His gaze swept past Qi Xi first, but he said, “Zhounan, your gift.”

Qi Zhounan, surrounded in the center of the living room, ran over and took the gift box. “Thanks, Dad! It was just a small prize, and you even prepared a gift for me. I’m embarrassed.”

“This is encouragement for you. Next time, participate in a higher-level competition. Keep working hard, okay?”

“Got it.”

Qi Zhounan held the gift box and glanced at Qi Xi. Qi Xi sincerely admired him. “Little brother is really amazing. You can even win prizes in horseback riding.”

Qi Feng sneered. “You think everyone is like you and useless at everything.”

Qi Xi nodded in strong agreement. “It’s because my genes are bad. Dad, you can’t do it either, can you?”

His tone was sincere, not sarcastic, and he was just stating the facts.

The more so, the angrier Qi Feng became. As if completely unaware, Qi Xi walked up to him with a smile and asked, “Dad, didn’t you prepare a gift for me?”

“You still want a gift?”

Qi Feng couldn’t even fake a gentle expression. Nevertheless, he adopted a controlling posture and said, “You’re not young anymore. Old Li’s kid went abroad to study alone at sixteen. You should be independent too. Your mom and I have discussed it, and you’ll be moving out tomorrow.”

“Really?”

Qi Xi looked pleasantly surprised. “Where am I moving? Are you going to buy me a big house for my birthday?”

“What birthday gift? You don’t celebrate birthdays!”

Qi Feng wasn’t aware at all that it was Qi Xi’s birthday. As if discussing it with him, he announced, “After your maternal grandfather passed away, that house has been empty. Old houses get damaged easily if left unused. You can go take care of it. If the house gets ruined, the old man would definitely be angry.”

Qi Xi’s maternal grandmother passed away very early. His maternal grandfather raised a son and a daughter alone. Later, his son cut off contact with him, and they didn’t speak for many years. Less than half a year after Qi Xi’s mother died of an illness, his maternal grandfather passed away too.

At that time, Qi Xi was still young and didn’t know what happened to the house. After hearing Qi Feng’s words, he happily asked, “The house is for me? Can I move there now? I’ll treat it as the birthday gift Dad gave me for my twentieth birthday.”

Surprised that Qi Xi agreed so easily, Qi Feng scrutinized him. Qi Xi looked genuinely happy and pounced over to hug him. “Thank you, Dad. Even though you forgot my birthday and are kicking me out on it, I still want to thank you!”

Qi Feng’s face instantly darkened like storm clouds. He only spoke after Qi Xi let go of him. “Today… is your birthday?”

“Yes… but it’s fine if you don’t remember. Just give me the keys.”

Qi Xi smiled and held out his hand. Qi Feng’s face worsened further. Glancing at his second wife, he said, “Since it’s your birthday, let’s talk about moving out in a few days. What birthday gift do you want?”

Qi Xi refused. “You should kick me out today. Otherwise, you’ll have to endure me for a few more days. You’ve wanted me out of this house for a long time!”

“Qi Xi, that’s enough!”

Qi Feng couldn’t save face. There were still Qi Zhounan’s classmates and friends in the living room. They were now all quiet, watching their family drama unfold.

Qi Xi didn’t care at all. He happily ran upstairs, leaving behind one sentence: “I’m going to pack my luggage now!”

Qi Feng was so angry that he kicked the cabinet. The vase on top of it fell and shattered on the floor, water splashing everywhere.

Qi Xi returned to his room and pounced over to hug the orange cat. “Dasheng, we can finally have our own home!”

“Meow?”

The cat didn’t understand Qi Xi. Qi Xi didn’t mind. He quickly took out his backpack, stuffed it with everything he needed, and dragged the already-packed suitcase out from under the cat climbing frame. He picked up the cat and went downstairs.

He took the elevator down with the suitcase. Qi Zhounan’s friends and classmates had already left. Qi Feng didn’t expect him to finish packing so quickly and looked at him strangely. “You finished packing that quickly?”

Qi Xi replied, “Oh, I packed everything up already. Last month, you told me that if I didn’t want to come back, I should leave. Now, I’m leaving—give me the keys.”

An inexplicable anger rose in Qi Feng’s heart in an instant. He suddenly didn’t want Qi Xi to move out anymore.

His wife, afraid he would regret it, hurriedly took the keys and handed them to Qi Xi. She even said, “Have Old Liu take you there.”

Qi Xi laughed after getting the keys. He dragged his suitcase and ran toward the front door without looking back.

“Qi Xi, you’re leaving without saying goodbye?”

Qi Feng suddenly roared in anger. Qi Xi stopped, thought for a moment, and then turned back to say goodbye to him seriously. “Thank you, Dad, for kicking me out on my twentieth birthday. Goodbye!”

His maternal grandfather’s house was allocated by his workplace back then. It was an old, shabby apartment from decades ago, but it was in the city center and in a school district. It had convenient transportation and was not too far from his school.

The driver sent him downstairs and carried his suitcase to the doorway before leaving.

However, when Qi Xi tried to open the door with the key, he couldn’t open it no matter what. Just as he was wondering what was going on, the apartment door opened from the inside. A middle-aged man sized him up warily and asked, “What are you doing?”

Qi Xi asked back, “Who are you? Why are you in my house?”

The middle-aged man was even more confused. “What do you mean, ‘your house’? Did you go to the wrong place?”

Qi Xi looked at the doorplate. Although he hadn’t been there in seven or eight years, he still remembered his childhood home clearly. It really was his maternal grandfather’s house.

He replied, “Did you go to the wrong place?”

“What’s wrong with you, kid? This is my house! How could I have gone to the wrong place?”

“That’s not right. This is my maternal grandfather’s house. Now it’s mine.”

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Was your maternal grandfather’s surname Chi?”

“Yes! How did you know?”

The middle-aged man instantly understood, though he was still somewhat puzzled. He explained the whole sequence of events to Qi Xi.

The old corridor was dimly lit, its walls mottled and peeling with all kinds of small advertisements plastered everywhere. The air was filled with a musty smell from years without sunlight.

Qi Xi listened carefully and thought about it for a long time but still didn’t quite understand what was going on. He asked the middle-aged man inside the door again, “Has this house really been sold to you?”

“I’ve already said it several times. Six years ago, your uncle sold the house to us. At the time, he said it was his parents’ inheritance. All the procedures were complete. If you claim this house is yours, you should find your uncle. Do you understand?”

The joy filling Qi Xi’s heart was suddenly washed away. His eyes instantly reddened. He said to the middle-aged man inside the door, “But my dad kicked me out. I don’t have a home to go back to. You bought the house—what am I supposed to do?”

The middle-aged man became impatient. When he bought the house, he knew it was an inheritance and had confirmed that there were no property disputes. The procedures were complete. He never expected someone to show up with keys.

Moreover, judging from the boy’s clothes and demeanor, he didn’t seem like someone who would live in an apartment like this one. It was hard to say whether he had run into trouble or something else.

When he saw Qi Xi like this, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh. Instead, he advised him, “Since the house was left to you by your maternal grandfather, you should go find your uncle. Have him give you the money from selling the house. If he doesn’t, then just stay at his place and don’t leave.”

It seemed this was the only way. Qi Xi thanked the man inside the door. “Thank you, Uncle. Sorry to bother you.”

Seeing him become so well-behaved and polite suddenly made the man feel uncomfortable. He quickly replied, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

“Then I’m leaving, Uncle. Goodbye.”

Qi Xi turned around, but the corridor was narrow, and his suitcase was too big. As he backed up, he didn’t notice the distance. He took a step into empty space, and he and the suitcase tipped backward toward the stairs.

The man was so frightened that he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw that Qi Xi hadn’t fallen. He had grabbed the railing beside him; only the suitcase had slid down to the next floor.

He asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”

Qi Xi raised the hand that had just been holding the suitcase. His wrist was clearly dislocated and swollen red. Tears swirled in his eyes, yet he smiled at the man. “I think I twisted my wrist. It hurts a little.”

The man couldn’t bear it. “I’ll help—”

“I’m really leaving now. Goodbye, Uncle.”

Qi Xi didn’t listen to what the man was saying. He turned around and ran downstairs. The orange cat followed closely behind.

The man stepped out the door and looked down the stairwell. He watched as Qi Xi pushed the suitcase to the edge of the steps with his foot, then kicked it down. The suitcase slid to the next floor. The man sighed, impressed that the suitcase was such good quality—it didn’t even break.

Qi Xi pushed the high-quality suitcase all the way downstairs. He finally got it upright and dragged it out of the building entrance.

This was the old city district. There were no clearly defined residential compounds. The residential buildings were interwoven, forming a maze of crisscrossing alleys.

It was already dark, and the weather had turned cold. Qi Xi dragged the suitcase with his uninjured hand, wandering in circles through the winding alleys with the orange cat. Finally, he reached the main road.

He stopped and sat down on the suitcase. He had no idea where his uncle lived.

When he was two or three years old, his uncle became addicted to gambling. Despite repeated admonitions, he never changed. He cut off relations with his maternal grandfather and hadn’t had any contact with him for over ten years. He didn’t even come back to pay his respects when his grandfather passed away.

Even if the person stood right in front of him, he wouldn’t recognize him—not to mention knowing where he lived.

“Dasheng, we have nowhere to go!”

Qi Xi lay on the extended suitcase handle and asked the orange cat in front of the suitcase, “What are we going to do in the future?”

The orange cat didn’t understand. “Meow.”

“Why did my uncle sell my house? Where am I supposed to find him? Will he give the house back to me?”

“Meow?”

Qi Xi suddenly thought of an even more urgent problem. Where was he going to stay tonight?

Should he go back shamelessly?

His subconscious rejected this option faster than his brain could process it. That woman had never abused him, but the feeling of being superfluous in that house made him extremely uncomfortable.

For example, no one ever forgot Qi Zhounan’s birthday. No matter what festival it was, Qi Zhounan always received gifts. No matter what he said, however, he would only get his father’s cold face, scolding, and lectures in return.

“It’s fine. I’m twenty years old today. I can support myself.”

Qi Xi had always been optimistic. He took out his phone and checked his card balance.

To outsiders, he appeared to be a wealthy second-generation heir living in a villa. In reality, he bought his clothes in bulk from malls every season and had only 2,000 a month for living expenses. After buying cat food, paints, and covering daily expenses, he had basically nothing left.

Sure enough, after refreshing again and again, it was still only a little over 1,000.

“Sigh!”

Qi Xi let out a long sigh. Half of his heroic ambition was extinguished. He leaned his entire weight onto the suitcase handle.

Snap!

The handle suddenly loosened and retracted. He instantly lost his support, caught off guard, and fell forward with the suitcase. His whole body sprawled onto the road. His phone slipped out of his hand and slid several meters away.

A car happened to be driving by and was about to run over the phone.

It was now his most valuable possession. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to call a taxi, eat, or stay at a hotel—he wouldn’t be able to spend a single cent.

Without thinking, Qi Xi rushed out, frightening the driver into slamming on the brakes with a sharp screech. The car stopped just short in front of him.

The orange cat was also frightened and instantly rushed to Qi Xi’s side, biting his pant leg and dragging him back.

However, Qi Xi didn’t feel any lingering fear. He picked up the cat and calmly retreated to the side. He smiled at the car window, which he couldn’t see into. “Sorry, I scared you.”

Whether or not the person in the car heard him, the car drove away after stopping for two seconds.

Only after the car left did he return to the suitcase. He put the cat down, crouched down, held his hurt wrist that hurt even more after the fall, and buried his face in his knees.

The orange cat pawed at his hair as if to comfort him. He revealed one reddened eye and said, “It hurts so much, Dasheng.”

“Meow.”

The orange cat rubbed its head against his calf. He gently sniffed it and picked up the phone he had rescued. “Good thing the phone didn’t—”

It wouldn’t turn on anymore!

Rescuing it was useless. It was already broken!

Qi Xi angrily but gently placed the phone on the suitcase. Then, he forcefully patted the suitcase and started scolding his useless phone. “I risked my life to save you! How could you break so easily? Don’t you know how important you are? If you’re broken, I won’t have a cent left. Look at my hand—”

It was only then that he noticed his hand. Earlier, it was only slightly dislocated. After this fall, however, it was completely out of place. He widened his eyes in horror. “My hand seems to be broken!”

Beep!

A sudden car horn interrupted Qi Xi. Startled, he looked up and saw the car that had almost hit him earlier. It had driven around in a circle and stopped in front of him again.

He lifted his gaze. The rear door opened and a tall man got out. He walked straight up to Qi Xi.

When their gazes met, he subconsciously hugged the orange cat and stood up. Not knowing what the man wanted, he tensed up and spoke nervously.

“Do you need something?”

The man didn’t speak. He stood there motionless, staring at him as if examining something.

Qi Xi stared back stubbornly and realized the man was more than half a head taller than him, probably around one point nine meters. The man was wearing a neat suit, his hair meticulously styled, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He naturally exuded an almost perfect aura, like the protagonist in a manga.

Good-looking people shouldn’t be bad, should they?

He hesitated, then asked the man for help. “My phone broke. I can’t call a taxi. Can you take me home?”

 

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