HR Chapter 48
by VolareXiao Qi and Lu Qinyuan sat together as usual. When Lu Qinyuan tasted something good, he would habitually put it on Xiao Qi’s plate. Before long, a considerable pile of food had accumulated on the white porcelain plate with gold trim in front of Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi quickly said, “Don’t give me any more, I can’t eat it all.” Only then did Lu Qinyuan stop and chat with Zhong Wu Rui, “Mr. Zhong, does Young Master Si Cheng have any plans? Tell me about them.”
“Master Lu is too polite. Don’t call me Mr. Zhong, call me…” Zhong Wu Rui paused at this point. The servants around him all called him Mr. Zhong, and his subordinates, regardless of age, respectfully called him Rui-ge. Friends of his generation called him Young Master Rui endearingly, like Xiao Qi calling him Rui-Rui. Zhong Wu couldn’t be used. Lu Qinyuan clearly knew this taboo. So, how should friends who were of a higher status, older than him, and not very familiar be addressed?
Lu Qinyuan asked knowingly, “Call you what?”
Zhong Wu Rui was usually not good with words, and he never really cared about addressing others. But that was about himself; he was very strict with others. Now, he couldn’t think of a suitable form of address for a moment, so he was stuck there. Xiao Qi laughed from the side, “Just call you Rui-Rui like I do. Ah Lu is older than you, so it’s not a loss for him to call you Rui-Rui.”
Zhong Wu Rui gave a sound of agreement, and Lu Qinyuan also said, “Then you don’t have to call me Master Lu. I’m older than you, so it’s not a loss for you to call me ‘Ge’.” As he said this, he glanced at Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi smiled without saying a word, lowering his head to eat the food on his plate.
So Zhong Wu Rui followed his lead and called Lu Qinyuan “Ge Yuan.” Then he was silent.
Halfway through the meal, a servant came in with a phone, respectfully saying, “Mr. Zhong, a call for you.” He walked over and handed it to Zhong Wu Rui.
Zhong Wu Rui hesitated for a moment before holding the phone to his ear, asking coldly, “What is it?”
Si Cheng Zhengzhe’s voice was soft and low, mellow and slightly husky, lingering and pleasing to the ear: “Nothing.”
Zhong Wu Rui then said, “Hanging up.”
Si Cheng Zhengzhe laughed, “Okay.”
Zhong Wu Rui gave a sound of agreement, hung up the phone, and returned it to the servant, continuing to eat as if nothing had happened.
After the meal, Zhong Wu Rui was called away, leaving Lu Qinyuan and Xiao Qi sitting idly in the large living room. Lu Qinyuan was full of interest in his newly acknowledged brother. How was he even more arrogant than Bai Ze, even Si Cheng Houzai had to give him some respect. Xiao Qi said, “Rui-Rui is Big Brother’s man. When Big Brother isn’t around, Rui-Rui has the final say.” Xiao Qi intentionally told Lu Qinyuan about the situation of the Si Cheng family, so he said more: “Rui-Rui is an assassin. Previously, Grandpa looked down on him and verbally humiliated him a few times, and then Grandpa’s right and left hand men inexplicably lost one each. At that time, Big Brother wasn’t yet in charge of the family, and Grandpa didn’t suspect Big Brother. Later, when he found out, Grandpa was much more polite when he saw Rui-Rui again.”
An assassin? But there was no bloodlust on that person. Lu Qinyuan didn’t agree: “Doesn’t seem like it. Too clean.”
Xiao Qi laughed, “You think so too? My Big Brother also said that Rui-Rui is too clean and not suitable for doing those dirty things, so he never arranges that kind of work for Rui-Rui.”
A hitman who never gets his hands dirty was rare. Shu Xiu was his own brother and yet had countless lives on his hands for him. Si Cheng Zhengzhe seemed like an interesting person as well. He wondered what kind of demeanor he had. Lu Qinyuan smiled, “The way you put it, I want to meet Young Master Si Cheng even more.”
The two chatted for a few more words. Lu Qinyuan sent Xiao Qi back to his room, saying, “If you can’t sleep, you can come find me. I’m next door.”
Xiao Qi acknowledged that he understood, closed the door, and fell onto the bed to sleep.
Xiao Qi dreamed again. This time he dreamed that someone was asking him for something, chasing after him and saying, “It’s time to return it…”
But he didn’t know what this person wanted. Xiao Qi asked, “What thing? What do I owe you?”
The person only stared straight at Xiao Qi and smiled, not saying anything. After smiling for a while, he repeated the same sentence: “It’s time to return it…”
Xiao Qi was annoyed by the constant nagging and wanted to lose his temper but couldn’t. He was depressed for a long time in the dream before suddenly waking up with a start, hugging the quilt, unable to sleep. He glanced at the small clock on the bedside table. It was still early, so he took his pillow and knocked on Lu Qinyuan’s door. When Lu Qinyuan saw it was him, he smiled: “Don’t you know to avoid suspicion?” He stepped aside to let Xiao Qi in.
Xiao Qi went straight to the bed, placed his pillow next to Lu Qinyuan’s, lay down, and then said, “I’m here to sleep, not to do anything else.” He then asked, “What are you reading?”
Lu Qinyuan shook the book in his hand: “Rui-Rui is very thoughtful. He had it sent over. A good book.”
Xiao Qi climbed up: “Let’s read it together.”
Lu Qinyuan took off his shoes and got into bed. One person with a pillow behind them, they leaned against the headboard, each holding half of the book, and began to read. He didn’t know how long they read for. Lu Qinyuan felt his eyes were sore. He had flipped through most of the book. He looked at the time and it was already three o’clock in the morning, so he put away the book and hugged Xiao Qi to sleep.
This sleep was a little deeper. He woke up slowly when the sky was bright. He felt a chill on his chest. He looked down and his pajamas were soaked in a large patch. Xiao Qi was covered in sweat and tears were streaming down his face. The hand clutching his clothes had slightly protruding blue veins. While Lu Qinyuan wiped Xiao Qi’s sweat and tears, he shook him, “Wake up, Xiao Qi, don’t sleep, Xiao Qi…”
Xiao Qi seemed to be caught in a nightmare, crying even more fiercely. Lu Qinyuan reached out and slapped Xiao Qi’s face a couple of times. Xiao Qi’s skin was tender, and five finger prints instantly appeared on his cheeks, but it had an effect. Xiao Qi’s tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and it took him a while to focus his gaze on Lu Qinyuan. As soon as he saw who was in front of him, he hugged Lu Qinyuan’s waist and burst into tears.
The crying was like a roar, as loud as thunder. Lu Qinyuan felt a buzzing in his ears. The hand holding Xiao Qi slowly and gently patted his back. Zhong Wu Rui heard the commotion and came over, knocking on the door from outside, “Ge Yuan, what’s wrong with Young Master Qi?”
Lu Qinyuan raised his voice and said, “Rui-Rui, come in.”
As soon as the door opened, the crying instantly became several decibels higher, piercing his ears. Zhong Wu Rui frowned slightly. Lu Qinyuan had already asked, but Xiao Qi only cried and didn’t say anything, so he was helpless. He said to Zhong Wu Rui, “I don’t know why he suddenly started crying. He won’t say anything when I ask him.”
Zhong Wu Rui patted Xiao Qi’s shoulder. His clear, cold voice flowed like a murmuring stream through the crying: “Why is Xiao Qi crying? Can you tell Ge?” It was unexpectedly tender.
Xiao Qi gradually stopped crying. The face buried in Lu Qinyuan’s chest slightly turned away, only looking at Zhong Wu Rui with his watery, dark, and deep eyes, not blinking or speaking. Large teardrops rolled out like broken beads. Zhong Wu Rui reached out to wipe his tears, softly asking, “Why aren’t you talking?”
Xiao Qi pointed to his throat, opening his mouth for Zhong Wu Rui to see. Influenced by the Si Cheng family, Zhong Wu Rui knew a bit about medicine. He was shocked when he saw it. Xiao Qi’s throat was red and bloody. He had actually cried his throat raw. He met Xiao Qi’s eyes and said slowly, “What’s the use of crying until your throat is raw, no matter how sad you are? Don’t cry.” There was tenderness in his voice, but also a hint of ruthlessness. Xiao Qi actually listened obediently, nodding his head, but the tears still flowed non-stop.
Zhong Wu Rui withdrew his gaze and returned to his usual cold appearance, saying to Lu Qinyuan, “Ge Yuan, clean up Young Master Qi. I’ll go arrange for someone.”
Lu Qinyuan changed Xiao Qi’s clothes and quickly changed into a set of comfortable clothes himself. He poured a cup of warm water for Xiao Qi: “Rinse your mouth.”
Xiao Qi wiped away his tears, took the cup, took a sip, and spat it out. Then he took another small sip to moisten his throat, sobbing softly and hoarsely: “I dreamed that Fifth Brother had his eyes gouged out for me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.” Xiao Qi’s slender white fingers tightly grasped the water cup, and tears fell into the cup one by one.
Lu Qinyuan took the water cup from Xiao Qi’s hand and asked coldly, “Who is Fifth Brother?”
Xiao Qi pursed his lips and didn’t speak. Lu Qinyuan felt a chill in his heart and couldn’t help but curse: “Serves you right, why don’t you cry yourself to death!” He put the cup heavily on the table and said coldly: “Leaning on my shoulder and crying for another man…” The words behind were swallowed back by Lu Qinyuan. In fact, he was not qualified to question Xiao Qi, because their hearts were the same.
Xiao Qi raised his face to look at Lu Qinyuan, his eyes gushing out water like springs. Lu Qinyuan rubbed his brow in annoyance: “Cry again and I’ll gouge out your eyes first!”
Xiao Qi pointed at Lu Qinyuan, and said hoarsely, “So ruthless!”
In an instant, the clouds cleared, and the rain stopped, turning sunny.
The arrangements outside were beyond Lu Qinyuan’s expectations. It was just a raw throat from crying, but the scene looked as if someone was about to die. A row of white-clad angels stood downstairs. The Xinglin family had no shortage of doctors. They each had a serious face and did not look sideways, like robots, just waiting for an order to start working.
Lu Qinyuan glanced around. Si Cheng Houzai was also there, sitting on the sofa with a cane in his hand. His weathered face was full of gloom, and he was talking to the two young men standing in front of him, but it looked more like a negotiation.
Si Cheng Houzai’s voice was old and thick, as loud as a bell in the quiet space. He said, “Jian Yi has already made his decision. You have no right to change his choice. Du Yu is so crazy and erratic. How can you bear it?”
“You’re the one who should be asked that! How can you bear it!” This voice was clear, unrestrained, and devoid of respect, every word forceful and powerful: “You’re a father, and you know how to dote on your son. He’s also a father, and he also knows how to dote on his son. But you, as a father, are torturing his son to death for the sake of your own son. How can you bear it? He, as a father, knows that his father is turning the son he cherishes into this kind of ghost, how can you bear it? As for us, what’s there to not bear!”
Si Cheng Houzai was so angry that he struck the ground with his cane, angrily shouting, “Distorted logic!”
“From now on, I’ll be called Si Cheng Distorted Logic, specializing in distorting the logic of your Si Cheng family!” The owner of this voice didn’t give an inch.
Si Cheng Houzai was trembling with anger, and couldn’t catch his breath, coughing violently.
“Zhengli, say less, go see Xiao Qi.” Si Cheng Zhengzhe, who had been sitting next to him, was worried that the old man would be angered to death in his villa, needlessly causing a stain. Most importantly, Zhong Wu Rui seemed to like this place, and he didn’t want to change places to live.
Si Cheng Zhengli glared at Si Cheng Houzai, turned around and walked towards Xiao Qi, but saw Xiao Qi dodge behind a young man. That man had a good appearance, sharp eyebrows and proud eyes, with gentleness containing sharpness, and was sizing him up. But Si Cheng Zhengli didn’t have time to pay attention to this person. A burst of anger was ignited by Xiao Qi. He shouted at the back of the young man, “Come out!”
After calling three times, Si Cheng Zhengli became increasingly annoyed: “Xiao Qi, if you don’t come out again, I’ll give you the bitterest medicine to eat and poke you with the thickest needle!”
This threat really worked, but Xiao Qi only showed half of his face, asking in a hoarse voice, “Second Brother, are you scaring me?”
Seeing Xiao Qi show his head, Si Cheng Zhengli’s anger subsided slightly. He glanced at Xiao Qi and asked back, “What do you think? Am I scaring you?”
Xiao Qi was like a mouse encountering a cat, asking timidly, “Then, Second Brother, are you angry?”