Chapter 23: The Exquisite Young Master Sikong
The place where Chi Shaochen’s friends gathered was not a bar or a KTV, but a villa in the suburbs with a very spacious area. It took Chi Shaochen at least half an hour to drive there. During this time, Xiahou Qian fiddled with his phone from time to time, looking very irritable—a complete departure from his usual quiet and lazy self.
After parking the car, Chi Shaochen proactively opened the door for Xiahou Qian. After Xiahou Qian got out, Chi introduced, “They’re planning to do a barbecue today, which is why they chose this place.”
“Oh.” Chi Shaochen and Xiahou Qian had been together for a month; even if Xiahou Qian’s expression wasn’t much different from usual, it was easy to discover he wasn’t in high spirits. Well, Xiahou Qian’s mood hadn’t been good since he found out he was meeting Chi’s friends today.
The courtyard gate wasn’t closed. Chi Shaochen took Xiahou Qian’s hand and walked straight in. As soon as they entered, they saw three men setting up a rack outside, which should be the barbecue equipment. Among them was Lu Ke, whom Xiahou Qian knew.
“Shaochen, Xiao Qian, you’ve finally arrived. We thought we’d have to wait until the meat was cooked for you to show up.” Lu Ke always talked more in front of acquaintances.
“You think everyone is as idle as you?” Chi Shaochen said coldly, but it was clear he wasn’t truly angry. Lu Ke was long used to this attitude of Chi Shaochen and continued to smile breezily and happily, never stopping the jokes.
Xiahou Qian, held by Chi Shaochen’s hand, maintained a polite smile on his face. But not to mention Chi Shaochen, even Lu Ke felt that Xiahou Qian wasn’t quite right today. The other two men, and the three who later came out of the house, only felt that Xiahou Qian indeed looked good.
Before Xiahou Qian appeared with Chi Shaochen, no one here except Lu Ke knew he was coming today. That is to say, so far, everyone knew nothing about him.
Since they weren’t clear about Xiahou Qian’s identity, it wasn’t appropriate for everyone to say anything for now.
“Let’s sit inside. Those three can handle the outside,” one of the men who came from inside said. Xiahou Qian glanced at him; he should be under 30, steady and shrewd. He looked a bit like Kong Ling, but his aura was even greater.
“Alright.” Chi Shaochen looked at the three at the villa entrance, his eyebrows furrowing almost imperceptibly.
“Hey, Jinbai, if you don’t help, that’s one thing, but calling Shaochen away too—what’s the meaning of that?” a man next to Lu Ke shouted.
Xiahou Qian glanced at this man. He was very young, in a tracksuit, sunny and handsome.
Seeing Xiahou Qian look at the man, Chi Shaochen simply introduced him: “The one speaking just now is Jiang Mu, a fresh university graduate; the other is Lei Xing, who serves in the military.”
The two weren’t far from Lu Ke’s trio, and Chi Shaochen’s voice wasn’t small, so they naturally heard the introductions. Lei Xing and Jiang Mu both looked to have cheerful personalities, similar to Lu Ke, so Xiahou Qian saw them smiling and greeting him.
“Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll grill some for you later,” Jiang Mu said with a smile.
“Jiang Mu is right, don’t be polite,” Lei Xing said. Speaking of which, this villa was a property of the Lei family, now under Lei Xing’s name, so he was essentially the host.
“Thank you, I’m not picky.” Although Xiahou Qian felt he should introduce himself, following their words felt like he couldn’t skip over it. Xiahou Qian tried very hard to make his tone gentler and his smile more natural, but between being nervous and in a bad mood, he felt the curve of his lips was very stiff. In the end, he simply stopped forcing himself.
“Pfft~”
A disdainful sneer rang out. The sound wasn’t loud, but several people heard it clearly—especially Xiahou Qian, whose five senses were increasingly sensitive. Because he was nervous today, his spiritual power had been in a state of high tension, so not only that light snort, but even the other party’s expression was seen clearly by Xiahou Qian.
It was a youth who wasn’t very old, with delicate features and a slightly short stature—estimated to be no more than 175 cm. From his gaze to his expression, he was very annoying! However, given that this person was Chi Shaochen’s friend and hadn’t done anything excessive, Xiahou Qian endured it.
“Not going to introduce him?” Liu Jinbai said to Chi Shaochen.
“Xiahou Qian, my partner,” Chi Shaochen said succinctly. The term “partner” directly pointed out Xiahou Qian’s importance to him.
After introducing Xiahou Qian, Chi Shaochen helped Xiahou Qian introduce the three who had just walked over. “Liu Jinbai, Sikong Shuo, and his younger brother Sikong Quan.”
Xiahou Qian glanced at Liu Jinbai and Sikong Shuo and said hello, but didn’t even look at Sikong Quan.
Everyone except Sikong Quan exchanged greetings with Xiahou Qian. Jiang Mu asked curiously, “Why does Brother Lu know Xiao Qian?”
“I sing at Night Color,” Xiahou Qian answered, sensing Jiang Mu’s pure curiosity and goodwill toward him.
“Xiao Qian sings incredibly well. In a short time, my bar’s turnover has increased several times. I’m actually a bit scared thinking about him leaving,” Lu Ke said truthfully. He was wondering how those fans would keep questioning him then.
“Leaving?” Jiang Mu certainly knew how to catch the key point.
“Yes. With Xiao Qian’s talent, it’s obviously impossible for him to stay as a resident singer in a bar forever,” Lu Ke said.
“Are you going to enter the entertainment industry?” Liu Jinbai asked.
“Yes,” Xiahou Qian replied.
“When Xiao Qian’s album comes out, you all must listen. You don’t know, he practically slays both men and women, regardless of their orientation. Girls and gay men are both infatuated with his voice.” It was hard for someone who hadn’t heard Xiahou Qian sing to understand. If he hadn’t known from the start that Xiahou Qian was the person Chi Shaochen had his eye on, maybe he would have been infatuated too, even though he insisted he was straight!
“He looks even younger than me. Shouldn’t he be in school?” Sikong Quan already had no good impression of Xiahou Qian. Seeing Xiahou Qian ignore him made him even more unhappy, and his words made several people present frown. In the end, it was Sikong Shuo next to him who pulled him, silencing him. But his expression remained very ugly.
“Is that so? It seems Young Master Sikong is very proud of his studies? Might I ask which university you attend?” Xiahou Qian suddenly let out a light laugh, as if he hadn’t understood the sarcasm in Sikong Quan’s words just now. But his words clearly weren’t like that at all.
“Peking University, Department of Literature. Although I haven’t won any scholarships, compared to some people who haven’t even attended university…” Sikong Quan replaced the rest of his words with a mocking smile. This young master clearly wasn’t just ill-tempered, but also had a rather low IQ.
“How old is Young Master Sikong this year?” Xiahou Qian asked nonchalantly. Everyone except Sikong Quan sensed something was wrong.
“About 20,” Jiang Mu said.
“Then you should be in your second year?” Except for Chi Shaochen and Lu Ke, no one knew why Xiahou Qian suddenly asked this.
Jiang Mu nodded, indicating Xiahou Qian was right.
Chi Shaochen believed Xiahou Qian wouldn’t suffer a loss, so he didn’t intervene. But why didn’t Sikong Shuo stop Sikong Quan’s provocation of Xiahou Qian? Because he was already used to it; as long as Sikong Quan wasn’t being too excessive, he was too lazy to care, lest it turn into a bigger scene and make him lose even more face.
Chi Shaochen knew Xiahou Qian was definitely not someone to be trifled with. Hadn’t those executives at the company just experienced it today?
He truly didn’t look down on Sikong Quan, but with Sikong Quan’s level, he could only be crushed by Xiahou Qian. Whether in IQ or physical force, it was the same. If the two actually fought, Sikong Quan would definitely be the one getting beaten up.
“Peking University Literature, huh? Must have spent a lot of money to get in? I can’t compare to you. My family is poor, so to save some money, I only spent six years total for elementary, middle, and high school combined. It saved a lot on tuition. In university, I had over a hundred thousand in scholarships every semester, which was how I had enough money to finish all four years. Winning scholarships is much faster and easier than working to earn money. Besides paying tuition, I even saved quite a bit of those funds.” Xiahou Qian spoke with a smile, his tone unhurried. The way he looked at Sikong Quan was like he was looking at an idiot.
Damn, what a flex! Lu Ke almost wanted to clap.
He had always felt that Xiahou Qian graduating from the Huaxia Conservatory of Music at 18 was a bit unscientific. After hearing Xiahou Qian’s words, he finally realized why.
“Holy crap! A top student! How am I supposed to feel, having just graduated at 24? Also, which university did you go to that gives such high scholarships?” The recently graduated Jiang Mu was incredibly shocked by Xiahou Qian’s “top student” status.
To them, a hundred thousand wasn’t much, but as a scholarship amount for every semester, it was very high. Ordinary schools couldn’t afford it.
Everyone filtered through the schools with higher scholarships in their minds; all of them were prestigious. If what Xiahou Qian said was true, then it was perfectly normal for him to attend a top school. Jiang Mu’s question was also their collective doubt.
“Xiao Qian studied music. You all should be able to guess if you think about it,” Lu Ke interjected before Xiahou Qian could answer.
“Huaxia Conservatory of Music?” Sikong Shuo said, looking at Lu Ke.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s the Huaxia Conservatory of Music! Xiao Qian and Jiang Mu both just graduated, but Xiao Qian is 18 while Jiang Mu is 24, haha!” Lu Ke looked at Jiang Mu and laughed.
“Uh… I feel like I’ve been caught in the crossfire. Lu Ke, will you die if you don’t mention that?” Jiang Mu was very depressed. He was afraid of comparison; they both graduated university, but Xiahou Qian was six years younger! That is to say, he spent six more years studying but wasn’t as good as others. This blow was a bit heavy.
“Ignore him. It’s not like he didn’t graduate at 24 himself,” Lei Xing said while silently stabbing Lu Ke as he comforted Jiang Mu.
“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this. Are you guys done setting up? If so, let’s start grilling. The meat is all ready, and some vegetables are prepared too.” Liu Jinbai was afraid he would be caught in the crossfire too if they continued, since he seemed to have graduated at 23. He simply shifted the topic.
Sikong Quan, completely forgotten by everyone, was practically fuming with rage. He hadn’t expected Xiahou Qian to graduate university at such a young age, and from the Huaxia Conservatory of Music too! Continuing this topic would only make him look more pathetic, so Sikong Quan uncharacteristically endured it once.
“Let’s begin,” Lei Xing changed the topic.
“I’ll get the meat and vegetables,” Jiang Mu said, running eagerly into the villa.
They said it was a DIY barbecue, but since they were all young masters, everything to be grilled had been bought, cut, and skewered by the cooking aunties. What couldn’t be skewered was arranged neatly on plates. The portions were quite large.
Translator’s Note:
A few terms from these chapters:
- “Integrity eaten by dogs” (节操被狗吃了): This is a hilarious way to say someone has lost their sense of shame or moral bottom line. In this case, Xiahou Qian is becoming more “shameless” because of his relationship with Chi Shaochen.
- “Sikong” (司空): This is one of the rare Chinese compound surnames (two characters instead of the usual one). Other famous ones you might know are Zhuge or Ouyang.
- “White-boned Demoness” (白骨精 – Báigǔjīng): This is a modern pun in China. Originally a villain from Journey to the West, it now stands for Báilǐng (White-collar), Gǔgàn (Backbone/Core), and Jīngyīng (Elite). It refers to high-achieving career women like Zhong Han.
- “Plucking the tiger’s whiskers” (掳虎须): An idiom meaning to take a great risk or provoke someone powerful—exactly what Lu Ke was afraid to do to Chi Shaochen!
See you in the next chapter!
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