Thank You for Existing

That night, his parents returned and talked with Li Yi for a long time. Xie Qizhi intended to wait for him so they could watch a movie together. He waited and waited until he accidentally fell asleep. When he woke up, the dawn was hazy, and the sky was about to brighten.

He walked out and sat on the sofa in the living room, pouring himself a glass of warm water. Suddenly, he remembered a summer vacation many years ago when Ying Huai had also sat here, staring blankly all night.

He looked in the direction Ying Huai had once looked, seeing only the two-story Western-style villa opposite. On the terrace were a sunshade and lounge chairs. By the wall was a row of dense climbing roses; the blooming season had passed, so only green leaves remained.

When he saw them, it was mid-summer; the flowers must have been beautiful.

Xie Qizhi took a photo and sent it to Ying Huai, asking if he remembered where this was.

Even though it was early, Ying Huai was already awake and replied quickly: [Woke up so early? Why are you showing me a photo of your house?]

Xie Qizhi: [Look opposite. The summer you came to stay, did their flowers bloom?]

Ying Huai: [No impression.]

Xie Qizhi: [... What *can* you have an impression of?]

Ying Huai: [Of the little kid who was always secretly peeking at me through the door frame.]

Xie Qizhi: [Who was peeking at you?]

Ying Huai said nothing, only sending a small arrow pointing directly at Xie Qizhi's profile picture.

Xie Qizhi couldn't help but laugh, remembering that it seemed there really was such a thing.

He was sick, with a high fever and a non-stop cough. Ying Huai was also feverish. His brother, afraid they would infect each other, constantly warned Xie Qizhi not to go near Ying Huai and not to talk to him. He also said Ying Huai was in a bad mood lately and advised Xie Qizhi not to disturb him.

But when people are in a bad mood, don't they all need companionship and comfort?

At night, Xie Qizhi didn't listen to his brother. Looking at the lonely figure on the sofa—he didn't turn on the light, and that blurry silhouette looked especially solitary.

Xie Qizhi pretended to mistake him for his brother, trotting over and climbing onto the sofa to sit next to Ying Huai, calling out softly, "Brother."

Ying Huai leaned back, tilting his head and drooping his eyelashes to look at him. His voice was a bit thick, sounding very tired. "Don't come close. Go back to your room."

However, Xie Qizhi refused to listen. He kept pestering Ying Huai, demanding he play the game he used to play with his brother.

"If you win, I'll listen to you," Xie Qizhi said.

Xie Qizhi no longer remembered clearly if it was because his constant coughing made it impossible to control the character so he lost to Ying Huai, or if Ying Huai hadn't been soft-hearted at all. But this was Xie Qizhi's original purpose.

At that time, he was convinced that Ying Huai and his brother had fought and broken up, so he wanted to help them reconcile. He indirectly asked if he had anything to say to his brother; he could convey it. No matter what he said, Xie Qizhi wanted to help him achieve it.

Ying Huai put down the controller and was silent for a long time. The light from the screen flickered on his face, the glow in his eyes hidden under his drooping long black lashes.

Xie Qizhi saw Ying Huai like that for the first time—as if he felt pain and helplessness before the disasters that had struck his life, able only to face them in silence.

"Qiqi." Ying Huai didn't look at him, tilting his head to look at the pouring rain outside the window, saying softly, "Don't get sick anymore. Go back to your room and sleep."

He said that very quietly, with the nasal tone remaining after his illness. However, those words fell into Xie Qizhi's ears like the night rain, striking his heart and making it throb non-stop, swaying endlessly.

On New Year's Eve, Li Yi was indeed surrounded by relatives. As soon as Grandma saw him, she couldn't hold back her tears, tightly hugging the long-lost grandson and weeping.

His parents and several uncles and aunts all went to comfort her. "Mom, don't be sad anymore. It's good that the boy is home."

Only Xie Qizhi noticed that Li Yi's whole body was stiff, his expression very awkward, but he didn't dare push the old lady away. He could only let her use her thin, dry hand to pull him along.

Xie Qizhi sat with the cousins, each with their heads buried in their phones. Those who were close sat together, chatting about everything under the sun that had happened over the years while peeling chestnuts, almonds, and macadamias.

Only he wasn't close to anyone, and he was allergic to most nuts. Usually, the house wouldn't prepare these things, but the New Year was special; he wouldn't be the first standard.

He moved away a bit, suddenly spotting two familiar young faces talking—it was Zihao and Xiaobin, the ones his brother had egged Li Yi on to steal red envelopes from.

Normally, his brother wouldn't bother with others like that.

Xie Qizhi racked his brain and finally remembered it was these two little brats who had barged into his brother's room, demanding toys he wouldn't give. They then proceeded to smash things together, making his brother so angry he was fuming, and even getting him scolded by their mother.

...My brother's revenge really is never too late, even after ten years.

When leaving the room, Li Yi winked at Xie Qizhi. Xie Qizhi received the signal and walked over, seeing more than three red envelopes in his pocket.

Xie Qizhi couldn't help but laugh, secretly giving him a thumbs-up.

Li Yi might have truly become rich overnight; he sent several large red envelopes in the four-person group chat. Both You Ran and Zhan Xinjia sent back the same "Happy New Year" and "Thanks, Boss" emojis.

Xie Qizhi also got "best luck" once and sent a large red envelope, wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Half an hour before the New Year's Eve dinner, his brother and Ying Huai arrived together.

Ying Huai gave a gift to the maid, then turned his head, accurately finding Xie Qizhi in the crowd. He raised an eyebrow slightly, mouthing "Come here."

He wore a cold-toned grey wool coat, standing under the soft light, looking even taller with a straight, slender figure.

Xie Qizhi and Ying Huai had been in an online relationship for several days and finally met. His blue eyes were full of joy, feeling that Brother Ying Huai seemed even more handsome after not seeing him for a few days. He immediately stood up and strode toward him.

Xie Zhilan saw that Xie Qizhi only had eyes for Ying Huai and got annoyed again. He frowned, about to remind him of something, when an undiscerning relative suddenly asked, "Zhilan graduated a long time ago, right? Where are you working lately?"

His mother answered for him, her tone sounding critical but actually boastful. "He's the most disobedient; he went out to start his own business."

The relative praised him as "young and talented," then asked, "What about Qiqi? Is his illness better? I heard his medicine is more expensive than gold."

His mother was about to say it was all thanks to Zhilan's care when Xie Zhilan placed his hand on Ying Huai's shoulder, pushing him forward and saying, "I don't know. He's the one paying now."

Under the attentive gaze of dozens of people in the room, he introduced, "Ying Huai, my high school classmate, Qiqi's current boyfriend, and a major shareholder of Bailing Pharmaceuticals."

As soon as the last title was heard, the owner of the "young and talented" label changed.

Before Xie Qizhi could even talk to Ying Huai, he was noticed by all the relatives. This was the first time he had a sense of presence other than the "precious medicine jar" label at the New Year's Eve dinner.

As for Ying Huai, he was pulled into the center of the relatives' social circle, being flattered non-stop even during the meal. Xie Qizhi finally understood his brother's wicked intention—he intentionally praised Ying Huai at this time because he didn't want him to talk to him!

Xie Qizhi silently bit his chopsticks, his foot lightly kicking Ying Huai under the table.

Ying Huai glanced over, a bit of a smile appearing in his eyes. His right hand reached over, scratching Xie Qizhi's palm before naturally gripping his left hand.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, it was finally time for the red envelope distribution that Xie Qizhi and all the children looked forward to most.

As soon as Xie Qizhi saw Ying Huai walking toward the coat rack, he knew he had also prepared red envelopes. He walked over quietly, pointing out the two annoying brats, Zihao and Xiaobin, to Ying Huai.

Ying Huai understood just by looking at his expression. "Do you have a grudge against them?"

Xie Qizhi nodded, acting pitiful. "Because of them, I was almost abandoned by my parents."

The real reason was that to help his brother vent his anger, he had led the two brats to play and made them fall into the pond, getting them soaking wet and sick.

Ying Huai lightly pinched Xie Qizhi's ear, letting him reach into his coat pocket, take out the red envelopes for the two brats, withdraw half the money, and stuff it into his own pocket.

Ying Huai laughed at him, waiting for him to finish hiding it before taking out a special red envelope for Xie Qizhi from another pocket, handing it to him and saying, "Qiqi, Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year!" Xie Qizhi beamed and hugged him tightly. "Brother Ying Huai is the best."

Then he turned around, squeezing into the line of children receiving red envelopes, receiving them until his hands were tired before waving to Ying Huai and pointing upstairs, signaling him to find him later.

Xie Qizhi hid in Li Yi's room, and the two frantically opened red envelopes to see which was bigger. Li Yi's red envelopes seemed to be specially categorized; besides his brother's, everyone gave him a bit more than Xie Qizhi.

But the one Ying Huai stuffed for him was particularly large, making up for the gap.

Looking at a bed full of red envelopes, Li Yi couldn't help but take out his phone to snap a photo, saying, "This is the first time in my life I've received so many red envelopes."

Xie Qizhi lay on his bed, patting his arm. "That's how it is for rich families like ours. Second Brother, you have to get used to it early."

While the two were talking about everything under the sun, Xie Zhilan walked in. He looked at the bed full of red envelopes, then at their money-crazed expressions, and couldn't help but laugh. "Busy counting money?"

Xie Qizhi and Li Yi startled and sat up, putting away the red envelopes and also smiling at him, saying, "Brother/Big Brother, Happy New Year."

"Stop smiling like idiots." Xie Zhilan leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms and saying, "Xie Yudong, come over and meet your tutor."

Xie Qizhi was stunned, his intuition telling him something wasn't right.

Li Yi hadn't reacted yet, his eyes wide as he said, "You even brought someone over during the New Year. Are you even polite?"

Then he jumped off the bed in a flash to fix his hair. "Is it a genius beauty—"

Before he could finish, Ying Huai walked in from the door. Hearing the latter part of the sentence, he paused and turned to ask Xie Zhilan, "Did you tell him I'm a woman?"

Li Yi looked at Ying Huai, then at Xie Zhilan, asking in disbelief, "Big Brother, you lied to me?"

Xie Zhilan shrugged, denying everything. "I didn't say that. You thought it yourself."

Li Yi's face went blank as he asked, "Can I return the goods?"

"Sure, up to you." Xie Zhilan said, "But if you return him, I'm not finding anyone else. If you can't get into any school, prepare to repeat the 12th grade when you're twenty."

Li Yi: "..."

Xie Qizhi sat by watching the fun, almost dying of laughter. He hooked his finger to signal Ying Huai, asking him softly, "Why did you agree?"

"Your brother told me," Ying Huai spoke helplessly, "If I can't teach this kid to get into at least your university, then for the next ten years, don't even think about taking you out for the New Year."

Xie Qizhi asked suspiciously, "And you believed him?"

"He said 'just try it'." Ying Huai had a helpless look, rubbing Xie Qizhi's hair and saying, "I couldn't refuse him and then let you climb over the wall to see me, right?"

Xie Qizhi thought to himself: *My brother really is someone who stops at nothing.*

After a moment, Xie Qizhi reacted and couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean 'at least my university'?"

He turned to question his brother, "You used to praise me, saying I could get into a very impressive school! Why are you looking down on my university!"

Xie Zhilan was stunned by the question, speechless for a few seconds before righteously explaining, "It's not looking down on your university, but I believe in Ying Huai's ability. He can definitely help your second brother surpass the teacher."

Li Yi didn't believe Ying Huai was that impressive. He lightly bumped the other's arm, asking curiously, "What was your college entrance exam score?"

It had been so long that Ying Huai had long forgotten. He told Li Yi the score he most frequently achieved in high school exams, but even so, Li Yi was stunned. "Three times mine?"

Ying Huai was startled, looking at Xie Zhilan in disbelief. Xie Zhilan gave him a slight smile, mouthing that Teacher Ying would have to work hard.

Only then did Xie Qizhi realize Ying Huai had no idea about Li Yi's level. He pulled him out of the room and sat in the living room, asking, "Don't you look at my brother's Moments? He said it would be hard for my second brother to even get into a vocational college."

"Why would I look at his Moments?" Ying Huai said. "I thought you were the intellectual limit of this family. I didn't expect someone even lower—"

Xie Qizhi stepped hard on his foot, asking irritably, "Who are you calling the intellectual limit?"

"Ow, it hurts—I, I meant me." Ying Huai cupped Xie Qizhi's face, playfully looking into his round blue eyes filled with anger, leaning down to kiss the thin eyelid of the other. "Haven't seen you for so long. Did you miss me?"

Xie Qizhi nodded, leaning against his arm. He turned his head and suddenly saw his bedroom door slightly ajar, smiling as he said, "So it's so easy to see me from here."

"Exactly." Ying Huai said, "I just thought that kid didn't rest all day, just staring at me. I wondered if he didn't like me being here."

"No." Xie Qizhi told him, "I was thinking why Brother Ying Huai was unhappy and how to make him happier."

It was late at night, close to 12 o'clock. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, fireworks could be seen blooming in clusters of brilliant light.

Xie Qizhi looked up and asked him, "Are you happier now?"

Ying Huai couldn't help but smile as soon as he saw him, his black eyes hidden in the shadow of his lashes, concealing the sparkling light.

The children downstairs began to count down. Xie Qizhi no longer had the patience to wait for Ying Huai's answer. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window lit by fireworks, he stood on his tiptoes and gave him a hurried kiss.

Ying Huai wrapped one arm around Xie Qizhi's waist and cupped his cheek with the other, affectionately kissing him for a long time. Xie Qizhi couldn't breathe and let out a soft whimper; only then did Ying Huai slightly let go. His thumb lightly brushed over the boy's slightly parted and reddened lips, his deep voice chuckling, "Qiqi, thank you for being in this world. Every day with you by my side, I am very happy."

Xie Qizhi also laughed, his eyes curved with joy, as he replied grandly, "You're welcome."

The New Year was coming, and Li Yi heard the sound of fireworks.

He turned his head, and only Xie Zhilan was beside him. As soon as he saw his face, Li Yi remembered the fear of "repeating the 12th grade at twenty." He especially missed the warm and cute Xie Qizhi, who was like an angel. He stood up to leave the room, intending to find him so they could welcome the New Year together.

After taking two steps, he turned back, his hand on the door, and gently closed it.

Xie Zhilan was sitting by the bed replying to greeting messages. He looked up at him and asked strangely, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Li Yi leaned against the back of the door and said, "My tutor is kissing my younger brother."