Chapter 37

Qi Yang stared at the message for at least five minutes while sitting in the hospital waiting area.

When the broadcast screen called Qi Xing’s number, he pulled himself together and led her inside.

The expert gave Qi Xing a thorough examination, and the conclusion was largely the same as the previous specialist’s assessment.

Zou Meizhu had gone off to wander around on her own, so Qi Yang expertly steered his sister through the various consultation rooms, now completely numb to the hospital environment.

After the hospital prescribed a course of rehabilitation sessions and Qi Yang confirmed the upcoming schedule with the expert, he contacted Zou Meizhu to come back and pack up. He would take Qi Xing straight to the hotel to check out.

“Where are we moving to, Yangyang?”

Zou Meizhu had been exhausted from the previous day, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying her shopping spree. When she met Qi Yang in the hotel lobby, she cheerfully showed off her haul. “Look at this scarf Mom bought—I can wear it when spring comes.”

Qi Yang couldn’t be bothered to explain much and simply said they were staying at a friend’s place.

Zou Meizhu had let her own life go to waste and never paid much attention to her kids, but when it came to social etiquette, she still knew how to behave.

As soon as she heard they’d be imposing on a friend, she held up her phone to fix her hair and muttered to herself the whole way. First she asked Qi Yang if he even had friends here, then she grumbled about whether that person would mind the trouble—saving money wasn’t worth being rude.

When the ride-hailing car turned into a luxurious villa district, her voice dropped. She slapped Qi Yang’s shoulder twice and scolded him for being thoughtless—showing up empty-handed without even buying anything.

As Qi Yang entered the passcode Mu Yicong had sent earlier, her eyes went wide. “What are you doing?”

“It’s a friend’s empty house.” Qi Yang pressed the last button and listened to the door click open with a buzz, a mix of emotions churning inside him.

Zou Meizhu’s caution vanished instantly. Faced with the spacious, upscale house, she let out an excited cry.

Qi Yang led Qi Xing by the hand to change shoes in the entrance hall while listening to Zou Meizhu’s exclamations echoing through the villa. He looked up to check on Qi Xing’s state.

Just because Qi Xing was staying in a nice house didn’t mean she wouldn’t have episodes.

Qi Yang just needed a place where, even if Qi Xing screamed or wet the bed, it wouldn’t bother anyone else—a way to shield her from the stares of strangers who looked at her like she was a freak.

There was another reason too. The kid was getting older now. Even though she wasn’t aware of it, having to use the bathroom and change pants in a cramped room made Qi Yang uncomfortable, even if Zou Meizhu didn’t mind.

The little girl had no concept of these things. Having changed surroundings too frequently over the past two days, and after spending half a day at the hospital, fatigue was evident on her face even though she couldn’t express it.

Her hair, tied into a bun, had come loose in messy strands. She clutched Qi Yang’s hand tightly with one hand while wiping her forehead with the other, like a nervous animal, her eyes darting rapidly between the shoe cabinet and the carpet.

“Here, you’ll have a table to do your sticker art on,” Qi Yang said, pulling her further into the villa and showing her each room.

By the time they’d changed shoes, Zou Meizhu had already run up to the third floor.

The sound of doors opening and closing mixed with her admiring cries. She poked her head out from the stairs, calling out like a kid, “This house is gorgeous, son. Which friend of yours is this? Did Dameng strike it rich over New Year’s?”

Qi Yang first settled Qi Xing down, got her a bottle of water, and waited until she calmed enough to start wandering around the house before collapsing into the sofa with a sigh.

“Which friend?” Zou Meizhu thundered down the stairs, eyes sparkling, and asked again.

“You don’t know him.” Qi Yang pulled out his phone. “There’s food in the kitchen. Don’t touch other people’s stuff.”

“Mom knows, Mom knows.” Zou Meizhu scurried off to the kitchen.

The “thank you” message Qi Yang had sent to Mu Yicong that morning had gone unanswered.

He stared at the chat window for a while, typed a few words in the input bar, then thought better of it and deleted them all. He got up, went to the balcony, and made a phone call.

“You there?” Mu Yicong’s end was noisy—he must have been busy. He answered right away.

“Yeah.” Qi Yang’s reply was stiff. “Thanks. Let me know the utility bills for these days when you get the numbers.”

“Just stay,” Mu Yicong said. “How’s Qi Xing?”

“Okay.” Qi Yang lit a cigarette, speaking around the filter. “The expert said she’s in much better shape than he expected.”

“Smoke less,” Mu Yicong said.

Qi Yang held the cigarette in his mouth and fell silent. Mu Yicong didn’t speak either.

Zou Meizhu called out “Yangyang!” from the kitchen, her voice loud and clear. Qi Yang instinctively covered the phone and brushed the ash off his chest.

“What’s up?” he asked, his voice tight.

Mu Yicong chuckled on the other end. “Go deal with it.” He hung up.

That night, staying at Mu Yicong’s villa, Qi Yang got his first solid sleep in days.

With a better environment, Zou Meizhu’s mood improved. For once, she acted like a real mother, taking Qi Xing’s hand and leading her around the villa. When she offered to take Qi Xing to sleep on the third floor, Qi Yang headed to the bedroom Mu Yicong had given him last time. He fell asleep without even eating dinner.

For the next three days, he took Qi Xing to the hospital. Zou Meizhu didn’t even go out shopping. Instead, she posted several selfies on her Moments, taken in various corners of the villa.

Every day when Qi Yang brought Qi Xing back, she was full of energy, cooking different dishes and even cleaning Mu Yicong’s villa meticulously, treating it like her own home.

“If your father hadn’t messed up, I wouldn’t be this happy just to live in a decent house,” she said one evening at the dining table.

She poured herself a glass of red wine, swept her gaze across the villa’s grand high ceiling, then let her eyes settle on Qi Xing’s face with a silent sigh.

Qi Yang said nothing.

Qi Dahai was just a name in his mind now—no longer connected to the word “Dad.”

“Son, don’t I look like a noblewoman from a castle?” Zou Meizhu cheered herself up, raised her glass, and asked Qi Yang to take a picture.

If it were anyone else, Qi Yang might have sneered at someone who couldn’t stop snapping photos just because they were staying in a nice house.

But looking at Zou Meizhu, whose eyes had regained some sparkle, he curled his lips, took the phone, and felt only a hollow ache.

After dinner, they cleared the table. Zou Meizhu went to video call her old friends. Qi Yang took a shower and then played with Qi Xing and her handcraft journal.

“Remember the brother from last time?” he asked softly, picking up a sticker and placing it in Qi Xing’s notebook.

Qi Xing stared at where her brother had put it for a long time, then carefully peeled it off bit by bit and stuck it back on the release sheet.

Qi Yang laughed and ruffled her hair.

The beeping of the keypad lock suddenly came from outside the door. Qi Yang glanced toward the entrance, alert, and walked over to the entrance hall.

Just as he was about to press the intercom on the wall, the door swung open. Mu Yicong stood in the doorway, bringing in the sharp cold of the night.

“Why are you standing here?” He raised an eyebrow at Qi Yang, who was frozen in the entrance hall.

“Why are you…” Qi Yang was stunned.

“Hmm?” Mu Yicong looked relaxed, his eyes fixed on him. “I wanted to see you, so I came.”

Compared to the outrageous things Mu Yicong had said and done before, this sentence wasn’t particularly over the top. Yet it stirred a complex current deep inside Qi Yang, flooding his chaotic mind and crashing around.

“Oh!” Zou Meizhu heard the noise and came downstairs. Seeing Mu Yicong, she exclaimed in surprise, “Is this your friend, Yangyang?”

Hearing that nickname in front of Mu Yicong made Qi Yang’s back tense up.

“Mom.” He turned back, a little annoyed, and introduced her. “This is Mu Yicong. It’s his house.”

“Ah, so you’re Yangyang’s friend!” Zou Meizhu hurried over to greet him. “Come in, dear. It’s freezing outside—why go to all this trouble?”

“Hello, Auntie.” Mu Yicong greeted her, then looked at Qi Yang with a half-smile. “Can I come in, Yangyang?”

That “Yangyang” had a rising tone at the end. The address, the tone, and the ambiguity that made Qi Yang’s mind race—all of it made his eyelid twitch.

He shot Mu Yicong a warning glance before turning back to the living room to get Qi Xing.

Zou Meizhu, acting like the host, greeted Mu Yicong with a mix of warmth and gratitude, busying herself with pouring him water.

“No need to trouble yourself, Auntie.” Mu Yicong took off his jacket and walked over. Seeing Qi Xing, he pinched her nose.

Qi Xing still remembered him. Her eyes flickered over his face a few times, then she let go of Qi Yang’s hand and went back to the table to play.

“When did Yangyang get to know you?” Zou Meizhu was very curious about Mu Yicong. She invited him to sit down, studying his face with obvious liking and admiration. “He never mentioned you before.”

“I’ve seen you once,” Mu Yicong said.

“Impossible.” Zou Meizhu shook her head firmly. “A fine young man like you, tall with a celebrity face—if I’d seen you, I’d definitely remember.”

Qi Yang sat down on the sofa near Qi Xing, propped his arm on the armrest, and rested his cheek on his hand in exasperation.

“Back in high school, my bone fracture—that was him,” he reminded Zou Meizhu.

Zou Meizhu let out another “ah” and looked Mu Yicong up and down three or four times before finally digging up a vague memory.

“The kid who set his own IV drip in the hospital?” She tapped the table. “Auntie remembers now! I thought back then that you’d go far.”

Hearing this old-fashioned parental praise, Qi Yang cringed inside.

He didn’t want to say anything, but Mu Yicong, surprisingly well-mannered, smiled more than usual and politely responded to Zou Meizhu.

“Oh, it’s already ten o’clock! Qi Xing!” After a polite exchange, Zou Meizhu finally came to her senses and got up to take Qi Xing to bed.

“You two chat,” she said cheerfully, leading Qi Xing up the stairs. “Yangyang, be sure to thank him properly. We’re really lucky to have a friend like him.”

Qi Yang picked up a cup to drink water. Mu Yicong watched the mother and daughter disappear up the stairs before turning his gaze back to Qi Yang.

“Auntie is being so polite—did things not go well?” he asked in a low voice.

“It’s fine.” Qi Yang blew on the rim of the cup without looking at him, directly exposing Zou Meizhu. “She likes big houses. Staying here makes her happy.”

“And you?” Mu Yicong said.

Qi Yang paused mid-sip.

“What about me?” He sensed Mu Yicong was about to start again.

“How are you going to thank me?”

Mu Yicong didn’t drink the water Zou Meizhu had poured. Instead, he reached over, took the cup from Qi Yang’s hand, held his gaze, and took a small sip.