HR Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Dog Food

Lu Qinyuan broke off a piece of black and white small steamed bun and fed it to Xiao Qi, waiting for him to ask for help. Xiao Qi puffed out his cheeks and chewed twice, preparing to get off the ground himself to get more. Lu Qinyuan pressed his shoulder and forced him back, stuffing the remaining half of the bun directly into his mouth. Xiao Qi choked, eyes wide, protesting with a muffled sound of discontent.

Lu Qinyuan glared back at him, coldly snorting, “Don’t you dare spit it out. If you get off the ground without my permission, I’ll soak your feet in disinfectant tonight.” He poured Xiao Qi a cup of banana and kiwi smoothie, and added, “Tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll get it for you.”

Xiao Qi swallowed the steamed bun with difficulty, taking several large gulps of smoothie to suppress the choking sensation. Just as he caught his breath, more food was stuffed into his mouth. He opened his mouth to spit it out, but suddenly realized it was a chestnut pastry. Instantly, his face lit up with smiles again. Lu Qinyuan examined his face, which changed as quickly as flipping through a book, and laughed. He simply took possession of the plate of chestnut pastries, determined to entice the words he wanted to hear.

Having had a delicious mouthful of chestnut pastry, it wasn’t a must-have anymore. After making a fuss all morning, Xiao Qi was also annoyed. Lu Qinyuan’s actions were not entirely proper. He couldn’t keep crying, making trouble, and threatening to hang himself endlessly. After all, Lu Qinyuan’s intentions were good, so he decided to drop the matter.

Xiao Qi’s mind was clear. Once he figured it out, he ate peacefully, swaying his two feet wrapped like balls, and said, “You wrapped them too thickly. It’s not professional at all. It’s stifling.”

Chestnut pastries lost their appeal in Xiao Qi’s eyes. Lu Qinyuan sighed in his heart, realizing his miscalculation. Seeing Xiao Qi’s attitude, he knew the matter was over and breathed a sigh of relief. If they were to argue logically, he wouldn’t be in the right. He was using the banner of love and affection to commit deception, which was inexcusable. It was best that Xiao Qi figured it out himself.

“I’ll have Qi Yue re-wrap them for you later.” Lu Qinyuan actively placed the chestnut pastry in front of Xiao Qi, glanced at his watch, and said, “We have to wait a bit. The two of them are busy right now.”

He said it without blushing or panting, as if chatting casually. Xiao Qi understood the meaning, his swaying feet paused for a moment and then started swaying again.

The two people in the room were indeed very busy, but they were busy fighting. They were twisted together on the bed, panting and gasping, almost rolling into one person. In the end, Qi Yue was physically stronger and pinned Min Jia firmly beneath him.

Min Jia was pinned down and unable to move, but his tongue was still sharp. He gasped, “So this is a wolf’s den. Everyone is heartless and ungrateful! You, even more so!” He spat out swear words, showing he was truly angry.

“Jiajia, you can’t say that about me. Isn’t that degrading yourself?” Qi Yue said with a grin, “Lu is our brother, personally groomed by our father. How could our father’s judgment be wrong? Besides, Lu is worried about Xiao Qi, he just had good intentions that went wrong. There’s no need to negate everything.”

“Who’s ‘our father’ to you!” Min Jia spat. “Everyone knew except me and Xiao Qi. What’s the meaning of that? Am I such an unreasonable person that you need to hide it from me! I don’t need you!”

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have hidden it from you. My wife is the most reasonable person in the world!” Qi Yue praised him wildly, giving Min Jia goosebumps. Min Jia raised his leg and nudged Qi Yue’s back. “You’re disgusting. Let go.”

Qi Yue tilted his body and lay down next to Min Jia, grabbing Min Jia’s hand and pulling him into his arms with force, holding him tight. He pinched Min Jia’s hand and said, “Don’t look at Xiao Qi as usually silent, he understands everything in his heart. He’s just making a fuss, he won’t really do anything.”

Min Jia didn’t reply. Qi Yue smiled, “They are both smart people. This time, Lu can give up completely, which is also a good thing for Xiao Qi. I’ve been back for almost half a month, it’s time to go home. Don’t get involved in their affairs. You can’t even sort out your own affairs, don’t meddle in others’ affairs, lest something happens.”

Min Jia calculated the days, it was time to go home. He hummed in agreement. Qi Yue hugged Min Jia, tears of emotion welling up in his eyes.

He would never dare to let his wife go out casually again. Staying at home wherever he goes is not a good habit.

The two reconciled, took a nap in each other’s arms, and came downstairs one after another. They saw Xiao Qi propping up his two dumpling-like feet reading a book. Qi Yue burst out laughing at the sight. Lu Qinyuan was peeling chestnuts. He looked up and spat out two words expressionlessly: “Quack doctor.”

Qi Yue’s laughter stopped abruptly. He grabbed Min Jia’s arm and shook it, complaining, “Jiajia, Lu is calling me a quack doctor.”

“He’s flattering you.” Min Jia pulled out his arm and went downstairs, took a few steps and sat on the sofa next to Xiao Qi, picked up a peeled chestnut and ate it. Lu Qinyuan wanted to stop him, but glanced at Xiao Qi and immediately became jealous.

Ever since he brought back the chestnut pastries from Qianwei Restaurant, everyone knew that Xiao Qi loved to eat chestnuts. Sha Tang brought a bag when he returned. Lu Qinyuan peeled them all morning, but Xiao Qi wouldn’t let him eat one. Yet Xiao Qi actually allowed Min Jia to eat them. Could it be that the two of them were having an affair?

After Min Jia finished one, he reached out and gave one to Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi took it too. Lu Qinyuan became even more jealous. Xiao Qi said he had just finished eating and told Lu Qinyuan to peel them first and eat them when he was free. How come he ate them when Min Jia gave them to him? The two of them were definitely having an affair!

Lu Qinyuan couldn’t bear to vent his anger on Min Jia, so he had no scruples about Qi Yue, who was thick-skinned and shameless. He pointed at Xiao Qi’s feet and said, “I entrusted you with a perfectly healthy person, and you returned him with crippled feet. Didn’t you say he would wake up after breakfast? How come he woke up before breakfast? Did you buy your medical license? You left your brain abroad after going abroad, forgetting your homeland, or is there someone there who makes you forget your homeland? I’ll settle this account with you slowly in the future. I’m taking care of Min Jia for you, and you repay me like this? Quack doctor, where did you get the nerve, huh?”

Having been scolded for no reason, and incidentally accused of cheating, Qi Yue was wronged to death. He had no idea where to voice his grievances and could only endure it silently.

Min Jia ate the chestnuts without a word, thinking, “I hope you die of jealousy, you degenerate!”

Sha Tang came out with food and saw Qi Yue petrified by the stairs. He greeted with a smile, “Perfect timing, I didn’t need to call you. I just spoke to Bai Ze on the phone, he said we don’t need to wait for him, something came up on his side and he’ll be back later.”

Lu Qinyuan asked, “What happened?”

Sha Tang’s voice came from the dining room, “Judging from his tone, it’s nothing serious, don’t worry.”

He had no worries about Bai Ze’s abilities. Lu Qinyuan lowered his head and continued to peel chestnuts, but then he heard Min Jia ask Xiao Qi, “Do you want to eat some more together?”

Lu Qinyuan said, “We just ate, you guys eat.” Then he saw Xiao Qi look up from his book and glance at him silently, as if saying he was being nosy. Lu Qinyuan’s mood became subtly uncomfortable.

Bai Ze’s side really wasn’t a big deal.

It was just that Bai Ze had calculated everything except running into a den of lovers and walking into a feud. His timing was very bad. He opened the door and heard the heavy breathing coming from the not-quite-closed bedroom. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he couldn’t handle the dog food forced down his throat. He retreated, supporting his forehead.

He just wanted to freeload a breakfast, but he didn’t expect to witness something like this. Bai Ze was very distressed and didn’t want Cheng Ruoyu to have an easy time either, so he turned back and knocked on the bedroom door, saying considerately, “Shu Xiu, I’m going to have breakfast, I’ll come pick you up later.” Then he stopped and waited for a response from inside.

Cheng Ruoyu pinned Shu Xiu’s arms behind his back on the bed. Bai Ze’s voice suddenly popping up startled both of them. They held their breath and listened to Bai Ze finish speaking. After waiting for a while and not seeing any movement outside, they thought Bai Ze had left. Cheng Ruoyu quickly pulled out a soft belt from the bedside and tied Shu Xiu’s hands. Shu Xiu struggled and protested, “Cheng Ruoyu, you…”

Suddenly, Bai Ze’s kind reminder came from outside again, “Half an hour, you two make the most of your time.” Then there were footsteps leaving, seemingly deliberately heavier, so that the two of them could do things with peace of mind.

Shu Xiu froze on the bed, helplessly relaxing his body. All the strength in his body seemed to have been taken away by Bai Ze’s kindness.

Cheng Ruoyu was also speechless. What was all this about? He just wanted to stop Shu Xiu from going back to work now. When did Bai Ze’s mind become so impure?

Seeing that Shu Xiu was no longer resisting, Cheng Ruoyu simply untied the soft belt, sat on the side of the bed and took a breath, and said, “I won’t stop you from risking your life for your brother, but at least wait until you recover. He’s your brother, there’s no need to work so hard. Can you be good to yourself?”

“What do you know!” Shu Xiu turned over and sat up, clenching his fist and pounding it against his chest a few times. “See, I’m already fine. Why are you worrying blindly? It won’t kill me.”

“This time, it was almost pierced your heart. You won’t be satisfied until you die.” Cheng Ruoyu’s tone softened, “There are plenty of capable people around Lu Qinyuan. One Wen Jiangjun is worth a thousand troops. He won’t miss you. He doesn’t need you.”

“That’s different,” Shu Xiu shook his head and said, “Da Zhi, you don’t understand. I’m different from them. I have to do better than them. I can’t let brother think that it doesn’t matter whether I’m there or not, otherwise I won’t have any meaning to exist, and I won’t be able to stay by brother’s side.”

“Shu Xiu, Lu Qinyuan hasn’t demanded anything of you, why are you so harsh on yourself?” Cheng Ruoyu didn’t understand at all, “He’s your brother, you weren’t sold to him!”

“Ten years ago, when my mother abandoned me and left alone, I was sold to brother for a million dollars, not as a brother, but as a commodity.”

Shu Xiu raised his hand to cover his eyes. He still clearly remembered what his mother said before she sent him to see Lu Qinyuan. His mother said, “Although you have the same blood flowing in your veins, you don’t have the same status. When you go to see him, you must desperately get his approval, otherwise you will be abandoned by him and die a miserable death. Remember what Mom said, you do whatever he tells you to do. If you can survive and stay by his side, don’t be lazy or slack off. You must work harder than others, don’t be one of the crowd, be unique among the crowd. Otherwise, what qualifications do you have to stay by his side?”

Shu Xiu clutched his mother’s clothes tightly with his small hands: “Mom, I want to live with you.”

His mother touched Shu Xiu’s head, her eyes filled with love and reluctance: “Mom knows you’re a good boy. Mom won’t hide it from you. Your younger brother is sick and needs money. He’s willing to help your younger brother. Your younger brother’s survival depends on his words. If you can survive too, we’ll owe him a life, do you understand? Shu Xiu?”

He understood, he was sold by his mother to pay for his younger brother’s medical treatment, and at the same time, he bore a debt of life that he could never repay, not even in death.