Chapter 18

Qi Xu struggled to stand, leaning half his body against the wall. A thin sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead from the exertion. He closed his eyes, feeling the sweat wetting his eyelashes, then exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes with a smirk.

“Might as well have brought your cane over—would’ve been more useful.”

With that, Qi Xu put away Fang Qian’s stun baton and walked calmly toward the alley entrance.

But the moment he took a step, Xie Huai without hesitation hooked Qi Xu’s arm over his shoulder and wrapped his other hand around his waist.

“Then just think of me as your cane—I’m more expensive than that.”

By the time Qi Xu realized what was happening, he was pressed tightly against Xie Huai. The faint scent of wood filled his senses, calming the restless edge inside him.

It wasn’t the scent of his own agarwood prayer beads this time.

Qi Xu inhaled sharply. “I wasn’t killed by them… I’m gonna be crushed to death by you.”

Xie Huai’s hand slid down to his hip, pulling him closer. “You were weak to begin with. Now with your back hurt, you’re even weaker.”

Qi Xu gave him a cold look. “Still stronger than you.”

Xie Huai didn’t argue with an injured man. His hand on Qi Xu’s shoulder was slender but strong enough to support him. His wrist was bare—where the precious agarwood bracelet that someone loved so much had disappeared to was unknown.

“Where’s the bracelet?”

Qi Xu was silent for two seconds, then said, “Got stained with filthy blood. Threw it away.”

Qi Xu’s injured back kept him from walking fast. Half his weight rested on Xie Huai’s support as they moved. When his hand accidentally pressed on the bruise, Xie Huai got a sharp glare in response.

Xu Yichen finally saw the “ancestor” getting up and heading toward them. He turned to the young people who had come along and said, “No more gathering tonight. We’ll do it another day—still on Xie Huai’s tab.”

Though they hadn’t seen the one-against-six battle firsthand, everyone was stunned when they spotted Qi Xu standing victorious at the alley entrance, smoking a cigarette like a movie hero.

“Bro, is that the mysterious guest for tonight? Damn, he’s so hot.”

“Who’s that? Looks kind of familiar.”

“That’s the guy who fought Song Ruoming on the birthday party day—the one the Shen family just took back.”

Xu Yichen frowned. “Just took back? His name’s Qi Xu, he’s my brother. From now on, call him Brother Xu.”

Everyone noticed how Xie Huai was holding Qi Xu like a close friend, and how their back-and-forth felt like some weird kind of friendship.

In this circle, only a few people talked to Xie Huai like that—only those who grew up together. Close contact like this happened only if Xie Huai allowed it.

“Brother Chen, if you need anything, just say the word.”

“Next time we meet, make sure Brother Xu is there.”

Qi Xu reached the car, instantly greeted by a wave of admiring gazes. Everyone looked at him like he was a hero straight out of a movie.

Suddenly, someone rushed into the alley and immediately spotted Xie Huai. He hurried over, worried, and asked, “Huai, are you hurt? I just saw the bodyguard carrying—”

His words cut off abruptly when Shen Zeyu saw who was in Xie Huai’s arms.

Their eyes met. Qi Xu gave him a silent smile, the injury at the corner of his mouth making him frown slightly.

Xie Huai glanced sideways. “You don’t usually see him smile like that. What, did you get hit in the head today?”

Qi Xu pushed off from Xie Huai’s embrace, shot him a glare, then climbed into the car alone.

Shen Zeyu’s expression stiffened—he wasn’t sure if it was because of Qi Xu’s eerie smile or the obvious closeness between the two.

After composing himself, he asked Xie Huai, “Huai, where are we going to hang out later?”

Xie Huai said, “Your brother’s hurt.”

Shen Zeyu glanced at the group standing behind him, trying to keep the peace. “I heard from Mom and Dad that he used to get into fights in the countryside all the time. This kind of minor injury is nothing to him. It’s fine—he can go to the hospital on his own. Don’t let it ruin our night.”

Xie Huai gave him a look. “Fang Qian is hurt too.”

Shen Zeyu froze, shocked, then looked toward the car, his face turning pale. He stammered, “Is it serious?”

Xie Huai’s voice was cold. “She can’t walk. The gathering’s over. Let’s go home.”

After Xie Huai got into the car, Shen Zeyu finally snapped back to reality. He hurriedly grabbed Jiang Zimu, who was about to get in, and asked, “Why is Fang Qian with Qi Xu?”

Jiang Zimu was in a rush, pulling his hand free. “Huai’s been at the old house lately. We went to find Qi Xu, and we happened to run into each other.”

The car pulled out of the alley entrance, leaving Shen Zeyu shaken. After a long moment, he nervously took out his phone and made a call.

Once connected, he yelled hoarsely, “Didn’t you tell me it was just to teach him a lesson? Your men hurt Fang Qian!”

Twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the hospital, where medical staff were already waiting—someone must have called ahead.

Qi Xu and Fang Qian sat side by side in wheelchairs, pushed inside for a thorough examination.

They took all the necessary scans and treatments—both received full-body checkups.

Fang Qian was fine—just a sprained ankle that would need a week of rest and medicine.

Qi Xu was bruised all over. At first glance, it looked serious, but the injuries were mostly minor. The worst were two wounds: scrapes on his finger and a hurt in his lower back.

While the doctor was fixing Fang Qian’s ankle, she let out a sharp cry. Jiang Zimu ran next door to comfort his cousin.

Cleaning and disinfecting wounds was the worst part of being injured. Qi Xu didn’t make a sound as the nurse cleaned his wounds, didn’t pull away—just quietly waited with his eyes lowered.

Even the doctor couldn’t help but say, “Young man, if it hurts, just say so. We can take it slow.”

Qi Xu rested his hand on the table. “It’s fine, go ahead.”

Outside the door stood Xu Yichen and Xie Huai.

Xu Yichen’s face had lost the earlier carefree attitude from the private room. His expression was cold and serious. “Did Lao Gao’s team find out anything? Whose men were those thugs?”

Xie Huai’s gaze moved away from the unreadable Qi Xu. “They took the law into their own hands. We sent them to the police station.”

Xu Yichen scoffed. “Since when did you care so much about following the law? By the way, Fang Qian told me not to tell Uncle Fang about this—what do you think?”

Xie Huai’s shirt was stained with blood, the fabric creased over his chest, his usual clean and gentle image replaced by a rare hint of rogue attitude.

“When you have the Xu family, you don’t need the Fang family too—only making more trouble.”

When Xie Huai said that, Xu Yichen caught the tone—this was trouble brewing. It seemed Xie Huai already knew who they were dealing with.

Xu Yichen fell into thought. This time, it was aimed at Qi Xu. Recently, the only person who had grudges against Qi Xu was Song Ruoming.

The Fang family and the Song family had reached another agreement—if the Fang family got involved, this matter would very likely be swept under the rug.

Obviously, everyone had considered this possibility. And they knew Qi Xu’s nature—he never let grudges go easily. There was no way this would just blow over.

“Do you really think the Shen family will stand up for Qi Xu?” Xu Yichen didn’t believe the Shen couple who had taken their biological son back just a month ago and immediately sent him off to the old house.

Qi Xu had finished getting his wounds treated. His forehead was covered with gauze, and his right hand was bandaged as the nurse wheeled him out.

Xie Huai said, “The Shen family isn’t just those few people.”

Once the injured were out, the two stopped talking.

Xu Yichen asked with concern, “You okay?”

Qi Xu looked up. “Could go another round.”

Xu Yichen gave a thumbs-up. “Wild. Really wild.”

Two wheelchairs followed close behind. Fang Qian said to Xie Huai, “Huai, I’m staying at your place a few days, until my ankle gets better—otherwise my mom’ll nag me to death.”

Xu Yichen protested, “Why not stay at my place?”

Fang Qian gave him a look. “Your mom and my mom have afternoon tea together every day. How would we keep it a secret?”

Xie Huai glanced at Qi Xu. “How about you? Need to stay at my place a few days?”

“No.” Qi Xu instinctively touched his wrist, realizing the bracelet was gone. “I’m going home.”

When Qi Xu returned to the old house, he leaned on the hospital cane and headed straight to the side courtyard, not planning to disturb the old master. Unfortunately, a night-shift servant spotted him.

The family’s servants weren’t good at much, but their voices were top-notch.

Just a few calls and the old master, who was waiting in the living room for his grandson to come home, was alerted. Leaning on his cane, he was helped outside—and saw his grandson coming back home with a cane.

The two—grandfather and grandson—had shared good times and now shared hardships.

Xu Yichen carried Fang Qian into the house. The next courtyard was lively; the lights were all on, lighting up half the sky, giving the place an atmosphere like a courtroom showdown.

“Huai, I gotta say, you really picked a winner. This mountain is way tougher than those Shen family people,” he said with a smirk. “You even thought of a backup plan—helping someone by holding an umbrella over them to this extent, probably only you would do that.”

Fang Qian asked curiously, “What umbrella?”

Xu Yichen hadn’t told Fang Qian about it yet. “Let me tell you, Huai and Qi Xu had their fate sealed before. That day, the sun was just right…”

Xu Yichen started adding fuel to the fire with his story, but Xie Huai cut him off: “The guest room’s on the third floor. Only stairs.”

Xu Yichen cursed, “Why doesn’t your family install an elevator?”

Xie Huai headed straight upstairs. “Go ask my grandpa.”

Fang Qian asked, “Can you manage?”

Xu Yichen steadied her legs with both hands and pumped himself up. “I’m totally fine. I’m better than Xie Huai.”