The real young master thought he was hated by everyone - Chapter 53

They arrived in the town by mid-afternoon the next day, with Xie Sizhi driving.

It wasn’t that there wasn’t someone arranged to pick them up, but rather, Xie Sizhi had argued on the phone that if he didn’t even have the freedom to drive himself, this trip to Northern Europe would be pointless, threatening to fly back home immediately. Only then did Mrs. Xie abandon her original plan.

Since the moment they landed, her messages had been coming in non-stop, expressing practical concerns. One moment, she was asking if he was adjusting to the time difference, then worrying if he would like the local food, or even advising him to wear fewer layers due to the climate.

Li Heng sat in the back seat, replying to her messages one by one amidst the jazz music playing at full volume and the passing scenery of forests and mountains outside the window, his eyelids growing heavier. He didn’t even realize when he drifted off to sleep.

He slumped against Xie Duzhi, his phone falling from his hand midway through a reply.

Xie Duzhi instinctively sat up straight but soon realized that this might make Li Heng uncomfortable, so he let his shoulder relax back down, assuming a more natural posture.

Careful not to disturb him, he reached for the phone to finish replying to the messages, then leaned forward to tap Xie Sizhi on the shoulder, signaling for him to turn down the music.

Xie Sizhi glanced back in confusion.

He still had his sunglasses on, and the song he had been humming abruptly stopped, almost causing him to brake in the middle of the highway.

“…When did he fall asleep?” he asked, immediately lowering the music, rolling up the windows, and even slowing down the car as he lowered his voice.

“Just now,” Xie Duzhi replied.

Only then did Xie Sizhi relax, turning back to focus on the road.

After a while, he looked back again and murmured, “Make sure to let me know when he wakes up.”

Driving without any music playing was sheer torture for him.

Xie Duzhi gave a silent nod, briefly tempted to adjust himself to provide a more comfortable position for Li Heng but decided against it.

Sleep was a delicate state, and he didn’t want to risk waking him with a sudden movement.

Even though Li Heng had been glued to the airplane window the previous night and hadn’t rested well, making it likely that he was deeply asleep, he wasn’t willing to gamble on the possibility.

To Li Heng, sleep was either fully on or fully off; Xie Duzhi wasn’t about to test probabilities or guesses on him, instead opting to remain in his current position, moving as little as possible.

The drive was long, but when the car finally pulled up outside the northern town, Xie Sizhi couldn’t wait to jump out. As he opened the door, Xie Duzhi had a strange feeling.

His shoulder, where Li Heng had been resting, was slightly numb from holding the same position for so long, protesting with a dull ache.

But mentally, he felt satisfied, even wishing the drive had lasted a bit longer.

“…Did I fall asleep?” Li Heng asked groggily when he was gently shaken awake. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You were sleeping so soundly. Why would we wake you?” Xie Sizhi replied casually.

Of course, he swallowed the frustration of having driven for hours with no music, only to jump at the first chance to boast, “So, how was my driving? Pretty smooth, huh? Barely a bump?”

Li Heng, rubbing his face and nodding sleepily, agreed, “Second Brother is amazing.”

A faint red mark was imprinted on the left side of his face, and the corners of his eyes were still glistening slightly from drowsiness, making him look like he hadn’t fully woken up.

Xie Duzhi swallowed his harsh critique of Xie Sizhi’s driving skills, choosing to remain silent.

Li Heng actually wasn’t sure how smooth Xie Sizhi’s driving really was. The last time he rode in his car was after his high school graduation exams, but that day the roads were packed, making it hard to judge.

But he preferred to believe that it was, in fact, Xie Sizhi’s skill that had kept him asleep for so long, rather than admitting he’d slept like a pig.

The sun was already starting to lean westward.

“Are you hungry?” Xie Duzhi asked him.

“No,” Li Heng shook his head instinctively, then turned the question back, “Are you tired, Third Brother?”

He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he did remember falling asleep on something—probably on Xie Duzhi’s shoulder for quite some time.

“You’re not heavy,” Xie Duzhi replied, avoiding the question.

But it was true that Xie Sizhi was famished—the thrill of driving fast on an empty road had been great, but it had also been exhausting.

“I wonder if Grandma’s made beef stew with red wine.”

Unable to resist, he rubbed his stomach and beckoned to Li Heng. “Come on, little guy, let’s go get some food.”

Li Heng swallowed back his thought that “Grandma probably won’t be in the mood to entertain us,” and followed him toward the town. After a few steps, he doubled back and pulled Xie Duzhi along with them.

“Are you sure you’re not tired, Third Brother?” he tried to glean any hint from his expression but, to his disappointment, found none.

Xie Duzhi’s expression was the same as it had been when he’d brushed off Li Heng’s weight earlier.

“Then are you hungry?” he rephrased the question.

When they got to their grandparents’ house, he could head into the kitchen and make something simple, like noodles or fried rice, to give them a little snack if need be.

“Not really,” Xie Duzhi replied, a hint of a smile in his eyes, “Second Brother’s probably hungrier.”

That was the truth.

“So, you are hungry,” Li Heng answered confidently.

After a moment, he added, “I didn’t ask you because I already knew you were hungry, Second Brother.”

It sounded a bit like he was trying to cover up the obvious.

Walking ahead, Xie Sizhi gave a little laugh and affected a tone of wounded melancholy, “You don’t need to explain, little guy. Second Brother understands.”

In a matter of seconds, he’d already spun up a new story in his head. “I know I wasn’t born into the right family and shouldn’t get between you two, but no matter what, this relationship started with me—”

“With you and what?” 

A dignified voice sounded from up ahead.

“Of course, it was me who arrived here first…” Xie Sizhi answered reflexively.

He took a closer look at the figure standing in front of him and froze. His mind raced through the last few things he’d just said. “Oh, Grandpa—I mean, good afternoon, sir! I was just thinking that now that we’re here, we could stop by the flower shop on the street and pick up a bouquet for Grandma.”

The young man quickly covered himself, but a hint of awkwardness lingered.

“After all, I’ve been here quite a few times, so I’m fairly familiar with the area.”

Strictly speaking, there wasn’t anyone in the family Xie Sizhi was afraid of—not even when he got caught fighting with other students in middle school and was disciplined by his father with a paddle and belt had he truly felt fear.

Except in front of his grandfather.

He figured it was probably because those summer visits, spent doing calligraphy in the study under his grandfather’s watchful eye, had left such a lasting impression that he couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous now.

After he greeted him, Li Heng finally recognized the man standing not far ahead.

The man looked different from how he’d appeared in video calls; he was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, with sunglasses obscuring part of his face. Given his tall frame, Li Heng had initially assumed he was a local.

Following Xie Sizhi, he called out “Grandpa,” then immediately realized a fairly serious problem.

Just yesterday—no, the night before—the elderly man in front of him was supposedly gravely ill.

Can someone really recover that quickly?

He was a bit bewildered.

The elderly man was already satisfiedly sizing him up and down, saying a quick “Not bad,” before shifting his attention to Xie Duzhi.

He lingered a bit longer, seemingly checking for something.

“You must be Du? It’s been many years since we last met.” After a moment, he spoke up.

Xie Duzhi nodded and greeted him politely, giving a brief explanation.

“There’s an investment I need to discuss nearby, so I thought I’d come along to visit you.”

For him, this was already a warm greeting, and the elderly man, understanding his personality from his parents’ comments, simply gestured for them to follow him without saying much.

He had come specifically to pick them up.

“Your grandma heard you were coming, so she made beef stew and roasted a whole lamb leg.”

“I knew there’d be beef stew!” Xie Sizhi’s expression lit up again.

After all, what had brought him back to stay with his grandparents each summer was his grandmother’s cooking.

“Your younger brother doesn’t have any food restrictions, right?” he asked, glancing over at Xie Sizhi.

“Nope, but he does like vegetables,” Xie Sizhi answered promptly. “Especially carrots.”

“We don’t have carrots on the farm, but we do have potatoes. For dinner, we’re having baked potatoes with bacon.”

Li Heng noticed that he specifically turned to address him, “There are carrots at the market if you want to go out with your grandma later.”

“And what about Du? What do you like to eat?” The elderly man addressed his younger brother, but his question was clearly aimed at both of them, knowing that Xie Duzhi was younger than the twins.

“Thank you, I have no preferences and eat just about anything,” Xie Duzhi replied with polite gratitude. “The other party sent several messages, eager to discuss the investment, so I might not be able to stay long.”

“How long exactly?” His grandfather asked.

The question didn’t come as a surprise to Xie Duzhi.

Keeping his expression neutral, he answered, giving himself a reasonable excuse to stay in town for a few days.

Only upon hearing this did Li Heng realize—or rather, remember—that Xie Duzhi wasn’t here simply to accompany or visit them, as he and Xie Sizhi were.