Chapter 44
Qi Wang strode over quickly and crouched beside Lin Huaixi, his brows tightly furrowed as he looked at the leg wrapped in plaster.
Lin Huaixi couldn’t bear to see him this upset, so he smiled, two dimples appearing, and deliberately joked, “It doesn’t really hurt that much. I read a romance novel my deskmate was reading before, and the main character also had a disabled leg. I heard this kind of thing is trendy lately, so I guess I’ve become fashionable too!”
The moment the word disabled came out of Lin Huaixi’s mouth, Qi Wang frowned, and Sun Baiyi nearly exploded.
“Don’t say unlucky things like that! You only sprained your ankle. How could that possibly count as a disability!”
Lin Huaixi pressed his lips together and said softly, “Don’t get hung up on that little detail…”
Lin Huaixi seemed to be in great spirits, just like usual, but Qi Wang didn’t feel even a trace of relief. His chest kept tightening painfully. He wanted to touch him, yet was afraid of hurting him, so in the end he could only cautiously pull his hand back.
“I’m really fine!” Lin Huaixi knew Qi Wang too well and was afraid he would blame himself, so he comforted him gently.
Qi Wang stared at him deeply and said nothing. Instead, he turned to Sun Baiyi. “I’m sorry.”
Sun Baiyi snapped back at him, “What does this have to do with you! I got hurt because I was protecting Xixi. I did it willingly. I’m especially happy about it. This arm is my medal of honor. Don’t stand there saying weird things like you and Xixi are so close, like he belongs to you or something!”
Sun Baiyi dared to say absolutely anything. Lin Huaixi’s face immediately heated up, and he hurried to stop him. “You’re being way too dramatic.”
“Not dramatic at all.” The instant Sun Baiyi turned to look at Lin Huaixi, his expression changed completely. His eyes sparkled as he rubbed his fluffy dog head against him.
Lin Huaixi nearly broke out in goosebumps all over and looked at Sun Baiyi miserably. “Wait until your arm doesn’t hurt anymore before you start saying things like that.”
Sun Baiyi gave a silly grin, then caught sight of Qi Wang’s expression from the corner of his eye.
Hah, so Qi Wang really can put on an act. Just look at that face of his—like he’s in so much pain he can barely breathe!
Sun Baiyi found him annoying to look at, and just as he was about to mock him further, something flashed through his mind and he suddenly realized something. “Wait… Xixi getting hurt—was that because of you?!”
Lin Huaixi had been stuck between the two of them all along, originally still wanting to soften their relationship a little. Hearing this, he shot his head up and looked at Sun Baiyi in shock.
That reaction already said everything. Remembering how pitiful Lin Huaixi had looked when he fell from upstairs, Sun Baiyi’s anger surged and he exploded on the spot. “Do you even know how important a person’s legs are? Xixi won’t be able to move properly for the next three months! If you’re really a man, then clean up your own mess instead of dragging us down with you!”
Seeing Sun Baiyi on the verge of starting a fight in the hospital, Lin Huaixi’s pupils shrank. In a panic, he stood up to stop them, forgetting that his leg was still wrapped up. A sharp burst of pain hit him at once, and he couldn’t even make a sound before collapsing back into the chair.
Sun Baiyi noticed the movement immediately and forgot all about Qi Wang. He hurried over and steadied Lin Huaixi’s shoulder with his right hand. “Xixi, are you okay?”
After catching his breath, Lin Huaixi gave a pale smile. “I’m fine.”
Afraid of making him upset again, Sun Baiyi stopped targeting Qi Wang, though he still glared at him viciously.
Watching the two of them, who had been fighting ever since childhood, Lin Huaixi let out a sigh inside his heart.
“Sun Baiyi.” Lin Huaixi turned and looked at him seriously.
Sun Baiyi knew he had acted too impulsively. He pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes, not daring to meet Lin Huaixi’s gaze.
“Your arm is still injured. The doctor told you to rest properly. Compared to me, your injury affects your daily life and schoolwork more. So just bear with it for now—don’t go running and jumping around anymore. Once you recover, I’ll play basketball with you.”
Sun Baiyi’s lashes trembled once. He widened his eyes and looked at Lin Huaixi. “You’re worried about me? You’re not just trying to protect Qi Wang?!”
Lin Huaixi smiled a little. “You’re the injured one, and you got hurt because you saved me. Right now, you come first. And as for Qi Wang, he…”
From Lin Huaixi’s unfinished words, Sun Baiyi picked up on something different.
Qi Wang’s thoughts were always so deep. Now that Xixi had been hurt because of him, he must feel guilty to death. If Sun Baiyi started a fight with Qi Wang right now, that guilt might actually lessen a little—and how could he allow that?!
Sun Baiyi’s brain suddenly came online. At the last second, he changed tactics and transformed into Lin Daiyu [1], acting frail and pitiful instead. “Xixi, I got too agitated just now and accidentally pulled on my arm again. It hurts so much.”
Lin Huaixi immediately tensed up, leaning toward him with concern. “What kind of hurt? Did the wound split open again?”
This was Sun Baiyi’s first time pretending to be pitiful, yet he somehow picked it up with incredible ease and even grasped the essence of it. He glanced at Qi Wang and then put on a brave expression. “It’s okay. I can endure it.”
Hearing that, Lin Huaixi frowned even harder. “You absolutely can’t be careless about something like that. If it hurts, go see the doctor. Don’t force yourself to endure it.”
Sun Baiyi had now tasted the benefits of playing weak and pitiful and was thoroughly enjoying it. “Then if my arm hurts in the future, Xixi, will you come to the hospital with me?”
Lin Huaixi was deeply grateful that Sun Baiyi had saved him. He felt it was his responsibility, and from the standpoint of a friend, of course he would agree. “Sure. I can go with you anytime.”
Sun Baiyi rubbed his dog head against Lin Huaixi again, whining about how much it hurt, acting spoiled and cute in ways that didn’t suit his image at all. Yet Lin Huaixi fell for it completely, looking at him with worry and devoting his whole heart to him.
Sun Baiyi felt triumphant inside. He looked at Qi Wang in a show of dominance and saw him looking like half the life had already been drained from him.
Hahahahaha, this feels way better than beating him up!
Now that his mood had improved, Sun Baiyi no longer bothered quarreling with him. Tilting his chin up, he motioned for Qi Wang to confess honestly. “How big of a grudge do you have with that guy? He directly pushed Xixi down the stairs. If I hadn’t gotten there in time, Xixi’s head would’ve hit the ground. How is that any different from attempted murder?!”
At those words, Qi Wang’s hand hanging at his side clenched tightly into a fist, the veins on the back of it standing out. Yet his expression changed only slightly, and his eyes merely darkened further.
Lin Huaixi noticed. In a spot Sun Baiyi couldn’t see, he lightly brushed the side of Qi Wang’s hand with his little finger and gave him a smile, trying to show that things really weren’t that serious.
Only after looking at him deeply did Qi Wang finally speak. “The reason I left for three months before was to deal with matters related to the Qi family—my biological father’s side. The one who pushed Xixi is my half-brother. We have some conflicts. I thought I had taken care of it before, but I never expected him to do something like this. It’s all my fault.”
Sun Baiyi’s brows knotted tightly. “How huge is your conflict with him for him to go that far?”
“He used to be the only heir. Now he thinks I’ve become a threat to him.”
Sun Baiyi wore a completely stupefied expression. In his mind, he imagined two full brothers fighting each other over the family estate… which was impossible, of course. A real man should know how to make his own money—how could he spend all day living off his parents!
He turned to Qi Wang and said with a complicated expression, “Your family isn’t rich, is it? Some runaway prince from a wealthy family?”
Qi Wang paused, found Sun Baiyi’s wording a little strange, but still nodded.
This completely refreshed Sun Baiyi’s understanding of things. He had never expected Qi Wang—the person he found irritating in every way—to carry this kind of plotline around with him. On the spot, he began muttering complaints to himself.
Lin Huaixi had long since gotten used to Sun Baiyi’s style and treated him like background noise. Turning instead to Qi Wang, he asked worriedly, “He won’t keep targeting you forever, will he? Is there anything I can do to help?”
Qi Wang looked at Lin Huaixi, who was worrying about him instead, and took a step closer. The back of his hand brushed unintentionally against Lin Huaixi’s bare skin, greedily drawing in that tiny bit of warmth. “Don’t worry. Before, I was only careless. I can handle this matter.”
Lin Huaixi looked at Qi Wang with complicated emotions.
He had read the original novel. Though it didn’t go into too much detail, he knew Qi Wang was trapped in a family like a swamp—take one wrong step, and he would sink so deep he’d never regain freedom.
By nature, Lin Huaixi always repaid grudges. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent so long confronting those scum gongs head-on. But this time, he worried more about Qi Wang, and for the first time chose avoidance. “How about… just let it go? Don’t deal with them anymore. If enough time passes, that guy should realize you don’t want to fight him over the inheritance and stop bothering you.”
But Qi Wang had something far more important in his heart.
Originally, he had not wanted to waste time on these matters. Now he realized that thought had been too naïve.
Leaving the past aside, once they came looking for him again, this had already become something fated. Sooner or later, one of them had to win.
And he could only be that winner.
Something changed in Qi Wang’s expression. There was no confusion at all in his eyes now. Squatting beside Lin Huaixi, he asked with a smile, “Do you remember that chubby kid in third grade who wanted to fight you? How did you deal with him back then?”
Lin Huaixi tilted his head in confusion. Actually, he didn’t remember that old incident very clearly anymore, but Qi Wang’s words stirred a few broken fragments of memory.
It seemed there really had been a chubby kid who bullied him on purpose. At the time, he had only been learning martial arts for two years and wasn’t skilled yet. In his panic, he forgot all the techniques and forms and simply jumped onto the chubby kid and started swinging his fists wildly.
Ever since then, he had scared the kid badly enough that the boy became very polite to him afterward, and Lin Huaixi himself had never thought much of it again.
Still puzzled, he asked, “Why are you bringing this up?”
Qi Wang reached out and rubbed his hair. “Have you really decided to just endure it?”
…As if that were possible.
He had trained in martial arts for so many years. Was that supposed to be so he could just get bullied for nothing?
But he was no longer the innocent child he had once been. Faintly, he had begun to sense a lot of the rules of the adult world—power and status mattered more than fairness or reason.
Lin Huaixi said none of that aloud, but Qi Wang guessed his thoughts anyway. “It’s okay. No matter what you do, I can handle this. And you don’t want him coming to bother us all the time in the future either, right?”
Lin Huaixi’s heart stirred. “Really?”
“Of course. Trust me.” Qi Wang didn’t make any further promises, but there was something in his calm gaze that was deeply reassuring.
The two of them looked at each other for a full minute, reaching an unspoken understanding.
Lin Huaixi ground his teeth, let out a cold humph, and clenched his fist. The joints cracked, full of strength.
Hmph, then don’t blame me for hitting too hard!
—
Memories from childhood were vague and blurred, or perhaps he had deliberately ignored them. Ever since he could remember, he had been the young master of the Qi family, living a life surrounded by stars, getting whatever he wanted the moment he asked for it, and always surrounded by many people. He had never once felt lonely.
Growing up in such an environment, Qi Nian had developed some bad habits at a very young age. He took everything he had as something naturally owed to him and cherished nothing. But that kind of life was abruptly paused by Qi Wang’s appearance.
The day he first came home and saw Qi Wang, he tried hard to hide his panic and pretend nothing had happened.
He hadn’t asked his father who Qi Wang was or why he had suddenly brought him home, because he had long since known the answer.
That blurry figure in his memory, the whispers people exchanged behind his back, and the name he had once heard mentioned when his father was on the phone—he had already known about Qi Wang’s existence. Up until that moment, he had always believed Qi Wang posed no threat to him.
The more a person has, the greedier they become.
After Qi Wang appeared, Qi Nian had nightmares for a whole week. In those dreams, he had nothing—poor, alone, and worst of all, hearing the sound of his self-respect being crushed.
It might have been some compulsory lesson for children of wealthy families. Without anyone teaching him, Qi Nian naturally began to fight Qi Wang. But he soon discovered that he fell short of Qi Wang in every way. Qi Wang had never once put him in his eyes, and the things Qi Nian longed desperately for were things Qi Wang disdained. This time, Qi Wang had only come back because of pressure from Father Qi.
Actually, he could have cooperated with Qi Wang and both of them could have gotten what they wanted most.
But this was the first time Qi Nian had found himself inferior to someone in every way, and that twisted his thoughts more and more. In a reckless moment of impulse, he attacked Lin Huaixi.
After that day, the contents of his dreams changed. They became filled with the miserable image of Lin Huaixi tumbling down the stairs, and with Qi Wang kneeling beside him looking like his soul had been ripped out.
From this, Qi Nian almost seemed to feel compensated. He even laughed out loud in his dreams. Even though he could no longer go fool around with his useless gang of friends and was instead trapped at school all day, his mood remained excellent—until the moment he came out of the restroom humming to himself and saw two figures in the distance.
One was holding a crutch, with a bandaged leg. The other had an arm in a sling. Standing together, they barely added up to one healthy set of limbs.
Qi Nian had never expected these two “cripples” to come deliver themselves right to him. Guessing that they had come demanding an explanation, he let out a laugh of scorn.
So pitiful—and yet they still didn’t understand that in this world, some people were simply born to be bullied. The more angry they got, the more they accused others, the more they looked like clowns and made others want to laugh.
Raised at Father Qi’s side, Qi Nian had absorbed that attitude through constant exposure. But he was still too young, lacking true life experience, so all he could do was imitate the surface. Chin tilted high, he put on an arrogant, superior pose.
Since they had come straight to his door, he didn’t mind personally teaching them that lesson!
Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi looked so pitiful that, even though they had strength in numbers, Qi Nian did not take them seriously at all. Swaggering over carelessly, he was just about to start mocking them.
“You—”
He had only said two words when Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi suddenly moved. They moved so fast he didn’t even have time to react. He only felt pain explode across his face and chest, and then he lost balance, stumbling backward a few steps before landing on his butt.
His mind went blank for several seconds. Only then did Qi Nian recover, his hands trembling as he cupped his swollen left cheek and stared at Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi in disbelief.
He was a spoiled little tyrant, protected and indulged. He flaunted his family background and had never had to handle anything on his own. The moment even the slightest deviation appeared, his brain short-circuited and he became completely helpless.
Lin Huaixi fell silent for a few seconds, sensing a strangely familiar feeling. Then he turned to look at Sun Baiyi.
The way Qi Wang’s little brother looked right now was kind of like how Sun Baiyi had looked back in first grade.
If Sun Baiyi had continued growing up in that same kind of environment, wouldn’t he now be pretty much the same as Qi Wang’s younger brother?
Sun Baiyi had no idea what he was thinking. He only looked back with a thoroughly innocent expression, totally confused.
Lin Huaixi coughed once and signaled him with his eyes to continue according to plan.
Sun Baiyi nodded and silently walked over.
To Qi Nian, the image of him in that moment was like the Black and White Impermanence come to drag souls away.
Lin Huaixi’s appearance leaned innocent and harmless. Usually he smiled all the time and looked like a perfectly obedient top student. As long as he didn’t say anything, no one would ever imagine his combat ability was that high. Even now, with one leg injured, dealing with someone like Qi Nian was still more than enough for him.
Sun Baiyi spent all day sticking close to Lin Huaixi, leaving him neither time nor opportunity to fight. But his height—well over one meter eighty—wasn’t for decoration. Taking advantage of a moment when Lin Huaixi wasn’t looking, he landed a few extra punches. But when Lin Huaixi glanced over, he remembered his earlier promise about “not injuring his arm again,” so he quietly stepped back one pace.
Though he did bare his teeth.
Qi Nian was trapped in the corner between the restroom and the staircase and, for the first time in his life, experienced what it meant to cry to heaven and earth with neither answering.
Everything hurt terribly. Regret rose uncontrollably, but his pride refused to let him surrender immediately. He wailed while trying to fight back, only to earn a few more punches from Lin Huaixi and even several bite marks on his face.
After a suitable amount of exercise, Lin Huaixi lowered his eyes and looked at the bruised and battered Qi Nian curled into a miserable ball, then sighed inwardly.
He really was too kind.
Although Qi Nian had pushed him down the stairs and dragged Sun Baiyi into it, he had only given him superficial pain and had not actually damaged any bones or tendons.
Thinking that, he turned to look at Sun Baiyi.
Sun Baiyi was still all worked up, gritting his teeth and itching to rush forward again. Worried about his teeth, Lin Huaixi grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. “All right, that’s enough.”
Sun Baiyi turned to look at him and sincerely said, “Xixi, you really are too kind.”
Qi Nian, who had been beaten until his face was blue and swollen: “…” Did you consider my feelings at all when you said that?!
Now that the fight was over, Lin Huaixi and Sun Baiyi immediately returned to their injured-patient states. One limped forward with every step, while the other held his arm and whimpered about the pain. Qi Nian originally wanted to chase after them, but the contrast in the two of them was so absurd it froze him in place for a few seconds. By the time he recovered, their figures had already disappeared down the corridor.
Qi Nian had always been fawned over and cared desperately about appearances. In his current state, he couldn’t possibly return to class, so he could only call the butler and ask someone to come pick him up.
Qi Nian was used to bullying people with his status and wanted revenge. But if word got out that he had been beaten up by two injured people, he would become the laughingstock of the year. He agonized over it the entire ride, and in the end could only swallow his broken teeth and his rage together.
Out of duty, the butler kept pressing him with questions. Qi Nian grew more and more irritable and dumped all his anger on him. When he got home, he smashed things everywhere, frightening everyone around him into retreat.
After venting himself, Qi Nian was left panting hard. When he breathed through his mouth, he accidentally pulled at his wounds, and the pain twisted his face on the spot, plunging his vision into darkness.
By the time he recovered, he was even angrier. Seeing no one around, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Are you all blind?! Hurry up and treat my injuries!”
Even though it had been he himself, just moments ago, who’d smashed things while ordering everyone to get away from him.
From behind him came the sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor. Qi Nian assumed it was the tardy doctor. Turning around aggressively, he was just about to curse when he met Qi Wang’s calm face.
In this world, the person Qi Nian feared most was his father.
Now there was one more: Qi Wang.
The three of them were the closest by blood, and their brows and eyes did resemble each other a little. Yet on both his father and Qi Wang, Qi Nian could sense an indescribably hateful quality.
After all, they were of the same generation. In front of his father, Qi Nian acted like a little quail. But facing Qi Wang, he absolutely refused to lose momentum.
“Did you see this? All of this was done by those two friends of yours. Once Father gets back, I’m going to tell him every single detail truthfully. You and both of them can all get out! Don’t think just because Father brought you back, he treats you like a real son. I’m still more important. You have no standing in the Qi family at all. Sooner or later, I’ll drive you out!”
The words sounded almost ridiculous—like a little kid staking out his territory.
There wasn’t even the slightest emotional ripple in Qi Wang’s eyes or voice. “Have you ever thought about why I came back? Did he suddenly wake up and start caring about family? You grew up beside him. No one knows him better than you do.”
Qi Nian had never expected Qi Wang to suddenly bring this up. His expression turned puzzled. For a moment, he didn’t even react to who the “he” in that sentence referred to.
Qi Wang had no patience to wait while he sorted it out. He continued, “You think I came back to fight you for the inheritance. Then why did you never feel any sense of crisis before this? Was it because you thought I’d never return? Or because you were absolutely certain the company would be handed to you?”
“Doesn’t that strike you as strange? Even though you’re useless, stupid, and despicable, he wouldn’t give up on you so easily. Unless you won’t live long enough to receive the company from him—or your intelligence is no better than a toddler’s, making you incapable of taking over the company. But both of those possibilities are far too early to apply right now. Haven’t you ever wondered what the real reason behind this is?”
Under Qi Wang’s relentless questions, Qi Nian’s face turned pale.
His brain had gone unused for too long and had practically rusted. It felt as though someone were drilling into his temples, stirring them painfully. His thoughts turned into a shapeless lump of mush.
He had always regarded Qi Wang as his greatest imaginary enemy, but now it felt as though he had been brainwashed. He couldn’t refute a single word, couldn’t even force out one no. “So what? Stop pretending already and tell me the reason!”
Qi Wang ignored him. His gaze shifted to the staircase behind him.
Qi Nian might be stupid, but he wasn’t completely brainless. He vaguely sensed that the answer mattered enormously. Furious, he glared at Qi Wang and kept urging him. “Why are you looking at the stairs? Hurry up and tell me the answer, or I’m not letting this go!”
Qi Wang ignored him yet again and calmly withdrew his gaze. “Well then—what’s your choice?”
“What do you mean, what’s my choice?”
“We still have one debt left to settle.” Qi Wang lifted the baseball bat in his hand, his tone as flat as if discussing the air. “Will you choose this, or the stairs?”
The moment Qi Nian understood the implication, his lips trembled. “Can’t you see what kind of state I’m in already? Those two friends of yours already took their revenge on me. That debt is settled!”
Qi Wang gave the same answer Sun Baiyi had earlier.
“Xixi is too kind.”
“???”
Qi Nian thought their filter on Lin Huaixi was absurdly thick. He almost wanted to protest, but one look into Qi Wang’s black eyes sucked all thought away. What he had mistaken for calmness was actually the final silence before a storm. The moment he stepped into it, the gale would tear him into pieces.
Wearing a pig-headed face battered beyond recognition, Qi Nian’s body shook uncontrollably, and even his eyes filled with tears.
What kind of people were these three?!
One looked like a harmless little white rabbit, but his fists could practically spark when they swung, and getting punched by him hurt like hell. Another obviously had hands but insisted on using his teeth. And his half-brother—his own half-brother—was forcing him to choose whether to roll down the stairs!
Qi Nian had been spoiled all his life, but he had only regretted something twice.
The first time was when he had once been cornered in a restroom and beaten one-sidedly.
The second time was now.
But compared to fear, regret wasn’t worth mentioning at all.
If he were allowed to choose all over again, he definitely would never have provoked these three people.
Footnotes:
[1] Lin Daiyu is a central protagonist in the 18th-century Chinese classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is depicted as a beautiful, intelligent, and highly talented but physically frail and melancholic young woman.
