Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Despite Wu Wei's good promises to Wu Erbai in the morning, his mind started to wander again when he saw that Wu Erbai hadn't come back for lunch.

"Xiao Xie, do you want to go out to eat?"

Wu Xie looked at his brother warily: "Second Uncle said you should take good care of yourself."

"Your second uncle isn't coming back for lunch again," Wu Wei whispered, plotting.

"Let's just go out for a meal, and come right back without anyone noticing."

Wu Xie's expression relaxed slightly, but when his gaze fell on Wu Wei's arm in a cast across his chest, he hesitated again.

"Your injury hasn't healed yet, it will hurt when you walk."

"It doesn't hurt anymore, it really doesn't hurt anymore. The doctor said I'm fine today," Wu Wei said confidently.

Wu Xie couldn't resist his brother's expectant gaze after all.

He sighed, got up, and pushed a wheelchair over from the back. "You sit here, I'll push you there."

Wu Wei looked at the wheelchair, and his lips twitched.

"I only broke a few bones, I'm not paralyzed."

Erjing prepared this when I was discharged from the hospital, and I never expected it to actually come in handy.

Wu Xie stared at him without saying a word.

Wu Wei tried to struggle: "Isn't it necessary? I can walk."

"Choose one: wheelchair or stay home." Wu Xie rarely showed any backbone in front of Wu Wei.

"……sit."

Wu Wei resignedly sat down, his right hand dangling in front of his chest, his left hand resting on the armrest, before Wu Xie pushed him out the door.

The last time Wu Xie came to Beijing was when he was in school. He got a little lost after leaving the alley.

Wu Wei sat in a wheelchair, occasionally raising his left hand to point the way:

"Turn right at the next intersection."

"Behind, yes, that street."

"Brother, what do you want to eat?" Wu Xie asked him, pushing his wheelchair down.

"Hot pot." Wu Wei said without hesitation.

"No, it's too spicy." Wu Xie refused decisively.

"I can have it mildly spicy."

"No." Wu Xie said firmly.

He knows Wu Wei too well; he loves spicy food and vegetables.

He coughed so hard his ribs hurt, and he was the one who suffered.

Having no other option, Wu Wei settled for second best: "How about hot pot with mutton? Clear broth, not spicy."

Wu Xie thought about it and realized that the mutton hot pot was indeed served in a clear broth, so there shouldn't be any problem.

"This one's fine. Which one's good?"

"There's a well-established restaurant around the corner, with a good reputation," Wu Wei pointed in another direction.

It was still very hot in Beijing at this time, and Wu Wei had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Wu Xie pushed the wheelchair halfway and saw a cold drink stall by the roadside, so he pushed the wheelchair to a stop under the shade of a tree:

"Brother, wait for me a moment."

A short while later, he returned with two popsicles, unwrapped one of them, and handed it to Wu Wei.

Unable to eat while pushing his own wheelchair, he hung another stick on the wheelchair.

Wu Wei took the popsicle, took a big bite, let out a long sigh of relief, and leaned back in his wheelchair, exclaiming, "I'm alive again."

He glanced at the popsicle that Wu Xie was still hanging on his wheelchair:

"It's too hot, let me eat yours first."

Wu Xie looked down at the popsicle in Wu Wei's hand that was missing a piece.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating Wu Wei's fingers and the places he had bitten.

As if possessed, Wu Xie lowered his head and took a bite from Wu Wei's hand.

My heart skipped a beat for no reason, and I mumbled, "Well, here we are, eating."

They grew up together, and although such affectionate gestures decreased as they grew older, Wu Wei didn't feel anything was wrong.

He looked at Wu Xie with a smile, and raised the popsicle a little higher with his left hand: "Alright, I don't mind."

Wu Xie looked at Wu Wei's upturned peach blossom eyes, then lowered his head and took another bite.

……

When we arrived at that time-honored hot pot restaurant, it was lunchtime.

The hall was bustling with noise, and white steam from the copper pots rose from each table, mingling with the aroma of mutton and sesame sauce.

Wu Xie asked a waiter if they had any private rooms, but the waiter shook his head apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, all the private rooms are full right now during dinner time. There's a semi-private room downstairs, it's quite quiet if you draw the curtain, would that be alright?"

Wu Wei leaned out from his wheelchair: "A half-package is fine too."

Wu Xie then pushed Wu Wei and followed the waiter toward the half-private area.

Halfway there, a hesitant voice came from behind: "Wu Xie?"

Wu Xie turned his head in confusion and saw Fatty Wang standing at the shop entrance, one hand still on the curtain, obviously having just come in.

Wang Yueban saw Wu Xie turn around and stride towards him:

"It really is you! I recognized your back just now, so I called out, and it really is you."

"Fatty?" Wu Xie was also a little surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Come and have some food!"

Fatty Wang approached and his gaze shifted to the wheelchair. Seeing Wu Wei with his arm in a cast, he exclaimed in surprise:

"Wu Wei? How did you get so badly injured?"

Wu Wei smiled and raised his uninjured left hand, waving it: "It's a long story. Want to eat something?"

Wang Pangzi was naturally outgoing and got along particularly well with Wu Xie, so he naturally agreed without hesitation.

"Alright! Today, Fatty's treating you all, to show you the utmost hospitality. Let's go!"

The air conditioning inside the store was on full blast, making it much cooler than outside.

The three sat down, and a copper pot was brought out, with clear soup bubbling.

The mutton was sliced ​​as thin as paper and arranged neatly on the plate.

Wu Xie picked up a few slices of mutton, cooked them, dipped them in sauce, and put them into Wu Wei's bowl first.

Wu Wei wasn't very good at using chopsticks with his left hand, so Wu Xie gave him a spoon instead.

As the fat man ate his mutton hotpot, he couldn't help but ask, "What happened to you? The last time I saw you, you were full of life. It hasn't been that long, and you're already in a wheelchair."

Wu Wei only mentioned that they encountered a strange tomb and recounted how the two of them dealt with the female corpse.

The fat man stopped eating with his chopsticks: "My goodness, this thing is really weird, it can even produce bombs with its sound."

Then he sighed as he spoke.

"I don't know what kind of bad luck Fatty has had lately. Forget about a big tomb, he hasn't even come across a decent pit. All he's found are empty shells that have already been emptied out. It's all been a waste of time."

"Don't worry, Fatty, you're very lucky. You'll meet a great treasure sooner or later."

The fat man was pleased to hear this and then shared some interesting stories about his recent work dealing in antiques at Panjiayuan.

Which shop owner doesn't know the value of a product and sells the real thing as a fake? Which regular customer spends a lot of money to buy a counterfeit and still refuses to believe it? They describe it vividly.

Wu Xie was delighted to hear this, as Wu Shan Ju also dealt in antiques.

He and the fat man were in the same industry, and the two chatted enthusiastically, one sentence after another.

Wu Wei ate the meat that Wu Xie had cooked for him, watching the two of them chat, and occasionally chiming in with a comment.

The soup in the copper pot bubbled and boiled, with wisps of white steam rising, making the meal both warm and lively.

After the meal, Fatty Wang insisted on paying the bill, and chatted with the two men at the restaurant entrance for a while before waving goodbye.

"Whenever you're free, come find me at Panjiayuan. I'll show you around properly."

On the way back, Wu Xie pushed Wu Wei and suddenly said, "Fatty is a really interesting guy."

Wu Wei's lips curved into a smile: "It is quite interesting."

Wu Xie added, "He said if we come across a large tomb next time, he'll call us along."

"Do you want to go?" Wu asked.

Wu Xie thought for a moment and nodded seriously.

Wu Wei chuckled, "I'll listen to you."

Back at Wu Erbai's residence, the two tiptoed inside.

Just as they were about to sneak back to their room, they saw Erjing standing at the entrance of the main hall, arms crossed, looking at them with disapproval.

Wu Wei raised his left hand without changing his expression: "Uncle Erjing, let's go out for some fresh air."

"How did you two agree to Second Master's request?"

"I just went out for a walk, I didn't do anything," Wu Wei insisted.

"Yes, Uncle Erjing, I'm watching over my brother."

Wu Xie has also grown up, able to give false testimony without batting an eye.

Erjing stared at the two of them expressionlessly.

Wu Xie was clearly feeling guilty and quickly admitted defeat.

"We were wrong, don't tell Uncle."

Wu Wei looked at Wu Xie with disappointment and frustration. He had grown a little, but not much.

Then he begged for mercy, "Uncle Erjing, this is the last time, please don't tell my dad."

Erjing could never refuse a child he had watched grow up, so he shook his head helplessly and left.

"This will not be repeated."