ITC Chapter 13

Wen Qing had always liked Bai Xizhou, so she prepared an abundant dinner. Coincidentally, school was on break today, and Uncle had picked up Xie Yuzhu on his way home. When they arrived, Xie Yuzhu was sneakily eating the dishes Wen Qing had made.

“What’s going on? How old are you, still sneaking food?” Wen Ruqing ruffled Xie Yuzhu’s hair, messing it up. “We have a guest here. Don’t you know how to behave?”

“Hey—!” Xie Yuzhu dodged quickly, glaring at Wen Ruqing, though her expression was about as threatening as a kitten’s.

“I’m not a kid anymore. Stop touching my head—don’t you know men and women should maintain boundaries?”

Bai Xizhou, who had just come in after putting away the fishing gear, couldn’t help but laugh when he heard this. Xie Yuzhu turned at the sound, then immediately smoothed her hair and put on a well-behaved expression.

“You met him last time at school. Do I need to introduce you again?” Wen Ruqing pointed at Bai Xizhou and asked Xie Yuzhu, then turned to Bai Xizhou. “My younger sister, Xie Yuzhu.”

Though they had crossed paths once before at school, Xie Yuzhu felt that Bai Xizhou hadn’t even noticed her last time—he’d been too busy talking to her brother.

Around outsiders, the young girl was still a bit reserved. When Bai Xizhou greeted her, the coldness in his features softened slightly with his smile. Xie Yuzhu responded politely but didn’t linger in the living room, instead darting off to the kitchen to bother her mother, leaving Bai Xizhou and Wen Ruqing alone.

The fish and shrimp they’d brought back needed to be cleaned, a task handled by Uncle. Wen Ruqing wanted to help but felt it would be impolite to leave Bai Xizhou by himself, leaving him momentarily conflicted.

“I’m not touching those fish. If you want to help, go ahead—don’t worry about me.”

Wen Ruqing’s hesitation was written all over his face, and Bai Xizhou easily guessed what he was thinking. He would’ve liked to lend a hand too, but his aversion to mess made it impossible. Wen Ruqing, meanwhile, just needed an out.

Hearing this, Wen Ruqing stopped standing during the ceremony. After telling Bai Xizhou to call him if needed, he headed to the kitchen to help.

Bai Xizhou sat in a chair in the living room, opened his phone to reply to messages. Qu Qingchen was asking when he’d be back and telling him to hurry and take the rabbits away—otherwise, Teng Yuan wouldn’t have any alone time with him anymore. Bai Xizhou felt a bit speechless and took a screenshot of the message to send to Teng Yuan.

After dealing with that, his gaze shifted to the little red dot on the contacts tab—someone had added him as a friend. The verification message read “Mom.” Bai Xizhou’s good mood immediately shattered. Without hesitation, he rejected the request and closed his phone.

She always appeared out of nowhere, disrupting all his good feelings.

A bottle of lemon water suddenly appeared in front of him. Xie Yuzhu had come out of the kitchen quietly, and he hadn’t noticed when she had slipped up behind him.

“Uncle, are you in a bad mood?” Xie Yuzhu twisted open the bottle and took a sip, then pulled a chair to sit beside Bai Xizhou.

He looked at her, somewhat surprised—was his displeasure really so obvious that even a child could easily tell?

“Yes, I saw something I didn’t want to see. It’s annoying.” Bai Xizhou admitted frankly. He saw no need to lie.

“Then don’t look.” Xie Yuzhu leaned in a little. “Uncle, can I ask you something? You and my brother, have you known each other for a long time? Why haven’t I heard about you before?”

“Not long. We’ve only known each other for less than a month.”

“Really? No wonder. Before I thought you were his boss.” Last time, the way Bai Xizhou gave orders didn’t feel like how a friend would act.

She was curious about Wen Ruqing’s new friend. Her initial reservation was dispelled by curiosity. Besides, girls her age always like handsome guys like Bai Xizhou.

“Yuzhu, come help bring the dishes.” Wen Qing’s voice came from the kitchen.

Xie Yuzhu stood up, replied, greeted Bai Xizhou, and ran into the kitchen.

This little girl was somewhat like Wen Ruqing—at least in personality, both were very outgoing and easy to get along with.

Dinner was very rich—half because Xie Yuzhu was off work today, but mostly because of Bai Xizhou’s arrival.

At the table, Uncle wanted to have a drink with Bai Xizhou, but Wen Ruqing stopped him, using the excuse that Bai Xizhou’s stomach was delicate. Wen Qing’s cooking was excellent, even the simple home-style dishes were delicious, and Bai Xizhou ate more than usual.

“Try the fish you caught yourself.” Wen Ruqing ladled some fish soup for him.

The aroma of the fish soup filled his nose. Bai Xizhou took a sip—it was fresh and left a pleasant taste lingering.

Back in the new city, although he sometimes cooked, most of the time he was casual about it. He didn’t care much about how dishes looked or smelled—just enough to fill his stomach. He thought eating alone didn’t require much ceremony.

Wen Qing’s cooking didn’t look fancy like dishes in restaurants, but it tasted better than anything he had eaten at any restaurant. There was a flavor of home in it.

At the table, Uncle kept asking Bai Xizhou about his situation, mostly with praise. Wen Qing kept serving him food, and this time, Bai Xizhou ate it all.

He saw Xie Yuzhu and Wen Ruqing fighting over the last shrimp. The battle ended with Wen Ruqing giving up. Xie Yuzhu looked triumphant, teasingly waving the shrimp in front of Wen Ruqing’s eyes. Both of them were really childish.

Has every meal before been like this as well? Uncle would ask and care about Wen Ruqing’s recent situation, Wen Qing would serve dishes to both of them, and Xie Yuzhu would play and joke around with her brother. Perhaps this was their most ordinary way of being together.

Bai Xizhou felt a little envious.

He had never experienced such a family atmosphere. He had always eaten alone, whether at home or school. Although he had parents, it was almost as if he didn’t. In his brief childhood, most of the time he was waiting—yet never once did he get to experience a family eating together at the table.

Even at his age now, whenever he saw others’ families being harmonious, he still felt envious.

He longed for a warm, loving home like that.

“Lawyer Bai,” Wen Qing suddenly spoke.

“Just call me by my name. It’s not work time now.”

“Alright, Xizhou.” Wen Qing’s smile carried a gentle warmth unique to women, like a breeze from Jiangnan. “How do you like it here?”

“Pretty good. I really like it.”

“That’s good. When you have time, let Ruqing take you around.”

They already had an unspoken understanding about this.

“You treat him as a friend, and we’re very happy about that. Ruqing doesn’t have many friends, and his personality can be difficult sometimes, so please be a little more tolerant.” Wen Qing suddenly remembered something. “Ruqing originally worked in the new city. Maybe in the future you’ll see each other often.”

Bai Xizhou had never heard Wen Ruqing mention this before.

He glanced at Wen Ruqing, who happened to look over at that moment. Under the light, his eyes were bright, but Bai Xizhou couldn’t see what he wanted to express.

Wen Ruqing still had many secrets.

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After dinner, Wen Ruqing went to help Wen Qing wash the dishes while Uncle was clearing the table.

Bai Xizhou had nothing to do, so he moved a chair outside to the open yard to sit. He was waiting to leave together with Wen Ruqing. The evening air was comfortable, with a slight breeze passing by. Looking up, the sky was full of stars.

The longer one stayed in a place like this, the more relaxed they became. Eventually, they might no longer want to return to that cold, unfeeling city.

“Uncle,” Xie Yuzhu’s voice came from behind. She also moved a chair and sat down beside Bai Xizhou. “I’m back again.”

“What do you want to ask this time?” Since he was in a good mood now, he’d answer whatever she asked.

“Actually, I don’t have that many questions. I just think it’s interesting how my brother makes friends, so I wanted to see what kind of person you really are.” Xie Yuzhu sat boldly and looked up at the stars. There was a hint of relief in her tone.

Was she really a little sister or more like an older sister? Bai Xizhou was a bit confused.

“Does your brother not have many friends? He has a good personality. I’d think lots of people would want to be friends with him.”

Wen Qing said that too, and so did Xie Yuzhu. So why did everyone say Wen Ruqing had a bad personality? Was there something he missed?

“Maybe he shows you a more easygoing side, but actually my brother doesn’t talk much. Sometimes I’m a bit scared of him. Maybe the Wen Ruqing you see isn’t the same as the one we see.”

“Was he always like this?”

“No. His personality used to be different. It’s easy to push people away now, and few want to get close to him.” Xie Yuzhu popped a sour plum into her mouth, and the sourness made her teeth tingle. “No, a long time ago, he wasn’t like this.”

How long ago? And why would someone’s personality change so much that even their family thinks it’s not good?

“Since the second year after our uncle and aunt passed away, he gradually became closed off, stopped talking much, and threw himself into studying.”

Bai Xizhou was startled. No wonder Wen Ruqing never mentioned his parents; the root cause wasn’t a surprise.

Those days after losing both parents must have been really hard for Wen Ruqing. Bai Xizhou could almost picture him, alone among groups of kids, at parent-teacher meetings without parents showing up, forced to grow up while still a child. His heart ached.

Thankfully, he still had his aunt, or he wouldn’t have made it through those days.

“Let’s not talk about this,” Bai Xizhou stopped the topic. He felt it was improper to pry further. “You’re in 11th grade now and about to enter 12th. Have you thought about your future?”

“I want to get into a good university and go study in another city. I haven’t left Fujiang in all these years. I want to see the outside world—the real things—not just what’s in books or on the news.”

“But life is long. You don’t need to rush planning your future. Listen, see, and feel. Only then will you know what you want.” Xie Yuzhu raised her hand to touch the moon, distant yet alluring. “Uncle, what do you think about me becoming a lawyer?”

“Choose the path you love. As long as you’re happy.” Bai Xizhou’s voice grew softer. “After your exams, you can come to the new city and I’ll take you around.”

“Really? Uncle, you’re not lying to me, are you?”

What returned to Xie Yuzhu was only silence from Bai Xizhou, no response. When Xie Yuzhu turned her head, she found that Bai Xizhou had already closed his eyes, breathing steadily—clearly asleep.

Xie Yuzhu was speechless. She had finally opened her heart honestly, but the other person fell asleep. Feeling tired and sad, she went off to find her brother.

After Wen Ruoqing finished washing the dishes, he was about to leave. At the door, he saw Bai Xizhou sitting by the table and Xie Yuzhu, who looked like she was about to “devour” Bai Xizhou. No one knew what Bai Xizhou had done to upset this little lady.

He walked over and discovered Bai Xizhou was asleep. Seeing Wen Ruoqing, Xie Yuzhu immediately complained to him that Bai Xizhou was just “painting a pretty picture,” yet Bai Xizhou was sleeping so soundly he didn’t even wake up.

“Don’t leave tonight. I think he’s tired, better not to trouble him,” the uncle suggested.

“Yeah, stay tonight, and leave tomorrow,” Wen Qing agreed.

Wen Ruoqing didn’t insist anymore. He woke Bai Xizhou up to ask for his opinion. Woken from his sleep, Bai Xizhou wasn’t fully clear-headed and didn’t catch much of what Wen Ruoqing said, but just nodded.

So, Bai Xizhou ended up staying over at Wen Qing’s place.