Chapter 45: You Need to Grow Up Well

Chapter 45: Grow Up Well

Spring always ends abruptly. In a blink of an eye, vibrant summer descends, bringing with it lush green sunshine and the incessant hum of cicadas.

The investigation into Zhou Shu’s deregistration remained unresolved, but the preliminary piano competition had already begun.

As Duan Yi had predicted, Xu Zhou indeed didn’t make it back.

Having been forewarned, Xu Xingli didn't react much, though a sense of emptiness settled in his heart.

Xu Zhou had arranged for a custom-made white suit and two professional stylists to meet him at the competition venue.

The rest of the Xu family didn’t accompany him. Primarily, Xu Xingli wasn't keen on seeing them, and they probably didn’t consider it particularly important either.

Bai Na arrived with her son and Jian Ran’s group. Song Yijin, unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict, even made sure to send a timely message of encouragement.

Before heading backstage, Jian Ran raised an eyebrow at Xu Xingli, promising a surprise.

It was truly a monumental "surprise."

Jian Ran and Duan Yi were exceptionally spirited. Since the preliminary round permitted banners and pull-up stands for support, the two stood in the audience, even roping in Lin Xie. From seemingly nowhere, they produced several support boards, handing one to everyone nearby, then switched on the lights. The spectacle was almost unbelievably beautiful.

The largest board bore nine glittering words: "Our Star, We Believe in You!"

The first four words, in particular, were vibrantly colored and stood out even in the brightly lit studio. However, they were quickly turned off, perhaps to be reactivated only when Xu Xingli took the stage.

Xu Xingli, waiting backstage, saw everything clearly.

Xu Xingli: "..."

Is it too late to change his name now?

Wouldn't cutting ties be quicker?

He closed his eyes, a wave of despair washing over him.

After a minute of agonizing, Xu Xingli finally grabbed his phone, typing furiously to order Jian Ran not to turn on the lights of the support signs.

No sooner had the message been sent than the staff called his name. Xu Xingli put down his phone, praying Jian Ran would see the message before he went on stage, or their friendship would be beyond repair.

The truth was, he and Jian Ran were destined to be out of sync.

The moment he appeared, even just in his peripheral vision, he saw the light boards illuminate one after another. He dared not look directly, fearing they would blind him.

Xu Xingli bowed to the judges, then, without a backward glance, settled onto the piano stool.

He took a deep breath, relaxed his entire body, and raised his fingers, lightly tapping out a series of notes.

He had practiced this piece no less than a thousand times, adding some personal creative touches to the ending. The performance was nothing short of perfect.

As the last note faded, thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue.

Xu Xingli withdrew his hands, stood up, and finally looked up at the audience.

His gaze then met a pair of dark, profound eyes.

Xu Zhou stood in the very last row, hands in his pockets. Seeing Xu Xingli look over, he tilted his head slightly.

Xu Xingli froze.

Xu Zhou then extended his hand, gesturing "Great job" to him on the stage.

Xu Xingli stared blankly. It wasn't until the applause subsided that he snapped back to reality. He quickly took his bow, then rushed out of the backstage area.

By the time he reached the audience section, breathless, Xu Zhou was already surrounded by a crowd.

Duan Yi slung an arm around Xu Zhou’s shoulder, playfully chiding, "Tricking us is one thing, but why trick Xingxing? He was so looking forward to your return; this is hardly a surprise."

Xu Zhou shrugged, his voice lower and more weary than usual: "Things just started over there, too busy. I was busy until this morning, figuring I'd only get two hours of sleep anyway, so I might as well sleep on the plane and see if I could make it back."

Duan Yi clicked his tongue twice, patted his back, and said, "Take it easy. You're not getting any younger, and you're not as resilient as the youngsters."

Xu Zhou shot him a glance, and a figure suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. His gaze sharpened, and he saw Xu Xingli standing outside the crowd, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He unceremoniously knocked Duan Yi's hand away, walked towards Xu Xingli, and stopped in front of him.

Xu Xingli's hair had just been styled and set with hairspray before he went on stage. So Xu Zhou found another spot, raising his hand to rub Xu Xingli's ear instead.

His ear was a sensitive spot, and Xu Xingli’s ears immediately flushed. He wanted to bat Xu Zhou’s hand away, but Xu Zhou withdrew it first and opened his mouth.

"Have you been diligently doing your rehabilitation exercises lately?"

He had expected their reunion to be filled with passionate words, but to his surprise, Xu Zhou’s first words were an inquiry about his ear.

Does he really see me as just a younger brother? Were all those previous words just him being out of his mind? What a dense guy!

Xu Xingli pouted, grumbling silently to himself.

Seeing he didn't answer, Xu Zhou patiently pressed on, "How's your ear? Has your hearing recovered a bit too?"

Xu Xingli was a bit speechless. After pursing his lips, he finally spoke: "A little. But it's more comfortable with a hearing aid."

After his last doctor's visit, Xu Xingli's ear had shown some improvement after two months of intervention therapy. However, because he was preparing for the competition and had overused his ears, the doctor advised against removing the hearing aid, and he couldn't stop the rehabilitation training and vitamin supplements.

Xu Zhou nodded and said, "Take it easy." Then he looked at the group of people behind him and asked, "Do you have any plans for later?"

Hearing this, Yi Yi, who was holding Bai Na's hand, immediately pulled free and rushed towards Xu Xingli, excitedly exclaiming, "Today is Children's Day! The big brothers and sisters said they're going to the amusement park!"

Xu Xingli was bumped back a step. After steadying himself, he squatted down and picked up the boy. Duan Yi and Xu Zhou's earlier conversation replayed in his mind, and he looked up at his brother: "Are you very tired? Maybe I should just go back to the Xu family with you?"

Yi Yi immediately cupped his face and protested loudly, "No way! Big brother promised to stay with me!"

The boy's resistance was quite forceful, squeezing Xu Xingli's cheeks inward, forcing his mouth into a pout.

He immediately felt mortified.

"Yi Yi, let go!" He was about to shake his head to escape the restraint when Xu Zhou let out a soft chuckle.

"..." Xu Xingli immediately shot him a glare.

Under his sharp gaze, Xu Zhou almost instantly reined in his smile and spoke to soothe him: "I'm not tired. Let's go together."

That being said, when the group arrived at the amusement park, as soon as they bought tickets and got inside, Xu Zhou leaned back in a hanging chair outside a convenience store and promptly fell asleep.

Yi Yi was absolutely thrilled, pulling them everywhere, wanting to play this ride and try that one.

Xu Xingli looked at Xu Zhou, who was already quietly asleep in the hanging chair, and finally said, "You guys go ahead. When you get tired, I'll take over."

The others gave an OK gesture and promptly followed Yi Yi.

Seeing them disappear from view, Xu Xingli turned his head.

A giant parasol was installed next to Xu Zhou's hanging chair, but the sun was still scorching, glaring even off the pavement. Xu Zhou raised a hand to cover his eyes, still frowning slightly.

Xu Xingli stared at him for a while, looking left and right, then walked into the convenience store.

When he came out again, he was holding a pair of sunglasses. The sunglasses were quite flashy, with a bow-tied cat ear on each lens, a cat nose forming the bridge, and several whiskers drawn on the sides.

There were adult sunglasses in the store, but Xu Xingli only hesitated for a second before heading to the children's section and picking out this pair to buy.

Xu Zhou's position hadn't changed. Xu Xingli carefully moved his hand and put the sunglasses on him.

Then Xu Xingli couldn't help but laugh out loud.

A height of nearly 1.9 meters, subtle muscle lines under a black shirt, and a perpetually stern face, paired with kawaii sunglasses—the scene was truly comical.

This laugh made Xu Zhou open his eyes. Through the dark lenses, he looked at the person clutching his stomach and laughing hysterically, and said lazily, "What mischief have you been up to? Why are you laughing so happily?"

Xu Xingli's mouth was still upturned, as he desperately tried to hold back his laughter, shaking his head repeatedly: "Nothing, you go back to sleep."

Seeing him like this, Xu Zhou decided not to call him out, closed his eyes again, and asked in a low voice, "Why aren't you with them?"

Xu Xingli sat down beside him, habitually rocking the hanging chair with his feet, then quickly realized something and slowed down.

"Yi Yi plays like there's no tomorrow. I'll take over when they get tired, and besides, I can't just leave you here alone," he said, looking at Xu Zhou.

The man tilted his head back, his neck lines smooth, his Adam's apple subtly bobbing under Xu Xingli's gaze.

"I'm an adult male; I'll be fine alone."

Xu Xingli withdrew his gaze and said sullenly, "It's rare for you to come back, and it's for me. My conscience wouldn't let me leave you alone."

Xu Zhou turned his head towards him, watching him for a long time without speaking.

After some time, Xu Xingli began to feel uncomfortable and was about to look away when Xu Zhou spoke, "Sometimes I really feel that this is good too. Or if we had just grown up in ordinary families, without being troubled by these messy things. But we still have many things we need to do."

Xu Xingli froze.

"But I'm also very grateful that you grew up in the Xu family, even though I know that's wrong to think."

"I've done everything I can for Xu Yu. This whole thing was wrong from the day you two were swapped, and there's no way to salvage it. Our lives have been changed."

Xu Zhou took a deep breath, his voice becoming unsteady.

"Honestly, at this point, I'd rather not remember anything, but I'm too incompetent."

"Only by remembering those things can I truly awaken."

He looked at Xu Xingli, a faint smile playing on his lips: "I don't know if it's too late now, but at least everything can still be salvaged."

After saying this, regardless of Xu Xingli's reaction, Xu Zhou turned his head back and continued to close his eyes and rest.

Xu Xingli's thoughts were completely muddled.

What's not too late? What's salvaging? Don't sleep, brother, explain it clearly!

But no matter how he tried to bother Xu Zhou, the man played dead. When Xu Xingli got anxious, he would lightly say, "Nothing, just talking in my sleep," to shut Xu Xingli up.

Finally, Xu Xingli was completely helpless, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair, looking unconvinced.

So annoying!

Unable to contain his anger, he pulled out his phone and started snapping random photos of Xu Zhou, who was still wearing the children's sunglasses.

Still not satisfied.

He narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then his eyeballs rolled.

Xu Zhou still had his eyes closed, when suddenly his ear felt warm. Before he could open his eyes, Xu Xingli mischievously spoke.

"You're really annoying like this, great philosopher."

Xu Zhou's whole body stiffened.

Xu Xingli was about to flee after speaking, and Xu Zhou reached out to grab him, but just then the others returned, forcing him to withdraw his hand.

Duan Yi held his waist with one hand and pounded his chest with the other, exclaiming, "Oh, I'm going to throw up, no, no, kids these days are too amazing, I need to rest for a bit."

Jian Ran mercilessly mocked, "Didn't you say you were the king of the amusement park? We only rode the pirate ship twice and the roller coaster once!"

Yi Yi nodded in agreement from the side, "Exactly! When I'm tall enough, I'm definitely going to ride the pirate ship and roller coaster ten times!"

Duan Yi was amused, "You're amazing! Brother can't compare." He waved his hand casually and said, "Brother is old, can't play anymore. When I was young, I used to conquer battlefields, if you don't believe me, ask Xu Zhou."

Everyone looked in Xu Zhou's direction, and he could only feign death.

But those sunglasses attracted everyone's attention.

Duan Yi laughed so hard he choked, "Who bought these? Those two big bows are just fantastic!"

He hooked his hand, wanting to take off the sunglasses, but Xu Zhou stopped him.

"These are mine." Xu Zhou's voice was low and leisurely, with a hint of a smile. It inexplicably gave off a feeling of showing off.

"Hey!" Duan Yi looked as if he had seen a ghost, and teased in a voice only the three of them could hear, "Alright, alright, I won't take them. Do you have to be so protective of your food? Which sweetheart bought you this treasure?"

Xu Zhou didn't speak, but glanced at the person beside him.

Xu Xingli, who was beside him, immediately stiffened.

"He's really showing off, isn't he, pretty boy?" Duan Yi tutted twice, then, being very perceptive, pulled Xu Xingli up and said, "Xingxing, you go with them. Your brother and I have something to talk about."

Given the opportunity, Xu Xingli immediately took it, leaving with the others.

When children start playing, they forget everything. They want to join in the fun here, and eat something there. By the time they finished, the sky was already tinged with a pink sunset.

Each of them wore a cartoon headband with cute ears, and they raised their phones to capture the sunset.

They also prepared two headbands for Xu Zhou and Duan Yi, and took a group photo with the pink clouds as the background.

As night fell, the Ferris wheel at the highest point lit up, shining brightly in the deep blue night sky.

Originally, Xu Xingli wanted to wait with Xu Zhou for them to finish, but as soon as the cabin opened, Xu Zhou quickly pushed him inside. By the time he reacted, the cabin had already been locked by the staff.

They thus slowly ascended into the sky.

Xu Xingli leaned against the glass on both sides, his eyes downcast, and saw Xu Zhou still wearing that cartoon headband, looking up.

Just standing there, isn't he afraid of getting dizzy? This guy, really.

Xu Xingli felt frustrated with him.

The next second, Xu Zhou caught his gaze.

Xu Zhou smiled. Then he raised his hand.

—I'm leaving. You must grow up well. You childish person.

Xu Xingli's eyes widened.

But before he could respond, Xu Zhou had already turned and left, disappearing into the crowd.