Right across from Q University was a night market street packed with food stalls—cheap, tasty, and popular among students.
It was around 3 or 4 p.m. now, and vendors were busy prepping for the dinner rush. No one noticed the chase happening down a back alley just behind the row of shops.
That alley led out to the food street. The pavement was streaked with grease and littered with kitchen waste. The two figures sprinted through puddles of grime, sending foraging alley cats scattering in every direction.
Qi Xu had no interest in playing this pointless game of cat and mouse. He stopped on the only clean patch of ground and said calmly, “Looks like life in detention wasn’t too bad. You can still run. Guess no one beat you up in there?”
Qi Guohui had always been a scumbag—petty theft, thug life. The one thing he prided himself on was being quick on his feet. But when Qi Xu was sixteen, he’d broken the guy’s arm and kicked his leg out of alignment. That injury never healed properly, and ever since, Qi Guohui had never dared show his face at any of the part-time jobs Qi Xu took to pay his way through school.
Sure enough, Qi Guohui glared at him from the mouth of the alley, teeth clenched in rage. “You little bastard… it was you! Fuck, I should’ve strangled you when I had the chance!”
Qi Guohui had gotten away with a lot in M City over the years—usually just a few days in holding before being let go. But a few months ago, some lawyer showed up, told him he was being officially prosecuted. The police even assigned him a free attorney. He thought it would be nothing.
Then he landed in prison for real.
In there, he was treated like a punching bag—pushed around, beaten when he didn’t obey orders. Came out with barely a patch of unbruised skin.
You play with fire, you get burned. That part, he could accept.
What he couldn’t accept was learning that the person behind it all was none other than Qi Xu—the little bastard who should’ve been smothered 18 years ago.
Qi Xu gave a sharp laugh, cold and empty. “Guess I should thank you for not finishing the job back then, huh?”
He tilted his head slightly, his voice casual. “Thing is, you can’t show mercy. I lived, and now… maybe the one who should be dead is you.”
Qi Guohui’s face flushed red with rage. Filthy and furious, he lunged at Qi Xu, arms flailing like he meant to tear him apart.
Qi Xu calmly removed the beaded bracelet from his wrist—then, in one smooth move, flipped Qi Guohui over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground.
Even as he hit the pavement, Qi Guohui was still shouting profanities—everything in his mouth seemed to involve body parts and sexual organs.
Qi Xu shoved his face down into the dirty puddle beneath them, forcing a few mouthfuls of sewage water into him to rinse out that filth. Then he yanked him up by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
Learning karate from Fang Qian a week ago really paid off.
Qi Guohui and Qi Xu never had the kind of relationship you’d expect between a father and son—it was more like enemies under one roof.
After Qi Guohui’s wife died from severe bleeding during childbirth, he brought premature baby Qi Xu home. The very next day, he hired a prostitute and started fooling around with a widow from the village at their house. Qi Xu, left starving and crying his lungs out, was thrown into the freezing courtyard, where the temperature was just a few degrees above zero. He almost froze to death.
In the end, it was a kind neighbor woman who couldn’t stand it anymore. She fed him rice porridge and nursed him back to life.
Qi Xu survived on handouts from neighbors. Although the Qi family’s village wasn’t a great place, he managed to make it to six years old there.
After he turned six, Qi Guohui refused to let anyone give him food, threatening to beat up anyone who did.
Qi Xu was like a wild animal back then—never submitting to Qi Guohui. But he was no match in strength. He was often beaten until he bled, though he did once nearly bite off a chunk of Qi Guohui’s flesh.
The Qi family’s little yard was known for weekly noises of smashing furniture and Qi Guohui’s foul-mouthed shouting.
That was the environment Qi Xu grew up in—completely alone, like a weed growing on the edge of a cliff, battered by the wind and rain, with nothing beneath him but a bottomless drop.
Right now, Qi Guohui was pinned down, filthy and in total disarray.
His face was mashed to the ground, twisted with rage. He snarled, “Is this how you treat your adoptive father? Some top student from Q University you are! Think I won’t go to the press and expose you as an ungrateful little bastard?”
Qi Xu threw him onto a nearby trash bin and sneered, “You call yourself a father? I got more food fighting the neighbor’s dog than I ever got from you. You say I’m ungrateful—why don’t you go find your real son? Or wait, don’t tell me… you already tried.”
Something seemed to click in Qi Guohui’s mind, and he suddenly started laughing. “I know you’re getting the cold shoulder from the Shen family. My real son took all the spotlight. The Shen family—hah—they’re no saints either. They neglect their own flesh and blood. You’re jealous, aren’t you?”
Of course he was. But that was in his past life.
Back then, Qi Guohui had shown up during the National Day holiday. Qi Xu had just stormed out after a huge fight with the Shen family, only to get ambushed by Qi Guohui, who’d been tailing him for days.
Qi Guohui’s real target had been Shen Zeyu, but that guy always had a chauffeur and tight security. Qi Guohui couldn’t get close. So he went after Qi Xu instead.
The moment he opened his mouth, he asked for money. Qi Xu beat him up on the spot. The fight got so bad, passersby called the cops, and both of them ended up in the police station.
The Shen family rushed over but didn’t even glance at him. To avoid a scandal, they quietly gave Qi Guohui hush money.
After that, Qi Guohui seemed to think he’d struck gold. Every time he blew through the cash, he’d come back to harass Qi Xu. Even if he got beat up again, he still walked away with a nice payout. Worth it.
This sick pattern went on for four years. Injure someone? Get money. Show up and cause a scene? More money. The Shen family handed over huge sums to shut him up.
What they didn’t know was—those payouts came straight from Qi Xu’s bank account.
Eventually, Qi Guohui crossed the line and was arrested for extortion and attempted murder. Qi Xu personally saw to it he landed in prison.
When the truth came out, the Shen family couldn’t cover it up anymore. They had long touted the picture-perfect bond between Qi Guohui and his adoptive son—only for that “adoptive son” to send the man to jail.
At just 22, Qi Xu had no power or connections, but he knew how to endure humiliation and play the long game. He sacrificed everything to reach his goals.
That was also the moment he completely severed ties with the Shen family.
Qi Xu said coldly, “Yeah, I was jealous. So what?”
Qi Guohui, seeing he’d taken the bait, lit up with excitement. “Haha! You really are my son. Can’t get to my other boy, so you’ll do. But hey, don’t paint me as some monster. You went back to the Shen family for money, didn’t you? So did I. We’re more alike than you think—we should be working this gig together.”
Qi Xu laughed mockingly. “Working this gig? I’m Shen family’s real son. My allowance alone has seven figures. You think I’d settle for your petty schemes?”
Qi Guohui gulped involuntarily when he heard “seven figures.” He’d never seen that kind of money in his life. His eyes lit up with greed. “That’s just pocket change! You really think they gave you a lot? Kid, you have no idea what the Shen Group is worth. We couldn’t spend all that money in ten lifetimes.”
The Shen Group?
Greedy bastard. He wasn’t just eyeing a handout—he wanted the whole empire.
Qi Xu raised a brow. “You think you’ve got what it takes to go after the Shen Group?”
Qi Guohui said, “Of course not. But you do. It’s all gonna be yours one day.”
Qi Xu replied, “That’s not guaranteed. I still have an older brother.”
Qi Guohui leaned in, lowering his voice. His teeth were yellowed and crooked. “What if he messes up? What if the Shen family stops trusting him? Then the company’s yours. Your time is coming, boy. You’re the one holding this family up—they’ll have no choice but to bow to you.”
Qi Xu didn’t answer, but his expression showed he was at least listening.
In the end, Qi Xu didn’t take the bait. “Get lost. I’m Shen family’s blood. You really think I’d take advice from you to take them down? They’re scum—but you’re worse.”
“Fine, I’ll go,” Qi Guohui said, holding out his hand. “But pay me. You’re the college boy with the fancy degree—you still care about your pride, right?”
Qi Xu didn’t give him money. But he did offer a suggestion. “Why don’t you go stir things up at the Shen house? I’m sure they’ll throw some cash your way just to keep you quiet.”
After Qi Xu left, Qi Guohui immediately made a phone call.
“It’s done. I raised that little bastard—I know exactly what kind of person he is, even the way he shits and pisses. No doubt he’s going to take revenge on the Shen family.” Qi Guohui clutched his old flip phone, his beady eyes darting around. “Hard to explain over the phone. Let’s meet up, grab something to eat, and talk it through properly.”
Whatever the person on the other end said made Qi Guohui chuckle obsequiously. After he hung up, he spat on the ground and cursed, “Bunch of punks. Think they can get me to do their dirty work for free? Keep dreaming. Let them fight, the messier the better—more chaos, more cash for me.”
When Qi Xu came out of the alley, the first thing he saw was the car parked by the curb.
He suddenly remembered—the tracking app on his phone. It had been installed by Xie Huai the day after the wine tasting event, when Qi Xu casually mentioned that Qi Guohui might try to contact him.
Qi Xu had even promised Xie Huai he wouldn’t meet with Qi Guohui alone.
Well, now he was caught red-handed.
The first time he broke a promise, the consequence was letting Xie Huai move in with him. So… what would the punishment be this time?
Qi Xu got into the car. He glanced at the divider that had long since been lowered, and the moment he met Xie Huai’s eyes, he felt a twinge of guilt.
“It happened suddenly. I didn’t have time to tell you.” Qi Xu admitted his mistake right away. “I didn’t do much… just got a few hits in. Couldn’t help myself when I saw that piece of garbage.”
As soon as Xie Huai heard the words “got a few hits in,” he reached out and grabbed Qi Xu’s chin, inspecting his face inch by inch for injuries, his expression blank.
Qi Xu tilted his head back cooperatively, letting him check. Xie Huai’s hand moved down, gripping his neck.
“Why are you so disobedient?” he said quietly, his eyes dark and voice low.
Qi Xu lowered his head and deliberately nuzzled against Xie Huai’s hand, grinning, “Isn’t that what you like about me? Makes you want to train me even more, doesn’t it?”
Xie Huai closed his eyes briefly—he really was tempted to throw Qi Xu on the bed and teach him a lesson right there.
When he opened them again, the intensity had faded slightly, but his emotions were still unreadable. He continued the inspection, pulling off the down jacket that was now dirty with dust.
He didn’t quite believe Qi Xu had only “gotten a few hits in.” He knew exactly what Qi Guohui meant to him—he was the origin of every trauma Qi Xu carried.
Qi Guohui deserved to rot in hell.
When Xie Huai reached for Qi Xu’s hand to roll up his sleeve, Qi Xu pulled back.
“Don’t. It’s dirty.” He didn’t want Xie Huai to touch his hands—those hands had touched Qi Guohui. “My hands are filthy.”
But Xie Huai wasn’t letting him off the hook so easily. He caught his wrist and asked, “You really think they’re dirty?”
Qi Xu nodded. “Yeah.”
Without another word, Xie Huai retrieved a box of alcohol wipes from the storage compartment in the backseat. “Just dirty? Try dodging me again and see what happens.”
It was a firm warning, but Qi Xu didn’t take it seriously.
He watched as Xie Huai slowly pulled out a wipe and started cleaning his hands—one finger at a time, over the knuckles, between the joints. The movements weren’t exactly gentle, but there wasn’t a single red mark left behind. The way Xie Huai focused, head slightly bowed, it was like he was handling something priceless.
And to Xie Huai, even a single strand of Qi Xu’s hair was more precious than any of the luxury timepieces or jewelry he owned.
Qi Xu was irreplaceable.
Once he finished wiping both hands clean, Xie Huai pushed up Qi Xu’s sleeves—only to find the bracelet was missing.
Qi Xu leaned in against his shoulder. “Didn’t lose it. Just didn’t want it to get dirty, so I put it in my pocket.”
Xie Huai found the bracelet and put it back on him, then gently lifted his hand and pressed a kiss to it.
“Not dirty,” he said, completely serious.
His lips touched the soft inner skin of Qi Xu’s wrist, sending a ticklish sensation up his arm, but Qi Xu didn’t pull away.
He asked, “Want to keep checking?”
Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, a hand slid under his shirt and pressed against his back. The touch was warm—almost burning.
Qi Xu closed his eyes and let Xie Huai take control, exploring every inch of his body with slow, deliberate movements.
As Xie Huai touched, Qi Xu talked: “Qi Guohui tried to get me to take down Shen Fengkai—tempted me with the Shen Group’s inheritance. Tell me, how does a dumb thug like him even come up with that kind of plan? If he had half a brain, he wouldn’t have picked a place covered in surveillance cameras to try and ‘negotiate.’”
Qi Guohui had no brains—barely even qualified as cunning. All he knew how to do was eat, drink, gamble, and whore around. He thought he’d hidden his intentions perfectly, but the moment he opened his mouth, his whole plan was laid bare.
Truthfully, Qi Xu still didn’t understand.
In this life, he had already stepped back—he no longer fought Shen Zeyu over the Shen family’s legacy. So why was Shen Zeyu still relentlessly pressing in on him?
It was completely different from their past life. Back then, when all this happened, Shen Zeyu stayed aloof, detached—never even bothering to engage in a power struggle with him.
But now, the tables had turned.
Qi Xu had stopped fighting. And now it was Shen Zeyu who was coming for him, trying to take something away.
His voice grew unsteady, his breath faltering as Xie Huai’s hands wandered with increasing boldness. “I don’t care how much the Shen Corporation is worth. But Qi Guohui… that man, I will make him pay…”
Xie Huai’s hands reached his waist, gripping and kneading harder. Qi Xu let out a muffled groan, and Xie Huai immediately stopped, checking for injuries.
Only then did Qi Xu remember—Qi Guohui had punched him during their struggle. The down jacket had absorbed some of the blow, but he’d still taken the hit.
Qi Xu wasn’t sure whether Xie Huai had been listening to anything he said, but judging by the dark expression on his face—probably not.
Xie Huai scooped Qi Xu onto his lap, settling him sideways and lifted his shirt hem toward Qi Xu’s mouth. “Hold this with your teeth.”
Qi Xu clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Who are you trying to boss around?”
Xie Huai didn’t push him this time—wrong time, wrong place. He simply held the shirt up himself and lowered his head to inspect the bruised area.
The injury was still fresh, so there wasn’t much visible yet, but it would definitely need treatment once they got home.
Qi Xu snuggled back into Xie Huai’s chest for warmth. “Cold.”
Xie Huai let go of his shirt hem but didn’t withdraw his hand—he brought it up to Qi Xu’s chest instead.
He asked calmly, “So how do you want to deal with Qi Guohui?”
When his fingertips brushed over a sensitive spot, Qi Xu’s neck flushed, his body trembled involuntarily, and his breathing turned heavy.
“Get lost,” he snapped.
Unfazed, Xie Huai replied, “Sure. I’ll make him get lost.”
