Chapter 72 Longevity Noodles

Seeing Xie Xuchuan staring at him intently, like a fighting beast, Xie Qi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It had been too long; he had waited far too long for this day.

Since he could remember, it was finally his turn to snatch Xie Xuchuan's beloved possession. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he felt completely satisfied.

"Why did you marry Yuanzhu? Don't you know that she and I were betrothed since childhood?"

Xie Qi smiled and said, "So what if you're engaged? Didn't you still have an affair with the Jiang family girl?"

"From the moment you agreed to annul the engagement with the Shen family, this outcome was inevitable. So why pretend to be so affectionate now?"

Xie Qi's words pierced Xie Xuchuan's heart like steel needles, causing him to shudder with pain, but he was unable to utter a sound.

Perhaps it was because he had known Shen Yuanzhu for so long and they were close enough that Xie Xuchuan never thought of losing her.

He agreed to annul the engagement because he thought he could bear the consequences of losing Yuanzhu, while Cui Yulin was dead, leaving behind only a widow and an unborn child.

He thought himself calm, weighing the three lives against Yuanzhu, and finally felt that he had acted out of brotherly loyalty and saintly benevolence.

But when he saw Yuanzhu standing next to Xie Qi, he regretted it.

Xie Xuchuan's voice was hoarse: "Xie Qi, I know you've wanted to compete with me all these years, but Yuanzhu is not something that can make up for the grievances in your heart."

"She is a living, breathing person and should not be used as a bargaining chip for your hatred of the Xie family and your revenge against me."

"I'm taking Yuanzhu away from the Xie family. Everything you want, everything you want to fight for, everything the Xie family has is yours..."

"Xie Xuchuan, you are truly shameless."

Xie Qi's smile faded as he was taken aback by Xie Xuchuan's words.

Xie Qi said, "Should I call you naive or foolish? You don't really think that everything in the world exists within you, and that you can do whatever you want without any obstacles?"

"You wanted to have an affair before marriage, disregarding your engagement. You wanted to break off the engagement, but now you regret it and have the idea of ​​eloping with your brother's wife."

"Xie Xuchuan..."

Xie Qi walked up to him in a few steps, bent down and whispered in his ear: "Stop dreaming."

He straightened up and gently swept his hand across Xie Xuchuan's shoulder: "Don't worry, I will treat Yuanzhu well and will not dislike her because she was once engaged to my brother."

"We two will sing in harmony, journey together through the green hills, and soon bring forth new branches and leaves for the Xie family."

"Oh, right..."

A sinister glint appeared in Xie Qi's eyes, and he laughed cruelly and wantonly: "So this is what Shen Yuanzhu is like—clingy and timid. She's easily frightened and always clings to my husband, calling out 'husband' over and over..."

Seeing Xie Xuchuan's eyes wide with fury, Xie Qi asked again, "Was she like this when she was with you before?"

"Oh, perhaps you don't know, after all, she's timid. Even though she's engaged, she doesn't dare to get too close to you. She's not as bold and flamboyant as my sister-in-law, who dared to seduce you before the wedding and then readily break off the engagement with her."

Seeing Xie Xuchuan's fist swinging towards his face, Xie Qi lightly pushed it away.

At this moment, his eyes gleamed with pleasure as he looked at Xie Xuchuan with utter cruelty.

There were some things he thought Xie Xuchuan didn't understand.

But what I saw today clearly shows that he knows everything.

He knew that the Xie family treated him harshly, that they regarded him as nothing, and that while he was surrounded by admirers, there were others cowering in the gutter, licking their wounds alone.

He and Xie Xuchuan were brothers, but they were completely different in the Xie family.

They were twins, and every year the Xie family would hold a grand celebration for Xie Xuchuan's birthday, but Xie Sanniang and Hua Nanzhi never allowed him to attend.

Once, he sneaked into Xie Boyu and Hua Nanzhi's courtyard under the cover of night and watched as Hua Nanzhi held Xie Xuchuan in her arms and fed him longevity noodles bite by bite.

Xie Boyu also sat at the table, holding a golden-bell red rattle drum in his hand, banging it to coax Xie Xuchuan.

The drumbeats were crisp and clear. The family chatted and laughed, enjoying themselves immensely, but no one noticed the person standing on the large stone, secretly watching them.

The cheerful laughter, the lingering candlelight, the loving faces of the elderly, and the children being pampered—all of this filled him with longing.

Xie Qi still remembers him struggling to climb down the rock and walking blankly into the house.

Xie Boyu looked at him with surprise: "What brings you here?"

After saying that, he gave an awkward smile.

Hua Nanzhi lowered her eyes and remained silent, as if she hadn't seen him at all.

As soon as he entered the room, it fell silent for a moment. The crisp drumbeats stopped, and even the candlelight on the table seemed to grow colder.

Looking at the longevity noodles on the table, Xie Boyu said dryly, "This... there are no new ones. Xu Chuan has already eaten this bowl."

Xie Qi stared at him longingly, wondering what he was hoping for.

Xie Xuchuan, nestled in Hua Nanzhi's arms, giggled, "Give your little brother what Xuchuan ate."

Upon hearing this, Xie Qi felt a surge of hope and, suppressing his shyness, took two steps toward Hua Nanzhi.

He was young at the time, and the servants often threw Xie Xuchuan's leftovers to him, so he didn't know there was anything wrong with it.

He just wanted his mother to hold him and feed him a bowl of longevity noodles on his birthday.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Xie Xuchuan's words, Hua Nanzhi raised her hand and placed her palm over the bowl of noodles, lowering her eyes and remaining unmoved.

"It's just a bowl of noodles..."

Xie Boyu murmured softly, and Hua Nanzhi said, "This is longevity noodles. Do you really want him to share half of Xu Chuan's lifespan?"

With a sigh, Xie Boyu, as he would for many years to come, remained detached and turned to leave.

Seeing him standing there blankly, Hua Nanzhi said, "Take the second young master to the kitchen and find a bowl of noodles."

The servant led him to the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he heard the old woman ask, "Is there any leftover noodles?"

"Hey, look at this..."

The cook in the small kitchen put her hands on her apron and said with annoyance, "Why didn't you say so earlier? There was a piece of dough left over, and since no one was eating it, I rolled it out and cooked it myself. Now they've eaten more than half a bowl."

"Give him the remaining half bowl; after all, the First Madam has spoken."

"He wants everything, he wants everything the young master wants, doesn't he even know who he is? Does he really think everyone is the same?"

"He's still young and doesn't understand the principle that different people have different fates. He thinks he's as precious as the eldest young master, but in reality, he's nothing in this family."

Two servants laughed and joked in front of him, their words dripping with sarcasm.

The conversation only stopped when one of them slammed a half-eaten bowl of noodles down in front of him.

He was young then and didn't understand many things. He only felt that the birthday noodles were bitter and astringent, with a taste he couldn't describe.

He assumed that Xie Xuchuan was naive and unaware of these things, having been raised by the Xie family.

But seeing him today, it's clear he's been watching everything with a cold eye all along.

Xie Qi's lips drooped slightly as he pinched his fingers together inch by inch.

Finally, when Xie Xuchuan charged forward again, he punched him in the face.