The Potted Plant

"I've never beaten him. Don't use my name to scare him."

"Too late," Ying Huai bent down, retrieving a bottle of Coke from the vending machine. With a *clack*, he popped the cap, took a sip, and said unhurriedly, "He already ran away. Before leaving, he even said he was gifting the suitcase to me. The kid didn't want it anymore, and even told me to beat it back to where I came from. What do you say, should I send this suitcase to your house?"

"Are you really that unwilling?"

"What do you think?" Ying Huai repeated the words Xie Zhilan had said at the beginning. "Your younger brother is already grown up, both obedient and quiet. At home, he's just like a little potted plant, he won't cause you any trouble. Whether he's trouble or not is hard to say, but your 'potted plant' just kicked the rear of my car three times."

"He really kicked it? What a naughty brat... Then I'll apologize to you on Qiqi's behalf. Sorry, alright? Can Brother Ying calm down now?"

Ying Huai fell silent for half a second, then said, "Cut that tone out."

"What's wrong? I'm apologizing sincerely, yet you're still annoyed." The other party seemed to be in a public place, his voice quite low when he spoke, carrying a hint of ambiguous banter. Only when mentioning Xie Qizhi did his tone carry the maturity of an older brother. "Do you and Qiqi not get along?"

Ying Huai took another sip of Coke, not answering.

Only the faint sound of static remained on the phone. The other party waited for a moment, understanding Ying Huai's meaning: "Alright, I get it. How about this, you said you have things to do next month. Coincidentally, Jianshan is about to return. I'll have Qiqi stay at her place."

"Lin Jianshan?"

"Yeah, Qiqi knows her too. It might be a bit inconvenient since she's a girl, but if she lives opposite him, she can knock on his door to check on him morning and night. Either way, it's better than leaving him alone."

Ying Huai gave a distracted "mhm," asking casually, "Are you and Lin Jianshan still in touch?"

He clearly heard a soft chuckle from the other end of the line, sounding slightly distorted. It was the same suggestive laugh as in the old days. Xie Zhilan always used this trick to coax others; only those who truly knew him knew there wasn't a shred of sincerity in it.

He said, "Yes, I'm still in touch with everyone. Ying Huai, you're the only one who cut off contact with me."

Here we go again.

Right during the back-to-school season, the ceaseless chirping of cicadas was incredibly noisy. Under the lecture hall, long queues formed as male students with arms slung over each other's shoulders ran out from every corner.

Avoiding the crowds, Ying Huai was walking past a large floor-to-ceiling window when someone bumped into him from behind, causing Coke to spill onto the back of his hand.

"Senior, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Ying Huai looked up to see the person clasping their hands together, gesturing an apology from afar before hurriedly leaving.

Only now did Ying Huai snap out of it. Tolerating the sticky sensation on the back of his right hand, he raised his head to see where he had walked.

Before him was a tall, greyish-white building. He took a few steps back to read the words on the wall, his tall figure fitting right on the boundary between light and shadow.

In his earpiece, the other party teased him again. Ying Huai squeezed the can tightly, losing his patience as he interrupted, "Xie Zhilan, stop being so sentimental."

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Jianshan liked you for over a decade, yet in the end, she didn't even send you a wedding invitation. I don't expect you to still remember old feelings either." Xie Zhilan said, "I'll only trouble you for this month. Consider it an favor I owe you. Qiqi just arrived in Songcheng; he's not used to the food, the climate, or the environment. I'm afraid he'll feel unwell but throw a tantrum and refuse to say anything, and keeping it to himself will easily lead to trouble."

"What is he throwing a tantrum about?" Ying Huai thought for a moment, then asked, "Because another brother of his is coming back?"

"I only said there's a possibility. There were some clues a while ago, but because it's not certain yet, I didn't dare tell Mom. I don't know where the kid heard this news from..."

Ying Huai had a limit to his patience regarding other people's family matters. After hearing two sentences, he began to drift off. Through the clear glass window of the library, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar mint-green shirt.

He didn't know when Xie Qizhi had gone inside. His backpack was tossed onto the sofa by the window, while he sat with his head lowered, looking at his phone. With his elbow propped on his knee, his cuff button unfastened, his sleeve slid down to reveal a section of wrist so pale it was jarring.

Actually, Xie Zhilan wasn't wrong. When he wasn't throwing a tantrum, he was like a quiet potted plant, very pleasing to the eye.

Obviously, Ying Huai wasn't the only one who thought so. A few girls gathered around to strike up a conversation with him. Seemingly misunderstanding that he wanted to go inside to read, they proactively offered to lend him their student IDs.

Xie Qizhi looked up, smiled at them, and shook his head, his mouth forming the words, "Thank you, but no need."

Since childhood, he had possessed an angelic face like someone stepping out of a comic book, with large, round eyes as clear as jade. Every time he put on an obedient or friendly act, he succeeded. Growing up, this trick became even more polished. With just a few blinks, he made a group of female students overjoyed, standing there clutching their books to chat with him, reluctant to leave.

Ying Huai calmly withdrew his gaze, asking Xie Zhilan, "Why is he angry?"

"Probably unhappy about being kept in the dark. He didn't tell me, maybe fearing I'd think he's bad and unreasonable. I know Qiqi actually has no ill intent, and it's not that he doesn't want Dongdong to return. It's just... he's scared. Scared that we won't want him anymore."

Ying Huai listened in silence, unable to comprehend Xie Zhilan's dilemma as an older brother. In the end, he only asked one question: "So now you know how to put yourself in someone else's shoes?"

Xie Zhilan, serious for less than two minutes, chuckled again—the exact same soft laugh as when he asked about Lin Jianshan earlier. Just like his peach blossom eyes that were accustomed to flirting, every time he approached with a curved smile, it definitely meant nothing good.

Ying Huai frowned, his intuition telling him that whatever he was about to say wouldn't be pleasant either.

Before he could say it, someone on the other end called out "Young President Xie," inviting him into the meeting room.

The smile in Xie Zhilan's voice faded, instantly turning calm: "I got it."

Ying Huai unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

As if he had a camera installed on him, Xie Zhilan let out a "tsk" and asked, "Do you view me as some kind of fierce beast?"

Ying Huai replied frankly, "You're worse than a fierce beast."

"How sad, Brother Ying is so heartless."

Ying Huai didn't want to continue the conversation. Finding a nearby trash can, he tossed the can away.

In the past, Xie Zhilan had always been like this. Despite being the same age, he never blushed when acting spoiled or clingy, calling him "brother." Every time he crossed the line and made others unhappy, he would speak up first, accusing Ying Huai of being an unfeeling robot, which made him very sad.

Ying Huai didn't think he was a robot. In the past, he hadn't wanted to refute Xie Zhilan, and now he was too lazy to even bother.

An hour had passed. The fierce beast's younger brother was sitting upright on the sofa in the library. After smilingly seeing the girls off, he returned to his original expressionless face, looking down at the time on his phone, then locking it with no intention of standing up.

Ying Huai looked at him, telling Xie Zhilan, "I'm only taking care of him for a month."

"Thank you." Xie Zhilan paused as he walked out, asking, "Qiqi should be back by now, right?"

"In your eyes, is he really that obedient?"

"Of course." Xie Zhilan laughed. "You don't understand him. He's very good, you don't need to worry too much about him. Otherwise, how would I dare trouble you?"

Ying Huai hung up.

Inside the library, Xie Qizhi took out a magazine and sat by the window to flip through it. The sunlight streamed in from behind. From Ying Huai's perspective, he could only see a small patch of snow-white skin on his cheek and his pointed chin.

Ying Huai messaged him: [Where are you?]

Xie Qizhi quickly replied: [It's very crowded, I'm still waiting in line.]

[How much longer?]

[I don't know.]

Xie Qizhi propped his chin on one hand, in a playful mood:
[Is Brother Ying still waiting for me?]

[Just asking casually.]

[That's good then. If you have things to do, you don't need to mind me, I'm fine.]

[I'm sorry for throwing a tantrum at you earlier. My brother already scolded me. I will reflect on myself and won't do it again in the future.]

[When Brother Ying is free, could you come pick me up again?]