Chapter 16: How Has Chi Xingcun Changed?

Chapter 16: What's Up With Chi Xingcun Now??

"Yeah, so what if I crashed with him? Fu Chenzhan, are you suspecting me now? Damn it, don't you know me by now? You should be looking at the other people around the young master. Ever since he stopped revolving around you, the confession wall's been flooded with people confessing to him!"

Getting called out by Fu Chenzhan about his thing with Chi Xingcun for the first time, Qin Liyi's mood went south. Thinking about those posts on the confession wall, he got this awful feeling like someone was trying to steal his man.

He'd never even considered that the young master might not be into Fu Chenzhan, or that they wouldn't end up married.

But now, everything was different.

"Fu Chenzhan, I used to play matchmaker for you two all the time, and you never appreciated it. Now I won't help you anymore. Let the young master pick who he wants."

Then a wild thought hit him—so what if he did sleep with the young master, or even did something way more than that?

I mean, wasn't that just how rich families did things? Arranged marriages and all.

Everyone living their own life, with a ton of side pieces.

If he were into guys, and Chi Xingcun was into his body, what was the big deal about hooking up once?

If Fu Chenzhan really did marry the young master, with the way Fu Chenzhan treated him, the young master would definitely get lonely and need someone to comfort him. When that time came, people would be lining up to comfort him.

There'd be a whole crowd holding the young master, wiping his tears, soothing him.

Just thinking about it made Qin Liyi even more pissed. Why did so many people have to be after the young master?

Everyone liked Chi Xingcun—except that bastard Fu Chenzhan. Fuck!

After listening to Qin Liyi, Fu Chenzhan's eyes went dark and cold. He paused, then raised his eyes to stare straight at the guy in front of him.

"Seems like you care more about me and Chi Xingcun's business than I do. I thought you were just in it for the drama."

He took another step closer, standing shoulder to shoulder with Qin Liyi: "Look, I might not feel as strongly about him as I thought I should for my fiancée, but as long as we're still engaged, by the Fu family's rules, he's gotta stay loyal. Thanks for caring, but maybe worry about that blind date your mom set you up with first. And next time, don't just bring him to your place—people might get the wrong idea."

Ha, staking his claim now?

Qin Liyi rolled his eyes, totally done with this.

And he's telling him? Misunderstand my ass, dumbass.

Qin Liyi watched Fu Chenzhan leave with a cold stare, then turned around and thought—why the hell was he this mad?

He rarely gave anyone the cold shoulder, didn't give a damn about most things, and usually just coasted through life.

But this time, he genuinely couldn't stand Fu Chenzhan, and he couldn't even hide his eye-roll.

Like he was losing his mind or something.

He'd busted his ass trying to set them up before, and Fu Chenzhan never gave a damn. And now the guy was accusing him of having feelings for the young master?

He was a hundred percent straight, and the young master was just so pretty and cute. So what if he liked... him?

Jesus, someone needs to drag his ass to a psych ward.

......

During morning classes, Chi Xingcun made Xie Yean sit next to him.

All of a sudden, this total hottie shows up in class, and a bunch of people who used to look down on Chi Xingcun were suddenly trying every trick to dig up info on the guy next to him, hoping to score his number.

At lunch, Chi Xingcun swiped his card for two meals. He ordered first, with Xie Yean right behind him.

Xie Yean was almost a head taller, having to lean down a bit just to hear him. They looked super close, like brothers.

At their table, they sat across from each other. Chi Xingcun had only grabbed a bite of whatever the butler packed in the car that morning, and by the middle of first period, he was already starving. He dug in like he was starving, while Xie Yean watched him for a beat before finally digging in himself.

Just then, three girls and a guy from class carried their trays over and plopped down next to them.

"Ahem, so, Chi Xingcun, who is he?" This short-haired girl especially hated Chi Xingcun—like, she'd roll her eyes every single time he walked into class.

After asking, she turned to Xie Yean with a shy smile, her eyes practically sparkling.

"Hi, what's your relationship with Chi Xingcun? I haven't seen you around before."

Chi Xingcun looked up, his gaze shifting from the girl to Xie Yean.

Xie Yean didn't answer. He looked at Chi Xingcun instead.

Chi Xingcun caught the disdain and disgust in the girl's eyes, and the same from the three behind her. Obviously, if it weren't for Xie Yean, they wouldn't have given him the time of day.

"Can I help you?" Chi Xingcun asked, his face blank and his voice totally flat.

The girl kept sneaking looks at Xie Yean, and only after a while did she finally turn back to actually look at Chi Xingcun.

And that's when something felt off.

In their minds, Chi Xingcun was this little tyrant, always bouncing with energy, with a face that showed every single emotion. He wore his feelings on his sleeve, like a little firecracker ready to pop.

But this guy in front of them—how was he so... flat?

Too flat, so flat that they didn't know how to talk to him anymore.

Moreover, Chi Xingcun had a naturally innocent look. When he was upset, even over small things, his expression seemed so aggrieved, as if hundreds of people had wronged him. But now, even without any expression, Chi Xingcun still looked innocent.

And beautiful.

Like a quiet doll.

The group stammered for a moment, and the short-haired girl gathered her courage: "Can't we get to know each other? We've never seen you bring anyone else to class before."

Chi Xingcun said, "He's my brother."

"Brother?" They were a bit surprised. "You don't look alike."

"A distant cousin. I only got to know him recently."

"I see... Well, how about we take a walk around campus after eating? We need to digest anyway."

They kept staring at Xie Yean, but he never looked at them or spoke.

While they chatted, many people were watching them.

Some others also gathered around, wanting to join in and get to know him.

With so many eyes on him, Chi Xingcun was already feeling uncomfortable. He scratched his thumb and looked at Xie Yean: "Do you want to take a walk later?"

Only then did Xie Yean look up, gazing at the person before him and blinking gently: "Didn't you say we were going home at noon? A walk probably wouldn't leave enough time."

Chi Xingcun snapped back to reality and said to the people around him, "Sorry, maybe next time. We have plans at noon."

At that, the whole area fell silent for a moment. No one looked at Xie Yean anymore—instead, all eyes were fixed on Chi Xingcun with shock, surprise, and looks of questioning their own lives.

Chi... Chi Xingcun said *what*?

"Sorry"???

An apology??? Chi Xingcun actually apologized?????

No way, right?

Mom, am I dreaming or what??

Actually, now that I think about it, Chi Xingcun hasn't made waves at school in a long time.

He's gotten so quiet lately.

What's going on with him?

Did something happen?