Chapter 12: The Invitation

The Sheng family and the Meng family were located in the same direction. After watching Yu Xi enter the Pei residence, the three of them walked toward their homes against the backdrop of the setting sun.

Sheng Yunjuan popped a chocolate into her mouth and sighed. “Sister, I feel like Xiao Xi hasn’t had a very good life these past few years. He’s so thin; I wonder if he’s even eating properly… and his clothes, too. Is his family very frugal?”

Sheng Yunshu opened her E-ink reader. “We might as well just bring him home and raise him ourselves.”

Sheng Yunjuan let out a laugh. “You really do know me best. I definitely want to, but our home isn’t exactly a sanctuary either.”

“True.” Sheng Yunshu knew this was merely a fantasy and not realistic. “We’ll just have to take extra care of him.”

“Does that even need to be said? Right?” Sheng Yunjuan turned to Meng Shen, only to find him still looking dazed and out of sorts. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I said, that’s enough. Are you going to keep reminiscing until tomorrow?”

Meng Shen didn’t react, completely immersed in his own world.

Sheng Yunjuan was speechless. “It was just Xiao Xi smiling at you once… He smiled at me several times.”

As the three walked together, Sheng Yunjuan did almost all the talking. Sheng Yunshu responded occasionally while reading her book, and Meng Shen remained a silent block of wood. However, Sheng Yunjuan’s spirits weren’t dampened at all; she could chatter on indefinitely by herself.

They had interacted this way for over a decade, developing a strange tacit understanding. They all tacitly agreed not to mention a word about Yu Xi’s return to the other two members of their old group—secretly wishing they would return as late as possible.

Yu Xi stood before Pei Wang’s door, hesitating for a long while before finally knocking.

“Pei Wang, are you in there?”

Fortunately, the expected rejection didn’t happen. Within a few seconds, Pei Wang opened the door.

“Is something wrong?”

Yu Xi saw headphones hanging around Pei Wang’s neck and realized he seemed busy. He decisively held out the gift box. “This is for you.”

Pei Wang raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“A birthday gift. It might not be especially pretty…” Yu Xi hid his hands behind his back, his fingers nervously twisting together. “Would you like to open it and see?”

Pei Wang frowned, about to say “I don’t need it,” but the words died in his throat when he met Yu Xi’s expectant gaze. After an internal struggle, he opened the box.

The box was only about the size of a palm. He had expected perfume or a watch, but he froze when he saw the Gundam wood carving lying inside.

“You… made this yourself??”

Yu Xi nodded and scratched his cheek, watching Pei Wang’s expression. He couldn’t see joy, but it definitely wasn’t disgust. It was a very… awkward expression, as if the item in his hand wasn’t a gift, but a hot potato he didn’t know how to handle.

“I-I saw many of these on the shelf in your study, so I searched online. I found out there are many series and they all look different. I didn’t know which one you liked, so I picked one that looked most like the ones you have… Compared to your collection, the one I made is a bit ugly. If you don’t want it, don’t force yourself to keep it…”

Seeing Pei Wang remain silent, Yu Xi reached out to take the box back. Unexpectedly, the other boy suddenly pulled it away, making him miss.

He looked at Pei Wang in surprise. Pei Wang avoided his eyes and squeezed out a sentence: “I didn’t say I didn’t want it.”

Then, he slammed the door shut.

Yu Xi stood there dazed for a moment, unable to figure out if Pei Wang liked it or not. …But since the gift was accepted, that’s a good thing, right?

Yu Xi didn’t dwell on it and had a peaceful night’s sleep. The next morning, he was still groggy when Pei Wang knocked on his door and thrust a heavy box into his arms. The box bore the logo of a famous digital brand.

“What does this mean?”

Pei Wang didn’t look at him, crossing his arms. “I’ve upgraded all of these to the latest models. The old ones are redundant and taking up space, so I’m giving them to you.”

“But…”

Pei Wang interrupted with a “Tch.” “Stop ‘but-ing.’ Just take them. Aren’t you going to need them when university starts? If you don’t like them, just sell them second-hand.”

With that, he gave Yu Xi no chance to refuse and turned to leave.

Yu Xi only had time to shout a thank you at Pei Wang’s back. Returning to his room, he opened the box to find a phone, headphones, a tablet, and a laptop—all present. Moreover, they showed no signs of use at all; they didn’t look “old” in the slightest.

Pei Lexin had mentioned wanting to buy these for him at the dinner table before, but he had refused. For Pei Wang to think of giving him these, he must have taken it to heart during that meal.

This wasn’t a simple return gift; it was an olive branch from Pei Wang.

From then on, after the mutual gift-giving, their relationship changed significantly. Specifically, Pei Wang stopped deliberately sniping at Yu Xi. During meals, he would occasionally sit next to Yu Xi, and if he encountered a difficult problem, he would actively knock on Yu Xi’s door to ask for help… These changes were naturally noticed by the rest of the Pei household.

The first time Pei Wang served soup for Yu Xi, Pei Lexin was so shocked her chopsticks hit the floor. She nearly suspected her biological son had been swapped. After observing for a few more days and realizing the two were truly becoming close, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense for days, finally settled.

She was both surprised and unsurprised. She had confidence that if they spent time together, Pei Wang would eventually see Yu Xi’s goodness and accept him, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so fast—it had been less than half a month.

Now, looking at her troublesome son, she no longer sighed or frowned; her eyes were full of relief.

Pei Wang felt awkward under her gaze and slapped his chopsticks down. “Mom, can you stop looking at me like that lately? I can’t even finish my food.”

“I won’t, I won’t.” Pei Lexin turned to serve food to both boys, smiling as she brought up another matter. “By the way, I heard the Zhang family’s son won some international racing championship. They’re planning a celebratory banquet the day after tomorrow. I’m busy with work, so you two go in my place and bring a gift.”

Yu Xi’s heart skipped a beat.

Pei Wang raised an eyebrow. “Is our family even that close to theirs?”

“We weren’t very close before, but the Zhang family sent me an invitation this time.” Pei Lexin had Auntie Wan bring it over and spread it out for them to see.

On the invitation, in the space for guest names, there was not only Pei Lexin but also Yu Xi.

Pei Wang’s eyes widened. “How is Yu Xi’s name on here too?”

Pei Lexin wagged her index finger. “You wouldn’t know this, but our Xiao Xi wasn’t just popular with the kids; he was loved by many elders too. Back then, Zhang Xingkuo’s mother looked after Xiao Xi so much. She was always using her son as an excuse to bring Xiao Xi to their house, and once he was there, she didn’t want to give him back. She’d claim the two kids insisted on sleeping together, but really, she just found her own son too wild and rowdy. She always wanted one like our Xiao Xi—well-behaved and beautiful. Anyone would love having him at home, right?”

Pei Lexin laughingly poked Yu Xi’s already reddened cheek.

“Auntie Pei… It’s because Xingkuo’s mother is a good person. I-I’m very grateful to her.” Yu Xi looked at the invitation, a bit of sweetness inevitably touching his lips. “I didn’t expect her to still remember me.”

Pei Lexin nodded. “So you should pay her a visit. Don’t worry about the rest; I’ll prepare the gifts. If there’s anything you don’t understand at the banquet, Pei Wang will be there to guide you.” Then she sternly instructed Pei Wang: “You must take good care of Xiao Xi, do you hear me?”

Pei Wang pursed his lips. “Just worry about your own work. I’m not as unreliable as you think.”

“If you were truly reliable, would you have taken Xiao Xi to that club and called over a bunch of those fair-weather friends…”

“Mom—!” Pei Wang quickly cut her off. “That’s all in the past, stop bringing it up.” He stole a glance at Yu Xi’s face.

Yu Xi didn’t mind, still staring at the invitation in a daze.

“An invitation?”

“Mhm.”

Yu Xi sat at the desk, stroking Yu Xiaohe while on the phone with Sheng Yunshu. “The Zhang family sent it to the Pei residence. My name is on it.”

“I see. So, does Xiao Xi want to go?” Sheng Yunshu asked.

Yu Xi said softly, “I don’t know.” It was because of this indecision that he had called her.

Sheng Yunshu: “Actually, Xiaojuan and I were already planning to take you with us.”

Yu Xi was stunned.

“Xiao Xi wants to see him too, right?” Sheng Yunshu’s voice was soothing. “The celebration banquet is a perfect opportunity. With us accompanying you, you won’t have to be too nervous.”

With Pei Wang and friends like Sheng Yunshu there, Yu Xi’s worries were indeed greatly diminished.

But…

Yu Xi wondered, what kind of person had the grown-up Zhang Xingkuo become?

He remembered that as a child, it was Zhang Xingkuo who first noticed him and brought him into the group, allowing him to gain so much friendship and happiness.

Zhang Xingkuo was the leader among them. No matter what game they played, he was the one to lead and set the rules. He always thought of many novel, unseen ways to play, doing everything he could to let them experience different kinds of fun. In games, he was always the winner—the bravest, the fastest runner, the one who kicked the ball the furthest.

Zhang Xingkuo also had a strange hobby: carrying Yu Xi on his back and running everywhere, as if he had endless energy. Yu Xi called him “Xingxing,” but he always wanted Yu Xi to add the word “Brother,” because he wanted to be like Gu Chuanzhou.

The person Zhang Xingkuo hated most was Gu Chuanzhou. It was bad enough that the adults always put Gu Chuanzhou first, but Gu Chuanzhou was a latecomer who had diverted so much of Yu Xi’s attention.

Back then, the thing Zhang Xingkuo said most was: “Xiao Xi, you have to make me your number one. I will be the best-best-best to you, so you should be the best-best-best to me too. That’s only fair.”

Zhang Xingkuo also said: “Xiao Xi, it’s either him or me. You can’t choose Gu Chuanzhou, and you definitely can’t leave me, or I’ll never forgive you in this lifetime.”

Little Yu Xi was very troubled. He didn’t understand why he could only choose one; he wanted everyone to be together and be happy.

Fortunately, Zhang Xingkuo was easy to coax. When Zhang Xingkuo got angry because he was close to Gu Chuanzhou, Yu Xi only had to clasp his hands under his chin and softly plead, “Xingxing-ge, you’re the best,” and Zhang Xingkuo would forget everything and agree to anything.

Will the grown-up Xingxing still be so easy to coax?