Even if it wasn’t because some good movie was showing, or some special occasion, two guys going to see a movie together—in Qi Yang’s view these days—was frankly a bit… intimate.
But Mu Yicong could put it plainly, laying out those four words: “You owe me.” With that, Qi Yang had no reason to refuse.
Sometimes, the way people interact is truly strange.
Originally, after their reunion, everything Mu Yicong said or did only irritated Qi Yang. Mu Yicong probably felt the same, always probing this unfamiliar version of Qi Yang one way or another.
But today, the two of them had spoken openly, face to face, and both felt a lightness that had been absent the past few days.
At the very least, Qi Yang no longer had to overthink Mu Yicong’s intentions—whether they were about revenge or simply messing with him.
Although being liked by a middle school classmate—who might still like him now—and a guy at that—it still felt weird no matter how he looked at it.
“You had to bring up the word ‘owe,’” Qi Yang said, picking up his water cup and taking a sip. “Isn’t that a bit much?”
Thinking for a moment, he set a serious expression and told Mu Yicong, “Can’t do it these next few days. I’m taking Qi Xing to the hospital on the ninth. We’ll talk when I get back.”
Mu Yicong didn’t push him. Instead, he changed the subject and asked how long Qi Yang would be gone.
“Three to five days, no more than a week,” Qi Yang said. When he talked about Qi Xing, it was like he became a different person—decisive and steady.
“Enough time?” Mu Yicong looked at him.
“Not enough, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I still have to work.” Qi Yang’s gaze dropped as he picked at his dish. “Her condition can’t be cured anyway. It’s all about treatment cycles. We’ll try it first, and if it works, we’ll arrange more later.”
If Qi Xing had been a boy, Qi Yang might not have bothered much with her illness.
At least he wouldn’t have dragged her all over the country. He could have just locked her at home, as long as she could eat and sleep on her own.
But she was a clean little girl. He couldn’t bear to let Qi Xing spend her whole life like an animal.
Mu Yicong didn’t say anything. He picked up his phone and sent Qi Yang a string of numbers.
“What’s this?” Qi Yang stared at the message on his screen, confused.
“The villa password,” Mu Yicong replied simply, without a trace of extra emotion.
Qi Yang looked at him for a moment. In that instant, many thoughts crossed his mind: the prices of accommodation and food around the hospital there, the medical fees, the travel expenses back and forth… All of it was the kind of realistic, exhausting, and nauseating cost he couldn’t avoid.
Biting the inside of his cheek subtly, he still refused stiffly: “Thanks, but no need.”
Mu Yicong didn’t need to guess to know Qi Yang would refuse. He smiled casually.
“Save your money and your pride for where it actually matters,” he said flatly. “Are you going to let Qi Xing stay in some cheap motel with you, or eat at shabby eateries for a whole week?”
“She’s not that delicate.” Qi Yang shoved a whole piece of sushi into his mouth, his eyelids drooping, lips tightly sealed as he chewed.
“Arrange it as you see fit.” Mu Yicong didn’t press further. “The house has been empty.”
For the rest of the meal, they didn’t talk much more.
When they were about to leave, Qi Yang looked at the two leftover pieces of eel sushi and three sweet shrimp on the table, hesitating over whether it was worth packing them up.
After all, he wasn’t eating with Liu Dameng. In front of Mu Yicong, he still wanted to maintain some dignity.
Just as he was about to pay and go, Mu Yicong naturally gestured to the server: “Pack these up for me, please.”
The server acknowledged and went to get a takeout box. Qi Yang turned his head sharply to look at Mu Yicong.
“What are you looking at?” Mu Yicong didn’t meet his gaze, keeping his eyes down as he adjusted his cuffs. “I’ll eat them on the road.”
Of course, Mu Yicong wouldn’t actually eat leftover shrimp on the road. When Qi Yang dropped him off at the Che Li parking lot, Mu Yicong got out, and the takeout box was naturally left behind in Qi Yang’s car.
Back home, Zou Meizhu happily ate the sushi and even snuck one of the shrimp when she called Qi Xing out to eat them.
Qi Yang was in the kitchen making dinner for the two of them, lost in thought.
“Yangyang,” Zou Meizhu made herself a big cup of green tea, slurping and blowing on the rim as she came over to call him. “When did you say you’re taking your sister to see the doctor?”
“The ninth.” Qi Yang snapped out of it and continued stirring with the spatula. “What’s up?”
“I’m coming with you.” Zou Meizhu announced cheerfully. “I haven’t been on a long trip in years.”
Over the long years, Qi Yang had slowly run out of patience for his unreliable mother.
“You think it’s a vacation?” He didn’t even bother to turn his head, asking her to pass him a plate. “Weren’t you the one who said you’d never go out with me again?”
“I wouldn’t go if she weren’t a bit bigger now and less of a hassle on the road.” Zou Meizhu’s eyes widened. “Besides, she’s not like before. What if she gets her period again and bleeds all over? Are you going to clean her up?”
He hadn’t considered that before.
In the past, when he took Qi Xing on long trips for medical treatment, aside from the huge difficulty of handling sleep and travel, most of the time Qi Yang could control her.
He fell silent, did the math, and asked Zou Meizhu: “Don’t girls get it once a month?”
Qi Xing’s last period had only been a little over half a month ago.
“It’s never that regular.” Zou Meizhu pursed her lips with an experienced air. “A few days early or late—she doesn’t keep track.”
Qi Yang looked into the living room. Qi Xing sat neatly at the table, eating shrimp in small bites, looking just like a normal child.
After finishing work on the seventh day of the lunar new year and arranging all the urgent collaborations, Qi Yang called Kong Li in advance to take leave.
Kong Li knew Qi Yang had a sick younger sister, but she didn’t know the specifics. Qi Yang never said, she never asked, and she always agreed readily whenever he asked for time off.
Having just secured the M&K deal, she was in a great mood. She gave him a full ten days off and also sent him a big red envelope.
“No need for the money, Sister Li.” Qi Yang felt a bit embarrassed seeing the amount transferred.
“I’m paying you in advance from your commission. Don’t argue.” Kong Li was as decisive as ever. “Let me know if I can help. Your kid’s matters are important.”
Qi Yang smiled and didn’t refuse again. If they really had to seek treatment there, the expenses wouldn’t be small.
With everything arranged, Qi Yang packed their luggage, making sure to have Zou Meizhu bring several packs of menstrual underwear. He spent two days mentally preparing her.
But when the ninth finally came and they set out, there were still plenty of problems.
Qi Xing had all the common traits of autistic children, what the experts called: she has her own set of rules.
These rules manifested in every aspect of her life: what time to wake up, what time to sleep, fixed bowls and chopsticks for meals, specific spots on the table for her sticker notebooks… Once these rules were broken—like every time Qi Yang took her to the rehabilitation class, leaving her familiar environment—she would start to get anxious.
When the anxiety was severe, it turned into endless screaming.
Having endured a sleepless night of screaming on a train, Qi Yang had long since decided to drive wherever they went, no matter how far the hospital or the distance.
Zou Meizhu was full of enthusiasm while packing, but after two hours in the car, she started moaning about a sore back and a tight chest. She even tried to send the restless Qi Xing to the passenger seat so she could lie down in the back for a nap.
Qi Yang drove for eight hours straight, constantly checking the back seat for any commotion. By the time they arrived at the booked hotel, he was too exhausted to say a word.
The receptionist at the hotel confirmed twice while checking them in: “Three people in one double-bed room?”
“What’s the problem?” Zou Meizhu countered the receptionist’s probing gaze with a frown. “A mother with two kids sharing a double room—what’s wrong with that? Can you check us in or not?”
The receptionist pursed her lips and handed over the key card.
Though it was near the end of the year, the super-first-tier city still had plenty of traffic.
The double room they were given had clearly just been vacated and only roughly cleaned. As soon as they entered, there was a lingering smell of smoke. Two tiny beds were squeezed into the cramped space, and the bathroom counter and toilet were still dripping wet.
“Oh my,” Zou Meizhu started complaining as she came in, fanning her nose and opening the window. “You can’t just think about saving money when traveling. How is anyone supposed to stay here?”
Qi Yang looked at Qi Xing, who was wandering aimlessly between the beds, and went back to the front desk to exchange rooms. The new room wasn’t much better either.
The environment could be overcome. The real trouble started at Qi Xing’s bedtime.
Qi Xing went to bed at exactly ten every night. Before sleeping, she had to go through her precious handcraft journals.
With her familiar bedroom and small table missing, even though Qi Yang had brought some of her journaling supplies, she grew more and more restless, pacing around the room like a headless fly, clutching her stickers and pressing into the corners of the wall.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Yang pulled her close to comfort her. “Are you unhappy? Big brother is here. Mom is here too.”
“What a little princess,” Zou Meizhu muttered, sprawled on the bed against the wall, playing Fight the Landlord, her eyes half-closed and sighing.
Qi Xing struggled in Qi Yang’s arms a few times, then burst into a scream.
After the third time the neighboring room pounded on the wall, the front desk came up.
“What’s going on?” she shouted, banging on the door. “You’re disturbing the peace! If the kid has issues, we’ll have to call the cops!”
The noise of banging and door-slamming only made Qi Xing more anxious. She started hitting her head against the wall, scratching bloody marks on her neck and arms as she screamed until her whole body convulsed.
Qi Yang pursed his lips, pulled off his jacket, draped it over Qi Xing’s head, and carried her horizontally out of the room.
In a quiet corner of the neighborhood garden, he calmed her down for a long time. The child settled, acting as if nothing had happened, pulling stickers out of her pocket.
Qi Yang brought her back to the hotel. As soon as they entered, Qi Xing’s head drooped as she looked around wildly, and a hoarse wheeze sounded from her throat.
This endless cycle had happened countless times before whenever Qi Yang took Qi Xing out for medical treatment.
The worst time, he had held her on a park bench all night.
But Zou Meizhu couldn’t endure this suffering.
Deep down, Zou Meizhu was terrified of taking Qi Xing on long trips for medical treatment. Taking care of Qi Xing at home was already torture for her. Once away from home, the child’s every abnormality only magnified endlessly.
Over the years, she had only accompanied Qi Yang on the first two trips. After that, she swore she would never go again.
“Why does she get worse as she gets older?” She sat on the edge of the bed, her hair disheveled, saying to Qi Yang, “I’ll pay. Let’s find somewhere better to stay.”
The money they’d already paid wasn’t refundable, so Qi Yang switched to a higher-end chain hotel. He explained Qi Xing’s situation to the front desk in advance and requested a room at the end of the floor with no neighbors next door.
The slightly larger space improved Qi Xing’s condition a little. Although the semi-frosted bathroom made Qi Yang a bit awkward, he couldn’t afford to be too picky when traveling.
But after coaxing Qi Xing to sleep, Qi Yang had barely closed his eyes when he was jolted awake by Zou Meizhu turning on the bedside lamp and the rustle of her complaints.
Qi Xing had wet the bed.
Qi Yang’s eyes were bloodshot. He looked at the ceiling wearily, then reached for his phone charging on the nightstand.
4:35 in the morning.
The next morning, Qi Yang sent Mu Yicong a message: I’ll stay in the villa for a few days. I’ll pay you based on the hotel rate.
Mu Yicong replied ten minutes later: There’s food in the fridge. I had someone buy it in advance.
