Chapter 54 p2
He had just returned to Lincheng and wasn’t familiar with the place. Zhong Yuxiao had the home-field advantage.
After thinking for a moment, Xi Shi clapped his head. “Little Rice Ball, do you want to elope with your older brother?”
Zhong Yuxiao was thinking about Xi Chongyang’s strange behavior when he suddenly heard the word “elope” and his mind went blank. His eyes widened.
“What elope???”
Had his parents told Xi Chongyang about his feelings for Xi Shi? Was that why the old man had acted so strangely today?
“Cough cough cough, don’t get the wrong idea, I just meant going out to play.” Xi Shi covered his mouth and coughed lightly. “How about going to C-city? I can show you where I used to live.”
Xi Shi had lived in C-city for the past ten years.
C-city wasn’t far from Lincheng. It only took two hours to drive there, but it was less developed than Lincheng.
After realizing his feelings, Zhong Yuxiao had secretly gone to C-city once. Xi Shi was in a boarding school and couldn’t have his phone. He couldn’t contact him and just stood outside the school for a while.
He couldn’t explain what he felt. He hadn’t seen Xi Shi, and his heart felt empty, yet his chest was full. Unexplainable emotions formed and fermented into a complex feeling – a mix of bitterness, sweetness… and a passionate anticipation for the future.
The moment he had fallen for Xi Shi, his entire world had become brighter because of him.
“Nothing good happened to me in C-city, but I’ve always wanted to take you there.”
“Then let’s go.”
Zhong Yuxiao turned his head, his golden eyes sparkling, more brilliant than the sunlight outside. “I want to see the roads you walked, the places you lived.”
He wanted to see the hardships he had endured, to see how Xi Shi had lived in that land for the past ten years.
Zhong Yuxiao held his hand, without any reason, just acting on a whim. “From now until the night after tomorrow, this time belongs to you. Even if it’s eloping, it’s okay.”
Xi Shi’s breathing hitched, and he almost confessed his feelings. He took a deep breath and held Zhong Yuxiao’s hand. “Okay.”
They changed their plans and went to C-city. It was already evening when they arrived. Zhong Yuxiao and Xi Shi called their families. The former was told to be careful, and the latter was cursed on the phone.
Xi Chongyang angrily threw his fishing rod. “Send me the hotel address, I’m going to send some bodyguards over.”
Xi Shi couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re just here to play, not to fight. We don’t need bodyguards.”
Xi Chongyang refused to budge.
Xi Shi sighed inwardly. He knew why Xi Chongyang was so worried. He had had some trouble in C-city before and had been seriously injured.
Actually, when he had transferred to No. 1 High School, Xi Shi had been back in Lincheng for two months. He had been staying in the hospital during those two months.
People in their circle only knew that Xi Shi was expelled for beating up Shi Chengze. The other matters had been suppressed by Xi Chongyang.
“Fine, I’ll send you the address later.” Xi Shi hung up the phone.
Zhong Yuxiao looked around. “Where should we go?”
“Do you have a place you want to go?”
Zhong Yuxiao thought for a moment. The only place that came to mind was Xi Shi’s old school, but after hearing Zhong Mu’s words, he realized that it was a place that was full of bad memories for Xi Shi.
Zhong Yuxiao shook his head. He didn’t want to poke at Xi Shi’s pain. “You decide.”
Xi Shi thought for a moment. “To be honest, I’m not very familiar with C-city. Staying here, I don’t feel like I belong.”
Zhong Yuxiao hadn’t expected him to say that. He was silent for a while before asking, “Why did you come to C-city in the first place?”
Xi Chongyang had wanted to keep Xi Shi in Lincheng, but he had insisted on going with Shi Fengsheng.
Frankly speaking, Zhong Yuxiao had once blamed Xi Shi for that. But as he got older, he just thought that Xi Shi hadn’t wanted to lose his father, so he had left. Zhong Yuxiao could accept that.
But now, it seemed that Xi Shi didn’t have much feelings for Shi Fengsheng.
A shadow crossed Xi Shi’s face.
He was silent for a moment before asking, “Have you ever heard about my mother?”
Xi Yue’s story was famous, and it was a scandal in their circle. Zhong Mu was Xi Yue’s best friend, and Zhong Yuxiao knew more than most.
The rumors were that Xi Yue had been forced to her death by Shi Fengsheng, and Zhong Mu also said that.
Because Xi Shi followed Shi Fengsheng to C-city, many people had secretly cursed at Xi Shi, saying that good things didn’t come from bad stock.
They thought that Xi Shi was like Shi Fengsheng, and was indifferent to his own mother’s death.
Zhong Yuxiao knew that Xi Shi wasn’t like that, but he didn’t know what Xi Shi was thinking. Now that Xi Shi had brought up Xi Yue, a thought suddenly occurred in his mind.
Could it be that Xi Shi had left Lincheng because of Xi Yue?
“My mother was killed by Shi Fengsheng and Xi Le.”
These were the hatreds buried deep in Xi Shi’s heart. No matter how much time had passed, as long as he mentioned it, the hatred would resurface and drown him.
“I followed Shi Fengsheng to C-city for one reason: I wanted to make sure they could never forget my mother. I wanted to use my existence as a thorn between them.”
Xi Le undoubtedly loved Shi Fengsheng, and as long as he was there, Xi Le couldn’t ignore Shi Fengsheng’s love for Xi Yue.
As for Shi Fengsheng, love wasn’t important. He needed to find new ways to get his revenge.
“I wanted to make Shi Fengsheng unable to hold his head high.”
So he didn’t focus on his studies, and just drifted through life.
Zhong Yuxiao understood his thoughts. For the younger Xi Shi, following Shi Fengsheng was the easiest way to get revenge.
Otherwise, as time passed, Shi Fengsheng and Xi Le, having come to C-city, would slowly forget about Xi Yue.
Xi Shi wanted them to remember Xi Yue forever.
“Then why did you fight with Shi Chengze?”
Xi Shi wasn’t surprised that Zhong Yuxiao knew about this. Things in their circle couldn’t be hidden, and it would eventually spread.
His conflict with Shi Chengze had been going on for a long time. The son of the first wife and the son of the mistress could never live in peace. Shi Chengze was a few years younger than him. Xi Shi hated him, but he wouldn’t use his age to bully him.
The real reason for the fight was because Shi Chengze had said something offensive, insulting Xi Yue.
“He deserved it. His parents didn’t teach him well, so I helped them teach him.” Xi Shi’s gaze was cold. Even if he knew that beating Shi Chengze would have severe consequences, he would still do it again.
Xi Shi explained briefly, leaving out what Shi Chengze had said. But Zhong Yuxiao could imagine that Shi Chengze must have said something very offensive to make Xi Shi so angry.
He thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “Do you have Shi Chengze’s phone number?”
The school bully had said that a young master had paid him to cause trouble for Xi Shi. Since Xi Shi had just come to Lincheng, his enemies were probably in C-city. Combining the two things, Zhong Yuxiao immediately thought of Shi Chengze.
Xi Shi shook his head. “Why are you asking?”
Zhong Yuxiao didn’t tell him about the school bully and made up a reason. “I’ll call him and ask him out. I’ll beat him up for you, to vent your anger.”
Xi Shi was moved by Zhong Yuxiao’s reaction and also shocked by his behavior.
Was a good student also a fighter?
Xi Shi didn’t take it seriously. He thought Zhong Yuxiao was just trying to comfort him and asked casually, “Why would you want to help me?”
“Because you’re under my protection.”
Xi Shi’s mind was filled with question marks.
Zhong Yuxiao knew that he was confused, and explained. “You’re my personal bag carrier, you’re paid by me, and you eat my candy, so I’m your protector.”
“…”
“So if anyone bullies you in the future, remember to tell me, I’ll help you take revenge.”
Whether it was out of love or not, those words caused ripples in Xi Shi’s heart.
He said softly, “Little Yuanxiao, you’ve broken the law.”
“Stole your heart, so I violated the theft law?”
Xi Shi was speechless. “Where did you learn these lines? They’re so old-fashioned.”
Zhong Yuxiao also thought they were old-fashioned. “I learned them from you. Compared to gluing your broken heart with super glue, stealing your heart is a normal thing to do.”
That was true.
But he wasn’t taking that route this time.
Xi Shi cleared his throat and said seriously, “Classmate Zhong Yuxiao, since I’m under 18, hiring me to carry your bag is considered child labor. You’re breaking the law.”
“Then will you report me?”
“Of course not.” Xi Shi chuckled, his mood improving.
Since he was young, only Zhong Yuxiao had the ability to pull him out of his negative emotions.
“I won’t report you. I’ll just threaten you. Classmate Zhong Yuxiao, if you want to hire me to carry your bag in the future, the payment needs to increase.”
“How many more lollipops do you want?”
Zhong Yuxiao was wondering if he should use his savings to buy a candy factory specializing in strawberry lollipops.
“I don’t want lollipops.” Xi Shi looked at him intently. “Keep them for now. After you finish your college entrance exam, I’ll come back for the payment.”
Zhong Yuxiao’s heart beat faster, and he lowered his eyes, hiding the surprise that was blossoming in his heart.
“Okay, I’ll save them for you. After I finish my exam, I’ll pay you everything at once.”
In the end, they decided to go to the area near the school. It was because Zhong Yuxiao had remembered that Xi Shi had mentioned a restaurant near his school that was very good, and he had said that he would take him there when he had the chance.
Now the opportunity had come.
It was a small restaurant, and the menu changed daily, but the food was good.
Xi Shi liked the feeling of surprise. “Coming here to eat is like opening a blind box. You never know what kind of food you’re going to get.”
Zhong Yuxiao liked to be in control, but sometimes relaxing and accepting surprises could also be fun.
The restaurant had small private rooms. Xi Shi went to pick out drinks, and while Zhong Yuxiao waited, he received a message from the private investigator.
As expected, Shi Chengze was the one who had asked the school bully to cause trouble for Xi Shi.
The number was registered to an ID card, so it was easy to track him.
Zhong Yuxiao paid double the amount, and the private investigator called him “boss” and gave him one more piece of information: Shi Chengze’s location.
His phone number could be used to track his location.
Zhong Yuxiao looked at the address, and a thought popped into his mind: “An Enemy Always Meets on a Narrow Road.”
The address given to him by the private investigator was the same as the restaurant where they were.
Fate had given him an opportunity to help Xi Shi take revenge.
Zhong Yuxiao’s hands itched. The address didn’t specify which room he was in. He quickly organized his thoughts and planned to ask the staff for his room number by pretending to be a friend of Shi Chengze.
Just then, a crashing sound came from outside, as if something had fallen on the ground.
Zhong Yuxiao heard Xi Shi’s voice, cold and deep, like ice. “You’re really persistent.”
Outside, Xi Shi was confronting a group of people, and Zhong Yuxiao immediately recognized Shi Chengze standing in the middle. The private investigator’s information was detailed, and it had included Shi Chengze’s picture.
When he saw him, Xi Shi frowned. “Go back to the room, don’t get involved.”
When enemies met, a fight was inevitable. He would never let Zhong Yuxiao get into danger.
“No, I want to get involved.” Zhong Yuxiao refused directly, eager to start. “Let’s see who’s better at fighting. Then whoever wins will be the older brother.”
