Spoiled by a Paranoid Big Shot Since Childhood - Chapter 15

Butler Gu’s daily schedule frequently shifted alongside the routines of the two young masters.

When the young masters had school, he had to rise exceptionally early waking before five in the morning to get everything meticulously prepared for them.

This was because Qin Yian would get up at five-thirty to practice the piano for an hour and a half, wash up, and change into his clothes. Then, at six-thirty, he would head back into the bedroom to wake Xi Bei, carefully and attentively helping him get dressed, brush his teeth, and wash his face.

By roughly seven o’clock, the two young masters would take the chauffeur-driven car to school to begin their day of classes.

When winter or summer breaks rolled around, Butler Gu’s workload became considerably lighter.

The boys’ wake-up times would slide back by an hour or two, and they no longer needed to commute to school. The only structured commitments filling their time were Qin Yian’s equestrian and golf lessons, which took up a bit of time two or three times a week.

Qin Yian and Xi Bei lived in their own harmonious, tranquil little world. Guided by their rhythm, Butler Gu found himself enjoying a much more leisurely pace of life as well.

However.

This particular summer break seemed destined to be different.

Instead of enjoying his usual restful summer break, Butler Gu had stayed awake the entire night. Traces of exhaustion lined his face, yet he maintained his elegant poise as he opened the car door for a newly arrived little guest.

“Young Master Qin Siyu,” Butler Gu spoke warmly, “we have arrived. Please step out of the vehicle, alright?”

With a loud bam, the car door was kicked open so violently it rebounded outward, nearly striking Butler Gu and leaving him holding back a muffled groan. The culprit inside the vehicle remained entirely oblivious, shouting aggressively at the top of his lungs:

“I don’t want to! I’m not getting out!! What do you mean ‘friends’? I don’t have any friends! I don’t know anyone here, and I’m absolutely not going!”

“…Young Master Siyu,” Butler Gu countered diplomatically, “this is the explicit wish of both Mr. Qins. If you insist on refusing, I can certainly call your father for you.”

“…”

The moment those words left the butler’s mouth, Qin Siyu vindictively kicked the car door once more.

He covered his eyes, which were rubbed entirely red from crying, clearly desperate to hide his vulnerability from others. Then, he scrambled out of the car, glaring venomously at Butler Gu. “You’re all in cahoots with them!”

With that angry declaration, he took massive strides, sprinting straight across the garden amidst the startled gasps of the surrounding servants, before pounding furiously thud, thud, thud on the front doors of the Qin manor.

The entire household was thrown into utter chaos. Following closely behind Qin Siyu, Butler Gu couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly.

Qin Siyu was the child of Qin Yuanyuan’s younger brother, which made him Qin Yian’s paternal cousin.

Word had it that his parents were currently locked in a bitter, tumultuous divorce battle. No one knew exactly what Qin Siyu had overheard, but the child had been throwing violent tantrums at home every single day. Eventually, after shouting that he hated his parents, his father gave him a severe beating. Utterly overwhelmed and frantic, his father packed him up and shipped him straight to Qin Yuanyuan’s estate.

The servants all secretly understood that while it was masked as an invitation to “come and play with his older cousin,” it was in reality just a way to dump the brat far away so he would stop running completely lawless at home.

Even though Qin Siyu was Qin Yian’s cousin, Butler Gu had to admit that their temperaments were night and day. It was glaringly obvious which one was a comforting presence and which one was an absolute handful.

After a whirlwind of slamming doors and running around, treating the massive “castle” like a school track, Qin Siyu explored the entire estate before grudgingly spitting out a half-hearted assessment: “I guess it’s okay.”

Butler Gu offered a stiff, polite smile.

Qin Siyu’s eyes darted around, suddenly landing on a room situated right in the center of the third floor with its door tightly sealed. He demanded aggressively, “Whose room is that? Is it my cousin’s?”

The moment Butler Gu uttered a confirming “Yes,” before he could even warn Qin Siyu to lower his voice, the boy forcefully shoved the door wide open!

“Ah! Master Siyu!”

Xi Bei was an incredibly light sleeper. Awakened almost instantly by the tremendous crash of the door, he shifted somewhat anxiously within Qin Yian’s embrace.

“An An…”

Qin Yian kept his eyes closed. After pausing for a couple of seconds to shake off his sleep, he reached out, bundled Xi Bei up, and tucked the boy securely back against his chest. He gently nuzzled the soft crown of Xi Bei’s hair, his voice deep and raspy with sleep. “Mhm.”

The two boys on the bed were huddled closely together. The handsomer, taller boy held the other doll-like boy protectively in his arms; truthfully, it was an incredibly endearing sight.

But for Qin Siyu, witnessing this scene out of nowhere caused his eyes to bulge in sheer disbelief.

There was clearly another perfectly good bed sitting right over there, so why weren’t they sleeping separately?!

Qin Siyu hadn’t had anyone to sleep beside him for a very long time. They were already so old, so why were they still sleeping together?! How utterly childish!

“…”

Qin Siyu spat out furiously, “I hate you guys! Aren’t you two embarrassed? How old are you, still sleeping in the same bed?”

“And you’re supposed to be starting middle school? You act like you’re barely in the first grade! I wouldn’t even deign to play with you guys. Every single one of you is a brainless idiot!”

Butler Gu stepped in to physically restrain Qin Siyu, interjecting frantically, “Master Siyu, you—”

With that much noise echoing through the room, it was impossible for anyone to stay asleep.

Xi Bei opened his eyes in a daze, only to feel Qin Yian gently caressing his cheek, murmuring an instruction for him to go back to sleep.

Qin Yian himself finally loosened his grip around Xi Bei’s waist. He sat up slowly in the bed, his gaze fixing upon the butler with an icy calm.

“Is this the person you mentioned yesterday?”

Having finally managed to hold back the arrogant Qin Siyu, Butler Gu nodded with a degree of difficulty. “Yes, young master.”

“I see,” Qin Yian drawled with flat sarcasm. “If you hadn’t clarified, I would have assumed whatever just burst in here wasn’t a human being, but a dog.”

“…?!”

“And a bruised, battered stray that’s been kicked out of its own home, at that.”

“Ahhhhh!!!”

Seeing that Qin Siyu was about to fly into a violent rage, Butler Gu couldn’t afford to waste time marveling at Qin Yian’s razor-sharp eloquence. He promptly scooped Qin Siyu up by the waist, ignoring the boy’s frantic thrashing as he dragged him out of the bedroom, swiftly snapping the door shut behind them.

Thud—

Xi Bei stared with wide eyes, a few stray tufts of his soft hair sticking up endearingly, making him look simultaneously sweet and bewildered. He tugged gently at the fabric of Qin Yian’s nightshirt, asking in a hushed whisper, “Is… is he…”

Butler Gu had filled them in with a few extra details the previous evening; this boy was Qin Yian’s cousin.

But now, the cousin had been unceremoniously kicked out.

And he had been driven out only after Qin Yian thoroughly insulted him.

This… this didn’t seem entirely proper, did it?

“An An, Uncle Gu mentioned yesterday that his mom and dad are getting a divorce, so he’s probably just in a really bad mood,” Xi Bei reasoned after a moment’s thought, wrapping his arms around Qin Yian as if trying to soothe him. “Let’s not hold it against him.”

“He’s annoying.”

“Mhm, I know…”

Xi Bei let out a tiny yawn and began to scramble up to grab his clothes from the headboard, only to be caught around the waist by Qin Yian, falling splat right back onto the mattress.

“An An,” Xi Bei murmured, figuring that since he was already down, he might as well lounge for a bit longer. He nuzzled into the older boy’s chest, small whimpers escaping him. “Alright, alright, don’t be angry anymore. He is a guest, after all…”

…

Xi Bei spent a considerable amount of time coaxing Qin Yian in bed. Qin Yian was genuinely displeased, deeply reluctant to go downstairs and face a cousin he shared absolutely no bond with.

However, Qin Yian was fundamentally mature and level-headed. When the two finally made their way downstairs with a calm, natural demeanor, they found Qin Siyu sitting there, his eyes rimmed with a furious red. He was forcing himself to look entirely indifferent, deliberately jerking his head away to avoid looking at them.

Xi Bei didn’t take offense. Instead, he walked over, offering Qin Siyu a radiantly bright, incredibly gentle smile:

“Hello! My name is Xi Bei, and you’re Qin Siyu, right? Uncle Gu told me all about you.”

Hearing the voice, Qin Siyu instinctively turned his head, his gaze locking directly with Xi Bei’s eyes.

It was the very first time he had ever seen eyes so dark, bright, and crystalline. They looked exactly like the “black grapes” often described in fairy tales. His long, curled eyelashes made his eyes appear even larger and more beautiful, and a warm smile danced across his plump, rosy cheeks.

Qin Siyu had been fully prepared to offer a compliant “Yeah,” but then his eyes caught sight of Qin Yian standing right behind Xi Bei.

In an instant, his temper flared right back up.

They were in cahoots! Every single one of them was on the exact same side!

Nobody understood him, and everybody hated him!

“…Hmph.”

Qin Siyu whipped his head away, refusing to look at Xi Bei, adopting an incredibly arrogant posture.

Xi Bei was left standing awkwardly on the spot.

However, while Xi Bei didn’t mind the snub, Qin Yian’s eyes darkened instantly. Just as he was about to coldly reprimand his cousin with a sharp ‘even a dog can understand human speech,’ Xi Bei stepped forward with striking intuition, cutting him off before the words could leave his mouth.

The air in the room grew heavy; the atmosphere was thoroughly dreadful.

Even Butler Gu was entirely at a loss as to how to soothe the volatile young boy.

“Tuan Tuan,” Qin Yian muttered, his chest tightening with displeasure. “Come over here with me.”

“But…”

“Tuan Tuan.”

Xi Bei stopped arguing. He obediently followed closely behind Qin Yian out onto the balcony. Sitting perfectly upright on the small sofa, he took the initiative to speak first: “Tuan Tuan was wrong.”

Qin Yian let out a flat, “Mhm. Where did you go wrong?”

“…Tuan Tuan promises never to eat candy again. Because Tangdi (Cousin) sounds exactly like Tang (Candy), and this Tangdi has made An An deeply unhappy.”

Xi Bei smiled, gazing up at Qin Yian with ultimate sincerity and sweet obedience.

“Are you a little pig?” Qin Yian’s brow furrowed slightly as he cast a distant glance back toward his loud, huffing cousin. “He detests us. There is absolutely no reason for us to go looking for trouble.”

Qin Yian knew that Xi Bei was inherently warm-hearted and kind, but he firmly believed that Xi Bei shouldn’t waste his kindness on someone who clearly didn’t appreciate it.

“You are my Tuan Tuan. Nobody is allowed to mistreat you or force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“…I understand. Thank you, An An.”

Xi Bei shook his head with absolute seriousness. “But this isn’t a case of someone mistreating me or forcing me to do something against my will. It’s that I genuinely want to talk to him.”

Qin Yian froze.

He couldn’t quite articulate the suffocating sensation tightening in his chest, but he knew with absolute certainty that he wasn’t happy to hear that answer.

“…Because Uncle Gu told me that his mom and dad are getting a divorce. He must be feeling so incredibly heartbroken,” Xi Bei explained softly. “Even though I don’t really know how to comfort him, I just want to tell him that at the very least… his mom and dad still love him. And…”

“They are both still alive to love him.”

Unlike his own parents, who had departed from this world, falling into an eternal slumber, never to be seen again in this lifetime.

Those words struck like a sudden bolt of thunder, instantly piercing through the armor around Qin Yian’s heart.

The ugly possessiveness and sour jealousy that had consumed him just a moment ago dissolved entirely, melting away into nothingness.

Xi Bei was entirely unlike other children.

Other children who lacked something often wished that everyone else would be deprived of it too.

Yet Xi Bei, despite having lost everything himself, wished with all his heart that others would retain what they had, that others would find happiness, and that everyone around him could live joyfully.