Chapter 9, Patting Head

Bauhinia Villa, Study

Song Mingli stood two meters away from the desk, his posture ramrod straight, but beads of sweat trickled down his forehead—he had been standing there for four hours since he was called here that morning.

Song Qi slowly closed his laptop, his fingers naturally interlaced as he leaned back in his chair: "Tell me, what did you do last night?"

Song Mingli lifted his eyelids, revealing his bare, dark gray pupils that reflected a faint glimmer in the midday sunlight.

Butler Feng felt a chill run down his spine. Sure enough, Song Qi stood up from his chair and slowly approached: "He caused a scene at the Dong family's house late at night, sending Dong Jinpeng to the hospital, nearly suffocating Dong Yu, and breaking two of Wang Gen's ribs..."

Song Qi stood still as he spoke slowly and deliberately, when suddenly there was a "snap."

Song Mingli's head was violently knocked to the side by the blow. The study was very large, and the sunlight from outside shone obliquely through the window, reflecting a cold gleam on the glass on the desk.

Song Qi stared at him coldly, his face expressionless.

Having held a high position for many years, he rarely lost his temper like this, and this was the first time he had so blatantly humiliated the young master.

Butler Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head, holding his breath. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Song Qi: "A reckless man's opinion."

Song Mingli turned his head back, his tone still neither humble nor arrogant: "The Dong family has done too many dirty things over the years. Didn't they also snatch away Father's winery distribution business a few days ago?"

"Leave it to me. I can take back the distribution rights that the Dong family seized in Yuancheng before the next quarter."

The young man's face still carried the thinness of youth, but beneath the calmness in his eyes lay an unmistakable ambition.

Song Qi stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Okay."

"If you can't do it, get out."

The door closed, and Butler Feng looked at the now quiet room, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Master, is it alright to just let the young master do it like this?"

Song Qi flipped through the report in his hand: "What problems do you think there are?"

Feng Liang'an remained silent for a moment, then spoke up again: "If outsiders start talking about Old Master Dong, should we send someone to take something to the hospital to check on him?"

“Selling one’s daughter for personal gain is disrespectful to an old man, and the grandson he raised is also a scoundrel,” Song Qi threw the report on the table: “What is he anyway? If you hit him, you hit him.”

-

Third floor, bedroom

Song Mingli gently pushed open the door. The family doctor inside stood up from the chair by the bed when he entered and said, "Young Master."

Song Mingli nodded: "How is he?"

Doctor: "You have abrasions on your hands and ankles, and the most serious one is on your lower abdomen. I just rubbed it with medicated wine. Don't eat spicy or cold food for the next few days."

On the bed, Ying Shixue was wearing only a thin nightgown. The soft fabric made her look even younger. She leaned against the headboard quietly and silently, her right wrist exposed and bony.

Song Mingli looked away and nodded: "I understand."

The doctor had finished the examination and tactfully packed up his medical kit to leave, leaving only the two of them in the room once again.

Ying Shixue unconsciously tightened his left hand under the blanket. Last night, he had planned to beat those cowards to a pulp, but he didn't expect that when he actually tackled them, he would realize that the leader was not Dong Yu. While he was stunned, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside. He had thought that someone would come looking for him, but he didn't expect it to be so fast.

The old warehouse door was unlocked and easily kicked. If he pushed the door open and someone saw him threatening Wang Gen, he would be finished. In the nick of time, he only had time to immediately fall to the ground and curl up as if he had been hit in the abdomen. But the next second, Wang Gen was kicked three meters away, and he was pulled into a rapidly breathing embrace.

The man must have been in a real hurry to get here; when their skin touched, he could feel the other man's chest, which was slightly damp with sweat.

The remaining two were terrified. The bodyguards in black who were with them took them back, while Song Mingli picked him up and had someone call a doctor.

That night was truly chaotic. The Bauhinia Villa was brightly lit, and he was covered in dust from the ground. Inside the bedroom, the doctor anxiously treated his wounds and left, leaving behind the same silent scene.

Ying Shixue's lips were tightly pursed. Even if outsiders didn't know, Song Mingli could guess in a moment's thought that he had deliberately let the driver go first, went to the restroom alone, and didn't call the emergency contact number on his watch...

Song Mingli only looked at him for a few seconds, and then slowly extended his palm towards him.

It was the pen cap that had fallen in the rush and hadn't been picked up in time.

"Here you go."

Ying wiped the snow from her stiff hands and took it.

“This is not the first time that Dong Yu and Wang Gen have threatened and bullied their classmates. They will get the lesson they deserve after today.”

A warm, large hand patted and rubbed my head: "Go to sleep early."

And now, Ying Shixue stared at the other person's outstretched hand, her round, cat-like eyes fixed on him.

Song Mingli chuckled and helplessly withdrew his hand: "Alright," he sat down on the edge of the bed: "Go back to school when you're healed, and this time no one will dare to bully you again."

Ying Shixue tilted her head and muttered softly, "No one would dare to bully me anyway."

Song Mingli didn't reply: "I'm going to Yuancheng. I probably won't be back for two or three months."

Ying Shixue was taken aback. "Yuan Cheng?"

“Hmm,” Song Mingli looked at him, “come and tell them I’m leaving this afternoon.”

"So fast?"

"The situation over there is quite serious."

Ying Shixue looked up at him for a while, then suddenly reached out to remove the mask that Song Mingli was wearing.

"Wait—" But it was too late. Song Mingli was caught off guard and the mask was actually taken off. Ying Shixue looked at the very obvious slap mark on his left cheek, and the fingertips that were hooking the mask trembled.

The two people, one tall and one short, sat facing each other in silence, saying nothing, yet it was as if they had said everything.

Ying Shixue let go of his hand, and Song Mingli hooked his mask back onto his face. After thinking for a moment, he stood up and said, "Then I'll go first."

Ying Shixue: "I want to drink water."

Song Mingli paused, took his water cup, filled it at the water dispenser, and handed it over.

The water was a little hot. Ying Shixue took it and drank it in small sips, holding it to her lips with both hands. When Song Mingli saw that the cup was empty, he naturally reached out to take it, but he saw that Ying Shixue was still holding the cup and did not let go.

He was a little confused, but the next second he suddenly felt a soft touch in his palm.

Ying Shixue lowered her head slightly, her black hair brushing against his palm.

Pat his head.

Song Mingli's heart skipped a beat, but the sensation vanished in the next second. Ying Shixue slammed the glass into his hand, turned her back, and burrowed under the covers, pulling the blanket over her shoulders to cover half her face—all in one fluid motion.

"I'm going to go to bed!"

Looking at the child's bright red ear tips, Song Mingli said "okay" in a daze, put down the cup, and walked out the door. After closing the door, he accidentally bumped into the wall with a bang. Ying Shixue heard the noise outside, her shoulders trembled, and she wrapped the quilt tighter.

—

After that day, Song Mingli indeed went to Yuancheng. Ying Shixue didn't see him much for two or three months. The only two times he came back were for mandatory on-site exams arranged by the school, but he only went back to the villa to grab a few things and left.

Ying Shixue stood by the window, slowly exhaling, watching the steam condense into white mist in the air before dissipating.

It's winter.

Winter always comes early in Brahma, and this month is already extremely cold. The first semester's final exams are over, and after a few more days of classes, it will be time for the holidays.

Dan Qi put his arm around his shoulder from behind: "So, where are you planning to go for the holidays?"

Ying Shixue nudged him with her elbow. They had gotten to know each other over the past few months. The other person was just someone whose skill points were all in his limbs and whose thought process was often different from ordinary people: "Get down."

"Okay." Shan Qi withdrew his hand and stood sideways by the window. "A club at school is planning to go skiing at Jingkong Mountain this winter break. Are you going?"

"It's a mixed club. Not only do people from our junior high school participate, but people from the senior high school also join. It's a good opportunity for us to go and have some fun together this winter break."

Ying Shixue turned her head away: "I'm not going."

Dan Qi let out a somewhat regretful "Ah?"

Ying Shixue turned her head away and didn't say anything more.

"Alright." Shan Qi shrugged helplessly, opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly a voice came from not far away: "Ah Xue."

Ying Shixue turned around, and Cheng Cheng stood not far away in the corridor: "Group assignment."

Ying Shixue: "Okay, I'll go in a bit."

Cheng Cheng nodded, glanced at Shan Qi, and then turned and went back into the classroom.

Dan Qi felt a little uneasy under his gaze, and sure enough, Ying Shixue started packing up to go over. To be honest, he didn't know when their relationship had become so familiar that they could call each other by nicknames. It's true that being deskmates makes a difference.

Dan Qi was thinking all sorts of things, and after looking at Ying Shixue's profile for a moment, he hesitated, but still gently nudged him: "Xue."

"Hmm?" Ying Shixue looked at him.

Dan Qi pursed his lips, seemingly struggling with something, before whispering, "That Cheng Cheng... I'm not saying he's a bad person or anything, but I only recently found out that his mother seemed to have had some—" Dan Qi paused, "inappropriate relationship" with a male employer while working as a housekeeper.

"It caused quite a stir there back then. He was so aloof, and the top students thought he had been a lackey of rich people, while others thought he was just a disgraced top student... In short, you should be careful if you associate with him."

Ying Shixue paused, the various gazes cast from the shadows flashing through her mind again, and lowered her long eyelashes: "I understand."

—

Upon returning from school and entering the Bauhinia Villa, Ying Shixue immediately sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat different today. As he looked at the lights that had been turned on in the living room, an incredible and perhaps slightly unbelievable answer suddenly welled up in his mind. He gripped his backpack strap tightly, quickly walked to the living room, then slowed down to adjust his breathing. Finally, he saw a figure he hadn't seen in a long time on the sofa.

"--elder brother."

Song Mingli had just returned from Yuancheng and was still covered in dust. His black stand-up collar sweater accentuated his broad shoulders. He was sitting on the sofa looking through something when he heard the voice. He looked up and a smile appeared in his deep eyes: "Xiaoxue, come here."

Ying Shixue walked in front of him, and Song Mingli rested his elbows on his spread legs. The two of them, one standing and one sitting, compared their heights with his eyes: "You've grown taller."

Ying Shixue turned her head slightly, keeping her gaze fixed on him.

Song Mingli didn't rush him. He picked up the poster he had just been looking at from the table and said, "Jingkong Mountain Skiing, want to go there for a while?"

Ying Shixue looked down at the poster, and Song Mingli continued, "It looks really fun. There aren't many people around lately, so you might be able to see a lot of different scenery."

Ying Shixue looked at the synopsis on the poster for a while, and after a long while, she gave a barely audible "hmm" as if nothing had happened.