After having lunch, Lu Ge sunbathed on the deck for the entire afternoon, returning to his room only when the cruise ship was about to dock, just before six o'clock.
He didn't bring many personal belongings, just a few pieces of clothing. The rest were provided by the cruise ship.
As he was preparing to leave the room, his gaze suddenly caught sight of a white object reflecting the sunlight near the window in the suite's hall.
He walked over to pick it up; it was a hard rectangular piece of paper, about the size of a palm, with a few lines of short text written on it.
Lu Ge squinted at it for a moment.
His company also supported a large number of artists, so he could easily tell that the hard white paper with writing on it was a celebrity's autograph.
How did it end up in his room?
Lu Ge pondered for a moment.
In recent days, only two people had entered his room: the sickly one and the staff member who changed his bedding.
As far as he remembered, the staff member only entered his bedroom and hadn’t approached the window.
So it must be the sickly one?
Oh, that’s right.
Lu Ge recalled that he had grabbed the other person's coat that night and shoved him in front of the window to “wake him up.”
That was probably when it fell out of that person's coat pocket.
Lu Ge scoffed, casually tossing the autograph onto the table before turning to leave the room with his belongings.
He wasn’t kind enough to make a trip just for an autograph.
—
The cruise ship arrived in the evening.
Not far from the dock, shiny luxury cars were parked everywhere, freshly polished.
Tang, the assistant, stood at the side of the dock near the cruise ship’s gangway, easily spotting the most eye-catching boss among the many handsome men and beautiful women disembarking—there were not many who could wear a colorful sleeveless T-shirt without looking out of place.
“Mr. Lu.” He strode over, professionally taking the light luggage from Lu Ge’s hand. “The car is parked in front.”
Tang stopped in front of a black luxury car and opened the rear door.
As Lu Ge slowly approached, a voice called out, “Mr. Lu!” from a distance, halting his movements.
Turning back, he saw a young male staff member in uniform quickly descending the gangway towards him.
“Mr. Lu, you dropped something.” He raised his hand, wearing white cotton gloves, holding a piece of the same colored hard paper, with neatly written black letters on it.
Lu Ge’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Is this the autograph you wanted for your friend?” the staff member said. He looked quite young, and his professional smile was very much in place.
It was clear he took his job seriously, returning even the smallest items left by guests. One could tell he was an exemplary employee every year.
Without waiting for Lu Ge to respond, the diligent Tang took the autograph from the staff member's hand and returned a professional smile that mirrored the staff member's—he too was an exemplary employee every year.
As the staff member smiled and bowed before turning to leave, Tang handed the autograph to Lu Ge: “Mr. Lu.”
“Throw it away,” Lu Ge said, not even glancing at it, and stepped into the car, promptly closing the door.
A few seconds later, the car window slowly lowered, and Lu Ge looked at Tang, instructing, “Throw it away.”
Tang was taken aback. He glanced around but didn’t see a trash can.
Littering showed a lack of public morals!
“There’s no trash can, Mr. Lu,” he replied, steeling himself.
After waiting for a few seconds without receiving a response, Tang reluctantly placed the paper in the storage box in the front seat.
After Tang got into the driver's seat and closed the door, he started the engine and asked the person in the back, “Mr. Lu, are you planning to return to the Lu family tonight?”
The person sitting in the back seemed not to have heard his question.
Although Lu Ge was strict with outsiders, he usually treated his subordinates fairly normally.
Tang couldn’t help but look curiously at the rearview mirror.
In the mirror, the man was tilting his head, gazing out at the gangway.
At the top of the gangway, a tall man was supporting a slender young man as they slowly descended the steps.
The young man, oblivious, leaned his weight on the man beside him, his brow softening, clearly relying entirely on him.
Seeing this scene, Lu Ge found it somewhat amusing.
He still remembered the sickly one's attitude when asking him for help. He had clearly been tough as nails, yet here he was, soft as silk in front of Qin Yan.
He watched with amusement for a while.
Love, oh love, just because of love, a stubborn person’s nature could be easily bent and twisted into unimaginable shapes, like a piece of soft iron wire.
It was incomprehensible.
【Affection value increased by 100 (50x2), contributor: Lu Ge.】 The abrupt notification of the affection value gained caught Ji Mian's attention.
Blinking slowly, he became aware of the persistent affection value from that person. It always seemed to come at the most inexplicable times...
He looked around, searching for the source until he spotted Lu Ge in a black car not far from the bottom of the gangway.
Qin Yan, who had been watching Ji Mian’s condition, noticed Ji Mian's gaze and followed it, casually glancing.
What was supposed to be just a casual glance unexpectedly led him to see Lu Ge in the car in the distance.
Qin Yan's expression changed drastically.
He looked at Xu Zhixia beside him and commanded, “Zhixia, hold onto your brother.”
Then he let go of Ji Mian’s hand and strode down the gangway.
Ji Mian was suddenly stuffed into Xu Zhixia's arms, who supported Ji Mian's arm with his own, surprisingly strong.
Ji Mian hadn’t eaten much in the last couple of days, and a high fever had drained him of energy. His legs trembled slightly as he descended the stairs.
Thinking for a moment, he relaxed his body and leaned against Xu Zhixia.
The young man, who had been leaning against him, stiffened momentarily, seemingly not expecting Ji Mian to lean so close.
“... Am I too heavy?” Ji Mian felt the tension in Xu Zhixia’s arm and assumed it was because he was pressing too hard against him.
Xu Zhixia hurriedly suppressed the strange emotion rising in his eyes, putting on a demeanor of a well-behaved younger brother again, shaking his head, “No,Ge you’re very light. You should eat more; you always stop after just two or three bites...”
If Xu Chiqiu had heard this, he would probably feel nauseated and curse Xu Zhixia for being hypocritical in his heart.
However, Ji Mian was quite receptive to the brotherly act. Although Xu Zhixia was likely pretending, hearing such sweet words from such a wonderful young man was still quite pleasing.
He smiled, mimicking Xu Chiqiu’s usual gentle but perfunctory tone, replying, “Alright.”
—
“Stop the car!”
Just before Lu Ge's car was about to take off, Qin Yan called out just in time. He rushed up to the back of the car, halting beside Lu Ge’s door, and coldly said, “I have something to ask Mr. Lu.”
The assistant Tang, seated in the driver’s seat, observed Lu Ge's expression through the rearview mirror, hesitating whether to step on the gas.
Lu Ge lifted his eyelids slightly but replied briefly, “It seems that President Qin is eager to reminisce with me.”
“But it’s getting late,” he pretended to check his watch, “and my family is waiting for me to have dinner. I can’t accompany you.”
Hearing this, Tang was about to hit the gas, but Qin Yan suddenly grabbed the edge of Lu Ge’s car window.
“Did you drug Chiqiu?”
Tang suddenly choked on his spit in shock, covering his mouth and coughing several times.
Drug? What kind of drug?
Lu Ge finally bothered to lift his eyes, but his response remained terse: “No.”
“But Chiqiu said it was you who took him to see the doctor.” Qin Yan sneered, “You’re so kind-hearted that you would help an outsider for no reason?”
Lu Ge nodded, “I’m kind-hearted and love to help others.”
Qin Yan: “……” Pff!
Tang: “……”
Qin Yan's tone softened a bit, and although he suspected that Lu Ge’s answer was false, he considered that such a despicable method of drugging someone was indeed too low. Even if Lu Ge was morally questionable, it wouldn’t be easy to pin such a hat on him.
His tone became slightly more diplomatic: “So where did you run into Chiqiu?”
Lu Ge raised an eyebrow and answered straightforwardly: “In my bed.” His tone was sincere.
Qin Yan: “!!”
Tang: “??”
Taking advantage of Qin Yan's moment of shock, Lu Ge quickly patted the back of the front seat: “Drive, Tang Bai.”
Tang quickly recovered, not daring to waste any time, and stepped on the gas—if they didn’t leave now, Qin Yan might go after them with a knife!
The car sped away, leaving behind a cloud of unpleasant exhaust.
Seeing the man in the back seat with an indifferent expression, Tang sighed in his heart.
When will his boss’s habit of telling tall tales change?
Sigh, working is really hard.
—
The three-day trip ended, and Ji Mian stayed in the hospital for a few days.
"You have inflammation in your lungs," the doctor said, frowning as he looked at the examination report after finishing the physical check-up.
"Yes, I've caught a bit of a cold and had a fever. Cough, cough!" Ji Mian replied but couldn't suppress a cough that rose in his throat.
The doctor's expression remained serious. "You need to be very careful with your health. Even a mild cold can develop into something more serious. After a severe illness, the lingering effects can be quite troublesome."
Ji Mian wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he coughed again.
"It’s best for you to stay in the hospital for a while until the lung inflammation has completely cleared up before going back."
The Xu family has a private doctor, and usually, when Ji Mian is feeling better, he would return to live at the Xu family home.
However, the medical facilities at home are not as comprehensive as those in the hospital.
Now that Ji Mian has just recovered from a high fever, he decided it was safer to stay in the hospital for a week of observation.
A week later, feeling that his body was mostly fine, he left the hospital and returned to the Xu family.
Xu Chi Qiu's health was poor, and Xu Zhi Xia was still young, so the family's affairs were currently managed by Xu Mu Yi Lan and Xu Fu Xu Yu Jiang.
Both were strong in their careers and lived in a house near the company during the week, while Xu Zhi Xia was still studying and lived at school.
The only remaining family members in the Xu household were Ji Mian and a pet white cat.
If it weren't for this white cat's company, Ji Mian would really feel that staying at home was no different from staying in a hospital ward.
“Xu Duo Duo, come here to see the latest chapter and the complete chapters.” Ji Mian stood at the bottom of the stairs in the villa, using a cat toy to entice the chubby little cat pacing upstairs.
A cold mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind: “Are you planning to poison it?”
The system's remark was startling, and Ji Mian froze for a moment: “What?”
“This cat is a stray raised by Xu Zhi Xia and Qin Yan. I thought you were going to poison it to maintain Xu Chi Qiu's strong jealousy persona.”
“......”
“Xu Chi Qiu doesn’t like this cat at all,” the system reminded him.
Ji Mian paused for a moment, gripping the cat toy.
But Xu Duo Duo had already seen the familiar packaging and was bouncing down the stairs on its short legs.
Its snow-white front paws were tugging at Ji Mian's pant legs, reminding him of the cat figurine he had carved in his previous life.
Ji Mian tore open the package and quietly thought, “Then I’ll just play with it when no one is around... is that okay?”
The system didn’t say anything further.
If that was not even allowed, it would be a bit inhumane.
“Cough cough...” Ji Mian’s hand holding the cat toy trembled slightly because of his coughing.
Fortunately, Xu Duo Duo wasn’t scared and continued to follow the direction of his finger, nibbling on the toy.
“Why are you still coughing?” the system asked.
Ji Mian remembered that when he first came to this world, he was just weak, but he hardly coughed like this before.
He shook his head and said, “...It’s probably just the aftereffects of the fever from last time; I should be fine after a while.”
“...I hope so.”
On Friday night, the other three members of the Xu family finally returned from their respective busy schedules.
Ji Mian was in his room on the second floor, already preparing to sleep when he heard the sound of the door opening downstairs followed by laughter. He forced himself to get out of bed and went downstairs in a long cotton pajamas.
In the living room on the first floor, Xu Fu, Xu Mu, and Xu Zhi Xia had coincidentally returned together. The three of them were sitting on the sofa chatting and laughing, while Xu Duo Duo was napping on Xu Zhi Xia's lap.
The three people and one cat looked like a perfect family.
Ji Mian stood at the stairway and watched for a few seconds before walking over.
The air conditioning was on in the living room, and the three people on the sofa were all wearing cool summer clothes. Only Ji Mian, in his thick long pajamas, seemed somewhat out of place, as if he had just come from autumn.
Xu Zhi Xia was the first to see him. “Ge.”
“Chi Qiu, you’re still awake,” Yi Lan said, a smile still on her face as she looked at Ji Mian.
Ji Mian glanced at the boy sitting between Xu Yu Jiang and Yi Lan, suppressing the displeasure in his heart: “Mm, I can’t sleep.”
Yi Lan waved for him to sit over.
However, when Ji Mian got closer, he just stood by the side. “I won’t sit; I lay down all day, so I want to stand for a while. What are you all talking about?”
“We’re thinking about how to celebrate your brother’s birthday in a few days.”
The names of Zhi Xia and Chi Qiu correspond to their birth seasons, one in summer and the other in late autumn.
Ji Mian calculated the time; Xu Zhi Xia’s birthday was in four days.
For Xu Chi Qiu’s twentieth birthday, the Xu parents had also specially invited some people. Although considering Xu Chi Qiu's health, the birthday party wouldn’t be large, it still greatly satisfied Xu Chi Qiu's vanity of wanting attention since it was a party just for him.
Xu Duo Duo, lying on Xu Zhi Xia's lap, lazily opened its eyes, noticing the person who had been feeding it cat treats and tasty freeze-dried food these past few days. It slowly got down from Xu Chi Qiu and padded over to Ji Mian.
“Meow.”
“Twenty is an important birthday; it should be celebrated well.” Ji Mian ignored it and continued from Yi Lan’s words.
“Meow~” Xu Duo Duo clung to his pant leg, hoping that this new scooper would give it another cat treat.
“It seems that Duo Duo has gotten really close to Chi Qiu this time,” Xu Yu Jiang said in surprise.
He remembered that not long ago, when Xu Chi Qiu returned home, Xu Duo Duo would run away as soon as it saw him, not daring to act up at all.
Xu Zhi Xia looked at the cat that was being cute and rolling at Ji Mian's feet, surprised as well.
Ji Mian was unmoved by Xu Duo Duo's cute attacks, his brow furrowing slightly as some annoyance leaked from his expression. He only coldly watched this self-indulgent “licking cat,” as if he was completely unfamiliar with it.
Knowing that his eldest son disliked cats, Xu Yu Jiang finally picked up the persistent little chubby cat from Ji Mian's side.
—
The day before Xu Zhi Xia's birthday happened to be a weekend, and it was rare for the whole family to be together. With both sons having reached the age of independence, Yi Lan specifically invited a photographer to come to their home for a family photo to keep as a memory.
“Do you have any previous photos for reference?” the short-haired female photographer set up the camera and asked.
The Xu family usually didn’t like taking pictures. Each person was busy with their own life, and even Xu Chi Qiu spent his days rushing to and from the hospital.
Yi Lan thought carefully and replied uncertainly, “I think we took a family photo many years ago?”
So the four of them spread out again to search their rooms for old photos.
Ji Mian searched around Xu Chi Qiu's room but couldn’t find a single photo of the entire Xu family together.
“Not even one left…” he sighed softly.
During the years in middle school, Xu Chi Qiu's inner turmoil was at its worst, and every photo that included Xu Zhi Xia had been cut into pieces and thrown in the trash.
The few photos left in the bedroom were all from when Xu Chi Qiu was very young, before Xu Zhi Xia was born, showing only Yi Lan, Xu Yu Jiang, and him.
Ji Mian once again lamented Xu Chi Qiu's extreme possessiveness.
As he stood hesitating at the bedroom door, he felt a bit embarrassed to go down empty-handed.
At that moment, he caught sight of Xu Zhi Xia’s half-open bedroom door. After thinking for a moment, he walked over and knocked.
“Come in.”
Ji Mian pushed the door open and entered.
When he came in, Xu Zhi Xia had his back to him, squatting in front of the cabinet under the desk, flipping through a thin album.
Although the album was thin, for a family like the Xu's, who rarely took photos, collecting so many was already quite rare.
Xu Zhi Xia pulled out a few photos, closed the album, and put it back in the cabinet.
He stood up with the photos and turned around, clearly stunned.
His pupils slightly dilated, as if he was surprised by the person who entered his room.
Ji Mian couldn't help but feel puzzled. What’s wrong with him?
It’s probably because the original host rarely enters the protagonist's room.
That’s true… Even so, Ji Mian didn’t expect Xu Zhi Xia’s reaction to be so strong.
“Ge,” Xu Zhi Xia finally regained his senses, “Why are you here?”
Ji Mian smiled gently. “You look surprised?”
“...I thought it was Mom and Dad.”
“Did you find any photos?”
“Mm, I found a few. What about you?”
“I... didn’t find any. They might be accidentally put away in some corner.”
Xu Zhi Xia bit his lip, glanced at him, and said nothing.
At that moment, something on the cabinet beside the bed caught Ji Mian's attention.
“Can I take a look?”
Xu Zhi Xia hesitated for a moment but nodded.
Ji Mian picked up the frame from the cabinet.
To his surprise, the framed photo wasn’t a family portrait. There were only two people in the photo: Xu Chi Qiu and Xu Zhi Xia.
In the photo, Xu Chi Qiu was about eight or nine years old, while Xu Zhi Xia was only four, standing at Xu Chi Qiu's waist.
Xu Chi Qiu was half-squatting, his right hand around his brother's shoulder.
Young Xu Zhi Xia had a bright smile, while Xu Chi Qiu’s smile was much fainter. But overall, it was a warm photo.
At this time, the little Zhixia was still a simple little bundle who only followed Xu Chi Qiu around and constantly shouted, "I love my Ge the most!"
Ji Mian looked at the photo for a few seconds before silently putting it down.
Having absorbed Xu Chi Qiu's memories, he understood that the original had already begun to resent Xu Zhixia back then.
He couldn't help but think, if Xu Chi Qiu had been healthy and if the Xu family parents had been a bit more perceptive, giving equal love to both brothers after the younger one was born, perhaps the original wouldn't have developed into the paranoid and extreme character he later became.
No, that shouldn't be the case. Ji Mian sighed inwardly, dismissing his earlier thought.
Given Xu Chi Qiu's overly sensitive nature, even if their parents had loved both children equally, or even favored Xu Chi Qiu more, he would likely still develop paranoid thoughts over trivial details.
Ultimately, Xu Chi Qiu's health and his naturally sensitive and suspicious personality were the root causes of the subsequent tragedies. The other factors merely accelerated the tragic process.
"Let's go downstairs," he said.
When the two descended, Yi Lan and Xu Yujiang were already waiting for them below.
The photographer carefully reviewed the previous photos, finalizing the shooting method and style.
Five minutes later, several family portraits were ready.
The photographer was indeed skilled; despite the modern background and clothing, the photos exuded a vibe reminiscent of those from over a decade ago. Yi Lan gazed at the photos, feeling quite moved.
“Do we need to take any more?” the photographer asked.
Yi Lan pondered for a moment before saying, “Let’s take another one of Chi Qiu and Zhixia.”
Thus, the two stood in front of the camera once more.
Years had passed, and "Xu Chi Qiu" and Xu Zhixia were standing together again for a photo. Their heights were nearly the same, with the younger one even slightly taller than his brother.
When it was time for the official shot, Ji Mian hesitated for a moment but ultimately placed his hand on Xu Zhixia's shoulder, gently wrapping his arm around him.
Just like over a decade ago.
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