PTBLSI chapter 12

 

Qi Xi’s phone call with Fu Yanchuan lasted over ten minutes. He did most of the talking. When Fu Yanchuan didn’t respond for a while, he would pause, ask a question, and then continue the conversation once Fu Yanchuan responded.

While Uncle Quan directed people to help Qi Xi organize the walk-in closet, he listened to Qi Xi talk to Fu Yanchuan on the phone and suddenly understood why he had brought Qi Xi back.

Qi Xi’s resemblance to Qiao Ye from back then might not even be the reason. Rather, it was because Qi Xi was like Qiao Ye back then. They were both unafraid of Fu Yanchuan and didn’t flatter or curry favor with him. They treated him like an ordinary friend, as a real person.

Qi Xi ate dinner alone again. He forgot to ask Fu Yanchuan what time he would be back when he called him. He sent Fu Yanchuan a message, but didn’t receive a reply.

He changed into the clothes that Fu Yanchuan had bought for him. Uncle Quan said they were a gift from President Fu, so he didn’t need to pay for them. Qi Xi wanted to wait for Fu Yanchuan to come back so he could thank him in person.

However, Uncle Quan said that Fu Yanchuan was busy. Fearing he would disturb Fu Yanchuan at work and be disliked, he hugged the cat and watched TV in the living room. By 11 o’clock, Fu Yanchuan still hadn’t returned. He fell asleep on the sofa.

When Fu Yanchuan arrived home and saw that the living room light was still on, he walked over and saw Qi Xi and the orange cat curled up together on the sofa. Under the warm yellow light, the scene felt like an illusion.

In his memory, there had never been such a harmonious and beautiful scene.

After work today, he went to the cemetery alone. Qin Hui was his only friend in his youth. They had completely different backgrounds—Qin Hui’s parents were divorced, and he was raised by his grandparents in a small alley.

They met when he took Qin Hui’s grandmother, who had been in a car accident, to the hospital. The hit-and-run driver fled, and the surveillance cameras on that stretch of road were broken. Qin Hui snuck into the heavily guarded school just to ask him if he had seen how the accident happened.

At the time, Qin Hui was thirteen, just like him. He felt that someone so young with such charisma and ability was a talent worth cultivating. He paid for Qin Hui’s grandmother’s follow-up medical expenses and Qin Hui’s tuition afterward.

From then on, Qin Hui became his follower. If not for what happened later, Qin Hui would be his most capable assistant by now.

However, Qin Hui met Fu Yuejiang in the Fu family.

Standing in front of Qin Hui’s grave, he reflected that if Qin Hui hadn’t met him, he wouldn’t have met Fu Yuejiang. Maybe that would have been better for Qin Hui.

After leaving the cemetery, he returned to the Fu residence. Fu Zhenrong talked to him again about meeting the He family the next day. He sat blankly in his room for two hours, then left home and returned here.

“Qi Xi.”

Fu Yanchuan walked to the sofa, bent down, and lightly touched Qi Xi’s face. Qi Xi opened his eyes hazily. After seeing him clearly, he smiled. “You’re back! I waited for you for so long.”

Qi Xi’s voice had a sleepy, nasal tone. He gazed vaguely at Fu Yanchuan. He slowly sat up, knelt on the sofa, grabbed Fu Yanchuan’s sleeve, and suddenly hugged his waist, burying his face against his abdomen. “Brother Yan, do you know how sad I was today? My dad let that woman tear down my room and throw everything away. I thought I wouldn’t have any clothes left to change into. But as soon as I got home, I saw the clothes you bought for me. You’re really good to me.”

He had already told him this on the phone earlier. Fu Yanchuan raised his hand and froze in midair for two seconds before finally pulling Qi Xi’s hands off of him. Qi Xi looked up at him with misty eyes.

“It’s late. Go to sleep.”

Qi Xi sat there blankly, staring at him for a long time before suddenly asking, “Did you run into something unhappy, too?”

He gave a faint smile. “Go to sleep.”

“Oh.”

Qi Xi picked up the sleeping orange cat and took two steps. Then he suddenly came back to show Fu Yanchuan his new clothes. He struck a pose in front of Fu Yanchuan, as if he were an armored hero fighting a monster. “Do they look good?”

Fu Yanchuan blurted out, “Looks good.” Qi Xi smiled in satisfaction and went back to his room.

The next day, he wanted to wake up before the nanny arrived and make breakfast for Fu Yanchuan to show his gratitude. He had set the alarm for six, but when he woke up, it was almost 7:30. He didn’t remember if the alarm had rung or how he had turned it off.

When the nanny saw him, she said, “Xiao Qi, I left breakfast for you. It’s still hot. Wait a moment; I’ll bring it out right away.”

Qi Xi looked around the house but didn’t see Fu Yanchuan. “Auntie, where’s Brother Yan? Is he still sleeping?”

The nanny replied, “Sir has already gone out.”

Qi Xi regretfully raised the orange cat’s paw and swore, “Tomorrow, I’ll definitely wake up at six. Otherwise, Dasheng won’t be able to poop, mm—mm.”

The orange cat withdrew its paw, refusing to acknowledge the oath. The nanny laughed beside him. “Look, not even your cat agrees. Why do you want to wake up so early?”

“To make breakfast for Brother Yan!” Qi Xi couldn’t help but praise him. “Brother Yan is so good to me. Even if he scolds me or gets angry at me in the future, I won’t blame him. Even if he doesn’t follow the contract, it’s fine… Sigh, the hardest thing to repay in this world is a debt of money. So much, so hard.”

The nanny thought he was talking about “emotional debt,” smiled silently, and did not respond while serving his breakfast.

After breakfast, Qi Xi went downstairs. Yesterday’s car and driver were waiting in the garage. As the driver opened the door for him, he said, “Mr. Qi, my surname is Yan. Please save my number. When you get out of class, give me a call, and I’ll pick you up at school.”

Qi Xi asked, “Where’s Brother Yan? Aren’t you driving him?”

“President Fu has another driver.”

“Oh, what’s your number?”

After saving Driver Yan’s number, he got into the car. Traffic was better today than yesterday, so he had no trouble getting to school on time. He strolled leisurely toward the classroom. A young female student approached him and asked to add him as a friend. He looked her up and down strangely for a long time, then replied, “Do we know each other?”

The female student left, embarrassed and angry, while he remained puzzled, his face contorted in a frown.

When she returned to her friends, they teased her. “I told you, he’s the legendary wooden beauty. No one has ever managed to make him open up. Even if he adds you, he’ll make you so angry that you’ll explode. Pick someone else.”

Qi Xi could not hear what they were saying over there. He was still confused about why the junior had left suddenly. He didn’t understand what he had done wrong, so he looked over and smiled apologetically. In response, the junior rolled her eyes at him.

And just like that, Qi Xi started another day of slacking off. He spent the whole day drawing in class, waiting for it to end.

He had forgotten about the activity Zhou Yuxuan had mentioned the day before. It wasn’t until Zhou Yuxuan stopped him at the school gate that he remembered it. He hurriedly called the driver and told him not to come pick him up.

The driver replied, “Then call me when you want to go back. I’ll come get you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Yan. I’ll call you then.”

When Zhou Yuxuan saw Qi Xi hang up, he urged him, “Hurry up. Let’s go.”

Qi Xi thought the class activity would be at a restaurant, hot pot place, KTV, or game room. But where Zhou Yuxuan took him wasn’t even an ordinary bar—it was an entertainment club.

It was only 6 o’clock, and the club was preparing to open. Other than the staff, there were no customers.

Qi Xi had never been to a place like this before. Following Zhou Yuxuan, he looked around. “Are the class monitor and the others here? Why are we coming here? What activity is this, exactly?”

“You’ll know once you go in.”

Zhou Yuxuan moved to the back and pushed Qi Xi toward the second floor. After going up, there were even fewer people. The long corridor was dimly lit; if the lights were off, you wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Qi Xi subconsciously stopped. Zhou Yuxuan came over to push him again. “What are you doing? It’s right ahead.”

“Is it really here?”

“Of course. You’ll see once you go in.”

Zhou Yuxuan pushed Qi Xi forcefully into a private room. Inside, there were flashing lights and alcohol galore. Despite not being officially open yet, people were already drinking and having a great time.

Under the constantly changing red and green lights, Qi Xi scanned the room. Not a single person sitting on the wide sofas was from their class.

He immediately backed away. “I’m leaving.”

“Don’t be such a buzzkill. This is President Bai. He wants to get to know you.”

Qi Xi looked toward the person Zhou Yuxuan pointed at. The lights changed too quickly for him to see his face clearly. He could only tell that the man was around thirty years old and he was not as handsome as Fu Yanchuan.

President Bai had his legs crossed and was holding a glass of wine while looking at Qi Xi. Then, he stood up. With Zhou Yuxuan’s help, Qi Xi was pulled onto the sofa by his arm.

President Bai put an arm around his shoulders, as if they were close friends. “Little friend, don’t be nervous. I don’t have any other intentions. I saw your paintings and photos and thought they were especially beautiful. I wanted to make friends with you.”

“What paintings and photos? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Qi Xi tried to pull himself out of President Bai’s grip, but he was held down tightly. President Bai turned his head, shook the wine glass in front of Qi Xi, and said, “It’s fine. Have a drink, and I’ll tell you.”

“I’m not drinking. If you won’t tell me, forget it. I don’t really want to know anyway.”

Qi Xi pushed the hand on his shoulder away. “Move your hand away. Don’t put your arm around me. I’m not familiar with you.”

President Bai snorted, then laughed. Zhou Yuxuan stepped in to back him up. “Qi Xi, do you know how you always make people lose face? It’s really annoying.”

“Don’t say that!”

Instead, President Bai comforted Qi Xi, patting his shoulder twice and saying, “How could a beauty be annoying? Only lovable. Right, little Qixi?”

As he spoke, he leaned closer and closer to Qi Xi, even touching the rim of the glass to Qi Xi’s lips. “Come, have a drink.”

Qi Xi pushed President Bai’s hand away forcefully. The glass wasn’t steady, so half of the wine spilled and splashed onto President Bai. Those nearby who had been drinking happily all turned to look at him as if he had made a huge mistake.

Qi Xi couldn’t help but get nervous. President Bai’s cold face suddenly smiled again. “It’s fine! How about this—if you drink the rest of this glass, I’ll let you go.”

“You really mean it? Don’t lie to me.”

“Of course.”

President Bai pulled back a bit, had someone refill the glass of wine halfway, and handed it to Qi Xi. “Come, drink.”

Qi Xi took the glass with both hands and sniffed it. It was a bit strong. He held his breath and downed it in one go, then handed the empty glass back. “I’m finished drinking. I’m leaving.”

“Wait.”

Before he could stand up, Qi Xi was pressed back onto the sofa. He immediately felt his head start to spin.

President Bai switched to another glass and handed it to him. “I said I’d let you go, but I didn’t say I’d let you leave.”

“Why won’t you let me leave? I have nothing to do with you.”

Qi Xi asked, serious. President Bai laughed when he looked at him, then said, “Relationships are built over time. We drank together today, so now we’re friends.”

“I don’t want to be friends with you!”

Qi Xi looked at the other people in the room. They all looked like bad people. He felt a little scared. President Bai handed him the glass again. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not a bad person. Be friends with me—I’m very generous.”

Qi Xi tried to shift farther away from President Bai. He looked at Zhou Yuxuan, confused as to why he had lied to him. Seeing him being pestered, Zhou Yuxuan had no intention of helping at all.

Suddenly, he thought of Fu Yanchuan. If Fu Yanchuan were here, he would definitely take him away. He immediately reached for his phone.

But just as he took it out, President Bai snatched it away and hid it under his leg. “Come take it yourself.”

Qi Xi did not understand President Bai’s intentions at all. The phone was positioned between his legs. He reached over dumbly.

Everyone in the room was immediately shocked, then started hooting and whistling. Someone even shouted, “I didn’t expect college students these days to be so direct!”

President Bai looked down at Qi Xi, enjoying the way his hand pressed against his leg. It was impossible to push away. Glancing at him irritably, President Bai said, “If you don’t reach inside, how can you touch it?”

Qi Xi stared blankly at the gap between President Bai’s legs. Before he could move, the people behind them made an even louder noise. Someone took out their phone to film him and shouted nonstop, “Hurry up and touch it!”

“Shut up!”

Qi Xi suddenly yelled, overpowering everyone else’s voices. Only then did President Bai notice that Qi Xi’s face was flushed red and his eyes were unfocused. He was probably drunk.

He didn’t expect Qi Xi to have such a low alcohol tolerance. Smiling smugly, President Bai watched as Qi Xi suddenly stood up, grabbed the half-full wine bottle on the table, and smashed it over his head without another word. Qi Xi then pointed at President Bai angrily and shouted, “Give my phone back! You monster!”

 

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