The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

When they returned to China, they didn’t choose a direct flight. Instead, following Mrs. Xie’s instructions, they made a stop in Paris to buy a pile of things — “New semester, new look,” she’d said. “With the season changing, you can’t keep wearing summer clothes in school.” Despite Li Heng’s attempt to reason that it wouldn’t be autumn in S City until October and that the dorm wardrobes weren’t that spacious, his two older brothers still ended up carrying bags full of items, attracting quite a few stares from fellow passengers on the flight.

“Aren’t the dorms at S University a bit cramped?” Xie Sizhi voiced his concern before the plane took off. “Why not just move out? I have an apartment nearby, and you could just drive to school.”

If he remembered correctly, that apartment was one he bought back in his own college days. The location was great, and it was near a few shopping centers, so it was very convenient for everyday life.

“Second Brother, I don’t know how to drive,” Li Heng reminded him.

This summer, he only learned horseback riding; his familiarity with modern transportation was still minimal.

Back in school, many of his classmates, including his desk mate, had already gotten their driver’s licenses over the summer. His desk mate even sent him a video of himself driving, asking if he wanted to join the same driving school — and assuring him that his instructor was a very gentle woman, nothing like the horror stories about strict driving instructors. Once he found out Li Heng wouldn’t be home anytime soon, he was almost disappointed, remarking that he’d have to give the discount he’d saved for him to someone else instead.

“Fine, then I’ll drive you myself,” Xie Sizhi suggested instinctively.

Li Heng rolled his eyes. “No way. I want to stay in the dorms.”

The class schedule had come out a few days earlier, and it was packed with basic theory and general education classes. Four out of the five school days had classes starting at eight in the morning, plus, freshman students were required to attend evening study sessions.

“Oh, right, you’ll be getting up early every day,” Xie Sizhi chuckled, remembering that schedule and unable to hide his amusement. “As someone who’s been there, I have some advice for you.”

“Only the bold can make every day feel like a holiday.”

Seeing his younger brother’s curious gaze, he dragged out his words, preparing to impart his wisdom with great satisfaction.

“— and end up with warnings from the academic advisor, just like you?” Xie Duzhi interrupted coolly, not giving him a chance to finish.

“Only because my substitute teacher sold me out,” Xie Sizhi protested. “…Besides, I only failed a few classes.”

Failed a few classes. In other words, he did indeed fail.

Li Heng moved a little closer to Xie Duzhi, trying to put some distance between him and Xie Sizhi as a way to emphasize his own determination. “Second Brother, I don’t want to fail.”

Not only did he not want to fail, but he also wanted to study hard and come out on top.

“Come on, you worked so hard before, and now you’re finally free of the pressure of grades and rankings. Relaxing is the whole point,” Xie Sizhi advised. “University professors have teaching goals too. If you cram a little before exams, it’s easy to scrape a 60.”

And if the professor grading the exams was lenient, you might even accidentally score a 90.

“No matter how you try to convince me, it won’t work, Second Brother.” 

Li Heng took an eye mask out of his bag and put it on. “I want to study hard, get into F University’s graduate program, just like Big Brother and Third Brother.”

“What? Why not T University? T University is great too!” Shocked, Xie Sizhi struggled for words. “I mean, you can’t just decide because of…the numbers. What I’m trying to say is that T University is very strong in humanities and social sciences, and it has a profound heritage. You shouldn’t just think F University is better because it’s more famous; we need to look at specific disciplines, right?”

This statement actually threw him off a bit.

For a moment, he even regretted his own approach to exams back then, casually dozing off once he was done writing without double-checking, and barely missing F University’s cutoff.

If his little brother was set on graduate school, he thought T University would be the ideal choice — that way, they’d have two siblings each at F University and T University, which seemed nicely balanced.

“Well, I just like F University’s atmosphere better,” Li Heng replied.

Thinking it over, he added, “Plus, I checked the subject rankings. F University does rank higher.”

“Hey, do you think I should go for an F University master’s too?” After a moment, he turned to Xie Duzhi, now with a hint of seriousness. “I could go for art history or design. Do you know any professors at the art institute? I need a contact.”

Xie Duzhi looked at him with a slight, unreadable smile before answering, “F University’s Visual Arts Institute does offer master’s degrees in those fields.”

Silently, Xie Sizhi digested the fact that even the prestigious F University didn’t offer his preferred specializations. “…Maybe I should aim a little higher and consider finance or management instead?”

As soon as he got off the plane, Li Heng eagerly shared this amusing tidbit with Mrs. Xie, who had been waiting for them at the airport.

“Are you actually going to do it?” she looked at him as if she’d seen a unicorn. “If you really want to go for it, I can help you check if any professors are looking for students.”

“But I don’t think you’d pass this year.”

“If I don’t pass, I’ll just lower my expectations and aim for S University,” he said half-jokingly, half-seriously, realizing that might actually work out.

“Isn’t that a kind of balance too?”

“Are you hungry, Li Heng, Xie Duzhi?” Mrs. Xie asked, producing some freshly baked cookies and little cakes from her handbag before her youngest could even answer. “But I know your second brother isn’t hungry — he’d have a lot more to worry about if he were.”

Just as Xie Sizhi was about to remind her that they’d eaten the in-flight meal about an hour ago, he recalled that he had a few secrets his brothers could still hold against him. After an inner struggle between pride and practicality, he opted to stay silent.

He decided that, from this day forward, he would closely monitor Xie Duzhi’s activities. If there was even a hint of interest or romance on his part, he’d be the first to know — after all, a secret is best balanced with another secret.

As for his younger brother…

He suddenly realized he couldn’t stand the thought of him dating anyone. Someone too gentle wouldn’t work, and someone domineering would be even worse. With all the schemes people pull these days, what if he ended up heartbroken?

“I really do want to apply to S University. I like the atmosphere there,” Xie Sizhi said, keeping a straight face as he started making up excuses. “Or I could just be a visiting alumnus — an honorary one, I mean. I’m kind of a prominent young painter with a distinctive style, right?”

Mrs. Xie: …

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll go to work at the headquarters with your father.” She calmly ran her fingers through her hair, not giving her son any room to object. “It’s decided. I’ll have your older brother call you in the morning.”

“But why tomorrow?” protested Xie Sizhi. “If you’re going to be so… authoritarian, at least give me some time to adjust. Tomorrow, Li Heng needs to register at school. I have to be there with him!”

It was only right for an older brother to be there on his little brother’s first day of college.

“What does him registering at school have to do with you?” Mrs. Xie asked, puzzled. “Do you know how to make a bed?”

“Or perhaps you know how to clean and fold clothes?”

Caught off guard, Xie Sizhi paused. He actually didn’t know. At most, he could fold a blanket.

At home, there were dedicated housekeepers for cleaning, and in his own apartment complex, there was regular housekeeping staff.

“…But I could hire someone to help,” he said, sounding far from confident.

“So, you’re saying I don’t exist?” Mrs. Xie responded with a gentle smile.

“No, no, I was just trying to ease your burden.” His words came faster than his thoughts. “Besides, Li Heng has so much to carry to the dorms, and he might even have books to pick up. You can’t be expected to carry it all alone, can you?”

“Even if we bring along Uncle Qin to help, that’s still only four hands. With one more person, we’d get everything done faster.”

“That’s why Duzhi will go too,” Mrs. Xie said, sounding rather pleased. “He happens to have a day off tomorrow.”

After their recent vacation, it seemed her adopted son had finally learned to balance work and rest. At this rate, he might even start thinking about romance before too long. He may not make much of a splash now, but he could very well be the first of her children to settle down.

“Can’t he just sleep and rest on his day off?” protested Xie Sizhi. “Mom, how can you let him spend his break running up and down the dorm halls?”

“I volunteered to help,” Xie Duzhi said, leaving no room for argument. “Helping out your little brother on a day off seems perfectly normal, doesn’t it?”

He raised an eyebrow at his brother.

Speechless, Xie Sizhi found himself unable to argue back. What’s worse, he had to admit that it actually made sense.

Something was off.

Something was definitely off.

Realizing he’d lost the chance to argue, he finally identified the odd feeling that had been bothering him. Helping his brother was fine, but the fact that Xie Duzhi took a day off during the workweek… that didn’t seem right at all.