Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Xie Qingfeng frowned as he looked at Jing Xi, remaining silent for a long while.

Fortunately, after drinking, Jing Xi just sat there, showing no signs of intoxication.

Eyes downcast, the dim lighting of the booth and the flashing lights around made it difficult for him to clearly see Jing Xi's expression.

He glanced again at the heartbroken man who had finished his recently served drinks and was now slumped over the table, murmuring inaudibly.

Maybe that man couldn’t handle his liquor?

Liu Wen and his friends also noticed, whispering, "Your friend can really hold his liquor. He’s still sitting upright, looking fine."

The person next to them was now crying and laughing, while Mr. Jing sat straight, even fiddling with an empty glass.

Xie Qingfeng hummed in response. He had never seen Jing Xi drink before, perhaps his tolerance was indeed high.

Since he wasn’t drunk, there was no need to intervene.

Their beers and fruit platter arrived quickly. Xie Qingfeng took a sip, finding it mediocre, but finished it nonetheless.

As the bar got busier, Xie Qingfeng noticed someone stopping at Jing Xi’s booth and glanced over subconsciously.

A man in a crisp suit stood to Jing Xi’s left, leaning in as if to say something. Jing Xi seemed not to hear, continuing to fiddle with his glass.

Even when Xie Qingfeng looked over, the man didn’t glance back.

Not receiving a response, the man persisted, speaking louder, "Sir, are you alone? Can I buy you a drink?"

Xie Qingfeng, with his keen hearing, clearly heard this and looked displeased.

Obviously, the man was trying to pick up Jing Xi.

Jing Xi still didn’t respond, and the man leaned in closer. Finally, Jing Xi turned his head impatiently, looking displeased.

The man stared at Jing Xi's face in shock, his eyes widening with amazement and delight.

Xie Qingfeng's expression turned utterly displeased, confirming that Jing Xi was indeed drunk.

He hadn't even pulled up his mask after drinking.

The man, being close, quickly realized Jing Xi was intoxicated and moved to grasp Jing Xi's wrist.

Xie Qingfeng had already stood up, vaulted over the booth, and was striding towards them.

Although Jing Xi was drunk, his instinctive wariness and aversion made him swing his hand with internal energy, sending the man flying several meters and crashing into a nearby booth, nearly falling over.

"You!" The man frowned, about to say something, but Xie Qingfeng had already reached them.

Xie Qingfeng pulled up Jing Xi's mask and stood protectively in front of him, his eyes darkening, "Get lost!"

The man was reluctant to give up, recognizing the allure of Jing Mianfeng.

He had seen it very clearly!

Liu Wen and his friends had already come over, standing behind Xie Qingfeng, warning the man, "We're calling the police."

Hearing the threat of police involvement, the man got scared, realizing he couldn’t afford to mess with Jing Mianfeng's status. He mumbled something and hastily left.

Xie Qingfeng still looked upset, scanning the surroundings to ensure no one had recognized Jing Xi.

Annoyed that Jing Xi had dared to drink four glasses of strong liquor in one go, he was about to turn around when a warm head pressed against his lower back, arms wrapping around his waist.

Jing Xi mumbled unclearly from behind, "National Teacher..."

Liu Wen and his friends, not hearing clearly, surrounded Jing Xi, "Xie, your friend is drunk, right? He seemed so calm earlier; we thought he could hold his liquor."

Some people do indeed appear normal when drunk but are actually incapable of rational thought.

Xie Qingfeng grabbed Jing Xi's wrist, pulling his hands off his waist.

Jing Xi looked up plaintively, about to call out to the National Teacher, but a stern look from Xie Qingfeng made him even more aggrieved, and he obediently remained silent.

Yin Jinhui, familiar with this brash attendant, laughed at Jing Xi's state, "Is he really drunk? So silly."

Xie Qingfeng gave him a glance, and Yin Jinhui quickly hid behind Liu Wen: "Can't I even make a joke?"

Liu Wen suggested, noticing people glancing their way, "Maybe we should head back."

Xie's friend is drunk, and they couldn’t just ignore it.

Besides, the bar was too expensive and not as fun as expected. They might as well leave.

Xie Qingfeng hummed in agreement and called the waiter to settle the bill.

Xie Qingfeng's table was splitting the bill; he only owed Liu Wen two hundred and thirty-eight yuan.

But Jing Xi’s bill amounted to over thirty thousand.

Xie Qingfeng took a deep breath and turned to look at Jing Xi, the big spender.

Jing Xi still sat upright, sensing Xie Qingfeng's gaze, and looked up with a dazed smile, his eyes possibly reflecting the light, shining brightly. His smile was unusually pure, softening Xie Qingfeng’s heart.

But... Xie Qingfeng wasn't going to pay for him.

Xie Qingfeng took out Jing Xi’s phone, entered the password, and showed it to the waiter to transfer the money.

The waiter: ??

If they were together, why didn’t they sit together?

Liu Wen and his friends were also surprised. Xie's friend had even given Xie his phone’s password?

After paying, Xie Qingfeng prepared to leave, but just as he turned, Jing Xi reached out his arms to him again.

With his long arms and legs, one might think he was incapacitated.

Xie Qingfeng half-laughed in exasperation: "Are you still a baby? I'll count to three. Either walk by yourself, or I'll leave you here."

Jing Xi's eyes, already filled with a sense of grievance, reddened even more at some word Xie Qingfeng said: "Are you going to abandon me again?"

Liu Wen and his friends wildly speculated: Again? Abandon him?

Remembering that Xie Qingfeng knew Jing Xi’s phone password, they wondered...

Xie Qingfeng, aware of Liu Wen and his friends’ strange looks, thought to himself, when had he ever abandoned Jing Xi?

Clearly, this wasn't the right time to ask.

Deciding it was best to leave, he turned and walked away.

Sure enough, after a few steps, Jing Xi, who had initially wanted to be carried out, reluctantly and slowly stood up and followed.

Fortunately, Jing Xi was surprisingly obedient and caused no further trouble. Xie Qingfeng and Jing Xi took one car, while the others took another back to the school.

Jing Xi sat alone in the back seat, while Xie Qingfeng was in the passenger seat.

The driver frequently glanced at Jing Xi in the rearview mirror: "Your friend okay?"

Xie Qingfeng, who had been looking out the window, turned at the question to see Jing Xi had gone from sitting to lying down.

Xie Qingfeng: "He’s fine, just drunk."

"Really?" the driver expressed in surprise, considering how normal Jing Xi appeared, his face unchanged, walking and boarding the car by himself - could he really be drunk?

When the car stopped outside the residential complex, Xie Qingfeng paid the fare and got out. He opened the rear door and nudged Jing Xi, "Wake up."

Jing Xi seemed to stir slightly, but he was too drunk, his reactions delayed, before he moved again.

Xie Qingfeng, not wanting to hold up the driver, pulled Jing Xi into a sitting position. Jing Xi then turned his head in a daze to look at Xie Qingfeng and gave a dazed smile, obediently getting out of the car.

However, once hit by the wind, he initially stood but soon began to sway.

Xie Qingfeng was still doubtful whether Jing Xi was pretending to be drunk, but as Jing Xi truly started to fall, he pulled him towards himself.

Jing Xi clung to him, slightly tilting his head, his face almost buried in Xie Qingfeng's neck.

Xie Qingfeng's frown deepened, and he pushed Jing Xi, but couldn't get him off.

Jing Xi muttered, "Uncomfortable, my head hurts."

Xie Qingfeng's expression soured, glancing sideways, "Serves you right."

Daring to drink anything without even knowing what it was.

Although he knew Jing Xi's martial prowess was still formidable even when drunk, the thought of the man from the bar who had clearly been leering at Jing Xi still made Xie Qingfeng's eyes darken.

Despite his harsh words, Xie Qingfeng pulled Jing Xi off himself, making him stand straight before lifting his arm to drape over his shoulder and leading him forward.

Jing Xi continued to lean on him as if boneless.

As they walked, Xie Qingfeng threatened, "Let's see if I don’t just leave you here."

Jing Xi's sluggish mind took a while to grasp the meaning of Xie Qingfeng's words. He whined softly in a pitiful tone, but indeed didn't dare to lean his entire weight on him.

Xie Qingfeng, burdened with the dead weight of a drunken Jing Xi, managed to get back home. Once the door was closed, he didn’t bother with Jing Xi anymore, abruptly pulling Jing Xi’s arm off his shoulder.

By now, Jing Xi was so drunk that he was barely conscious, and he just collapsed onto the floor.

The weather wasn't cold, and Jing Xi’s internal strength could protect him, so he might not necessarily get sick.

Xie Qingfeng changed his shoes and headed to his room. He reached the door but stopped, realizing he did owe Jing Xi something.

Turning back, he lifted Jing Xi off the floor, supported him to his room, threw him onto the bed, covered him with a thin blanket, and was about to leave.

But Jing Xi caught hold of him. Lying there, his eyes were open but unfocused and drunken, his face showing panic. He tried to sit up but couldn’t.

The strength in his grip, however, was considerable, and Xie Qingfeng couldn’t pull away.

Xie Qingfeng glared at the hand gripping his wrist, "Let go. We’re home now, sleep it off, and we’ll talk tomorrow."

There was no use arguing with a drunk.

Jing Xi, even more panicked, suddenly sat up, looking up with the same lost expression he had in the bar: "Are you going to abandon me again?"

Xie Qingfeng had wanted to ask this at the bar: "When have I ever... abandoned you?" making himself sound like a heartbreaker.

Jing Xi's eyes were red-rimmed, his expression becoming incredibly forlorn and bewildered as if recalling some painful memory.

That look made Xie Qingfeng pause, involuntarily thinking of Jing Xi as a child.

Now Xie Qingfeng was certain Jing Xi was genuinely drunk; he had never seen him this vulnerable since they became adults.

Jing Xi was genuinely drunk, his sense of grievance peaking at this moment. Clutching Xie Qingfeng's wrist tightly, he looked lost and wronged, "You lied to me."

Xie Qingfeng: ?

Jing Xi, eyes downcast and red-rimmed as if he had been terribly wronged, lamented, "Back then, you said you’d take me back to the National Teacher's palace. You told me the Cold Palace wasn't good, and you said you’d make me your junior disciple, convincing Master to take me in…"

"I waited for so long, always waiting for you. I didn’t want to be a prince, and you said if I didn't want to go back, a prince could still be raised in the National Teacher's palace."

"But then I was taken back, and I kept waiting for you to come for me, but you didn't want me anymore... I went to the National Teacher's palace looking for you, and they said you were in seclusion…"

Xie Qingfeng stood there dumbfounded, unable to utter a word for a long while.

Those past events he deliberately forgot, everything he intentionally overlooked, resurfaced in this moment with Jing Xi’s grievances and accusations.

Maybe it wasn’t forgetting but rather he didn’t dare to remember, intentionally forgotten, for his helplessness back then.

When he had rescued Jing Xi outside the Cold Palace, Xie Qingfeng was only a few years old, freshly arrived at the palace, unaware of its turbulent and perilous nature.

His thinking was naive; if the old emperor could abandon his own son to the Cold Palace over a so-called fate, he thought being a prince under such circumstances wouldn’t win the emperor's favor either.

Yet, he exposed the switched fate of the emperor’s son, unable to let the child he was protecting be bullied so mercilessly.

Even when that child looked at him with dependent eyes, he felt like a capable elder brother, determined to protect this little one he had saved.

While waiting for rescue, he promised to take care of him, and if being a prince was too hard, he would ask Master to take him in as a junior disciple.

He would be a good, very good senior brother.

The little one had leaned against him, watching with wide eyes, listening to his vivid depiction of the future, nodding continuously.

Back then, little Qingfeng himself believed it, only to later realize in the palace he could barely protect himself.

His exposure of the switched imperial fate infuriated the Empress.

The Empress's retaliation left him unable to fend for himself. To protect him, his master had to claim he was being “punished” and made him enter seclusion.

He was actually unwilling at the time. He had promised the young one he would make him his junior disciple. How could he enter seclusion without even asking his opinion?

At first, his master was reluctant to reveal the harsh realities of the palace to him, but he did so that night.

After the imperial fate was restored, how could an emperor as narrow-minded as the old emperor tolerate a prince with the emperor's fate being raised in the National Teacher's palace?

Once the emperor grew suspicious and doubted the National Teacher's palace of harboring ulterior motives, not only he but the entire palace would face catastrophic consequences.

Besides, having offended the Empress's faction, bringing the young prince to the National Teacher's palace, with a little manipulation, would easily leave them vulnerable to accusations.

Reflecting on it, Xie Qingfeng realized those past events he thought he had forgotten were still vivid in his memory.

— "Qingfeng, he is a little prince with an emperor's fate, destined for an extraordinary life. The empress has no children, and some courtiers suggest raising him under her name, which will be more beneficial for his future."

— "A person without real power but with an emperor's fate cannot simply be an ordinary prince in his life."

— "Even if he doesn't want to be emperor, any new emperor who ascends the throne will see him as a thorn in the side, a threat to be eliminated."

It was the first time Xie Qingfeng realized the complexities of the palace, where those elegantly dressed nobles could coldly take a life without batting an eye.

He trusted his master and understood that what his master said was right…

He wanted to explain, but how could he tell that young one, full of expectation, that he couldn’t take him back to the National Teacher's palace anymore?

Moreover, at that time, he was struggling to protect himself.

In the end, Xie Qingfeng followed his master's advice and chose to enter seclusion.

Later, he selectively forgot about this matter, but learned from his master that the young one had become a prince and was doing quite well.

It wasn’t until years later that he saw Jing Xi again, now a prince, but by then they were like strangers to each other.

Xie Qingfeng thought Jing Xi had long forgotten, perhaps no longer remembering his promise to make him his junior disciple.

It turned out… Jing Xi had never forgotten from the beginning to the end.

Xie Qingfeng's eyes moistened as he looked down at Jing Xi, who was gazing up at him with a face full of grievance and helplessness: "I’m sorry…"

Although he was helpless at that time, he indeed hadn't fulfilled his promise.

He hadn’t even dared to ask Jing Xi if he wanted to be a prince or come with him to the National Teacher's palace.

Jing Xi, even more intoxicated now, either heard clearly or didn’t, his eyes reddened, finally releasing Xie Qingfeng’s wrist.

Xie Qingfeng sighed softly, but the next moment, Jing Xi wrapped his long arms around his waist.

Xie Qingfeng instinctively thought to pull away, but didn’t, instead raising his hand to stroke Jing Xi’s head.

Jing Xi’s muffled voice came from his embrace, sounding like he was seeking comfort amidst his grievances, "Cultivating is so hard... they said I’m so clumsy, punished me with no food... only two hours of sleep a day... the cuts from the sword hurt so much..."

"My heart hurts too, no one cares for me..."

"Later, you ignored me too, you walked away whenever you saw me..."

Xie Qingfeng felt even worse: "I didn’t ignore you, it's just that…" He didn’t know what to say.

Jing Xi seemed to want to vent all his grievances, recalling each incident, "You don’t know how much it hurt when you were gone. I thought, it’s just a gamble. If I lose, I’d die, and that’s it. But if I win... I could see the National Teacher again."

As he said this, Jing Xi’s voice grew softer, filled with a sense of pride and joy, as if seeing him meant life and death didn’t matter to him.

Xie Qingfeng listened to his unconscious murmurs, his eyes downcast and silent for a long time, only tightening the arm he had around Jing Xi’s shoulder.