Chapter 26

Lying… Qi Mu thought about what he had been up to these days and couldn’t escape the truth.

He had indeed been both coaxing and deceiving, pleading with Yin Xiuzhu to do his homework for him.

Tyrant Qi, feeling slightly guilty, shoved a chicken leg in his mouth, saying, “Stop talking nonsense, I did it myself.”

Xu Xiaoming didn’t believe it, “No Little Snail Girl?”

Qi Mu glanced at Yin Xiuzhu and mumbled, “No!”

Fang Junqi quietly added, “There might be a Little Snail Boy.”

Xu Xiaoming turned to look at Fang Xiaopang. Xiaopang quickly finished his soup and said, “I’m leaving first. I still have notes to organize.”

Later, Xu Xiaoming, belatedly realizing something, sneaked back into the classroom and asked Qi Mu, “Who is the Little Snail Boy? Is it Yin Xiuzhu?”

Qi Mu smacked him on the forehead and smirked, “Of course.”

Xu Xiaoming, feeling disappointed, lamented, “I wish I had such a smart, capable, and virtuous childhood friend too!”

Qi Mu gave him a sidelong glance and asked, “Are you saying I’m not smart, or that Xiaopang isn’t, or that you don’t consider Yin Xiuzhu your childhood friend?”

Surprised by how much Qi Mu had managed to dig into with just one question, Xu Xiaoming quickly added, “But obviously, Yin Xiuzhu is closest to you.”

“That’s right,” Qi Mu said, pleased to hear this, “We’re different.”

Xu Xiaoming thought: You are different. Normal people don’t get this close!

Qi Mu sighed dramatically and said, “Yin Xiuzhu and I have a bond that’s worth risking our lives for…”

Xu Xiaoming rolled his eyes inwardly: Here we go again… It’s been a year and he still talks about that kidnapping incident, where he didn’t even get to see the kidnapper’s face!

In late autumn, it was Yin Xiuzhu’s birthday.

Qi Mu had been planning for it for a long time, and coincidentally, it was on a Friday, so he could go all out after school.

Early in the morning, Qi Mu packed the gift into his bag, hopped on his bike, and left with a flourish.

Qiao Jin reminded him, “Go slow and be careful!”

Qi Mu didn’t even look back, “Don’t worry.”

Qiao Jin watched her child’s back and couldn’t help but smile. Aunt Chen said from the side, “Mu Mu is getting more and more handsome.”

Qiao Jin replied, “At fourteen, he might even have someone he likes.”

Aunt Chen was taken aback, “No way! Early love can interfere with studies!”

Qiao Jin laughed, “With his studies, even without early love, he’s not going to excel much.”

Aunt Chen didn’t quite know how to respond. After all these years working in this family, she still found the couple a bit inscrutable. The home was indeed harmonious, and while their son was a bit mischievous, he was endearing. However, Aunt Chen wasn’t too sure about Qi Dashan and Qiao Jin’s attitude towards parenting—wasn’t it a bit too indulgent?

With only one son, shouldn’t they be focusing on proper upbringing and preparing him to take over the family business?

As soon as Qi Mu arrived at school, he dashed into Class 2. The students in that class were used to him by now and considered him almost one of their own. The class’s PE representitive, Pang Liang, who often played basketball with him, greeted him like an old buddy, “What’s up! You’re early today.”

Qi Mu tossed him a bread roll. Pang Liang caught it and quickly informed, “First period is English, and Yin Xiuzhu is in the office.” After spending a year abroad and returning, it was impossible for him not to be the class’s English representative.

“Got it.” Qi Mu rushed out again.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Yin Xiuzhu, a tall figure who easily towered over everyone in the hallway, standing out vividly.

Qi Mu moved forward to take the test papers from him.

Yin Xiuzhu avoided him, “I’ll carry them; you’re still carrying your backpack.”

Qi Mu, with a sharp eye, spotted a student from Class 2 and quickly called out, “Yao Wenhang, could you help take the test papers to the classroom? I need to talk to Yin Xiuzhu about something.”

The student, surprised to be called out, quickly replied, “Sure, sure!”

Qi Mu was quite familiar with Class 2, having gotten to know all the students there even before he had learned the names of all his own classmates. Teacher Sun had once commented, “If some of these students put as much effort into memorizing texts as they do into getting to know others, they wouldn’t end up reciting the Peach Blossom Spring as ‘escaping in a hurry’!”

With everything arranged, Qi Mu pulled Yin Xiuzhu to a corner.

Yin Xiuzhu had an inkling of what was coming, his throat feeling a bit dry, and his gaze slightly heated.

Qi Mu, with a smiling gaze, said, “Happy Birthday!”

Yin Xiuzhu couldn’t stop the smiling, and replied, “Thank you!”

Qi Mu then asked, “Am I the first one to say it to you?”

Yin Xiuzhu nodded vigorously, “Yes.”

Satisfied, Qi Mu took off his backpack from his left shoulder and pulled out a gift, handing it to him, “Here’s a birthday present.”

Actually, no birthday gift was needed—just those words from him were worth more than any rare treasures.

Yin Xiuzhu took the gift, but as he was about to thank him, he was stunned: “This…”

Qi Mu said, “Don’t be polite.”

Yin Xiuzhu looked at the box in his hand, somewhat unsure, “Is it a phone?”

“Yep, the latest model—something like the 3GS, I can’t quite remember. It’s really cool, no keyboard too!”

Yin Xiuzhu paused for a moment, “It must be expensive.”

“I don’t know,” Qi Mu said nonchalantly. “Oh, I have so much red packet money from the new years I can’t spend it all.”

Yin Xiuzhu wanted to say something more, but Qi Mu rummaged through his backpack again and pulled out a black phone. “I got one for myself too, so we have matching ones.”

Yin Xiuzhu let out a small breath, gripping the box even tighter.

Qi Mu continued, “This thing can also do video calls, so it’ll be easier for us to stay in touch.”

The temptation was too great for Yin Xiuzhu to refuse this gift: “Thank you.”
Qi Mu laughed, “These words are becoming your catchphrase.”

“But…”

Seeing him pursed his lips, Qi Mu added, “Alright, go back to class now. We can stay in touch with the phone from now on!”

Yin Xiuzhu nodded, “Mm!”

“Oh, by the way,” Qi Mu asked, “Do you have any plans for the evening?”

Yin Xiuzhu understood immediately, “My dad won’t be able to come back today.”

Qi Mu’s face lit up with delight, “Then I’ll come to your house tonight!”

Yin Xiuzhu was very pleased, “Alright.”

When school ended, it wasn’t just Qi Mu heading to Yin’s house—Xu Xiaoming and Fang Junqi were also coming along.

For a birthday, the more people the merrier, but unfortunately, the Yin family home was a bit far, and the situation was special, making it inconvenient to invite classmates from their class. Otherwise, with Qi Mu’s standards, he would have invited all the various class representatives from Class 2!

Though Qi Mu wasn’t the best student, he had always been good at handling relationships. He made sure that Yin Xiuzhu wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in Class 2.

Xu Xiaoming was a regular guest at the Yin household, while Fang Junqi was visiting for the first time.

Fang Junqi curiously looked around, eventually coming to the same conclusion as Qi Mu—“It’s so empty.”

Such a large place felt a bit too spacious for just one person. What he didn’t know was that the house had once been bustling with activity: two gardeners, three housekeepers, two chefs, and an additional aunt dedicated to taking care of Yin Xiuzhu.

But Yin Xiuzhu had sent them all away. Although the large house felt empty with just him, it was still better than having a bunch of unwanted people around.

Qi Mu had already lit the candles on the enormous, extravagant three-layer chocolate cake, which made Xu Xiaoming wince, “It’s so big. Are we going to be able to finish it?”

Qi Mu swallowed hard, “Even if we can’t finish it… it’s nice to look at.”

Xu Xiaoming thought: How can my bro, Qi Mu, be so into chocolate like a little girl?

After tonight, Yin Xiuzhu would turn fifteen, being a year older than Qi Mu, or more precisely, five months older.

As far as Qi Mu was concerned, he didn’t acknowledge that—five months older? That’s basically the same age as him! They were simply peers!

The boys had a great time that night. When one thought about it, from the age of four to fourteen—it’s been ten years.

How many ten-year periods does one have in life?

And they had spent this first decade together. It was rare, truly rare.

Xu Xiaoming couldn’t sit still for even five minutes. Excitedly, he said, “I brought a DVD. Let’s watch a horror movie!”

Qi Mu: “…” Keeping a calm exterior while panicking internally.

Fang Junqi, who wasn’t afraid of anything, said, “I don’t mind.”

Yin Xiuzhu knew Qi Mu was scared, but…

Xu Xiaoming had already decided, “With Qi Mu here, watching a horror movie feels extra safe.”

Qi Mu thought: “…” Thanks for holding me in such high regard. Really need to thank your ancestors for this!

With his idol persona heavily at stake, Tyrant Qi grudgingly nodded. It was just about not being able to sleep, right? Anyway, there was no school tomorrow; he could just stay up if needed!

Xu Xiaoming opened his backpack and pulled out a stack of DVDs, making Qi Mu’s scalp tingle.

Damn it, this guy brought so many! Does he want to scare someone to death?

Xu Xiaoming picked one with a particularly eerie cover and said, “Let’s watch this one. The female ghost looks really intense.”

Intense, my foot! Qi Mu cursed inwardly while keeping a composed face, “Alright then.”

So they began watching…

Half an hour later, Xu Xiaoming let out a terrified scream, “Damn, damn, damn, I’m scared to death!”

Qi Mu clung tightly to Yin Xiuzhu, almost pushing him off the sofa: “What are you screaming for? If you’re scared, why are you watching?”

Xu Xiaoming, covering his eyes, mumbled, “It’s precisely because I’m scared that I’m watching. What’s the fun for you guys who aren’t scared?”

Fang Xiaopang looked at the bloody scene and continued munching on his fries, “What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just ketchup.”

Qi Mu and Xu Xiaoming both turned to look at this fatty, their faces filled with horror—Fat Bro, do you know how intimidating you were compared to the ghostly women on the TV?

After finally finishing one film, and seeing Xu Xiaoming about to put in another disc, Qi Mu couldn’t take it anymore, “Get out, get out, can’t you see we’re done? You’re driving me crazy.”

Xu Xiaoming smirked, “This isn’t a horror movie. It’s something good!”
Qi Mu, relieved to hear it wasn’t a horror movie, asked, “A comedy?”

Xu Xiaoming, with a knowing look, said, “You’re both old enough now. Stop focusing only on studying and… fighting. It’s time to watch something serious.”

Scared out of his wits by horror movies, Xu Xiaoming wanted to shift the mood, and what better way to do that than with an erotic movie?

“This is one of the films Old Dong brought back from America recently. I haven’t watched it yet, so let’s check it out together.” After graduating from elementary school, Dong Jisheng went to America. He and Xu Xiaoming shared similar tastes and had been keeping in touch surreptitiously.

Qi Mu was curious, “What’s it about? Hollywood?”

Xu Xiaoming glanced at the beautiful woman on the cover and smiled knowingly, “Something like that. It’s an action movie.”

As soon as the movie started, there was heavy breathing, and a slender white youth was being vigorously taken by a black man on the sofa…

Instantly, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Xu Xiaoming took a while to recover, quickly turning off the remote with a shocked expression: “Damn, Old Dong’s taste is terrifying!”

Author’s Note:

Dong Jisheng: Achoo! Who’s talking about me behind my back…?