The fist came whistling through the air!

Just as the System’s shriek exploded in his mind, Qi Wendong heard a swoosh of air beside his ear. A black shadow flashed past, and a dark, powerful hand darted in from the corner of his vision, firmly seizing Qi Xiuyi’s wrist!

Qi Xiuyi’s fist was forced to a halt right in front of Qi Wendong’s face.

It was less than ten centimeters away from his cheek.

But that distance was like an uncrossable chasm. No matter how hard Qi Xiuyi strained, he couldn’t move it a single inch forward.

Compared to the hate-filled, snarling former young master, the new young master standing calmly outside the door was far more composed.

Despite the attack, he hadn’t taken a single step back, hadn’t even tilted his head.

He could even manage a serene smile at the unexpected turn of events. “See? I told you. You just couldn’t wait to open the door and welcome me home.”

Qi Xiuyi’s face was flushed, his expression twisted. “Shut up! Qi Wendong! Who’s welcoming you? Don’t be so damn delusional!”

He clenched his other fist, preparing for a surprise attack from below.

The tall bodyguard beside him glanced down, his face impassive. Swoosh! Smack! He precisely and firmly grasped Qi Xiuyi’s left fist as well.

Qi Xiuyi’s eyes spat fire. His anger extended to the bodyguard.

“Let go!” he roared. “Who gave you the right to grab me!”

He angrily raised his foot to kick the bodyguard, but the professional was much faster. With a blur of motion, both of Qi Xiuyi’s wrists were in one of the bodyguard’s hands. The other hand snaked under the knee of Qi Xiuyi’s kicking leg, scooped, and lifted—

Qi Xiuyi’s right leg was left dangling in the air, throwing him completely off balance!

“Whoa—!” he yelped in alarm, his left leg hopping uncontrollably a few times.

Qi Wendong raised an eyebrow and applauded. “Golden rooster stands on one leg. A perfect score.”

Qi Xiuyi was so angry his hair felt like it was on fire. “Qi! Wen! Dong!!!”

Qi Wendong quirked an eyebrow and chuckled softly.

He sidestepped, slipped past, and entered Qi Xiuyi’s room!

Qi Xiuyi struggled violently to break free from the bodyguard’s grip, but he couldn’t budge him an inch. He could only listen as that infuriatingly light voice drifted from inside the room:

“I heard you stayed in your room all day today?”

“We’re not biological brothers, but you were raised by Father for so long, so you could, I suppose, be considered my adopted younger brother…”

“Who wants to call you ‘brother’? Qi Wendong, you** don’t flatter yourself!” Qi Xiuyi roared back over his shoulder. “Let me go… you, let go! …Qi Wendong, get out, this is my room! Isn’t it enough that you’ve already stolen one room from me, now you want to steal a second?!”

But the other man seemed not to hear him. He strolled leisurely around the room, touching and examining anything that caught his fancy, and continued speaking without turning back:

“As your older brother, I have a certain educational responsibility towards you. But I’ve been busy these past two days since moving in and haven’t had a chance to look after you. That’s my fault.”

“I was originally planning to talk to you tomorrow. After all, I attended a banquet all day and made many new friends. My throat is quite tired.”

“But Butler Lin said you locked yourself in your room for a whole day, not eating or drinking, as if you were on a hunger strike…”

“Sigh, it’s my fault for taking your bedroom as soon as I arrived.”

“But you’re twenty years old, an adult. How could you do something so selfish, making everyone worry for no reason?”

Qi Xiuyi was truly astounded. He had no idea how Qi Wendong could have the audacity to feign a troubled expression and sigh at him at a time like this.

He laughed in fury. “Qi Wendong, you**! You stole my home, you stole my dad, you stole my friends, you stole my room, and you still have the nerve to stand here and…”

The curly-haired young man turned around in surprise, his astonished voice cutting him off without a hint of politeness:

“Oh my, look at you, still such a child! Why do you get so worked up in the middle of a perfectly good conversation? Hey~ don’t be anxious, let’s sit down and talk things over slowly.”

The new young master put on a harmless, innocent smile:

“Father has a kind heart. Even knowing you’re not his biological child, he’s still willing to let you stay in the family. I can understand that. I’m not an unreasonable person. I know you’ve been with Father for over twenty years.”

“However, our Qi family doesn’t have a habit of supporting idle people, does it?”

“Last night, I took a look at your schedule. It seems a bit… empty?”

“Is it because Dad won’t let you get involved in the company’s affairs? Sigh, that won’t do. You should get as much practice with company matters as you can while you’re young. Otherwise, what will you do in the future?”

“How about this? I’ll go talk to Dad for you. What are you good at? I’ll have Dad arrange something for you. I guarantee I’ll get you the highest possible salary.”

He slowly walked up to Qi Xiuyi, his words full of sincerity.

But when he received no response for a long time, the new young master tilted his head in confusion and leaned in close to Qi Xiuyi, their faces almost touching.

“Hmm? Why aren’t you talking? You don’t want to?”

Qi Xiuyi’s lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out.

As Qi Wendong leaned closer, he lunged forward with a headbutt, forcing the other to quickly retreat and dodge the blow.

The butler interjected, steeling himself, “Young Master Wendong, Young Master Xiuyi is still a junior in college. He’s usually… busy with his studies!”

The curly-haired young master feigned surprise. “Oh? A junior.”

He mused, “I remember Xiuyi is at B University, right? B University should be in the middle of its exam period right now… Oh! I know! You haven’t been out these past two days because you’ve been studying hard at home!”

Then he smacked his forehead. “Oh, look at me, I completely misunderstood my little brother! To study so hard that he skips meals all day, that’s a spirit I should learn from. Quick, get him some food. He’s been studying all day, we have to make sure he’s properly nourished!”

The butler: “…”

He sneakily glanced at Qi Xiuyi’s face and lowered his head guiltily.

Oh no, I really shouldn’t have brought up his studies.

…

But if he didn’t bring up his studies, what else could he say!

Was he supposed to tell the new young master that the former young master spent his days tirelessly sweeping through auction houses, using the Qi family’s money to add to his private collection!

Qi Wendong’s words came out like a relentless barrage of cannon fire.

Qi Xiuyi’s face was flushed with anger. “You… you…” he stammered for a long time, unable to form a coherent rebuttal. His eyes were so red they looked as if they were about to drip blood.

Qi Wendong bent down in surprise to look at him. “Oh, are you crying?”

Just then, the phone in Qi Wendong’s pocket rang with a cheerful ringtone.

Qi Wendong’s expression turned serious. He immediately stood up straight, pulled out his phone, a joyful look on his face, and quickly walked out of the room. He leaned against the railing, not even glancing at Qi Xiuyi as he passed.

He chirped into the phone, “Daaaaad~!”

Qi Xiuyi’s head snapped up.

From Lin Chen’s phone, a deep, middle-aged voice that only he could hear said, “Don’t bully him too much. He is, after all, my son.”

Lin Chen smiled, his voice not at all hushed as he replied, “Don’t worry, Dad. Xiuyi and I are getting along wonderfully.”

Qi Xiuyi’s eye twitched. He shouted, “You’re full of it! Dad, Qi Wendong is a big liar, don’t…”

Lin Chen immediately raised his voice. “But he’s still holding a grudge about me taking his room. But don’t worry, I’ll definitely handle it. Alright, Dad, you get back to work. I’ll give you a perfect update once I’ve sorted things out. That’s all for now, hanging up!”

Qi Xiuyi struggled desperately. “Don’t hang up! Qi Wendong! You… if you have the guts, let me talk to Dad!”

Lin Chen pressed the end call button and turned around with a smile. “Then why don’t you call him yourself?”

He waved his hand casually, like a scoundrel who had grown tired of a toy.

“Alright, my ill-tempered little brother, remember to eat up! I’m looking forward to your exam results~”

With that, he looked down at his phone and strode towards his own room.

A text message from his client arrived right on cue.

Third Dad: [Sweetly calling me ‘Dad’ to my face, then ruthlessly hanging up on me?]

Third Dad: [Is this the respect I get as your thirty-million-dollar daddy?]

Lin Chen: [Good Daddy, have you ever heard the saying, “A child’s problems are all caused by the parents’ spoiling”?]

Third Dad: [Don’t actually make him cry.]

Lin Chen: [If he doesn’t cry now, you’ll be the one crying later.]

Lin Chen: [The rehabilitation plan is written out clearly in the contract. If you’re really that worried, Daddy Client, you can go back and read the contract a few more times.]

Lin Chen coldly closed the message window and kicked the door shut.

The System bubbled up nervously, “Ho-Host, are you angry?”

Lin Chen sneered, “What contractor wouldn’t be angry when their client interferes and interrupts their workflow?”

The System was troubled. “But Qi Jingming’s worries are reasonable. I don’t think Qi Xiuyi is a very strong person. What if you really push him too far and he does something drastic?”

Lin Chen took a deep breath. “What we need to break is a lifestyle that Qi Xiuyi has maintained for twenty years.”

System: “Mhmm!”

Lin Chen: “My inquisitive AC9999, answer me this: how do you break a habit that is deeply ingrained in a person?”

The System thought hard for a long time before replying sheepishly, “I-I don’t know. I haven’t learned that.”

Lin Chen snorted and dismissively tossed the thought to the back of his mind. “It’s fine. You’ll find out tonight.”

…

Three in the morning.

Qi Xiuyi lay with his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling of his room, not a trace of sleepiness in his mind.

Perhaps he had expended too much emotion during the day.

The nervous anticipation for the banquet, the soul-crushing despair of being betrayed by a friend, the afternoon of mourning, self-pity, and weeping, and then the uncontrollable anger and hatred upon seeing Qi Wendong…

His emotions had been on a roller coaster all day.

So much so that now, in the dead of night, when he was supposed to be most prone to sentimentality, Qi Xiuyi felt emotionally numb.

…Well, not entirely numb.

Tonight, the butler had “forced” him to finish his dinner, had someone remove the lock from his door, and had stationed two maids outside to “monitor” his every move.

This complete lack of privacy and freedom, even in a night where he could barely muster any emotion, still made his skin crawl as if insects were crawling all over him.

It was so strange.

He was clearly sleeping in his own home.

But why did it feel like he was living in someone else’s house?

The maids guarding his door were familiar faces, and the butler was the same.

But why did he suddenly feel that this entire, vast Qi family home was filled with strangers?

These two questions circled in his mind, refusing to leave.

Outside the window, the silvery moonlight quietly bathed the earth, everywhere except where he was.

Qi Xiuyi suddenly remembered the phone call between Qi Wendong and his father that afternoon.

After he had been forced to eat and sent back to his room, he had tried to call his father again.

But the result was the same as the past two days.

No answer.

No answer.

Still no answer…

…Perhaps, from that day on.

The Qi family home had long ceased to be his home and had become Qi Wendong’s home.

Qi Wendong’s home. The Qi family home.

Heh.

He didn’t know how long he had been thinking this way, but Qi Xiuyi suddenly sat up in bed.

He tiptoed to the door and pressed his ear against it.

He could faintly hear two sounds from outside—a soft snore and a slow, gentle breath.

He quietly opened a crack in the door and peeked out.

There they were.

Both maids were leaning against the wall by the door, fast asleep.

Qi Xiuyi suddenly remembered his last year of high school.

That year, he had been grounded at home to study. To sneak out, he had secretly perfected the skill of escaping in the middle of the night.

Over the course of a year, he had successfully escaped several times, always returning to his room before sunrise, never once being discovered.

No one in the family knew about this skill.

The only one who knew was Yu Zhiqiu, whom he used to drag out to play in the dead of night.

Yu Zhiqiu…

Damn it.

So frustrating.

I don’t want to think about him!

Qi Xiuyi held his breath, quietly turned back to set his phone to silent, put it in his breast pocket, and threw on a coat.

Then he tiptoed to open the door, slip out, close it, and descend the stairs in the pitch-black house. He turned into the second bathroom on the first floor, quietly opened the window, and climbed out—

Following the safest route from memory, Qi Xiuyi successfully made it outside the courtyard gate without making a sound.

As he stepped onto the familiar street outside his home, the cool, crisp night air brushing against his cheeks, Qi Xiuyi felt the air around him freshen. All his frustration and sorrow seemed to dissipate with the oppressive atmosphere.

He couldn’t help but smile, spreading his arms to the road.

The emotions that had been suppressed to the extreme for days suddenly rebounded, making him want to laugh out loud three times!

The Qi family… ha, Qi Wendong’s home!

Fine, I won’t live there then!