Chapter 13

Chapter 13

◎A Useful Misunderstanding◎

Meng Qi knew that the "Meng Qi" in the book liked to call Ren Suiyi "Brother Yiyi"—not Brother Ren, Brother Sui, or Brother Yi, but "Yiyi" followed by "Brother." Throughout the entire book, only he would address Ren Suiyi this way, making it something special between them.

The book went into why the "Meng Qi" in the book was so insistent on calling Ren Suiyi that.

In the book, "Meng Qi" was the eldest son of the Meng family, Ren Suiyi was the second son of the Ren family, and Jiang Baixi was the fourth son of the Jiang family.

As a child, the book's "Meng Qi" stubbornly believed that as the eldest, he naturally ranked ahead of the second and fourth sons. He was older than both Ren Suiyi and Jiang Baixi; he was not only the eldest of the Meng family but also the eldest brother to Ren Suiyi and Jiang Baixi. Therefore, when playing with them, he refused to call them "brother," but he was willing to follow Ren Suiyi around all day calling him "Yiyi." When he grew up and understood the proper order of things, he was already used to it, and he was reluctant to change. Eventually, he reluctantly added "Brother" after "Yiyi."

Ren Suiyi felt that being called "Yiyi" as an adult was too childish and had tried to correct the book's "Meng Qi" a few times, but it never worked. Later, he simply gave up.

In other words, the address "Brother Yiyi" was the result of one party's persistence and the other's compromise.

Meng Qi completely agreed with Ren Suiyi's viewpoint. He couldn't bring himself to call Ren Suiyi, who was over 180 cm tall, "Yiyi" or "Brother Yiyi." Moreover, he felt this special form of address should be reserved for the book's "Meng Qi." When the original owner returned someday, everything should go back to the way it was supposed to be.

But then again, if he hadn't coincidentally transmigrated into this book, the book's "Meng Qi" would definitely die nine months later. By then, the address "Brother Yiyi" would also vanish with the death of the book's "Meng Qi."

So, after he altered the original book's setting, could the book's "Meng Qi" really return?

Or, after he changed the original book's setting, could he himself return to reality?

Meng Qi didn't know the answer. Standing with his back to Jiang Baixi, he looked around blankly. There was light ahead on the campus path, but it couldn't guide him to the direction he sought.

What if he didn't have the ability to change the original book's setting? Would he really die at his own 19th year, which was the book's "Meng Qi's" 20th year?

Suddenly, Meng Qi felt a headache coming on. He knew he was overthinking again, but he couldn't stop himself from dwelling on these thoughts. The more he thought, the more frightened he became, even to the point where his strength began to drain from his body, almost unable to support his own weight.

Jiang Baixi hadn't expected his casual question to provoke such a strong reaction from Meng Qi. Seeing Meng Qi go limp and start to collapse to the ground, he was so startled that he rushed forward in a flash, barely managing to catch Meng Qi before he hit the floor.

Meng Qi clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tightly, resisting the overwhelming wave of dizziness. Only after that terrifying sensation completely subsided did he gasp for breath. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he asked Jiang Baixi weakly, "Do you have anything to eat on you?"

He was all too familiar with this sudden feeling of dizziness.

If he wasn't mistaken, he had just experienced a bout of low blood sugar.

In middle school, due to inadequate nutrition and frequent hunger, he spent over a year dealing with these unpredictable low blood sugar episodes. It wasn't until his grandfather, while collecting scrap, found an antique vase and sold it for a high price that he could eat his fill at every meal and never suffered from low blood sugar again.

Now, having barely eaten for two consecutive days and only consumed half a bowl of plain congee, it was no wonder he had low blood sugar.

Jiang Baixi, of course, didn't know the reason for Meng Qi's fainting spell. Seeing Meng Qi suddenly in this state, his brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly. He stared at Meng Qi's pale face for a few moments before remembering to answer, "No, I didn't bring any food." Then, as if still concerned, he added, "What's wrong with you? You're not trying to fake being sick to scam me again, are you?"

Fake an illness?!

How could that be! He wasn't an actor; he couldn't fake it so convincingly.

Meng Qi wanted to wave his hand and say he wasn't faking, but at that moment, he was extremely weak, barely having the strength to lift his hand. So he could only force a dry laugh and explain to Jiang Baixi in a faint, thread-like voice, "I'm really not trying to scam you. I already said I wouldn't do anything bad to you or Ren Suiyi again. Even if you don't believe me, I wouldn't make myself a liar so quickly."

"I..."

It was embarrassing to admit. Who would have thought that the esteemed Young Master Meng could ever be so hungry he'd get low blood sugar? Probably no one would believe it if he said it out loud. Meng Qi felt extremely awkward, convinced that the cool, domineering persona of the book's "Meng Qi" would eventually be ruined by him. He mumbled, his voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, "Sorry, I'm just hungry."

"Hungry?" Jiang Baixi first asked in surprise, looking at Meng Qi as if he had just heard the biggest joke. Then, as if remembering something, the expression in his eyes turned serious.

Initially, Jiang Baixi truly didn't believe Meng Qi, but thinking about Ren Suiyi transferring money to him, and then carefully considering Meng Qi's fainting reaction that didn't seem fake, he had no choice but to accept that Meng Qi had genuinely fainted from hunger.

Meng Qi was out of money, perhaps even lacking funds for meals. After reaching this conclusion, Jiang Baixi stared at Meng Qi with a complex expression for a long time, then said, exasperated, "What have you been doing lately? Where's your money?"

No matter how much he disliked the book's "Meng Qi," they had been childhood playmates. Meng Qi's current state frustrated Jiang Baixi immensely, stirring up the old urge to educate Meng Qi from an elder brother's perspective.

Hearing Jiang Baixi's question, Meng Qi instantly understood that Jiang Baixi probably misunderstood him as being wasteful with money. He was about to defend himself, but then it occurred to him that this misunderstanding came at the perfect time. Why bother explaining? At least Ren Suiyi's transfer of 100,000 yuan to him now had a reasonable explanation. This incident would become even more justified because of this misunderstanding. Meng Qi was quite pleased.

Finally relieved of one worry, Meng Qi's mood improved slightly. He was just about to fabricate some excuse to brush off the question about the money when, while lowering his head in thought, a familiar figure suddenly appeared out of the corner of his eye—it was Qi Yun!

Afraid Qi Yun would run off, Meng Qi ignored Jiang Baixi beside him, struggled to stand up from the ground, mustered all his strength, and shouted Qi Yun's name towards his retreating back.

Unexpectedly, in his agitation, he overexerted himself. The shout nearly made him pass out from lack of oxygen; his vision darkened, and he almost slid back to the ground.

Fortunately, the shout wasn't in vain. Hearing his call, Qi Yun immediately closed the distance in a few quick steps, reached out to support him, and asked with a worried expression what was wrong.

Meng Qi, feeling embarrassed again, repeated the reason for his pitiful state to Qi Yun, who also frowned upon hearing it, his expression a mix of amusement and exasperation.

If it was just hunger, then the solution was simple: eat until the low blood sugar symptoms disappeared. Thinking this, Qi Yun crouched down in front of Meng Qi, telling him to climb onto his back so he could carry him to the cafeteria.

When Qi Yun squatted down, Meng Qi was so touched! It felt as if his good friend Wang Boyuan had come to his side, further convincing him that Qi Yun was his lucky star.

Meng Qi almost without hesitation climbed onto Qi Yun's back.

Carried in a daze for over ten meters, Meng Qi suddenly remembered that Jiang Baixi had been beside him earlier. He had almost forgotten about him, which was really rude of me, especially since Jiang Baixi had supported him at a critical moment.

Thinking this, Meng Qi looked back over Qi Yun's shoulder to find Jiang Baixi, and his eyes met Jiang Baixi's, who was still standing in the same spot, watching them.

Jiang Baixi remained standing there, making Meng Qi feel even more embarrassed. He thought, *Jiang Baixi came all this way to find me, and I left without even saying goodbye. How rude is that...*

To make up for his oversight, Meng Qi waved towards the back, mustering all his strength to shout to Jiang Baixi, "Thank you, goodbye, see you later."

Oh, wait, he shouldn't say "see you later." He should say "never see you again," since he had promised to try his best not to appear before Jiang Baixi and Ren Suiyi in the future.

But at that moment, Meng Qi didn't have the energy to shout again. He thought, *Let it be, just consider it a polite phrase. After all, promises aren't in words but in actions.*

After bidding farewell to Jiang Baixi, Meng Qi tried to get comfortable on Qi Yun's back. But perhaps because Qi Yun was five centimeters taller than Wang Boyuan, Meng Qi couldn't treat Qi Yun as Wang Boyuan. Nothing felt quite right. He tried adjusting his posture several times, but it wasn't as comfortable as being on Wang Boyuan's back. When that didn't work, Meng Qi sighed helplessly, "It would be better if you were a few centimeters shorter."

Qi Yun turned his head slightly to the side, not understanding why Meng Qi said that.

Meng Qi explained, "It's nothing, I was just talking nonsense. You're fine as you are."

Sigh, it just didn't feel right.

He missed Wang Boyuan and He Cong so much. Of course, he missed his grandparents the most.

Thinking about it, Meng Qi couldn't help but let out a small sob, startling Qi Yun, who stiffened his back and quickly asked if he was feeling even dizzier and if they should go to the hospital first.

Meng Qi secretly wiped his face with his sleeve, then tried to make his tone sound lighter, "It's fine, it's fine. Let's go to the cafeteria, the cafeteria is fine." Then he added as an excuse, "Some pollen just flew into my nose earlier; I suddenly felt like sneezing."

Qi Yun hoisted Meng Qi up a bit, probably to make him more comfortable. After hearing Meng Qi's words, he nodded with a smile.

Being carried to the cafeteria by Qi Yun once again drew more stares and whispers. But at that moment, Meng Qi was feeling terrible, his vision blurring, and had no energy to care about what others were gossiping about him. Only after reaching the cafeteria and devouring a large bowl of rice in one go did he feel alive again. Looking at the people around him pointing at him and Qi Yun, he had no intention of paying them any mind. He thought, *Whatever, let them talk. Their mouths are their own; I can't control them.*

In real life, because of his eyes, he was often pointed at and whispered about. Although it wasn't on this scale, Meng Qi felt it was similar. The feeling of being discussed was the same. In the past, to make himself feel better, he'd just tune it out. He could handle it the same way now; he was pretty good at that.

But Qi Yun didn't seem to adapt well to this. During breaks in his meal, Meng Qi glanced at Qi Yun several times, each time noticing his unpleasant expression, especially when his gaze shifted back from elsewhere—his face would look even worse.

Wanting to comfort Qi Yun from the perspective of someone with experience, Meng Qi said to him, "Just treat them all as NPCs. Gossiping behind people's backs is a task assigned to them; they can't refuse. Don't pay attention to them. Your own happiness is what matters most."