Chapter 50: Brother, Why Are You Here?
Chi Wang chattered on, “If the baby is small, doesn’t that mean they’re losing at the starting line?”
“…” Xie Sichen said softly, “There are many cases where pregnant people don’t show much, not just you. The babies born are no different.”
Chi Wang was skeptical. “Really?”
Xie Sichen gently replied, “Yes, the baby is very considerate and doesn’t want to trouble you.”
Hearing this, Chi Wang fell silent.
Once you attribute human qualities and feelings to something, it changes things—especially when it’s about the baby in his belly.
With Xie Sichen’s words, Chi Wang couldn’t help but agree. The baby indeed hadn’t caused him much trouble. His pregnancy symptoms weren’t severe, and his leg cramps had lessened significantly, almost disappearing now.
Thinking back, during the early stages of his pregnancy, he hadn’t held back on physical activities—running, pull-ups, lever push-ups—he did it all. It was only later that he felt slight pains as a warning.
Chi Wang couldn’t help but feel more affection. He gently placed his hand over his belly through his clothes.
But soon, he noticed Xie Sichen’s gaze. He quickly pulled up the blanket, wrapping himself entirely, then lay down, exposing only half of his face. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Xie Sichen, speaking quickly and softly, “Turn off the lights; let’s sleep.”
Xie Sichen was silent. He reached out to turn off the light and lay down as well.
Except for the first time they had hugged in bed, they usually kept their distance when sleeping together. Recently, Chi Wang had become more conscious of his belly and moved even farther away from Xie Sichen.
Between them, there was a two-hand-width gap, and Chi Wang slept with his back to him.
Chi Wang fell asleep quickly. His breathing was steady, and unconsciously, his sleeping posture changed to lying on his back, reducing the distance between them.
Xie Sichen reached out and turned on the nightlight, sat up slightly, and looked down at Chi Wang’s face.
In the dim light, Chi Wang’s features were soft. Xie Sichen reached out to brush away the stray hair on his forehead, revealing his full forehead.
He gently pulled the blanket down a bit to expose Chi Wang’s nose and mouth, then tucked him in carefully. After doing all this, he looked down at Chi Wang’s belly.
Under the thin blanket, the curve of his belly wasn’t very noticeable. Xie Sichen slowly extended his hand, wanting to touch Chi Wang’s abdomen. But just as his fingertips were about to make contact, he hesitated.
He slowly withdrew his hand, turned off the nightlight, and lay back down.
“Good night,” Xie Sichen said softly, his voice cool.
Silence filled the room.
*
January was coming to an end. H University’s Academic Affairs Office issued a notice: winter break would start on January 26th and last until February 26th.
With only a week left before final exams, Chi Wang focused entirely on studying.
Xie Sichen didn’t disturb him, allowing Chi Wang to study in the spacious living room.
While Xie didn’t bother him, Xiao Fu was persistently interrupting, his clinginess seemingly endless. Chi Wang asked him, [Brother, don’t you have your own things to do?]
Xiao Fu replied, [I do. I have to go to work.]
Chi Wang said, [Then why are you so free?]
Hearing this, Xiao Fu felt a bit dejected and asked, [Am I bothering you?]
Chi Wang hesitated. [I didn’t say that directly.]
Xiao Fu pressed, [So you’re implying it?]
Chi Wang sent a patting head emoji. [Be good, brother. I need to study during this time and don’t have time to hang out. Please don’t contact me for now.]
Xiao Fu said, [Then I’ll find you after your exams.]
Chi Wang agreed, [Okay. Blushing face emoji.]
Finally getting Xiao Fu off his back, Chi Wang sighed in relief. Whenever Xiao Fu messaged him, it was dozens of texts at a time, including voice messages that exceeded WeChat’s limits. Converting the voice messages to text was exhausting.
Even though they were brothers, too much clinginess was burdensome. His personal principles wouldn’t allow him to ignore messages; he felt compelled to respond to each one, which wasted a lot of his time.
Xiao Fu hadn’t given up persuading him to spend the winter break together, occasionally slipping in some words to encourage him.
Chi Wang let it go in one ear and out the other.
However, he forgot that Xiao Fu didn’t play by the rules. Perhaps driven by intuition, Xiao Fu, with nothing better to do, drove to the gate of H University.
Since Chi Wang found him annoying and a distraction from studying, Xiao Fu decided to secretly check on him.
To keep a low profile, he drove an ordinary Mercedes, windows tightly closed, waiting in the car for Chi Wang to appear.
Up to now, he didn’t know where Chi Wang lived, which made Xiao Fu uncomfortable. After all this time, Chi Wang hadn’t invited him to see his place.
Xiao Fu didn’t think about whether Chi Wang was sharing an apartment with someone else. His sharp eyes could tell if a guy was promiscuous—a man who had lost his innocence often had a certain look, a kind of worldly gaze. To put it bluntly, a hint of lewdness. No matter how handsome, once a guy lost his innocence, his eyes were different.
Due to his family background, Xiao Fu disliked promiscuous men. He looked down on those who messed around and often went out of his way to teach them a lesson or embarrass them.
But Chi Wang seemed clean and pure, as clear as a mountain stream, as pristine as fresh snow. Inside and out, he exuded an innocent purity.
Xiao Fu even had a hunch that Chi Wang might never have been in a relationship or even liked a girl.
With such an obedient and adorable younger brother, Xiao Fu wanted to keep him close, fearing someone might deceive him.
He chewed on an unlit cigarette, and soon, he spotted Chi Wang walking leisurely toward the campus gate.
Xiao Fu perked up, casually taking photos of Chi Wang with his phone, capturing his photogenic moments.
His photo album already had quite a few pictures of Chi Wang from the four days they spent together.
Chi Wang didn’t notice Xiao Fu. There were many cars parked at the campus gate, including luxury cars. Xiao Fu’s car blended in, and Chi Wang didn’t pay attention.
He walked slowly—no choice, the winter cold had left a thin layer of frost on the ground, making it slippery. He was prone to falling, and while it didn’t bother him before, he had to be careful now.
His phone rang in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw a message from Xie Sichen: [You forgot your water bottle.]
Chi Wang checked his bag and realized he had indeed forgotten it. He typed back: [Can you bring it to me? I’m at the Bowen Bookstore, not at school yet.]
Xie replied, [Okay.]
Putting away his phone, Chi Wang walked to the bookstore entrance and saw the owner moving books. He went over to help.
The owner smiled warmly, “Thank you, young man.”
Chi Wang smiled back, “No problem.”
He helped move books twice and was about to make a third trip when he slipped and fell forward.
He quickly grabbed the door frame to steady himself but ended up bumping one knee on the ground.
It didn’t hurt much, but the loud “thud” suggested a bruise.
The owner was startled and quickly brought over a stool for him to sit on. “Young man, you sure are prone to falling.”
Chi Wang was puzzled. “How did you know?”
The owner chuckled helplessly, “You’re a student at H University, right? And you look so handsome—you walk this path every day. How could I not notice?”
Chi Wang realized that the bus stop was nearby, and he did often pass by this street.
The owner handed him a warm towel. “Here, use this to compress your knee.”
Chi Wang didn’t refuse the kind offer. He rolled up his pant leg to his knee, and sure enough, there was a bruise.
He accepted the warm towel and pressed it against his knee.
He got injured so frequently that he usually didn’t bother treating it, but since the owner was concerned, he graciously accepted.
From his car, Xiao Fu witnessed Chi Wang’s fall. He was about to get out when he caught a glimpse of a familiar person—Xie Sichen.
Xiao Fu withdrew his hand from the car door. He didn’t get along with Xie and knew he couldn’t hide his unpleasant demeanor around him. He didn’t want Chi Wang to see that side of him, so he decided to avoid confrontation.
Besides, he had agreed to wait until Chi Wang finished his exams, yet here he was, secretly watching. If Chi Wang found out, it wouldn’t leave a good impression.
Xiao Fu decided to be patient and wait for Xie to leave. But to his surprise, Xie walked up to the bookstore entrance, approached Chi Wang… and squatted down, holding Chi Wang’s calf…??
Xiao Fu: “…”
Wait, what is he doing?
Xiao Fu grabbed the car door handle again, swung it open, and got out.
Meanwhile, Xie held Chi Wang’s ankle. “You fell again?”
Chi Wang nodded. “I’ll just apply a compress myself; you don’t have to.”
Xie placed the water bottle in his arms. “Let me help.”
Chi Wang had no choice but to hold the bottle and watch as Xie gently massaged the bruise on his knee with the warm towel. “Do you often fall when you’re out?” Xie asked, looking up at him as he worked.
Xie had beautiful eyes—slightly upturned at the corners, with long, slender lines. There was a cold elegance about them. Normally, his gaze was emotionless, but when feelings stirred, his eyes became particularly deep.
Meeting his gaze, Chi Wang felt a sudden warmth at his back. He glanced upward, looking at the ceiling. “It’s just luck—or lack of it. I tend to be clumsy.”
Xie, holding his warm calf, frowned slightly. “Your pants are too thin. You should wear long johns.”
Chi Wang said, “At our age, who wears long johns?”
He was wearing thick, black woolen pants—loose and warm, more than sufficient for winter.
Xie didn’t argue further. He didn’t wear long johns either; his physique wasn’t particularly sensitive to cold.
After massaging until the bruise faded a bit, Xie pulled down Chi Wang’s pant leg. “Alright, let’s head to school.”
Chi Wang stood up, returned the now-cool towel to the owner, and thanked him.
Just then, a familiar voice sounded in his ear, “Chi Wang.”
Chi Wang’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to see Xiao Fu.
Chi Wang: “…”
Oh no!
His pupils dilated slightly, and he almost stuttered, “Brother… why are you here?”
Xiao Fu had witnessed the scene. Though he was still smiling, it didn’t reach his eyes. “Who’s this? I don’t think we’ve met.”
As he spoke, he looked directly at Xie.
Chi Wang thought: Could you be any more obvious, brother?
He calmly said, “He’s my senior.” Then he turned to Xie. “This is my brother.”
Xie met Xiao Fu’s gaze coolly, saying nothing.
Xiao Fu echoed the word “senior,” chewing on it. “You two seem close?”
Chi Wang wasn’t used to lying, and choosing sides would upset someone. He felt conflicted and didn’t answer Xiao Fu immediately.
His hesitation made it clear that he and Xie were indeed close.
Xiao Fu’s anger flared up. He grabbed Chi Wang’s wrist and pulled him behind him, adopting a protective stance as he said to Xie, “He’s my biological brother. You’d better stay away from him.”
Chi Wang felt his scalp tingle with embarrassment. “Brother, why are you here?”
Without turning his head, Xiao Fu replied, “I was just passing by.”
Passing by? Who would believe that!
