Xu Chi didn’t know what crazy idea You Chumu had gotten into his head, but he rummaged through boxes and cabinets, found an unopened bowl, washed it, and gave it to Zhou Ye to use.
The three of them ate the noodles together.
Seeing Zhou Ye eating so heartily, Xu Chi looked up and asked, “Aren’t you afraid I poisoned it?”
At that one sentence, Zhou Ye was so startled that he swallowed the noodles and then started coughing violently.
“…”
Xu Chi handed him a tissue: “No poison, eat with confidence.”
You Chumu stared at the tissue Xu Chi handed to Zhou Ye, his round eyes thinking who knows what. Seeing Zhou Ye wipe his mouth, he smiled and said,
“I poisoned the tissue.”
“Cough, cough, cough, cough!” Zhou Ye was so frightened his hands trembled, and the tissue fell to the ground before he could use it.
Zhou Ye: “…How about I just die?”
You Chumu smiled: “Sure.”
Xu Chi: “Alright, stop teasing him.”
Zhou Ye: Teasing? Do you have any manners??
Zhou Ye stared at the noodles in front of him, wanting to eat but not daring to, so he started fake eating… picking up a chopstickful, opening his mouth wide without actually eating anything, pretending to chew, then putting it back in the bowl.
You Chumu and Xu Chi silently watched his performance, saying nothing.
After finishing the noodles and wiping his mouth, Xu Chi finally spoke up: “Actually, inviting you in to eat was to make friends with you.”
Zhou Ye put down his chopsticks, feeling somewhat relieved. “Making friends still scares me… What kind of friends?”
Xu Chi: “Just kidding… As for what kind of friends, it’s up to you. Think about what kind of friends you want to become with us. One kind is what I just said… you won’t have trouble, and you won’t have trouble in the future. The other kind… hard to say.”
In a place like Salt City, especially this notoriously old district, combat power was obviously the most important thing. Everyone wanted protection, but not everyone could find it.
Even a little brat could lift him, all 90 kilograms of him, with bare hands, let alone Xu Chi…
He looked thin, but who knew what abilities he was hiding…
Especially that night when he saw Xu Chi climbing the outside of the building without any support, so high, so terrifying… this was definitely not something an ordinary person could do…
Maybe Xu Chi was a superpowered individual, and even if he wasn’t, he must be very strong… That’s why this kid listened to him…
If he became friends with Xu Chi, he could get Xu Chi’s protection…
The Xu Chi he had seen before might all have been Xu Chi’s disguise. Xu Chi might be some big shot living incognito, hiding his strength in this place.
So… he, he had met a big shot?
He looked up at Xu Chi again. Xu Chi leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, hands folded in front of him, in a negotiation posture… wasn’t that a big shot’s posture?!
And even this face was strikingly handsome… sharp brows, fair skin, a high nose bridge, a long neck…
When had he ever seen such a good-looking person in the Sin District!
“If you look again, I’ll gouge out your eyes.”
You Chumu suddenly spoke, startling Zhou Ye again. Without even reacting, he instinctively averted his gaze, glanced at You Chumu, then looked away…
This kid was too protective of Xu Chi… too loyal. He had never seen such a loyal underling before.
But this underling also looked very dangerous…
“I agree to be friends with you… What are the conditions?”
Xu Chi could have just killed him directly, yet he wanted to be friends… there must be conditions.
“The condition is very simple. Just pretend tonight never happened, okay?”
“…” Zhou Ye instinctively glanced at You Chumu. His first reaction was that Xu Chi’s request was for the sake of this kid.
“No problem,” he replied. “I won’t say a word.”
“Not bad, pretty self-aware.” Xu Chi praised.
“Now, take me upstairs to see your flowers?”
“…Alright.”
The two stood up. You Chumu was about to follow, but Xu Chi called him: “You Chumu, stay home. I’ll be down soon.”
You Chumu glanced at the annoying Zhou Ye: “I want to go with brother.”
Xu Chi: “No need, I’ll be down soon.”
You Chumu: “Why does brother have to go to his house alone? Why does brother have to leave me here? Brother cooked noodles for him today, gave him a tissue, and was amused by him. Brother doesn’t laugh like that in front of me. Is brother going to pick him up and bring him home? Does brother like him more than me? Is brother going to abandon me?”
“…”
Xu Chi: “…”
Just… completely speechless. What was You Chumu even saying.
Xu Chi: “Do you think I’m so free that I pick people up and bring them home every day?”
You Chumu stared at him without speaking, then turned a sinister glare at Zhou Ye, and when he looked back at Xu Chi, his eyes became pitiful again.
“…”
Xu Chi suddenly felt that this little villain wasn’t so scary after all… In short, he was more alive than in the original novel. In the original novel, whenever You Chumu was seen, he was either going crazy or on the verge of going crazy, either murdering or thinking about murdering.
That wasn’t entirely right either… You Chumu did have murderous intent toward Zhou Ye, but he had just stopped him.
Xu Chi stepped forward, raised his hand, and under You Chumu’s clear, obedient, and pitiful gaze, placed it on his head and ruffled his hair:
“Stay home. I’ll be down soon. No more than ten minutes, I promise.”
You Chumu’s body stiffened the moment Xu Chi touched his head, but then relaxed with Xu Chi’s movement. He even felt comfortable… Xu Chi’s hand was warm.
No one had ever touched him like this…
It felt so good that every pore on his body screamed and stood up, wanting to tremble, wanting to lean in voluntarily.
He looked up at Xu Chi, and the words of refusal automatically softened: “Five minutes, brother.”
“…Alright, five minutes.”
Xu Chi let go: “Then I’m going up.”
The two went upstairs one after another. You Chumu watched them from behind. His gaze was a bit dazed when looking at Xu Chi’s back, but when looking at Zhou Ye’s back, it turned into nothing but indifference and coldness, empty like a black hole, as if needing some violent means to fill it.
“Brother…”
He said softly.
“Brother is mine…”
…
Zhou Ye lived just one floor above Xu Chi. A few steps brought them there. The door opened, and passing through the living room, they pulled open the glass door to the balcony.
The balcony was full of flowers of all colors. Even in the dark night, the light from the floors still revealed the flowers’ brightness and beauty.
And among all these flowers, one bouquet in the very center… pink roses… was dead. It looked like it had been trampled. The flowers and leaves were crushed flat on the pot soil, with no chance of survival.
Xu Chi stepped forward and looked around: “You said before you saw me climbing on the wall?”
“Yeah.” Zhou Ye nodded.
“Weren’t you scared? You even ran downstairs to hit me?”
“Now that I think about it, I am scared, but these are my most important flowers.”
Zhou Ye’s eyes showed intense sadness. If Xu Chi weren’t there, he probably would have cried.