Chapter 96

The elders chatting with Old Master Qin didn’t know Qi Xu, but seeing how enthusiastic the Qin family was towards this young man, they also took out red envelopes for him.

Before even leaving the main courtyard, Qi Xu’s pockets were already overflowing with red envelopes.

With Qi Xu’s arrival, the relatives knew that the Xie family and the Shen family were on good terms, and since the Shen family had gone through such a difficult time, it was understandable that they would look out for each other.

“The Shen family doesn’t know how lucky they are. This child is so well-behaved, yet they could be so heartless. Is their reputation more important than their own son, whom they carried for ten months?”

“That adopted son is a thankless wretch. How could he do such a heinous thing? Either he was spoiled, or the Shen family simply doesn’t know how to raise children.”

“The Shen family’s eldest son was raised quite well.”

“He was raised by the old Mr. Shen until he was in his teens. Don’t you know who the old Mr. Shen is?”

The news about Qi Guohui was brought up again and criticized. Everyone condemned him for being inhumane, capable of harming such a young child.

They had heard about the kidnapping, where the adopted son orchestrated the abduction of his biological son. The scene was dangerous, with an explosion occurring. Seeing Qi Xu’s harmless appearance today, they couldn’t help but feel pity and sympathy.

The elders all thought they would take care of Qi Xun during dinner, as guests should be seated with their collateral relatives.

When dinner time came and they saw Qi Xun being led to the head of the table at the Qin family’s banquet, they couldn’t hide their surprise.

No matter how unbreakable his friendship with Xie Huai was, the main table of the Qin family was not a seat one could simply take.

Upon closer inspection, the Qin family treated Qi Xun as if he were a younger generation of the Qin family, protecting and caring for him in every way.

Qin Yue poured wine for Qi Xun, but Xie Huai stopped him: “He doesn’t drink.”

Qin Yue brushed his hand away: “If you don’t drink, go sit at the children’s table. This is fine wine from my family.”

Qi Xu, in the grip of his drinking habit, took the wine from Qin Yue’s hand and poured it for him: “Let’s have a drink together, Uncle.”

Qin Yue laughed upon hearing this: “Alright, this wine won’t get you drunk at all.”

At the dinner table, Qi Xu became the one in charge of entertaining guests, while Xie Huai was responsible for serving him food and preventing him from drinking too much.

Qi Xu’s appearance not only made Qin Yue happy, but also the younger generation of the Qin family. Since their parting at Fanghua Garden during National Day, they had not seen this handsome older brother again.

During the meal, Qi Xu received several small gifts from the younger generation at his seat.

The scene was a bit chaotic, but after the children were called back by their parents, Qi Xu couldn’t help but laugh and cry when he saw the pearl necklace in his hand.

In the end, Xie Huai had the servants take everything back and return it to its rightful owners.

Everyone wanted to take Qi Xu home, and Xie Huai’s little thoughts slowly began to surface again.

He felt a momentary relief, but it was not enough. The thoughts in his private villa were like spring winds, blowing again and again.

There was no urging to drink at the Qin family banquet, but Qi Xu was someone who lacked self-control. Not long after Xie Huai left the table, he accidentally drank too much.

To avoid Xie Huai noticing when he returned, Qi Xu got up and went outside to clear his head.

There were people smoking outside the front yard of the Qin family’s house. In this life, Qi Xu had completely quit smoking. Earlier, Xie Huai had strictly monitored him, and the smell of smoke alone made him turn away. It was ingrained in his bones.

Led by the servant, Qi Xu walked to the entrance of the restroom and turned to thank them.

The main hall needed staff, so the servant quickly left to attend to other tasks.

As soon as Qi Xu entered the restroom, he heard a familiar voice.

Qin Jing, who had spoken to him gently at the banquet, was now talking to Xie Huai in a serious tone in the lounge.

Xie Huai didn’t think he had done anything wrong and replied calmly, “I’m a good citizen. I wouldn’t start a fight for no reason, and I didn’t cause any trouble. The person is still alive, isn’t he?”

His tone was flat, showing no sign of remorse.

Qin Jing was furious. He had never thought his proud nephew deserved a beating: “The man is still alive, but Qi Guohui was sent to the police with only half his life left, his body covered in blood and flesh. You say you wouldn’t act without cause, so why did you attack him? If he committed a crime, the law will judge him. You should never have laid a hand on him.”

Qi Xu didn’t want to eavesdrop, but when he heard Qi Guohui’s name, he stopped in his tracks.

He had once asked Xie Huai if he had done anything to Qi Guohui, but the other party refused to talk about it. He couldn’t pry anything out of Xie Huai’s men; they were all loyal to the core.

Xie Huai’s light, calm voice reached Qi Xu’s ears.

“I’m just giving him a taste of his own medicine. The injuries on his body are the retribution he deserved 18 years ago. Uncle, you should be grateful that you taught me by example and made me study the law thoroughly, so I didn’t do anything more extreme and handed him over to the law.”

Qin Jing: “…”

He should be grateful that he realized at this moment that his nephew was a potential criminal and could still be saved before the situation became irreparable.

However, he wasn’t an overly critical elder. He tried to analyze his nephew’s words: “Eighteen years? What did Qi Guohui do to Qi Xu?”

Xie Huai remained silent for two seconds, calming the pain in his heart before saying, “The injuries on his body are the injuries Qi Xu has suffered over the past 18 years. I just returned them all to him at once.”

Qin Jing couldn’t help but be taken aback by this statement. He had also visited Qi Guohui before, confirming that his life was not in danger, and had seen the injuries on his body.

His arms were burned beyond recognition by cigarette butts, his back was covered in bruises from beatings, and there were countless marks from punches and kicks. He had even been locked in a confined space without food or water, and whether from threats or self-induced fear, his mental state had deteriorated.

These injuries were inflicted on Qi Xù by Qi Guohui, and the abuse had continued for over a decade.

Qin Jing felt conflicted. He wasn’t an emotional person, but no one could remain indifferent to such a story.

“Did you do it yourself, or did your men do it?”

Xie Huai said, “I wouldn’t use others’ hands for this.”

Qin Jing: “…”

He said sarcastically, “You’re quite capable, handing over the evidence yourself.”

It wasn’t really evidence; Qi Guohui’s conviction was a foregone conclusion, and his mental issues wouldn’t spare him from responsibility.

However, the one with the mental issues was someone else.

Qin Jing sighed, about to say something, when he heard a sound outside the door.

“Mr. Qi, your hot tea.”

Qi Xu knew he had nowhere to hide, so he walked in from the door and appeared before the two of them: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation.”

Qin Jing had someone come in to pour the tea, then told him to close the door and leave.

He assumed Qi Xu knew about Xie Huai’s actions and said, “Xiao Xu, your temperament is more steady than his. In the future, try to劝 him a bit and don’t act impulsively.”

Qi Xu’s appearance was deceptive. If one didn’t know him well, they might think he was a more steady person, but in reality, he was someone who acted impulsively.

“Uncle, don’t worry, I’ll talk to him more often.”

Qin Jing felt moved and wanted to sit down and talk to these two younger people for a while, but then he heard his nephew say, “Uncle, Auntie is calling you.”

Qin Jing chuckled, “Do you have ears on the back of your head? I didn’t hear anything.”

Xie Huai said calmly, “It’s eight o’clock. Grandfather goes to bed early. As the eldest son of the family, you need to go to the main hall to take charge.”

Qin Jing’s eyes betrayed his shock. How had it come to this?

He was over forty, and it was rare for him to feel curious. He asked, “Can I watch?”

Xie Huai looked at him speechlessly.

In the end, Qin Jing didn’t stay to watch, sparing his nephew some face.

After Qin Jing left, Xie Huai pulled Qi Xu’s hand and sat down on the chair, with Qi Xu sitting on his lap.

Before Qi Xu could speak, Xie Huai leaned in and smelled the alcohol on his breath, beginning to reprimand him, “Are you drunk? How much did you drink after I left?”

Qi Xu laughed. Compared to what this man had been hiding, how much he had drunk was insignificant.

“Is that your attitude toward kneeling on the washboard?”

Xie Huai lowered his eyes, appearing submissive: “Kneel on the bed.”

Qi Xu called his name: “Xie Huai, don’t turn everything into a bedtime conversation. I’m talking to you about what you’ve been hiding from me. Do you remember the scars on my body clearly?”

Before they had actually become intimate, Xie Huai had always liked to touch him, always liked to kiss the scars on his body. Even before he had tasted him, every part of his body was already etched into his heart.

Qi Xu had originally thought that Xie Huai was just being considerate, much like how he had been considerate when Xie Huai spent four years completing this bet.

But the wounds on his body were already in the past. Having personally sent Qi Guohui to prison in his previous life, he had completely let go.

Now, every scar on his body, every scratch, even the internal injuries from being kicked, were meticulously replicated by Xie Huai on Qi Guohui’s body.

When he heard of Xie Huai’s actions, he clearly realized that Xie Huai had not let go.

Xie Huai seemed to release all his strength, burying his face in Qi Xù’s neck and shoulders, and spoke slowly, “I will never forget the injuries you suffered, even until my death.”

He remembered the first time he saw the cigarette burn on the inner side of Qi Xu’s wrist, the terrifying scars on his bare back in the swimming pool—those heart-wrenching moments could never bring back the uninjured Qi Xu.

When Qi Guohui confessed the truth about the child swap, it was his turn to seek the truth from the past.

Xie Huai forced him to recall how each scar on Qi Xu’s body had come to be. Many of them Qi Guohui had no memory of, so Xie Huai helped him recover those memories.

Xie Huai felt it was far from enough. A moment’s hesitation nearly cost Qi Guohui his life before he could be handed over to the police.

It was a message from Qi Xu that made him return early—she missed him.

Qi Xu grabbed Xie Huai’s hair and pulled him away: “Hui Ge, there won’t be a next time. To me, you are the most important. I don’t care about others. Even though I didn’t have it easy 18 years ago, life has many more 18-year cycles. With you in each one, the first 18 years no longer matter.”

“There won’t be a next time, and no one will hurt you again.” Xie Huai rubbed Qi Xuxu’s nose in a conciliatory gesture, “Do I still have to kneel on the washboard?”

Qi Xu said, “You have to kneel, on the bed.”

If you don’t kneel, you won’t learn your lesson, but of course, kneeling doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll learn your lesson.

Xie Huai smiled softly, “Stay the night? There doesn’t seem to be a washboard at home.”

Qi Xu asked, “Is there one here?”

Xie Huai whispered, “It’s an old item from my grandfather. It’s been so long, I don’t know if it can withstand my weight.”

Qi Xu rolled his eyes at him, “Don’t bother with old items. Kneel on the keyboard instead.”

Xie Huai and Qi Xu came out of the lounge. The family banquet had already dispersed, leaving only a few people chatting.

Qin Yue, drunk, blurted out upon seeing Xie Huai, “Nephew, do you need me to provide a washboard?”

The loud voice caused the two elderly members of the Qin family, who were about to leave, to stop, and everyone turned to look at the parties involved.

Now the entire Qin family knew that Xie Huai would have to kneel on the washboard tonight.