Chapter 59

Chapter 59

◎ Who Outlives Who. ◎

Right before class ended, Meng Qi texted Qi Yun, asking if Qi Yun was still sleeping.

Not sure if Qi Yun hadn't slept at all or had just woken up, he quickly texted Meng Qi back: "Nope."

"You hungry? Don't eat at the cafeteria today. Come home with me, I'll cook for you." After thinking for a moment, he added, "My cooking's gotten way better lately; it actually tastes pretty good now."

"Why are you cooking? What about the housekeeper?"

"—I let her go."

"Oh... Okay, sure. I'm a pretty good cook too. If you can handle spice, I can whip up some of my hometown's signature dishes for you to try." Qi Yun quickly texted back.

Meng Qi wasn't a big fan of spicy food, but eating it once in a while was no big deal, so he replied cheerfully, "Can't wait."

As long as he could get Qi Yun to hang out, a little spice was nothing.

Right after he and Qi Yun agreed to meet at the school gate in ten minutes, Meng Qi immediately turned around to share the news with Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming, "Qi Yun's coming home with us too."

After saying that, he locked his big eyes onto Kuang Hui, his anticipation crashing like a wave, nearly drowning Kuang Hui.

What's that supposed to mean!

Kuang Hui couldn't help but roll his eyes, but he only got halfway before stopping and pursing his lips, then gave Meng Qi a sidelong glance. "He can come if he wants. It's not like I'm stopping him."

Bingo!

Once he got past Kuang Hui, the rest was easy.

Dong Jiaming was a class act; he wouldn't put anyone on the spot.

So Meng Qi felt completely at ease. As the bell rang, he cheerfully packed up his stuff, while mentally rehearsing how to convince Qi Yun to turn down Ren Suiwu later.

The world keeps turning without anyone, right? Without Qi Yun's help, he didn't believe Ren Suiwu couldn't crack the case.

After meeting up with Qi Yun at the school gate, the four of them headed toward "Meng Qi's" house in the book. Along the way, Meng Qi had several chances to ask Qi Yun, but he missed every one, and in the end, he never asked. The reason was probably that he was afraid of hearing an answer he didn't want.

When they passed the market where they'd bought the softshell turtle last time, Qi Yun suddenly stopped the three of them in their tracks, telling them to wait at the entrance for him while he went in to buy ingredients for his hometown dishes.

Meng Qi wanted to go in and check it out too.

He hadn't been in this world for long, but it wasn't exactly a short time either, and he'd never checked out the local market. Before coming here, he was a regular at the market back home—so regular that the vendors basically watched him grow up.

He wondered if this market was any different from the one in the real world. Meng Qi wanted to see it and also relive some memories.

But just as he eagerly took a step forward with Qi Yun, Qi Yun reached out and stopped him. Qi Yun advised him, "Most of the stuff in there is seafood. It smells strong, and the floor is a mess. You probably shouldn't go in."

In the book, "Meng Qi" was a total rich kid from a wealthy family, a spoiled young master, raised in luxury, so he probably wouldn't be interested in a place like this, maybe even covering his nose and frowning as he rushed past. Even though Meng Qi himself had grown up going to places like this and was immune to the environment and smells, but the "Meng Qi" in the book wasn't him. So, reminded by Qi Yun, he instantly remembered his current persona, and after thinking it over, agreed with Qi Yun's suggestion.

Maybe to comfort him, Qi Yun added, "If you're curious about the market, I'll take you to a cleaner one another time."

Meng Qi nodded.

Qi Yun was just as considerate as Wang Boyuan.

Wang Boyuan had a good-natured personality, rarely doing anything to spoil the mood, and if he had to, he'd always make up for it later.

Meng Qi stood there, watching Qi Yun disappear into the market, then turned to look at Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming. They had already moved to a shady spot farther away to wait. Meng Qi forced a smile at them and joined them.

"Is his charm that big that you, with your cleanliness obsession, would follow him into that place without a second thought?" Kuang Hui stood with his arms crossed, nodding toward the direction Qi Yun had vanished.

The implication was clear.

Meng Qi was taken aback, then rubbed the back of his head.

Cleanliness obsession.

So "Meng Qi" in the book had that quirk too.

No wonder when he'd cooked in the kitchen in front of Ren Suiyi last time, Ren Suiyi kept showing expressions of disbelief and hesitation. Back then, he naively thought Ren Suiyi was shocked by his rough "cooking skills." The real reason was that Ren Suiyi couldn't believe he'd handle the dirty surfaces of the ingredients without flinching...

Ah...

And why Ren Suiyi insisted on washing the dishes—that made sense now.

"It's... not really..." Meng Qi stammered, struggling to find a good excuse. After a pause, he turned the tables and asked Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming, "Aren't you two curious about what it's like inside?"

Kuang Hui shrugged. "Not at all."

Dong Jiaming shook his phone. "No, but if I'm curious, I know how to search for it."

Fine, fine... fine.

Anyway, the answer didn't matter. Seeing that the topic had been successfully diverted, Meng Qi fell silent and waited quietly off to the side for Qi Yun.

As for persuading Qi Yun, he planned to bring it up after the meal, when everyone was full and relaxed—a time when defenses were weakest, making persuasion more effective.

He hoped it would work.

The spot where Meng Qi, Kuang Hui, and Dong Jiaming stood was on the only path back to "Meng Qi's" home in the book.

While waiting, lost in their own thoughts, none of them noticed a black Maybach slowly approaching until it stopped right beside them. The rear window rolled down, and Meng Qi was the first to notice. He quickly looked down and locked eyes with Ren Suiyi, who was sitting inside.

Caught off guard, Meng Qi froze. The thought that crossed his mind was that this guy really was the male lead of the book—his eyes were stunning:

When he wore a cold expression, they were like stern, imposing phoenix eyes, sharp and solemn, as if constantly emitting a chill that made people hesitate to meet his gaze;

When warmth flowed through them, his lower eyelids lifted, the inner corners curved down, and the outer corners tilted up, naturally forming beautiful peach blossom eyes that softened his entire demeanor, making people forget he was a ruthless authority figure and want to get close to him...

Those eyes were so expressive, effortlessly casting Ren Suiyi as a natural two-faced saint. No wonder "Meng Qi" in the book loved drawing them and did so with the most skill.

Of course, beyond his eyes, his facial proportions were perfectly balanced. Having studied sketching, Meng Qi could attest to that—features like the "four highs and three lows" and "three sections and five eyes" were flawlessly evident on his face. So he could also be called a natural drawing model, a man who stepped out of a comic, a 3D modeling saint...

Ah, he was spacing out!

Meng Qi snapped back to reality, blinking rapidly, and blurted out to the person in the car, "Why are you here?"

Ren Suiyi tilted his head toward the trunk. "To deliver the tableware."

Right, Ren Suiyi had said he'd replace all the kitchen utensils before leaving. Meng Qi remembered and followed his gaze to the trunk, though he couldn't see anything. He quickly looked back, pointing at Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming. "These are my classmates. This is Kuang Hui, and this is Dong Jiaming."

Once Ren Suiyi looked at them, Meng Qi quickly introduced Ren Suiyi to the others. "This is Ren Suiyi, 'Ren' as in 'Ren Zhen,' and Brother Wu's younger brother."

Given the earlier hiccup with introducing Ren Suiwu late and causing some trouble, Meng Qi made sure to introduce Ren Suiyi right away this time. Ren Suiyi didn't seem as easygoing as Ren Suiwu, and if Kuang Hui or the others accidentally upset him, Meng Qi feared Ren Suiyi might lose his temper on the spot—and he wouldn't be able to handle it...

Of course, he also wouldn't dare to try.

Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming exchanged a glance, then both straightened up and shouted in unison to Ren Suiyi, "Hey, Brother Yiyi."

Meng Qi secretly smirked, thinking that not only did he himself get weak in the knees in front of Ren Suiyi, but even Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming had instantly turned into obedient little bros. See how scary Ren Suiyi is? So this proves that his fear of Ren Suiyi is totally justified.

Ren Suiyi nodded at Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming and said to them, "Just call me Sui Ge. That's what everyone calls me."

Meng Qi: ...

Was this a low-key jab at him, meaning he should stop calling him "Yiyi Ge" from now on?

Fine, he didn't wanna keep calling him "Yiyi Ge" anyway. From now on, he'd just go along and call him "Sui Ge" too.

Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming immediately changed their address after receiving the instruction. "Hey, Sui Ge."

Ren Suiyi nodded at them again, then turned to Meng Qi and asked, "Why are you all standing here? Is this some school field trip or something?"

Meng Qi shook his head. "No, we're waiting for someone. He went in to grab some groceries, and we're standing here to wait for him."

"Oh, how much longer you gotta wait?" Ren Suiyi said, glancing down at his watch—a super low-key design, one that Meng Qi didn't recognize and couldn't tell the brand of. After looking, he raised his head and continued to Meng Qi, "You guys hop in the car and wait. It's way too hot out here."

"Nah, you go on ahead. We'll wait a bit longer; he should be out soon," Meng Qi said to Ren Suiyi, then glanced toward the vegetable market. But he didn't see Qi Yun, so he withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and continued, "The door code is 150708. Head on up and wait; we should be back soon."

Whether it'd be soon or not, Meng Qi had no clue. He just wanted to get rid of Ren Suiyi quickly. What he really wanted to say was, "You and Gangzi take the dishes up first, and it'd be best if you left before we get back."

But he didn't have the guts.

Perhaps remembering that there were still dishes in the trunk that needed to be carried upstairs, Ren Suiyi didn't insist on staying to wait with Meng Qi. Instead, he simply said "Okay" to Meng Qi, said goodbye to Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming, and then turned to instruct Gangzi to drive.

As the rear window slowly rose, the Maybach glided away.

Meng Qi let out a long sigh, turned to look at Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming, and teased them, "You guys alright?"

Kuang Hui mimicked him and exhaled, his shoulders slumping. "Not really. Better heard than seen, better seen than met, right, Mingming?"

Dong Jiaming didn't speak.

Though he didn't say anything, his expression said it all. At that moment, he fully agreed with Kuang Hui.

Finally, someone who could empathize with him! Meng Qi struggled to hold back his laughter.

Kuang Hui suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Meng Qi, "He's not staying for dinner, is he?"

This time, Meng Qi didn't speak, and he didn't feel like laughing either, because he didn't know...

"No way?!" Kuang Hui glanced at Meng Qi and then let out a heartfelt wail. "Can't we really make him leave? I'm afraid I'll get indigestion..."

"You go tell him, then," Meng Qi said.

"You trying to get me killed?" Kuang Hui replied.

Meng Qi thought to himself, Your life is definitely longer than mine, sigh...