Half an hour later, Xu Yichen, Fang Qian, and Jiang Zimu strode into the Xie estate with great fanfare. Their arrival caused a commotion equivalent to about thirty people. Nan Feng trailed behind closely.
“Young Master Xu, Young Master Jiang, Miss Fang, allow me to report your arrival inside.”
Xu Yichen quickened his pace and loudly said, “A tip-off, huh? Let me see what kind of kickbacks that black-hearted bastard got from the Shen family to treat an unarmed young man like this…”
Just as he stepped into the inner room, whizz—a dart flew past him at lightning speed.
Xu Yichen froze in place, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he slowly turned to look at the dartboard on the wall. Right in the bullseye.
Then he looked at the person who threw it. Qi Xu stood with arms crossed, tilting his head with a half-smile: “Who’s unarmed now?”
Xu Yichen immediately retracted his words. He shouldn’t have forgotten Qi Xu was the strongest left-handed scissor hand in the world.
Nan Feng came in, panting. “Luckily, nothing happened. The two young masters were playing darts; rushing in to report could have caused accidental injuries.”
Qi Xu looked at Xie Huai with an expressionless tone that nevertheless carried an urging meaning: “Your turn.”
No one knew how Xie Huai’s eyes worked, but he saw the sea cucumber Qi Xu had hidden beneath the bone plate.
Qi Xu wanted to leave, but Xie Huai said to stay and play a round of darts with him.
Qi Xu wasn’t worried about Xie Huai tattling—he just didn’t want to add a sea cucumber to his dinner.
Xie Huai toyed with the darts in his hand, catching the eager eyes of the three others. With a big gesture he said, “Three darts left. Each of you throw one.”
The three happily took them and enthusiastically gathered around Qi Xu.
“What’s your score against Ah Huai?”
“Tied.”
“This is my first time throwing.”
“Good luck!”
“Qi Xu, if I hit the bullseye, can I study your face for a bit?”
“…That sounds a bit creepy.”
“Sorry.”
…
In the end, none of the three’s dart scores matched even one of Qi Xu’s throws.
Xu Yichen scored 25 in the single area, Fang Qian missed the board entirely, and Jiang Zimu’s dart landed outside the scoring zone.
Qi Xu hit the double 20 area, scoring 40 points.
With a 4 to 1 score difference, the three sat down defeated beside the two.
Qi Xu, feeling sleepy after eating, leaned back and yawned, half-closing his eyes as if falling asleep, his hand slowing on the beads.
Xu Yichen teased himself, “Qi Xu, is it no fun playing darts with the three of us?”
Qi Xu propped his head up with one hand, glanced at him, and said, “Good that you know. Nothing else, I’m going back now.”
Xu Yichen said with righteous indignation, “Don’t be afraid. Has Ah Huai locked you up here? If anything’s bothering you, you can tell me. I’ll inform Grandpa Xie and have you safely brought home.”
Qi Xu gave him a sickly look. “Young Master Xu, have you been watching too many soap operas? Locking people up and committing crimes? The place next door is my family’s home—I can go back by myself.”
Xu Yichen had forgotten that although Qi Xu’s surname was Qi, he was actually the true young master of the Shen family. Their old mansion was right next door. The Xie family and the Shen family were separated by just a single wall.
Fang Qian gave Xu Yichen a look of disdain. “You dumbass, I thought you were about to put on some kind of kidnapping play.”
She quickly glanced at Qi Xu and Xie Huai.
Xu Yichen complained to Xie Huai, “Why didn’t you tell me the guy was right next door?”
Xie Huai curved a smile. “Only found out today, out of nowhere, that he was next door.”
Xu Yichen turned to Qi Xu again. “You even know how to parachute?”
“No parachuting. I’m good at exorcisms. If you ever need one, Young Master Xu, come find me.” Qi Xu was very sleepy now. He put the bead bracelet back on his wrist and shifted into a more comfortable position.
Xu Yichen thought Qi Xu was really interesting—throwing darts and doing exorcisms.
He took out his phone. “Let me add your contact info. If there’s work, I’ll come to you first.”
Qi Xu’s phone was in the neighboring courtyard, so he gave them his phone number. Fang Qian and Jiang Zimu also quickly added him as a contact.
After sending the friend request, Jiang Zimu opened his Moments feed and saw the latest post.
“Song Ruoming threw a party at sea. A lot of people went. Shen Zeyu seems to be there too?”
Fang Qian, who had already blocked Song Ruoming since the birthday banquet, asked, “Why haven’t you blocked him?”
Jiang Zimu said, “Brother Chen told me to find an opportunity to get Song Ruoming out. I’m always ready, watching his every move through Moments.”
Fang Qian was speechless.
Xu Yichen leaned over to take a look. Shen Zeyu wasn’t visible on the yacht but was in a group photo at the dock.
“What’s going on with Shen Zeyu? Clearly he’s colluding with Song Ruoming.”
Fang Qian thought for a moment. “Not necessarily. The Shen family has a batch of medical equipment that requires cooperation with the Song family. At this critical moment, both families have to pretend like nothing’s going on.”
“Song Ruoming was just discharged from the hospital not long ago, with gauze still on his forehead. So eager to curry favor.” Xu Yichen handed the phone back to Jiang Zimu. “Looks like the five of us weren’t invited. Are they isolating us?”
The word “isolating” had already been mentioned. Besides Qi Xu, who had just arrived in the capital and barely showed his face, the Shen family hadn’t formally introduced this son. Even wearing expensive clothes, no one recognized him.
Among the other four, Jiang Zimu’s family wasn’t involved in business. His mother was Fang Jiacheng’s younger sister, and the family’s main support was Jiang Zimu’s father, a trusted subordinate of Qin Jing, Xie Huai’s uncle. His career was booming, with big promotion prospects.
Though he often trailed behind the other three, no one in their circle looked down on him. With time, the Jiang family might make a jump up.
Not to mention the Xie, Xu, and Fang families, whose status and influence couldn’t be ignored. Many clans looked up to these three families.
People who usually got close to them didn’t show up at this yacht party. Song Ruoming had caused trouble at the Fang family, so everyone was watching cautiously, not wanting to offend either side.
Fang Qian casually grabbed the TV remote from the cabinet and turned on the 90-inch screen in front of them. “Whatever. I don’t want to play with them anyway. That bunch is like they’re sick—talking without a filter, filthy to the core.”
Jiang Zimu agreed with his cousin’s words. “Last time they tried to drag me along, saying there’d be hot models. I went in and saw nothing but skeletons—skinny without any beauty.”
Qi Xu had not said a single word throughout, as if the Shen family had nothing to do with him. He sat drowsily in his chair, about to doze off, when he felt a poke on his calf. Half-opening his eyes, he saw the familiar cane.
“If you’re sleepy, go lie down on the chaise.”
The three had come just for him. Since they were here, leaving wasn’t an option. They were chatting away, so he couldn’t go either—only able to nap here.
Qi Xu didn’t hold back and flopped down on the soft-padded chaise, muttering with his eyes closed, “If you hadn’t forced me to stay, I’d have been home already, lying in my big bed taking a nap. Do you feel jealous of people like me who get lots of sleep?”
After speaking, he heard the sound of the cane tapping on the ground.
“I’m not jealous of you because I’m bored. There’s a room at the end of the upstairs hallway—you can go sleep there.”
Qi Xu suddenly remembered something Shen Zeyu had said: “Aunt Qin said the Xie family will always have a room just for me.”
He scoffed dismissively, “I’m bored alright. I’m not going to sleep in the master bedroom at home—I’ll sleep in your guest room.”
The living room fell silent for a long time, even the TV volume was lowered.
Qi Xu, breathing evenly, had fallen asleep and didn’t notice the strange expressions in Xu Yichen and Fang Qian’s eyes.
That wasn’t a guest room.
