Chapter 23 Dinner With The Unexpected

The drive was another silent one, something that Quentin was slowly getting used to. He had originally wanted to ask about his new client's day, but he was met with a solemn look the moment the young man had entered the car.

It was a big sign that the young man's first day at the North Li Corp was probably anything but good. Best not to ask anything that would remind him of it.

"Anywhere you would like to go, Master Xiaolang?" the driver opted to ask instead. He wasn't expecting much of an answer but was surprised to get an actual reaction.

The quiet young man behind him nodded his head and mumbled softly, "The street market."

"The one by your home, sir?" Quentin confirmed it.

The young man nodded again in affirmation and the driver drove to the best place of entry.

They stopped at the other end of the market, which was significantly further from Xiaolang's penthouse but it was a convenient straight walk through.

"Should I wait at the other end for you?" the driver inquired just in case. While this new client of his dressed like he didn't care, he was still apart of the Li Clan and seemed like a little bit of a klutz to him. He couldn't help but worry.

Xiaolang shook his head and waved for him to leave. He wanted time to himself.

He climbed out of the car and momentarily stared at the busy street before him.

The street market.

It hadn't been so long ago when he had first come to a place like this. It was the place he had met a kind old woman and where he had made significant changes within himself.

He began his slow walk, taking in the sights and smells that were once so repugnant to him. Although it was a stretch to say that he could swallow everything the place had to offer, he had at least gotten rid of most of his prejudice against them.

Unconsciously, he checked his shoes for any signs of the laces coming loose. His shoes were of higher quality this time and a perfect fit so there was low chance of it happening after not even a day of use, but he still felt it necessary to look anyway.

The laces were in a perfect bow.

The corner of his lips raised slightly and he focused on his walk again. He had to buy something for dinner anyway so it was important he find something he could internally accept. While he had acknowledged that he would have to buy and eat something, he was still unsure of what would suit his tastebuds. It was easier when Meilin had gotten him the food. He didn't have to think about such complicated things.

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵.

As the first decision was made, his footsteps lost its hesitation as he sought out a nearby convenience store.

Finding one, he took out his new bank card and inserted it into the machine. As the account was made for the identity Xiaolang, just like the penthouse code, the pin code was the real identity Li Tian's birthdate. That way it was easy to remember and had nothing to do with the fake identity's birthdate.

The total balance of five hundred Huaxian dollars appeared on the screen.

"Five hundred to thirty-one days is equal to around sixteen dollars. That would make it a hundred and twenty-five dollars a week for four weeks," Xiaolang mumbled his calculations. He pressed the withdrawal button and took out a total of one hundred twenty-five dollars, a fourth of his monthly allowance.

𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦...

He left the convenience store and continued his scavenging for food. Knowing he couldn't spend more than sixteen dollars a day made him slowly aware of the limits of his spending. Every time he thought he found something that looked good enough to eat, the prices shook him.

Too expensive!

𝘍𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝑟𝑠 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯??

While he didn't know the exact price of a cup of cocoa, it wouldn't be less than a dollar would it?

If he forwent the drink, he probably wouldn't have had such a problem, but he felt the chocolate drink mandatory to an enjoyable meal. If he ended up disliking the food, at least he would fancy the beverage.

𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, he decided.

He surveyed further ahead to find a restaurant called 'Huaxian Delights' but had no success. It must be located further along the street, closer to where he lived.

In anticipation of good food and a freshly prepared steamed bun, his mouth began to lightly salivate.

Hastening his steps, he made his way down the street, his head fervently looking around in case he missed anything worth taking note of. Being oblivious to the people around him, he walked in a straight line, fairly conscious of the walking space ahead of him. As he was following the flow of people, he started to become thoughtless and less aware of his surroundings. But it shouldn't matter, as it was just a straight line after all.

Unfortunately, his carelessness caused the collision between him and a small human not even moments later.

"Aah!!" a childish voice was heard as the unknown figure ran into him by accident, causing the opposite party to fall down on his bottom. "Ow... ow..."

Xiaolang's bigger body barely moved an inch from the impact of the significantly smaller boy. He was stunned by the sudden hit and stood in place, dumbfounded on how he was supposed to react in such a situation.

If Li Tian had fallen, his temper would have surely risen with him flipping the perpetrator off soon after. On the other hand, Xiaolang falling would have just resulted in him shaking it off and ignoring the guy that caused his stumble. However, now he had somehow ended up as the offender in someone else's collapse.

How was he to react? Should he help? He wasn't at that level of altruism just yet.

"Ow..." the young voice sounded a little teary. "Why does the world hate me..."

𝘏𝘮𝘮𝘮? The voice was familiar.

He scrutinized the half-covered face and noticed a shimmer of teary cloudy eyes in between the low bangs. How could he not recognize who it was? It was his one and only little brother.

"Rai?" Xiaolang cracked a small smile.

The little boy jolted and whipped his head up to look at the face of that voice. In a sea of pale-skinned people, seeing the tan and nerdy figure was like a light of salvation. Rai's sad and beaten down face completely disappeared, and replacing it were wide eyes and the happiest smile he could ever muster.

"Big Brother Lang!!!" Rai yelled emotionally, as he sprung up from the ground in excitement. Without caring about anything else, he leaped into the big brother's arms, giving him a tight hug.

Xiaolang was immediately taken aback by the sudden burst of emotion shown by the young boy, again unsure of how to react. Anyone else and he would have pushed the person away, but this was his informal little brother. The embrace was also so full of wholehearted affection that he couldn't help but be touched. He could feel the honest sense of relief coming from the small child which clearly craved comfort.

Slowly, his hand lifted up and rubbed the boy's head with affection, giving the child the small bit of solace he needed.

Rai smiled in the big brother's shirt and scrunched his face to rid any tears. He couldn't look like a fool before his teacher. They were in the middle of the street and would soon draw attention to themselves if they stayed still for too long so Rai quickly let go, secretly wiping his face as they walked a little to the side.

"W-what are you doing here, Big Brother Lang?" he pulled himself together and asked curiously. He pushed the long bangs, that usually covered his appearance, back to make his face fully visible to the brotherly figure.

Xiaolang pursed his lips and mumbled, "Dinner."

He was admittedly happy to see a familiar face, especially it being his lil bro, but that didn't change the fact that he really wanted food.

"Dinner?" Rai's face brightened at the opportunity. He grabbed the big brother's hand and pulled him forward. "I know a great place! I'll bring you there!"

Like that, the hungry Xiaolang was pulled by the young boy deeper into the market without being able to respond. He sighed to himself and just went with it.

They soon reached a restaurant with a familiar logo.

𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵... 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴...

"It's called Huaxian delights and it's delicious!" Rai exclaimed excitedly and opened the door. "Come on, let's go inside!"

After a moment's hesitation, Xiaolang lifted his foot and followed inside. It was interesting to see the mixture between traditional and modern within the small shop. There were antiques and old paintings on the walls, some he felt looked old enough to be put into a museum.

The restaurant wasn't particularly fancy and was not something he would have ever stepped foot in before had it been the old him, but it somehow felt fitting for his undercover identity now.

"Why if it isn't Leixue! Sit wherever you want and call me whenever you're ready," a middle-aged woman called out from the kitchen favorably.

"Okay! Is Yuhan around, Auntie?" Rai asked the slightly plump woman.

"He had to head out for some deliveries but he should be back before you finish eating, dear."

The two of them sat at a window seat and began perusing the menu. The younger one seemed more accustomed to what he was seeing but the older Xiaolang couldn't help but scrunch his face at the menu.

He wasn't really sure what he was seeing and reading. In the street market, the food was readily prepared and you only had to choose what you wanted if you liked what you saw. It was simpler for a budget food newbie like him. Seeing just the picture or name didn't really help him decide if something was good or not.

In fact, he was just hoping to get takeout and eat at home. Eating alone at a restaurant, not knowing whether he would even like the food or not didn't sit right with him. But to suddenly leave his little brother hanging like that after the excitement he saw didn't feel right either.

He browsed further and noticed the pao assortment the restaurant had and was pretty surprised at how cheap they were. They even offered frozen pao costing only ten dollars for eight pieces. There were many he had never tried before so he decided to get some to stock at home.

Xiaolang felt a little troubled in all honesty. He wasn't sure what to get at all right now. If he wanted to buy some steamed buns for later, then that meant he had to cut his spending a little bit more in the days to come. Not only did he not want to buy something that wasn't to his taste, he felt like he couldn't buy enough for his appetite.

Maybe he should just get the pao. He could live off of it. He'd have to get Meilin to order the food for him next time if he wanted anything else. She knew more what he would and wouldn't like.

"Have you decided, Big Brother Lang?" Rai broke his chain of thought.

"Mmm?" he looked up at the little boy's bright eyes full of expectation. He felt bad that he couldn't answer to them. As a big brother, shouldn't he be paying for the kid's meal? Yet now he didn't even know if he'd have enough for himself at the end of each month.

Rai was not one hundred percent sure but seemed to understand that the big brother was in a dilemma. Did he not know what to get? No, that shouldn't be the case. It was a pretty normal restaurant, at least to lower to middle-class people.

𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦... 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺? The younger of the two realized. He scolded himself internally. He knew his teacher was not that rich yet he blatantly assumed he could afford to eat at a restaurant. 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥.

"It's okay, Big Brother Lang," Rai made a decision. He will definitely pay for everything today. "I'll handle it. Auntie! We're ready to order!"

The plump middle-aged woman came out from the counter and went to their table. "A new face? Who's this young man, Leixue? A friend of yours?"

"This is my teacher," he announced proudly. "He's super smart and kind."

The auntie laughed and teased the young boy. "Such high praise. You must like him a lot, Xiao Xue. Thank you for looking out for this silly boy. He doesn't have many friends."

"Don't call me- I mean... I... yeah..." Rai blushed at the blatant remark and peeked at the big brother's expression. He didn't want to be embarrassed in front of him but as usual the Big Brother Lang nodded at Auntie as if there was nothing wrong. Rai smiled happily to himself.

Of course. This was Big Brother Lang he was talking about. He was always considerate towards him and wouldn't let him feel belittled. Rai almost fussed about being called Xiao Xue again when he remembered Big Brother's teachings on the plane. How could he forget how his teacher opened his eyes to his little pettiness.

"A-anyway..." the young boy coughed awkwardly. "What is today's special, Auntie?"

"Ooh! Today is a good one! It's sweet and sour roasted duck with sesame spinach."

While Xiaolang showed no change in expression on his face, Rai noticed the subtle movement in his throat. 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵...

"Then we'll have that for my teacher, and some spicy shrimp chili noodles for me please," the boy ordered without skipping a beat.

Xiaolang looked at his younger brother in surprise. What was the brat doing? He didn't know the price, making him really worried but at the same time he didn't want to seem like he was penniless before someone that was supposed to look up to him. What was he supposed to do or say?

"Rai..."

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴ℎ 𝘙𝘢𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰? 𝘈𝘯𝘥... 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘰...

"What about drinks, boys?"

"I'll have a cherry soda. What about you Big Brother Lang?" Rai smiled at him brightly causing his grip on the menu to tighten for a second before relaxing.

"Iced cocoa..." Xiaolang gave in helplessly. Contrary to his thoughts, he didn't feel as upset as he thought he would. Usually, giving in to someone else made him feel incredibly cranky and spiteful, especially when he had to give in to that bastard Levi. For now, he felt fine with letting Rai have his way, as his little brother.

He didn't know that the cute little brother was actually bent on footing the bill.

"Is that all?" the auntie asked.

Xiaolang kept quiet on his steamed bun desire, thinking it best to have it ordered for delivery at another time.

"Un!" with no response from the older brother in front of him, Rai affirmed to her.

"We'll have the food ready for you two boys soon," she smiled and left them alone.

Xiaolang sighed and leaned back into his seat, lost in thought again, like how much he should be saving, where to find a shop that sold cheap food, and possibly hoarding free food when he worked next. Meilin had already briefed him before that he was not allowed to use the work credit card for home essentials unless it had to do with the work itself.

Hoarding food offered to him was the only option. He didn't have the luxury to be prideful like earlier today if he wanted a full stomach with no worries.

Technically, the amount given to him per month would have been sufficient if he had opted for plain water with every meal. But he was greedy and unaware of something called instant cocoa which would have been a cheaper substitute. Cooking would also cut his spending on food tremendously.

"Umm... Do you live close by, Big Brother Lang?" the fidgeting Rai asked him. It was his first time hanging out with someone he actually really respected. With his past experiences, there was hardly anyone he acknowledged as worth it to look up to. Now that there was, he was uncertain how to interact properly.

Xiaolang looked at the boy and answered him, "I live close."

"That's great!" Rai exclaimed excitedly. "My house is close by as well! It'll be easier for you to visit."

He didn't think it was appropriate for him to barge into his teacher's house, but inviting him to his own shouldn't be a problem.

Xiaolang let out a small smile as he allowed Rai to explain details on where he lived and how he's been revising on the calculus methods he taught him before. It was a small stress reliever to his day.

As Rai was happily talking, the boy lifted his arm a little too high and winced in pain before quickly hiding it. He continued to speak as if nothing was wrong.

However, it couldn't escape the perceptive big brother's eyes when he was focused on you. Xiaolang furrowed his eyebrows and began to pay more attention to his clumsy little brother's movements. That was when he noticed the young boy was careful in the way he moved, not making exaggerated movements as if he was injured.

Which made him think, what was Rai doing at the market? Out of the many things the kid blabbered about, his reason for being here was never once mentioned.

Whether he was an illegitimate heir or not, he was from the Zhou Family. Li Tian would never be caught dead in a street market. Yet Rai seemed so familiar with the place.

At this time of the day kids his age would have just finished school and be heading home but Rai went to school in the South.

"Rai..." Xiaolang cut off the boy's chatter.

"Mmm? Yes, Big Brother Lang?" Rai tilted his head innocently.

"What were you doing... in the street market?"

Rai's eyes widened in surprise at the question. He quickly lowered his head, his bangs covering half his face again, as he messed with his fingers.

"I... I had some errands to run."

𝘌𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴?

.....