Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"006"

Xiao Lancui stopped at the master bedroom on the second floor.

He held a bowl of fish maw and bird's nest congee with milk—warm and glutinous.

He raised his hand and knocked twice. From inside came Xie Jingfang's voice, "Who is it?"

Xiao Lancui remained silent.

Xie Jingfang asked again, "An Feng?"

Xiao Lancui still said nothing. Xie Jingfang knew it was him. As everyone downstairs had predicted, she wouldn't let him in.

Xiao Lancui waited patiently. Within two seconds, Xie Jingfang said, "The door isn't locked. Come in yourself."

Xiao Lancui pressed down the handle and pushed the door open. The master bedroom was a suite, with a short hallway leading to the main room. The room was dim, all curtains drawn. Xie Jingfang lay in bed sulking. Hearing footsteps, she sighed and said, "Don't try to persuade me to come downstairs. The sight of that face makes me sick to my stomach."

She thought it was Xiao Anfeng. But the next second, she heard the voice she hated most say, "I brought you some bird's nest congee. No need to go downstairs."

Xie Jingfang sat up abruptly, throwing off the covers. In the dim light, she glared at Xiao Lancui. "What are you doing here! Get out!"

Xiao Lancui smiled. He didn't leave. Instead, he stepped forward, bent down, and offered the congee. Just as Xie Jingfang, furious, was about to knock it away, he said politely and calmly, "Don't worry, drink it. There's no poison in the congee."

Xie Jingfang's hand froze mid-air. Her pupils contracted slightly as she stared in shock at the handsome, composed face so close to her own.

He... he knows?

Panic surged through Xie Jingfang, but she quickly steadied herself, feigning ignorance. "What? Someone's trying to poison me?"

Xiao Lancui took her rigid hand, pulled it down, and pressed the congee into her palm, speaking unhurriedly, "That, I wouldn't know. It's just that someone poisoned the food you sent me. You're my dear mother, so I have to be careful." He smiled. "Don't worry. From now on, I'll carefully check every meal you eat, so you won't accidentally ingest lead acetate."

Lead acetate was the poison Xie Jingfang had used in his food.

Xiao Lancui withdrew his hand. Xie Jingfang gripped the bowl tightly. Since Xiao Lancui had discovered everything, he must have evidence too. She stopped pretending, her face blank. "What do you want?"

"This is our little secret. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul." Xiao Lancui pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket, drew one out, and bent down to gently wipe the lingering tear stains from the corners of Xie Jingfang's eyes. "You need to eat well, every single day. And stop hiding to cry. Eyes are for seeing the world—wasting them on tears is a waste."

Xie Jingfang was taken aback. She didn't understand at all, even forgetting to stop him. She asked, bewildered, "What are you playing at? Don't you hate me? Why—"

Why not tell Xiao Jingli directly? She was certain Xiao Lancui hadn't told him—otherwise, given how partial Xiao Jingli was, he would have come to pick a fight with her long ago. He might even have called the cops on her for Xiao Lancui's sake.

Xie Jingfang let out a cold chuckle.

"I don't hate you," Xiao Lancui said with a smile. "I love you."

The original owner of this body had truly loved Xie Jingfang.

Having known since childhood that he'd been abandoned, Xie Jingfang had been his real mother in his heart—the mother he loved. Unfortunately, he died without ever learning that Xie Jingfang was actually his biological mother.

Xie Jingfang's expression grew complicated.

Xiao Lancui said no more. He'd made his point. Whether Xie Jingfang would keep trying to poison him would be clear tomorrow.

He left her room.

As soon as he reached the stairs, he saw Xiao Mian pacing on the landing.

Xiao Mian was torn. He knew exactly how much his mom hated Xiao Lancui, yet Xiao Lancui had gone up there without an ounce of self-awareness. He worried Xiao Lancui might get congee splashed all over his face. Hadn't he claimed he was dying? Could he even handle the heat, going up there like that...

But then, realizing he was actually worried about Xiao Lancui, he felt sick to his stomach.

That little bastard Xiao Lancui deserved to get congee thrown at him! Preferably boiling hot, scalding congee! Hot enough to burn that smug fox-face right off him!

That's what his brain said, but he still ran upstairs first.

His left brain cursed Xiao Lancui as the bastard of all bastards, while his right brain worried he'd get hurt again.

He'd just gotten out of the hospital—did he need to go right back?

Should he go check?

His two brain halves were at war, and when he suddenly looked up and saw Xiao Lancui, he nearly jumped out of his skin. "You just pop out of nowhere—trying to scare me to death!"

Xiao Lancui didn't care what Xiao Mian was doing in the hallway. He walked downstairs, saying flatly, "I didn't scare you, and I'm not that scary to look at. As the saying goes, a guilty conscience betrays itself. Those who startle easily must have something to hide."

Xiao Mian was stunned. What was he talking about? He had no idea! He realized that since losing his memory, Xiao Lancui had gotten really good at provoking him, always saying and doing things he couldn't figure out!

As Xiao Lancui passed by, Xiao Mian saw he was unharmed, clean and neat, and couldn't help following him, staring. "Did my mom eat it or what?"

Xiao Lancui shot back, "Why wouldn't she?"

"..." Xiao Mian was speechless. Truly, the memory loss was complete—he didn't even remember how unlikable he was.

Still, Xiao Mian let out a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't intervened, and Xiao Lancui hadn't gotten congee thrown at him. One less awkward problem to deal with!

He went back to his gruff tone. "I ask the questions here, not you!"

Xiao Lancui lightly patted his arm. "Got it, good little bro."

Xiao Lancui's voice was pleasant, especially with years of commanding power lending it a casual, lazy air. Xiao Mian felt Xiao Lancui was getting bolder by the day—treating him like some obedient little kitten or puppy, was he! His face flushed red as he chased after him, griping, "Who do you think you're talking to! I'm the boss at National High—what 'good little brother' or 'sweet little brother'—keep that up and I'll punch—"

Reaching the first floor, he suddenly saw two people coming in through the foyer.

One was Xiao Anfeng. The other—

Xiao Mian's face immediately fell, turning even darker. "Lu Siye? What are you doing here!"

Lu Siye ignored Xiao Mian, casually glancing at Xiao Lancui, but his tone was friendly. "Achui, you got discharged today, so I came to see you."

Xiao Lancui looked at Lu Siye indifferently. The man's intentions were elsewhere—today, Lu Siye was here for Xiao Anfeng.

Xiao Lancui had no interest in these people's romantic entanglements. To him, enemies came in only two categories: those worth winning over, and those worth eliminating.

Lu Siye clearly fell into the latter category.

Xiao Lancui didn't acknowledge Lu Siye right off the bat. Instead, he leaned close and whispered to Xiao Mian, "So that's Lu Siye?"

The amnesia act was still on.

Xiao Mian didn't mind Xiao Lancui's sudden closeness. Hearing that Xiao Lancui didn't remember Lu Siye either, he felt a little satisfied. He'd suspected Xiao Lancui and Lu Siye had something going on, but clearly not—Lu Siye was just another memory that could be lost!

Xiao Mian instinctively leaned in to whisper back, though his tone had a hint of mockery. "Yeah! Tsk, even forgotten your good buddy, huh?"

This scene startled Xiao Anfeng. His gaze landed on Xiao Lancui, who noticed and looked back at him at the same time, offering a faint smile.

Xiao Anfeng froze for a moment, then instinctively nodded and looked away, heading toward the dining room first.

Lu Siye, snubbed like that for a few seconds, finally looked directly at Xiao Lancui. Xiao Lancui had just descended the last two steps of the staircase and walked up to Lu Siye, his expression indifferent. "Sorry, I've lost my memory. My brother says we used to be close. Thank you for coming to see me."

Xiao Mian, who was coming downstairs, overheard the word "my brother" and nearly slipped on the stairs. He steadied himself, shooting Xiao Lancui a flustered, fierce glare, only to find that Xiao Lancui wasn't even looking at him. He rubbed his nose awkwardly, let out a soft "hmph," and walked back to the dining room.

On the other side, Lu Siye was also somewhat taken aback. He had heard that Xiao Lancui had lost his memory after falling into the sea, but he hadn't taken it seriously. He used it as an excuse to check on Xiao Anfeng, who hadn't returned to school since they were stranded on the island together last week.

He hadn't expected Xiao Lancui to have really lost his memory—

Lu Siye studied Xiao Lancui. It had been over a month since they last met, and he felt that Xiao Lancui seemed different somehow. Was it the improved complexion from recuperation? The current Xiao Lancui still had the same face, the same person, yet his temperament was entirely transformed.

When he spoke to him, there was no trace of caution—just an unapproachable coldness.

Lu Siye curled his lips in amusement. Losing his memory had made him more interesting.

He had really considered sleeping with Xiao Lancui before—that face was beautiful enough, exactly his type. But after getting to know him, he got turned off.

His personality was dull and boring, weak and insecure. He figured that in bed, he'd be like a dead fish, so he lost interest. He only did quality sex.

He raised his hand to pat Xiao Lancui's head. "No need for formalities between us—"

His hand grabbed nothing as Xiao Lancui walked ahead. Another thing Xiao Lancui hated about Lu Siye, to use a modern term, was his complete lack of boundaries.

Xiao Lancui said flatly, "We're eating. Let's go."

Lu Siye watched Xiao Lancui's retreating figure, let out an incredulous laugh, and withdrew his hand to follow.

Inside the dining room, Xiao Jingli's face was extremely grim. He knew perfectly well that Lu Siye had come to see Xiao Anfeng, but because of the Lu family's status, he couldn't show his anger and had to greet Lu Siye like an elder.

He watched Xiao Lancui sit down and immediately got an idea. He told a servant to pull out the chair next to Xiao Lancui. "Siye, sit next to Lancui. Thank you for thinking of our Lancui."

Lu Siye shot a sidelong glance at Xiao Anfeng across the table, then sat down beside Xiao Lancui.

During the meal, Xiao Lancui tuned out the conversation, focusing solely on eating. The Xiao family's chef couldn't match imperial chefs, but they made up for it with variety—many dishes Xiao Lancui had never seen. He made an effort to eat two bowls of rice during the meal.

Rice is good for the body.

He put down his chopsticks and asked a servant for a glass of warm water. Back in ancient times, he didn't drink tea or alcohol, and even with all the modern drink options available, he still preferred just water.

After taking two sips, he suddenly heard Xiao Mian pipe up, "I heard your brother was sent to a psych ward. Is that true?"

Xiao Mian was asking Lu Siye. Xiao Jingli snapped, "Xiao Mian, don't talk nonsense!"

"Oh." Xiao Mian shrugged half-heartedly, his gaze drifting toward Xiao Lancui.

"It's fine, Uncle Xiao." Lu Siye smiled, all proper and polite. "Lu Ao is in a psych ward, yeah." He lazily raised his index finger and twirled it around his temple twice. "He's a bit messed up in the head, you know."