“You’re tattling again,” Qi Xu slouched with tired eyes, no hint of intimidation, “You want to fight?”
Xie Huai was unusually calm as he lifted the stew pot lid, “You can fight, but first finish the soup.”
Qi Xu looked at the dark, murky broth and instantly flashed back to summer break. He rolled his eyes and grabbed the even darker package beside the pot, “What is this now?”
Today, Xie Huai was unusually understanding. “Pick one — do you want the medicinal broth or the herbal medicine?”
Medicinal broth and herbal medicine were completely different — broth tasted better and wasn’t nearly as hard to swallow as the strong herbal medicine smell.
It was forcing him to choose.
But Qi Xu didn’t want either.
Li Yan and Feng Zhenjie came over, curious, and asked, “Is it really that bad? This isn’t even herbal medicine.”
Qi Xu was about to share some of the broth, but Xie Huai caught on to his plan, “They don’t need the medicine.”
Qi Xu waved his hand and decided, “I’ll drink the medicine. You guys can have the broth.”
A man who’s been through two lifetimes can’t be afraid of a little bitterness.
While Li Yan and Feng Zhenjie took sips of the medicinal broth, a voice came from the balcony: “Yue.”
“This stew isn’t too bad except for the strange taste. Xu-ge, are you okay? Want some soup to settle yourself?”
“Xu-ge, next time just pick the broth. When you opened the herbal medicine, the smell gave me goosebumps. I can already imagine how sour and bitter it must taste.”
Qi Xu held onto the faucet, “Yue,” nearly spitting up his lunch — how was this more bitter than iced Americano?
“Stop it, just hearing you say that brings the taste right back up from my stomach…”
Before finishing, Qi Xu let out another “yue.”
His eyes got red and watery, looking like he might cry.
Xie Huai handed him a torn-open piece of candied fruit. Qi Xu rinsed his mouth with water, then took the fruit. Luckily, the sweet and sour apricot helped mask the bitterness in his mouth.
He reached out to Xie Huai, mumbling, “One more, please.”
Xie Huai looked at the bag of herbal medicine and the unfinished potion, “Finish your medicine.”
Qi Xu gave him a displeased look. “Never do the good stuff, always the bad. You’re starting to remind me of my grandpa.”
That sounded like an insult at first.
Li Yan laughed and chimed in, “Xu-ge, don’t cry. I’ll steal some candied fruit from Huai-ge’s seat for you later.”
Qi Xu reluctantly picked up the bag of herbal medicine and cheekily responded to Li Yan, “Steal a lot. Take everything he owns.”
At that moment, someone knocked on room 314. Feng Zhenjie went to answer the door.
Gao Wenjun and a group of guys from the neighboring dorm came in noisily.
“I just heard you guys talking on the balcony — what are you drinking? Is there something good?”
Li Yan laughed and shook his head, “You’re just jealous. Even if it’s medicine, you guys have to drink it too.”
“Damn, no wonder your dorm smells like medicine. Who’s sick?”
Feng Zhenjie joked, “No one’s sick. Our Xu-ge is just drinking Chinese-style coffee to stay awake.”
Then the group crowded around the balcony door, chatting loudly.
“Xu-ge, you’re really pushing it, drinking medicine just for this afternoon’s training.”
“I gotta record this and show the instructor. He’ll be so moved, this’ll be a highlight of his career.”
“Xu-ge, does it taste good?”
Qi Xu glared coldly at the camera, holding up the last sip of herbal medicine, “For you.”
A few people shook their heads and waved their hands in refusal, all saying together, “Better save this good stuff for you.”
The group stood crowded on the balcony. Gao Wenjun held a stack of papers, scanning the dorm room. During military training, curtains weren’t allowed, so every bed was fully visible.
His gaze lingered on a deep blue-black bed for two seconds, then shifted to a gray bed in the neighboring spot — until Feng Zhenjie spoke up.
“Class leader, are you here to collect the forms?”
Gao Wenjun looked away, “Yeah, I’m collecting them all to hand in.”
Qi Xu was still struggling with that last sip on the balcony. Li Yan said, “Xu-ge, the forms are ready to collect.”
Qi Xu instinctively replied, “On the desk—”
Then he remembered he didn’t like others touching his things. Just then, Xie Huai walked in.
Gao Wenjun heard Qi Xu’s half-finished sentence and began rifling through his desk. He was about to pick up a bracelet placed on the books when Li Yan stopped him.
“Class leader, don’t touch his bracelet. It’s Xu-ge’s lifeline. Better let him bring it out himself.”
Gao Wenjun’s hand kept moving like he hadn’t heard. “Touching it a little won’t hurt. My hands aren’t dirty.”
When his hand was just a few centimeters from the bracelet, a slender, jointed hand blocked him, grabbing the bracelet first. Then the hand flipped open a military theory book on the desk and pulled out the form tucked inside.
Gao Wenjun paused, took the form, and started organizing it aside. Casually, but with his eyes on the bracelet in Xie Huai’s hand, he asked, “I thought you said don’t touch?”
Li Yan casually replied, “They’re different. Regular people like us can’t touch it anyway.”
Gao Wenjun joked, “Didn’t expect Qi Xu to be so strong-willed. Even among regular people, there are levels — 3, 6, 9.”
Li Yan didn’t catch the underlying tone and thought Gao Wenjun was joking.
Feng Zhenjie, however, picked up on it. His family ran a mahjong teahouse, so he’d seen all kinds of people — good, bad, shady.
Not wanting others to touch your personal stuff was pretty normal. But the way Gao Wenjun said it made it sound like Qi Xu looked down on them.
Unintentional words can carry meaning, especially with so many people around in the dorm.
Feng Zhenjie said, “Xu-ge isn’t strong-willed or anything. He’s just single-minded about sleeping. The bracelet is personal. If you’re not close, you don’t get to touch it either.”
Gao Wenjun smiled, “Did Xie Huai get permission to handle it?”
Xie Huai put the bracelet back gently and said lightly, “No permission needed. I gave it to him.”
That statement shut even the usually chatty Li Yan up. He knew how much Qi Xu treasured that bracelet — he even took it in his pocket during training.
He thought it was a family heirloom, but it turned out to be a token of… friendship.
Qi Xu noticed the awkward tension among the guys and opened the window, asking, “Can’t find my form?”
Xie Huai glanced at the bag of herbal medicine in his hand, with only one last sip left that he absolutely couldn’t swallow. “Want me to call Grandpa Shen?”
Qi Xu cursed, “Go to hell.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
“Xu-ge, you’re drinking medicine and now calling home?”
“Hold your breath and swallow it down. If you don’t, Huai-ge will make you drink it himself when he gets mad.”
Qi Xu chuckled, “He can’t beat me.”
That said, after eating Xie Huai’s preserved fruit, Qi Xu felt his nausea easing a bit.
No longer being picky, he was down to the last sip — might as well get it over with.
He tilted his head back and drank the final gulp of the herbal medicine, followed by another piece of preserved fruit.
After the little commotion, everyone returned to their dorm rooms.
Xie Huai turned on the tap to wash his hands. “After training this afternoon, we’re heading to the school gate.”
Qi Xu bit his preserved fruit, eyeing him warily. “What for?”
His fingers wet with water, Xie Huai said casually, “You said you wanted to fight, right? Don’t leave right after class. I’ll wait for you at the school gate.”
Qi Xu didn’t take that seriously. If Xie Huai really wanted to fight, they could do it right in the dorm — no need to go all the way to the school gate.
Besides, Qi Xu didn’t think Xie Huai was that impulsive. Sure, he acted more like an 18-year-old, but Qi Xu never treated him like just any teenager.
After all, he was the only son of the Xie family. No way would he need to throw down himself.
Qi Xu said, “Aren’t you being childish?”
Xie Huai turned off the tap, “I’m just going along with you, Young Master Qi.”
Qi Xu laughed along, “Alright, Xie Shao. See you at the school gate.”
But when they really met at the school gate, Qi Xu couldn’t smile. Who gets diagnosed inside a car?
And it was a luxury van, way more eye-catching than a sports car in this day and age. The windows had privacy film, so passersby couldn’t help but glance.
Qi Xu silently rested his hand on the car’s small fold-out table while the old Chinese doctor took his pulse.
“Old Xu, is my pulse strong and steady? I practiced military boxing several times this afternoon.”
The old doctor was brought by Grandpa Shen during summer break to help with Qi Xu’s treatment. They’d seen each other two or three times a week, so they were quite familiar.
Old Xu frowned deeply, ignoring Qi Xu’s nonsense. “I gave you a follow-up the day before school started. How come you’ve already relapsed after only a few days?”
Hearing this, Xie Huai in the passenger seat turned his head. Qi Xu exchanged a glance with him before answering with a carefree tone, “Military training is like that — it drains your energy. I’m a young guy; I’ll replenish it in time.”
Old Xu said, half kindly, half exasperated, “Replenish? You need a dozen or more people to take care of you just to drink some medicinal broth? Tongue out.”
Qi Xu obediently stuck out his tongue at Old Xu, who then said, “You drank the herbal medicine at noon, right?”
Qi Xu was surprised, “You could tell just from that?”
Old Xu put down the pulse-taking pillow and said, “I could smell it. You spilled some on your clothes.”
Qi Xu grabbed his collar and sniffed — sure enough, the distinct herbal scent lingered. No wonder the smell wouldn’t quit; it was on his clothes.
“Taking medicine works better than just herbal soups. Chinese medicine can be packaged and preserved. Tomorrow I’ll have someone deliver five days’ worth at once. You start taking it right away.” Old Xu seemed to sense Qi Xu wanted to refuse, so he cut him off before he could speak, pulling out the heavy artillery: “Old Grandpa Shen is still waiting for my report on your condition.”
Being cut off mid-sentence like that was a real kick in the gut. Defeated by reality, Qi Xu slumped into his seat, feeling utterly hopeless.
Old Xu suddenly remembered something and said to the guy in the passenger seat, “Young Master Xie, Madam Qin’s condition is stable now. I’ll do a follow-up check in a few days.”
Xie Huai replied, “Thank you for your care, Old Xu. Gao, please send Old Xu back.”
The bodyguard driving the car promptly got out and opened the door for Old Xu.
As Old Xu got out carrying his medical kit, he still worried about Qi Xu: “Remember to take your medicine on time. Don’t take it one day and skip the next — that won’t do any good.”
Rarely obedient, Qi Xu nodded and promised, “Got it.”
Seeing Old Xu get into the car ahead, Qi Xu had a thought: “You arranged for Old Xu to come?”
The driver unfolded the small table again and set a few takeout boxes on it. Xie Huai returned to the back seat.
“After training this afternoon, we’ll head over to my place first — it’s on the way.”
Qi Xu chuckled, “Just ‘on the way’?”
Xie Huai countered, “What else?”
Qi Xu took out the bracelet again and casually asked, “Is Madam Qin sick?”
“During summer break, I was at the old family house. She was sick but thought it was minor and didn’t want me to know. Or maybe your… younger brother told me he ran into her at the hospital for a check-up. That’s why I went home briefly on registration day.”
In his previous life, Qi Xu had never heard of Madam Qin having any health issues, so it probably wasn’t serious.
He asked, “She’s alright then?”
Xie Huai seemed surprised by Qi Xu’s concern, since Qi Xu wasn’t the type to ask much.
“She’s fine — just some discomfort early in her pregnancy.”
Qi Xu’s hand froze, and the entire bracelet slipped from his fingers.
Quick as a flash, Xie Huai caught it in his palm, steadying it so it didn’t fall on the floor mat.
“You’re even more worked up than I am, as your brother.”
Qi Xu barely furrowed his brows. A flicker of confusion and disbelief flashed in his eyes — brief but sharp. Xie Huai caught it immediately.
Qi Xu quickly lowered his gaze to hide the complicated feelings, taking back his bracelet: “Congratulations.”
Xie Huai hooked a finger around the bracelet and didn’t let Qi Xu take it easily. “Anything else you want to say?”
There was. A lot.
Qi Xu’s mind was a little jumbled but he soon got it together.
The butterfly effect — his rebirth seemed to have altered some trajectories.
He asked directly, “How come you’re so calm?”
Before all this, Xie Huai was the only son of the Xie family — basically a crown prince in the social circle of wealthy heirs. Both the Qin and Xie families had him under their influence, and soon he would inherit the Xie family’s business empire.
Now that Madam Qin was pregnant, Xie Huai was no longer the only one.
Xie Huai seemed used to Qi Xu’s blunt remarks and responded just as straightforwardly, “There’s a big age gap, and there’s no throne to inherit in my family. I actually welcome this child’s birth.”
Qi Xu couldn’t help but recall how, in his previous life, he and Shen Fengkai fought tooth and nail over inheritance rights.
“I hope you can be a good older brother,” Qi Xu said, pulling back the bracelet, his tone flat and calm.
Xie Huai kept his usual expression, opened a takeout box on the small table, and handed Qi Xu a pair of chopsticks. “Let’s eat. We have to regroup in half an hour.”
The dishes on the small table were distinct in flavor, even contrasting sharply: two sweet-and-sour dishes, shredded chicken, black pepper beef, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables.
Qi Xu’s appetite was so-so; he only touched the dishes he liked.
After finishing, the two got out of the car.
At the school gate, people came and went — the sound of bicycle brakes, bells ringing, and groups of students chatting. Everyone’s face was lit up with smiles.
Qi Xu walked lazily, always half a step behind Xie Huai, but their pace was surprisingly synchronized.
