Chapter 19

The next day, Xi Shi woke up hungry.

After returning from Yuying High School yesterday, he had been so preoccupied with rolling around in bed with Jing Chen that by the end, he was barely conscious, nearly fainting from exhaustion, and eventually fell into a deep sleep without even thinking about eating.

Jing Chen was already awake, sitting on the bed absorbed in his phone, frowning slightly as if displeased with whatever he was looking at.

Xi Shi found Jing Chen’s expression intimidating—like a high school dean catching a truant student, radiating an ominous, stormy aura.

If Jing Chen were a boss, none of his employees would dare make mistakes.

Just thinking about it made Xi Shi feel suffocated, and he buried his head deeper into the blanket.

Noticing the movement, Jing Chen turned off his phone and reached out to stroke Xi Shi’s face.

“Awake,” he said gently.

Seeing the sudden softness in the man, Xi Shi rubbed his head against his palm.

“I’m hungry,” Xi Shi croaked, his voice hoarse again.

“I ordered delivery. Get up and eat,” Jing Chen said.

Thinking about the food Jing Chen had ordered, Xi Shi’s mouth watered. He tried to get out of bed but gasped sharply and fell back down.

“What’s wrong?” Jing Chen, just getting out of bed, turned back at the sound.

“My waist is about to break,” Xi Shi complained, “Brother, you’re getting rougher every time.”

Jing Chen was silent for a moment before saying, “...Let me rub it for you.”

He sat back down on the bed and began massaging Xi Shi’s waist.

Xi Shi had a lot of ticklish spots on his waist, and the moment Jing Chen’s hand touched him, he couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably, grabbing Jing Chen’s hand.

“Stop, Brother! Haha... it’s so ticklish, hahaha.”

Jing Chen deliberately didn’t stop, rubbing Xi Shi until he writhed on the bed like a worm. Xi Shi tried to dodge him but eventually jumped up, pinned Jing Chen down, and started tickling him back.

But Jing Chen seemed to have no ticklish spots; no matter where Xi Shi scratched, Jing Chen didn’t react.

“Hey? Brother, aren’t you ticklish?” Xi Shi asked in confusion.

“I am,” Jing Chen replied.

“Then why don’t you laugh at all?”

“I’m holding it in.”

“...”

Damn, if he can hold it in, what can’t he succeed at?

Xi Shi straddled him, tickling his armpits and teasing, “Laugh now, or I’ll dock your salary!”

Finally, Jing Chen couldn’t hold back and let out a muffled laugh.

Xi Shi lay on top of him, his body tingling from the laughter that seemed to emanate from Jing Chen’s chest, goosebumps rising all over him.

His face flushed slightly.

This old man was constantly seducing his sugar daddy.

Unable to bear the hunger any longer, they got up after a while to eat breakfast.

They had no plans for the day, so they spent it comfortably lazing around in Jing Chen’s apartment. By the time they went to school in the evening, Xi Shi’s legs felt like they weren’t his own.

Seeing Jing Chen’s face glowing with a radiant red hue, as if he had absorbed the very essence of the sun, Xi Shi couldn’t help but wonder if the 500,000 yuan monthly allowance he gave him was really worth it.

No matter how you looked at it, the one spending the money surely had to be Jing Chen!

—

When he got back to the dorm, his roommates Guo Hao and Xiao Nan—both from out of town—were still inside, playing mobile games together.

Seeing him come in, Guo Hao called out, “Brother Xi, want to queue for ranked? We ran into a little kid who’s a wild king, playing Li Bai like a pro.”

Xi Shi: “...”

“Little kid? Call him ‘Kid Bro,’” Xiao Nan said.

Guo Hao immediately agreed, “Yeah, Kid Bro is a wild king, carrying us up the ranks.”

Xi Shi said, “Not playing. My hand hurts.”

“Hand hurts?” Guo Hao asked with concern, “What happened?”

“...” Xi Shi’s ears turned slightly red. He cleared his throat and said, “Went horseback riding with a friend yesterday. The reins pulled my hand.”

“Oh...” Guo Hao had never ridden a horse and thought, riding must be so hard that pulling the reins hurt your hand that much.

Xi Shi opened WeChat and sent a message to Jing Chen, who was already at the dorm, then scrolled down to check for any missed important messages.

He saw three unread messages from Huo Siyi, whom he had just added as a friend yesterday.

Junior: Actually, my third brother and I are really close. Beating him up was just a joke.

Junior: QAQ Senior?

These two were from yesterday.

Half an hour ago, Huo Siyi sent another message:

Junior: Senior, have you arrived at school yet?

Junior... Damn, Xi Shi suddenly remembered—yesterday he was busy digging for treasure with Jing Chen, sneaking around the high school at night, then indulging in some intense bed antics. He had completely forgotten to reply to Huo Siyi.

When Huo Siyi sent the last message, he had been in the middle of intimate moments with Jing Chen and hadn’t even heard it.

Or maybe he did, but simply ignored it.

He had coldly neglected the richest heir. He really deserved to die.

Xi Shi was feeling guilty and was about to reply when the dorm door suddenly creaked open.

Without even needing to think, he knew it was Wang Yang returning.

Xi Shi didn’t look up, just kept typing.

He had just typed the words “Sorry about that” when he heard Wang Yang call out with a choked voice, “Xi Shi.”

Xi Shi hadn’t even reacted yet when he heard a thud—Wang Yang had knelt right in front of him.

The sudden move shocked everyone in the dorm.

Guo Hao and Xiao Nan, in the middle of a team fight, both immediately flashed forward and died.

Ignoring the teammates cursing through their headsets, Xiao Nan exclaimed, “What the hell, Yang Yang? What are you doing?”

“Did your legs give out? Come on, let me help you up,” Guo Hao said as he quickly went to support him.

But Wang Yang didn’t get up. His eyes were red and bloodshot.

At that moment, everyone noticed a vivid red handprint on his right cheek—a clear slap mark, though no one knew who had done it.

In short, he looked utterly miserable.

With a trembling voice, Wang Yang said, “Xi Shi, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have posted those defamatory things about you on the forum. Please, don’t let Third Master Huo keep oppressing my family.”

“...”

Guo Hao and Xiao Nan exchanged glances.

Forum? Could it be the post from yesterday about Xi Shi being supported by an older man?

Was it Wang Yang who posted it?

But Wang Yang wasn’t he a second-generation rich kid? His boyfriend was the second young master of the Shao Group. Why was he begging Xi Shi for mercy?

Both were baffled, but just thinking about that defamatory post on the forum gave them strange looks toward Wang Yang. They quietly returned to their seats, pretending to continue gaming.

Xi Shi was startled too—what era was this, where people still knelt?

It was so surreal.

But hearing Wang Yang’s words, he understood everything.

Xi Shi had gone through all his classmates yesterday trying to figure out who disliked him and wanted to cause trouble, but never once considered Wang Yang.

What kind of classmate was that? At best, an alumnus.

Besides, he couldn’t think of any reason Wang Yang would target him. His fiancé had already been given to him quietly. He didn’t make a fuss or cling on, hadn’t signed the Shao family contract marriage, so Wang Yang could be openly with Shao Xun without the stigma of being a homewrecker.

That was so considerate, he should’ve won a “model ex” award.

Xi Shi wasn’t the type to soften just because someone cried and begged.

He said coldly, “Begging me won’t work. I had nothing to do with this from start to finish. I didn’t tell Third Master Huo to mess with your family. I’m not close to him, nor do I have that power.”

“How could that be? Aren’t you and Third Master Huo... a couple?”

“A couple?” Xi Shi laughed. “Don’t you see clearly who my partner is?”

Wang Yang shuddered, unbelieving.

So Xi Shi and Third Master Huo weren’t a couple?

No wonder, when Third Master Huo found out, he didn’t get furious and punish Xi Shi immediately. He thought Xi Shi had used some charm to get his forgiveness.

Turns out, Xi Shi hadn’t been two-timing at all.

So was it Wang Yang who was wrong from the start?

“Stop kneeling here. I can’t take it,” Xi Shi said coldly.

This mess was Wang Yang’s own doing; he should bear the consequences himself. Xi Shi had no goodwill left to help him.

“No, you must be lying. If you’re not close to Third Master Huo or a couple, why would he be suppressing the Shao family?”

Suppressing the Shao family?! What did that even mean?

The Shao family must have offended the Huo family somehow and blamed Xi Shi for it. Tomorrow, if the world stops spinning, it must be because he knows Huo Siyuan.

Seeing Xi Shi unmoved, Wang Yang crawled forward a couple of steps and begged, “Xi Shi, I really know I was wrong. If you tell Third Master Huo to make me apologize on the forum, I’ll do it. Please.”

Xi Shi was so annoyed he wanted to scream. If he didn’t know better, he’d think they were acting out a historical drama.

“I told you, I don’t have that kind of influence. If Huo Siyuan is going to retaliate, it’s because you provoked him. Go apologize and beg for forgiveness yourself. Why would I help you? You slapped me, and you expect me to turn around and tell everyone it didn’t hurt and not blame you?”

Without waiting to see if he’d get up, Xi Shi stood and left the dorm.

What a lunatic.

Better find a new place to live; sharing a dorm with this guy was terrifying.

Xi Shi went to a rental website and added several agents at once, explaining his requirements and asking them to send available listings.

As expected, strength in numbers: he found several places he liked and scheduled viewings during his free time.

After booking, he got a message from Guo Hao saying Wang Yang had indeed left, so he could return to the dorm.

Xi Shi went back.

As soon as he entered, Guo Hao and Xiao Nan flanked him.

“Brother Xi, tell us, what’s going on? Why did Yang... Wang Yang suddenly kneel and beg you?”

“Yeah, it feels like we’ve been roommates with you for over two years, but we’re the new ones here.”

Xi Shi usually didn’t flaunt his wealth. To his roommates, he was just one of the richer students. They had no idea about the Shao Xun situation, so today’s revelations stunned them.

Knowing he couldn’t hide it, Xi Shi told them everything from start to finish, leaving them exclaiming in disbelief.

Especially when he mentioned Shao Xun breaking off the engagement to be with his old flame, Wang Yang—it left them speechless.

They would never forget how Wang Yang often showed off his boyfriend’s wealth and thoughtfulness in front of them.

Particularly the private plane trip for barbecue last week, which was the height of showing off.

So it turned out all that was just to show off in front of Xi Shi.

Thinking about how they had flattered Shao Xun right in front of Xi Shi, saying how perfect they were together, Guo Hao and Xiao Nan wished they could disappear.

They really deserved it.

Seeing their expressions, Xi Shi knew what they were thinking and quickly made a “stop” gesture.

“No need to apologize to me. After all, I hid it first. The moment I called off the engagement, I let Shao Xun go and soon found someone new. Wang Yang’s little displays of affection don’t hurt me at all. I didn’t even care.”

“New love?” Guo Hao immediately perked up with gossip, “Who is it?”

Seeing their attention shift, Xi Shi sighed in relief and said, “A handsome guy! I’ll bring him around to meet you when I get the chance.”

Whether that chance would come was entirely up to him.

Finally, having dealt with his roommates, Xi Shi relaxed again.

Wang Yang didn’t come back that night, and Xi Shi enjoyed some peace and quiet.

After a day of fooling around with Jing Chen and then dealing with all this, he was exhausted. He washed up quickly and went to bed.

Just before sleeping, he felt like he had forgotten something but couldn’t recall what.

Never mind—if it can be forgotten, it probably wasn’t important.

Meanwhile, Huo Siyi, still waiting for Xi Shi’s reply, was left hanging: “QAQ Is our handsome senior really this cold?”