Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Qi Jing looked up, taking a moment to process before replying, "I was thinking this wheelchair is really fun."

There was a handle on the right that could make the wheelchair spin.

Bo Chengyan leaned against the door, his gaze dropping to Qi Jing, a hint of bewilderment in his expression.

"I see."

He couldn't hear again.

But Qi Jing could tell him.

Bo Chengyan lowered his gaze, contemplating for a moment. "That person the other day was a younger sister from a friend’s family. She’s rather immature."

Qi Jing sat there, looking at him with confusion, yet listening intently.

"I see."

The same words, twice.

It felt strangely odd.

It was still morning. Qi Jing felt his hair being gently ruffled before Bo Chengyan went downstairs, telling him to get some more sleep.

The young man wheeled himself to the bedside and picked up the 996 figure, giving it a shake.

Its beady eyes kept spinning.

Qi Jing grumbled in frustration, muttering, "Ruan Heng... couldn't you at least give me a photo?"

That was the *protagonist shou*.

*

In the morning, Qi Jing had managed a clumsy shower. With his injured foot, he awkwardly wiped himself with a towel, but the hairdryer cord wasn’t long enough. Breakfast time arrived before he could finish drying his hair.

So he barely dried his hair and went straight downstairs.

Bo Chengyan was still there.

Qi Jing was stunned.

[Why hasn’t he left yet?]

Bo Chengyan’s brows furrowed slightly as he deleted the message he had typed to Lin Se, finding it all rather strange and inexplicable.

"Company matters are handled by the executive assistant. Today, I’ll have breakfast with you."

Qi Jing’s fingers rested on the wheelchair’s control button. Distracted, he accidentally pressed it, sending the wheelchair lurching straight ahead.

Thud—

Bo Chengyan blocked it with his foot, giving Qi Jing a disapproving look. The young man panicked instantly.

[Ah, I didn’t mean to bump into him…]

[I'm done for.]

"Mr. Bo…"

Qi Jing was lifted under his arms and placed onto a dining chair, his whole body tense.

"Sorry."

Bo Chengyan found it amusing. "It’s fine."

He ate the meal in nervous silence.

After learning that Bo Chengyan didn’t actually like him, Qi Jing had been gloomy. His attempt to practice what he’d learned the day before had been interrupted.

And now he’d crashed into him with the wheelchair.

His heart felt hollow, completely dejected.

Being a kept man wasn’t easy at all.

Gaining someone’s affection was quite difficult.

Once he finished eating, Qi Jing thought surely now Bo Chengyan would leave.

Perhaps his furtive glances were too obvious, because he was caught.

"What university do you want to attend?"

Qi Jing froze. Why was he asking this? Could he answer freely?

"Just say it."

The housekeeper came over to clear the table, giving the heartwarming scene a glance before placing a fresh arrangement of lilies on the table.

Qi Jing answered earnestly, "A public university."

Simple and straightforward.

That was his simplest wish—public universities had subsidies, and at the very least, there were student loans. He could manage through until graduation and finding a job.

Bo Chengyan’s frown deepened, his bewilderment growing. Softly, he asked, "Xiao Jing, isn't the allowance I give you enough?"

The boy before him had clear, fair skin, black hair curling gently by his ears. The knit cashmere sweater clung to his frame, and everything about him exuded an air of luxury.

There wasn't a single mismatch.

Everything Qi Jing needed had been prepared for him. Season-appropriate clothes were delivered in advance, the maid would dress him, and coordinating accessories were provided.

Most of the time, he never knew the cost.

He also didn't know his official residence registration was under the Bo family’s estate.

Jinjiang Villa had crafted an ideal world for him, leaving Qi Jing unable to judge reality. He could tell it was a good life, but not just how privileged or special it was.

After all, he was a canary without status.

Qi Jing quickly shook his head. "No, no, it’s plenty."

Bo Chengyan leaned back slightly in his chair, eyeing him. Even while sitting, his height carried an inexplicable air of dominance.

Qi Jing automatically ducked his head.

His fingers fidgeted nervously.

In the past two years, Qi Jing rarely saw him, not even during the New Year. The only time was on the first day of the lunar year when he’d find a red envelope by his pillow.

The man was hardly ever around.

Personally, Qi Jing thought Bo Chengyan was the best-looking person he’d ever met—a million times hotter than his father.

A million times better than the guys in gay films.

He didn’t compare him to his classmates, only to men outside.

[He has a lot of money, but the joint account… isn’t good at all, he thought. My lucky money got spent on club hosts.]

Bo Chengyan frowned slightly at that and tried to explain, “You haven’t had your birthday yet. I can’t get you a credit card.”

“Also, don’t take off the tracker band randomly, and don’t go to those clubs.”

[Then why can you go?]

The man paused for a moment.

Bo Chengyan had initially wanted to say that it was a somewhat informal business gathering—Yuansheng Group was a large-scale company that hosted many such networking events, and only those with platinum cards could enter…

But would explaining that to a kid make any difference?

Probably not.

Bo Chengyan had always prided himself on not caring about his reputation. In fact, the more rumors spread about him being unwilling to settle down, the more advantageous it was for him.

But picking someone young, keeping a kid—

That was the lowest of the low.

Yet now.

He felt as if he was wearing the moral straightjacket again, even willingly. In the end, he simply said, “Alright, I’ll skip it too.”

Qi Jing looked at him curiously.

*

A week later.

Qi Jing finally returned to school. He had spent so much time playing with the motorized wheelchair at home that he almost missed it while walking.

This strange feeling probably stemmed from never having experienced ride-on toys or battery-powered cars as a child.

The moment he sat down, Huang Ze immediately turned to look at him. “Xiao Jing, what happened? You left early without saying anything and then got yourself hurt.”

“How did that happen?”

Lin Yuze handed him a geography notebook. Qi Jing had been about to answer, but upon seeing the notebook, he quickly said, “Thank you.”

Geography was his worst subject.

Huang Ze rested his chin in his palm and stared at him worriedly. “At least acknowledge me.”

His tone sounded a little hurt.

Qi Jing immediately replied, “I am, I am.”

From behind them, Jiang Yao mimicked Huang Ze’s voice perfectly. “Xiao Jing, acknowledge me too!”

Qi Jing was juggling everyone at once.

“I bumped into the corner of the coffee table, my fibula popped out. It hurt so much.”

“My tracker band has a GPS, so I think it set off the alarm, and someone from home came to pick me up.”

Qi Jing had always been good at cutting to the chase, but every time he finished speaking, he’d look completely calm, creating a weird disconnect.

Especially—

“A tracker? That’s so strict…”

The other three instantly exchanged glances and didn’t press further, just shooting the breeze casually.

But right then, Qi Jing suddenly felt someone tap on the window beside him. He turned to see a boy who wolf-whistled at him before walking off with a basketball.

Huang Ze immediately cursed, “Qin Sheng, that dude’s messed up.”

Qi Jing didn’t know who he was. His only thought was, “Are we allowed to dye our hair yellow here?”

Without looking up, Lin Yuze explained, “No, we’re not.”

“Then why did he catcall me?”

“……”

“……”

There was no real explanation.

Because everyone just told Qi Jing to ignore that guy.

But honestly, he still didn’t understand. The boy decided to look it up on his phone later.

Just then, class started.

It turned into a class meeting, where an announcement was was made—a parent-teacher conference was coming up.

The class broke out in complaints.

The international track rarely held parent-teacher conferences. At least, there hadn’t been any in the past two years. They believed in giving students and their parents plenty of leeway—some were arts students, some were preparing for IELTS or TOEFL, and others were sorting out visas.

In short, everyone had their own things to do.

Qi Jing was a little worried because he had no one to come.

By 5 p.m., Qi Jing was packing up to go home. Normally, night prep was mandatory, but because of his injured foot, Bo Chengyan had temporarily excused him from it.

*

Study at home instead.

Qi Jing knew he wouldn’t actually study at home, but he still brought some books with him, heaving them heavily onto his back—maybe for a sense of security.

“Xiao Jing, bye… Man, why won’t my mom get me out of evening self-study too?”

Huang Ze groaned dramatically.

“Get home safe.” The voice was soft—it was the girl from the birthday. Qi Jing waved at her.

His driver was waiting at the school gate.

Qi Jing had some distance to cover.

But as he turned the corner on the stairs, someone blocked his way. Qi Jing thought for a moment and moved to the side, intending to let the other person pass first.

That's not how it went.

The guy was deliberately blocking him.

Qi Jing frowned slightly and stepped back, retreating all the way to the corridor. He said politely, "You go first."

It was just the start of the evening study period, so the corridor was empty, with all the students in their classrooms.

Qi Jing stood waiting with his backpack, but instead, the other closed in on him. He was slightly taller, probably a member of the school basketball team, standing at around 183 cm.

"Are you Qi Jing?"

Qi Jing nodded, then lowered his head, trying to walk around him—only to be blocked again.

He was starting to get annoyed.

"Hey, why won't you let me pass?"

Qi Jing had never experienced anything like bullying before. He simply didn’t understand, so he looked up and asked.

"What, gonna tattle to the teacher?"

The person across from him seemed to look down on such behavior, rolling his eyes before shifting his gaze back to Qi Jing.

"My name’s Qin Sheng. Add me on WeChat."

This came out of nowhere. Qi Jing shook his head. "I don't have my phone. I need to go home."

Qin Sheng’s brows furrowed, as if growing impatient. "That's a smartwatch, isn't it? Hurry up."

"I don’t know you. I don’t want to add you."

Qi Jing tried to walk around him, but his arm was suddenly yanked back, nearly making him lose his balance. The back of his head hit the wall.

The pain twisted his features.

"Cut the act—just do it!"

Qi Jing just stared, bewildered. This was the first time he had ever encountered malice. He said seriously, "I’m not pretending."

"If you don’t add me, you’re not leaving this school. Or do you want me to drag you into the storage room?"

Qi Jing just stood there frozen.

Perhaps his shocked expression was too piercing.

Qin Sheng was getting pissed. He grabbed Qi Jing’s wrist and forced the watch open—no password. He added himself to Qi Jing’s WeChat contacts without hesitation.

He smirked to himself. He had been overthinking it before. Qi Jing was probably just the son of some new money. The surname "Qi" wasn’t even well-known in the capital.

And with looks like his—rumor had it someone from Class 9 had taken him to watch porn.

Total queer.

Qin Sheng had to admit, Qi Jing was just his type.

Qi Jing’s wrist hurt from being wrenched, and he instinctively tried to pull away, but Qin Sheng scoffed, "What’s with the act? People beg for my number and get rejected."

He let go—only to shove Qi Jing hard.

A 180 cm-tall athlete’s push sent Qi Jing crashing back.

His ankle twisted again.

It had just healed…

He went deathly pale.

The pain was blinding.

His breathing hitched slightly, and a sheen of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Qi Jing was terrified of another dislocation. The pain of having the doctor reset it last time had been unbearable. He couldn't bear to move his ankle.

"What the hell? Setting me up now?"

Just then, a dean patrolling the corridor spotted them and rushed over, her face dark with anger.

Qin Sheng frowned.

"Qi Jing? Qi Jing? What’s wrong?"

Since when does the dean know this nobody? That bitch only cares about rich kids.

Qin Sheng was seething. "He just took a little spill, that’s all. I’ll take him to the infirmary."

But the dean acted like he wasn't even there, frantically asking Qi Jing, "Can you move? Has your fibula dislocation healed yet?"

"I’ll notify your family."

The entire time, she didn’t spare a glance at the so-called big shot Qin beside them. Only when she stood up did she briefly glance at the spoiled brat.

For some reason, Qin Sheng felt like there was something like pity in her gaze.

The fuck—

He put on his best bored look, telling himself:

Just a little shove. No big deal.