Chapter 8: Bringing the True Young Master Home

Chapter 8: Bringing the True Young Master Home

On the phone, Mrs. Chi pouted, sounding a bit annoyed. Her son hadn't been as clingy with her for about a month now.

Why did things suddenly change? Sure, kids grow up and stop clinging to their parents eventually, but wasn't this day coming way too soon?

What was the real reason, though?

......

After hanging up, Chi Xingcun flopped onto the bed, feeling drained.

His eyes were a little wet.

He reminded himself there was nothing to be upset about—they were never his real parents anyway.

What he needed to do now was get Xie Yean back into their lives as soon as possible.

Chi Xingcun didn't finally leave his room until eight in the evening.

He went to a quiet little food stall and ordered a ten-yuan serving of fried rice.

He ate it up, savoring every bite.

The detective outside snapped a photo and sent it to Qin Liyi.

A little after nine, Chi Xingcun got back to the dorm.

He cheerfully unpacked a few takeout containers and asked his roommates if they wanted some.

Both roommates didn't think much of Chi Xingcun and both shook their heads and said no thanks.

So Chi Xingcun just left the takeout on his desk.

When he got out of the shower, his roommate Li Qing shot him a dirty look.

"How long are you gonna keep that takeout? It stinks, you know? Eat it and toss it already."

Chi Xingcun froze for a second, then snapped out of it. "Mm... okay."

He didn't want to waste it, so after drying his hair, he sat back down and opened the takeout.

He ate for a bit, then Xue Tianye walked in.

Chi Xingcun couldn't eat another bite and was about to toss it. Just as he stood up, Xue Tianye looked over and asked, "Gonna toss that?"

Xue Tianye had a pale, delicate face and wore thin frameless glasses, giving off a cool, refined vibe.

Chi Xingcun nodded.

"You've barely touched it—there's still a ton left. Mind if I have it? I've been studying all this time and I'm kinda hungry."

"I... I already took a few bites." Chi Xingcun hesitated.

"It's fine, I don't mind." A smile tugged at Xue Tianye's lips as he took the takeout from Chi Xingcun and started eating.

Chi Xingcun watched him for a moment, a smile creeping onto his face.

So not everyone hated him after all.

The two guys in bed watched Xue Tianye and got annoyed—this guy was always hovering around Chi Xingcun, checking on him no matter where he went.

Who was this saint, seriously?

They couldn't be bothered to watch anymore and just yanked the curtains shut.

After Xue Tianye finished eating, he cleaned up all the trash himself, not letting Chi Xingcun lift a finger.

......

That night, Chi Xingcun asked Chen Yudong for Xie Yean's contact info, claiming his mom knew him.

Thanks to Qin Liyi's stunt earlier, Chi Xingcun's WeChat was blowing up with messages from those Ke University classmates asking if he was some kind of royal heir.

After chatting with them for a bit, Chi Xingcun opened the contact card Chen Yudong had sent and added him.

As he was about to sleep, there was still no word on WeChat. Chi Xingcun figured the guy wouldn't accept, but the next second, they were friends.

He breathed a sigh of relief—good, one step closer.

He didn't plan to chat right away, so he put his phone down to sleep. But then it buzzed.

He picked it up again—a message from Xie Yean:

"What's your name?"

Chi Xingcun froze, surprised Xie Yean would reach out first.

"My name is Chi Xingcun. What about you?"

Xie Yean sat by the curb where the flowers had wilted, staring at the message on his screen.

He regretted accepting the friend request, regretted even messaging him.

They were from two completely different worlds.

He was a lone wolf—he'd never have friends for the rest of his life.

Since he was a kid, he'd survived on scholarships, contest prize money, and working as a child laborer just to study, eat, and sleep. His parents had never given him a single penny. Sometimes when he went home to eat, his dad would look at him with disgust and beat him.

Now that he was in college and an adult, he'd planned to stay away. But today, his mom had cried and lied that his dad was deathly sick to trick him into coming home.

Then his drunk dad smashed a ceramic bowl over his head and took every cent he had.

He got beaten again and thrown out of the house.

A gambling-addict dad, and a mom who was sweet to him but blindly went along with whatever his dad said.

His life was basically ruined.

He was isolated and bullied in the dorms, so he'd rented a tiny room outside for 500 a month. Rent was due soon, but his money had been stolen, so he couldn't pay. He'd really end up sleeping on the street like those guys said.

He pulled out the cigarettes and lighter he'd swiped from his dad, took one out, put it between his lips, and lit it.

He took a drag, then removed the cigarette with two fingers.

The smoke blurred his cold, indifferent face.

"Actually, I already know your name is Xie Yean. I heard it from your classmates."

His phone vibrated again.

He looked down at it.

"You're really good-looking. Want to be my model? I'm learning to paint."

Xie Yean stared at these two messages, his long, bony fingers typing out: "How much do you pay?"

Chi Xingcun: "Two thousand a day."

Xie Yean: "When do we meet?"

Chi Xingcun: "Tomorrow at noon, twelve o'clock."

Chi Xingcun sent him his location.

Chi Xingcun had a PE class tomorrow afternoon. He was in fragile health, and with the school's approval, he never had to take any PE exams.

He often cut class, and the PE teacher never even called his name.

Chi Xingcun knew Xie Yean's schedule. Xie Yean had no classes in the afternoon either.

The next day at noon, Chi Xingcun saw Xie Yean show up at his door right on time.

Xie Yean always wore ill-fitting white shirts and pants—and even those white shirts were yellowed.

This was also a big reason Xie Yean got bullied—his classmates thought he was dirty.

Chi Xingcun walked up to him with a bright grin. "Hey!"

Xie Yean just looked at him, calm and unbothered.

"Come in!" Chi Xingcun said, pushing the door open.

Chi Xingcun was leading Xie Yean into the living room when his mother came hurrying down the stairs.

"Baby, mommy's rushing out now. I'll be back with your dad next week. If you miss me, give me a call, okay?"

"Alright, Mom. This is the art teacher I found."

Chi Xingcun quickly pulled Xie Yean over to his mom.

Chi's mom glanced at Xie Yean, smiled, and shook his hand. "Hi there. My son's pretty enthusiastic. Hope you can put up with him. I'll treat you to a meal sometime."

"No worries, Auntie."

They made small talk for a moment, and then Chi's mom left without looking back.

Chi Xingcun stood there frozen. How could his mom not notice anything?

He turned to look at Xie Yean, who looked awkward, his long bangs covering his eyes and eyebrows.

Also, Xie Yean was so skinny he looked almost gaunt.

Well, with looks like that, it really was hard to tell.

He grabbed Xie Yean's hand and led him upstairs.

Once they got upstairs, Xie Yean pulled his hand away.

"This is the room I set up for you."

He led Xie Yean into the room and over to the bathroom. "This is your bathroom. Go take a shower first, and then I'll get you some clean clothes."