Chapter 24

Chapter 24

◎ Slowing Down for a Second Would Be an Insult to You ◎

Meng Qi, nearly suffocated, raised his right hand and repeatedly patted Meng Kaize’s arm—urging him to let go before he accidentally became his brother’s killer. Only then did the overexcited Meng Kaize realize something was wrong. He apologized profusely while hastily jumping off Meng Qi’s back, then stood beside him, rubbing his back to help him catch his breath.

Once he’d recovered, Meng Qi straightened up and turned around—finally getting a clear look at Meng Kaize. At first glance, he bore a slight resemblance to the “Meng Qi” from the novel—but upon closer inspection, it was obvious he took after his mother, Li Jintong: narrow eyes, thin lips, tall and well-proportioned, impeccably dressed—he looked every bit the polished young man.

At that moment, Meng Kaize was also gazing at Meng Qi, eyes crinkled with amusement. Seeing Meng Qi turn toward him, he sheepishly stuck out his tongue, then grinned and asked again, “Bro, you still haven’t answered me—why didn’t you tell me in advance you were coming home yesterday?”

It must have been because the “Meng Qi” in the novel was overly diligent about clearing his WeChat cache. All chat records dated only from the past month; everything earlier had been erased. Meng Qi had no idea he’d developed the habit of notifying Meng Kaize ahead of every home visit.

Forcing an apologetic smile, Meng Qi dryly explained, “Mom called me home on short notice yesterday. I was so preoccupied on the way—wondering why she wanted to see me—that I accidentally forgot to tell you.”

“Fine, I’ll forgive you this time—but don’t forget next time!” Meng Kaize snapped his fingers magnanimously at Meng Qi, then took two steps back and plopped down into a chair at the dining table. Propping his chin on one hand, he continued complaining, “When you’re not around, Mom just nags me nonstop. I’m sick of it—I really don’t want to come home alone.”

Blinking thoughtfully, Meng Kaize then dropped a bombshell: “Hey, bro—do you think Mom’s hit menopause? Lately, she’s been talking *so much*. Since you hardly ever come home, you wouldn’t know—it’s more annoying than Tang Seng chanting the Tight-Fillet Spell. I’m practically driven mad by her.”

“She nags you because she cares. Don’t take your blessings for granted.” Though Li Jintong hadn’t been a qualified stepmother to the “Meng Qi” in the novel, for Meng Kaize, she truly was a devoted mother—always planning for his long-term future. Having never experienced maternal nagging since childhood, Meng Qi genuinely envied Meng Kaize—and these words came straight from the heart.

“Alright, alright—I knew the second I mentioned Mom, you’d take her side. I won’t say another word, okay?” Meng Kaize said, turning to pluck some grapes from the fruit plate. After spitting out the skin, he asked Meng Qi a new question: “Bro—I heard you blocked Ren Suiyi?”

Meng Qi: …

Truly, bad news travels fast.

“Who told you that?” Meng Qi instinctively asked—then immediately realized how pointless it was. It didn’t take much to deduce it was Jiang Baixi who’d spilled the beans. After all, Meng Qi had blocked Ren Suiyi right in front of him—and aside from Ren Suiyi’s mother, no one else knew about it afterward.

It couldn’t possibly be Ren Suiyi’s mother who’d gone running to Meng Kaize…

Meng Kaize pouted, confirming Meng Qi’s suspicion: “Who else? Of course, it was Brother Baixi. He also told me you blocked *him*, too.”

“He really tells you *everything*…” The novel hadn’t mentioned Jiang Baixi and Meng Kaize being this close. Meng Qi was baffled. Jiang Baixi was over four years older—wasn’t that a generational gap? How had they ended up hanging out like this?

“Hehe—bro, are you jealous?” Meng Kaize crossed his legs smugly and bounced his foot a few times, then smirked at Meng Qi: “Don’t worry—you’re my *real* brother. No matter how close I am with Brother Baixi, I can’t be closer than with you.”

Meng Qi was speechless—exasperated by the kid. He turned and strode into the kitchen to serve himself a steaming bowl of century-egg-and-lean-pork congee. Then he brought out a steamer basket of egg dumplings, a basket of shrimp dumplings, a mixed platter of eggs, corn, and pumpkin, and a basket of steamed pork ribs. Just as he sat down and reached for his chopsticks, he suddenly felt two scorching gazes swaying above his head. Only then did he remember—he hadn’t even asked Meng Kaize if he wanted to eat with him.

Sure enough, when he looked up and asked, Meng Kaize was glaring at him with wounded resentment. Meng Qi instantly felt guilty. Hastily pointing his chopsticks at the breakfast spread before him, he feigned calmness: “Want some?”

“What do you *think*? I came to see you first thing this morning—and I’ve been waiting on an empty stomach *this whole time*. What do you *think*?”

“Sorry—bro was so hungry he lost his head. I’ll get you a bowl right away!” Meng Qi apologized, dashing back to the kitchen to ladle another bowl of century-egg congee. Handing it to Meng Kaize, he added, “Hurry up and eat—there’s more in the pot if you need it.”

A child’s temper flares and fades in seconds. The moment Meng Kaize accepted the congee, his frown melted into a grin—and he launched into cheerful chatter, calling Meng Qi “bro” this and “bro” that.

Meng Qi listened and nodded along, then interjected mid-conversation: “Weren’t you planning to travel? Why aren’t you going?”

“I *am* going—just haven’t decided where yet,” Meng Kaize immediately lit up, eyes sparkling. “Bro—what about Dunhuang? If you’re up for it, I’ll discuss it with my friend and set the destination there. Then you can come with us!”

Meng Qi shook his head vigorously. “I’m not going—I still have classes. What about you? Don’t *you* have classes?” Traveling with Meng Kaize—wasn’t he terrified of being exposed *too late*?

Meng Kaize stared at him, utterly confused. “Did you forget? I took a year off—and it’s not over yet.”

Meng Qi’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t forgotten—he simply hadn’t *known* Meng Kaize was on leave…

Oh no—he’d dug himself another hole. Meng Qi was mortified. After burning through thousands of brain cells in a split second, he stammered, “If you hadn’t reminded me, I *really* would’ve almost forgotten. But I *didn’t* forget—I’ve always remembered.”

“Hmph! I think you don’t care about me *at all*, bro. You probably even forgot I just had heart surgery!” Meng Kaize shot him a resentful glare, snatched a shrimp dumpling, and took a furious, oversized bite.

Kids really *did* have such volatile tempers… Meng Qi felt so ashamed he wanted to vanish into a crack in the floor.

But he genuinely *hadn’t* known—it wasn’t intentional. So this shame was rather unfounded. Meng Qi couldn’t make sense of it either—only that his heart felt as if it had soaked overnight in Shanxi aged vinegar—sour, astringent, unbearably uncomfortable. Worse still was the helplessness, the rootlessness. To put it more precisely: emptiness.

After a pause, Meng Qi sincerely apologized: “I’m sorry. Maybe lately, your brother’s been under too much pressure—so I accidentally neglected you. Don’t blame your brother, okay?”

“Just hearing you say that is enough. I’m not petty,” Meng Kaize picked up a rib and held it to Meng Qi’s mouth, eyes gleaming. “Bro—I noticed you haven’t eaten any meat. This rib is *delicious*—you should try it.”

Chewing the rib, Meng Qi felt even worse inside.

At that moment, he felt like a shameless thief—*calmly enjoying* the wealth and affection meant for the “Meng Qi” in the novel, yet failing to reciprocate the sincerity of those who’d genuinely cared for *that* “Meng Qi”—because he simply *couldn’t remember* who they were.

This feeling was terrible. If *he* didn’t feel empty—then who would? It made him regret, once again, not having read the novel carefully—and also rage at the book for dumping him here without handing over the “Meng Qi”’s memories! Really—the person was good, but the *book* was rotten!

“Bro—can’t you really unblock Brother Sui and ask where he is?” Just as Meng Qi sank into infinite self-reproach, Meng Kaize blinked his innocent eyes and asked this question.

Meng Qi: …

Well—his earlier remorse and emotional turmoil now seemed like a cruel joke.

Was Meng Kaize’s *real* purpose in visiting—to act as Jiang Baixi’s *envoy*?! That “no one is closer than us brothers”? Bah! Pure, unadulterated *mind-melting syrup*!

Really—a man’s words are the devil’s deceit!

Meng Qi glanced at Meng Kaize and asked casually, “Why do you ask?”

Meng Kaize adopted a “break-the-pot-and-break-it” attitude—cutting straight to the chase: “I’ll be honest, bro. Brother Baixi promised me—if I could find Brother Sui’s address, he’d take me abroad *with him*, covering *all* expenses. Bro—don’t you think that’s a great deal?”

“But you just had heart surgery…” Meng Qi gently reminded him.

Meng Kaize waved his chopsticks dismissively. “I already checked before coming—someone in my condition *can* fly.”

Meng Qi: …

So he’d come fully prepared—and was *dead set* on succeeding…

“I won’t unblock them. I *finally* found a solid reason to block *both* at once—I’m not adding them back,” Meng Qi had already finished one bowl of congee and wanted another. First, he glanced at Meng Kaize to ask if he wanted more. When Meng Kaize declined, he headed to the kitchen for a second bowl. As he walked back, he said, “In the past, due to youthful arrogance, your brother did many things he shouldn’t have to Brother Baixi. Now, after deep reflection, I’ve resolved to stay far away from *both* of them—which also means staying away from the source of my emotional turmoil. Do you know how much courage and *willpower* it took for your brother to make this decision?! I refuse to be troubled by it *ever again*.”

“Brother Baixi doesn’t blame you—he just thinks you were *playing around* with him. Only *you* take it seriously.” Meng Kaize said, shrugging indifferently.

“He told you *personally* he doesn’t blame me?”

“Not exactly—I guessed.”

Meng Qi: …

Thank goodness it was *just* a guess. Otherwise—if the “Meng Qi” in the novel knew the truth was *this*, he’d probably be so mortified he’d hunt down a block of tofu to *bang his head against*! He’d loved someone with his *whole heart*, hated someone with his *utmost cunning*—only for others to see it all as *childish games*…

Well—the whole situation was *utterly upside-down*!

Never mind the “Meng Qi” in the novel—even *he* would be angry for a while. Let alone the proud, arrogant “Meng Qi” in the novel—he’d likely *explode on the spot*.

Meng Qi shook his head firmly once more. “I absolutely will *not* unblock either of them. Drop the idea. If you want to go abroad—go by yourself. I’ll cover *all* your travel expenses.”

Meng Kaize retorted, huffing, “It’s *not* about going abroad or not—it’s about me wanting to go *with Brother Baixi*!”

“Then—if you had to choose between *me* and Brother Baixi to go abroad with—who would you pick?”

Meng Kaize sulkily bit his lower lip, staring at Meng Qi with conflicted eyes. Finally, under Meng Qi’s gaze—*as resolute as joining the Party itself*—he conceded, grumbling, “I’d pick *you*.”

Meng Qi was satisfied, thinking, *Not bad—this kid really walks the talk.* Then he pushed the steamer of pork ribs in front of Meng Kaize as a reward, urging him to eat while it was still hot before it cooled down and lost its flavor. He promised his still-sulking brother, "When I’m on summer break, I’ll take you abroad to have fun. You can pick the destination—how does that sound?"

Who would have thought Meng Kaize would bite fiercely into a rib and mutter through gritted teeth, "We’ll see."

Meng Qi: ...

Did you pick me just to spare my feelings—wait, to spare *your* brother, the 'Meng Qi' from the book, some face? If you keep this up, I’m really going to think that...

After finishing the ribs, Meng Kaize left immediately without staying a second longer, saying his friend was waiting for him downstairs. Meng Qi didn’t try to stop him, only warning him against any heavy exercise before letting him go. As he was leaving, Meng Kaize glared at Meng Qi twice, clearly expressing his displeasure. Meng Qi simply pretended not to see it.

He had no classes in the morning, but Meng Qi wanted to go to school early to ask his teacher if he could restart as a freshman. This was the most reliable solution he could think of for his academic issues at the moment. As for how to explain it to the Meng family afterward, he hadn’t figured that out yet—he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.

Just as he reached the ground floor and looked up, he spotted a very familiar-looking person approaching from a distance. The moment he recognized who it was, he immediately turned and sprinted back upstairs without a second’s hesitation. As he ran, he wondered to himself—wasn’t that person supposed to be abroad?! How did they teleport here?!

Also, where was Jiang Baixi right now? Could he come over quickly and take his Brother Sui away?!