“Speak up, why keep your head down the whole time? Could there be gold in the dirt?”
The young master who had spoken first grew somewhat impatient. It was like punching a pile of cotton without any reaction, which only left him feeling stifled.
He waded through the crowd and walked up to Xie Xuanyi, roughly pinching his chin to force his head up. Then, as if suddenly noticing something, he laughed and said, “I was wondering why you wouldn’t raise your head afraid of losing face, aren’t you?”
The young master pried at Xie Xuanyi’s jaw, forcing him to turn his head to face everyone. “Look at this frail and sickly appearance, with his face swollen into such a state could it be that the price for selling himself wasn’t agreed upon, and he got beaten up like this?”
Among those present were quite a few unmarried young ladies, who turned their heads away one by one upon hearing this. Only a handful of young masters who had frequented places of pleasure chuckled in agreement.
Seeing that Xie Xuanyi showed no reaction even then, the young master suddenly lost interest, pushed him away, wiped his hands in disgust with a handkerchief, and led the other young masters and ladies off to look at the sights.
After the young masters who had come to watch the spectacle left, the area around Xie Xuanyi finally grew quiet.
Before he could recover from the pain, however, he saw Shen Shixin walking slowly toward him. Shen Shixin picked up the basket of pastries Xie Xuanyi had made, placed them on the table, and then, without a word of explanation, kicked him right on the shoulder.
Seemingly somewhat surprised, Shen Shixin felt as though he had used almost no strength at all, yet Xie Xuanyi collapsed to the ground.
Xie Xuanyi was already nursing consecutive injuries. Covered in cold sweat, he found himself momentarily unable to speak.
“Aren’t you quite capable of arguing? Why didn’t you refute a single word of what Zhao Er said?” Shen Shixin stepped on the back of his hand, slightly increasing his pressure, and as expected, he heard Xie Xuanyi let out a soft gasp. “Could it be that he hit the nail on the head?”
Shen Shixin looked down at him from on high, the prior hint of a smile completely dissipating, leaving only eyes as cold as frost.
“What, are you really that hard up for silver? Isn’t your father’s monthly salary enough for your food and daily expenses?”
“Must you crawl onto someone else’s bed just to beg for a bit of silver to spend?”
Xie Xuanyi couldn’t speak; he could only use every ounce of his remaining strength to shake his head.
No, that wasn’t it. He wasn’t someone with so little baseline—how could he possibly crawl onto someone else’s bed?
Clearly, Shen Shixin knew that he only liked him alone.
Obviously, in the very beginning, it was the other person who had approached and provoked him first. Why was he the one being treated this way?
Seeing that Xie Xuanyi remained silent for a long time, looking for all the world like a wooden puppet, Shen Shixin grabbed the other’s collar, yanking him up into a semi-seated position. Only then did he realize that the person before him was frighteningly thin, as if it would take no effort at all to push him back down to the ground.
Just like what he had just done.
Yet Xie Xuanyi simply stared fixedly at him, his gaze even turning somewhat hollow, as if he were admiring something past the tips of his hair.
Or perhaps it was because he had grown entirely accustomed to these actions, losing the necessity to react.
He recalled what they looked like when they first met.
At that time, Xie Xuanyi was merely a student with some talent for drama performance—not yet reaching the level of outstanding brilliance, nor having arrived at the age to make his grand ambitions a reality—who had simply died in obscurity under a billboard that fell after a typhoon.
He had no close friends, no experience of romance or courtship, and had never been the pride of anyone else.
His twenty years of life were thinner than his tears.
Afterward, he was selected and became an employee tasked with completing transmigration missions, clumsily entering this small world as a novice.
Because his numerical stats were pitifully bleak and he lacked any special skills, even the system providing his walkthrough strategies had malfunctioned.
“Host… after testing, the host’s physical stats surpass 76% of employees. It is recommended to provide close protection to the mission target, find the mission completion node, and block a fatal blow for the mission target.”
That was the first time he heard the system’s kind and gentle voice.
“Upon initial meeting, does the host wish to configure personalized settings for this system?”
Xie Xuanyi stood beside a street paved with bluestone slabs. Beside him, an endless stream of carriages and horses bustled past, yet it was as if they couldn’t see him at all. He clumsily looked at the system’s phantom projection and softly declined.
“No need, I think this is very good just the way it is, thank you.”
As if afraid the system would vanish abruptly, he raised his voice: “Wait a minute!”
The system patiently inquired: “Does the host have any other requests?”
“If I block a knife for the mission target, will—will I die?”
At that moment, Xie Xuanyi’s tone was nervous and strained, and the system’s voice came from all directions; he didn’t even know where to look.
“No.”
Hearing the affirmative reply, Xie Xuanyi finally let out a sigh of relief.
The world slowly solidified before his eyes.
Immediately afterward, a high-strung horse came to a sudden halt right before him, pulling him out of his daze and crashing him back into reality.
He didn’t hear the coachman cursing; he only saw the young master riding high with majestic bearing and high-spirited style, his well-defined fingers lifting the complex crimson carriage curtain, staring at him with a pair of ink-black eyes in an arbitrary and unrestrained posture.
“Whose young master is this, standing right in the middle of the street? Aren’t you afraid of getting run over by a carriage?”
At that exact moment, he seemed to hear the clumsy pounding of his own heartbeat.
That year, he in this small world was merely sixteen years old.
“Say something, it’s exhausting trying to get a word out of you.”
His chin was pinched until it ached. Xie Xuanyi snapped out of his illusion, blinked abruptly, and saw that Shen Shixin had already squatted down, impatiently interrogating him.
He shook his head ever so slightly, “I… I didn’t.”
Shen Shixin released his chin and chuckled unenthusiastically, “You wouldn’t dare either. If you were capable of such a thing, this young master would surely skin you alive with my own hands and wash your core clean.”
He stood up, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his fingers one by one, and dropped it on the ground right in front of Xie Xuanyi.
“Wash it clean and return it to me at the academy in a few days. If you can’t even manage something as simple as washing a handkerchief, this young master will have the tutor kick you out of the academy.”
He cast a sidelong glance at Xie Xuanyi, “Did you hear me?”
The frail and thin youth nodded.
Xie Xuanyi thought today’s ordeal had finally come to an end, so he slowly climbed up from the ground and stumbled over to sit on a nearby stool.
Just then, a filthy yellow dog emerged from a cluster of blooming flowers. Seemingly attracted by Xie Xuanyi’s attire, it circled him a few times and bared its fangs threateningly.
Not daring to provoke a fierce dog rashly, Xie Xuanyi pulled up the hem of his robe and retreated a few steps, watching the yellow dog nervously. If he got hurt, he would have to spend points on medical treatment once more, and his pockets were truly stretched thin.
Who would have thought that Shen Shixin would suddenly take an interest? He made “tsk-tsk” noises at the dog to draw its attention, grabbed Xie Xuanyi’s pastries, and tossed them away.
The pastries vanished into the flower bushes, and the yellow dog lunged forward, devouring them like rolling wind sweeping away clouds.
Xie Xuanyi was stunned. For a moment, he forgot to lower his head in submissive obedience, looking at Shen Shixin with a face full of shock, only to receive the other’s playful mockery in return.
“What? The things you make are only fit to be fed to stray dogs.”
Shen Shixin leaned against the railing, twisting a blade of foxtail grass so fast it spun into a blur; the poor little stalk was subjected to endless torment, its drooping head hanging down despondently.
He looked at the frail and slender youth, his eyes holding not a shred of pity.
“So stupid. Why have you always been this stupid?”
Xie Xuanyi managed to drag himself back home with sheer willpower, carefully bolting the courtyard door shut.
“Master, you’re back!” Seeing him return, A-jian’s eyes lit up. She got up from the shade of a tree, hurried forward holding a cup of warm tea, and said, “Drink a cup of tea to warm yourself up.”
Xie Xuanyi took the teacup, sniffed the clean fragrance of the tea, and unwilling to let down the little girl’s good intentions drank it all down in one go.
“Did you use the medicine in the cabinet?” He asked as he walked toward his room.
A-jian replied hastily, “Used it, used it.”
“Your master’s medicine is completely different from what the doctors outside prescribe; it’s small, exquisite, and has an exceptionally good effect. Master is truly a figure like an immortal!”
Seeing A-jian’s joyful expression, Xie Xuanyi also revealed a gentle smile.
Ever since arriving in this small world, he had treated A-jian like a younger sister. Seeing her bright, sparkling eyes and happy expression, his own mood settled down quite a bit.
“As long as it works well,” Xie Xuanyi exchanged a string of candied haws from the system inventory. “Your lunch must have been docked again, eat this first to cushion your stomach.”
The little girl widened her eyes, yet ultimately unable to tell a lie, she stammered, “How did you know… no wait, Servant has already had lunch!”
Seemingly growing guiltier the more she spoke, A-jian finally accepted the string of candied haws and, after a moment’s hesitation, began to chew slowly and carefully.
Xie Xuanyi leaned against the wall, sitting down slowly as he watched the young girl trying to take big bites while forcing herself to restrain her appetite; it didn’t sit well in his heart.
A-jian wasn’t his maid at least, not at the very beginning.
She was a sweeping maid who failed to win Xie Qiuzhi’s favor and was originally scheduled to be beaten to death.
The reason was simply because she was timid and shy, having offended the young master.
Xie Xuanyi had spent all his savings, and even purchased some novelty items at a high price from the system space to gift to Xie Qiuzhi, barely managing to save the young girl’s life.
Before A-jian, he had no personal maid, but A-jian’s appearance had disrupted his plan to save up money and system points.
Perhaps because everyone possesses a shred of compassion, perhaps because of some insignificant pity, or perhaps because it was just a passing thought at the beginning—he simply wanted a loyal servant.
He just wasn’t sure anymore whether saving A-jian’s life was truly a long-term torment for the other person, or if he had done a good deed.
Xie Xuanyi looked at the neatly arranged tea set on the table.
None of them were precious utensils, yet they were still cherished by someone, washed sparkling clean without a shred of water stain, with only a small teacup holding warm water. The table leg was uneven, and even though the careful young girl had already wedged a small wooden block underneath, it still wobbled slightly; with the slightest movement, ripples would shake across the surface of the warm water in the cup.
He was a person who couldn’t even manage to be a complete good person, yet neither could he become a bad person.
The actions of those young masters were those of utterly bad people, but Shen Shixin did not count among them.
He merely… didn’t like him all that much.
Xie Xuanyi watched the young girl finish eating her candied haws before softly saying, “Help me prepare some warm water for a bath.”
Although the Xie family members did not treat him well, they seemed afraid of losing face if word got out, so they didn’t skimp too much on the most basic living conditions; at the very least, hot water was available for use.
Xie Xuanyi slowly stripped off his outer robes.
His skin was an unhealthy pale white, acquiring some warmth only under the flickering reflection of the yellow candlelight; his legs were straight and slender. New wounds were piled upon old ones across his body, with patches of bruised purples and blues that were startling to behold.
The spot where Shen Shixin had kicked him that morning seemed to hurt rather badly. He hadn’t felt much earlier—presumably blocked by sensory shielding but now even breathing caused a thin, thread-like throbbing pain, as if it were connected to his entire body, intent on exacting double the toll in pain and applying it inch by inch to his bones and blood.
“System, redeem a dose of Yuzhen San, use immediately,” taking advantage of the empty surroundings, he lowered his voice and quietly called upon the system. “Also help me check my point balance, thank you for your hard work.”
“Already redeemed for the host, medicine taking effect; Host: Xie Xuanyi, Point Balance: 10 points, Evaluation: Pockets Stretched Thin. Please work hard to complete missions and earn points, Host.”
Xie Xuanyi let out a low sigh.
As the medicine took effect, the bruises on his body slowly faded somewhat, and the old wounds almost vanished completely. However, the pain in his abdomen and lower back remained sharp, seeming entirely ineffective.
Seemingly aware of Xie Xuanyi’s confusion, the system spoke up again: “The grade of Yuzhen San is too low, it only takes effect on the host’s basic trauma. If the host needs to treat moderate or severe trauma, please redeem higher-grade medicine.”
So Shen Shixin really had used a fair amount of strength with that kick. He soaked in the misty vapor, thinking intermittently: so Shen Shixin truly hated him this much.
Yet he had no other choice.
He had already lost the ability not to love Shen Shixin.