Chapter 3: Friends

Pei Wang’s friend arrived very quickly.

A head of golden hair poked into the house, and the visitor got straight to the point. “Where’s the little beggar you mentioned?”

Pei Wang moved aside and jerked his chin toward the dining table. “There.”

As the dining table came into view, the person sitting there was exposed to their sight. The blonde boy pushed up his sunglasses and narrowed his eyes, looking over with a critical gaze.

The “little beggar” was about their age, sitting upright with his head slightly lowered, allowing himself to be scrutinized. He was more than capable of withstanding any gaze. His fair skin looked like a handful of melting frost under the morning light, while his hair and eyes were a pure black. The two colors combined to form a beautiful ink wash painting. The features sketched by this brush had a lingering, scholarly air. He looked up slightly, his eyes carrying a hint of nearly imperceptible cowardice, like a shy rabbit.

This… was a bit different from what he had imagined.

Actually, it wasn’t just a bit different; it was worlds apart.

The blonde boy, who had intended to back up his buddy and give the newcomer a “warning shot,” stood there with his jaw hanging open. He didn’t snap out of it until he was jabbed hard in the ribs.

Pei Wang shot him a look: What are you dazing out for?!

The blonde boy covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, “You didn’t say the little beggar coming to your house looked like this?”

“Like what?” Pei Wang knit his brows and glanced back. “Isn’t it just that his eyes are a bit bigger, skin a bit whiter, and nose a bit perkier? Don’t be fooled by his innocent appearance. He’s probably full of schemes. The prettier they are, the more black-hearted they are at winning people over.”

“Oh, right.” The blonde boy nodded in understanding and patted Pei Wang’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, man. I’ll be on high alert. Someone like this can’t bewitch me. I’ll make sure he retreats in the face of difficulty and rolls back to wherever he came from.”

Pei Wang nodded. “Don’t go too far. Watch your limits.”

“Watch me.”

…

The two whispered together, and Yu Xi saw it all.

Thinking of what he had heard in the kitchen and the glances they occasionally threw his way, they were undoubtedly talking about him.

Looking at the outfit of Pei Wang’s friend—a floral shirt unbuttoned to the chest, ripped jeans with clinking chains, and that extremely loud blonde hair… Yu Xi didn’t want to judge by appearances, but he was still a little scared.

He looked like someone not to be messed with.

As the boy approached, Yu Xi couldn’t help but purse his lips and tighten his grip on his hands under the table. He comforted himself that they were still in the Pei house, and the other wouldn’t go too far.

The next second, the blonde boy sat down heavily next to him, draping an arm over the back of Yu Xi’s chair. He instantly overstepped the boundaries of social space.

This sudden proximity made Yu Xi’s shoulders tremble, and he almost bolted.

However, unexpectedly, a phone was slid toward him under the table.

“Brother, let’s add each other as friends.”

The voice was lowered and sounded very urgent. While glancing at Pei Wang, who wasn’t looking, the blonde boy nudged the phone into Yu Xi’s hand. “Quick, don’t let Pei Wang find out.”

Yu Xi was stunned. By the time he reacted, he had already finished typing in his ID. When Pei Wang turned back after grabbing a drink from the fridge, he only saw his friend acting like a bully, leaning in close and interrogating: “Are you a mute? Don’t you know how to greet people when you see them?”

Tsk, what an idiot.

Pei Wang began to regret calling this stupid thing over. He kicked the leg of the blonde boy’s chair as he passed by, reminding him with his eyes to watch his behavior.

The blonde boy pulled back. Yu Xi, catching his breath, spoke in a small voice, “H-hello. My name is Yu Xi. Yu as in Huaijin Woyu, and Xi as in stream.”

The blonde boy’s eyes were clear but blank as he scratched his hair. “Huai what? Which Yu?”

Yu Xi: “The one with the ‘jade’ radical.”

The blonde boy still couldn’t find the corresponding character in his mental dictionary. “Huh?”

“The Yu in Yoga!” Pei Wang couldn’t take it anymore and slammed his glass onto the table. “I told you to study hard, but you wouldn’t. You can’t even understand a simple surname.” Then he rolled his eyes at Yu Xi. “You’re quite the pretender, too. Is there a need for such a scholarly explanation? Isn’t it a waste of effort? Don’t you know this guy is the famous ‘last place’ in the grade?”

“Cough, cough, cough!!” The blonde boy quickly faked a cough to drown out the last half of Pei Wang’s sentence. “N-no, there’s no need to say that out loud, right? How embarrassing… The surname Yu is quite rare. It’s normal that I didn’t react immediately.”

As he spoke, he stole a glance at Yu Xi’s reaction.

Pei Wang sneered, “If you knew it was embarrassing, you’d remember to do this summer’s homework.”

“Who writes that crap? Let’s stop talking about this.” The blonde boy cut the topic short and buried his head in his porridge to hide his awkwardness.

Yu Xi suppressed the urge to let his lips curl up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Auntie Wan coming out of the kitchen with trays and immediately stood up to help.

“Alright, alright, that’s everything. Sit down and eat!” Auntie Wan urged, standing to the side with a beaming smile as she watched the three boys eat breakfast together.

How harmonious. As expected, there are no conflicts between children; they get along fine once they spend some time together.

After breakfast, Auntie Wan heard Pei Wang say he was taking Yu Xi out to play. She happily saw them to the door but couldn’t help being a little worried. As Yu Xi walked at the back, she quietly whispered a few more instructions to him.

“If you aren’t having a good time, just call home. I’ll have the driver pick you up immediately. Also, take this money…”

Yu Xi stuffed the money back into Auntie Wan’s hand. Amidst Pei Wang’s impatient urging, he said goodbye to Auntie Wan and jogged into the backseat of the sports car.

The car’s door handle was different from a normal car. He only found the right spot after the blonde boy gave him a tip.

“First time in a sports car like this?” asked the blonde boy, who was in the back with him.

Pei Wang, in the front passenger seat, gave an ambiguous laugh. “Then you can enjoy it properly in a moment.”

Yu Xi didn’t understand the implication. Reminded by the blonde boy, he silently buckled his seatbelt.

The sports car was a convertible, offering an unobstructed view of the passing scenery. Yu Xi took the opportunity to observe the surroundings of the villa district once more.

Things had changed a lot compared to ten years ago. The roads were repaved, the greenery was replaced, and advanced facilities were installed… The only thing that hadn’t changed was likely the positions of the villas.

Faded memories gradually became vivid.

Yu Xi discovered that he still remembered the location of every childhood playmate’s house. The closest one was—

As the sports car moved at a moderate speed, Yu Xi’s spine suddenly straightened. He fixed his gaze on a house they were passing.

“What are you looking at?” Seeing him twisting his head back, the blonde boy pushed up his sunglasses and took a look. “There’s no one there.”

Yu Xi turned back and said, “I was looking at that house.”

The blonde boy hooked his sunglasses back down and said, “What’s so good about that? No one has lived there for years. The main gate is always closed.”

Yu Xi was slightly stunned. “No one has lived there for years?”

“Yeah.” The blonde boy nodded and craned his neck to ask the front. “Right, Pei Wang? The Gu family moved away and never came back, right?”

Pei Wang, who was manipulating a game on his phone, gave a nonchalant grunt.

The blonde boy turned back to ask Yu Xi, “Why are you so curious? Do you know them?”

Before Yu Xi could speak, Pei Wang at the front sneered, “How could a little beggar like him know the people from the Gu family.”

The blonde boy shrugged. “True. Even we aren’t on the same level as them.”

Yu Xi was lost in thought.

They moved away several years ago…

Then was the silhouette of a person standing on the second-floor open balcony just now an illusion?

But even if it wasn’t an illusion, there was nothing he could do.

Yu Xi’s stray thoughts were completely left behind once the sports car drove out of Huze Junting. The engine roared. The sudden acceleration caught him off guard, slamming his back against the seat due to the recoil.

The fiery red sports car was so fast it was just a blur to passersby, speeding recklessly.

Yu Xi quickly grabbed the seat tightly. He finally understood what Pei Wang meant by “enjoy it properly.”

…

Thirty minutes later, the fiery red sports car stopped in front of a private club.

When Yu Xi got out of the car, his small face was deathly pale without a shred of color. His calves were trembling slightly, and he pressed his hand against his unsettled stomach.

He was already prone to carsickness. Under Pei Wang’s deliberate instructions, the driver had driven the car fast and wild, nearly shaking his soul out of his body. He had gritted his teeth for ten minutes before he couldn’t take it anymore. Clutching the sleeve of the person in the front seat, he had pleaded in a soft, tearful voice, “Pei Wang…”

Only then did Pei Wang let the driver slow down.

“Are you okay?” The blonde boy couldn’t stand it and supported Yu Xi, waving for a staff member to bring water.

After drinking some water to suppress the rising nausea, Yu Xi whispered his thanks to the blonde boy.

The blonde boy glanced at the water glistening on Yu Xi’s lips and subconsciously swallowed. “It’s nothing. Let’s go in first and sit down for a good rest.”

Because he was in poor condition, Yu Xi didn’t have the energy to look at the environment. He simply followed behind Pei Wang and the blonde boy. They entered a private room, and seven or eight people turned their attention toward them at once, greeting them loudly.

Their relationship was close. After a round of laughing and teasing, the topic turned to Yu Xi, the only unfamiliar face.

“Is this the new one at your house?”

“He looks pretty young. Don’t tell me he’s a minor… Just for the record, I have no interest in helping you bully a kid.”

“How does he look like this… is he really from the countryside?”

“He’s so pretty I’d believe it if you said he was your sister.”

They crowded around, asking questions and staring at Yu Xi without restraint.

Yu Xi, who hadn’t yet recovered from his carsickness, turned even paler. He instinctively hid behind the blonde boy, who felt relatively closer.

“He’s not feeling well. I’m taking him to rest first.” The blonde boy led him out of the circle to a corner seat. After helping him sit down, he brought over some refreshing fruit. “Eat some of this, you’ll feel better. Is the AC too cold? There’s a blanket here.”

Soft-spoken and meticulous. His group of friends was stunned.

A vein throbbed on Pei Wang’s temple. He called out in a deep voice, “Da Jin!”

The blonde boy didn’t even look up. “Ah, wait a second. I’m going to have someone find some essential oils for carsickness for Xiao Xi.”

Pei Wang muttered a low “f*ck.”

“I’m floored. Didn’t Da Jin also just meet your little beggar today? Last night in the group chat he said he’d help you fix him up. How did he turn into a little lapdog?”

“I’ve never seen him being this attentive to anyone before. Is he possessed?”

“But don’t say another word… the little beggar from Pei Wang’s house is really cute. Is his name Xiao Xi? What’s his full name, how old is he, and why is he living with you?”

“Hey, I have an idea. Pei Wang, if you really find him annoying, why not let him come to my house? My family is willing to raise another one!”

“He looks quite well-behaved. He doesn’t look like the scheming type you described.”

Pei Wang looked at his best friends, who were defecting one by one. The veins on his temples throbbed even harder. He gritted his teeth and said, “Whose f*cking side are you on?!”