Chapter 22

Chapter 22

◎You said you were going to have a bloody disaster, and now you've seen blood, haven't you?◎

Lunch break was nearly over, and since the two younger ones had already eaten, the two parents left them to their own devices.

Ji Nanxing and Xiao Ye walked their older brother to the parking lot. Just as they reached the intersection, Xiao Ye's brother turned around and looked at his older brother, speaking in a familiar tone: "Your assistant is heading to the police station. How are you getting there?"

Ji Yunting: "He’ll drop me off at the company first, then head to the police station. It’s not that urgent."

Xiao Song laughed: "Making such a big deal out of it, aren’t you worried you’ll scare your brother?"

Ji Yunting ruffled his younger brother's head: "My brother’s not that easily scared."

Xiao Ye looked around, his tone filled with uncertainty and confusion: "Do you know each other?"

Xiao Song: "You could say we’re childhood friends."

"Childhood friends?" Xiao Ye muttered: "Since when do childhood friends have to be 'you could say'?"

Ji Yunting also laughed: "We were neighbors when we were kids. Later, we moved away. Your brother went to military school, and I went into business. It's been almost ten years since we last saw each other. The little rascal who almost burned the house down has grown up so much."

Xiao Ye pointed at himself again, uncertain: "Me? Almost burned the house down?"

Xiao Song didn't hold back with his younger brother, slapping him on the back of the head: "Yes, you! You were determined to prove how far you could pee, so you started a fire at home and tried to put it out by peeing on it, almost burning the house down."

Ji Nanxing couldn't help but laugh.

Xiao Ye immediately got flustered: "Stop making things up! I’d never do something so dumb!"

He kept giving his brother meaningful looks, hoping he would stop. He was grown up now, couldn’t he at least save me some face?

Xiao Song rolled his eyes, but when he turned to Ji Nanxing, his tone softened: "Little Star, you’ve grown up so much too. When you were little, you were often sick and not at home, so I didn't see you much. Now that you're in the same class, it's fate. If anything comes up in the future, just go to Xiao Ye. If he bullies you, tell me, and I'll beat him up for you!"

Ji Nanxing smiled at Xiao Ye's older brother and nodded obediently.

Before leaving, Xiao Song gave Xiao Ye another slap on the forehead: "I won't hold today's incident against you, and I won't tell Grandpa. But if there’s a next time, you’d better be on your guard! Also, since you're in the same class, take good care of Little Star, understand?"

Xiao Ye waved his hand impatiently: "I know, I know, stop nagging."

Of course, he would take good care of his deskmate. He didn't need anyone else to remind him.

After the two parents left, Xiao Ye felt inexplicably happy, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. In his excitement, he impulsively threw an arm around Ji Nanxing’s shoulders and said, "I never thought our families used to be neighbors. We're the same age, so maybe we met when we were kids. From now on, if anything happens, I've got your back. If anyone bullies you, just tell me!"

The increased contact seemed to instantly dispel the cold aura around Ji Nanxing.

But before he could savor the feeling, Xiao Ye let go and apologized: "Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot you don't like physical contact. If I forget again in the future, just push me away, okay?"

Ji Nanxing looked at him: "How do you know I don't like physical contact?"

Xiao Ye smiled: "I overheard you talking to Chen Shiyi in the cafeteria that day. It’s no big deal. Everyone has their own preferences. Some people just don't like physical contact. It's normal."

So all the previous deliberate avoidance was just because he overheard that one sentence?

With the trouble resolved, Xiao Ye felt lighthearted and said, "Let's go, back to the classroom."

Ji Nanxing nodded. After walking a few steps, he turned to Xiao Ye and said, "I don't dislike physical contact."

Xiao Ye stopped and looked at him: "Huh?"

Ji Nanxing: "It's just that there are some reasons why I can't have much physical contact with people."

It was noon, and most students had already returned to their classrooms. The playground was empty, not a soul in sight.

The two stood in the corridor, where the wind rustled the leaves of the large trees planted along the walkway. The sunlight filtering through the leaves created a dappled pattern on their skin.

Xiao Ye looked at his deskmate, who was a head shorter than him, and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why can't you have much physical contact with people?"

Ji Nanxing smiled: "Because people who come into contact with me tend to have bad luck."

Xiao Ye's eyes widened slightly: "Who said that? What era are we in? How can you still believe in such things! That's superstition!"

Who was the shady charlatan who tricked his innocent little deskmate into believing such nonsense? It was outrageous!

Xiao Ye: "So it's not that physical contact makes you uncomfortable or uneasy?"

Ji Nanxing shook his head.

Xiao Ye immediately wrapped an arm around his deskmate's shoulders: "Let me debunk this superstition for you! Let's see if I get unlucky!"

Ji Nanxing was tucked under his arm: "What if you do get unlucky?"

Xiao Ye said seriously: "Then it's not your fault. Maybe I was destined to be unlucky, and coming into contact with you was just a coincidence. You know, if there's a pea under the mattress, and you know it's there, you'll feel it no matter how you sleep. But if you don't know it's there, you'll sleep just fine. The more you focus on it, the more you'll connect unrelated things, even if they're miles apart."

As they walked back to the classroom, Xiao Ye tightened his grip around Ji Nanxing: "Also, if anyone ever asks you to deliver something to me, or pass on a message, or even lead me somewhere to ambush me, just do as they say, okay? Don't try to be a hero. Today, they were unlucky that I happened to be there. I can't always show up in time, you know?"

Ji Nanxing: "If you didn’t make so many enemies, you wouldn’t have so many problems."

Xiao Ye sighed in frustration: "But someone as outstanding as me is bound to attract envy. If I don't cause trouble, trouble will find me."

Ji Nanxing: "..." In all his years, he had never met someone who could be so earnest yet shameless at the same time.

Xiao Ye's arm rested on his shoulders, and Ji Nanxing found the warmth comforting, so he didn't push him away. The sight of the two of them walking into the classroom so closely surprised their classmates. Had they already become so close?

The afternoon classes hadn't started yet, and it was still lunch break. The person sitting in front of Ji Nanxing hadn't arrived yet, so Chen Shiyi borrowed the seat and looked at Ji Nanxing with concern: "How are you? Are you okay? Did your parents come? Did they scold you?"

Ji Nanxing shook his head: "It's fine. They didn't scold me."

Chen Shiyi breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a bit guilty: "I should have gone with you. Did they hit you?"

Ji Nanxing: "No, Xiao Ye hit them."

Chen Shiyi: "Thank goodness Xiao Ye noticed you hadn't come back for a while. I'm sorry, I got caught up reading a novel and lost track of time."

Ji Nanxing smiled: "Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault."

Chen Shiyi ran back to his seat, pulled out a bag of snacks, and came back: "Here, I was worried you didn't have time to eat lunch. I bought sandwiches, boiled eggs, and yogurt."

Ji Nanxing took a bottle of yogurt: "Thanks, I'm thirsty. We ate in the teacher's office at noon."

Chen Shiyi smiled: "That's good. You can eat these whenever you're hungry."

After saying that, he ran back to his seat, not mentioning the fact that Xiao Ye had been so close to Ji Nanxing earlier.

Xiao Ye, leaning on the desk with his head propped up, looked at Ji Nanxing: "It’s only been a few days since school started, and you’re already this close?"

Wasn't it a bit too much? Bringing food and drinks, was there some ulterior motive here?

Ji Nanxing: "Isn't it normal for good friends to care about each other?"

Xiao Ye let out a couple of snorts. It's normal for good friends to look out for each other, but considering they've only known each other for about ten days, isn't it a bit much to be this close already?

But Xiao Ye didn't say more. He wasn't the type to stop others from making friends just on a hunch. However, since Ji Nanxing was now his deskmate and he had been reminded by his elder brother, it was only right for him to look out for him a bit more.

With him keeping an eye out, no one shady would dare get close to his little deskmate.

Thinking this, Xiao Ye reached out and ruffled his little deskmate's hair: "From now on, big bro's got your back. I promise no one will mess with you!"

Ji Nanxing narrowed his phoenix eyes, a hint of menace in his gaze: "If you want to keep your hand, you better back off."

He was okay with shoulder hugs and other touches, but head pats were a no-go. Only family was allowed to touch his head.

Xiao Ye, picking up on the danger, quickly pulled his hand back. Watching his little deskmate turn back to sip his yogurt quietly, he let out a soft chuckle. He's got quite the little temper, he thought to himself, but the smile in his eyes didn't fade one bit.

Zhang Yuan, who had the best view of the whole exchange: "..."

If anyone ever says Xiao Ye is straight again, he'll set them straight!

It wasn't until school was almost over that Ji Nanxing felt like something was off today.

It was only during the break when a classmate came in, all gossipy, and said that Qi Kang had missed a step on the stairs, took a nasty fall, broke his teeth, and ended up in the hospital with a bloody face, that Ji Nanxing gave a silent nod.

He had predicted Qi Kang would have a bloody disaster today, and sure enough, blood was spilled.