Chapter split into two pages.
Chapter 3
After dinner, Lin Xi as usual threw his bowl down and disappeared immediately. He was especially quick today; earlier this morning, he had gotten his family to pack up his things and move all his stuff over. Among all that was his game console.
Eager to spoil his long-neglected "beauty", he threw down his chopsticks before rushing into his room. After twenty minutes when he came out, barefoot, to get water, his eyes landed on the table. No one had cleaned up the chopsticks or dishes.
From inside the study, the door slightly ajar, came the sound of Duan Shen on the phone.
Cup in hand, Lin Xi stared at the table. For whatever reason he remembered something that had happened when he was a teenager. During high school when he had just gotten a girlfriend, he had skipped cla.s.s and left early more than any other kid in the cla.s.s.
His homeroom teacher kept calling his brother with more complaints, and his brother lectured him again and again. All of it went into one ear and out the other.
One day, even Lin Xi himself got tired of the whole thing and slept on his desk in the back row from the first cla.s.s of the morning to the last in the afternoon. His homeroom teacher called his brother to report the good news.
A month after that, when Lin Xi trotted up to the ATM to check his balance, he saw that his spendings had gone up by a thousand.
Two minutes later, Duan Shen, who was sitting in the office and talking business on the phone, heard the clear ring of broken china.
Not bothering with an explanation, he hung up and strode towards the kitchen with a frown. Lin Xi was near the sink, bent over with a blank expression. He looked up. Near his feet a white plate had shattered into pieces.
"Don"t move!" Duan Shen commanded, his face serious.
Lin Xi was already jittery from having caused trouble, so the scolding tone only frightened him more. He stared at the floor for a while before he managed to mutter in a quiet voice, "I wasn"t moving…"
Duan Shen said nothing, his frown deepening as his eyes fell on the younger man"s bare feet.
Seeming to come back to himself, Lin Xi curled his toes and stood up, pointing at the plate on the floor, "This is one of a set, right? How much is it? I"ll buy you another set."
Lips pressed together, Duan Shen didn"t speak, although his face seemed flushed with anger.
Unconsciously, Lin Xi"s fingers began to pick at the counter"s side as he carefully spoke up again, "Was it…really expensive? More than my allowance each month–?"
Duan Shen interrupted him, his expression dark and his voice cold, "How many times have I told you? Wear your shoes at home. Why aren"t you wearing them?"
Lin Xi stuttered, unsure what to say, "I…I forgot…"
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