Chapter 7 – Zhong Xiyuan Is Not a Good Person, Mind Your Own Business

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Zhong Xiyuan sat on the sofa across from Shi Qiu. Seeing Shi Qiu wrapped up so tightly, he could not help asking, “Aren’t you hot like that?”

“No.” Shi Qiu’s right hand held the edge of a student handbook. His fingers were pale and slender, and the tips were faintly pink from the pressure. “I get cold easily,” he said softly.

“Then why don’t you just turn the air conditioner up a bit?” Zhong Xiyuan picked up the remote and raised the temperature by three degrees. “The heating starts tomorrow,” he explained.

Shi Qiu nodded. “Thank you.”

He looked rather obedient at the moment.

Zhong Xiyuan glanced at his hand. “What’s your relationship with Jiang Fengmian?”

Shi Qiu looked up cautiously. “He’s my brother.”

Seeing how guarded Shi Qiu was, Zhong Xiyuan found it amusing. He could not understand why Shi Qiu treated him this way. It could not just be because he had pinched his cheek yesterday, could it?

In acting school, it was hard to find someone as reserved as Shi Qiu. Most students there would not care about something as small as a cheek pinch. Some of them had kissed so many times during class that they would not even recognize each other on campus the next day.

How pretentious and fragile, he thought.

Zhong Xiyuan let out a breath and stopped teasing him. He lowered his head and started scrolling through short videos. After a couple of swipes, a video of Jiang Fengmian popped up.

The moment Jiang Fengmian’s face appeared on the screen, Zhong Xiyuan quickly looked away in disgust. He glanced at the account name, it belonged to one of Jiang Fengmian’s little fans.

The video already had one hundred and thirty thousand likes.

“Shi Qiu,” Zhong Xiyuan held up his phone, “did you film this video for Jiang Fengmian?”

“Yes…” Shi Qiu had not expected the algorithm to push it so widely. But since the platform prioritized local reach, it was normal for people nearby to see it. Blinking his big eyes, Shi Qiu said, “Since you’ve seen it, you might as well give it a like.”

For a moment, Zhong Xiyuan wanted to throw away all his polite upbringing and roll his eyes. But with Shi Qiu looking at him like that, he kept his smile, gave a short “Mm,” and pressed the like button right on Jiang Fengmian’s face.

“Thanks.” Shi Qiu looked satisfied and gave him a sweet, obedient smile.

“You’re welcome.” Zhong Xiyuan adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, looking every bit the refined scoundrel.

Where had all that wariness gone? Just because he had liked a video of Jiang Fengmian, Shi Qiu was now smiling at him as if it cost nothing.

A surge of irritation rose in Zhong Xiyuan’s chest.

“You and Jiang Fengmian are close?” he asked.

“Of course,” Shi Qiu replied without thinking.

Zhong Xiyuan narrowed his eyes. “Then do you know why he suddenly skipped the exam the day before yesterday, right before it started?”

Shi Qiu’s expression froze.

What else could it be? Obviously, it was because his dear younger brother had done something dramatic and cut his wrist.

“I… I don’t know…” Shi Qiu muttered, burying his face into his coat.

But with the air conditioner turned up, the room was warm and he had started to sweat.

Seeing his guilty look, Zhong Xiyuan knew something was up. He did not press further and instead asked, “Aren’t you hot like that?”

He had already taken off his own coat.

It was indeed a bit warm.

Shi Qiu slowly placed the handbook on his lap and pulled at the zipper with his right hand. The surface of his long white coat was smooth, and when he moved, the thick student handbook slid off his knees. He reached for it but was still slower than Zhong Xiyuan.

Zhong Xiyuan placed the handbook on the side table. He still could not understand how anyone could enjoy reading that sort of thing.

He also noticed something strange. “What’s wrong with your left hand?”

Shi Qiu seemed to do everything with his right hand, and his left hand had stayed in his pocket the whole time.

“…It’s hurt,” Shi Qiu said quietly.

He had thought about making up a story but was worried Zhong Xiyuan might grab his hand without restraint, so he decided to tell part of the truth.

“How did you get hurt?” Zhong Xiyuan asked.

“I fell by accident,” Shi Qiu said after pressing his lips together.

Zhong Xiyuan nodded without showing whether he believed him. “Where’s the injury?”

“My wrist.”

Zhong Xiyuan looked at his left hand, still hidden in his coat pocket. “That must be inconvenient. Let me help you with the zipper.”

Before Shi Qiu could say anything, Zhong Xiyuan reached over.

Shi Qiu could not help wondering if Zhong Xiyuan always ignored personal boundaries.

The white coat’s zipper came down, revealing a neatly dressed black shirt and gray vest underneath, as if he were about to play the role of a young master.

There was a glint of amusement in Zhong Xiyuan’s narrow fox-like eyes, and he was about to say something when two knocks sounded at the door. Jiang Fengmian walked in.

“Brother,” Shi Qiu quickly stood up from the sofa and ran to him.

Zhong Xiyuan’s smile faded instantly.

Shi Qiu stayed close to Jiang Fengmian. “Did you finish your exam?”

“Yes.” Jiang Fengmian met Zhong Xiyuan’s gaze. The moment he had opened the door, he had seen Zhong Xiyuan unzipping his younger brother’s coat.

He already knew Zhong Xiyuan was no gentleman, but he had not expected him to lay hands on his brother in the office.

“I hope President Zhong can control himself,” Jiang Fengmian said before putting his arm around Shi Qiu’s shoulders and leaving.

Shi Qiu followed without knowing what was going on.

Zhong Xiyuan sat on the sofa, eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

Control himself?

He could not believe how fake Jiang Fengmian was. He refused to give Shi Qiu a chance, yet kept stringing him along. Look how much Shi Qiu chased after him, one word from Jiang Fengmian calling him “brother” was enough to erase everything, and Jiang Fengmian treated him like a little pet dog.

Though to be fair, Shi Qiu seemed to be fine with it.

Zhong Xiyuan’s mood turned sour as he watched them.

“Let’s go home,” Jiang Fengmian said gently, patting Shi Qiu’s head.

Shi Qiu nodded.

Zhong Xiyuan watched them leave, his gaze dark behind the gold frames.

Once they were outside, Jiang Fengmian asked, “What were you doing with Zhong Xiyuan just now?”

“Nothing,” Shi Qiu said innocently.

“Nothing?” Jiang Fengmian glanced at his open coat zipper. “Then why was he taking off your clothes?”

Shi Qiu zipped up his coat and explained softly, “He wasn’t taking them off. The room was hot and he saw my left hand was hurt, so he helped me unzip it.”

Jiang Fengmian frowned at his complete lack of caution.

“Zhong Xiyuan is not a good person,” Jiang Fengmian said seriously. “Stay away from him, and don’t let anyone touch your clothes so casually.”

Shi Qiu smiled, seeing how Jiang Fengmian was treating him like a naive little flower. “Alright, brother, I’ll remember that.”

Jiang Fengmian nodded but still looked worried. In his mind, his brother was so pure that he might get tricked in both body and heart.

“Do you have an exam tomorrow? If you’re free, can you come with me to the hospital to remove the bandage? I think it’s healed a lot,” Shi Qiu said, showing his left hand.

09 had secretly been helping him heal, and at nineteen his body was in peak recovery condition, so it was normal for him to be healing quickly.

Jiang Fengmian gently squeezed his fingers. They were no longer cold. He nodded. “Alright.”

The next day, Jiang Fengmian took Shi Qiu to the hospital.

Zhong Xiyuan spent the entire day in the student council office, but the big white ball never came back.

President Zhong tapped his fingers on the desk, staring at the video of Jiang Fengmian on his phone, now with over two hundred thousand likes. His gaze slid over Jiang Fengmian’s face, dark and unreadable.

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Translator note: 📌

Thank you for reading 💖 see you again in the next chapter, my lovely cherries 😘

📍Note: I’m pretty free lately, so I will be posting 3  to 4 chapters a day. Enjoy 🤭

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