Shen Ziyang rushed in and threw himself onto Qi Xu’s lap, tilting his little head up. “Gege, I won. Reward.”
Qi Xu ruffled the small curls on his head. “Alright, what do you want?”
The servant, assuming the two young masters had kept the lights off just to play hide-and-seek, stepped in and flipped the switch. The room instantly flooded with light.
The sudden brightness was harsh. Qi Xu raised a hand to shield the little boy’s eyes. At the same time, a shadow fell over his own vision—Xie Huai’s hand had come up to cover Qi Xu’s eyes, giving him a moment to adjust.
Without hesitation, Shen Ziyang blurted out, “I don’t want a reward anymore. I want you to come home with me.”
The next second, Shen Ziyang was lifted up and set down beside the servant, met with a firm rejection: “He’s not going home with you.”
The servant let out a startled “oh!” but managed to catch the little boy securely.
Shen Ziyang shrank back in fear but, for his “gege’s” sake, puffed out his tiny belly bravely and said, “He’s my gege. Why can’t he?”
Xie Huai replied, “I’m his gege. I said no, so no.”
He can only go home with me.
The “gege’s gege” seemed pretty impressive. Shen Ziyang couldn’t quite figure out that kind of relationship, but after thinking it over, he offered, “Then you come home with me. My gege will follow you too.”
One wasn’t enough—he wanted to take two.
Qi Xu couldn’t help laughing. He crouched to explain, “You’re going to attend kindergarten here in the country. On weekends, if I’m free, I’ll come play with you, okay?”
Since Shen Zhuohong was now taking over Shen Zhuohai’s position, they would likely be staying in the country for a while—but not long enough to settle permanently. He wasn’t going to fight his younger brother for control of the domestic business anyway.
While speaking, Qi Xu took Shen Ziyang from the servant’s arms. “Do you like video game consoles or Transformers?”
Shen Ziyang answered seriously, “I like gege.”
Qi Xu smiled. “Gege likes you too.”
As expected, he could feel the gaze burning into his back—sharp as needles. Qi Xu forced a faint smirk and carried the child out of the room.
Since Qi Xu and Xie Huai had class at eight the next morning, they had to return to school that night. Shen Zhuohong’s family stayed at the old estate for the time being. When Shen Ziyang saw that Qi Xu was leaving, he cried and clung to him, refusing to let go. Everyone coaxed him, saying, “Your gege has to go to school.” Only then did Shen Ziyang reluctantly loosen his hold.
But when he saw Qi Xu and Xie Huai getting into the same car, he cried even harder, hugging his mother’s neck as he sobbed, “Gege got taken away by another gege!”
His cries were heart-wrenching—almost pitiful to hear.
As the car pulled away from the old estate, Qi Xu could still faintly hear Shen Ziyang’s wailing. He couldn’t help but turn his head for another look, only for Xie Huai to reach out and turn his face back.
Xie Huai’s hand was large, covering Qi Xu’s entire face with ease, and even giving his cheek an extra squeeze.
Annoyed yet amused, Qi Xu retaliated—stretching out a hand to tug at Xie Huai’s cheek in return, then using his fingers to smooth out the man’s furrowed brows.
“Are you seriously jealous of a kid?”
Xie Huai’s thumb brushed lightly beneath the corner of Qi Xu’s tired eyes. Qi Xu was someone who never got enough sleep, and after flying two back-to-back trips over the weekend, fatigue was written all over his face.
“You said you like him.”
“That’s it? He’s my little brother; of course I like him…” Qi Xu’s eyes darted, and he added, “How about this—if you call me gege, I can like you too.”
Xie Huai didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he slipped an arm around Qi Xu’s shoulders and gently guided him to lie down across his lap.
The moment Qi Xu’s body settled onto Xie Huai’s thigh, he stiffened, reminded that this man had already bitten him several times. If I let him bite me, why not use his leg as a pillow?
With that rationalization, he adjusted himself and found a comfortable position, perfectly at ease now.
Only then did Xie Huai respond to his earlier words: “I’m a month older than you. I haven’t even heard you call me gege.”
Qi Xu thought to himself, I’m ten years older than you in another life.
“Don’t want to hear it?” he teased, coaxing and pressuring at the same time. “Call me gege. Just once.”
Xie Huai lowered his gaze, stared at him for a moment, and—less than willingly—forced out two syllables: “Gege.”
Qi Xu honestly hadn’t expected Xie Huai to actually swallow his pride for once and call someone just a month younger than him gege.
Well, as the older brother, he might as well spoil his younger one a little.
Qi Xu chuckled softly. “Gege likes you the most.”
The word most made Xie Huai’s mood lift instantly. He no longer cared that he’d just taken a loss by calling Qi Xu “gege.” There would be plenty of chances to even the score later. Once wasn’t enough. He had no intention of stopping.
Honestly, resting on someone’s thigh wasn’t that comfortable—Xie Huai’s muscles were firm, almost hard. Without realizing it, Qi Xu kept inching closer toward his waist.
“I ran into your younger uncle in S City. He was accompanying your cousin there for some business. Quite a coincidence, right?”
While listening, Xie Huai idly twirled strands of Qi Xu’s hair between his fingertips.
“He texted me this afternoon. Said you and I should spend New Year’s at the Qin house.”
The sudden shift in topic made Qi Xu snap his head toward him. “Huai-ge, you really know how to strike while the iron’s hot, huh? Could you slow down a little?”
“You don’t want to come with me?” Xie Huai asked.
That startled Qi Xu enough to kill his drowsiness. “It’s not about wanting to or not. I can go to the Xie house. I can visit the old estate. But what am I supposed to be when I show up at the Qin house?”
The Xies and Shens had a long-standing relationship, but between the Shens and Qins there was… nothing. No personal connections, no business ties. Even in his previous life, when the Xie and Shen families were practically inseparable business partners, Qi Xu had never once heard of a Shen family member paying a visit to the Qin household.
Politics and commerce lived in separate worlds—and the Qins’ governmental circle wasn’t something ordinary people could even brush against.
But Xie Huai simply said, “As yourself—Qi Xu.”
Not as a Shen, not as “the person Xie Huai likes,” just as himself. Xie Huai simply wanted to bring Qi Xu home.
Qi Xu closed his eyes and stayed quiet for a long time, turning those words over in his mind. They felt a little sour, but also a little sweet. In the end, he gave no answer and eventually fell asleep on Xie Huai’s leg.
There was still a month and a half until New Year’s—too early to decide anything. For now, Qi Xu kept living his same school routine, moving between classes, dorm, and work.
Su Kehao had relocated to the capital, bringing just himself and his dog. Li Kaixing invited him to stay temporarily at his place to make apartment hunting easier, which led to Su Kehao renting a place directly upstairs from him.
Convenient enough. Now they could even carpool to work and split the gas money.
Once Su Kehao’s onboarding was sorted out, Qi Xu attended several high-level meetings at Yunrui to finalize various projects.
Before long, late November arrived. The temperature dropped sharply, and the wind outside howled bitterly.
By Friday, Qi Xu couldn’t wait to head home—his dorm had no heating. He had to rely on a puffer jacket and sheer determination to fight off the cold.
On Saturday afternoon, Xu Yichen called to ask if he wanted to attend a wine-tasting event.
He hadn’t even finished his pitch when Qi Xu agreed. It’s freezing. A little alcohol would be the perfect way to warm up.
Not long after, Xu Yichen came to pick him up. The moment Qi Xu got into the car, he felt a full-on 360-degree inspection.
Qi Xu suddenly remembered—recently, Xie Huai had come out to Xu Yichen, and the person he’d confessed about was him.
“What are you staring at? Never seen a good-looking guy before?” Qi Xu was bundled up tightly, a scarf wrapped around his neck, whereas Xu Yichen was putting on a show of bravado in just a leather jacket—choosing style over warmth.
Xu Yichen leaned closer, eyeing the scarf. “That’s Huai’s scarf.”
Qi Xu kept his expression neutral. “Oh. Sharp eyes.”
This weekend, Xie Huai had business and needed to return to the Qin household, so he wasn’t home with Qi Xu.
The night before, after their class, they’d left the building together. Qi Xu’s own scarf had been left behind in the dorm, and the cold hit him the moment they stepped outside—he even sneezed. Without a word, Xie Huai took off his own scarf and wrapped it around Qi Xu’s neck.
Xie Huai had already asked once back in the classroom if he wanted it, but Qi Xu figured it was just a short walk to the car and he could tough it out. The second they stepped outdoors, though, he realized he couldn’t.
Qi Xu didn’t even bother going back for his own scarf. He simply wore Xie Huai’s out the next day.
Xu Yichen was the only one Qi Xu assumed knew about Xie Huai’s confession. It had never crossed his mind that Xie Huai had already come out to his family.
Xu Yichen asked in a low, probing voice, “Are you two together now?”
Qi Xu replied, “No.”
Xu Yichen exhaled in relief—he couldn’t stand watching his friend be that happy—only to hear the next sentence:
“We’re just living together.”
Xu Yichen: “…”
“This doesn’t count as being together? Then what does? Cohabiting with marriage in mind, is that it?”
That made it sound even more enviable.
Being together… how do you even define that?
Qi Xu spent every single day with Xie Huai—they went to class together, ate together, even slept together. Well, head-to-head on the same bed. They did almost everything together.
And there wasn’t anything “crossing the line” between them—other than Xie Huai occasionally biting him.
The only night they hadn’t been together lately was last night, when Qi Xu was home alone. Even then, they still texted each other. It felt a little strange, but not unbearable.
Oh, and one more thing: November had passed, and Xie Huai had already transferred him next month’s share of the rent. Qi Xu slept wonderfully last night.
Seeing Qi Xu remain silent, Xu Yichen continued, “Come on, be honest. You really don’t see me as a brother, do you? He confessed to you, and I wasn’t even there for it. You could’ve at least tossed some flower petals around—let me soak up some of that good luck.”
“Flower petals?” Qi Xu asked. “Don’t tell me you’re planning something that over-the-top to confess to Fang Qian.”
Xu Yichen nodded. “Yeah, I believe in ceremony. Unlike you two—just casually giving yourself away like that.”
Qi Xu nodded slightly. “Hope it works out for you.”
Xu Yichen eagerly leaned in. “Seriously though, what did Huai do when he confessed to you? He won’t tell me. You tell me.”
What did Xie Huai do?
Qi Xu thought about it carefully: there’d been a muscle-teaching session, an ear bite, a neck bite, a “I like you” that same night, and a “I’m going to chase you” the very next day.
If you summed it up, Huai-ge’s strategy was simple: a mouth that takes no prisoners.
“He didn’t do anything special. He just… used his mouth.”
Xu Yichen’s mind clearly went elsewhere. He let out a dramatic yelp: “Wow, first night and you already went that far? And you’re still saying you’re not together? I’ve known Huai for years, and I’ve never seen him like someone before. But honestly, this feels exactly like him.”
Qi Xu asked, “What do you mean, ‘like him’?”
Xu Yichen blurted out, “When he likes someone, he wants the entire world to know. Just like when he used to love that tin robot—he’d take it everywhere. Actually, Fang Qian and I both noticed something different about the way he treats you. The moment he admitted to us that he liked you, it confirmed what we’d already suspected.”
“I think… he’s probably not only come out to me.”
Qi Xu froze for a moment at those words. Wanting the whole world to know when you like someone.
Xie Huai hadn’t tried to hide it—not at school, not out in the world.
A teenager’s affection was always that intense: once they liked someone, that was it, no one else.
But it was Xu Yichen’s last comment that caught Qi Xu off guard. “What do you mean by that?”
Xu Yichen had known Xie Huai for eighteen years—of course he understood his habits. With a sly grin, he said, “I mean… he’s probably already come out to his family.”
Xu Yichen had nailed it—what else could you expect from a childhood friend who’d practically “worn the same pair of pants” with Xie Huai?
For some reason, Qi Xu suddenly remembered that day when Xie Huai said he wanted to take him to the Qin family home. Could it be that he’s already come out?
No… probably not “come out,” because Xie Huai didn’t like men—he only liked him.
Qi Xu couldn’t even imagine Xie Huai standing in front of his family and saying, “I like Qi Xu.” Just the thought made his scalp tingle.
His mind started spiraling further, imagining his own grandfather and Old Master Xie sitting together drinking “daughter-in-law tea,” enjoying unlimited tea cakes like it was some kind of treaty celebration.
Xu Yichen tried to stir things up. “Wait, he didn’t tell you? That’s not good. If he’s keeping secrets now, later he’ll start stashing away private money too.”
Qi Xu, confident in his own nature, replied, “I’d probably hide even more than he would.”
Xu Yichen: “…”
Right. He’d forgotten—this guy was obsessed with money.
