Chapter 10: Not Yet Grown

Lu Qingyue didn’t find anything strange about being called an ancestor. She was the youngest at home, and whenever she got into trouble and annoyed Lu Yi, he would fume and say, “You really are my ancestor.” After years of being an “ancestor,” Lu Qingyue had developed quite a thick skin. She blinked and immediately regained her confidence.

“You're the one who sent me to the hospital—can’t you at least take care of me a little?”

Cheng Xingye was at a loss for words. “...Are you planning to milk this for all it’s worth?”

Her guilty conscience bubbled up as soon as he hit the mark. She did harbor a bit of mischief towards him. But who told him to snitch? If he hadn’t run off to report to Lu Yi, she wouldn’t have been punished to run three laps. Now, after all, she was hurt because of him—was it so wrong to order him around a bit?

Thinking of this, Lu Qingyue pouted, a little unwilling, and muttered softly, “...I really don’t feel well.”

Cheng Xingye turned slightly, pulled a tissue from the bedside table, wiped his hands, and lazily tilted his chin toward her side, pointing.

“You don’t feel well, but you still managed to get MVP?”

Lu Qingyue: “???”

She instinctively followed his gesture and saw her phone screen still lit up, frozen on the post-game stats. At the top, under her Da Ji character’s score, the bold red letters “MVP” stood out, impossible to ignore.

Lu Qingyue’s breath hitched. “...”

Lu Qingyue: “.......”

How careless. She’d forgotten to lock the screen.

Seeing her ears turn red, looking both adorable and easy to tease, Cheng Xingye, for some reason, felt a mischievous urge to torment her. With a mocking snicker, he retaliated by stuffing a freshly peeled shrimp into her mouth.

“Kid, if you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing.”

Stuffed to the brim, Lu Qingyue’s cheeks puffed out like a greedy little hamster, staring at him in dumbfounded outrage.

Seriously? Did he have to be so rough? Her eyes watered from choking; after she finally managed to swallow, she had no appetite left.

She glanced at his calm face and suddenly realized that he’d likely seen through her act from the very beginning—he’d just let her be because she was still young.

After watching her for a moment and seeing she had nothing more to say and wasn’t asking him to peel shrimp anymore, Cheng Xingye asked, “Not eating?”

Lu Qingyue mumbled a sullen “mm.”

Now that he’d seen through her, how could she keep bossing him around...

When he saw she was done, Cheng Xingye pulled a wet wipe from the takeout bag, opening it as he swept a casual glance at her. The girl sat small and huddled on the hospital bed, hugging her knees, a little ball with the corners of her eyes still tinged red.

Already upset? Just because he called her out for lying?

Should he... try to comfort her?

Cheng Xingye had no experience with soothing people, and Lu Yi, who knew her best, was outside smoking, unable to help. For a moment, he was unsure what to do.

As he hesitated, the phone on the bedside table rang. Lu Qingyue was still holding hers, so it was Cheng Xingye’s phone. He glanced at the caller ID, wiped his hands, and said to Lu Qingyue, “Put it on speaker for me.”

She answered with an “oh,” swiping to take the call.

“Xingye?” The voice on the other end was a girl’s: soft and sweet, very pleasant to the ear.

Making a call late at night and sounding so intimate!

Lu Qingyue’s gossip-loving instincts instantly kicked in. She perked up and edged closer, ready to eavesdrop.

But a large hand appeared out of nowhere, calmly picked up the phone from in front of her, switched off speaker, and walked out.

Tsk, tsk. With a reputation like his, was there any need for secrecy?

Lu Qingyue couldn’t understand. She waited idly for a long time before the door opened again.

Cheng Xingye finished his call, slid the phone into his pocket, and walked back to her bedside. He looked so composed that she couldn’t read anything from his expression. On impulse, she asked, “Was that your girlfriend?”

Cheng Xingye pulled a tissue and wiped the sauce from her lips. He’d meant to explain it wasn’t, but seeing her earnest little face, he suddenly found it amusing.

“So nosy for someone so young?”

He tossed the tissue into the trash and tidied up the takeout containers, preparing to take the garbage out as he left.

Sensing he was about to leave, Lu Qingyue quickly asked, “You’re leaving? Off to be with your girlfrien—”

Before she finished, she caught the slight lift of Cheng Xingye’s brow and quickly added a word with caution, “...ds?”

“Lu Dandian,” Cheng Xingye said, exasperated, giving her forehead a gentle poke. “Stop listening to your brother’s nonsense all day.”

Lu Qingyue’s head tipped back from the poke, then bounced back up like a roly-poly toy, her eyes blinking at him.

For a moment, Cheng Xingye thought her forehead felt surprisingly nice—smooth and soft. He made a mental note to find another excuse to poke it next time.

He hooked the garbage bag, speaking lightly as he left, “Get some rest. I’m off.”

...

“Leaving already?” Lu Yi stood by the emergency exit near the elevator, smoking. When he saw Cheng Xingye come out of the ward, he put out his cigarette and stepped in.

Cheng Xingye grunted, pressed the elevator button with his long fingers, and explained in a cool voice, “Going to pick someone up.”

Lu Yi arched a brow with interest. “Oh? Your first love is back?”

Cheng Xingye couldn’t help but laugh, straightening and leaning against the wall. “Bro, could you not go out of your way to spread rumors about me?”

He didn’t have any so-called first love! He’d nearly drowned as a child at the seaside, and a little girl had called for help and saved him. Over time, the story morphed among friends until it became, “He’s had a first love since he was a kid.”

Lu Yi grinned. “Who else could boss you around like that, if not a first love?”

“Half an hour ago your sister was ordering me to peel shrimp for her. Have you already forgotten?” Cheng Xingye replied.

Lu Yi clicked his tongue. “My sister can’t compare. She’s still a snot-nosed kid.”

Back in the ward, snot-nosed Lu Qingyue suddenly sneezed.

Lu Qingyue: “???” Who’s talking about her behind her back?

She sniffled, feeling those two men were unreliable and probably gossiping about her somewhere.

As the two unreliable men chatted, the elevator arrived. Cheng Xingye stepped inside, watching Lu Yi wave him off. The doors closed, and his reflection appeared in the mirrored wall.

He pondered Lu Yi’s parting words and smiled silently.

Lu Yi was wrong—who could compare to her? On the surface, she seemed harmless, but she was more cunning than anyone, though none of her little schemes were the least bit annoying. In fact, he rather enjoyed seeing her act so serious while making up stories.

Cheng Xingye had never met a girl as bright and bold as her.

With his looks, he’d never lacked admirers since high school, but he’d never been in a serious relationship. He simply wasn’t interested and had never accepted anyone’s confession. Some pretty girls, driven by vanity, would claim to be his ex-girlfriend just because they’d spoken a few words with him.

Who wouldn’t want to date a guy like him? Even being labeled as an ex seemed a badge of honor. He couldn’t be bothered to clarify; it was just harmless vanity, and no one dared say it to his face anyway.

But as rumors spread, he’d inexplicably gained over a dozen so-called “ex-girlfriends” and had been saddled with the nickname “Casanova” by his buddies.

In the past, he hadn’t cared. He didn’t have a girlfriend, so there was nothing to explain.

But when Lu Qingyue had just asked, all serious, if he was going to be with his “girlfriends,” he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of helplessness.

He wanted to explain, yet the words stuck in his throat—what did he have to explain to a kid?

Cheng Xingye curled his lips in self-mockery, feeling a bit crazy.

Imagine, letting a kid tie his thoughts in knots like this.