The man snapped out of his reverie, watching the frantic chick circling in the cage before him. He reached out and pinched its tiny beak, cursing, “So stupid, so annoying.”
“Brother, you’re back!” Wen Shiqing emerged from the house, her eyes instantly sparkling like hidden stars at the sight of Xie Yucheng.
Although Xie Guoli and Yang Ying had never registered their marriage or officially tied the knot, making her and Xie Yucheng unrelated by blood, she had grown up calling him “brother” out of habit. It felt like this brought them closer.
Xie Yucheng kept his hands in his pockets, maintaining his usual cold and detached demeanor. “Hmm.”
He took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. His 188cm frame loomed imposingly over her petite 160cm figure.
Xie Yucheng suddenly recalled Wang Changlin’s comment about her being “innocent and pretty.” His dark pupils swept over her with a faint, critical gaze.
Tch, where’s the pretty? There’s something wrong with Wang Changlin’s eyesight.
Wen Shiqing blushed under his stare, lowering her long eyelashes as her fingers unconsciously twisted together.
“Brother, why did you come back?” She knew he usually didn’t return home without a reason.
Xie Yucheng snorted coldly, his thick black eyebrows lifting slightly. “This is my home. Can’t I come back?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“What, trying to kick me out so you can completely take over the nest, is that it?”
“Brother, please don’t say that.”
Xie Yucheng shot her a dark glare before striding into the main hall.
Xie Guoli wasn’t in the living room. He was sick, lying listlessly on his bed in the bedroom, his complexion sallow.
After greedily eating an entire plate of edamame recently, he had been vomiting and having diarrhea for three full days. Now he looked like wilted greens, completely drained.
The room was dimly lit. Yang Ying filled his thermos with warm water. After taking his medicine, he lay back down weakly and asked, “Is that Yucheng back?”
“Yes, he’s in his room packing clothes. Probably going on another long trip. Should I ask him to come see you?”
Xie Guoli shook his head: “Forget it, let him be. It’s enough that he shows up occasionally and we know he’s doing fine.”
While her mother wasn’t paying attention, Wen Shiqing slipped into Xie Yucheng’s room and closed the door behind her.
His room wasn’t large, just enough to fit a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe.
Wen Shiqing’s room was right next door. Originally, this was one room until Xie Guoli built a wall down the middle to create two separate spaces for them.
“Brother, are you leaving again?”
“What’s it to you?” Xie Yucheng deftly pulled off his black short-sleeved shirt with one hand, rummaging through his wardrobe for clothes.
His honey-toned skin looked sensual, with broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist and a back defined by firm, flowing lines.
“Nothing really. I don’t have exams until late September, so I happen to be free lately. Can I go with you? Brother, I really want to travel somewhere far.”
“Wen Shiqing, are you asking for trouble? Looking for a scolding?” He turned around, throwing the clothes in his hand onto the bed.
Wen Shiqing’s eyes seemed scalded, quickly averting her gaze, yet she couldn’t resist stealing glances from the corner of her eye.
His chest muscles showed clear definition, descending into eight distinct, tight, and powerful abdominal muscles. With each breath, the muscles subtly shifted, proclaiming his youthful, robust physique.
She gently bit her lower lip, gathering courage to step forward boldly. She grabbed his arm and gave it a light shake, her slightly cool fingertips transmitting sensation to his skin.
Xie Yucheng’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
“Brother, please take me with you. I can help you, I promise I won’t cause any trouble.” The voice was hushed, soft and pleading.
Xie Yucheng remembered several years ago, when he had just graduated from high school and was arranged by his father to work as a truck driver. It was his first time going on a long trip with a briefcase.
Before he even left the yard, 13-year-old Wen Shiqing had wrapped her arms around his waist, sticking to him like bubblegum. “Brother, where are you going? Take me with you.”
Yang Ying came over to pull her away but couldn’t pry her off, finally resorting to knocking her head twice in frustration.
“Your brother is going to work. What are you following him for? Sticking to him every day – he must be sick of you by now, don’t you know that?”
Back then, Wen Shiqing was young and thick-skinned, clinging to Xie Yucheng without letting go.
She was eventually dragged away forcefully by Yang Ying and given a solid beating with a shoe sole. Xie Yucheng could still faintly hear her wailing long after he had left.
“Brother, please, can you take me with you?” The little girl from years ago had now grown into an 18-year-old young woman.
Perhaps due to growing up, her personality had become more reserved than before – thinner-skinned, easily blushing, and somewhat afraid of him.
Xie Yucheng lowered his gaze to those slender, pale hands, his throat moving slightly as he pulled his arm away. He said sarcastically:
“I’m going to work, little princess. If you’re that bored, you can go play with your little friends. Don’t get too close to me – it’ll bring unnecessary trouble. I’m quite afraid of that wicked stepmother of yours.”
“Brother, I’ll talk to Mom. I have a way, she’ll definitely let me go. I’ll handle things with Mom.”
The man’s dark, cold eyes fell upon her as his face darkened: “Can you not understand human language?”
The girl hung her head, slowly releasing her grip. She sniffled lightly, standing helplessly in place.
“I need to change my pants. Are you planning to keep standing here watching?”
Wen Shiqing stared into his eyes, desperately trying to find something in those dark pupils.
Xie Yucheng avoided her direct gaze. “You actually want to watch?”
His hand rested on his belt buckle as he lazily curled his lips. “Fine.”
The next moment—
Wen Shiqing’s eyelashes fluttered, the fair skin from her earlobes down to her neck instantly flushing as if she had an allergic reaction.
She quickly turned her back, her heart pounding like a drum.
She remembered when Xie Yucheng had just started high school, when she once saw him wearing large shorts with several boys his age, diving into the river like carp splashing and swimming.
She sat by the riverbank waiting for him to finish swimming so they could go home together. But when Xie Yucheng emerged dripping wet, a boy behind him playfully yanked down his shorts from behind. At that time, Wen Shiqing was sitting just two or three meters away from him.
Her gaze fixed directly on him, seeing everything she should and shouldn’t have seen.
At that time, Xie Yucheng was pulling up his pants while turning around and shouting: “Damn it, Wang Changlin you bastard, I’m going to kill you!”
To this day, whenever Wen Shiqing recalled this scene, she couldn’t help but want to laugh.