BPDSB Chapter 7: Don’t spit, it’s good stuff!

In the mere moment it took to pour a glass of water, the man had already swallowed the pills. Xu Xiliu did not even know what to say.

What normal person would choose to swallow pills dry?

He stood frozen in place, watching the man chew the pills expressionlessly. He felt his own mouth go bitter in sympathy. That freshly poured glass of water somehow ended up in his own mouth. And that still was not enough. With his face slightly twisted, Xu Xiliu quickly dug out a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and shoved it into his mouth.

He gave up.

He truly gave up.

No wonder people like this could become big bosses. That kind of resolve, that level of endurance, impressive.

Just for that alone, Xu Xiliu did not envy the man’s wealth at all.

At least he himself could never bear this kind of suffering.

Qin Li looked up at the young man. “Why are you just standing there?”

Xu Xiliu’s mouth twitched.

He bit down hard on the candy in his mouth.

Please stop talking, big guy. I swear I can feel the bitterness spreading.

Xu Xiliu quickly poured another glass of water for him, worried that the handful of pills might get stuck and somehow end up becoming his responsibility. Thinking for a moment, he also took a candy out of his pocket for the other man. No way he was giving him the rose-lychee flavor — that one was his favorite. He had only grabbed three in a hurry. No, he gave him a milk candy instead. Better than letting the man suffer from the bitterness.

While the other man was drinking water, Xu Xiliu swiftly unwrapped the milk candy and stuffed it into his mouth.

“What did you just make me eat?!” Qin Li was caught completely off guard by the sudden object shoved into his mouth. His eyes widened in shock, genuinely stunned that his private doctor would be bold enough to poison him right in front of his face.

As soon as he finished speaking, he tried to spit it out.

Xu Xiliu reacted quickly and covered the man’s mouth with one hand.

Qin Li’s expression immediately turned frightening, dark and intense. The atmosphere froze in an instant, filled with a sense of an approaching storm. Xu Xiliu was also surprised at his own reflex, but since his hand was indeed still over the man’s mouth, he had no choice but to force a slightly awkward smile and gently coax him, “Don’t spit it out, it’s good stuff.”

Qin Li asked back, not believing him, “What is it?”

“Milk candy.”

Xu Xiliu smiled innocently.

“…”

At that moment, Qin Li began to taste a sweet, milky flavor spreading in his mouth, forcefully driving out the bitterness of the medicine.

“Taking medicine is too bitter, so I thought Mr. Qin could have something sweet to balance it out. I didn’t expect it to startle you. My apologies,” Xu Xiliu explained with a cheerful smile. As he spoke, he also withdrew the hand that had been covering the man’s mouth. Qin Li gave him a dark look and let out a cold snort, but he did not spit out the candy.

The milk candy melted gently in his mouth, very much like the soft and gentle aura of the young man in front of him.

Qin Li caught sight of the smile on the other’s face, lowered his gaze in silence.

Even if this person had no bad intentions for now, he still did not feel the need to apologize for his initial suspicion.

He had been in the dark for too long, far past the stage of naive, unconditional trust in others. And judging by his current situation, how many people around him could truly mean him well?

A cunning fox knows that to get the dinner it wants, playing cute and clever is the first priority.

Qin Li lowered his eyes, hiding the flash of cold light that had passed through them.

Xu Xiliu had no idea what the man in front of him was thinking. He figured that the routine checkup was done, lunch had been eaten, and he had even made sure the protagonist gong took his medicine. Everything was complete. It was time to go home and lie down.

Just the thought of being able to lie flat made him excited. But before he could take a step, the man in front of him stopped him. “Dr. Xu, stay here for a couple of days.”

“…What?” Xu Xiliu wondered if something was wrong with his hearing.

Why did he have to stay?

Was the man planning to detain him illegally?

A terrifying idea popped into Xu Xiliu’s mind.

Tch, hard to say. This really did sound like something that crazy protagonist gong from the book would do. But he had not done anything to deserve that, right? Just earlier, when they were cooperating and baiting others, everything had seemed pretty harmonious.

One man sat, the other stood. The air between them filled with silence.

“My condition has not been right lately. I want Dr. Xu to stay and keep an eye on me,” Qin Li spoke after a few seconds. He looked up, his expression somewhere between a smile and not, and his mood instantly darkened again. He said in a cold and sinister tone, “Dr. Xu, you said it yourself, taking care of me is your responsibility. What now, having second thoughts?”

“Of course not.”

Hearing that it was not life-threatening, Xu Xiliu let out a sigh of relief and immediately replied, “I was just surprised to hear it so suddenly, that’s all.”

Being a private doctor meant serving the rich after all. For convenience, staying at the employer’s house was not unusual.

It was just regular cooperation for treatment. Listening to the way the protagonist gong said it, one might think it was something as serious as murder or robbery.

Looking at the gloomy man staring at him, Xu Xiliu shrugged casually and kept his polite and gentle smile. “Since Mr. Qin put it that way, I’ll stay and trouble you for a while.”

“But during these two days I’m staying here, I’ll definitely be watching to make sure Mr. Qin takes his medicine every day. Mr. Qin, be prepared.”

The smile at the corner of Xu Xiliu’s lips grew a bit more genuine.

At a glance, there was even a hint of slyness.

Look at this guy, trying to skip medicine in front of a doctor.

Qin Li paused for a moment, his face darkening slightly. He scoffed with clear disdain. “Whatever.”

That was the end of their conversation.

Very soon, Qin Li lost his patience and waved his hand, signaling Xu Xiliu to leave quickly.

As if even looking at him another second would be unbearable.

Xu Xiliu was not particularly interested in staying in the same room with the gloomy protagonist gong either, so he left promptly.

He returned to the guest room that the butler had prepared for him.

Once he was alone, Xu Xiliu finally had time to carefully think about the meaning behind the man’s actions.

The protagonist gong would not do something without a reason. As things stood now, their relationship was still peaceful, purely that of doctor and patient. There was no conflict of interest, and the other party had no reason to target him.

Moreover, the protagonist gong carried a heavy sense of world-weariness and had never shown him a friendly face. He had always been dismissive of treatment, so asking him to stay just to provide medical care seemed a bit far-fetched.

So keeping him around was probably for some other reason?

Thinking of his role as a tool character and what had happened at the dining table earlier, Xu Xiliu formed a guess, and his mood settled.

And just like that, Xu Xiliu staying here became a done deal.

Since he was already here, there was no way he was going to stay holed up in a room all day. That would be far too boring, he thought.

After getting the man’s permission, Xu Xiliu began exploring the estate. Speaking of which, this mountain villa was truly beautiful. It covered a vast area, with gardens in the front and back, an elegant design, and a view that extended down the mountainside. The scenery was peaceful and refreshing, the air was clean, and it felt just like a vacation resort.

Even inside the villa, there were plenty of fun things to do. The home theater and gaming room were fully equipped, which made Xu Xiliu eager to try them out. He started wondering whether, after finishing his work with the protagonist gong, he could use his savings to buy a similar villa for himself.

He was enjoying himself, but as the owner of the estate, the man stayed cooped up in his room all day. It was unclear what he was doing.

Xu Xiliu would occasionally glance at that tightly closed window and feel a mix of emotions.

He did not actually know much about the plot of the book. After all, he had never read it properly himself. Most of what he knew came from coworkers chatting beside him. So he really had no idea what the man had gone through to become like this.

The man was born into a wealthy family. Thinking about all the things that go on in such households… it was probably a mess of blood and storms.

He was also extremely cautious, with a strong sense of self-protection. In the novel, although the private doctor held the title of a medical professional, he was more like a household physician and did not actually play any real role in treating the man’s psychological issues. After all, he was not a trained psychologist and could not offer professional mental health support.

He was just someone who showed up like a tough and tireless tool every time the protagonist gong had an episode at night, rushing in to handle it urgently and struggling to help restore his physical health. In contrast, it was only after the appearance of the protagonist shou that the protagonist gong truly began to open up and improve mentally.

Because of that, the current Xu Xiliu only seemed to have a grasp on Qin Li’s condition. In reality, he was completely in the dark.

He could also sense that the other person did not trust him. All he knew was that the man’s mental state was poor and his physical health was very weak, with a bunch of minor problems. Everything he knew was surface-level. When it came to deeper issues, the other person shut him out entirely.

Adding to that, Xu Xiliu’s mind was full of suffocating memories of his own life as a tool character…

Sigh.

Forget it.

Emotional wounds require emotional healing. If the mental knot could be untied, he would probably get much better.

Who knows when that sunshine-like protagonist shou would finally show up. In the meantime, he would just focus on nursing the man’s health.

The protagonist gong’s body absolutely could not collapse. Wouldn’t that make him look completely useless? He had to go figure out how to get this rebellious patient to properly take care of himself.

While Xu Xiliu was happily enjoying himself, the atmosphere inside a small room in the mountain estate was heavy and tense.

The estate was large, and many staff were needed for daily upkeep, so most of the servants lived on-site in rooms provided specifically for them.

This particular room was a standard servant’s room.

At this time of day, most of the staff were still working outside, and there was no one nearby. That made the room feel especially quiet. Within this silence stood two people facing each other, the mood between them clearly serious. One was an older woman, and the other was a sharp-looking middle-aged man dressed in a butler’s uniform. It was Steward Xue, the one Qin Li had sent off earlier with orders.

The woman, known as Mama Zhao, asked her husband in a panic, “Is it true? Did the young master really say himself that I’m being kicked out?”

“Do you think it could be fake?” Steward Xue cursed under his breath, his expression still dark. “Who knows what kind of madness that lunatic is on now.”

“But I’ve been in the Qin household for so many years. Can’t you talk to him? Maybe I could stay on…” Mama Zhao was unwilling to accept it.

Who would want to give up such a cushy position?

Good pay, little work.

Where else could she find something like this again…

“You think that useless lunatic would agree to that?” Before she could even finish, Steward Xue cut her off impatiently, clearly irritated. “If there were any room for negotiation, would I even be here now?”

He shot a glance at Mama Zhao and muttered a few more curses under his breath.

Steward Xue had served in the Qin family for a long time. Not long ago, he had followed the heir of the Qin family to this mountain estate.

It was laughable, really. The so-called young master of the Qin family, who was rumored to have gone mad, was now holed up in this place. They said it was for recuperation, but in truth, it was more like house arrest. Everyone in the estate knew this, and their job was to take care of him.

During the time when the man’s mind was unclear, Steward Xue had lived quite comfortably, more than just a little. This place was detached from the Qin family, far from the city and from other people. Only they lived here, and as the steward, most of the estate was actually under his control. He was like a local landlord.

They said their job was to take care of the Qin family heir, but how exactly were they supposed to care for someone who had no family, no friends, and a troubled mind? To put it plainly, all he had to do was make sure that once-proud heir of the Qin family stayed alive. As for everything else, who really cared?

So during that time, Steward Xue abused his power for personal gain. He brought in several of his own relatives to work in the estate and made money off it.

Most of the time, the man was in a daze. Even when he was clear-headed, he paid no attention to them. Because of this, Steward Xue’s little schemes had always gone smoothly. Life remained pleasant for him. Who would have expected that today the madman, for some unknown reason, would suddenly decide to change people?

At first, Steward Xue was shocked. Then he was frightened by the man’s cold and vicious gaze.

After the shock wore off, his mood soured. He had been simmering with anger ever since he left the room.

A sick lunatic abandoned by his family still trying to act like some young master?

And that private doctor with the pretty face — he had thought he was clever, but now it was clear he was just another fool who could not mind his own business.

This would not do.

Steward Xue’s expression twisted into one of mocking disdain. When his gaze landed on the phone on the table, he seemed to think of something. After steadying his thoughts, he turned to the dazed Mama Zhao and said, “You can’t stay here anymore. We don’t want to alert anyone, so leave quietly. What about the thing I asked you to keep safe earlier? No one found it, right? Hand it over now.”

“No, no, I’ve been very careful…”

Mama Zhao responded nervously, then took a small bottle from a hidden compartment in the drawer and handed it to Steward Xue.

“Good. I want to see how long that lunatic can hold on.”

Steward Xue put the item away, let out a cold snort, and left the room.

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T/N: This Steward Xue is really getting on my nerves