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As the car drove back into the city, Ye Xingzhou's phone rang halfway, and he casually turned on the car's Bluetooth to play the call.
"Xingzhou? Are you free now?" It was Lin Zhinian's voice. "Can you come over to my studio? A group of people outside claims that I've taken over their house and demands that I move out. They're banging on the door outside."
Lin Zhinian spoke quickly, sounding panicked while seeking help from Ye Xingzhou.
Ye Xingzhou asked, "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Lin Zhinian replied anxiously. From the phone, there were chaotic sounds of things being smashed. "They seem like a group of thugs, saying the contract I signed with the agency for this house is invalid and that the house belongs to them. They want me to either pay or give them the house, or else they'll destroy my studio. My assistants have already gone home, so I'm alone here."
Ye Xingzhou calmly advised him, "You should call the police first."
"Teacher Lin, where are you?" Qi Xing's voice interjected. "You should call the police immediately after this call and we'll come over right away."
On the other end, Lin Zhinian seemed surprised for a moment, as if he hadn't expected Qi Xing to be with Ye Xingzhou. He replied, "I'm at the studio, Xingzhou knows the address."
Then Qi Xing urged him, "Isn't Young Master Ye moving yet? Hurry up and go!"
Ye Xingzhou glanced at him, threw a "be there in ten minutes" at Lin Zhinian then hung up, and calmly drove to the nearby intersection and turning the car around.
Qi Xing taunted him, "What do you take Teacher Lin for? He's in trouble, and you're not even concerned. If I hadn't said anything, would you have let him handle it on his own?"
Ye Xingzhou kept his eyes ahead without increasing the speed of the car. "I'm not a cop, and neither are you."
"Teacher Lin must be blind to like you," Qi Xing cursed but didn't bother to continue, finding it pointless to argue with this kind of nemesis. If he lost to such a character, there would be no point in coming out in the future.
Ye Xingzhou ignored him. The car turned into a small alley at the next intersection and stopped ten minutes later at the end of a secluded tree-lined path, where Lin Zhinian's personal studio was located.
There were three or four cars parked outside, and the gate was wide open. As soon as Qi Xing got out of the car, he heard banging and shouting from inside. He strode in, finding a group of people smashing things and splashing paint. Lin Zhinian was trying to stop them, but to no avail. When Qi Xing entered, he saw Lin Zhinian being pushed and hitting the edge of a sharp metal table with his palm, causing a large cut and blood to flow.
Qi Xing's face darkened. He picked up a chair and swung it forcefully at the thugs pushing Lin Zhinian from behind.
Ye Xingzhou arrived a step later, and as he entered, he saw Qi Xing smashing people with a chair. Lin Zhinian was desperately protecting his damaged artworks while retreating step by step and looking particularly embarrassed.
Ye Xingzhou frowned but stepped forward and raised his hand to block a metal rod swinging at Qi Xing from behind.
Taking advantage, Qi Xing viciously kicked one of the thugs confronting him. He wanted to teach them a lesson but was held back by Ye Xingzhou. Just then, police sirens could be heard outside.
A few minutes later, all the troublemakers were taken away, leaving Lin Zhinian sitting in a chair while looking weary with his palm still bleeding.
Qi Xing approached and reminded him, "You should go to the hospital. Your hand needs stitches."
Lin Zhinian shook his head slightly and hoarsely said, "I want to tidy up here first."
"Cleaning these can wait as taking care of your wound is more important." Qi Xing said while glancing around. Unfortunately, the entire studio was a mess. "Do you have bandages or something similar here? Bandage the wound first to stop the bleeding then we'll go to the hospital."
Lin Zhinian still shook his head.
Qi Xing thought for a moment, then turned and looked at Ye Xingzhou, and walked over.
"Borrow your tie." He said bluntly, not waiting for Ye Xingzhou's consent and reaching out to untie his tie.
Ye Xingzhou's expression was slightly cold but Qi Xing acted as if he hadn't noticed. "I'll help Teacher Lin stop the bleeding using this, but what's this? Your tie knot is so tight, why can't I undo it?"
Qi Xing complained while pulling and tugging. He wasn't a patient person to begin with, and as he couldn't untie it, he resorted to brute force.
Ye Xingzhou was pulled forward, and Qi Xing raised his eyes, meeting his amused gaze. Finally realizing their awkward position, Qi Xing let go, saying, "You untie it yourself, hurry up."
When Lin Zhinian looked up, he saw this scene. He saw Ye Xingzhou staring at Qi Xing for a few seconds with interest then calmly untied his tie and handed it to him.
Lin Zhinian was slightly taken aback. It was the first time he saw Ye Xingzhou looking at someone with such eyes, and considering the earlier incident, it was indeed Ye Xingzhou who had helped Qi Xing fend off the attack from behind.
A strange feeling surged in Lin Zhinian's heart but before he could dwell on it, Qi Xing had already returned, holding Ye Xingzhou's tie and squatting down to bandage his palm.
The young master's actions were not exactly gentle, but they were sincere. Lin Zhinian thanked him quietly.
"No need to thank me, Teacher Lin. Just remember to have a meal with me next time," Qi Xing said casually.
Lin Zhinian managed a forced smile. "Okay."
Curious, Qi Xing asked him, "Where did those people come from? What's the deal with them?"
Lin Zhinian hesitated before saying, "I'm not really sure. After I returned to the country, I rented this house through an agent to use as my studio. The contract was signed with the agent. They had come twice before, saying this house belonged to them and that my contract with the agent was invalid. I ignored them, but tonight they came and started smashing and looting."
"You were deceived by the agent," Qi Xing immediately realized the complexity of the situation. "Teacher Lin, you've been abroad for over ten years, so it's normal not to understand these twists and turns. Either the agent tricked you, or the agent and the landlord teamed up to cheat you out of your rent. Did you not have someone help you look into this before renting the house?"
Seeing Lin Zhinian's embarrassed expression, Qi Xing looked over to Ye Xingzhou, who had been left aside, and couldn't help but tease him, "How come Young Master Ye, as a good friend, didn't help Teacher Lin with such a small matter? Can you just watch Teacher Lin's studio being vandalized like that?"
Ye Xingzhou remained silent as his thoughts still lingering on the scene where Qi Xing helped bandage Lin Zhinian's wound. Despite Qi Xing's impulsive demeanor, his concern seemed genuine. Unlike Qi Xing, who was arrogant and domineering, Ye Xingzhou, even if acting on a whim was rare to help others with such things.
Qi Xing raised his eyebrows. "Was what I said wrong?"
Ye Xingzhou looked at him, his expression somewhat ambiguous.
"It's not that I don't want to inconvenience Xingzhou," Lin Zhinian quickly intervened and then changed the subject, "Xingzhou, Young Master Qi, why are you together?"
He seemed to finally realize that there was something different about Ye Xingzhou today. Ye Xingzhou wasn't wearing glasses, and there was a noticeable red mark above his left cheekbone, which was there before he entered. Except for helping Qí Xing block that one hit just now, Ye Xingzhou hadn't made a move. That mark was already there before he came in.
Moreover, from earlier until now, Ye Xingzhou's gaze had been on Qi Xing the whole time.
This time, Ye Xingzhou spoke first in a calm tone, "We went out for a drive and happened to run into each other. Anyway, we should go to the hospital first."
Qj Xing surprisingly agreed with him, "Right, we should hurry to the hospital to get you stitches."
Lin Zhinian could only go along with them. As he stood up, he looked back at the mess in the room, his expression somewhat melancholy. Qi Xing comforted him, "Don't think about it, we'll clean up later."
Lin Zhinian forced a smile, "It's a good thing the art exhibition just ended. Most of the paintings are still at the art gallery and haven't been brought back."
Ye Xingzhou had already stepped out ahead of them.
————
In the hospital emergency room, Lín Zhinian received stitches and a tetanus shot, while Ye Xingzhou waited outside without going in. Qi Xing couldn't stand the smell of the medication, so after seeing that Lin Zhinian was fine, he also went outside.
Upon hearing footsteps, Ye Xingzhou looked up from his phone screen. Qi Xing tossed over his blood-stained tie and said, "Here, take it back."
Ye Xingzhou took it and threw it directly into the nearby trash bin.
Qí Xǐng clicked his tongue. "I've noticed you really don't understand how to cherish someone delicate. Look at your attitude. First, you were unwilling to come, and now that you're here, you act as if it's none of your business, not even caring to ask about his well-being. With that attitude, why do you keep bringing Teacher Lin around? Is there any point to it? I told you earlier, if you're not good to him then hand him over to me."
Ye Xingzhou put away his phone. "Are you leaving or not?"
"Are you busy? If so, then go ahead and leave. I'll stay here with Teacher Lín," Qi Xing eagerly wanted him to leave, "Young Master Ye, with your busy schedule, I won't keep you."
Ye Xingzhou said, "I've arranged for someone to handle the follow-up matters. He still needs to go and cooperate with recording statements. How long do you plan to stay?"
"You don't need to worry about that..." Qi Xing started.
"Your parents didn't say that you must be home before midnight? It's almost eleven," Ye Xingzhou reminded him.
Qi Xing was confused.
"How the fuck do you know?"
Ye Xingzhou remained calm. "Uncle Qin mentioned it casually before."
Qi Ronghua, he's most keen on showing off his son to people, no matter who it is. He loves mentioning Qi Xing, whether there's a reason or not, so everyone outside knows he's famously doted on.
Qi Xing, feeling unusually embarrassed, said, "I'm not leaving. At least I wait until Teacher Lin is discharged."
"Are you trying to pursue him?" Ye Xingzhou suddenly asked.
Qi Xing replied, "You're just realizing today that I want to pursue him? Do you have Alzheimer's? Didn't I say it to you politely earlier?"
Ye Xingzhou lightly sneered, "You're not his type."
Qi Xing asked, "How do you know?"
Ye Xingzhou's gaze ran up and down him, his lips curling slightly, a smirk forming. "It will not fit."
Qi Xing frowned, feeling that Ye Xingzhou's gaze was somewhat malicious, and his tone was particularly frivolous.
"How do you know that it will not fit?"
"You can try," Ye Xingzhou said, "Just don't cry if you get rejected."
Qi Xing choked up, as if suddenly realizing that this person wasn't just mentally unstable but also shameless, a rogue and a scoundrel. All in all, a complete animal, unfortunately disguised as a human, even fooling everyone.
Thinking back to earlier on the mountain, where he was pinned down and unable to move by him, Qi Xing's nerves began to pound again, and he felt like hitting someone.
But he couldn't win.
Ye Xingzhou saw through him at a glance. "You will just waste your effort."
Qi Xing suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth. "Teacher Lin is gonna be mine. I will definitely win him over."
Ye Xingzhou sneered, "Then I will wait and see. By the way, you owe me a tie."
"Why should I?" Qi Xing asked.
"You played the hero and helped someone. Shouldn't you compensate me for ruining my tie?" Ye Xingzhou's voice was light but being so petty about a tie was odd in itself.
Qi Xing was speechless.
Who is this guy?
Author's Note:
Ye Xingzhou: "Not a fit."
Qi Xing: "What do you mean it's not gonna fit?"
Ye Xingzhou: "Nowhere fits."
Qi Xing: "Where exactly is not a fit?"
Ye Xingzhou: “...”