Xingyu had to wonder whether Xiao-Xiao knew that. He’d been so upset when Xingyu came back—with good reason, of course, but he’d been even more upset when Xingyu said he was going to start taking his lessons again. He knew that Xiao-Xiao was working hard to earn his place in the company; while he was abroad, he’d made sure to keep up on any articles that came out about Xiao-Xiao. It was no wonder he was the city’s most eligible bachelor—everyone loved him. A lot of people thought he should have been the heir whether Xingyu came back or not.

He supposed…maybe he had expected that when he left. Maybe he had wanted that. Maybe he thought that Xiao-Xiao was old enough by the time he left—independent enough—to be able to take Xingyu’s place when he left. Maybe he assumed that his ba would treat Xiao-Xiao better because he was the only one left.

The knife slipped from Xingyu’s hand and scraped on his knuckle. He hissed and immediately put the cut into his mouth. Damn. This was the last thing he wanted.

He left the knife and the vegetables on the counter and went looking for the first aid kit, a paper towel wrapped around his finger. Not in the guest bathroom—they would never keep such things in public view. The servant’s closet? No, not there either. There weren’t any in his room, that was for damn sure—he’d already done a thorough sweep when he’d been looking for anything he left behind.

“Laoma?” He found her by the front door and did a little half-jog to catch her before she left. “Do you have any idea where the first aid kit is?”

She opened the coat closet and started sifting through it. “Check Xiaokai’s room. I think he keeps it in his bathroom. Why, are you hurt?” She eyed the paper towel, which was growing increasingly red.

“It’s nothing serious. I just got a small cut when I was making myself lunch.” He held up the haphazardly-bandaged finger. “I thought I should bandage it up just in case.”

“Make sure to wash it.” She finally decided on a coat—a long, elegant black wrap that she tied nearly around her waist. “I’ll be back later tonight.”

“Is Xiao-Xiao’s room unlocked?”

“Of course it is. It’s always unlocked. Don’t tell him you went in there, though. He’s a bit touchy about people going through his things.”

It felt strange to be in Xiao-Xiao’s room.

He hadn’t even tried the doorknob when he’d been searching the rest of the house. It felt…wrong to even look at it. After what had happened.