SWNOVELXO Chapter 69 - II
Xie Qi and Qin Yizhi went to the old house by car.
Xie Qi got sleepy in the car and fell asleep in the seat.
Qin Yizhi turned his head to look at him, reached out to pull Xie Qi closer so that he could lean against him while he slept. With his other hand, he gently stroked Xie Qi’s hair, making sure it wouldn’t get dishevelled due to his sleeping position.
He looked down again, and from his angle, he could clearly see Xie Qi’s long and thick eyelashes resting on his white skin like the neat shadow of a crow’s feather. Qin Yizhi’s gaze shifted slightly, and he noticed Xie Qi’s slightly open lips. He frowned slightly, then lowered his hand and gently closed Xie Qi’s lips.
Xie Qi did not react and continued to rely on him, so Qin Yizhi withdrew his hand, and Xie Qi’s full red lips remained almost closed.
As Qin Yizhi watched, the corners of his lips curved up slightly, forming a shallow, vague smile.
When Xie Qi woke up from his nap, the car had already arrived in front of the Qin family’s old mansion. He rubbed his eyes in confusion and asked Qin Yizhi, “Are we there yet?”
Qin Yizhi replied, “Uh-huh.”
He handed Xie Qi a bottle of water. Xie Qi took it, unscrewed the cap, and drank a few mouthfuls. Noticing that they had parked in a spot somewhat inside the premises, with cars already filling the outside area, he realized they had arrived early. After finishing the water, he asked, “When did we arrive? Why didn’t you wake me?”
Qin Yizhi said, “You didn’t wake up.”
“…” Xie Qi replied, “Hey, you’re too kind. Let’s go.”
Qin Yizhi took him into the mansion. Xie Qi, surprised, lowered his voice and said to Qin Yizhi, “It’s actually a courtyard.”
Qin Yizhi responded in a low voice, “The old generation believed that courtyards had good feng shui.”
Xie Qi froze and asked, “What do you mean? Why is the feng shui of the courtyard better?”
Qin Yizhi explained quietly, “The courtyard has the eight trigrams; the trigrams are complete, which is believed to be favourable for children and grandchildren and good for future generations.”
Xie Qi: “…”
This seemed too superstitious to him. As a materialist, he did not believe in such things.
Qin Yizhi added, “It’s just superstition.”
Xie Qi nodded in sympathy.
At that moment, a voice came from behind them, “Brother Yizhi! Long-time no see.”
Xie Qi looked back to see a woman dressed elegantly, accompanied by what seemed to be her husband, who was dressed in a suit and appeared to be a talented man. They were not holding hands, as they had also brought a young boy with them.
The boy’s age was hard to determine because he was quite tall, looking about 1.4 meters, but his limbs were very slender, and his body had little meat on it.
The woman smiled and brought her husband and child to Qin Yizhi. “This must be the sister-in-law, right?” She scanned Xie Qi up and down a few times. Although she had a smile on her face, there was no warmth in her eyes, and a hint of cold sarcasm was evident.
Qin Yizhi did not look at her but instead looked down at the boy and extended his hand. “Jiajia, do you remember your uncle?”
The boy immediately smiled, a bit shyly, and reached out to shake Qin Yizhi’s hand. “I remember my uncle.”
Qin Yizhi smiled slightly. “Did you study well?”
The boy replied, “Yes.”
The woman said in surprise, “Jiajia hasn’t seen his uncle for two years, but he still remembers him, doesn’t he?”
The boy not only shook Qin Yizhi’s hand but also went over to him and hugged him. Qin Yizhi picked him up and let him sit on his arm.
The boy’s face was flushed, and he shyly hugged Qin Yizhi’s neck.
The woman became slightly anxious. “Jiajia, get down. You’re too big to be carried by your uncle!”
Qin Yizhi looked at her. The woman wanted to say something more, but his gaze made her freeze and remain silent.
Qin Yizhi said to the boy, “Jiajia, should I put you down?”
The boy replied, “Yes, thank you, uncle.”
Qin Yizhi put the boy down, and his voice returned to its cold tone. “Let’s go. We need to see grandpa.”
He then pulled Xie Qi and continued walking forward.
The woman called out to Qin Yizhi from behind, “Brother Yizhi! Hey, there’s no rush. Let’s chat for a few minutes.”
Qin Yizhi ignored her. Xie Qi lowered his voice and asked, “Is your relationship with her not good?”
Qin Yizhi replied in a light tone, “Generally.”
Xie Qi, recalling the boy’s intimacy with Qin Yizhi, asked, “Do you like children?”
Qin Yizhi answered, “Generally.”
Xie Qi: “…”
Xie Qi said nothing more.
.
The courtyard was large and deep, with long corridors and a big pond where many fat-headed, fat-belly koi were kept. Xie Qi looked at them and said to Qin Yizhi, “Your koi are so big they look like they could eat people.”
Qin Yizhi replied, “Maybe they have.”
When he said this, Xie Qi immediately fell silent.
Qin Yizhi glanced at him, sighed silently, and said to Xie Qi, “It’s a lawful society now, there won’t be such things.”
Xie Qi immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Qin Yizhi: “A lot of lotus seedpods, big and full, your family does not pick it?”
Qin Yizhi: “Uh-huh.”
Xie Qi asked, “Do you want to stay overnight? If you do, we’ll pick the lotus seed, and the seeds inside can be dried and made into tea.”
Qin Yizhi: “…”
‘Are they here on vacation?’
Before Qin Yizhi could say anything, another person came to disturb them, “Yo, Brother Yizhi, I thought you wouldn’t come today.”
Xie Qi looked over and saw that it was Qin Lingyun.
Qin Lingyun came before them and was already waiting in the lobby. When he saw Qin Yizhi, a smile appeared on his face and he said softly, “You didn’t come to your father’s death anniversary a few days ago, I thought you wouldn’t come to grandpa’s birthday either.”