Que Ye was taken aback when Shang Ziqian was suddenly mentioned.
He then looked at the stage hesitantly. "Is it okay?"
Que Ye took a sip of his wine, his expression indifferent. "Don't worry, Yu Ge tacitly agreed. There are some things he can't tell you himself."
Meeting the young girl's confused gaze, Que Ye smiled, the smile carrying a hint of melancholy. "He's afraid you'll think he's a bad person."
Wen Tingxue didn't understand.
Que Ye tilted his head back and finished his drink. Holding the cup, he began, "The relationship between those two can't really be explained by simple enmity."
More accurately, it was the sorrow of "If only Wu Guoguo could have been born to me instead of Zhou Yu."
Shang Ziqian was three years older than Yu Wenli.
It was precisely those three years that nurtured Shang Ziqian's jealousy.
Yu Wenli grew up with his maternal grandparents in his childhood.
They lived in an alley full of flowers and plants.
Shang Ziqian's family lived at the entrance of the alley.
The two families had no prior connection.
Until Yu Wenli was three years old, he became famous overnight, thanks to his exquisite appearance and exceptional intelligence.
He received praise and envy from all the residents of the small alley.
Before this, the child who had enjoyed such accolades was none other than Shang Ziqian.
Having both become famous at the age of three, it was inevitable that people would compare them.
The world of children is far less complicated than that of adults.
No matter how smart Shang Ziqian was, he could hardly understand why the praise he had heard for three years
was snatched away by someone else in an instant.
Moreover, he had to be deliberately belittled?
He didn't understand.
But he was very angry.
At that time, Shang Ziqian was six years old, in the prime of his youthful energy.
Naturally, he couldn't help but act impulsively and do things that were beyond repair.
For example, smashing windows.
For example, scaring other people's children.
For example, deliberately splashing water in front of the Wen family's door, causing the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Wen to slip and be hospitalized.
And so on.
He caused chaos in the alley for quite some time.
It could be said that even dogs would wag their tails negatively at the mention of his name.
Furthermore, the Wen family was a typical scholarly family.
They had an excellent reputation within the alley.
After the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Wen were both hospitalized, the dissatisfaction among the alley residents grew immensely.
When people talked about Shang Ziqian, they no longer held back.
It even implicated the couple who raised Shang Ziqian.
Yu Wenli's maternal grandfather was a renowned professor, mainly researching astronomy, and held a nominal position in an research institute.
Yu Wenli's maternal grandmother was a master pianist, whose reputation remained strong even today.
However, Shang Ziqian's grandparents were merely junk collectors.
They were also deaf and mute, with disabilities.
Although no one explicitly said it, Shang Ziqian wasn't foolish.
He could hear the underlying meaning in their words.
It was all about how his grandparents had corrupted him.
His grandparents shouldn't have adopted him.
His grandparents couldn't compare to Yu Wenli's maternal grandparents...
How could Shang Ziqian tolerate this?
After a great commotion, his reputation worsened.
However, he didn't care. It wasn't until the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Wen returned and mediated that the matter was temporarily put to rest.
But the tree desired stillness, yet the wind would not cease.
Even if Shang Ziqian and Yu Wenli didn't want to interact, the people in the alley inevitably compared the two.
From academics to character, and then to family background.
Shang Ziqian was thoroughly defeated.
Although his grades were already quite good, he happened to be up against Yu Wenli, a freak of nature.
With his exceptional talent from a young age, he was kept down, unable to lift his head.
The seed of hatred was thus sown.
The first explosion occurred when Yu Wenli was five years old, during a piano tutoring class selection.
Wen Tingxue listened intently, but Que Ye suddenly fell silent.
"What's wrong?"
The young girl asked, holding her juice cup, looking puzzled.
Que Ye smiled and pointed towards the stage. "I almost forgot to introduce you. These are some of Yu Ge's good brothers he grew up with."
Wen Tingxue followed his gaze.
She suddenly realized that the drummer was Chi Ze Rui.
The bassist looked like... the boy who fed the cat that night?!
Even the person playing the electronic keyboard looked somewhat familiar, as if he were...
Before she could ponder further, Que Ye had already begun his introduction. "Keyboardist, Xing Jiahe, Yu Ge's neighbor when he was little..."
"Wait!"
Wen Tingxue interrupted, her face slightly pale. "You said... who?"
"Xing Jiahe, don't you know him?" Que Ye sounded a bit surprised.
Xing Jiahe!
It was him indeed.
Wen Tingxue held her juice cup with a look of melancholy, her eyes filled with despair.
How could it be such a coincidence?
Yu Wenli's childhood brother was actually Xing Jiahe.
It was over.
She had actually concealed the matter of Shang Ziqian from him...
No wonder he didn't press the issue that day; he had clearly planned to settle the score later.
Cunning!
The young girl gnashed her teeth in frustration and tentatively asked, "Do you know about the art center incident?"
Que Ye nodded. "Yeah, Shang Ziqian came looking for trouble with you and your friend. Jiahe mentioned it in the group that day. You didn't..."
Seeing the girl's changing expression, Que Ye chuckled. "You didn't tell your Yu Ge the truth, did you?"
"..."
Wen Tingxue cradled her juice, unwilling to speak.
"No wonder!"
Que Ye laughed heartily. "That's why he was in such a bad mood that day and called me up to play games in the middle of the night! Hahaha!"
Wen Tingxue's hand trembled. "..."
It was even more over.
Que Ye put an arm around Wen Tingxue's shoulders and asked curiously, "Come on, tell your brother, how do you plan to appease him?"
Appease him?
Don't be ridiculous.
No appeasement was needed.
She just deserved to be punished.
Wen Tingxue resigned herself to drinking her orange juice.
Que Ye felt her expression was not quite right. He touched his chin and probed, "He wouldn't hit you, would he?"
"Pfft!"
Wen Tingxue sprayed her orange juice all at once, her face visibly reddening.
"Who, who, who, who... who said that?!"
The young girl was so angry she was stuttering.
Que Ye blinked in surprise. "Really?! What did he use? A rosewood ruler?"
"..."
Wen Tingxue truly didn't want to speak anymore.
A rosewood ruler!
He was saying such things!
This was too much!
Didn't she have any dignity?
The young girl pouted in anger and turned her head to look at the lights on the ground.
Que Ye anxiously moved to her other side and asked, "Was it really a rosewood ruler?"
Wen Tingxue felt his emotions were not quite right and nodded lightly.
Que Ye was lost in thought for a moment and said, "Do you know that ruler was left by his maternal grandfather?"
"What?" Wen Tingxue's heart suddenly felt heavy.
"..."
Que Ye fell into a daze of silence for a moment. "When Grandpa Wen was still alive, he was very worried about Jiahe, A Rui, and my grades.
He loved calling us to his house for tutoring whenever he had free time. Grandpa Wen was an old fuddy-duddy who firmly believed in ancient methods.
So he specifically dug out an old ruler to punish us.
Sometimes, when Grandpa Wen was busy, this job fell to Yu Ge.
Yu Ge didn't have Grandpa Wen's patience, so he used the ruler more often, but the effect was remarkably good.
Except for A Rui, everyone's grades improved significantly.
Later, when Grandpa and Grandma Wen both passed away, Yu Ge put the ruler away. He hadn't touched it for years, and he never tutored anyone else with it.
Wen Tingxue could tell the ruler was old, but she didn't know about this past story.
His maternal grandparents both passing away must have been a huge blow to him...
There's one more chapter for an update, to be posted in the morning~