Chapter 29: They Need to Be Responsible Parents

Chapter 29: They Must Be Responsible Parents

So the young master wouldn't worry, Qin Liyi pretended nothing was wrong.

In his head, he was thinking that once he found the people who bullied the young master, he'd kill them.

"Don't eat cafeteria food anymore. I'll have my uncle and aunt set up the housekeeper to bring you meals three times a day."

"..." Chi Xingcun knew it was because of the twenty pounds he'd lost. "No need, I actually like the cafeteria food. I just haven't had much of an appetite lately."

"You like it? You lost twenty pounds in three months? Chi Xingcun, you can't lie to me." Qin Liyi's sharp brows furrowed, thinking the young master was way too disobedient and needed to be straightened out.

He firmly pulled Chi Xingcun in front of himself: "If I handled your meals, it'd be a lot easier, but if I'm the one taking care of you like this, I'm worried your parents might not be too happy about it."

Chi Xingcun didn't expect Qin Liyi to have thought that far ahead.

"Do I... really have to tell my parents?" Chi Xingcun didn't really want to.

"Of course." Qin Liyi explained, "You've got another checkup coming up. With the records, they'll find out eventually."

When Xue Xue and Chi Hanxin received the medical report Qin Liyi sent, it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck them right in the head.

Malnutrition?

Their own son, malnourished?

And he'd lost twenty pounds in just three months?

Their son was at that growing age—every time they didn't see him for a while, he'd clearly grown taller and gotten a bit thinner.

But according to the medical report, their son hadn't grown taller, yet he'd lost over ten pounds.

Chi Hanxin sat in his office, staring at the report on his phone, hating himself for not noticing that his son had lost weight without growing taller in the month since he'd last seen him.

At that moment, the tough, no-nonsense businessman was pounding his chest, tears streaming down his face.

Overseas, Xue Xue looked at the report, her expression darkening even more.

Their detectives had already been looking into what had happened to their son over the past two months, but so far, nothing new had come up.

Losing twenty pounds—it seemed this whole thing had affected their son way more than they'd imagined.

Both of them were in a bad mood over this, and they started to wonder—had they been caring too little for their son?

Qin Liyi had taken the initiative to tell them that Chi Xingcun was staying at his place because he wanted to practice running.

The moment they heard that, they were upset. Staying at his house? What was that about? How could their son not come home to see them? They missed him like crazy.

They could just hire a professional running coach for their son.

Then have the housekeeper prepare three meals on time, along with tonics and traditional Chinese medicine.

There was no reason to let someone else's son take care of their own son.

On the phone, Qin Liyi wasn't surprised by their reaction at all.

But it was Chi Xingcun who picked up the phone.

"Mom, Dad, you don't need to go through all that trouble. Qin Liyi's program also includes running, so we can just run together. Besides... I don't want to stay home alone at night."

Hearing that, Xue Xue's heart clenched.

Sure enough, it was because she and her husband had been too absent.

"Son, was that also why you stayed at school before?"

Hearing the disappointment in his mother's voice, Chi Xingcun paused for a moment, then quickly explained, "No. I just suddenly got interested in biology, so I wanted to stay in the dorm to save time getting to class."

"Alright..." Xue Xue agreed. "Son, you can stay at Qin Liyi's place for now. I'll handle the housekeeper."

"Okay."

After she hung up, Xue Xue rushed to the airport.

She'd just finished a business trip in France. Her flight was originally booked for tomorrow, but after getting the report, she changed it to tonight.

She hadn't expected that kid from the Qin family to send her this report.

Since childhood, her son, Fu Chenzhan, and Qin Liyi had been the closest, with the best relationship—until middle school, when her son developed feelings for Fu Chenzhan, and the dynamic between the three got a bit awkward.

Her son and Qin Liyi had drifted apart.

But it seemed like recently, the two had gotten close again. It started around the time her son stopped actively chasing after Fu Chenzhan.

If it weren't for the fact that Qin Liyi had dated girls before, she would've thought he'd turned gay.

When she got off the plane, it was already three in the morning, so she didn't contact her son.

Her husband, who was in Italy, called her.

She wasn't in a great mood, but she answered anyway.

"Honey, I just got out of a meeting. An important person just arrived here, so I couldn't just blow them off."

Xue Xue's eyes showed her displeasure, but her tone stayed calm: "Meetings, meetings, that's all you ever care about. Go marry your meetings!"

She hung up.

When something happened to their son, he should've come back right away—and instead he was still in a meeting?!

This was the rule they'd set before having kids: once you have a child, you have to be responsible parents, fully devoted to their growth. You can't neglect your kid's development because of work.

But that was the pot calling the kettle black—there'd been too much out-of-town business these past few months, with constant trips and too little time at home. No wonder their son said he didn't want to stay home alone at night.

In the past, when they weren't home, their son would go over to Fu Chenzhan's place and never said anything about not wanting to be alone at night. But now, he probably had no emotional anchor, which was why he felt lonely.

......

The next day, Xue Xue personally took care of the housekeeper arrangements.

When it came to her son, she had to handle things in person to feel at ease.

The next day, Chi Hanxin also came back.

They were the type of parents who, if they made their son unhappy, would feel guilty and start wondering if they were failing as parents.

Chi Xingcun hadn't expected them both to come back—when they'd left for their trips, they'd told him they wouldn't be back for at least a week, yet one had only been gone two days, and the other three.

After they got back, they specially hosted a dinner for Qin Liyi and his parents at their home, wanting to thank them for taking care of their son.

After fourth period ended, Qin Liyi and Chi Xingcun walked to the Chi residence together.

Soon after, the Qins—Lin Yanqing and Qin Yan—arrived.

Although the two families were rivals in the business world, their children's close relationship meant they occasionally interacted privately, and their relationship wasn't bad.

Lin Yanqing made a beeline for Chi Xingcun the moment she arrived, pulling him into her arms, her face beaming with affection.

"My little darling, you've grown taller, but you've gotten so thin. So cute, so cute. If anything's bothering you, just tell Auntie, okay?"

Qin Liyi was used to it. It had been like this since they were kids—every parent who saw Chi Xingcun acted the same way.

Chi Xingcun hadn't even managed to greet her before he was pulled into her arms.

Since he was young, many people had enjoyed hugging him, and he was accustomed to it—if he put aside his past life.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Qin's father, Qin Yan, stepped forward, pretending to be stern: "The Chis are right here; why would it be our place?"

Only then did Lin Yanqing looked up, saw Chi's parents, and warmly stepped forward to greet them:

"We're all so familiar with each other; feel free to ask for help anytime. I mean regarding the kids, of course~ Kids this age are the hardest to figure out."

Her words drew laughter from everyone.

The dinner had a very warm, easygoing vibe.

While the parents chatted, Chi Xingcun and Qin Liyi sat together, secretly whispering to each other.