Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The butler, with a pained expression, called for someone to clean up the dog urine on the ground. Wei Xi calmly watched the fat dog run away with its hindquarters wiggling, disappearing from his sight around the corner.

He turned away with a hint of regret.

Lu Wenqing and his brother didn't stay long, leaving after bidding him farewell. As they left, Wei Xi suddenly sensed a gaze coming from the backseat of the car. When he sharply looked over, Shuo Zong had already turned his head away silently, his expression complicated and solemn.

Only Tuan Jieyi, holding a basket on his back and looking bewildered, was left behind.

His appearance and attire were very unconventional, making him the kind of expert that would make people instinctively clutch their wallets on the street. The butler resisted the urge to call security and stole several glances at him. Wei Xi explained, "This is my senior disciple, Tuan Jieyi."

Despite being in an entirely unfamiliar place, he wasn't scared at all. Even when they first arrived in Beijing that morning, caution outweighed fear. After all, he was very clear about his position in the food chain. These strangers before him were no different from potatoes.

He could deal with them the same way he would with weasels. From now on, they were all his little minions in this new territory.

Wei Xi instructed calmly, "Find a room where he and I can rest."

Butler: "……………………?"

The butler's surname was Zhou, and he had worked for the Wei family for almost two decades, practically watching the Wei brothers grow up. In his memory, he had never been bossed around by the eldest son like this; it was more fitting for the second son to speak in such a manner.

This wasn't surprising. After Wei Xi's birth mother passed away and his father remarried, resulting in a half-brother in a short time, the position of the eldest son in the Wei family had become awkward. Although Wei Tianyi, Wei Xi's father, was the head of the family, he was preoccupied with work and seldom cared about his two sons' lives. His stepmother, Shu Wanrong, treated him well, but she wasn't his biological mother, and the private precautions and distance between them were always present. In the Wei family, only Wei Chengshu could truly live without constraints, even his dog could roam freely without restrictions. In contrast, Wei Xi seemed to have learned to read people's expressions from a young age, being very accommodating and polite to the family's servants. Even when he was ignored or startled by a dog, he would just smile it off, never pursuing any issues. Or perhaps he lacked the confidence to do so.

The butler couldn't escape the prejudice of treating the two young masters differently. Hearing Wei Xi's words, he momentarily struggled to adapt. However, Wei Xi was indeed one of his employers, and whether the request was polite or not, there was no room for refusal. Thus, he could only smile and comply, "Alright, I'll immediately arrange a guest room for Mr. Tuan."

Leading the way, Wei Xi followed calmly, scanning his surroundings with an enigmatic expression, vastly different from his former friendly demeanor, where he would greet everyone with a smile. Those who passed by and didn't initiate greetings didn't receive a glance from him.

At first, the butler was puzzled, then gradually sensed something amiss. Glancing back a few times, he accidentally met Wei Xi's gaze and involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat.

He didn't entertain wild suspicions, as Wei Xi's sharp aura was the only significant change, while his facial features remained the same. The attitude displayed during their interaction wasn't unfamiliar, but he still wondered what had happened during those missing months that transformed the easily manipulated, dough-like young man into the current version.

Drenched in sweat, he couldn't afford to be careless now. He even proactively opened the door for Wei Xi, explaining, "You haven't been home for a few months, and no one dared to enter your room. There might be some dust; I'll ask the cleaning auntie to tidy up."

Of course, it was a lie; neglecting a master's room for months wouldn't happen in the Wei family. Fortunately, Wei Xi was unaware of this, merely acknowledging with a casual "Mm," before naturally issuing another command, "Take my disciple to rest and send some food over."

The request to eat in the room was unprecedented for the rule-abiding eldest son. The butler wiped his sweat and eagerly agreed, settling Tuan Jieyi before rushing downstairs. He found the cleaning auntie and scolded her, "Look at the state of the eldest young master's room! How could it be so dusty? You've been slacking off for so long, do you want to keep your job or not?"

The auntie was confused, thinking to herself, You knew I haven't cleaned that room for months, why are you suddenly lashing out now?

Wei Xi observed the room he had entered, understanding some aspects, such as its modest size, southern exposure, and light color scheme, all indicating the owner's inclination for simplicity. However, there were also things that puzzled him, like the small object on a table by the wall, resembling the magical artifact that the Lin family had used to provoke him, which he had subsequently defeated.

Wei Xi had an unfavorable impression of this gadget and, wary of it possibly turning hostile, he avoided it and walked over to a bookshelf near the window. He casually pulled out a book.

He knew how to read, perhaps taught by Wei Dedao, or maybe it was just innate knowledge since he could remember.

Nonetheless, this book seemed oddly formatted; although the characters were clearly written, parts of the layout seemed incomplete. Despite being able to trace similarities with the original script, it caused a headache to read. After a few pages, Wei Xi found the content uninteresting and exchanged it for another. This time, it was a crisp white booklet filled not with text but black-and-white drawings. The illustrations, though simple, were incredibly lifelike, depicting the same beautiful young girl from beginning to end. In the bottom right corner of each drawing, there were words and symbols. Wei Xi didn't recognize the symbols, but he guessed they were related to counting, deducing that the last picture said:

"May 17th, 2018, secretly drawn for Wang Yue who was gazing at the sky outside the art museum. Yue Yue, your smile shines brighter than the summer sun. At this moment, there are 338 days until our engagement."

Wei Xi put the baffling book back and continued exploring the room, eventually discovering an even stranger small chamber. The floor was polished stone, and there was an unfamiliar mirror hanging on the wall. This mirror was clearer than water or copper mirrors, and Wei Xi leaned in to examine his slightly altered appearance, inadvertently tugging at his hair.

The little unlucky fellow's face resembled his own, which was satisfactory, but his hair on top of his head was inexplicably curly and disheveled, refusing to straighten no matter how hard he pulled. With this curly mop, he looked as if he had just woken up, significantly diminishing his fierce and majestic aura.

Staring into his own dark, round eyes, Wei Xi pondered for a moment before deciding to find something to cut his hair. Scanning the room, however, he couldn't locate any suitable scissors or knife. On either side of a recessed area on the table beneath the mirror were vague bottles and jars. Curiously, he touched one, and a viscous, milky liquid now coated his palm, emitting a pleasant fragrance. Intrigued, he cautiously tasted it, only to have the scent overwhelm his senses from tongue to forehead.

Startled, Wei Xi's face twisted in a mixture of confusion and difficulty. The substance wasn't unpleasant to taste, but it had a strange quality to it...

Unknowingly, he must have triggered something, because a bizarrely shaped tube above the table's depression suddenly gurgled and began spouting water!

Amazed and curious, Wei Xi began circling the water pillar, only realizing after several attempts that he had accidentally touched a lever beside the pipe. As long as the lever was up, water would automatically start flowing.

"Wow!" Wei Xi exclaimed, immediately crawling over to play with the switch, thoroughly enjoying himself. Back then, he had to constantly fill the courtyard's water jar from the stream to provide water for Wei Dedao. But now, how much simpler was this? People outside the mountains were truly clever!

With this thought, he leaned down to take a few sips. After savoring the taste, he found it slightly metallic and less pure than the mountain spring. However, he wasn't too picky about flavors in his daily meals, so he could tolerate it. Thus, he happily decided to make this his new water source.

So this was where one drank water!

With this realization, he left the small cabin. By then, Manager Zhou had already arrived with a team to clean up. The table held the food Wei Xi had requested – a simple bowl of porridge accompanied by a few side dishes.

Butler Zhou stammered an explanation, "Mister and Madam aren't here, so the house didn't prepare any food…"

When Lu Wenqing called in the morning, he had forgotten to ask someone to prepare a better breakfast for the young master, as he usually would. Now, he realized it was a huge oversight.

Wei Xi nodded expressionlessly. He thought to himself that life in the Wei family was indeed as bad as he had imagined. Butler Zhou couldn't discern his mood from his reaction, which made him feel even more anxious. Fortunately, the phone rang downstairs at that moment, giving him a chance to hurriedly make an excuse to leave.

Wei Xi quickly finished his porridge and popped a salted duck egg into his mouth. He felt that it wasn't enough to satisfy his hunger, so it seemed he'd have to find something more substantial to eat on his own.

Not long after Butler Zhou left, he rushed back and called out to him from outside the room, "Young Master, Mister is on the phone. He heard you've returned and wants you to take the call."

Of course Wei Xi didn't understand, but he knew better than to ask irrelevant questions, so he calmly followed the butler downstairs.

Mr. Zhou led him to the living room and picked up an object from a small lamp table next to the sofa. The item was dull in color and had an unusual appearance, with a slender handle topped by two round balls. It was connected to a box shaped like a hill by a twisted wire that resembled a labyrinth.

Wei Xi didn't see the gentleman the butler mentioned, so he casually took the object and held it up to examine it, but couldn't figure out its purpose. Without thinking, he asked Mr. Zhou, "What's this for?"

Unexpectedly, before the butler could respond, one of the spheres at the end of the handle burst into a thunderous, furious male voice, "What? You have the nerve to ask me? With your abilities, why did you come back home? Why not just die outside?! Huh? I wish I had never given birth to a monstrous creature like you!"

The sudden outburst of anger startled Wei Xi, filling him with both shock and indignation. How could someone just randomly curse at him?

He immediately snapped irritably, "Shut up!"

The object indeed fell silent for a moment but soon became even more enraged, howling hysterically, "What did you say?! Say it again?! You little...!"

Seeing that he hadn't intimidated the object, Wei Xi grew more cautious and tried to throw it away. However, he accidentally exerted too much force, snapping the handle in two.

Wei Xi: "?"

But after the handle broke, the arrogant curses ceased. Wei Xi pondered for a moment, feeling that he had resolved the issue. He calmly handed the object back to Manager Zhou, signaling to the younger brother under his protection that there was no need to be afraid. "Here, I've made it quiet for you."

Butler Zhou: "…………………………"

Butler Zhou's face was ashen. He instinctively caught the object, only to be immediately perplexed when he saw what it was.

Wait… Wait a minute… What just happened?

Did Young Master just tell Sir to shut up?!

And then, because Sir refused to do so, he simply destroyed the phone?!

Upon realizing the sequence of events, Butler Zhou felt uneasy. In his over a decade serving in the Wei family, he had only ever seen the eldest son tremble with fear before his father. When had he witnessed such defiance?!

His lips quivered, unsure of what to say. However, Wei Xi, feeling like he had protected his younger brother, gave orders even more casually, "Alright, don't be afraid of it. Go prepare a bath for me."

He wanted to freshen up but didn't know where to get hot water.

Butler Zhou thought to himself, Isn't the bathroom right in the room? Why do I have to fetch the bathwater for him? But at this moment, he lacked the courage to refuse the suddenly daring Young Master. Dazedly, he agreed and hung up the phone before leaving.

The Wei family's elderly father, who had been scolded and had his call abruptly ended, had no idea that his new life had begun. On the other end of the line, he was incredulously enraged. Meanwhile, Wei Xi decided to find something to eat first.

He followed the scent to the kitchen, which was empty except for a tall cupboard standing in a corner, exuding a faint aroma of food.

Wei Xi opened the top shelf and felt a cold gust of air. Inside were jars, bottles, fruits, and vegetables, which he devoured in no time.

After finishing the upper shelf, he gnawed on the last potato while opening the lower one. The coldness here was more intense, with frost forming on the cabinet walls. It was packed with rigid, transparent freezer bags. Wei Xi pulled one out, sniffed it, and discovered a raw chicken inside.

Ah, meat!

He immediately brightened up, sitting cross-legged in front of the cabinet and starting to enjoy the frozen chicken with relish, its crispy texture producing a satisfying crunch.

However, despite the teeth-chattering coldness, the frozen meat didn't amount to much. Before long, he found himself staring at an empty bag, feeling worried.

At that moment, sounds came from the entrance. He looked up.

Mike, the precious heart of the Wei family, had instinctively tucked his tail between his legs and scurried to hide behind the villa wall when faced with his natural enemy. After a long while, he cautiously poked his head out. The creature that had made him lose control in the yard was gone. The Husky's brain deduced that the danger had passed!

Thus, he resumed his mischievous daily routine, first trampling the lawn, then barking at passing cars from the gate. After completing his barking session, he happily returned to the villa through the dog door and began dismantling the sofa.

But now, his slow reflexes finally caught up with him as he sensed a tangible gaze originating from the distant dining room.

Who's watching me! Mike ruffled his fur, stood up straight, and let out a couple of low growls before turning around with dignity.

In the next second, the nearly torn cushion helplessly fell from his mouth.

With no more bystanders around, Wei Xi, crunching on a raw chicken claw, beckoned to the plump dog with an unusually expressive face, his mouth watering.

"Come here."