Chapter 30: Brothers
If it were free, Xi Leng definitely wouldn’t accept such charity.
Qiao Yusen was very thoughtful, charging thirty-six thousand was just for show, but that didn’t stop Min Zhi from cursing him out.
Min Zhi wouldn’t ask him to transfer the thirty-six thousand to him, he wasn’t short of that little bit of money. But after returning home, staring at the chat window with Xi Leng, he opened the transfer interface several times, then closed it again, saying nothing.
And Xi Leng, completely oblivious to this, efficiently moved the next day at noon.
He didn’t have much luggage; the old and worthless appliances and furniture in his apartment weren’t his. He hired a mover, two trips in the elevator, and all his belongings were moved.
A suitcase and a backpack by the entrance contained all his clothes and shoes; a large cardboard box filled with miscellaneous items, Min Zhi’s merchandise, speakers, etc.; and the last two large cardboard boxes were filled with his paintings.
A solitary figure, along with all his belongings, only occupied a small corner of the spacious duplex apartment.
An intense feeling of unreality washed over him. Xi Leng, like a wandering soul, walked around the apartment again and again.
Then he called Qiao Yusen to confirm.
“Haha…” Qiao Yusen’s laughter seemed to carry a puzzling undertone. Before Xi Leng could think about it, he continued, “As long as you’ve moved in, don’t worry, just relax and live here. Bringing people back, or getting a pet or something, it’s all fine, your landlord has plenty of properties, do whatever you want.”
“…Huh? Very clean? Even the bed is made?”
Qiao Yusen hesitated for a moment.
Then he laughed again: “Not me, I haven’t been there, the photos I sent you were taken right after the renovation. Perhaps he hired a cleaning service yesterday, he wouldn’t have the time to clean it himself in the middle of the night, would he? Haha.”
After talking for a while, Xi Leng finally started unpacking.
Half of the master bedroom on the second floor was a walk-in closet, with a small loft above, two skylights providing ample natural light, the perfect studio he had always dreamed of.
He put all his belongings in the master bedroom, leaving the rest of the apartment as it was, then immediately left.
This duplex was on the tenth floor, the only one on that floor, twice as large as the other apartments below. Two elevators, two units per floor, the stairwell also had windows, bright and clean. Climbing ten floors in this environment wasn’t tiring at all.
Unlike the old residential complex where the corridors were treated as open shoe racks, with colorful flyers for locksmiths plastered everywhere. Before going downstairs, Xi Leng glanced at his neighbor’s closed door, clean and unmarked, he didn’t know if anyone lived there.
In a flash, he quickly went downstairs and hailed a taxi to the tutoring center five kilometers away.
He arrived at exactly 4:30 pm, classes hadn’t ended yet.
It was mid-July, and Xi Leng figured that junior high schools should be on summer vacation by now, but Rong Xingyi ignored him, refusing to tell him when his summer vacation started. He could only contact his stepmother, learning that Rong Xingyi’s summer vacation had started last week, but he was sent to a tutoring center.
Even in the north, the sun was already scorching at this time of year. Xi Leng stood in the shade and waited patiently, pedestrians hurrying past under their umbrellas, sweating profusely, but he wasn’t in a hurry, taking sips of water when he felt hot.
4:50 pm.
The first student emerged from the entrance, a thin and delicate boy wearing glasses. But usually, students left in groups. This boy coming out alone was strange. He was carrying a backpack and holding another one, looking around as if searching for someone.
Xi Leng paid attention.
The boy’s gaze locked onto a certain direction, a joyful expression appearing on his face. Xi Leng followed his gaze and suddenly froze.
A familiar figure emerged from the corner.
Or rather, familiar yet unfamiliar.
The last time Xi Leng saw him, he was 18, a vibrant age, yet confined to a wheelchair and crutches due to amputation, looking haggard, gloomy, and covered in invisible thorns.
And now, he was 15, tall and thin, full of youthful energy, his peach blossom eyes sly and lively.
Rong Xingyi, like a thief, cautiously approached the bespectacled boy. The bespectacled boy also walked towards him, intending to give him his backpack—
But a young man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and snatched it first.
Walking closer, Rong Xingyi finally noticed Xi Leng, his expression changing drastically. He abandoned his backpack and turned to run!
Neither of them spoke, one frantically running, the other frantically chasing.
The bespectacled student watched, dumbfounded. After a few seconds, his concern for his friend prevailed. He moved his thin, untrained legs and also chased after them.
Rong Xingyi swung his leg over a motorcycle parked by the roadside, too exhausted to even catch his breath. Just as he grabbed the handlebars, the key was snatched away by a hand that appeared out of nowhere.
Rong Xingyi’s eyes widened, and he said angrily: “Robbery in broad daylight!? Give it back!”
Xi Leng’s voice was deep: “Get down.”
Rong Xingyi ignored him, staring defiantly.
“You skipped class again? Do you know how hard your mother works to earn money?”
At this moment, the bespectacled student finally arrived, holding a backpack, not knowing whether to hand it over or not.
Rong Xingyi nonchalantly took his backpack. Since Xi Leng took his key, he’d just walk!
“Stop.” But Xi Leng was relentless. “I agreed with your mom, you’re staying with me this summer.”
He also planned to transfer Rong Xingyi to a private school. Despite the high tuition fees, the teachers and security at private schools were impeccable. More importantly, the academic pressure was lower, which would be easier for Rong Xingyi if he wanted to become a celebrity.
But Xi Leng didn’t mention any of this now.
Clearly, even basic communication between them was difficult at this moment.
Hearing that his mother had entrusted him to his older brother, Rong Xingyi clicked his tongue, his eyes shifting, scheming something.
Then, without warning, he ran again.
Xi Leng easily caught up to him. This time, showing no mercy, he extended a long leg, tripping the disobedient boy, sending him sprawling.
“Ah!!!”
The bespectacled student, who had never seen such a scene before, was terrified, covering his face and screaming.
Then, something even more terrifying happened.
Rong Xingyi struggled frantically, hitting Xi Leng with his knees and kicking him.
Xi Leng, no longer holding back, threw a punch at the boy below him.
Rong Xingyi didn’t make a sound even after being hit. Not to be outdone, he found an opportunity and bit down hard on Xi Leng’s forearm.
What the two brothers were least afraid of was getting beaten up.
Xi Leng let him bite, his eyes cold and deep, his voice laced with mockery: “Rong Xingyi, you’re 15 now, and you still only know how to bite?”
After Rong Xingyi let go, Xi Leng, his expression indifferent, picked him up, grabbing his collar, forcing him to look him in the eye.
The aggressive and fearless teenager, unexpectedly, avoided his gaze.
“D-don’t… don’t hit me anymore…”
The bespectacled student cautiously came over to mediate. Xi Leng swung his arm back, not using much force, but the student, who spent all his time studying, was very weak, and he fell to the ground with a yelp.
The hostile brothers temporarily ceased their fight.
The bespectacled student had lost his glasses. He fumbled around like a blind person, finally finding his glasses and putting them back on. The lenses were cracked, looking quite comical.
“Sorry.” Xi Leng went over and helped him up. “How much were the glasses, I’ll pay for them.”
“It’s fine, no need.” The bespectacled student was good-natured, smiling shyly, taking out a new pair of glasses from his backpack. “This happens often, so I have several spare pairs.”
“He’s just saying that, don’t believe him.” Rong Xingyi scoffed, coming over to taunt, “He has no money to compensate you!”
Although his words were dismissive, they also indirectly revealed his familiarity with Xi Leng.
The bespectacled student, clearly a good student, quickly understood: “H-h-he’s your…?”
“I’m his older brother.” Xi Leng said. “Show me your payment code.”
“Oh, oh, okay.”
The bespectacled student obediently did as he was told, then realized that five hundred yuan had been transferred to his account. Looking up again, Rong Xingyi, the troublemaker, was being dragged away by his brother, completely subdued, only shouting about robbery and kidnapping, making the two brothers incredibly eye-catching.
Perhaps because they were good-looking, passersby only thought they were filming, no one helped Rong Xingyi, some even took out their phones to take pictures.
…Truly shameless.
Even the bespectacled student couldn’t bear to watch anymore, frowning and turning to go home.
Cloudtop One.
Located within the fourth ring road of Beijing, a fifteen-minute walk from bustling shopping malls and top universities.
Rong Xingyi suspected he was dreaming, beaten up by his brother, hallucinating.
Xi Leng pulled Rong Xingyi out of the car. Cloudtop One had tight security, taxis couldn’t enter, residents all used private cars, with drivers as standard.
But in this kind of place, Xi Leng actually used his face to open the gate!!
The two anomalies walked in under the scorching setting sun.
When Xi Leng entered the password and opened the door, Rong Xingyi finally snapped out of his daze: “Whose apartment is this?”
Xi Leng ignored him: “Choose any room on the first floor, remember to throw away your snack wrappers. I’ll go get your luggage tomorrow, just wear my clothes for tonight.”
Rong Xingyi scoffed, but his body was honest, quickly slipping into a large suite like a nimble loach.
Poking his head out, he whispered excitedly: “I heard many celebrities live here.”
Within minutes, Rong Xingyi had settled into the role of master of the house, rushing out and clinging to a poster in the living room: “Holy shit! Min-shen’s autographed poster! Is this real too? And these CDs… so you weren’t lying?”
Xi Leng ignored him, his expression indifferent: “I just moved in, there’s nothing at home, come with me now, we’ll go to the supermarket to buy some food and other necessities.”
“Y-you’re really rich now? Can I spend your money?” Rong Xingyi naturally looked forward to a better life, then pouted, “You don’t have much money, don’t spend it recklessly…”
Xi Leng said: “If you don’t want to go, then just stay home.”
Completely missing the point, Rong Xingyi, whose phone had been confiscated, had no choice: “Fine, I’ll go, happy now? Give me some of your clothes, my back is covered in dirt… all thanks to you tripping me.”
They didn’t talk much on the way, at least they didn’t fight anymore. Each carrying two plastic bags, they returned home smoothly.
Xi Leng didn’t want to take the elevator, so he let Rong Xingyi take it up alone.
Rong Xingyi pouted, thinking this was too tiring, and decided to take the stairs with him.
Seemingly unaware that taking the stairs was clearly more tiring.
As they climbed the stairs, the two plastic bags in his hands felt like they were filled with lead. Rong Xingyi complained incessantly.
Xi Leng remained indifferent: “Then go take the elevator and bring all four bags up, most of them are your things anyway.”
“How can I carry four bags with two hands?”
He sounded quite imposing, but he still didn’t take the elevator, foolishly following behind Xi Leng.
The two, one after the other, panting, finally reached the tenth floor.
Their voices arrived before they did.
Min Zhi, who was about to enter his password and go home, paused and turned his head towards the stairwell.
The next moment.
The three ran into each other, time seeming to freeze for a few seconds.
Blood rushed to Rong Xingyi’s cheeks, his face flushed with excitement, stammering, his eyes almost popping out of his head.
Xi Leng’s heart skipped a beat.
What? Min Zhi lived next door to him? Min Zhi was his only neighbor? This was too much of a coincidence… but this was an apartment introduced by Qiao Yusen, so there was a certain inevitability to this coincidence. But that wasn’t the point.
The point was, Rong Xingyi was Min Zhi’s real fan, a true fanboy.
It hadn’t been a problem in the escape room before, everyone was focused on solving puzzles, and Luo Jiayan didn’t have much opportunity to express his admiration. His personality was also the opposite of Xi Leng’s, so he wasn’t a cause for concern.
But now, a real fan and a fake fan together, and they were brothers, Xi Leng was worried that Min Zhi would notice something.
Before Xi Leng could react, Rong Xingyi rushed forward, his face flushed, his words incoherent: “Min… Min Zhi-gege… is that really you? A real person… oh my god. Am I dreaming? C-c-can I get your autograph?”
Xi Leng tried to stop him, grabbing his arm, frowning and shaking his head slightly.
But Min Zhi was very generous: “It’s fine, I’ll give him an autograph.”
Xi Leng pursed his lips and let go of Rong Xingyi’s arm.
Min Zhi was unexpectedly gentle and patient towards this fan he was meeting for the first time, asking: “What’s your name?”
“Rong Xingyi.” Rong Xingyi said excitedly. “Rong, as in easy, Xing, as in star, Yi, as in shining brightly…”
“Your real name?”
“Mm-hmm, my mom gave it to me.”
“Your surname is Rong?”
“Mm-hmm. It’s quite rare, isn’t it? But I don’t really like it, Min Zhi-gege, you can just call me Xiao Yi.”
“…Alright.”
Min Zhi quickly gave Rong Xingyi a personalized autograph, casually obtaining the information that dashed his hopes.
Children these days were well-nourished and tall. He wasn’t sure if this almost 1.8-meter tall teenager was in junior high or high school. But Xi Leng wasn’t very old either, the two couldn’t be that far apart in age.
This kid was really good-looking, his bright peach blossom eyes, just like his name, shining brightly. He also had a cute dimple on his left cheek.
His appearance and temperament were completely different from Xi Leng’s.
He was also ten times more talkative than Xi Leng.
And their surnames were different.
Yesterday, Qiao Yusen had told him that Xi Leng might not be living alone, and today, he saw it with his own eyes—Xi Leng brought a handsome young man home, the familiarity between them definitely not something that could be developed overnight.
“…”
Among the three, perhaps only Rong Xingyi, the successful fan, was in high spirits, still having a lot to say to his idol.
“Thank you.” Xi Leng spoke at this moment, subtly restraining the eager Rong Xingyi. “Then we’ll be going now, we still need to make dinner.”
He even had to make dinner for this kid.
Min Zhi: “…Mm-hmm.”
Xi Leng gave a faint smile and reached for the door.
Min Zhi happened to see a clear bite mark on his fair forearm. He looked at the boy following him into the apartment, stunned.
Bang.
The door gently closed, separating the two worlds.
