It was the first time Fang Ji had ever seen such an expression on Qi Xiuyi’s face. He was sitting under the shade of a tree beneath the dormitory building, hugging his knees, looking dejected. He was staring up, perhaps at the sky or the clouds, and had been sitting there all alone for a long time.

He was there before Fang Ji went to eat. When Fang Ji came back from his meal, he was still there.

Fang Ji had heard about what happened to the Qi family, knowing that the eldest young master who had only been acknowledged last year had recently passed away from an illness.

He had a deep impression of Qi Wendong. After all, it was rare to meet someone who could talk back to him so sharply on their first meeting. Most people—well, who wouldn’t like a little bell?

Fang Ji was in a good mood at the moment and didn’t mind extending a hand to this young master of the Qi family, who had undergone a dramatic change within a year. So, he said with a grin to the tall boy beside him, “Senior, that’s my friend over there. I want to go have a word with him. You can head back first. We’ll hang out again when we have the chance.”

The tall boy frowned imperceptibly, glancing at the person in the shade. After a moment’s hesitation, he didn’t say anything about it. In the gentlest tone he could manage, he said to his junior in the blue floral shirt, “Alright, Jiji, remember to message me when you get back to the dorm. Remember to wear the scarf I got you. The weather is getting colder, and you still have to stay at school for two more weeks. Don’t catch a cold.”

Fang Ji squinted his eyes comfortably, clearly enjoying the concern. He waved his hand, deliberately making the jewelry hanging on him jingle and drawing the gazes of many people around them.

Fang Ji said, “I know, I know~ Senior, you should head back! Oh right, I heard a new Pear phone just came out. I wonder how it is. I’ll buy one for you tonight, Senior, so you can test it out for me first.”

The tall boy’s brows instantly relaxed, his smile becoming incredibly sincere. He genuinely expressed his concern for Fang Ji a couple more times before reluctantly turning to leave.

Fang Ji skipped over to Qi Xiuyi’s side with a light step.

“Hey!”

He casually plopped down next to Qi Xiuyi, the bell earrings on his ears making a loud, crisp sound. He nudged Qi Xiuyi with his elbow, grinning. “I heard your grades this semester are amazing. First in your major, congrats!”

However, Qi Xiuyi just gave him a listless glance, said nothing, and quickly turned his head away, resuming his initial posture of looking up, his gaze unfocused, lost in thought.

Fang Ji didn’t mind Qi Xiuyi’s silence at all. He asked cheerfully, “Hey, haven’t you all finished your exams for your major? Why are you still at school? It’s not like you have extra classes during the winter break like us.”

Qi Xiuyi ignored him.

Fang Ji continued to chatter, “Your roommates should have all gone home, right? It must be boring staying in the dorm alone. Perfect timing, I’m free tonight. Want to go hang out at XXX? My treat!”

Qi Xiuyi couldn’t take it anymore. He slowly turned his head. “Fang Ji, can you be quiet? Don’t you have enough brothers and sisters to keep you company?”

Fang Ji laughed sheepishly. “What are you talking about… Just because I have brothers and sisters, does that mean I don’t need friends?”

Qi Xiuyi slowly averted his gaze, his eyes downcast. “…If only.”

Fang Ji didn’t catch that. “What?”

Qi Xiuyi fell silent again, raising his head once more, staring blankly upwards.

Fang Ji followed his gaze carefully and finally realized that Qi Xiuyi’s eyes were fixed on the dormitory building ahead. Fang Ji had initially thought he was looking at the sky. After all, today’s sunset was like flowing fire, truly beautiful and worth a look. But he never would have guessed that Qi Xiuyi, after sitting here for half the day, was actually looking at the dormitory building.

Fang Ji asked warily, “What are you looking at? You’re not peeping into some student’s dorm room, are you?”

Qi Xiuyi: “…”

Qi Xiuyi shot him a speechless and disgusted look. He knew the personality of this little young master from their circle. If he didn’t satisfy his curiosity now, Fang Ji would surely pester him to death.

So Qi Xiuyi pointed at the dormitory building. “That room is 509.”

Fang Ji: “?”

Qi Xiuyi said dejectedly, “My brother’s dorm.”

Fang Ji understood. “Oh, Qi Wendong!”

Qi Xiuyi sighed. He leaned his head back against the tree, stretched one leg out, and rested his hand on his other bent knee. He pointed to a faint outline of half a dorm bed visible through the window and said to Fang Ji, “That spot, that was his bunk before.”

Qi Xiuyi said glumly, “…When the next semester starts, someone new will move into that bunk.”

Fang Ji: “…Oh.”

Fang Ji said, “So you’re not going home for your winter break, you’re just here reminiscing about your brother’s bunk?”

Qi Xiuyi didn’t say anything.

Fang Ji propped his head on his hand and said nostalgically, “Qi Wendong… a very impressive and outstanding person. I didn’t have much contact with him, but I heard from Ah Hui that when Wendong interacted with the student union, the abilities he displayed were incredible… What a pity.”

Qi Xiuyi’s ears twitched, and he couldn’t help but turn his attention back to the topic. But Fang Ji didn’t continue. He grinned and put his arm around Qi Xiuyi’s shoulder, saying casually, “Ah Hui had quite a few dealings with your brother. It’s too much to tell you in one go. Come on, let’s go out and have some fun. I’ll tell you on the way?”

Qi Xiuyi wanted to refuse. But… it was a topic about Qi Wendong!

He calmed his mind and wanted to refuse again. But… it was a topic about a Qi Wendong he didn’t know!

After hesitating several times, Qi Xiuyi finally gave in with a sense of defeat. “…Alright, but it’s your treat, seriously! I only have three thousand yuan a month now. I can’t afford to play there.”

Fang Ji said, “My treat! I never lie, let’s go!”

However, that night, Fang Ji spent the money but didn’t have much fun. Because no matter how he tried to hype up the atmosphere and lead the conversation, Qi Xiuyi couldn’t muster any energy to play. His eyes and ears were nailed to the stories about Qi Wendong, turning a deaf ear to everything else.

Fang Ji put up with it for half the night but couldn’t stand it anymore. He felt it was incredibly boring and simply finished telling the gossip in one go before taking Qi Xiuyi back to school early.

On the way back to school, an accident happened.

A large man blocked their path, pointing angrily at Fang Ji, who currently had his arm around Qi Xiuyi’s shoulder. The large man said furiously, “Fang Ji! You… you… you! Just how many good brothers and sisters have you been seeing behind my back! Who’s this person with you now!”

Qi Xiuyi: “.”

Fang Ji was extremely annoyed. The thing he hated most was when these good brothers and sisters showed up while he was out having a normal time with his friends. He said impatiently, “We’re just bros, not in a relationship. How many brothers and sisters I have is none of your business. Move aside, move aside. If you keep blocking the way, I’m calling school security!”

The large man’s eyes widened in anger. “You said you wanted a brother’s care, I gave it to you. You said you wanted meticulous attention, I gave you that too! What on earth are you not satisfied with? Huh? Why do you have to deceive me like this!”

Fang Ji let out an exaggerated “Ha!”, and the small bells on his ears rang cheerfully and mockingly. Fang Ji said, “Please, brother. You took a house, three cars, and seven phones from me. What are you not satisfied with? If you’re not satisfied with me now, then give those things back to me.”

Qi Xiuyi: “…”

The large man was rendered speechless, the words stuck in his throat.

Fang Ji rolled his eyes, grabbed Qi Xiuyi’s arm, and said, “Let’s go!”

A few steps away from the large man’s sight, Qi Xiuyi couldn’t hold it in any longer. He asked in puzzlement, “A house, three cars, and seven phones? Do you give all your brothers and sisters that much stuff? By that calculation, your daily expenses should be about the same as mine were before. How come your dad doesn’t scold you? My dad used to despise me for the little money I spent, and even threatened to cut me off!”

Fang Ji glanced at him. “Please, how many people would I have to give things to, to match your one limited edition collector’s helicopter? I only spend a little money, okay!”

Qi Xiuyi muttered, “That’s not little. You should come shake milk tea with me…”

Fang Ji didn’t hear clearly. “What?”

Qi Xiuyi said, “Nothing. I said, since I hung out with you all night, you should at least treat me to a milk tea.”

Fang Ji: “.”

Fang Ji looked at him with pity and raised his hand to transfer ten thousand yuan to Qi Xiuyi. “No need to thank me. That’s a year’s worth of milk tea money for you.”

Qi Xiuyi said with a blank expression, “…Thanks a lot. How did you know I haven’t had milk tea in a year?”

Fang Ji’s pupils shook. “Huh? That bad??” He continued, “Wait, I heard the reason your spending was cut down to this was because of your brother’s appearance. In that case, how can you still feel… about him…” That way, staring melancholically at the building, unable to forget?

Qi Xiuyi’s mouth instantly flattened into a thin line, his mood souring. In a slip of the tongue, he subconsciously blurted out, “What would someone like you, who has no brother’s love, understand!”

Fang Ji: “?”

Fang Ji wasn’t happy either. “Qi Xiuyi, who are you saying has no brother’s love? I have plenty of brothers, and plenty of sisters too!!”

If it were the past, how could Qi Xiuyi possibly back down in a verbal spat like this? He would have definitely stabbed him with a sharp remark like, “What’s the use of buying so many brothers and sisters from the outside? Your own biological brother, sister, and father are still all so busy outside that they never see you.”

But perhaps his temper had been smoothed out a lot by Qi Wendong over the past year, because this time he wasn’t provoked by Fang Ji. He looked at Fang Ji askance, his eyes filled only with pity. What fault was it of Fang Ji’s? Fang Ji just wasn’t like him, having had such a good brother like Qi Wendong!

He snorted softly and looked away. “Forget it, what’s there to say to someone who doesn’t understand… Thanks for the milk tea money tonight. I’ll pay you back when I earn money in the future. I’m heading back first, bye!”

Fang Ji was left speechless, feeling a lump in his throat. “…Hey, Qi Xiuyi!” But Qi Xiuyi didn’t look back and strode away.

Fang Ji was furious. He stomped his foot hard, and the jewelry on his body clanged, making the late night very lively. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He simply took out his phone, started flipping through his contacts page by page, found his most recent favorite brother, and was about to call him down.

But just then, the phone screen flashed, and a call came in.

Fang Ji’s heart tightened. His finger slipped and he accidentally answered the call. Fang Ji’s mouth instantly drooped.

Fang Ji said, “…Dad.”

The middle-aged man on the other end of the line spoke quickly, “Half a minute, I have a meeting soon. The butler said the family has already received over thirty complaint letters this month? Little Ji, stop making a fool of yourself and tarnishing the Fang family’s name when you have nothing better to do. Weren’t you thinking of starting some project before? Sixty million. Go work on your project properly, and stop messing around outside. Can you do that?”

Fang Ji said in a low voice, “Dad…”

The other side instantly detected the reluctance in his voice and judged coldly, “Can’t do it? OK, then I’ll give this sixty million to someone else.”

“Beep—”

“Beep—”

“Beep—”

Fang Ji stood in the cold winter wind, not moving for a while. He stood there for a full three minutes before expressionlessly putting down his phone.

He didn’t dwell on what his father meant by giving the sixty million to someone else; it was probably about some new project. He just felt very unhappy at this moment.

Expressionlessly, he sent text messages to more than a dozen brothers and sisters at the same time, asking them all to hang out together.

Who said he wasn’t loved? He had plenty of love!