Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Jing Xi evidently hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation yet.

He attempted to flash Xie Qingfeng a heartfelt smile, but it was hidden behind his mask, unseen.

Not only could this suppress the rival's budding schemes, but it also gave the national teacher a reason to reject this person.

A perfect solution.

Qiu Dexuan noticed Xie Qingfeng's gaze, looked back, and realized that a car had appeared behind him at some point.

He was about to say something with a frown, but Xie Qingfeng had already spoken, "There's no need to trouble Mr. Qiu; we have a car here."

Having said that, he walked towards the car behind him.

Hao Jixin had originally thought the master would refuse, but to his surprise, the master actually got in the car. But then again, considering the ten thousand, it would be a greater loss not to.

Jing Xi, seeing Xie Qingfeng getting into the car, had a deeper smile on his lips. He walked to a spot not far away, not daring to get in the car.

He still remembered being sick and Xie Qingfeng's words, "Don't infect me."

Xie Qingfeng, sitting in the back seat, rolled down the window and waved at Jing Xi, who was not far away.

Jing Xi, surprised, couldn't hide the upturn of his lips, walked over with seemingly steady steps, bent down, and asked, "What's up?"

Xie Qingfeng's hand reached out of the window, "Your phone."

Jing Xi, without much thought, obediently took out his phone and handed it over.

Xie Qingfeng took it, entered the password, and began to operate.

Hao Jixin, unable to restrain his curiosity, sneaked a peek, and in the next moment, stood frozen, unable to look away.

Jing Xi, a few steps away and unable to see clearly, felt an ominous premonition as Hao Jixin's schadenfreude-filled gaze occasionally turned his way.

Once Xie Qingfeng transferred all the money from the card tied to Jing Xi's account, which originally belonged to him, in batches and unbound all the cards under his own name.

He begrudgingly left ten yuan for Jing Xi.

After doing all this, he "thoughtfully" planned a route home for Jing Xi: changing five buses, taking two hours, costing exactly ten yuan.

Jing Xi, stunned, took back the phone handed over by Xie Qingfeng, looked down, and saw the route planning interface.

He looked up blankly, meeting Xie Qingfeng's gentle eyes and voice, "Ten yuan is enough. Spend it carefully, otherwise, you'll have to walk back."

After saying this, he looked away from Jing Xi and told the driver they could go.

Jing Xi glanced at his phone and then at the car that had already started, belatedly realizing the extent of his actions.

Hao Jixin could barely contain his laughter. The Movie King Jing really had no idea about worldly hardships. The master couldn't earn ten thousand even after drawing so many talismans, yet he spent it in a single gesture.

And it turned out not to be his own money, yet fortunately, he still had ten yuan left.

If it were him, he would have emptied it without leaving a cent.

As for how to get home? Just use his legs, it's environmentally friendly too.

Qiu Dexuan's car hadn't left yet; he had the driver back up a bit, frowning as he looked at Jing Xi not far away. Jing Xi was tall and handsome, his face not clearly visible, but the visible brows and eyes seemed familiar, unlikely to be unattractive.

Qiu Dexuan, displeased with the man who spoiled his plans, uncertain of his identity, asked, "Are you close with Mr. Xie?"

Jing Xi, having put away his phone, looked up and replied defiantly to Qiu Dexuan, "That's none of your business."

Daring to snatch someone from under his watch? Only if he were dead.

Qiu Dexuan laughed mockingly, "I was just being nice, wondering if this gentleman needed a lift from me."

Without even a car, how dare this man follow Mr. Xie around?

Jing Xi didn't even spare him a glance, obediently heading to the nearby bus stop.

The national teacher left him ten yuan, surely because he was worried about him getting tired. The national teacher cared for him.

Not only did he think this, but he also sent a message to Xie Qingfeng while waiting for the bus.

Xie Qingfeng, hearing the notification, took out his phone and looked at it: ...

[Jing: Already waiting for the bus. Ten yuan of pocket money, I wouldn't spend it if it wasn't so far. [Heart]]

Xie Qingfeng stared at the words 'pocket money', feeling an urge to transfer back even that ten yuan.

Since he returned two days early, the National Day holiday wasn't over yet. Xie Qingfeng took out the gifts he had bought in advance and visited his foster parents.

By the time he returned from his foster parents' home, it was already evening.

He opened the door to find the lights on in the entryway, clearly Jing Xi was already home.

Xie Qingfeng changed into slippers. The dining room's warm light was on, and several dishes, obviously prepared by Jing Xi, were kept warm on the table.

Xie Qingfeng approached, looking at the untouched dinner with a balanced mix of dishes, wondering... where did he get the money to buy groceries?

He walked to the bedroom door, considering knocking, but then remembering the misdeed this fellow had done, he withdrew his hand, refusing to sympathize with him.

After washing up, Xie Qingfeng meditated, blocking out his surroundings until the late night. After another round of bathing, he removed the barrier before going to sleep.

Almost at the same time, faint sounds came from outside, a creaky chewing sound. He frowned, closed his eyes, decided to ignore it, but then got up after tossing and turning.

He opened the door and walked out. Sure enough, the dining room light was on, and someone was chewing food very quietly, pausing after each bite, probably to avoid waking him.

Anyone unaware would think a thief had entered the house.

Jing Xi, probably not expecting Xie Qingfeng to be awake at this hour, suddenly looked up, holding a chicken wing, rich in sauce but cold as the warming time had passed.

"You haven't slept yet?" Jing Xi silently put down his chopsticks.

Xie Qingfeng, observing his cautious demeanor, felt an inexplicable softness in his heart, yet his voice remained firm, "You woke me up."

Jing Xi immediately stood up, "Then I won't eat anymore. I'll clean up right away."

Xie Qingfeng noticed his complexion was back to normal, indicating his illness was nearly healed. He walked over and sat opposite him, "I'm hungry."

Jing Xi's eyes lit up slightly, "I only touched one dish. Shall I reheat the others for you?"

Xie Qingfeng didn't respond, which was a silent agreement.

After Jing Xi reheated the dishes, Xie Qingfeng took the chopsticks but ate very little, then stood up, "Don't waste it."

Without waiting for Jing Xi to speak, he went back to his room to wash up and sleep.

Jing Xi, looking at Xie Qingfeng's room door, couldn't help but smile, feeling pleased and finished the rest of the meal.

The next day, Xie Qingfeng didn't leave the house and continued his meditation, notifying Hao Jixin before setting up the barrier and casually transferring money to Jing Xi.

Jing Xi took medicine before sleeping to recover sooner and woke up later than usual the next day. It was already eight in the morning when he saw the message.

Seeing the message from Xie Qingfeng immediately woke him up.

A transfer of two thousand yuan with a note: Grocery money.

Jing Xi, sitting there, sensed that the national teacher must be in meditation but remembered to transfer him money before that. He felt there might still be hope for himself.

He couldn't resist posting on his social media.

[Jing: [Smiley Face]]

Below was a screenshot of the received transfer of two thousand yuan and the conspicuous words: Grocery money.

After returning home yesterday, Hao Jixin went to sleep, satisfyingly sleeping till the morning. Upon waking up, he checked his phone, knowing the master would be in meditation for the next two days, and first went to pour a glass of water.

He sipped his water while leisurely scrolling through his social media.

He hadn't scrolled far when he came across Jing the Movie King's post and almost choked on his water, unable to contain his laughter.

Hao Jixin could even discern the smugness in the expression of the emoji used by the other party.

Rolling his eyes playfully, he liked Jing Xi's social media post and commented, "Two thousand is not bad. I'm different though, the master transferred me fifty thousand as a hardship allowance."

After posting, Hao Jixin sat on his bed with his legs crossed, waiting for a response.

But after waiting half an hour without a message from the Movie King Jing, he squinted and hesitantly sent a message.

[Hao Jixin: Jealous to the point of speechlessness?]

However, this message was marked with a red exclamation mark, accompanied by a notification: [You are not friends with this user.]

Hao Jixin: "?? What the heck, Movie King Jing, is your heart that small? Really?"

Jing Xi not only deleted Hao Jixin but also removed his comment. What isn't seen is as if it never existed.

After deleting, Jing Xi returned the thousand yuan he had borrowed from Liang Chenglei yesterday and reposted the screenshot.

[Jing: Returned your thousand. Got transferred two thousand for groceries early in the morning. How can I eat so much by myself in two days? [Photo]]

Liang Chenglei saw this post just as he was coming out of President Zhu's office. He opened the photo and noticed the conspicuous 'Grocery Money' and the two thousand.

He counted the zeros, confirming there were indeed three.

Liang Chenglei, feeling conflicted, tentatively sent a message.

[Liang Chenglei: Mian Feng, is there... anything difficult you're facing but feel uneasy to tell me about?]

[Jing: How could that be?]

[Liang Chenglei: You suddenly borrowed a thousand from me yesterday, which really didn't need to be returned. President Zhu also just asked me if you invested all your inheritance and are out of money. If you're in trouble, just say it. He can give you a part of the dividends in advance. Ten or a hundred thousand, he can still make that decision.]

[Jing: ...You're overthinking it.]

Jing Xi was still puzzled about Liang Chenglei's sudden sentimentality when he saw another message from Liang Chenglei, a suppressed hot search topic at the end of the feed.

Jing Xi opened the app.

The trending topic was quickly pushed down to the bottom of the list, so it didn't spread widely.

[@OneTrumpetFlower666: Wow, I saw a guy on the bus who looks exactly like Jing Mianfeng! So similar! Couldn’t help but follow him for a while. He was so patient, changed buses five times, wuwuwu, got off near C University. Regret not asking for his contact info.]

Accompanying the post were nine photos, all capturing Jing Xi's journey on the bus.

The post had many likes, shares, and comments, with many people praising the resemblance to Jing Mianfeng, but obviously thinking it couldn't be him.

Plus, Jing Xi's composed demeanor throughout made them even more convinced it wasn’t him.

But Liang Chenglei recognized him at first glance. His hand trembled when he saw it: "It's so difficult now, how could I not tell him?"

Jing Xi read the message and fell silent.

[Jing: You’re overthinking it. Oh, by the way, if you had a friend who angered someone they liked, to the point of severing ties, what should they do to make amends?]

Liang Chenglei, who was deeply upset, saw this message pop up: ...are you sure this friend isn’t you?

Jing Xi waited a long time before Liang Chenglei finally sent a message back, containing only a screenshot.

He opened it.

[Top ten most popular...]

Jing Mianfeng was prominently listed.

Below it was the most liked comment: Ahhh, just to see Jing Yi Emperor’s abs once in my life would be worth it!

Jing Xi, looking at this comment, had an epiphany.

On the other side, Liang Chenglei, having received no reply, wondered: Could Mianfeng understand what he was trying to say? With so many fans and popularity, why fixate on just one person?