Neighbor
Qi Zui quickly and sheepishly withdrew his hand...
Seeing Wen Xubai's questioning gaze, he quickly stepped forward and opened the refrigerator door.
"Next we can put..."
They were instantly stunned and stood there in shock.
Looking at the empty refrigerator, Qi Zui's brain raced, and he finally turned around stiffly, saying incredulously, "You...you're...preparing to treat me to the Emperor's New Dish?"
Wen Xubai also noticed something was wrong at this moment. He rushed to Qi Zui's side and suddenly realized with a start: he had been so focused on buying kitchenware that he had forgotten to buy groceries...
Seeing that he was about to take out his phone again, Qi Zui stopped him once more and said with a smile, "It's okay, we need to buy the air conditioner fan wheel anyway, so we can kill two birds with one stone and just buy the groceries on the way!"
Wen Xubai thought about it and agreed, so he nodded.
Then I saw the other person's smile become even brighter.
Once he stepped outside, the warm sunlight bathed him, and Wen Xubai suddenly realized how long it had been since he had basked in the sun like this.
"What's wrong? Is it too sunny?"
Suddenly, a large hand appeared above my head.
Following the hand, one could see Qi Zui squinting, seemingly lost in thought. Fortunately, both of them had deep brow bones, naturally creating a shadow, preventing them from being completely blinded by the light.
Wen Xubai shook his head to indicate that he was fine, and then pushed the other person's hand back.
The two then set off.
He wasn't familiar with the area, so he could only follow Qi Zui through the winding roads. They first went to an appliance repair shop and bought a fan. They planned to carry it away directly, but when it came time to pay, they remembered they still needed to buy groceries. So they simply paid first and agreed with the shop owner to leave it at the shop for a while and pick it up on their way home.
The shop owner, who was enjoying the breeze from his electric fan, waved his hand. He was in a good mood after making a sale and readily agreed to the two of them, saying, "Okay, I'll keep an eye on things for you two!"
"Thanks, boss!" Qi Zui waved back and walked out of the store with Wen Xubai.
Along the way, we encountered many acquaintances, men and women, young and old, who all greeted Qi Zui warmly.
"Hey, Xiao Qi! What a coincidence!"
"Yes, Aunt Wu! Oh my, you've become even more beautiful these past few days! Did you just get off work?"
"Oh my, this kid! He's really good with words!" Aunt Wu, wearing a floral dress, covered her mouth and chuckled. "You're right, he'll have to go back and cook for my rascal!"
"Oh my, really, other people's sons are always better! If only my son were half as capable as you, Xiao Qi!"
"Don't mention it, Xiao Hai studies hard, he's not like me!" Qi Zui laughed heartily.
"That's true. Sigh, Xiao Qi, how's your mother's been lately? I haven't seen her out in ages!"
"The same as always." Qi Zui's smile paused for a moment.
Hearing this, Aunt Wu sighed softly while holding her shopping basket and said, "Xiao Qi, listen to Aunt Wu's advice. Although your mother did some things in the past that were not quite right, and you suffered a lot of grievances, she is a weak woman all alone. It hasn't been easy for her to raise you all these years on her own. Don't blame her. Mother and son shouldn't hold grudges overnight. She has also worked very hard..."
Upon hearing this, Wen Xubai was taken aback and looked at the person next to him with some surprise.
He had always thought that Qi's mother was just unwell and emotionally unstable, and that Qi herself was doing well. But now, hearing what "Aunt Wu" said, he felt... there was more to the story.
Qi Zui nodded, his face showing no sign of displeasure. Instead, he said earnestly, "Don't worry, I will."
"Oh, good boy..."
Just as she was feeling relieved, Aunt Wu noticed Wen Xubai standing to the side and asked with some confusion, "What's this?"
"Oh, this is my friend, he just moved to Huaihua Lane!" Qi Zui quickly introduced.
Wen Xubai snapped out of his thoughts and nodded slightly to "Aunt Wu," saying, "Hello, my name is Chen Che."
"Oh my, what a handsome young man! He's so fair-skinned!" Aunt Wu's eyes lit up immediately, and she grabbed Wen Xubai's hand. "How old are you? Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Oh, Aunt Wu, um... it's almost lunchtime, and Xiao Hai is still waiting for you at home..."
Qi Zui immediately knew what the other person wanted to do, and quickly squeezed himself between the two of them to block the other person's burning gaze.
Aunt Wu then remembered her important task and quickly slapped her forehead. "Oh, right, I have to go back and cook! I'll be going now, let's chat again next time!" As she left, she turned back and said, "Xiao Qi, bring your friends over for dinner sometime!"
"Okay, Auntie, please walk slowly and be careful on the road!" Qi Zui called out in response.
Watching the other person walk away, Qi Zui finally came to his senses and noticed Wen Xubai's puzzled expression. He explained, "Don't be offended. This alley isn't very big, and everyone knows each other. Aunt Wu may be a bit talkative, but she's a very nice person. She helped our family a lot when we were little..."
Just then, several children rushed over. Qi Zui was startled and quickly pulled Wen Xubai aside. Then he reached out and stopped the laughing children.
"Hey, hey, hey, you guys, why are you running around like crazy in the alley? Be careful not to bump into someone!"
The children, whose leader looked no more than seven or eight years old, jumped up upon seeing the two of them, grabbed Qi Zui's arm, and exclaimed, "Brother Qi Zui! Come quick! We're playing 'Eagle Catches Chicks,' how about you be the 'mother hen'?!"
Eagle catching chicks?
Wen Xubai's eyes darkened slightly.
"A 'mother hen'?! How do I look like a 'mother hen'? If I were to be one, I'd be a 'big eagle'!"
As he spoke, Qi Zui spread his arms wide, making a menacing gesture, as if he was about to grab the group!
The children quickly laughed and dodged away.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Qi laughed even more happily and pounced on the children again, not forgetting to make a "grimacing" face, forcing the children to "run away" in all directions!
In an instant, the entire alley was filled with the sounds of children's laughter and screams.
Watching the group playfully frolicking, Wen Xubai couldn't help but twitch his lips. He rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, "Childish..."
Upon hearing this, Qi Zui turned around abruptly, his eyes gleaming as he looked at him.
That look made Wen Xubai feel inexplicably uneasy, and he desperately wanted to escape.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he took a step back, the other party grabbed his hand and pulled him back!
Wen Xubai: "?"
Before he could react, Qi Zui raised his hand and shouted, "Hey, this is Brother Chen Che, let him be the 'mother hen'!"
"Great!!!" the children shouted excitedly!
“You’re the one who’s the ‘old hen’!” Wen Xubai was startled. He glared at him and retorted in a low voice, while secretly pinching the flesh on his waist without making a sound.
"Hiss—" Qi Zui gasped sharply, but he couldn't lose his "Big Eagle" dignity, so he could only pretend to be calm on the surface, then hooked his arm around Wen Xubai's neck and secretly made a "please" gesture to him.
Seeing their pitiful expressions, Wen Xubai couldn't help but chuckle. He wanted to refuse, but when he looked up and saw the children's "expectant" eyes, he was speechless.
After a long pause, she finally nodded with difficulty, accepting the fact that she had been the "mother hen"...
"Yay!" Qi was the first to strike a victory pose!
"Yay!!!" The children followed suit, imitating him!
Wen Xubai felt a little embarrassed and couldn't help but rub his forehead again, suddenly doubting his decision.
Having already agreed, and a gentleman's word is his bond, Wen Xubai couldn't go back on his word and could only silently stand in front of the children...
Several teenagers rushed forward instantly, with the boy in the lead grabbing his clothes tightly, while the rest of the children lined up behind him.
"The eagle is coming to catch you!" Qi Zui instantly put on a "fierce" look, stretched out his arms and pounced!
Wen Xubai's eyes narrowed, and he quickly dodged to the side!
Amidst the children's screams, a "dragon's tail swing" evaded the "big eagle's" capture!
Qi Zui let out a "hey" and pounced again!
Just as he was about to catch the little girl at the very end, Wen Xubai quickly turned around and shielded her!
Qi Zui couldn't stop in time and stumbled, falling directly onto Wen Xubai.
Qi Zui paused for a moment, looking up at the white shirt in front of him, only to see Wen Xubai raise his eyebrows provocatively, his eyes filled with obvious disdain.
Suddenly, cheers erupted from behind, as children celebrated the "mother hen's" successful interception!
This ignited the "nameless fire" in Qi Zui's heart, instantly fueling his fighting spirit. Taking advantage of the children's distracted cheers, he pounced on the crowd!
Wen Xubai was startled and immediately shouted, "Run!"
He has now accepted his identity as the "old hen".
The children scattered in an instant!
It was easier to "protect" them when they were gathered together like before, but now that they were "scattered in all directions," Wen Xubai really couldn't protect them all.
In the end, all the chicks were caught one by one, except for the last chick, which escaped death by nestling in the mother hen's arms.
Looking at the little girl nestled in Wen Xubai's arms, Qi Zui couldn't help but purse his lips and mutter, "Is this how you play..."
But when he saw Wen Xubai's warning look, he still gave in, raising his hands above his head and pretending to be heartbroken: "Oh dear, I lost!"
"Yay!!!" The children cheered instantly, jumping and rushing towards Wen Xubai!
Looking at the children cheering and jumping around his waist, Wen Xubai was suddenly at a loss, and a rare look of "astonishment" appeared on his face. He stood there stiffly.
Unaware that Qi Zheng, sweating profusely, stood with his hands on his hips, panting, and smiling as he watched this scene that could be described as "heartwarming".
After the children finished celebrating, he patted each of their little heads and said loudly, "Alright, alright, that's enough for today. Go home and have dinner! Don't run around, or your parents will get impatient!"
"Yes!!!" the children responded in unison.
Several small figures ran away, waving to the two of them, their childish voices echoing in the alley: "Bye-bye, Brother Qi Zui! Bye-bye, Brother Chen Che!"
Wen Xubai subconsciously waved to them and whispered, "Bye-bye..."
Turning his head, he saw Qi Zui looking at him with a beaming smile.
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