Chapter 119 (Extra)
Summer, Chi Wang was about to start ninth grade.
He had attended Qingteng Middle School just like many of his elementary classmates who’d moved up with him. It felt pretty nice seeing all those familiar faces on both sides. On the other hand, for kids who’d started “puppy love” back in primary school, having everyone continue on at the same school could be awkward.
Qingteng did have a high school division, but it was so far from the middle school division that they didn’t even share a campus.
As for skipping grades, people had tried to talk Chi Wang out of it. After all, hardly anyone did so, and no one around him had ever skipped. Everyone’s studies were a bit laid-back, with a sense of fun in learning—lighthearted studies, lighthearted play.
Take Xiao Fu and Xie Siheng, for instance: they both started school rather late. Xiao Fu was reluctant to go to school at first, which was all about his dad Xiao Wenzhou. He used to be so resistant that he hung around at home causing chaos. If Xiao Wenzhou brought a male lover over, Xiao Fu would come at them with a boiling kettle. He’d spent a while battling wits with his dad until Xiao Wenzhou ran off to H City to start a company. Only then did Xiao Fu quietly enroll in school—thus finding new people to torment.
Meanwhile, Xie Siheng’s late enrollment was purely because he was busy studying other things at home and missed the usual window for starting school. But neither Chu Qing nor her husband minded when Xie Siheng started first grade, and he himself didn’t care either. In fact, had he wanted to, he could’ve skipped grades easily, but he never bothered. He actually enjoyed the standard pace of school.
By contrast, Chi Wang stuck out. If there hadn’t been strict rules about skipping, he would have liked to jump even further ahead.
Back then, Chi Runyu had asked him, “Why do you want to skip grades so badly?”
Chi Wang hesitated, then finally answered, “Because if I finish school sooner, I can start working sooner.”
And that made perfect sense to Chi Runyu. Even though Chi Wang was now willing to call him “Dad,” he obviously still carried a sense of insecurity.
Originally, Chi Runyu’s company needed to expand, so relocating abroad had seemed ideal. But with family attachments now in the picture, he no longer wanted to leave the country. Instead of worrying too much about it, a few years before he’d made a decisive move: selling off his company, staying in China, and starting over. It turned out to be the right choice. Not long after he sold his company, Yang Qingdai accepted his marriage proposal, and they registered their marriage. Now they were officially husband and wife.
On the day they got the marriage certificate, Chi Wang called him “Dad” for the first time.
Though re-entering a whole new field would be challenging, having a family was what he’d always wanted. Career came second.
Chi Runyu hadn’t pressed Chi Wang any further. He’d wanted to say there was no need for Chi Wang to worry, that he wasn’t going to divorce Yang Qingdai. But he understood that, after the trauma of Chi Wang’s birth parents, the boy carried a shadow and didn’t want to depend on anyone too much. All he could do was respect every wish and decision Chi Wang made.
So that’s how Chi Wang successfully skipped grades.
He was indeed smart. Whether in core subjects or electives, he excelled and even represented the school in a few competitions—winning outstanding results. He hadn’t planned to enter contests, but he saw how often Xie Siheng competed. Following that role model, Chi Wang signed up for a few contests himself and came away feeling he’d picked a pretty solid example to emulate.
It’s not as though Chi Wang’s growth was entirely wild and unstructured. From a young age, he’d sometimes snuck off to a neighbor’s house to watch TV. He once saw a program that left a deep impression: it said that if you want to become a really good, outstanding person, you should find a role model and learn the best from them. Eventually, you’d become quite impressive yourself.
As a kid, he might not have fully understood the definitions of “good” or “bad,” but he did grasp praise. And studying is a child’s natural strength. When he was little, the first “role model” he chose was the neighbor’s big brother, because that boy always got top grades. His family would brag to everyone about how smart and diligent he was. As a result, Chi Wang developed a strong fixation on studying and on having good marks.
He also saw other kids getting scolded if they showed up filthy, so he realized he had to keep himself clean. He easily got the hang of “learning by example.” That was how he became such a “good child,” liked by so many.
And these days, Xie Siheng was his role model—he was currently the most outstanding person Chi Wang could regularly observe. So Chi Wang was constantly, if subtly, learning from him.
Even so, Chi Wang himself didn’t know whether their relationship was good or not. If you called it “good,” well, Xie Siheng rarely talked to him voluntarily and always wore a chilly expression. But if you called it “bad,” Xie Siheng would still respond to him every time, would peel tangerines for him, and even let him into his room. Given how obsessive Xie Siheng was about cleanliness—sometimes changing outfits three times a day and never wearing the same item twice; never letting even the housekeepers into his room—yet Chi Wang was allowed inside! And he got to eat the tangerines Xie Siheng peeled!
That had to count as some kind of special treatment, right? Even their friend Zuo Qianxing didn’t get that privilege.
Chi Wang felt a bit mischievous, or maybe he just liked seeing Xie Siheng break his cool. If only he would show some other expression…
The second time he entered Xie Siheng’s room, he tentatively asked, “Brother Siheng, can I sit on your bed?”
Xie Siheng replied, “No.”
Chi Wang said, “Oh.”
Then he wondered aloud, “So if I hadn’t asked, would I have been allowed to sit?”
…like the kind of rule: “If you ask for permission, the answer’s no. But if you just do it quietly, you get away with it,” or something.
Xie Siheng just said, “If you’re that bored, go out.”
Yet ironically, whenever Chi Wang dozed off at Xie Siheng’s desk waiting for a teacher, he’d later awaken to find himself on Xie Siheng’s bed—with his navel covered snugly by a light blanket. After that, he realized he didn’t need to test the waters anymore; he’d caught glimpses of Xie Siheng’s boundaries. It seemed that, when it came to him, Xie Siheng didn’t have any boundaries. (lol)
Chi Wang only came to Xie Siheng’s house at Chu Qing’s invitation for “free lessons.” Xie Siheng had a Muay Thai coach come to the house three times a week, an excellent teacher. So Chi Wang figured if he could tag along and learn for free, why not?
But it was impossible to hide that info, so naturally Xiao Fu found out too, which meant he also tagged along for lessons. Thus, Xiao Fu and Xie Siheng ended up as “fellow disciples” again.
Xiao Fu still had a terrible relationship with Xie Siheng, and that wasn’t something Chi Wang could fix. He accepted it, figuring he wasn’t powerful enough to reconcile everyone. At best, he could serve as a bit of a buffer; at least when the three of them ended up in one place, Xiao Fu wouldn’t pick a fight with Xie Siheng. Just that much was already a small miracle.
Xiao Fu had tried pushing negative ideas about Xie Siheng into Chi Wang’s ear, but Chi Wang’s initial impressions ran too deep—he was already biased in favor of Xie Siheng. Still, to avoid hurting his older brother’s feelings, he kept a little distance from Xie Siheng in front of Xiao Fu. Overall, their relationship was fairly normal at first.
But Chu Qing was genuinely kind to Chi Wang, which inevitably brought him closer to Xie Siheng. That was beyond his control, or so he told himself with a guilty conscience.
Right now, he overheard that Xie Siheng sounded impatient with him, but it didn’t scare him. He plopped himself down on a chair and began flipping through Xie Siheng’s books. Xie Siheng’s bedroom connected to a study, making it easy to move between the two. The bookshelf was filled with all sorts of volumes—Chi Wang even spotted books on religion.
Sometimes Chi Wang suspected Xie Siheng didn’t actually read them, but whenever he flipped through a random volume, sure enough, he’d find the margins full of Xie Siheng’s own notes. So not only did he read them, he wrote down his thoughts. That only made Chi Wang admire him more. So he too secretly bought loads of extracurricular books to read—hoping to expand his knowledge. Even if he wouldn’t be an all-knowing genius, at least he’d be able to converse with some substance, referencing works and quoting authors.
He felt he could always learn a lot from Xie Siheng. And indeed, he’d grown into a pretty good person, and he liked the version of himself that turned out this way. It was something for him to be proud of.
Before long, the teacher arrived, so they both left the bedroom and headed to the training area.
It was supposed to be a one-on-one lesson, but now that Chi Wang had joined, people expected it to slow the progress. Instead, it turned out he learned quickly, moving fast with excellent instincts. He obviously had a gift for it.
That surprised Xie Siheng. He’d personally witnessed Chi Wang trip over his own toes many times. On one occasion, Chi Wang had stumbled but managed a somersault-like move to break his fall, making it look less embarrassing. Still, he was accident-prone—Xie Siheng had assumed he was uncoordinated.
But obviously that wasn’t the case. He’d gathered that Chi Wang had incredible athleticism: in school track meets, he could take first place in the 800 meters, excel at soccer, and do even better at basketball. It seemed no sport could stump him—except normal walking, which took him down every time.
Chi Wang himself was unaware that Xie Siheng had quietly observed him in such detail. He still tried to keep up an image around Xie Siheng, because tripping all the time made him look dumb, and he definitely wasn’t dumb.
As for the frequent tripping, he couldn’t help it. He also bruised easily, not always sure how his arms and legs kept getting banged up. Once, Chi Runyu had taken him to a hospital to check, but nothing abnormal showed up. When he was little, his knees were constantly scraped bloody, but he’d improved since then. If he did trip, he might do a cartwheel or backbend to play it off. If you can’t avoid it, might as well turn it into something funny. Lately, he’d even considered learning street dance—so if he stumbled, he could style it out with a quick dance move. It’d probably look hilarious, and bringing laughter to others was its own kind of joy.
After class, Chi Wang went to shower. Since he came here regularly, he kept a few changes of clothes on hand. Once he’d rinsed off and changed, he got a message from Chu Qing—perfect timing—inviting him for snacks.
Chi Wang went obediently. The moment she saw him, she broke into a smile. “Wangwang, come on, have a seat here.”
Chi Wang asked, “Where’s Brother Siheng?”
Chu Qing said, “Not sure.”
Chi Wang offered, “I’ll go call him!”
Before she could stop him, he darted off in a flash, heading to Xie Siheng’s bedroom. He was allowed in there, so he knocked three times. Hearing no response, he pushed the door open. “Brother Siheng?”
Still no reply. Then he heard running water. He realized Xie Siheng was still showering.
His gaze fell on the neatly folded outfit on the bed—new clothes. Chi Wang picked it up, knocked on the bathroom door, and called out, “Brother, you forgot your clothes out here.”
The water shut off. After a moment, Xie Siheng opened the door partway, revealing half his body. Upon seeing him, Chi Wang couldn’t help going, “Wow! Brother, you’ve got abs?”
Xie Siheng spoke in a cold tone. “Doesn’t your brother have them too?”
Chi Wang snickered. “Why are you always comparing yourself to him?”
Xiao Fu had always had a big build—even back in junior high—whereas Xie Siheng had once been a slender teen, tall yet graceful. Over time, his sizable bone structure became more apparent, and by seventeen he was broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, nearly 1.9 meters tall, fully adult in build.
Chi Wang had also shot up after receiving proper nutrition. At eight years old, he’d been only 130 cm, but now was over 170 cm. Reaching 180 seemed inevitable, given that Chi Runyu was close to 1.85 and Yang Qingdai was 1.70. No way he’d stay short.
But Chi Wang still felt 1.80 was plenty tall, whereas guys like Xiao Fu were borderline intimidating.
Face impassive, Xie Siheng took the clothes from him. Chi Wang’s gaze slid lower, noticing that Xie Siheng was wrapped in a towel from the waist down. Even so, the sight of his toned figure was striking—cool white skin reminiscent of polished jade. Chi Wang couldn’t resist reaching out to touch. Indeed, his brother’s skin was cold. “Hey, are you using cold water?”
Xie Siheng: “….”
He glanced down at Chi Wang’s “grubby paw,” which was not only touching him but giving his arm muscle a light squeeze, then meandering downward to poke at his abs.
Without replying, Xie Siheng shut the bathroom door with a bang.
Chi Wang scratched his head and absently patted his own stomach. He had abs too, from all his exercise, but they were only lightly defined—not a sculpted, continuous line like Xie Siheng’s.
Soon, Xie Siheng emerged fully dressed, every inch covered despite the summer heat.
Chi Wang asked seriously, “Don’t you feel hot?”
Xie Siheng gave him a look that seemed to say figure it out, then turned away.
Chi Wang smiled. “You’re so uptight—kind of like those people who marry young and have kids early.”
Xie Siheng: “…”
He frowned, his dark eyes flashing coldly.
Chi Wang, faced with that glare, felt a twinge in his back but couldn’t resist teasing. “Why are you looking at me like that? There’s a saying that if you’re too strict on the surface, you might be secretly perverted. You totally watch porn, don’t you?”
Xie Siheng: “…”
He walked away without a word, heading to the study.
Chi Wang trotted after him. “Got any good stuff, brother?”
Stopping in his tracks, Xie Siheng turned. “You’re how old, exactly? And you’re already thinking of that?”
Chi Wang noticed his face darkening. Immediately, he mock-kneeled. “I haven’t watched any. I was just joking.”
Xie Siheng looked down at him. His expression remained frosty, but he could see the sincerity in Chi Wang’s big, clear eyes. Chi Wang truly wasn’t lying—he was a kid with principles.
His tone softened slightly. “Don’t go looking at that.”
Chi Wang nodded. “I won’t. Relax—I won’t watch.”
After a moment, he added with a smile, “I was just testing you earlier.”
Xie Siheng said, “Don’t pick up these random habits from Zuo Qianxing.”
Chi Wang burst out laughing.
Watching him laugh, Xie Siheng’s gaze darkened. When Chi Wang smiled, it lit up his features—he had a naturally lovely face, and once he grinned, it was like a blooming flower in the sunlight. The warmth was almost contagious. Whenever he laughed, Xie Siheng would watch him for a long time.
Chi Wang prompted, “Brother, let’s go downstairs. Auntie’s waiting for us.”
Looking detached, Xie Siheng replied, “Mm.”
He was briefly lost in thought. A few years back, Chi Wang had stopped calling him “Brother” (in the old sense of gege). Sometimes he’d say “Brother Siheng,” or just “Brother,” but not in the same cutesy, childlike way he once did. He still called Xiao Fu “ge.”
Gathering himself, Xie Siheng’s expression became even colder.
Chi Wang didn’t notice. They headed downstairs, where Chu Qing and Xie Yunting were chatting. They happened to be discussing Chi Wang: “If only Wangwang were a girl, he could marry into our family!”
Xie Yunting said, “That’s not appropriate to say.”
Spotting Chi Wang, Chu Qing waved him over. “Wangwang, come here. If you were a girl, would you want to marry your Brother Siheng?”
Xie Siheng: “…”
He frowned, displeased. “Mom…”
Before he could say more, Chi Wang answered naturally, “Of course! Brother’s so amazing—who wouldn’t want to marry him?”
Chu Qing beamed: “See, I told you!”
She sighed dramatically. “If you were a daughter, I could be your mother-in-law. A mother-in-law is still family, right?”
In an icy tone, Xie Siheng said, “Don’t make those assumptions.”
He despised it when Chu Qing let her imagination run wild about marriage. They were all minors, after all—joking about engagements was hardly funny, in his opinion.
Chi Wang, though, was in total harmony with Chu Qing, so he played along easily. “We shouldn’t be too strict about gender, right? Even if I’m not a girl, I can still be your daughter-in-law.”
Chu Qing: “Huh??”
Chi Wang said, “They call that ‘gay,’ right? Meaning a man can like a man.”
Chu Qing: “…”
She and Xie Yunting both turned to look at Xie Siheng.
Xie Siheng: “…” I’m not, okay? I’m not!
