Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Humans, after all, are highly evolved creatures.

They’re naturally drawn to things that gleam and glitter.

Qi Jing was young, and most of the jewelry in his cabinet had to be coordinated with his outfits; there was rarely an occasion to wear them on their own.

He’d occasionally even forget they were there.

But even just displayed, they were beautiful.

The boy’s eyelids dipped slightly. After a moment’s thought, he told the man, “I’m not mad at you anymore.”

One must always read the room.

Qi Jing’s ear tips were flushed red, his body temperature a little warm. His anklet chimed softly with every movement.

A bright, clear sound.

So beautiful.

“Then I’ll put them away.”

The boy almost got up, but a single arm lightly encircled his waist, holding him fast. He couldn’t escape at all.

Qi Jing looked over, puzzled.

“Wear them for one night.”

He needed to see the effect.

Bo Chengyan clasped Qi Jing’s wrist, his thumb gently caressing the boy’s fingertip—so soft, so tender. Once, when schoolwork had given him calluses, the housekeeper had even lovingly applied medicinal oil.

The boy didn’t quite understand. He had a bit of a collector’s instinct: truly beautiful things belonged in their boxes, not constantly taken out and worn.

They could get damaged.

Qi Jing stated this earnestly.

But his slender calf was gently pulled back, causing Qi Jing to tilt his head back slightly and immediately cling tighter to Bo Chengyan’s neck.

Embracing face-to-face.

He was afraid of falling to the ground.

“If they break, I’ll buy you new ones.”

Qi Jing tilted his head, thinking this sounded like the “flaunting wealth” described in books.

He hadn’t earned any money himself.

But now, it seemed he felt no guilt at all.

Using them felt completely unburdened.

Qi Jing frowned. He felt this change was very bad and told Bo Chengyan so.

Should he try to change?

“Do you feel burdened?”

Bo Chengyan’s voice was gentle and refined, his eyes slightly lowered, his gaze deep and profound.

“Just a little.”

“But I really do like them. They’re beautiful.”

“Is this what they mean in books by ‘it’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance’?”

It still bothered him a little.

Qi Jing didn’t want to become a “negative example” of mainstream values, treating luxury items as everyday necessities—that felt very wrong.

It wasn’t his money, after all.

But they were just so pretty.

The boy’s thoughts were simple and easy to understand, or perhaps, quite childish. But that’s from an omniscient perspective.

After all, in Chinese society, who, in their youth, hadn’t faced a dilemma like “Should I go to Tsinghua or Peking University?”

Though Qi Jing’s life goals had shifted slightly, his core remained stable: he wanted to be a kind, ordinary person.

But a “kind ordinary person” and a “kind rich person” were not the same.

The boy was a little conflicted, because the latter just sounded a bit hypocritical.

Yes, hypocritical.

“No, you don’t need to be frugal, and there’s no process of going from one state to another.”

Bo Chengyan remained calm until the boy frowned and said, “No, when I was in the mountains…”

“Forget it.”

Qi Jing froze.

“There’s no need to remember those things.”

This tone was actually somewhat authoritarian; Bo Chengyan even furrowed his brow.

Qi Jing tilted his head.

“Oh.”

He didn’t like him mentioning the past?

Why?

“You don’t need to feel burdened.”

Qi Jing shook his head, saying that was impossible. As the boy grew, his education and social awareness were also updating.

“A partner spends money on the person they love because of love, but essentially, it’s a relationship of giving and receiving. But I don’t have the ability to earn money yet.”

“So, it’s actually one-sided.”

The boy was very calm. He thought for a moment, then added:

“But it can’t just be about money. I like you very much too; I’ve given you a lot of love.”

At this point, Qi Jing looked a bit confused and asked midway, “Is it emotional value?”

“Mmm.”

Bo Chengyan’s mind drifted.

In a way, nurturing someone is an addictive thing; their thoughts and understanding are constantly evolving.

Like a fledgling, slowly growing its wings.

Now was its most tender stage.

“Mmm, pretty much.”

Qi Jing continued, “Money might be one-way, but love is two-way.”

“When I earn money, I’ll buy things for you too.”

The boy’s eyes sparkled, even showing a kind of confident look.

Like a child drawing a grand vision for their parents, saying in a sweet, childish voice, “When I grow up, I’ll buy Mom and Dad a big mansion.”

Bo Chengyan found it hard to describe the feeling—it was like a parched body being infused with sweet rain, slowly regaining vitality.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

“Good.”

A soft jingling sound rang out.

The muffled sound of kisses mingled within.

Faintly, intermittently.

*

996 was slow to realize it couldn’t enter the room. Its entire system crashed—*wait, this is allowed?*

Its tiny, beady eyes blinked.

It tried to phase through the door.

But it was bounced back, exactly as before. It braced its small arms, struggling to maintain its round body.

Growing increasingly frustrated.

It needed an upgrade!

996 immediately reported to the main system, but the notification it received was:

—*Maintenance was already scheduled three months ago. The next maintenance is in one year. Details can be found in the attachment…*

Blah blah blah, a whole lot of nonsense.

“……”

996 deeply regretted eating too many snacks earlier, having used up its annual maintenance opportunity. It lay by the door, its beady eyes filled with resentment.

How did humans do it?

Sometimes even ordinary people could catch a glimpse of it?

It sighed.

It put itself into hibernation, but for some reason, the sound of bells occasionally came from the room.

Intermittently, it continued until the early hours of the morning.

The next day.

Qi Jing was held while he ate breakfast, swallowing while half-asleep, sometimes even getting annoyed and pushing the arm away with increasing skill.

Serving someone is a slippery slope: zero times or countless times.

When the boy woke up groggily, he realized the item on his hand was gone; it was on the tray beside him.

A warmth suddenly drew near.

Qi Jing instinctively leaned in for a kiss, his expression innocent and earnest.

A morning kiss.

Taught to him yesterday.

Bo Chengyan held the boy’s hand, his usual sharp features softened as he gently told him, “Stay home for me today, alright?”

Without a second’s hesitation.

“Okay.”

“You go.”

Qi Jing was still a bit sleepy. Even after washing up, he hadn’t quite shaken off the drowsiness and instinctively tried to pull his hand away.

But it wouldn’t budge.

He looked up, puzzled.

The man’s expression was complex, but he still cupped the back of the boy’s neck, forcing him to look up.

“Don’t leave this house. There are servants here; tell them if you need anything.”

“Call me at noon.”

Qi Jing nodded.

Just as he was about to turn back to bed, his chin was gently pinched, and he received another kiss.

Only then did Bo Chengyan leave.

996 was lurking by the door, sneaky. Seeing the man leave, it immediately tried to slip in, but was violently bounced out again.

“……”

What *is* this thing?!

It angrily floated around the house, trying every method, but found it still couldn’t get in. It was as if there was a boundary centered around a fifty-square-meter radius.

About four or five hours later.

The door opened.

The boy nearly tripped. Looking down, he saw it was 996. He bent down and picked it up.

His voice was hoarse.

“Why are you here?”

The blue slime said nothing, just tried to enter the room again, but was bounced out once more.

Its beady eyes blinked rapidly.

Qi Jing instinctively looked into the room. Standing up with 996 in his hand, he began to walk inside, almost without needing verbal communication.

The slime in his palm was unceremoniously squeezed off.

Its beady eyes looked absolutely furious.

“Ah… I get it now.”

Qi Jing’s lips were very red, his face slightly uncomfortable. He walked back towards the doorway and explained to 996.

The final conclusion was probably:

“He thinks you took me away, so he probably doesn’t like you very much.”

“That accessory… I heard him say last night it has some kind of calming effect? Not sure.”

“But he took it off me this morning.”

The boy pursed his lips and told 996, “So maybe… he’s accepted a part of it?”

Man and slime exchanged bewildered glances.

*

Often, people in the upper echelons are more particular about feng shui and metaphysics—avoiding ill omens, divination—these are quite common practices.

Bo Chengyan, being well-traveled and knowledgeable, didn’t find it unusual.

Until the moment the boy was taken away—

He truly had the thought of directly eliminating that thing.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sought out that family.

The same one that had performed the memorial rites for his mother.

But things are always complex and cannot be explained in a few words.

When Bo Chengyan heard the house master mention “fortunate connection,” he was indeed stunned for a moment and asked directly:

“Will doing this block his fortunate connection?”

The house master waved a hand. “Not at all.”

“Didn’t this child meet you without incident?”

It was as if a sudden enlightenment had struck him.

The veins on the back of his hand subtly bulged.

Qi Jing didn’t have that birthmark; his parents simply didn’t exist, leaving no traceable origin.

“Is it… because of *it*?”

The house master smiled knowingly, shushing him.

Everything was understood without words.

Unaware of its promotion from evil creature to mascot, 996 perched steadily on Qi Jing’s shoulder, curiously eyeing the food on the table.

Egg tarts.

It really wanted to eat one.

After taking a bite himself, Qi Jing held it up slightly. “Here, smell it.”

“……”

996 leaned in and sniffed.

Resting his chin in his hand, Qi Jing, for the first time in a while, messaged Jiang Xiuyuan to ask about his recent situation. Learning that he had opened a flower shop brought him great relief.

111: When are you coming back to the capital?

Hates Broccoli: Probably still some time.

111: I’ll treat you to a meal when you’re back.

Hates Broccoli: Sounds great!

But just then, Qi Jing remembered something and cautiously typed:

Hates Broccoli: How are things with Chen Zhuo?

The other side paused for about a few minutes.

111: We broke up.

The boy was startled, genuinely surprised. After all, even though that person was a bit unpleasant…

He seemed somewhat…

It was hard to say.

Qi Jing didn’t know what to say, typing and deleting, deleting and typing, until the other side finally wrote:

111: Don’t worry about me. I went for a follow-up at the hospital, and I’m much better. You go do your thing. I have a customer here.

A very polite way to end the conversation.

Qi Jing doubted it was really a customer, but after putting down his phone, he thought about it and decided it was for the best.

Chen Zhuo never seemed like a good person anyway.

But just then, a servant came over and gently said, “Xiao Jing, it’s lunchtime.”

Actually, at first, they used to call him “Mr. Qi,” but Qi Jing found it strange; he was still a student, so it felt a bit inappropriate.

So he simply told them his nickname.

It felt more casual.

“Oh, is it time for lunch?”

The boy thought for a moment, casually responding.

Only when the servant looked at him with a somewhat troubled expression did Qi Jing remember about making that phone call—