That night, Qi Xu showered and went straight to bed. The night before, he’d been on a voice call with Li Kaikai, talking about their newly founded company until late. Fresh out of college, the kid was full of energy, always eager to share his grand plans whenever he got a chance.
Qi Xu, on the other hand, had the body of an eighteen-year-old but the soul of a twenty-eight-year-old — he really couldn’t keep up. In his last life, he only lasted a week before it killed him.
Plus, tonight had been exhausting—not because of fighting, but from pretending to be an innocent and harmless eighteen-year-old. Clearly, he was better off as a tough guy.
When he woke up, Qi Xu found his phone had blown up with calls. Luckily, he’d set it to silent before sleeping and got a good rest.
All the calls and messages were from the Shen family. The last call came at 2 AM from Shen Fengkai.
Qi Xu had no intention of answering. He casually tossed his phone aside and went to the balcony to light some incense—only to realize this wasn’t his own room. He’d better spin his prayer beads a few more times to show proper respect.
After a short while, there was a knock at the door.
Qi Xu opened it to find a servant standing there with the day’s fresh clothes.
“Young Master Qi, here are your clothes for today.”
On top was the jacket he had left on the balcony last night. Since there had only been two people on the balcony and he’d forgotten to take it, it was clear who had picked it up for him.
The entire outfit for today perfectly replicated Qi Xu’s style from yesterday: casual wear, with the size fitting just right. In the big family houses, there were always observant and all-around capable butlers—guests must never be neglected.
Footsteps echoed from the staircase, and the three people in the dining room all looked over in unison. The “Backhand Scissors Brother” was still as popular as ever today.
Fang Qian stared at Qi Xu without blinking, while beside her, Xu Yichen teased sarcastically, “Is that necessary? A tall, handsome guy with white hair is standing right in front of you, and you’re not looking—yet you have to stare at someone who just woke up, with messy hair and all.”
Fang Qian shot him a glare. “You don’t get it. That’s called ‘lazy elegance’—it’s all about the vibe.”
Xu Yichen refused to back down. “I’m pretty lazy too.”
Fang Qian chuckled twice. “You’re just plain lazy.”
Xu Yichen looked to his brother for validation. “Ah Huai, what do you think?”
Only then did Xie Huai lift his eyes to look at Qi Xu—with his messy, tousled hair and half-closed eyes that seemed barely able to see, the tips of his ears flushed red, faintly visible with every movement.
“Look with your eyes.”
Xu Yichen: “…What nonsense is that?”
After a night’s rest, Jiang Zimu was still as enthusiastic as ever. “Good morning, Qi Xu.”
Fang Qian also greeted him, “Good morning.”
Qi Xu, still a bit groggy from sleep, froze for two seconds before replying, “Good morning.”
After exchanging greetings, he casually found a seat.
“Oh? You didn’t leave,” Xie Huai put down the ladle. “Last night, Shen Fengkai came rushing over to pick up Shen Zeyu. I thought you’d gone with them.”
Qi Xu slowly looked up at him, still a bit sleepy at the corner of his eyes. “You’re so sure — did you personally see them off last night?”
Since Shen Zeyu and Xie Huai were close, it was possible.
Xie Huai snorted lightly. “Not quite. Your brother called me.”
Qi Xu recalled the missed call. He had to admit he admired Xie Huai for answering a call at two in the morning.
“You’re more like his brother than I am.”
Xie Huai, panting, added, “I didn’t pick up.”
Qi Xu: “…”
That conversation instantly woke him up.
Qi Xu glanced at the breakfast spread on the table—a mix of Eastern and Western dishes—and scooped a bowl of fish slice congee.
Xu Yichen, biting into a sausage, casually asked, “You like fish slice congee just like Ah Huai?”
Qi Xu replied, “Is there any other porridge on the table?”
Xu Yichen began naming off the dishes: “Jam toast, sandwiches, salad, waffles, soup dumplings, soy milk, beef noodles, shaomai.”
“I mean, no other porridge,” Qi Xu said. He was used to eating something warm in the morning and wasn’t accustomed to cold Western dishes.
“Ah Huai comes here often, so the butler knows his taste and prepares accordingly,” Fang Qian said. “What do you like? I’ll pass it on so next time you come, you can have whatever you want.”
Qi Xu asked, “Next time? I thought your family wouldn’t be welcoming me again.”
Xie Huai glanced at him but said nothing.
Xu Yichen gave him a strange look, as if he didn’t understand why Qi Xu would think that way.
“Thinking like that is dangerous, you know? Are you not planning to come to my place? I’m still planning to invite you to my eighteen-and-a-half birthday party.”
Qi Xu didn’t comment on Xu Yichen having two birthdays a year but was curious about the invitation: “Why invite me?”
Xu Yichen glanced between Xie Huai and Qi Xu. “Aren’t you two pretty familiar? I want to get closer too.”
Just as Qi Xu was about to ask which eye saw them as familiar, Xie Huai said, “If you want to get closer, jump in the frying pan for two minutes.”
Before he finished, Fang Qian raised her hand: “Qi Xu, I want to get closer to you too.”
Jiang Zimu added, “Count me in.”
So many people wanted to get closer to him that the frying pan was too small.
Qi Xu glanced sideways at Xie Huai, silently asking him to intervene.
Xie Huai grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth. “Why look at me? Aren’t we already close? You want to be even closer?”
“Shut up.” Qi Xu was starting to get dizzy just hearing this.
Whether they were close or not was hard to say—like frogs in warm water, eventually they’d get used to it; it was just a matter of time.
After investigating overnight, there was a conclusion about the sudden incident last night.
Fang Qian saw everyone was present and began: “The troublemaker was Song Ruoming. He admitted last night that he set up Qi Xu to frame him. As for the reason, he didn’t say, only that one who acts must take responsibility.”
Everyone knew the reason: Song Ruoming and Qi Xu had never even met; there was no real grudge. It was just a middleman saying some grievance, and someone took it seriously.
In the end, Song Ruoming took full responsibility, letting someone else completely off the hook.
Qi Xu wasn’t interested in the past. Without lifting his head, he continued eating his congee.
Xu Yichen frowned, clearly upset. “Easy for you to say, ‘one who acts must take responsibility.’ Doesn’t he owe Qi Xu an apology? And he messed up last night’s birthday party—I still haven’t settled that with him.”
Fang Qian was openly disgusted by Song Ruoming’s behavior and attitude. “He was already taken back by the Song family last night. The elders of both families agreed to call this a childish prank by immature kids.”
After today, she had put Song Ruoming on her blacklist and wouldn’t invite him over again.
Xu Yichen blew his top, slammed his hand on the table with a bang, and Qi Xu’s freshly picked-up shaomai dropped onto the table.
Why did he always have to slam the table? What’s his problem?
Qi Xu reached to pick up the shaomai again, but Xie Huai raised a hand to stop him. “Eat from the plate.”
Qi Xu looked at him, puzzled.
Xie Huai explained, “This morning, Jiang Zimu left a few colored pencils here.”
Jiang Zimu suddenly remembered, “Right, I brought my drawing pens to the dining room for a drink and just left them on the table.”
Qi Xu didn’t see the connection between pens on the table and not being allowed to pick up food from the table, but under everyone’s watchful eyes, he still picked the shaomai from the plate.
Seeing Qi Xu still focused on eating, Xu Yichen anxiously asked, “Are you really going to let Song Ruoming off just like that?”
Qi Xu had exposed Song Ruoming’s true colors ten years ago, so Song had no place in this circle anymore.
As for letting him off, those two slams against the ground from last night would take him a while to recover from.
Qi Xu finished his shaomai before speaking. “What’s your suggestion, Young Master Xu?”
Xu Yichen said excitedly, “I want to drag him out and beat him up.”
Fang Qian slapped the back of his head. “I really wonder if you’re even an adult—always yelling about fighting and killing.”
Xu Yichen, having just turned eighteen a month ago, covered his head in grievance. “So that’s it?”
Jiang Zimu offered his half-baked idea, “I’ll use the excuse of drawing his portrait to get him out, then you can beat him.”
Xu Yichen clapped his hands, “Good idea!”
Qi Xu wasn’t opposed to actual eighteen-year-old behavior and even wanted to learn from it. He thought Jiang Zimu’s idea was pretty good.
Xie Huai caught Qi Xu’s glance and teased, “You think it’s a good idea too? Ready to help?”
Qi Xu shrugged. “If Young Master Xu hires me as a hired hand, why not?”
This guy really had money on his mind—it was already the second time he mentioned money to Qi Xu. How badly did he need cash?
Xie Huai asked, “You need money that badly?”
Qi Xu had a total of ten million, half of which he had given to Li Kaixing for startup capital, and the other half invested. Now, the only spare cash Qi Xu had was about three thousand from working at Qi’s Village.
He still didn’t have college tuition sorted.
Qi Xu nodded, admitting, “Yeah, I do.”
Xu Yichen, worried Qi Xu might change his mind, asked, “How much would you charge as a hired hand? Thirty thousand a hit?”
Xu Yichen was really generous. Qi Xu raised an eyebrow. “Sign a contract now?”
Xu Yichen nodded. “Sign it now.”
Back and forth they went, and someone was actually serious about it—the lawyer was almost contacted—until Xie Huai stopped the whole farce: “Enough.”
Xu Yichen glanced at Xie Huai’s usual expression, but their tacit understanding told him something was off. Rarely obedient, he finally quieted down.
Qi Xu teased him, “Come on, Young Master Xu, have some fun.”
Xu Yichen shook his head, “No, I won’t. I probably won’t be able to function later.”
Qi Xu laughed. This guy was genuinely simple—much more fun than Xie Huai, whose intentions were hard to read.
“Alright then, Young Master Xu, think it over carefully. I’m leaving now.”
Saying that, he stood and headed toward the door. It really looked like he was leaving.
Xie Huai asked, “Walking home?”
“Bus,” Qi Xu replied.
Qi Xu didn’t have much money, but not to the point of choosing Bus No. 11 just to save the fare.
Fang Qian told him, “There’s no bus stop near my place. You’d have to walk over ten minutes to the next intersection and then wait half an hour or so.”
Qi Xu turned to her and asked, “Does your family have a dedicated car to pick up guests?”
Ten minutes later, Qi Xu was sitting in that dedicated car, saving even the bus fare.
He had been at the Shen family’s place for quite a while now and still didn’t have a private car. Taking the bus every day was his low-carbon way of contributing to environmental protection.
The driver drove steadily, and Qi Xu, feeling sleepy again, dozed off during the ride. When he opened his eyes, they were already at the Shen family’s gate.
Just as Qi Xu was about to roll down the window, the car passed through smoothly.
The security guards recognized the car—or maybe it had been registered before.
Shen Zeyu and Fang Qian were classmates and must have ridden in this car before.
Upon arriving at the villa gate, Qi Xu said to the driver, “Uncle, thank you for your hard work. Please be safe on your way back.”
The driver smiled slightly. “It’s my duty.”
Qi Xu opened the car door and saw Shen Zeyu and Zeng Yun standing at the gate. His eyes met someone’s gaze, full of hopeful anticipation.
There was no way they were hoping for him to come home.
When Shen Zeyu saw Qi Xu step out of the car, his smile instantly froze. He snarled and rushed forward, practically wanting to tear Qi Xu apart, “How did you get into Ah Huai’s car?!”
Qi Xu glanced at the rear of the Rolls-Royce and understood why the car passed smoothly—it was Xie Huai’s.
He also understood why Shen Zeyu was so angry. There was only one person in the Shen family who could ride together with the Crown Prince, and that was Shen Zeyu.
Now there was an extra hitchhiker riding along, and Shen Zeyu was livid.
Qi Xu showed no extra emotion. With one hand in his pocket, he passed by the furious Shen Zeyu and said lightly, “I called it on Didi.”
