Boom.
Outside, a sudden clap of thunder flashed, startling Xia Xunqian just as much as the words he had just heard.
He hadn’t expected Feng Lin to be so direct.
Xia Xunqian thought about stepping back, but he didn’t. His life was already ruined; he had to survive.
He couldn’t afford the medicine costing thousands per month. He couldn’t lift a 50-pound iron hammer. Once he left the Xia residence, no one would hire a sickly person who spent half his time in the hospital.
Xia Xunqian had a calm, detached nature. Standing there, he had a chill that felt like a gust of wind could blow him away. But his bones weren’t soft and fragile—they were like pine trees covered with frost.
It made people tense.
The warmth inside the room slowly increased.
Subtly, just right.
Xia Xunqian turned his back and closed the door, then started taking off his clothes.
He unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time. His porcelain-like skin was smooth and pale like jade. Because he had just been in the rain, it carried a faint chill.
Even his collarbones had a pinkish tint.
“Have you done this with anyone before?” Feng Lin asked coldly.
Xia Xunqian’s cheeks flushed. His eyes darkened.
“…No,” he said softly, his voice low.
“Can you handle it?”
Xia Xunqian hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“I… I think I can.”
Feng Lin raised his gaze.
“You afraid of me?”
Xia Xunqian clenched his fingers.
“No.”
His voice trembled slightly.
Feng Lin looked frightening.
“Come here,” Xia Xunqian heard Feng Lin say coldly.
He stepped closer.
Suddenly, his hand felt warmth.
Feng Lin grabbed Xia Xunqian’s hand and placed it on his waist.
“Undo it yourself.”
Xia Xunqian obeyed quietly.
…
The bed inside smelled faintly of orange leaves. Feng Lin’s hand touched Xia Xunqian’s head, fingers running through his fine, soft hair like smoke drifting in his palm.
Feng Lin looked at the teeth marks on his wrist, then his gaze shifted to Xia Xunqian.
Indeed, he was a sickly person.
Even this could make him faint.
Feng Lin pulled the blanket over Xia Xunqian and then got up, his expression cold.
By the time he stepped out into the courtyard, the rain had stopped. The sky was still gray, and Old Master Xia stood under the pear tree far off.
Feng Lin walked over. Old Master Xia looked at him politely, but the bitterness on his face hadn’t improved at all.
Feng Lin carried one hand behind his back.
“As you wished, now you can rest easy, right?”
Feng Lin couldn’t understand why Old Master Xia cared so much about his youngest son, setting up a future for him so early—practical or not, it didn’t matter.
After sleeping with him, there was a connection.
After Old Master Xia’s death, Feng Lin would take care of Xia Xunqian.
That was the old man’s idea.
Foolish and naive.
Old Master Xia’s voice trembled.
“The doctor said he won’t live past thirty. I just wanted him to live better. After I’m gone, no one in the mansion would accept him.”
Thirty…
A pity.
Feng Lin thought.
The old man was right—destined to be short-lived. No need to drag a frail body outside to survive.
Old Master Xia spoke slowly, with emotion in every word:
“He likes crabs, but they are cold. The Feng family rarely let him eat them. Sometimes he would get angry. If you ask him a question and he doesn’t answer, he’s just upset. Buy something he likes to cheer him up.”
“If you get angry, don’t scold him for being a bastard. He isn’t.”
“Just give him a small courtyard and food.”
“He’s very obedient.”
“You don’t need to like him, just let him live peacefully for the rest of his life.”
Feng Lin smiled faintly. Old Master Xia said many things, but Feng Lin barely listened.
It was just supporting an idle person. He wouldn’t touch Xia Xunqian again.
Feng Lin liked wild, fiery women. Xia Xunqian, this helpless little cat, held no interest for him.
“How’s his health lately?” Feng Lin suddenly asked Old Master Xia, his sharp eyes cold.
“Old man now, maybe six months at most. The grave is already chosen,” Old Master Xia said lightly.
Feng Lin gave a small hum.
Then he walked toward the ancestral hall.
Old Master Xia knew he was leaving.
The car stopped beside him. Feng Lin opened the window and handed him a small box.
“A gift for meeting you.”
Old Master Xia took the box.
“I’ll give it to him.”
Shortly after Feng Lin left, Xia Xunqian came out of the courtyard. He looked tired but tried to hide it.
He walked to Old Master Xia.
“Let’s go home, Dad.”
Old Master Xia handed him the box.
“From Mr. Feng.”
Xia Xunqian didn’t take it at first. Old Master Xia pushed it into his hands.
On the car ride back, Xia Xunqian opened the box. Inside was a silver bracelet carved with grapefruit flowers.
It had an inscription: Live long and prosper.
Live long and prosper…
How ironic.
Xia Xunqian held the silver bracelet, swinging it slightly. It made a soft clinking sound.
When they returned to the Xia residence, the whole family was there, just in time for a meal.
The dining hall was lively, but it didn’t concern Xia Xunqian.
He glanced at the family and didn’t follow Old Master Xia further. He went back to his room.
The rain always left a smell in his room. He had cleaned it many times, but it wouldn’t go away.
Xia Xunqian was the despised illegitimate son. He knew Old Master Xia feared that after his death, the youngest son would be driven out.
Xia Xunqian learned to accept fate, but also to fight it.
Afterward, he still lived under others’ roofs.
When the Xia family bullied him, he avoided it if he could. If not, he fought back, or lay in bed for a few days.
As long as Old Master Xia was alive, no one could kill him.
But even tall buildings eventually collapse.
Six months later, Old Master Xia collapsed among the flowers in the mansion, dying without warning.