Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“I’m just stating the facts,” Hui Jiang suddenly realized something. “Oh! Shi Zeqing just sat on my bed for a moment. No way, are you seriously picking a fight with me over that?”

“Hah, I’m picking a fight with you?” Hao Tu suddenly stood up.

The movement made Hui Jiang, who was sitting in the chair, swallow nervously.

“What?”

Was he trying to start a fight?

This was still his house. Hao Tu couldn't be that arrogant, right?

Hao Tu narrowed his eyes.

“Why are you so afraid of me? Am I going to eat you or something? In front of him, you're all smiles and jokes. But whenever you're with me, you're so scared you barely dare to speak.”

Hui Jiang's head hurt.

“No, I...” He stopped halfway, afraid of saying the wrong thing and making Hao Tu angry. “Fine, fine, you're right. But Shi Zeqing is my childhood friend. He doesn't count as an outsider.”

“...”

Hao Tu stared at him.

The look made the hair on Hui Jiang's back stand up.

After several seconds, Hao Tu finally looked away and walked past Hui Jiang out of the room.

No way.

Why did it feel like Hao Tu was angry?

Hui Jiang frowned.

Could it be because his attitude had been too harsh?

Forget it!

Even a clay figurine has three points of temper.

Hao Tu was always making things difficult for him.

He was practically insane.

The more Hui Jiang thought about it, the angrier he became, and he couldn't be bothered to care about that guy anymore.

“Hui Jiang, time to eat. Your classmate is already out there. Don't you know how to host a guest?” Right then, Mother Hui entered the room to call her son for dinner.

“...Got it.”

Still holding in his frustration, Hui Jiang got up and walked out.

The moment he entered the living room, he saw Hao Tu.

Mother Hui had deliberately arranged Hao Tu's seat beside him.

Hui Jiang walked over, looked twice, then patted his younger brother's head.

“You sit over there.”

“Huh? Why?”

Hui Heng looked confused.

He glanced at Hao Tu beside him and immediately felt a chill.

“No thanks. Isn't it better for you to sit with your classmate?”

“If you bring a guest home, you should entertain him yourself,” Father Hui said to his eldest son. “You're already this old and still only know how to bully your little brother.”

“Dad, when did I bully him?”

Seeing there was no way around it, Hui Jiang sat beside Hao Tu.

Before long, however, he noticed that Hao Tu was chatting very naturally with his parents.

He didn't even need Hui Jiang to act as a middleman.

A large reason Hui Jiang had chosen civil engineering was because of his father's influence.

As a result, his father and Hao Tu had plenty of common topics.

After secretly listening for a while, Hui Jiang noticed that the way his father looked at Hao Tu had changed.

It was now the look reserved for outstanding students and good kids.

“Not many college students are as eager to learn as Xiao Tu these days,” Father Hui said with a smile so wide that wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes. “Hui Jiang!”

“Huh?”

Hui Jiang had been happily gnawing on a pork rib and was forced to look up.

“What is it?”

Father Hui glared at him.

“You should learn more from Xiao Tu in the future. Go wash a wine glass for him.”

Then he turned to Hao Tu.

“Try some of our family's red wine. Young people should like it.”

Hui Jiang didn't want to go.

“Dad...”

“What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and wash the glass. Remember to wash two.”

Great.

His father wasn't even planning to let him drink any.

Hui Jiang resentfully put down the pork rib in his hand and shot Hao Tu a glare from across the table.

Only to find that the guy was smiling like a perfect gentleman.

In the face of overwhelming good looks, everything became unfair.

At this moment, Hui Jiang deeply understood that fact.

Because Hao Tu was handsome, he had been surrounded by admirers since enrollment.

Now his destructive power in front of Hui Jiang's mother was no less impressive.

After washing the glasses and returning, Hui Jiang despairingly discovered that even his own younger brother had fallen under Hao Tu's spell.

“Brother Hao Tu, you've actually been to the Arctic?!” Hui Heng's voice carried a trace of amazement.

“Yes. Around my second year of high school. I photographed the aurora and even stayed in an Inuit house.”

“Wow, that's so cool!”

Hey!

Why had he never used that tone of admiration with his own brother?

Hui Jiang was devastated.

“If there's a chance, I'll take you there next time.”

Shut up.

Hao Tu, that shameless guy, was actually trying to deceive his innocent little brother.

“Really?!”

Hui Heng was delighted.

He felt that this big brother in front of him was a really good person.

As for the chill he had sensed earlier, that must have been his imagination.

“Hui Heng, traveling to the Arctic is really expensive,” Hui Jiang said, slamming the wine glass onto the table with a smack. “You're still a kid. Where would you get the money for a trip like that?”

“Hui Jiang, are you trying to smash our wine glasses?” Mother Hui disdainfully shooed her eldest son back to his seat.

Hui Jiang opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Pitifully, he sat back down.

He had always thought Hao Tu lacked emotional intelligence and spoke without thinking.

And yet...

He had somehow charmed his entire family.

Hui Jiang poked at the rice in his bowl.

Was it because Hao Tu didn't care about him that he always treated him so badly?

Tsk.

But that didn't make sense either.

His parents weren't important figures.

Why was Hao Tu being so attentive?

If someone had told Hui Jiang before, he would never have imagined Hao Tu acting attentive and accommodating.

Yet now he was seeing it with his own eyes.

“Xiao Tu, our house is too small and we don't have a spare guest room. How about tonight I have the brothers sleep together and give Hui Heng's room to you?”

Mother Hui liked Hao Tu more and more, so she casually made the suggestion at the dinner table.

“This...”

Hao Tu hesitated.

He had imagined many things.

From the moment he stepped through the door, he had assumed he would be sleeping with Hui Jiang tonight.

Now they wanted to give him a room of his own.

It was obviously a good thing.

Yet he didn't want to accept it.

“I support that.”

Hui Jiang was more than willing.

At this point, he didn't want to be around Hao Tu at all, much less share a bed with him.

“Mom,” Hui Heng objected. “I don't want to sleep with Brother. He always kicks me.”

“Hui Jiang, Hui Heng, what are you saying?” Mother Hui shot her eldest son a glance before turning back to Hao Tu. “Xiao Tu, don't mind Hui Jiang. Let those brothers figure it out themselves.”

Hao Tu kept a smile on his face, but under the table his hand clenched into a fist.

He hadn't expected Hui Jiang to agree.

Had the other person become angry with him?

“Auntie, there's no need,” Hao Tu said. “The main reason I came back with Hui Jiang this time is for the design competition, so we might end up working very late. I'm worried it would affect Hui Heng's sleep.”

“I see.”

Mother Hui hesitated.

“Mom, Hao Tu has a point,” Hui Jiang immediately changed tactics when he saw the first plan wouldn't work. “Anyway, Hui Heng doesn't want to sleep with me. I'll just sleep on the couch tonight and give my bed to Hao Tu.”

The motion of Hao Tu picking up food paused.

The smile on his face nearly failed.

He hated this feeling of losing control.

He forcibly suppressed the bitterness, but his heart was still being thrown into chaos by that person.

Mother Hui rolled her eyes at him.

“What nonsense are you talking about, kid?”

Hui Jiang immediately began arguing with his mother.

Soon, the only voices at the table belonged to the mother and son.

Beside them, Hao Tu slowly lowered his head.

Not a single person noticed that something was wrong with him.

He was confused.

How could this be?

Didn't Hui Jiang like him?

Why wasn't he taking advantage of such a good opportunity?

Wasn't bringing him home all about getting close to him and spending the night together?

Hao Tu put down his chopsticks.

“Uncle, Auntie, I'm full.”

After saying that, he stood up and headed toward Hui Jiang's room.

“Huh? Already?” Mother Hui looked at the spotless bowl and somehow felt that something wasn't right. “Hui Jiang, stop eating and go check on him. I feel like Xiao Tu isn't very happy.”

“He's never happy,” Hui Jiang rolled his eyes.

Immediately afterward, he received a sharp knock on the head.

“Ow, Mom!”

“Go. Now.”

Got it.

Hui Jiang sighed and reluctantly shuffled toward the room in his slippers.

Just as he was about to open the door and enter, the system suddenly came back from the dead and appeared.

【Good evening, Host!】

‘What do you want?’ Hui River paused, feeling that whenever this thing appeared, nothing good ever followed.

【Tonight is a great opportunity to earn Gentleman Points.】

Hui River's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous feeling rose inside him. ‘What do you want me to do this time?’

【You're still 3 Gentleman Points short, so tonight you should sleep together with Hao Path! That way you can take the opportunity to earn Gentleman Points.】

‘No.’

【Why? Is the Host shy? But you've already slept in a hotel together before. Sleeping together a few more times doesn't matter.】

‘Hey, the way you're saying that sounds really misleading. It's not that I don't want to. It's that I already said I'd sleep on the sofa. If I go back on my word now, wouldn't I just be slapping myself in the face?’ Besides, that guy's temper was terrible. Today he seemed even more abnormal, constantly picking fights with him.

【So the Host is worried about that... For the sake of Gentleman Points, what's wrong with being shameless? This concerns your life, after all.】

It sounded like persuasion, but it was actually a threat. Hui River stayed silent.

【A boy like Hao Path is destined to be proud. But haven't you noticed? He actually cares about you a lot.】

‘Huh? You're my system. Why are you always speaking for him? And how does he care about me?’

【If not, then why would he invite you to participate in the competition and even come home with you...】

‘That's because I'm easy to bully. Other people wouldn't keep tolerating him again and again. I'm just easier to talk to than everyone else.’

【Then why is he trying so hard to perform well in front of your parents? He even worked hard to please your younger brother.】

Please?

A word that seemed completely unrelated to Hao Path.

Yes, that person had been outstanding since birth, and therefore destined to be proud.

Hui River gripped the doorknob tightly. The system knew his resolve had already begun to waver.

【The choice is in your hands.】

The moment those words ended, the system disappeared.

Hui River took a deep breath, slowly turned the doorknob, and pushed open the door.

The first thing he saw was Hao Path's back.

Good-looking people were different from ordinary people even from behind.

After entering, Hui River closed the door behind him. When he turned around again, he saw Hao Path packing his backpack.

Hui River panicked.

“Y-You're carrying your bag for what? It's already past eight at night. If you want to go out, wait until tomorrow—”

The icy gaze instantly froze the rest of his words.

How long had it been since he had seen eyes like that?

Hui River suddenly remembered the past few days.

Hao Path patiently explaining things.

Hao Path buying meals for him.

Hao Path dragging him to exercise.

...

Although it had only been a few short days, there had been many moments when Hao Path had treated him very well.

Wrapping sincerity in sharp words?

Expressing concern by pretending not to care?

No way...

Hui River felt confused as he looked up into those eyes.

Absolute coldness, without the slightest warmth.

Yet something seemed to be hidden beneath it...

Don't look at him with eyes like that.