past

By the time I finished cleaning up the debris and returned to my room, it was almost three o'clock.

Qi looked at him apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Xiao Che, my mom scared you."

"It's nothing." Wen Xubai shook his head.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, "Does your mother... have some health problems? I know a few good doctors who might be able to help."

Qi Zui shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I've seen doctors, all the famous ones, but it's no use..."

"What kind of intractable disease is it?" Wen Xubai frowned and asked. In a short time, he had already gone through all the diseases he knew in his mind.

"No...it's a mental health issue..."

As he spoke, Qi Zui silently opened the cabinet in the room and took out a bed sheet.

As he laid out the blankets, he explained, "I heard from the neighbors that my dad, that bastard, ran away when I was still in my mom's belly. My mom was devastated; heavily pregnant, she searched everywhere but couldn't find me, so she had to give birth to me and raise me all by herself..."

"But she was a frail woman, with a child in tow, where could she find any decent work? She did everything—dishwasher, waitress…and because of her unmarried pregnancy, she had to silently endure the gossip of the neighbors…over time, the pressure became too much…and her mental state started to deteriorate…"

Wen Xubai was startled, but Qi Zui seemed unfazed and not embarrassed at all. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he straightened up and looked at him, saying:

"Didn't you just ask me why I fought with those thugs? That's why. Those guys are good for nothing all day long, all they do is gossip, so of course they had to be taught a lesson! But my fists aren't just for show, all of them couldn't beat me! How about that, pretty impressive, huh?"

As he spoke, Qi Zui, still holding the blanket, snapped his fingers at him with a "thud".

Wen Xubai was stunned and asked, "Didn't you ever think about going to find your father?"

Qi Zui paused in spreading the quilt, then quickly recovered and said in a deep voice, "No. I can't find him, and I don't want to. I don't have a father, I didn't before, I don't now, and I never will. Now that bastard is gone, he shouldn't bother us, mother and daughter, anymore."

"Otherwise... I'll stuff him in a sack, beat him up, and then throw him out! Let everyone in the alley see just how shameless this bastard is!"

His voice was clear and bright, but when he spoke these words, it unusually deepened, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes…

After saying that, she looked up and saw Wen Xubai's stunned expression, then suddenly laughed and teased, "What's wrong? Scared?"

As she spoke, she raised her chin again and chuckled, "You've been listening to me talk, so let me tell you something about you too. Hmm, you don't seem like the type to like fighting, do you?"

"Why?" Wen Xubai asked curiously.

This stumped Qi Zui.

Qi Zui rubbed his chin, thinking, "I don't know either. I just feel that your temperament is different. You look like you come from a scholarly family. How can you be like us kids who have been crawling and rolling in the mud since we were little?"

Yeah?

Wen Xubai thought: But this is the kind of life he should be living...

Therefore, he shook his head, changed the subject, and chose to answer his previous question:

"It's not that I like fighting, it's that I get beaten up a lot..."

"Huh? Who's so heartless?"

This time, Qi was the most confused.

"My parents."

"Parents? Why?" Qi Da asked in surprise.

"I don't know." Wen Xubai shrugged. "Maybe it's because there are too many brothers and sisters in the family, so they need an outlet for the pressure?"

He spoke in a detached tone, as if he were telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

Qi Zui pursed his lips, thought for a while, and then comforted him, "Hey, it's okay! You're free now, aren't you? If anyone dares to bully you again, just come to me!"

Qi slapped his chest a few times with a series of forceful blows, not paying attention and hitting the wound. He grimaced again, but still managed to choke out:

"We...we're not called 'brothers in misfortune' for nothing. If our eldest brother is being bullied, I, as his younger brother, definitely have to stand up for him, right?"

Wen Xubai raised an eyebrow playfully, looked him up and down, and teased, "Is this how you stand up for me? Forget it, if we both attack, I'm afraid I'll be lucky if I don't get beaten to death with you..."

"Alas!" Upon hearing this, Qi Zui immediately stood up straight and said seriously, "How could that be!"

"Wait for me to recover! Once I'm healed, I, Qi Zui, will be a hero again!"

Wen Xubai couldn't help but laugh.

Qi Zui laughed too, and touched his head sheepishly.

Suddenly realizing it was getting late, he quickly pointed to the single bed against the wall and said:

"It's getting late, you should get some rest."

Wen Xubai glanced at the rickety single bed and couldn't help but ask, "I'm sleeping here?"

"yes."

"Where will you sleep?"

"There."

Wen Xubai looked in the direction he pointed and was shocked to see the "bed" that Qi Zui had just laid out on the ground.

“You still have injuries,” Wen Xubai said, his forehead twitching.

"Oh, I'm not that delicate! Don't be so polite with me!"

Before he could even finish saying "Let him sleep on the bed," Qi Zui already guessed what he was going to say and immediately pushed him down onto the bed.

The distance between the two instantly closed, and the current posture made Wen Xubai feel extremely insecure.

Wen Xubai subconsciously tried to break free, but failed. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Qi Zui raising an eyebrow at him.

He was speechless for a moment.

The next second, Qi Zui revealed a set of bright white teeth and smiled, "Good night, big brother!"

Wen Xubai: "·······"

Before he could react, the lights in the room were turned off, and the room instantly went dark.

Wen Xubai hadn't adjusted to the darkness and couldn't see anything clearly, only hearing Qi Zui rustling as he pulled back the covers.

The next second, snoring filled the entire room.

Wen Xubai: "·······"

He seems to be really tired.

Wen Xubai then slowly relaxed his tense body and turned his body to the side.

The blanket I was wearing was brought close to my nose; it smelled of sunshine…

Smelling this scent, Wen Xubai inexplicably felt at ease.

Just then, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

From his angle, he could just make out Qi Zui's blurry sleeping face...

The man's chest rose and fell slightly, as if he were fast asleep...

"Goodnight..." Wen Xubai murmured involuntarily.