Chapter 20

Qin Heng grew restless at the thought that Chi Ning might be with someone else someday, jealousy surging beyond his control.

Gu Zhu looked as though he had caught him red-handed. He raised his little chin. "Say it. What? You don't even dare say it?"

Remembering how he had just eavesdropped, Qin Heng feared Chi Ning might have been listening too.

Unable to gauge Chi Ning's thoughts and afraid they might not even remain friends in the end, he answered ambiguously, "Who I like has nothing to do with you."

Gu Zhu snorted.

Coward. Just wait and see how I make things difficult for you later!

Qin Heng watched Gu Zhu leave, and a chibi little wolf appeared in his mind.

Its mouth flapped as it chattered, "Even if Chi Ning likes you, he only likes the version you're pretending to be. You've hidden yourself so well that he has no idea how awful your true nature is."

His breathing quickened. What if Chi Ning really fell for the half-disguised Qin Heng? Was he supposed to keep pretending for the rest of his life?

The thought clung to him like a bone-deep parasite, making him restless the instant it surfaced.

Maybe he should reveal a little of himself and let Chi Ning see?

Qin Heng lifted the curtain and entered the billiards hall. He saw a boy in the Gangnan International High School uniform standing before Chi Ning.

He paused, instinctively studying Chi Ning's expression.

Chi Ning looked over the youthful yet sanctimonious face before him, his expression cool. "Shen Minyi, what did you come to see me for?"

He raised a hand to rub his temple. "Given the relationship between our families, it isn't appropriate for us to meet in private, is it?"

Shen Minyi said, "What do the grudges between the adults have to do with us?" He sat down on the sofa beside Chi Ning.

"We both took part in the provincial competition. We should have gone to the national competition together. Why didn't you go? Why did you insist on giving up on yourself like your older brother?"

Chi Ning tugged at the corner of his mouth and looked toward Qin Heng at the entrance.

Following his gaze, Shen Minyi let out a cold laugh. "One takes on the color of one's company. You really have learned all the wrong things from him."

He took a first-place gold medal from his pocket and placed it beside Chi Ning's hand. "This should have been yours."

Qin Heng could barely restrain his thoughts. It would be great if he could hide Chi Ning away. Fuck, one after another, they were all coveting Chi Ning, while Chi Ning remained completely unaware! Shen Minyi was nowhere near the same level of opponent as Gu Zhu.

Chi Ning glanced at the gold medal. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Qin Heng's leather shoes. He looked up and met those deep eyes.

Chi Ning froze for a moment, then instinctively smiled at Qin Heng. "What's wrong?"

His tone was gentle, completely different from how he had spoken to Shen Minyi just now.

The hand Shen Minyi kept hidden at his side clenched into a fist.

Qin Heng smiled and raised a hand, brushing aside the hair hanging before Chi Ning's eyes to reveal those star-bright eyes. His fingers hovered beneath Chi Ning's eye.

Chi Ning felt his cheek lightly brushed by Qin Heng's knuckles.

Chi Ning: ?

Qin Heng took out the gold medal he had not had time to bring out earlier, pulled open its dark green ribbon, and hung it around Chi Ning's neck. "Mine was earned through my own ability."

Chapter 20

Chi Ning held the heavy gold medal in his hands.

The relief on the medal seemed to have been hand-carved, made with 3D hard-gold craftsmanship. Beautiful sheaves of wheat curled around the small blue gemstone at its center, so exquisite it looked fake.

Chi Ning brought it to his lips and lightly bit it with a canine tooth.

It was soft. Real gold.

The national competition medal was not. He had bitten one in his previous life; it had been an alloy.

Holding the gold medal, Chi Ning was a little dazed. "You're really giving this to me?"

Qin Heng said, "Mm."

Chi Ning gave an "oh," his gaze shifting between the medal and Qin Heng.

Although Qin Heng's expression was as steady as an iron plate, that iron plate seemed a little hot.

So hot that he felt like a medium-rare steak, sizzling away.

Shen Minyi cursed under his breath, his breathing growing uneven.

He had liked Chi Ning for over two years. They were rivals who kept pace with each other, always evenly matched in competition.

He lost more often, but that was nothing.

There was no shame in losing to someone he liked. Chi Ning was too smart; it was normal not to be able to beat him.

Until this time, when Chi Ning had not gone to the national competition.

He had spent a long time asking around behind his father's back before learning that Chi Ning had not only skipped the competition, but had also taken ten days off at once. Afterward, he had even stopped attending evening self-study, spending every night at the billiards hall playing pool, giving up on himself just like Chi Yang!

At first, he had not believed what the paparazzi wrote. He had not believed Chi Ning would date some thug who could barely manage schoolwork. But after seeing it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to believe it.

Shen Minyi thought, It would be great if the Chi family went bankrupt.

Once they went bankrupt, he could ask his father to take Chi Ning in. Chi Ning was innocent and guileless anyway; put him in a laboratory, and he would not be able to cause any trouble. The Chi family was already on the verge of collapse. If something really happened, Chi Ning might come begging him with reddened eyes and tears in them, with nowhere else to turn.

How cute.

Shen Minyi sneered. "You would rather have such a dubious gold medal? There are plenty of people selling this kind of thing for money."

Chi Ning frowned. "For money?"

He looked up at the television in the billiards hall, which was still broadcasting the match.

On-screen, the host commentating on the game shouted, "Beautiful! Contestant Qin must have practiced snooker before. After realizing he couldn't clear the table in one shot, he used the force and angle of his stroke to create an obstacle. He used the object ball to block the cue ball's path and completely sealed off his opponent's shooting route. If his opponent wants to take a shot, he will definitely foul! We can see that his opponent seems stunned—he simply can't find an angle to shoot from!"

Chi Ning's expression turned strange. "You really underestimate competitive sports."

Shen Minyi was blank for a moment.

Of course, he was not questioning where the gold medal came from. He was saying that billiards competitions themselves had little value.

Besides, American pool had only risen to prominence in recent years. The Olympic Committee had not even recognized it.

Did Chi Ning not understand?

Shen Minyi glanced at Qin Heng, then withdrew his gaze dismissively.

Forget it. He was just some country bumpkin. The Chi family was about to collapse; there was no need for him to compete with someone so lacking in money and influence.

It was beneath him.

He stood up. "There are still overseas competitions in senior year. Your teachers should come looking for you. Opportunities are rare, so don't miss this one too. Don't treat your future like a joke."

Chi Ning thought, Pah, pah, pah.

Going would not only be treating his future like a joke—it would be treating his whole family like one.

You hypocrite are utterly hateful. Don't stay in my sight for even one more second.

Shen Minyi did not take the gold medal with him when he left, and Chi Ning picked it up for a look.

Qin Heng's heart tightened.

With a turn of his wrist, Chi Ning tossed the gold medal into the trash can with a bang, hard enough to make the bin sway.

Qin Heng broke into a smile, as happy as if he had won a battle.

Xu Jiahao also breathed a sigh of relief. It was not that he had selfish motives; he simply could not raise a son like this in his lifetime. Chi Baichuan treated his son like the apple of his eye, so there was no way Chi Ning could be tricked away.

If he still wanted Chi Ning to call him Dad, he would have to rely on his bargain godson Qin Heng to win him over and bring him home. Then Xu Jiahao could give him a red envelope and openly listen to Chi Ning call him Dad.

If this were Australia Province, he would already have put up a sign at the billiards hall entrance saying the Shen Family and dogs were not allowed in.

Fuck, this was so irritating.

Xu Jiahao wanted to lend a hand and said to Qin Heng, "All right. It wasn't easy to win that gold medal, so I'm giving you the day off. Do whatever you want."

Qin Heng said, "Mm. Thanks, Dad."

After thinking for a moment, he said to Chi Ning, "I bought everything you wanted according to the list. Do you want to go take a look now?"

Chi Ning checked the time. It was not too late.

Shen Minyi's appearance had sounded an alarm for him.

The struggle in the business world would not be resolved simply because Jiang Shijie was gone. A giant like the Shen Family would be difficult to bring down.

He had to hurry and gather the patent data. Once the family's shares were recovered, he could release it openly. As soon as it was public, the Chi family could begin mass production without delay. They would definitely be able to seize the Shen Family's market share by then.

With that in mind, Chi Ning got to his feet. "Let's go. We should look now. There's a lot of stuff, and we probably won't finish setting it up anytime soon."

Most laboratory equipment could not be used just by unpacking it; it needed to be calibrated. Some instruments were so delicate that improper placement could even damage them, so everything had to be handled carefully.

The two took a taxi to the rented villa. The paparazzi had not dug this place up yet, so it was very safe.

Qin Heng turned on the lights and pointed to the variously sized cardboard boxes on the first floor. "Most of it is here. There's more on the second floor. I picked the master bedroom upstairs for myself; everything else is yours."

Chi Ning walked over and saw the steel frame for the lab table standing upright to one side. There was barely any room to set foot in the entire hall.

With so much stuff, who knew how long it would take to set everything up?

He rose onto his toes, carefully avoiding the scattered items as he made his way to the center, then immediately began assembling the lab table.

The steel frame was incredibly heavy. Chi Ning struggled to hold it steady, and when tightening the screws, he could only brace it with his shoulder. Before long, sweat covered his forehead.

Soon, the weight on his shoulder lightened.

Qin Heng held the steel frame steady and said to Chi Ning, who was crouching on the floor, "I'll help." He crouched beside Chi Ning and used a screwdriver to tighten the screws on the other side.

Young men ran hot.

Even though they were not touching, Chi Ning could still feel the heat radiating from him.

He nudged Qin Heng's arm with his elbow. "Go turn on the air conditioner. It's hot."

Chi Ning's face glistened with sweat. He had not yet taken off the gold medal around his neck, and a patch of the dark green ribbon was wet with sweat.

Qin Heng curled his lips. "Should I put the medal away for you?"

Chi Ning paused. "Oh."

He took the thing from around his neck and handed it over, asking casually, "Where are you planning to put it?"

It was pure gold, after all. It had to be stored properly.

"In the study. I left two desks in there, and one of them is yours. Should I put it on the bookshelf?"

Chi Ning said, "Sure."