Chapter 31: Am I More Important or Is He?

Chapter 31: Who's More Important, Me or Him?

"Yeah, I'm going to see him, so what?"

"Young Master, I've never seen you this kind-hearted before. But when it comes to Xie Yean, you're a whole different person."

Qin Liyi said it jokingly, but he actually meant it.

"So what if I am? I just think he's special." Chi Xingcun finished speaking and buried his face in the pillow, afraid he'd blow his cover.

Qin Liyi's face dropped at that: "He's special? Then what about me? Aren't I special to you?"

Chi Xingcun was stunned for a moment, lifting his head. What was he even saying?

"You're special too."

"So there can be two special people?"

"...What, not allowed?"

"What do you think? For me, only you're special."

Seeing Chi Xingcun's shifty eyes, too guilty to meet his gaze, Qin Liyi lay down, pulled the covers over himself, and turned his back to Chi Xingcun.

Chi Xingcun froze for a second, then climbed on top of him: "What are you mad about now?"

Qin Liyi shut his eyes and ignored him.

Chi Xingcun watched him for a couple seconds, then said: "I'll always be your friend, but not his. So you're the most special one."

Hearing that, Qin Liyi opened his eyes. The anger that had been there a second ago was now replaced by barely contained joy, and he tried to hide his smile.

"Why?"

"Don't ask why. Bottom line, you're my only real friend."

Qin Liyi was overjoyed at that, flipping over to trap Chi Xingcun underneath him.

He leaned down and wrapped his arms around Chi Xingcun, resting his head on his chest.

"Then it's a deal. If you lie to me, Young Master, I'll be mad."

......

The next day, the mood at the Chi house was a little awkward.

When Chi Xingcun woke up, the butler told him his mom had left early that morning on a business trip.

His dad was sitting at the dining table in the living room and didn't even react when Chi Xingcun sat down.

Only after his dad put down his spoon and wiped his mouth did he speak, and first he sent Qin Liyi away.

When it was just the two of them left in the living room, he looked at his son and said seriously: "Son, you've changed a lot lately. Your mom and I don't know what's going on with you, and you won't tell us. We've been doing some soul-searching—wondering if we haven't trusted you enough, so you don't feel like you can open up to us. But whatever the reason, we can only fix it if you're willing to talk to us. Your mom was really upset yesterday, so she doesn't know how to look you in the eye right now. I'll be gone for a while too. If you decide you want to talk, your mom and I will always have your back."

His dad left.

Qin Liyi came back, slung an arm around Chi Xingcun's shoulder, and looked down at him: "What'd he say?"

Chi Xingcun looked up, and Qin Liyi saw that look on his face again—red-rimmed eyes, like he was completely alone, like the whole world couldn't understand him, like he didn't trust anyone anymore, like one day he'd just disappear from everyone's lives.

Qin Liyi's fingertips brushed the red at the corner of Chi Xingcun's eye, his voice low and gentle:

"Alright, it's fine. Tell me when you're ready. Nobody's forcing you. Even if your parents don't get you, you've got me. With me around, you don't have to worry about anything."

Chi Xingcun quickly packed his bag, left the Chi house, and stood at the gate, taking one last look at the beautiful garden villa.

This was probably it—he'd give them their real son back.

He went to Qin Liyi's place for a bit, then headed to Keda in the afternoon.

Qin Liyi had an important class that afternoon and couldn't come with him.

When he walked into the classroom, a bunch of eyes locked onto Chi Xingcun.

Chi Xingcun had figured the people he knew here would keep their distance after finding out about him and Fu Chenzhan, but to his surprise, Chen Yudong said hi the second he walked in.

"Xingcun!"

Chi Xingcun walked over and sat beside Chen Yudong.

"You haven't been to class in forever. I thought you'd given up on this subject."

Chen Yudong's eyes were warm and friendly, and the guys around him were just as welcoming, all crowding in to chat with Chi Xingcun.

Chi Xingcun smiled back.

Earlier, Chen Yudong and the others had messaged him on WeChat asking who Qin Liyi was, whether the two of them were rich kids, and inviting them out to hang out, but Chi Xingcun had been busy studying for exams and hadn't said yes.

Later, Xie Yean mentioned the class schedule had been sent out, and after that, he never got messages from these guys again.

He figured they'd found out about his situation and were keeping their distance.

"We kept asking you to come out and you never did. We thought you didn't wanna hang with us anymore."

Their reaction wasn't what Chi Xingcun had expected.

"My grades aren't great, so I've been studying for exams," Chi Xingcun explained.

"Got it," Chen Yudong said. "So exams are over, no more stress, right? Wanna come out with us tonight?"

He pointed at a classmate behind him: "It's his birthday tonight, and he's paying, hahaha."

That classmate, who had soft features, smiled at Chi Xingcun: "You're welcome to come."

"Sure, can I bring a plus-one?"

The classmate: "Feel free."

So Chi Xingcun texted Qin Liyi: "Wanna go out tonight? A classmate's birthday."

Qin Liyi: "I'm free. I'll come get you."

Actually, when Qin Liyi got the message, a sly thought crossed his mind—tonight was Fu Chenzhan's birthday, but the young master wasn't going to Fu Chenzhan's party, wasn't giving him a gift or even a happy birthday, and was instead going to some other classmate's birthday?

If word got out, the whole rich crowd would lose their minds!

Fu Chenzhan had acted so high and mighty before, and everyone knew he didn't like Chi Xingcun, but behind the scenes, he was washing Chi Xingcun's clothes, cooking for him, and cleaning up after him. If he really didn't like him, fine—but if he did... wouldn't he go crazy?

Qin Liyi had a smug, gleeful grin plastered all over his face.

"Hey, where's Xie Yean?"

After that incident, Chi Xingcun sent messages to Xie Yean, but got no replies. He checked the rental apartment and the village, but there was no sign of him.

He really wanted to respect Xie Yean's wishes, but not being able to find him was starting to freak him out.

Chen Yudong said, "Ever since that video hit the forum, he's vanished. He hasn't come to class for two weeks."

That video got Xie Yean dragged through the mud all over again, even worse than last time.

"Somebody asked the teacher, and the teacher said he'd taken a leave of absence."

He leaned in close to Chi Xingcun's ear: "Last time I happened to be heading to the office, I saw him. He was covered in bruises, beat up so bad you couldn't even recognize him. I haven't told anyone about this, and I don't know what happened."

"His parents did it," Chi Xingcun said flat out.

Chen Yudong froze, eyes going wide: "How do you know?"

Chi Xingcun said, "He's my distant cousin."

Chen Yudong was blown away, remembering how Chi Xingcun had mentioned before that his mom knew him.