The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

Things happened too suddenly.

Even now, Li Heng still couldn’t figure out how Xie Duzhi managed to fall down the stairs just when he reached out his hand, without even touching the lace-trimmed cuff of his white shirt.

Xie Duzhi, the young master of the Xie family with milk-white skin, was even half a head taller than him—slender, upright, and proportioned, with arms like his, which only made him seem like a bamboo pole—an especially dry and withered one at that.

But he did reach out his hand to him.

There were witnesses at the scene.

The more guilty Xie Duzhi felt, the more he tried to defend Li Heng, which only made Li Heng seem even more ill-mannered and crude.

In the end, the story was twisted into him pushing Xie Duzhi down the stairs out of jealousy, enraged that Xie had replaced him.

At that time, Li Heng didn’t know that he had been adopted to accompany Mrs. Xie, who had once fallen into a deep depression.

He thought Xie Duzhi was his biological relative. How could he, being eager to grow close, have intentionally pushed him during their first meeting?

However, with his premonition dreams warning him, as long as he kept his distance from him, avoiding him as much as possible, he should be able to escape such a fate, right?

Perhaps, being a little more ambitious, he hoped that this time he wouldn’t be so disliked.

Even if he couldn’t make Mrs. Xie proud, at least he could let her feel less embarrassed when her friends talked about their children.

The young man took a deep breath, full of caution, and carefully got out of the car.

The Xie family villa was right in front of him.

The garage was at the back of the villa, so there was no need to go through the front door. The butler, with graying hair and a warm smile on his face, had apparently been waiting for some time.

He looked like the kind of elderly man you often see in parks—always cheerful, a bit chatty, and even when angry, still exuding a stubborn cuteness.

The butler was kind to every member of the Xie family.

He would remind Mrs. Xie to drink a glass of warm milk before bed, prepare coffee for Mr. Xie when he stayed up late, leave a snack for the eldest young master, and water the flowers for the second young master when he went out sketching.

He would also spray different perfumes in the music room, based on the season and weather, before Xie Duzhi played the piano.

Except for Li Heng.

In Li Heng’s memory, the butler always had a stern face and sharp, scrutinizing eyes when looking at him.

He wouldn’t prepare snacks that suited his taste, nor would he make tea for him, open doors, or wait for him to return home.

Most of the time, he was simply ignored, as if he were air.

After all, the butler had watched Xie Duzhi grow up and loved him like a grandson.

And Li Heng, during their first meeting, had supposedly pushed Xie Duzhi down the stairs, nearly ruining his ability to play piano.

The young man felt an inexplicable sadness and pouted quietly.

He tried hard to force a smile that didn’t seem too strained as he greeted the butler.

The butler seemed to be in a good mood.

Smiling, he warmly urged him to quickly go inside and rest.

“You must be hungry after such a long ride.”

“Just call me Uncle Fu, young master. I’ll get you some snacks.”

The butler’s name was Su Fu, but he preferred to introduce himself as Alfred—yes, like Alfred from Batman.

“Thirsty? Would you prefer tea or juice? Growing boys should drink more milk.”

The young man opened his mouth, about to politely refuse, but his stomach embarrassingly growled several times.

Because of his dream, he woke up late, nearly noon, and hadn’t had time to buy groceries or cook before being brought here in a daze.

Blushing, the boy nodded and said, “Thank you,” under the butler’s teasing gaze.

He wasn’t very tall, slightly shorter than the spry old man, thin and small, with a sharp chin and barely any flesh on his face.

Su Fu had taken care of Mrs. Xie for almost half his life, from her first steps and words to her marriage, maturing into a woman admired by others as either a successful career woman or a virtuous wife. Occasionally, he would recall what she was like in her youth—stubborn, strong-willed, with bright black eyes.

The boy’s features resembled his mother’s, especially his eyes, though they were more innocent, with an unmistakable hint of timidity and confusion, like a fog had settled over them.

Who knows how much suffering he endured outside.

Now that he was back, he needed to be taken care of properly.

“Do you prefer chocolate or strawberry?”

A plate of butter cookies, still warm, was placed in front of Li Heng.

Hesitating, the young man chose strawberry.

“The lady liked strawberries too.” The butler’s eyes crinkled into crescent moons as he smiled, his wrinkles deepening. “I’ll go get the cake.”

Before Li Heng could even speak, the butler had disappeared around the corner.

Li Feng pursed his lips, reaching for one of the still-warm cookies, and inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

Maybe sweets do help people relax. He didn’t feel as tense anymore.

Perhaps the butler didn’t dislike him after all.

From now on, if he was careful and avoided interacting with Xie Duzhi, he wouldn’t be kicked out like in the dream, right?

He silently encouraged himself and couldn’t resist reaching for another cookie.

——“Uncle Fu?”

A sudden voice interrupted his movement, startling him so much that he nearly jumped off the sofa, his hand freezing mid-air.

He locked eyes with the person standing on the second floor.

The person wore a white shirt with a vest over it. His tie was light gray, and all the buttons were fastened neatly to the top. With sharp phoenix eyes and glasses on his nose, he looked every bit the elite.

Seeing Li Heng, the man was briefly surprised before calmly introducing himself, as if he hadn’t expected to see the boy here.

“Xie Duzhi.”

His voice was flat, but it struck Li Heng like a thunderclap.

He began to wonder if his hearing was also going wrong.

At that moment, dream and reality blurred together, revealing subtle yet unmistakable differences.

He stared at him without blinking, forgetting to breathe.

Was this what the Xie Duzhi in his dream looked like?

In a daze, Xie Duzhi seemed to say something, but he didn’t catch it.

He watched as the man slowly walked down the stairs, stopping halfway, and beckoned for him to come closer.

Li Heng’s face turned pale as paper, and his pupils trembled uncontrollably as he tried to recall more details.

But no matter how hard he tried, the face of the man in his dream remained frustratingly blurry, and all that was clear was the staircase and the man’s apologetic words after falling.

Since he didn’t move, Xie Duzhi’s expression darkened slightly, seemingly displeased.

He felt a surge of fear.

Would the rumor now become that he was giving Xie Duzhi a hard time and shunning him right after their first meeting…?

He bit his lip tightly, hesitated for a moment, then finally stood up and slowly moved to the base of the stairs.

Cautiously, he climbed a few steps, stopping about a meter away from Xie Duzhi, thinking to himself, if Xie Duzhi “accidentally” fell again, he would grab him and take the fall himself.

Maybe then he wouldn’t be disliked at their first meeting.

Xie Duzhi’s eyes briefly scanned him from head to toe.

As his brows furrowed, Li Heng tensed up, bracing himself.

The object of his wariness, however, didn’t think too much of it, finding it somewhat amusing—the assistant he recently hired had just adopted a cat, even changing the desktop wallpaper to a carefully shot video.

The way the boy now bristled with caution, like a cat with its tail raised, was oddly similar.

Their eyes, too, were both round and wide.

Was he really that intimidating?

With a chuckle, Xie Duzhi stepped down a few more stairs, reached out, and pulled Li Heng closer.

Li Heng’s mind exploded, leaving only one thought: *This is it.*

There was no time to regret.

The other party moved too fast, too decisively, and by the time he reacted, it was already too late.

In a flash of despair, the young man squeezed his eyes shut.

But the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground never came.

Instead, something cold was placed in his hand.

“A gift.”

Xie Duzhi’s voice was still as cool as ever, like snow.

Li Heng was momentarily stunned, his mind unable to process.

“This should be enough to last until your birthday.”

…What?

What kind of gift?

Before he could figure it out, the butler reappeared, pushing Xie Duzhi toward the door with a look of disdain, while Li Heng was shielded like a little chick.

“Go on, off to your company. There’s no food for you here.”

The old man huffed and puffed, his dissatisfaction with Xie Duzhi growing the more he looked at him. Li Heng even got the strange feeling that the butler was afraid XieDuzhi would lead him astray.

Standing behind him, the boy cautiously lifted his gaze and once again met Xie Duzhi’s eyes, startling him.

He quickly averted his eyes, suddenly feeling guilty as if caught doing something wrong.

“I’m here to pick him up,” Xie Duzhi said.