TVDC 2: Going Home

Qiu Xuning didn’t dare look at him. He lowered his gaze, and a single glistening tear slipped down, which he quickly wiped away with his hand.

Zhou Mingmei and Qiu Zhao­zhao saw Qiu Xuning shrink back in fright, nearly stumbling, and their hearts tightened. They hurriedly stepped in front of him to shield him. Zhou Mingmei snapped at He Zhiyuan, “Get out of here! Don’t hang around in front of Ningning. If he doesn’t get into No. 1 High School, I’ll throw you out to sleep on the streets! Living in my house, eating and drinking for free, and you even hit people. Who would want a jinx like you around? Move it!”

He Zhiyuan’s face showed little expression, but his eyes stayed fixed on Qiu Xuning. Sensing his gaze, Qiu Xuning shrank further behind Qiu Zhao­zhao, blocking him from view. He was clearly half a head taller than Qiu Zhao­zhao, yet he still curled up to hide, showing only the edge of his cap.

Whether he found his cowardice amusing, or just wanted to flaunt the air of a victor, He Zhiyuan let out a soft, mocking laugh. Carrying the two trash bags, he strolled past them at an unhurried pace toward where the garbage bins were kept.

Qiu Zhao­zhao patted his shoulder and coaxed in a low voice, “Let’s just ignore him. Dad already told him to sleep in the storage room on the third floor, and even starved him for two days without giving him any food, all to vent your anger. If you’re still not satisfied, we can talk to Dad again and make sure he never gets dinner in the future.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t say anything. He glanced back at He Zhiyuan, and whether by coincidence or not, He Zhiyuan looked back as well. Even though their eyes didn’t meet this time, Qiu Xuning was still startled enough to quickly turn away. Like a timid bride, he clung tightly to Qiu Zhao­zhao’s arm and leaned his head against him, as if that could draw out a bit of safety.

When they got home and stepped through the door, Qiu Xuning immediately caught a heavy smell of smoke.

“Shuohai! How did you mess up the house again? Look at yourself, what a sight! Get up right now!” Zhou Mingmei’s temper flared. Like a lioness, her eyes bulged, her cheeks flushed red, and even her hair seemed to bristle.

Qiu Shuohai scrambled up from the sofa. He stubbed out his cigarette and gave a fawning smile. “I just lit up—only one, I swear. Definitely didn’t smoke more.”

Zhou Mingmei didn’t care to hear it. She raised the broad, calloused palms that looked as wide as fan leaves from years of hard work and smacked him twice on the head. “Open the windows and air this place out! What kind of sin did I commit to give birth to something like you? If I’d raised livestock, I could at least slaughter it for meat. What are you good for? You can’t do a single thing, and still you create trouble for me. Get this place cleaned up! Or when your father gets home, you’d better watch out!”

Qiu Shuohai yelped a few times in pain, but it didn’t earn him an ounce of sympathy from Zhou Mingmei. Muttering something under his breath, he hopped away in a few quick steps to open the window.

Zhou Mingmei’s expression immediately softened as she turned to Qiu Xuning. “Ningning, what do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”

Qiu Xuning shook his head, he didn’t have much of an appetite.

“Really not eating? I can make your favorite—cola chicken wings. Want some?” Zhou Mingmei asked.

Before Qiu Xuning could answer, Qiu Shuohai shamelessly leaned over and said, “Mom, I want some.”

Zhou Mingmei shot him a glare, her face full of disapproval.

Qiu Xuning glanced at Qiu Shuohai and quietly said, “I want it.”

Hearing that, Zhou Mingmei’s face lit up with a smile. “Alright, alright, I’ll make it right now.”

With that, she headed into the kitchen, and Qiu Zhao­zhao, being unusually considerate, went along to help.

That left only Qiu Xuning and Qiu Shuohai in the living room.

Qiu Shuohai scooted up close in a show of affection, slung an arm around Qiu Xuning’s shoulder, and grinned. “How’s your injury? Still hurt?”

Qiu Xuning shifted uncomfortably, slipping out from under his arm. In a low voice, he said, “Don’t get so close to me.”

Qiu Shuohai froze for a moment, then chuckled. Lifting his arm, he sniffed at himself. “What? Smelled smoke on me?”

Qiu Xuning shook his head, then gave a slight nod.

Qiu Shuohai didn’t put his arm around him again, but leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “When you were over at that He guy’s place, did you see anything valuable?”

Qiu Xuning looked at him and stayed silent for a long while.

The reason “Qiu Xuning” ended up getting his head bashed in this time was because he had listened to Qiu Shuohai’s instigation and done something thievish, sneaking into He Zhiyuan’s room to look for the so-called “valuable goods” Qiu Shuohai had mentioned. He had just found a watch that looked quite expensive when He Zhiyuan came back. He Zhiyuan told him to return the watch, but “Qiu Xuning” refused and started cursing at him… and then… and then He Zhiyuan beat him up.

Images flashed through Qiu Xuning’s mind. He Zhiyuan’s fierce glare, his violent movements, the way he grabbed “Qiu Xuning” by the head and slammed it against the door threshold, as if he really meant to beat him to death.

Qiu Xuning was certain that if He Zhiyuan had truly wanted to, “Qiu Xuning” wouldn’t have survived.

Maybe the reason he had crossed over was because “Qiu Xuning” had actually been beaten to death by He Zhiyuan.

The moment that thought struck him, goosebumps broke out all over his skin.

Qiu Shuohai was starting to sound impatient. “Hurry up and tell me, his family used to be loaded. They go bankrupt just like that, and you’re telling me they didn’t keep a single valuable thing? No way.”

Qiu Xuning snapped back to his senses and was just about to speak when a creak sounded behind him. He turned his head and it was He Zhiyuan, back again.

Quick on the uptake, Qiu Shuohai put on an act and switched the topic. “I’ve been worried sick about you and couldn’t eat or sleep these past few days. Thank goodness you’re back. Let me see your injury.”

As he spoke, he reached out to take off Qiu Xuning’s cap. Caught off guard, Qiu Xuning let him pull it off. “…Hahahaha, damn, that wound is ugly as hell, ugly like hell itself! Hahaha!”

Qiu Xuning tried to snatch his cap back, but Qiu Shuohai was taller with longer arms, holding it high out of reach. “What’re you wearing a hat for? Let me take a good look—hahaha! Don’t move, let me touch it.”

Saying that, Qiu Shuohai tossed the cap aside with one hand, clamped Qiu Xuning’s cheeks with the other, and reached to touch the stitched wound on his head.

Qiu Xuning winced from the rough handling, the pain making his nose sting and his eyes instantly redden.

“What the hell? You’re crying? Damn, damn, damn—seriously? I just touched you and you start crying?” Qiu Shuohai sounded genuinely baffled, his voice rising in disbelief.

Hearing the commotion, Qiu Zhao­zhao came out of the kitchen. Seeing Qiu Shuohai still gripping Qiu Xuning’s cheeks, she let out a sharp scream. “Ge! What are you doing, bullying Ningning?”

Her scream brought Zhou Mingmei rushing out as well. The moment she saw the scene, her temper flared. Those broad, fan-like hands of hers came swinging and smacked Qiu Shuohai flat. “Who told you to bully your brother? Get over here!” She grabbed him and landed several more blows.

Qiu Shuohai cried out in surrender, “Mom, take it easy! If you beat me to death, when you two are old there’ll be no one left to carry the funeral basin for you!”

Zhou Mingmei gave a cold laugh. “If you had even half your brother’s brains, I’d be grinning in my coffin. Y ou think you’ll be the one to carry the funeral basin for me?”

Qiu Shuohai’s eyes were watering from the twist she had on the flesh of his arm. “Mom—lighter, lighter, please…”

While the two of them bickered, Qiu Zhao­zhao hurried over to Qiu Xuning’s side and handed him a tissue. “Don’t cry. Why are you so quick to cry these days? Here, wipe your tears.”

Qiu Xuning took the tissue and dabbed at his eyes. His tear ducts had always been sensitive. At the slightest trouble, the tears would come, completely beyond his control. Even now, in a body that wasn’t originally his, he was still the same, always prone to crying. He knew this habit annoyed people. Ms. Qiu Yanru, for one, had despised it, always scolding him whenever he cried and saying she should have been better off having a daughter instead. That thought made him feel even worse, but no matter how much he wished otherwise, it wasn’t something he could change just by deciding not to.

While Zhou Mingmei was still scolding Qiu Shuohai, Qiu Xuning followed his memory back to his bedroom.

The Qiu family’s house wasn’t very big, with only a few rooms, with three floors and six rooms in total. Only Qiu Xuning and Qiu Shuohai had their own rooms, while the two daughters, Qiu Zhao­zhao and Qiu Haiyan, shared one.

When Qiu Xuning opened his bedroom door, the first thing he saw was a poster of a pretty female celebrity on the wall. The floor was littered with crumpled tissues and snack wrappers, and the bed was just as messy, piled with textbooks and extracurricular reading. The sight made Qiu Xuning frown the whole time.

He exhaled, resigned, and began to clean.

His case of cleanliness was rather serious, thanks to Ms. Qiu Yanru, who also had a strong sense of hygiene and had forced him to develop the habit of keeping things spotless. Anything dirty or out of place made him uncomfortable.

After tidying for quite a while, he finally got the moderately sized bedroom clean. Then he pulled off all the sheets and blankets, now covered with the bacteria and dust from the textbooks and extracurricular books, and took them downstairs to put in the washing machine.

Seeing this, Zhou Mingmei looked a bit surprised. “What’s this about? Why are you suddenly washing the bedding?”

Qiu Xuning glanced at her, then lowered his head and murmured, “It’s dirty. I’m washing it.”

Zhou Mingmei gave an “oh” of acknowledgement. “Yeah, it’s about time. It hasn’t been washed in a month.”

After a pause, she added, “Dinner’s almost ready. Go wash your hands, we’re about to eat.”

Qiu Xuning gave a soft “mm” in reply. He glanced at Zhou Mingmei, his eyes still a little dazed. He still hadn’t come to think of this place as home, nor of the Qiu family as his own family, so everything about being here felt uncomfortable.

He still clung to an unrealistic hope—like maybe if he went to sleep, he would wake up back in his own warm bed.

Zhou Mingmei had cooked a whole table of dishes. There’s braised chicken wings, shredded pork stir-fried with chili, braised fish, tofu pan-fried with scallions, eggs stir-fried with garlic shoots, and a plate of baby bok choy.

“You can only eat the chicken wings. You need to avoid spicy food, and no fish, meat, or eggs,” Zhou Mingmei said.

Qiu Xuning nodded, glanced around the table, his eyes shifting uneasily, and asked in a low voice, “Is He Zhiyuan not coming to eat?”

Qiu Zhao­zhao had just picked up a chicken wing for herself, but at the sight of Zhou Mingmei’s look, she changed direction and put it into Qiu Xuning’s bowl instead. Hearing his question, she said bluntly, “He can eat if there’s any leftovers after we’re done. He hurted you, if your head had been damaged and you couldn’t get into No. 1 High School, beating him to death still wouldn’t make up for it.”

Hearing that, Zhou Mingmei’s face darkened. “That wretch needs to be knocked down a peg. Does he really think he’s still some pampered young master? That our whole family is here to serve him? He’s only been here a few days and already dares to hit people, give it a few months and he’ll be shitting on my head! Who gave him that kind of nerve? If we hadn’t taken him in, he would be sleeping on the streets, and he still dares to raise his hand?”

When Qiu Xuning had gotten his head split open, Zhou Mingmei had wanted to tear into He Zhiyuan right then and there but she had held back because she had caught sight of his eyes. Fierce, intimidating, fearless, mocking. His gaze carried such aggression and threat that she froze on the spot and didn’t dare make a move.

It was just as well she hadn’t. That wretch had a hard temper and if she had gone at him head-on, he would have fought back. Better to starve him for a few meals and make him understand the truth that under another’s roof, you have to bow your head and then maybe he would be more obedient in the future.