Chapter 46: Childhood Engagement

Chapter 46: Childhood Engagement

Xu Zhou returned this time without informing anyone, and no one in the Xu family knew about it. Xu Xingli wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Xu Zhou was slowly distancing himself from the Xu family.

At nine in the evening, Xu Xingli returned to the Xu family, exhausted and disoriented. He was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, but his mind was still chaotic, even a little excited.

He had originally planned to take a shower and then dive into his warm bed, but as soon as he entered the living room, he ran into Ye Jiating.

Xu Xingli blinked. He was too tired. He stumbled slightly, planning to bypass her and go straight upstairs.

But Ye Jiating seemed to be in a good mood. She reached out and grabbed him, her tone light and polite: "Xingli, how was today's competition?"

Xu Xingli had no desire to deal with her. He immediately pulled his hand back, his tone a bit cold: "So-so."

Ye Jiating watched him continue upstairs, her expression falling for a moment, but she quickly recovered her smile and spoke again: "Xingli, I heard that your brother has been getting quite close to Miss Wen recently, do you know about that?"

Xu Xingli stopped in his tracks.

Ye Jiating took all his reactions in, smile lines appearing at the corners of her eyes: "Mom never expected that Zhou liked this kind of person. Before, he never showed any interest, and I was quite worried he would end up alone. You and your brother are so close, you should know more about this than us. Can you tell me? I'm very curious."

Xu Xingli was silent for a few seconds before slowly turning his head. He curled one lip disdainfully, his eyes darkened, and his tone was even colder: "His affairs have nothing to do with me. If you're curious, you can go ask the two people involved, but I'm afraid you won't be able to handle the truth." He scoffed, then continued, "Even if Xu Zhou doesn't get married, he won't end up alone. Instead of worrying about this, you should pay more attention to your wrinkles. Also, I said a long time ago, you are not my parents. I have no parents."

Leaving that remark, he walked upstairs without looking back.

Each step was strong and forceful, his back exuding disdain.

Everyone here was more or less problematic. It was no wonder Xu Zhou wanted to escape, and Xu Xingli couldn't stay either. He had to find a way to leave the Xu family.

As this thought emerged, he instantly became energized, pulling out his phone to check his accounts.

He hadn't been working part-time for long, but the coffee shop owner was generous, occasionally giving overtime pay, and raising his salary if daily sales exploded. He had accumulated quite a bit of money over these days.

He didn't really want to live in a school dormitory. He wasn't used to sharing a room with others, and he wouldn't be able to play the piano for a long time if he did. But to rent a house in the city, within a few kilometers of the school, his savings were far from enough. A bit further might be possible, but it would be too inconvenient.

However, before considering these, there was one most important thing: the Xu family would most likely not let him go. If Xu Xingli ran away, they would have ten thousand ways to catch him and lock him in a small dark room. Once in the small dark room, not being allowed to eat was one thing; he might also get a beating every day.

Xu Xingli didn't know what the Xu family was insisting on. Even if a fake young master left and bad rumors spread outside, it wouldn't hurt the Xu family, which had prospered for generations.

He suddenly remembered what Xu Zhou had said today: how good it would be if they were just born into ordinary families, grew up normally, and didn't get involved in all these messy things.

But if that were truly the case, would they still have met?

However, thinking about these things was useless. Xu Zhou was right; this whole thing went completely wrong when he and Xu Yu were swapped, and it couldn't be salvaged. Everyone's lives were out of alignment.

Xu Xingli pouted, scratching his hair in frustration.

He had to find a way to escape from here.

What could he do?

He racked his brains, and finally picked up his phone.

He opened a certain search engine and typed into the search bar.

[How does a fake young master escape a real wealthy family?]

The results, full of hope, turned out to be a bunch of short dramas and melodramatic novels.

He finally saw a reply thread, but no one took it seriously. The first comment was [Isn't a fake young master supposed to be kicked out anyway? Why would they need to escape? Is the wealthy family too in love with you? Then why do you want to escape? Their love suffocated you...]

The second floor was [Oh no, why is this setup so shippable? Can someone recommend some novels to me?]

Xu Xingli: "..."

He quickly deleted the words "fake young master" and clicked search again.

This time, the answers immediately increased.

There were about drivers, security guards, housekeepers... and various young masters and ladies.

Xu Xingli skimmed through, quickly scanning over unimportant answers, finally stopping his gaze on the floor with the most likes.

[Simple, ten years ago I came out to my family, firmly stating that I was gay and would never have children. My family immediately stopped caring about me, and now I'm still enjoying myself abroad.]

Someone questioned: [It's not that simple. People nowadays shouldn't even think about it. There are plenty of same-sex marriages now. Some people will do anything for profit.]

The original poster replied: [Anyway, lean towards the taboo, disappoint those self-righteous elders, and make them think you're hopeless, then you've succeeded. Of course, I'm talking about a desperate measure. Those who still want to inherit family property shouldn't get involved.]

Xu Xingli suddenly understood.

That's right, when Song Yijin came out, the Song family was in an uproar. The Xu family, who cared so much about their reputation, would definitely not allow such a thing to happen.

Xu Xingli clapped his hands, just about to find a suitable person to come out with, when his phone vibrated.

He glanced up and saw a pop-up, and saw Jian Ran's profile picture and contact name.

Aha! Xu Xingli's eyes lit up.

Jian Ran was an excellent choice. He wouldn't even need to explain much; Jian Ran would definitely understand him, and he would surely approve of this idea.

Xu Xingli became inexplicably excited, unsure if it was because of the feasibility of the idea or because he would soon be able to leave the Xu family.

He excitedly opened WeChat and clicked into Jian Ran's chat box.

But when he saw the last message, his whole body froze.

"Jian Ran": Li, I think I'm getting engaged.

"Jian Ran": horrified.jpg

"Xu Xingli": ? You're not even an adult yet, and you're getting engaged?

"Jian Ran": I'll be an adult next week, and it seems this will be announced at my birthday party. I just got home and heard my parents talking about some kind of childhood engagement. Bah!

"Xu Xingli": ...Who is the engagement to?

"Jian Ran": I don't know (angry.jpg) No, what era is this? How are they still doing arranged marriages?! I've torn the house apart, now I'm going to my own villa.

"Xu Xingli": Do you need me to come over?

"Jian Ran": Yes! Li! I really need you! I'll have someone pick you up!

"Xu Xingli": No need, I'll come myself. I actually have something I want to tell you, but it might not be appropriate right now.

"Jian Ran": What's inappropriate? Anything is better than my childhood engagement, whom I haven't even met!

That was a truly heartbreaking remark. Xu Xingli couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He hadn't even had time to shower, so he just casually packed some change of clothes into his backpack, planning to shower at Jian Ran's villa, then sleep, and go straight to school the next day.

It wasn't late yet, so Xu Xingli contacted Uncle Liu and drove directly to the villa.

Jian Ran's villa was a bit far from his house. Even without hitting rush hour, it still took an hour to reach the destination.

The villa's security guards all recognized him and opened the gate for him. The house was brightly lit, and Jian Ran was sitting on the living room carpet playing games, with an open bottle of red wine and a wine glass on the coffee table in front of him.

Hearing the movement, Jian Ran turned his head. When he saw Xu Xingli, he immediately put down the controller and threw himself onto him, crying: "Li! I'm so wronged!!!"

Xu Xingli stumbled back a few steps, reaching out to pat his back in comfort.

Jian Ran was utterly depressed: "I'm really going to die of anger! Who sends their son away as soon as he turns adult? If they don't want me, I can go abroad. Why use this trick to torment me? And I don't even know who the person is!"

Xu Xingli pulled him back to the living room, sat down, frowned slightly, and asked, "Have your parents already decided? You didn't mishear, did you?"

Jian Ran looked indignant: "Impossible! I heard 'arranged marriage'! And 'birthday banquet'! If it's not me, who else could it be? Could it be my younger brother who's still in elementary school?"

Xu Xingli pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and said, "So you'll be staying here from now on? If you need any help, just come to me."

Jian Ran nodded: "I'm not going back! Unless this marriage falls through!" He was filled with righteous indignation, picked up the game controller again, and handed one to Xu Xingli. Then he remembered something and asked, "Oh, right, you said you had something to tell me earlier, what was it?"

Xu Xingli lightly fiddled with the buttons on the controller, saying emotionlessly, "I'm leaving the Xu family."

Jian Ran's eyes widened, then he said excitedly, "You can! Come here! My place is big! The biggest room is for you to sleep in!"

Xu Xingli shook his head: "It's not just moving out of the Xu family, but completely independent, the kind where I'm the only one on the household registration."

Jian Ran froze. After a long time, he reacted and said, "That's great, have you thought about how to do it?"

Xu Xingli nodded: "There's a plan that benefits both of us. It can help me become independent and also help you cancel the arranged marriage."

Jian Ran's eyes widened: "What?"

Xu Xingli: "We'll pretend to be a couple and announce it at your birthday party."

Jian Ran was stunned.

Seeing this, Xu Xingli lowered his eyes and asked softly, "Can't you accept it?"

When he heard Jian Ran was getting engaged, he had originally intended to come out unilaterally, but since Jian Ran was firmly against this arranged marriage, then according to the original plan, if both of them participated in this act, it might kill two birds with one stone.

Moreover, announcing it at a lively and meaningful birthday party would definitely make the Xu family feel they had lost face.

Now it just depended on whether the other party was willing to cooperate.

As for the Jian family, Jian Ran was so resistant now that they probably wouldn't dare to bring up the arranged marriage at the birthday party, and the engaged party wouldn't be in a difficult position either.

The silence lasted for a long time before Jian Ran suddenly came to his senses, looked at Xu Xingli, and nodded: "I can accept it. Let's pretend to be a couple."

Xu Xingli subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't feel particularly happy, and he didn't know why.

"So, are we a couple starting today?"

While he was in a daze, Jian Ran suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Xu Xingli looked up, somewhat stiffly, meeting Jian Ran's light yellow pupils, and nodded, "Anytime is fine. As long as we appear intimate in their eyes."

Jian Ran nodded, then leaned closer to him, pressing tightly against him.

Xu Xingli frowned slightly, moved to the side, and once again widened the distance between them.

Jian Ran looked a little wronged: "Aren't we a couple now?"

"..." Xu Xingli blinked, and said helplessly, "There's no one else here right now, no need for this. We're not a real couple."

Hearing this, Jian Ran pouted: "I know."

After that, the house fell silent again. The two played games quietly until a round ended, then Jian Ran spoke: "Where do you plan to go after leaving the Xu family?"

Xu Xingli stared intently at the TV screen, his light brown eyes brightened by the light. Hearing the question, he frowned and said, "I don't know yet. Let's escape first, then take it one step at a time."

Jian Ran pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, but still couldn't help but say, "If you truly have nowhere to go, you're always welcome here."

Xu Xingli's hand paused on the controller, then he looked at Jian Ran and smiled: "Thank you. I'll treat you to a meal after everything is over."

The plan to pretend to be a couple had been in effect for several days, and they even changed their profile pictures to very obvious couple avatars.

On the day they changed their avatars, Xu Xingli was called in for a talk by Xu Ming and Ye Jiating.

When the butler came, Xu Xingli was confronting Xu Zhou. No matter what his brother asked, he would beat around the bush and refuse to tell the truth. Finally, he was left on read and taken downstairs.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu and Old Master Xu were all sitting on the sofa, scrutinizing him.

Ye Jiating smiled slightly: "Xingli, have you and Jian Ran been getting quite close lately?"

It's finally going to be discovered!

Xu Xingli pressed down the corners of his mouth, not intending to hide it at all, and nodded: "Is."

Ye Jiating then said: "Someone told us you two changed their profile pictures together."

Xu Xingli nodded vigorously: "Isn't it great?"

Ye Jiating's smile was radiant: "It's a couple's one, right?"

Xu Xingli nodded and then felt something was off. Why was she smiling so happily?

As this thought popped up, he immediately paused.

Then Ye Jiating said something even more disorienting: "Are you two together? It's okay, we don't mind."

Xu Xingli was completely dumbfounded.

But the next sentence followed immediately.

"It just so happens that a few days ago, we discussed with the Jian family about arranging a childhood engagement for you two. We thought you might not be willing, but it seems we worried too much."

Xu Xingli froze into a statue.

What childhood engagement...?

What the hell kind of joke was this???