The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

After not studying late for a long time, Li Heng still felt like his brain was in a fog when he sat down at the dining table the next day.

The various subjects’ knowledge points swirled together in his mind, and every now and then he could hear his English teacher’s heavily accented grammar explanations popping up.

With faint dark circles under his eyes, his usually tousled hair was neatly pressed down, making him look obedient, yet somehow he radiated a sense of fatigue.

When he dipped his soup dumpling into the soy sauce used for the rice rolls for the third time, Mrs. Xie could no longer hold back.

With a heavy sigh, she simply replaced his two sauce dishes and filled them with vinegar. “Why are you staying up late again?”

Li Heng silently took a bite of the savory soup dumpling, too guilty to look at her or respond to Xie Duzhi’s probing gaze beside him.

After saying goodnight to him the night before, he had ended up studying until two in the morning.

Waking up at six, he had barely managed four hours of sleep.

“What’s wrong with staying up late?” Xie Sizhi yawned, “As if the rest of us don’t do it.”

He only felt inspired to paint in the middle of the night, and the other three were workaholics who drank coffee like water, handling documents and project proposals until the early hours, it was practically their daily routine.

As for Mrs. Xie, although it wasn’t as frequent, she often worked late and then caught up on dramas afterward.

After he spoke, he shot Li Heng a look, signaling that his brother had his back.

Noticing the same faint dark circles under Xie Sizhi’s eyes, Li Heng silently expressed his gratitude.

The issue wasn’t staying up late; it was the reason behind it.

Leaving aside whether Mrs. Xie would think he was overdoing it, just the thought of how Xie Duzhi would view him made him feel uneasy.

Even if Xie Duzhi was no longer a student, just recalling how he’d been preoccupied with thoughts of exams yesterday, hastily interrupting their chat with a “I need to rest” made him feel hypocritical.

“Sounds like you think not staying up late will make you taller,” Mrs. Xie remarked, glancing at him after finishing her soy milk. “Your younger brother is still small; staying up late will stunt his growth.”

Xie Sizhi, who was nearly two centimeters shorter than his older brother despite being a twin: … 

Why bring that up?

He angrily snatched the beautifully sliced sandwich from Xie Shenzhi’s plate, not forgetting to glare at him.

“Mom, height is clearly determined by genetics.” Xie Duzhi countered nonchalantly, “It’s been years; why are you still spouting the same old arguments about staying up late not helping?”

“You used to stay up late playing video games; I took away dozens of phones from you.” Mr. Xie quietly raised his eyes.

He set down the newspaper and removed his reading glasses, “Skipping gym class, your friends invite you to play basketball and you never go—of course it’s surprising that you’re not as tall as your older brother.”

The implication was to look for problems within oneself instead of blaming genetics for everything.

“Don’t follow your second brother’s example.” Xie Shenzhi couldn’t think of what else to say and added dryly behind his father.

“Exercise more to stay healthy,” Xie Duzhi said, his tone so old-fashioned it sounded like he’d walked straight out of a communist party meeting.

“…” As if he didn’t exercise.

He just didn’t like ball games.

Xie Sizhi ground his teeth, feeling increasingly that he couldn’t stay in this family much longer.

Thinking about how Xie Duzhi was only trying to help him but ended up being attacked by the rest of the family filled Li Heng with guilt.

Even if his second brother could be a bit silly sometimes, he was a good second brother.

He pretended nothing was wrong, serving him two more soup dumplings and pushing over the vinegar dish.

He tried to convey gratitude and encouragement through his gaze, just like his second brother had done, but suddenly he was met with a pair of dark, penetrating eyes.

It was Xie Duzhi.

His gaze was puzzled, a hint of disappointment lurking beneath.

Perhaps he couldn’t understand why Li Heng had lied about going to bed early.

Under his intense stare, Li Heng quickly abandoned his earlier thoughts and averted his eyes, feeling even guiltier about his actions. After a moment’s hesitation, he put a soup dumpling in Xie Duzhi’s bowl.

Maybe it was a way to please him, or perhaps an attempt to atone for his guilt…?

He wasn’t sure.

His lingering conscience wouldn’t let him stay silent until the topic finally moved on and breakfast ended.

“I went to bed early yesterday; I woke up in the middle of the night and just read for a bit without realizing the time,” he said with a bit of embarrassment, vaguely reversing the cause and effect. “Next time… I’ll pay more attention.”

By the next time, he would have adjusted his state and wouldn’t feel as dazed as he did today.

“Could it be that your bed is too hard?” Mrs. Xie, having forgotten old grievances, began to worry about his sleep quality. “What if we have Uncle Fu change it to a waterbed?”

“Summer’s coming, and a waterbed would be nice and cool.”

“Latex might be better, right?” Xie Sizhi chimed in, unwilling to be left out. “And change the comforter too; waterbeds can be too cold.”

Li Heng silently swallowed the words “the bed is fine, I’m just not sleeping well” back down.

Compared to analyzing why he wasn’t sleeping well, coming up with all sorts of solutions or simply consulting a doctor, switching a mattress seemed quite simple.

Breakfast ended amid discussions about changing beds and pillows.

Their visit with the principal of Yizhong was scheduled for the afternoon, and after finishing breakfast, Li Heng played with the cat for a bit, treating it as a way to exercise and digest before heading back to his room to continue studying.

Because he had limited time, he needed to make the most of it.

Just before receiving a message from Xie Duzhi, he had finished redoing a math exam paper.

Xie Duzhi had a last-minute meeting, but it wouldn’t affect their planned visit; he just couldn’t come to pick him up.

He sent the address directly to the driver and arranged to meet him there.

The principal lived in the old city, where there were many narrow alleys and winding streets. Overall, it was a bit complicated to navigate, especially on a Saturday when the foot traffic was heavy. Even when they were two streets away from the destination, the road began to jam.

After several minutes of inching forward, the driver could only watch in silence as bicycles and e-bikes zipped past the car window, squeezing through the gaps in the traffic and disappearing from sight.

“Should I just walk the rest of the way…?” 

Li Heng finished memorizing the last word, hesitated, then opened the car door to bid farewell to the driver.

Nearby was a well-known tourist spot. While he wasn’t sure how locals viewed it, for someone like him, who had come from outside the city to work, it was a great place to visit.

Earlier this spring, he had come here once, offering incense at the temple for peace and safety, then wandering around to buy local specialties to send back to the orphanage. He was somewhat familiar with the area.

With the navigation assisting him, he easily stopped in front of a particular alley.

The second house inside was the principal’s home.

He still had half an hour until his appointment with Xie Duzhi.

As he hesitated about whether to look for a nearby fruit shop to buy a fruit basket, a sweet, creamy scent wafted into his nose.

It was from a dim sum shop directly across the alley, a well-established old brand, with a golden sign shining under the sunlight, and a line stretching out the door.

If he remembered correctly, this place was famous for its peach crisps, lotus flower pastries, and traditional cakes.

He unconsciously bit his lip, feeling conflicted.

The butler really enjoyed these kinds of pastries.

He didn’t hesitate long; seeing the line growing, he decisively crossed the street and fell in at the end of the queue.

The cat was usually taken care of by Uncle Fu, and he felt like he was adding to the elderly man’s workload.

The shop was small, and while the line looked long, it wasn’t too bad. From their attire, most of the customers seemed to be local residents.

The majority of those buying pastries were elderly, and as Li Heng stood among them, he felt a bit out of place. He noticed a pair ahead in line, an old man and a young boy wearing white training outfits.

They seemed to be a grandparent and grandchild.

Their conversation floated over, filled with the sweet aroma of freshly baked goods.

They were arguing.

The younger one sounded dissatisfied, expressing disdain for the elder’s taste.

“I’ve told you, this place is just sugar and oil. If you eat it every day, be careful your teeth won’t rot.”

“Nonsense! What do kids know about traditional flavors? Your grandpa Tang eats two boxes a day.”

“That’s just reckless.”

“Anyway, I’m not buying it for you.”

In the end, the boy said, “I’m leaving. I’ll go home and help Grandma peel bamboo shoots. You can buy it yourself.”

Li Heng caught a glimpse of him and noticed the boy was shorter than he was, with a pointed chin and a bit of baby fat on his face.

His eyes were large and slightly upturned, shining darkly, reminiscent of a fox.

The boy saw him too, paused for a moment, then broke into a bright smile, as if greeting this similarly good-looking youth. He began to hum a tune and skipped down the alley.

His smile made him look even more like a fox.

But Li Heng didn’t have time to think about it; soon he was at the front of the line.

Seeing the array of pastries displayed at the counter, he began to feel troubled.

He realized he might have a bit of choice paralysis.