Chapter 24 You’re a Radish Spirit?

Chapter 24: Are You a Radish Spirit?

News of Chi Luoxi's lawsuit victory spread quietly through Chunhui, and the first to congratulate him was Bai Man.

Bai Man: "Impressive. I heard you sued Chunhui and won? Not bad, you made good use of President He's support. Congratulations, you finally got some payback."

Chi Luoxi hadn't contacted Bai Man in a long time.

Bai Man no longer worked at Chunhui either. According to her, when the exploitative contract she signed with Chunhui—similar to Chi Luoxi's—expired, she didn't renew it and regained her freedom.

The last time she contacted Chi Luoxi was several months ago, saying she had found a long-term meal ticket: a local big shot in construction materials, older but generous to her and willing to spend money. She was temporarily settled and no longer had to put on a fake smile in a place like Chunhui.

Bai Man half-jokingly invited Chi Luoxi to hang out sometime, saying her current place had a nice environment with a big terrace where they could drink tea and sunbathe together.

Chi Luoxi kind of wanted to see Bai Man, after all, Bai Man was the first person at Chunhui to show him kindness.

Although those words were similar to He Angxiao's indoctrination about putting interests first, Bai Man didn't bully or look down on him like others did.

But there was no way around it—He Angxiao had made it clear early on that he wasn't allowed to have any contact with anyone from Chunhui.

Although Bai Man no longer worked at Chunhui, she had come from there, and Chi Luoxi wasn't sure if He Angxiao's ban included former colleagues like Bai Man.

In the end, he didn't dare agree: "Thank you, Bai Man. The lawsuit was handled by Lawyer Hao. I'm happy I won, but it's not convenient to meet up recently. Maybe another time."

He felt a bit guilty thinking that this was probably the kind of polite excuse He Angxiao sometimes mentioned. Having been around He Angxiao for so long, he had picked up the basics of paying lip service without being taught—saying "okay, okay" while knowing he would never actually do it.

Besides Bai Man, another old acquaintance also sent a message. Luke sent congratulations on winning the lawsuit.

Luke: "Xiao Chi, now that you're with Master He, you must be set for life. But if you ever want to do something on your own or earn some extra pocket money, my friend's livestreaming company is still hiring. The conditions are great, and with your looks, you'd definitely blow up. Want to consider it? It's got way more potential."

Chi Luoxi: "Thank you, Luke, but I don't need it right now."

Chi Luoxi had no concept or desire to go out and do things on his own because he really didn't know what he should do, so he decided to just focus on studying.

What He Angxiao had given him already far exceeded anything he could have imagined before.

Luke quickly replied: "Yeah, Master He won't let you go anyway. Keep in touch."

Actually, it wasn't just Bai Man and Luke.

Since he left Chunhui, people from his old contacts would occasionally send him messages with all sorts of content.

Some were purely curious and gossipy, asking "How are you now? Is Master He good to you?" Others were fishing for connections and trying to curry favor, hoping to get to He Angxiao through him. And then there were those like Yang Jing, who purely came to show off and compare.

Yang Jing, it was said, had later become the kept person of a real estate developer and was living a comfortable life.

He would message Chi Luoxi every now and then, sending photos of a newly opened luxury store that required appointments, or screenshots of limited-edition bags or watches, with captions like: "Xiao Chi, what good stuff has Master He bought you lately? Share the deets!"

Chi Luoxi didn't really feel anything about Yang Jing's blatant showing off.

He didn't understand those luxury brands much, and he thought those bags and watches all looked pretty much the same, nothing special.

But out of politeness, he would usually reply with "Pretty." As for what He Angxiao had bought him—

He Angxiao had bought him countless things. So many that he couldn't count them all or list them.

Clothes and shoes from head to toe, new ones for every season, filling the walk-in closet. All kinds of snacks, fruits, and drinks, kept the fridge and storage cabinets perpetually full. Phones, tablets, game consoles constantly being upgraded. And those decorations and trinkets he couldn't name that looked expensive at a glance.

What made him especially happy recently was that He Angxiao had bought him a home photo printer.

Chi Luoxi printed out all the photos he had taken with his Polaroid and stuck them on the fridge door and the corkboard in front of his desk.

But these things were different from the luxury items Yang Jing showed off.

Chi Luoxi didn't think there was anything worth sharing.

He thought for a moment and honestly replied: "Mine aren't as expensive as yours."

Yang Jing said, "Oh, just sweet-talk Master He into buying them for you. I'll teach you." Chi Luoxi said, "Thanks."

Chi Luoxi had been pretty happy lately.

Not just because he won the lawsuit and got the money.

Ever since the last time He Angxiao thought he had run away from home and got so angry he passed out and ended up in the hospital, He Angxiao seemed to have changed.

He was no longer the unpredictable, strict, fierce person he used to be. Now he was kind and gentle to Chi Luoxi.

He Angxiao no longer easily lost his temper with Chi Luoxi, and his tone of voice had become much calmer.

Chi Luoxi thought gleefully, "He Angxiao really does care about me."

Actually, He Angxiao was letting Chi Luoxi let his guard down so he would slip up. He really couldn't figure out where Chi Luoxi had hidden that day, but after a week of watching the surveillance footage, Chi Luoxi had been perfectly well-behaved at home.

Riley once accidentally saw He Angxiao staring at the home surveillance feed, and the look in her eyes turned strange.

He Angxiao: "...I'm not."

Riley: "Boss, no need to explain to me. Personal life, I respect and understand."

He Angxiao: "............"

Because Chi Luoxi really liked radishes and had nothing to do all day at home, he searched online and offline for all kinds of things with radish elements.

Radish-shaped pillows, fluffy, many of them, different sizes and colors, piled on the sofa, bed, and carpet. Mugs and dishes printed with cartoon radish patterns, taking up space in the kitchen cabinets. Radish-shaped keychains, small pendants, even a radish-leaf-shaped tissue box, radish-stem-patterned socks...

All sorts, a wide variety.

Soon, this originally minimalist, cold-style apartment was quietly invaded by these cute little white radish items.

At first, He Angxiao tolerated it.

A person who always presented himself as serious, cold, and elite, having his living space filled with such childish and cute elements, felt very incongruous.

One night, He Angxiao dreamed that he was being chased by a group of grinning radishes. When he woke up and saw the radish blanket he was covered with, he felt utterly speechless.

But when he saw how happy Chi Luoxi was playing with those little things, he swallowed the words "Put away all this messy stuff" that were on the tip of his tongue.

He Angxiao told himself, "Forget it, it's at home anyway. Outsiders can't see it, it won't affect my image. I'll put up with it for now."

However, Chi Luoxi's white radish occupation plan clearly wouldn't stop at indoor private spaces.

One day, when He Angxiao was about to go out and picked up his car keys from the shoe cabinet, he noticed that his Bentley key fob had somehow been adorned with a chubby radish pendant.

He Angxiao pinched the key fob, was silent for a few seconds, said nothing, and stuffed it into his suit pocket.

"Forget it, it's just a pendant. Not noticeable."

He tolerated that too.

But this wasn't the end of it.

There was an important executive meeting at the company one time.

Halfway through the meeting, he needed to pull up a file from the computer, so he gestured for his assistant Riley to come over and handle it.

Riley respectfully took the laptop bag, opened it, and prepared to connect to the projector. When her eyes fell on the A-side of the laptop, a strange expression appeared on her usually well-composed face.

The dark gray metal casing was covered in colorful stickers—cartoon radish stickers. There were round white radishes grinning, slender white radishes with bows, and running white radishes.

The eyes of others in the meeting room were more or less drawn to it as well.

He Angxiao clearly saw it too.

His expression didn't change; he still looked calm, composed, and allowing no dissent. "...The kid at home was being mischievous and stuck them on randomly. Let's continue."

The words "the kid at home" made everyone present—whether they knew the situation or not—think all sorts of things, all wondering when He Angxiao had a child.

After the meeting ended, He Angxiao returned home. Chi Luoxi was sitting cross-legged on the carpet.

He Angxiao walked over to Chi Luoxi and pointed at his laptop bag. "Chi Luoxi, we need to talk."

Chi Luoxi was startled by his serious tone and looked at him blankly. "Talk about what, husband?"

"Talk about what?" He Angxiao took out the laptop covered in radish stickers from the bag. "Did you stick these on?"

Chi Luoxi nodded. "I did. Isn't it pretty? I think it's cute, and these stickers are waterproof, so they won't fall off easily."

"This isn't about whether it looks good or not." He Angxiao's tone was stern. "This is my work laptop. I take it to meetings. Sticking these things on it—what does it look like? What will people think of me? Huh?"

Chi Luoxi felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you didn't like it."

He Angxiao looked at his pitiful expression and sighed.

Chi Luoxi secretly glanced up at him and saw that he seemed less angry. He picked up a sticker and stuck it on the back of He Angxiao's hand, which was resting on his knee with distinct knuckles.

Chi Luoxi: "If I stick it here where no one can see, will you stop being angry?"

He Angxiao curled his fingers and flicked Chi Luoxi's forehead lightly. "Like a puppy, marking your territory?"

"What's marking territory?"

He Angxiao: "...It means at a glance, the sticker tells everyone it's yours."

Upon hearing He Angxiao's tone soften, Chi Luoxi immediately smiled again, just like a puppy, his eyes curving into crescents. He pounced and hugged He Angxiao. "That's mine. Husband, you're mine."

He Angxiao's anger instantly dissipated.

Forget it, let them stay.

Chi Luoxi kissed He Angxiao and said in a coaxing tone, "Husband, don't be mad. I just bought too many, it would be a waste not to use them."

He Angxiao's heart melted at the proactive kiss, and a tender feeling washed over him. He looked down at Chi Luoxi's pretty face, a dark gleam flashing in his eyes. He gently rubbed Chi Luoxi's lips with his thumb and lowered his voice. "Oh? Then for fairness, how about I mark you too?"

Chi Luoxi's neck tickled from his touch. "Mark me? What kind of mark?"

Without further ado, He Angxiao reached out and scooped up the confused Chi Luoxi in a bridal carry.

He Angxiao didn't carry him to the bedroom but headed straight to the study.

He Angxiao placed Chi Luoxi on the solid wood desk.

The words "Only Mr. He enters" were written exactly where they should be—He Angxiao's dream had come true.

He Angxiao wasn't satisfied after writing that, so he wrote another line.

—Husband's little dog.

On the inner thighs, ankles, and even more unspeakable places.

Chi Luoxi let He Angxiao do as he pleased.

But as the pen tip traveled, Chi Luoxi's breathing became uneven.

Documents were swept to the floor, and the pen rolled into a corner.

He Angxiao was absolutely beastly—his usual calm self-control and rational restraint vanished completely at that moment.

The scene in the study was so brazen it was unwatchable.

After who knows how long, everything gradually subsided.

Chi Luoxi's whole body was limp, as if his bones had been removed. He lay slumped sideways on the cold desk.

Panting, He Angxiao picked him up from the desk and carried him to the bathroom.

As the warm water flowed over him, Chi Luoxi slowly regained some consciousness. "Husband, what if the words won't wash off? Won't they stay on my body forever?"

He Angxiao's gaze fell on the creations on his body.

"If they won't wash off, so be it. It doesn't matter anyway—only I get to see them."

Chi Luoxi wasn't as carefree as He Angxiao. He thought, "What does he mean by 'it doesn't matter'? What if one day I have to go to the hospital or go swimming, and someone accidentally sees them? How embarrassing!"

He looked at He Angxiao's faintly smug and satisfied expression, pouted, and let He Angxiao dry him off and put him in a soft bathrobe.

He Angxiao carried Chi Luoxi, who was now clean and fragrant but still bore the unwashed black ink marks and whose nose was still red, back to the bedroom and laid him on the bed.

Chi Luoxi soon fell asleep. He Angxiao parted the lapels of his bathrobe and carefully examined the marks again, his secret, perverted possessiveness greatly satisfied.

He even began to think, maybe he could have Chi Luoxi get a tattoo? But the thought came and went. He could learn how to tattoo, and never let anyone else touch Chi Luoxi's body. Then he reconsidered—Chi Luoxi's body was so perfect, without any blemishes. Getting a tattoo would seem to ruin that beauty.

Forget it, it's better to just write with ink occasionally like this, to satisfy his craving.

After a few days, the ink washed off. Chi Luoxi knew He Angxiao had lied to him—they clearly did come off, and he had worried for nothing for days.

He Angxiao followed through on his word and really began arranging Chi Luoxi's studies.

He was very efficient; within a few days, he had contacted several top-tier institutions with extensive private tutoring experience.

According to He Angxiao, this was tailored teaching, to prevent Chi Luoxi from being bullied at school and to maximize learning outcomes.

However, the initial assessment results left the teachers at a loss for words. They gave Chi Luoxi several sets of diagnostic tests for different subjects and age groups.

When the results came out, the teachers looked at each other in dismay.

Chi Luoxi's level was basically hopeless. His English vocabulary was practically nonexistent except for the most basic words. Other subjects were essentially blank.

Overall, Chi Luoxi's current knowledge level and learning ability were roughly equivalent to that of a first-year middle school student in an ordinary school, or even earlier.

He Angxiao, on the other hand, was very calm—you could say he had expected it all along.

"...That's normal. He's been away from school for too long. It's only natural he's forgotten things. And honestly, being able to recognize so many characters right now is already impressive. He's been working hard."

He didn't have high academic expectations for Chi Luoxi. He never expected Chi Luoxi to become a top student, get into a prestigious university, or become an expert in any field.

His idea was simple: let Chi Luoxi systematically learn some things and fill in the gaps in his basic knowledge. If he could eventually get a college degree—even from a diploma mill that accepts anyone with money—that would be even better. At least Chi Luoxi would be happy.

Chinese education was too grueling. Given the means, there was no need to make the child suffer too much. He wasn't going to be a scientist or researcher anyway. Why study so deep? It was enough to learn useful things happily and broaden his horizons.

So under He Angxiao's guiding principle of "happiness first, no need to overwork," the curriculum he set for Chi Luoxi was extremely relaxed. Only two classes a day, each forty-five minutes long, with plenty of rest time in between.

Five days a week, weekends off.

For now, the subjects were limited to Chinese, math, and English—the three main ones—plus a little interest-based exploration. As for those headache-inducing subjects like physics, chemistry, history, and politics, He Angxiao waved it off and said they could wait, to be decided later.

Chi Luoxi didn't feel anything special when he got the schedule. He thought it was pretty similar to when he was in school in the mountains. He remembered there weren't many students in that school, and the teachers weren't strict. He could barely concentrate in the morning, and by the afternoon, he was basically left to his own devices.

Expecting an academic underachiever to suddenly turn over a new leaf, develop a passion for learning, and become so diligent that he forgot to eat or sleep—that was really too much to ask.

But Chi Luoxi was still very hardworking.

The math teacher He Angxiao hired for Chi Luoxi was a man named Hua Ai.

He was around thirty, with exceptionally good looks.

Not the cold, sharp, aggressive kind of handsome like He Angxiao, but a more androgynous-leaning, classical kind of refined beauty. His skin was a cool porcelain white, his eyebrows and eyes were long and slender, with slightly uptipped outer corners that gave him an alluring grace. His lips were thin and light in color.

His temperament was unique—it had the scholarly aura of an intellectual but also a hint of bewitching charm. He dressed with great care, making even a simple white shirt and dress pants look stylish and distinctive.

When Chi Luoxi first saw Hua Ai, he simply thought the teacher was really good-looking and made him feel comfortable, at ease, and approachable.

He Angxiao had already noticed that Chi Luoxi was a total sucker for good looks. When watching TV, if an actor was ugly, he'd change the channel immediately. Even with cartoons, he preferred characters with cute faces.

As for Chi Luoxi's own face, he was also quite particular about it sometimes.

So when initially screening potential teachers, He Angxiao had deliberately avoided those who were too good-looking. It wasn't that he didn't trust Chi Luoxi, nor that he lacked confidence in himself—it was just an instinct to mitigate risk.

After all, the teacher would be spending several hours alone with Chi Luoxi every day. It would be safer to hire someone plain-looking, a bit serious and old-fashioned.

But Hua Ai was highly recommended by the agency, which claimed he was an excellent math teacher with special methods that could turn even the dumbest student into a bright one.

He Angxiao had checked the resume—it was impressive. Graduated from a prestigious university, extensive private tutoring experience, had brought numerous students to rapid improvement.

But he never expected that Hua Ai in person would be even better-looking than in his photos.

The first time Hua Ai came to the house, standing at the entrance and smiling politely at He Angxiao as he greeted him, He Angxiao's heart sank.

When he saw Chi Luoxi come out of his room and his eyes clearly lit up at the sight of Hua Ai, He Angxiao suddenly felt that his decision had been a bit rash.

The contact person on the phone had sworn: "Mr. He, rest assured, Teacher Hua is absolutely our agency's five-star gold-medal instructor. His reputation is impeccable! His schedule used to be fully booked—many parents tried to book him half a year in advance and still couldn't. He recently took a long vacation, so his schedule opened up a bit. If it weren't for your... ahem, generous offer, this slot would have gone to the child of an old regular client who had been waiting for months."

The contact phrased it tactfully, but the message was clear: you only got this slot because your money talked, so don't be ungrateful.

"Does he have professional ethics?" He Angxiao asked bluntly. "Our kid is very innocent, hasn't had much contact with outsiders. I want the teacher to focus solely on teaching."

The contact on the other end clearly understood: "Of course, of course! Mr. He, you worry too much. Our Teacher Hua is known for being professional, meticulous, and knows his boundaries. In all these years, his complaint rate is nearly zero. Parents praise his teaching, his integrity, his patience, and his methods. You can be completely at ease!"

After hanging up, the contact said to Hua Ai, "The kid is really well-behaved. But the parent is quite unreasonable."

He Angxiao observed for two days. If there was anything inappropriate about Hua Ai, if there was even a hint of overstepping the teacher-student boundary, he would replace him immediately.

Things didn't develop in the direction He Angxiao feared—toward some melodramatic soap opera. This Mr. Hua knew his place.

Chi Luoxi did indeed like Teacher Hua a lot.

Hua Ai was good-looking, had a nice voice—calm, unhurried, clear and smooth. Even when explaining dry math formulas and problems, he used vivid, interesting methods that made Chi Luoxi, a complete math disaster, actually understand.

Hua Ai was also very patient with him, never showed impatience even though Chi Luoxi was slow to react and had a weak foundation.

Chi Luoxi was so moved that that night he worked hard to figure out several formulas he hadn't understood before.

Aunt Su covered her mouth with a laugh: "Xiao Chi, studying so hard? I need to cook something nice to fuel you."

He Angxiao said drily: "Studying so hard, don't go and get into Tsinghua or Peking. Then I'd have to fly to see you."

Chi Luoxi knew He Angxiao was teasing him. How annoying!

Overall, Chi Luoxi felt that Teacher Hua was a very good teacher. He even thought to himself that if the teachers back in the mountains had been like Teacher Hua, he might not have hated going to school so much.

But this peaceful, harmonious teacher-student relationship was broken during one lesson.

One day when Hua Ai handed his teaching tool to Chi Luoxi, their fingers touched.

Their fingertips touched, then parted instantly.

Chi Luoxi's entire body stiffened. This wasn't the feeling of human skin contact—it was the faint pulse of spiritual energy between fellow spirits.

He covered his mouth, staring at Hua Ai in disbelief.

Teacher Hua is a spirit too!

Chi Luoxi hadn't encountered any other of his kind since coming to the city. Grandpa said that spiritual energy in the world was thin now, greater spirits had gone into hiding, and lesser spirits could never amount to much. He had thought he was the only one—a lonely little radish spirit—who had accidentally stumbled into the human world.

Hua Ai looked at Chi Luoxi—mouth covered, eyes wide, as if he'd seen a ghost. After a long pause, he hesitantly spoke: "...Are you a radish spirit?"

Chi Luoxi was still reeling from the shock that his teacher was a spirit. Hearing Hua Ai directly identify his true form made him jump even higher, almost falling out of his chair. He stammered out, "How... how did you know?"

The other was also a spirit, and seemed to have much deeper cultivation than him—to be able to see his true form at a glance. So a greater spirit was really that much stronger? Chi Luoxi felt both scared and curious.

Hua Ai looked at his expression—scared, surprised, with a mix of confusion and admiration.

This room had originally been a guest bedroom, but He Angxiao had turned it into a classroom. The bed had been removed.

Hua Ai's gaze moved from the carrot-shaped pencil holder on the desk to the radish cards on the wall, then to the radish leaf stickers on the folder, and even the cushion cover. The entire room was radish-themed.

"...I guess it wasn't that hard to figure out."

Author's note: He Angxiao lives surrounded by radish-themed cute stuff.

Guess what spirit Teacher Hua is.

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Xiao Luobei only needs a bachelor's degree—he's a true academic underachiever.

He Angxiao is on guard against everything day in and day out.