Almost nine-tenths full, Qi Xu finally put down his chopsticks and poured himself a glass from the wine in front of Shen Fengkai.
Shen Zhuohai and Zeng Yun looked at him in surprise again.
Zeng Yun cautiously called out, “Xiao Xu.”
After pouring his wine, Qi Xu poured for the Shen couple as well, “Mom, Dad, do you want some?”
Zeng Yun noticed that when Qi Xu rolled up his sleeves, his forearms were covered with several burn scars.
The light brown marks stood out sharply against his otherwise fair skin.
Underneath his clothes, there were probably many more scars she didn’t know about.
In a place like Qi Jia Village, raised by someone like Qi Guohui, what had Qi Xu endured over those 18 years?
Hearing the voices, Shen Zeyu looked up: “Mom and Dad aren’t well and can’t drink.”
Zeng Yun wiped her eyes, “It’s okay.”
Shen Zeyu insisted, “The doctor said no alcohol.”
For some reason, Qi Xu suddenly recalled the time when Shen Zeyu refused to let Xie Huai toast him.
So confident, with everyone ready to back him up—it was like having a solid shield behind him.
Qi Xu gave a light “oh” and poured the two glasses he had just filled into his own cup, casually saying, “Better to follow the doctor’s orders—little brother is still young and needs looking after.”
Shen Zeyu didn’t like Qi Xu talking to him like that. After hearing it, a heavy weight pressed on his chest, making it hard to breathe. They were born the same day, so why divide things so clearly?
Shen Fengkai remained silent but looked at Qi Xu with a more probing gaze.
This younger brother had hidden his ambition and grown more patient—much more effective than throwing tantrums.
Zeng Yun handed Shen Zeyu and Qi Xu a gift box. “This is a present I prepared for you.”
Shen Zeyu’s face lit up. “Mom, when did you secretly prepare gifts behind my back?”
Qi Xu already knew what was inside because he had once disdainfully refused it before.
He took the box with both hands. “Thank you, Mom.”
Zeng Yun said, “Open it and see if you like it. These are two sapphires. I hope you, as descendants of the Shen family, will walk side by side into the future together.”
Hearing this, Shen Zeyu paused while opening the box, then closed it again. “Mom, I already have a lot of gems. Can I donate them to help build schools for children in the mountain areas? Many younger kids there can’t go to school because of how poor and backward the region is. It’s really sad.”
Shen Fengkai smiled approvingly. “Aren’t you the one who loves gems the most? Keep them for now. The company’s charity foundation is already investing in building schools in the mountains.”
Shen Zeyu linked arms with Zeng Yun, his gaze firm. “Mom, I want to contribute too.”
Zeng Yun gently ruffled Shen Zeyu’s hair. “Okay, whatever you say.”
For Qi Xu, this was the first time in eighteen years he’d received a gift. He stared at the sapphires, crystal clear, almost glass-like.
Since he was a child, he had loved collecting glass beads. Qi Guohui never gave him money, and even took the red envelopes he got for New Year. His only way to get a glass bead was by sweeping melon seed shells outside the convenience store every day—the broom was taller than him. After a whole week of sweeping, he’d earn one glass bead.
At that time, Qi Xu felt like he’d found a treasure in life, his eyes shining bright. But hearing Shen Zeyu’s selfless words, he sneered, tossed the gems onto the table, and said, “I don’t want these. Just donate them together.”
“Mom.” Qi Xu’s eyes were clear and bright, even more translucent than the sapphires in his hand.
Zeng Yun asked, “What’s wrong, Xiao Xu?”
Qi Xu smiled and said earnestly, “Can you buy me a safe to keep the gems in?”
Everyone at the table was stunned.
Shen Zhuohai said, “They’re not that valuable. Just keep them yourself.”
Qi Xu replied, “I’ve never seen one before. I’m afraid I’ll lose them.”
In the end, Qi Xu didn’t get a safe because the Shen family thought it unnecessary—the sapphires didn’t cost that much.
The Shen couple didn’t stay long in the dining room after dinner and went upstairs to rest. Shen Zeyu glanced at Qi Xu and followed.
Only Shen Fengkai and Qi Xu remained in the dining room.
Qi Xu took slow sips of wine. Shen Fengkai noticed how skillfully and elegantly he swirled the glass—it didn’t look like it was his first time drinking.
Well, being new here, curious, maybe he secretly opened the wine cabinet while they weren’t around.
Qi Xu noticed Shen Fengkai’s gaze but kept ignoring him. Holding his wine glass, he stood up to leave.
Just as he took a step, Shen Fengkai said, “I’m the eldest brother in the family. You and Zeyu are both my younger brothers. If anything comes up, you can come to me. Mom and Dad are getting old; we shouldn’t let them handle everything.”
Among the Shen family, Qi Xu least enjoyed being around Shen Fengkai. This guy often jumped to conclusions and projected his assumptions onto him.
Qi Xu refused the sapphires. After dinner, Shen Fengkai told him, “You don’t have to learn everything from Zeyu. You two are different. If you like it, keep it yourself. The family doesn’t need another gem like that.”
Qi Xu couldn’t stand hearing that and shot back on the spot. Almost every time they met, they ended up in a fight.
When their parents found out, Shen Fengkai again stepped up as the big brother, saying Qi Xu had grown up wild and his personality was like that, so he wouldn’t bother him.
Qi Xu took a sip of wine, calm and steady. “I don’t have any reason to come to you, nor to them. Actually, none of you need to come to me. Let’s just live and let live, alright?”
Before Shen Fengkai could answer, Qi Xu went upstairs to his room.
He had casually taken two cups on his way out and stood on the balcony, looking toward the moon.
He poured wine from the goblet into the two cups and placed them facing the moon.
An unprecedented, solitary ceremony began.
The first day after being reborn, Qi Xu thought over and over and still felt he had to thank heaven. With no other items to offer for the ritual, he could only pour three cups of wine as a makeshift offering.
Qi Xu rested both hands on the railing, looking up at the moon half-hidden by dark clouds, muttering to himself, “Once I get better, I’ll treat you to the finest fish and meat, delicacies from the mountains and seas.”
The night was deep and heavy, the light dim and blurry. The evening breeze stirred the strands of hair across his forehead. On him, one could see silence, flickering emptiness—a body with nothing but barren wasteland inside.
The clouds above slowly dispersed, revealing the bright moon hanging in the sky, stars twinkling. A pure, holy light spilled over Qi Xu, slowly filling and piecing together the hollow parts within him.
After a moment, Qi Xu raised the wine he’d offered in the ritual and drained it in one gulp. “My turn to drink now. Don’t waste it.”
—
After getting slightly tipsy, Qi Xu slept especially soundly. When he opened his eyes, it was already ten in the morning of the next day. He was determined to make up for all the sleep he missed in his previous life.
The wardrobe was full of clothes prepared by the butler. Qi Xu casually threw on a black hoodie and went downstairs.
Today’s mission was to go to the bank to open an account and pick up some necessities.
Downstairs in the front yard, Shen Zeyu was planting flowers with Zeng Yun, handing her whatever she needed—a thoughtful little helper.
Zeng Yun wiped sweat off Shen Zeyu’s face with a handkerchief. This kid had never been able to handle the sun well; his face would turn bright red after just a little exposure.
“You don’t have to stay out here with me. Didn’t you bring souvenirs for your friends on your trip? Why not invite them over to the house?”
Shen Zeyu let Zeng Yun do her thing. “I can see my friends anytime. Right now, I just want to stay home and be with you.”
Zeng Yun was delighted. Her eldest son and husband were busy with work; only her youngest son was by her side. Though he sometimes threw little fits, he always thought of her. Every year, on her birthday, he worked hard with his older brother to plan surprises.
How could she bear to give up a child she’d raised herself and hand him over to people like that?
Qi Xu often came downstairs to find these warm family moments. He was used to it.
As soon as Zeng Yun saw Qi Xu, she quickly stopped wiping Shen Zeyu’s sweat. “Xiao Xu, you’re up?”
Qi Xu calmly greeted her, “Mom, good morning.”
Without pausing, he headed straight for the door.
Zeng Yun hurried after him. “Going out? Not eating breakfast?”
Qi Xu stopped. “I have some things to take care of. I’ll grab lunch outside.”
Zeng Yun shoved a bank card into Qi Xu’s hand. “This is pocket money from Dad and me. The PIN is your birthday.”
Qi Xu traced the corner of the card with his fingertip, then met Shen Zeyu’s quiet gaze. He accepted it with a smile. “Thanks, Mom. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading out.”
Zeng Yun watched Qi Xu’s retreating figure anxiously. Maybe because of blood ties, she instinctively wanted to treat him well, but she didn’t know how to connect with him.
His personality was the complete opposite of Zeyu’s—no cooing, no throwing fits, overly independent, cold and distant. It left her, as a mother, at a loss.
Qi Xu had no idea what Zeng Yun was thinking after he left, nor did he have the leisure to speculate.
After getting his bank card, Qi Xu went to a small stir-fry restaurant for lunch. Since starting work, he hadn’t set foot in any cheap roadside joints.
Places like those didn’t suit his status; a wealthy young heir wouldn’t be seen anywhere near such places.
Every day he wore suits and attended meetings, battling at negotiation tables. One day after working late, exhausted and starving, he told the driver to take him to the fly-ridden dive he used to frequent in college.
Before he could even get out of the car, Shen Zhuohai’s phone call came through.
“What kind of image is that, going to places like that? Come back now. Doesn’t the family’s chef cook enough for you? Qi Xu, what exactly do you want?”
Qi Xu felt suffocated by this wealthy heir identity, constantly on edge, his every move watched. The Shen family dreaded him doing anything embarrassing.
He had learned long ago never to do what others expected. What belonged to him would never be lost, and what wasn’t his, no matter how hard he fought, would never be his.
Shen Fengkai once said it right: Qi Xu was born this way—wild and fierce from a young age, mature beyond his years.
The Qi family name would never truly blend with the Shen family’s circle; blood ties were often just a facade.
After lunch, Qi Xu took the card Zeng Yun gave him and headed to the antique street downtown.
There was nearly eight million yuan on that card. In his previous life, he never accepted it. He only learned about it later by overhearing Shen Zeyu on a phone call.
“My mom gave him a card with eight million on it. He glanced at me and refused to take it, obviously on purpose, trying to make me hate him.”
Qi Xu didn’t want that card, but after he started school, Zeng Yun would deposit living expenses into his bank account, roughly that amount.
He had little desire to spend, no social life, and not much need for money on campus. By graduation, he’d barely touched the surface of his allowance.
Qi Xu entered the antique shop he’d visited in his past life to buy a birthday gift for Shen Zhuohai. The shop owner was one of the few friends Qi Xu had.
Since Qi Xu never bargained, the shop owner felt guilty making so much profit, so he gave Qi Xu a 15% discount, effectively losing two hundred thousand yuan with tears in his eyes.
Whenever the shop got new items, the owner would notify Qi Xu, and over time they had genuinely become friends.
This was one of the few places the Shen family wouldn’t stop him from going. When free, he’d sit there drinking tea and sometimes take home a small item.
He wondered if Old Qin still had a beard after ten years.
Leaning on the counter was a young man napping. Hearing the doorbell, he groggily got up, ruffling his flattened hair, and lazily said, “Welcome! We don’t haggle here. If something catches your eye, take it. Miss this chance, and it’s gone.”
Qi Xu froze in the doorway at the familiar voice.
The young man noticed the customer hesitating and leaned over the counter to peer in.
He too froze for two seconds, then raised an eyebrow:
“Junior, skipping class today instead of going online? Here to buy antiques instead?”
