Chapter 9: His Temporary Guardian

As the two of them took their seats in the theater, Li Zhiyi suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.

“Brother, do you want some popcorn?” Qiao Xingzhou asked with a shy smile. “This popcorn is really quite tasty.”

In the dimly lit theater, his eyes seemed to shine especially bright.

For a brief moment, Li Zhiyi felt his heart almost stolen away.

He realized he seemed unable to refuse any of Qiao Xingzhou’s invitations.

He swallowed instinctively. “…I do want some.”

Qiao Xingzhou’s plan succeeded: “Aha, so Brother is a kid too.”

Li Zhiyi chuckled, “If it’s to keep you company, then I can be.”

And so, the two of them watched the movie while sharing popcorn.

When the end credits began to roll, Qiao Xingzhou still seemed reluctant for it to end.

“No wonder it’s a movie you recommended, I was completely absorbed.” Qiao Xingzhou turned to Li Zhiyi with a smile. “I even forgot what I wanted to discuss with you.”

Li Zhiyi smiled as well. “It’s okay, the movie was indeed very good.”

With a hint of hope, Qiao Xingzhou asked, “So… can I invite you to watch a movie together next time?”

“Why do you want to invite me to the movies?” Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Li Zhiyi recalled the comments people made about the Moments post where Qiao Xingzhou wore matching clothes. He felt a surge of discontent. “Is it just because… you want to imitate me?”

Nothing else on your mind? Like… something else.

“Um… I invite you, Brother, of course, it’s because, because…” Qiao Xingzhou wanted to say that he actually admired Li Zhiyi a lot, even hoping to develop some kind of relationship with him. But when the words reached his lips, he became shy. “Ah, sorry, Brother, that reason is too forward… I just can’t say it.”

Li Zhiyi sighed, thinking he saw through everything. “Alright, let’s talk about next time when it comes.”

Such a good kid, but unfortunately, a copycat expert.

…If only he weren’t a copycat expert.

Li Zhiyi thought seriously.

—

That night, after going home, Qiao Xingzhou stayed up to write a movie review.

A three-thousand-word review, analyzing the film’s brilliance from every angle, without a single mention of Li Zhiyi.

After reading the entire piece, Li Zhiyi felt a faint sense of disappointment upon realizing that Qiao Xingzhou hadn’t mentioned him at all.

He instinctively called Qiao Xingzhou, “Why didn’t you mention me?”

Qiao Xingzhou hadn’t expected the usually gentle and courteous Li Zhiyi to ask such a question.

“Huh?”

“Your Moments, why didn’t you mention me?” Li Zhiyi examined his own behavior, feeling it was within proper bounds, not too forward. “Usually, when you go out with other friends or receive gifts from them, you always mention them by name in your posts. But this time, after we watched the movie together, and even after I gave you that shirt last time, you didn’t mention me at all.”

“This… it’s just that I didn’t want to cause you any trouble, Brother,” Qiao Xingzhou said, a bit embarrassed. “All my other friends are from abroad; you’re the first important person I’ve met since coming back. I’ve just returned to the country, and I didn’t leave a very good impression on people at the last gathering. I’m worried they don’t like me, and I don’t want that to affect how they see you.”

Those rich young men indeed looked down on the timid Qiao Xingzhou, even mocking him behind his back. Hu Tianhao, always full of gossip, had casually mentioned it before, so Li Zhiyi was somewhat aware of the situation.

“But you still stayed up all night to post that review,” Li Zhiyi continued. “You watched a movie I recommended, they’ll still notice it.”

“But this way, they’ll only talk about me,” Qiao Xingzhou replied. “It’s different, if I post a review, they might gossip about me a bit; but if they found out you went to the movie with me, it would pull you into it, too.” After saying this, he added in a softer voice, trying to justify himself, “I need some way to let out my feelings, right? Otherwise, if I get too excited, I can’t even sleep.”

Li Zhiyi was silent for a moment. “…Watching a movie with me makes you that happy? Happy enough to lose sleep over it?”

A three-thousand-word review, and it turns out Qiao Xingzhou used it to express his feelings for him?

“Yeah, I was really happy,” Qiao Xingzhou replied, then protested, “But I didn’t lose sleep all night, I still got two or three hours.”

Seeing Qiao Xingzhou, so frail yet carefully guarding what he valued, left the usually strong Li Zhiyi with a whirlwind of emotions.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, calling the other’s name. “Qiao Xingzhou.”

Qiao Xingzhou responded, “What is it, Brother?”

“If someone bullies you, you can’t just sit back and do nothing,” Li Zhiyi said slowly.

“I know, I should fight back,” Qiao Xingzhou replied, “but I’m not very good at arguing, and I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to know,” Li Zhiyi said, very seriously. “—You should tell someone. The child who cries gets the candy; if you can’t win the argument, you should go to the adults for help.”

Qiao Xingzhou shook his head. “It’s really not a big deal, just minor squabbles between kids, and it won’t affect any business cooperation. My family just moved our operations back to the country, and our footing isn’t stable yet, so we can’t afford to make a fuss over things like this.”

“I don’t think it’s a small matter, because they’re already affecting how you feel about posting on Moments,” Li Zhiyi said decisively. “If your family can’t handle this, then I will.”

“Ah, so if I can’t win an argument, I should tell an adult. Does that mean you count as my guardian, Brother?” Qiao Xingzhou asked, surprised and somewhat puzzled.

Li Zhiyi gave himself a definition. “When you’re being bullied, I can be your temporary guardian.”

Qiao Xingzhou was clearly moved. “Brother, you’re so righteous.”

“Is this really righteousness?” Li Zhiyi laughed self-deprecatingly. “I’m not so sure myself.”