The old man’s face contorted with anger as he noticed his things had been moved. "Who told you to touch my stuff?" said the man his expression dark like Qie Xieling had messed up a painting he had been working on for decades.

Qie Xieling who thought that he was doing a good thing showing gratitude, "..."

"I just moved a few things around. Come on sit and eat before it gets cold," said Qie Xieling ready to chomp on some interstellar food to his heart’s content.

The man’s expression turned darker as he walked over to check his things Qie Xieling had moved.

Qie Xieling had clearly carefully touched the man’s belongings, arranging them methodically so he really didn’t see what the problem was.

"What have you done?!" he bellowed, his voice filled with fury. He hastily picked up his things before carefully packing them away. His actions were forceful, reflecting his deep frustration.

Qie Xieling, startled by the man’s reaction stood up and held his arm his voice laced with concern. "Uncle, please calm down. I only wanted to set the table so we could eat. Come let’s eat together."

But the old man’s anger continued to brew. He pulled his arm away as he glared at him, his eyes burning with resentment. "Don’t touch me and I am old enough to be your grandfather, not your uncle."

Qie Xieling for some reason couldn’t take him seriously. It kind of felt like friendly banter to him. "You? No, you aren’t that old. You look as young as I am," he said and the man stiffened for a moment before changing the subject.

"I thought you left. Didn’t they give you a salary advance?" he spat out, his words dripping with annoyance.

Qie Xieling’s surprise was evident on his face. "How did you know I got the job?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

The man paused for a moment as if contemplating his response. Then he replied with a hint of resignation, "Word travels fast. Shouldn’t you be at a fancy hotel or something? Why waste your time coming back here?"

A small smile tugged at the corners of Qie Xieling’s lips, understanding dawning upon him. "Uncle," he said gently, "I came here to thank you and let you know that I will be leaving tomorrow. The job is a stepping stone, but my benefactor is my priority. You saved me and I want to show you some gratitude."

"Don’t call me that. I am not your uncle," he said and Qie Xieling took the opportunity to get what he wanted.

"Uncle, I will stop only if you tell me your name."

The old man, "..."

"Not going to happen," he said and Qie Xieling followed up with,

"Okay, uncle. Sit down and eat." Qie Xieling sat down while saying that. He opened one of the bento boxes and poked the food with his fork. The man saw him take an extremely spicy squishy squid from one of the bento boxes and now he wanted to see him suffer.

He sat opposite him wordlessly. Qie Xieling warned him. "An old man like you won’t be able to handle the spiciness so eat everything else, not this." The man sneered ready to see him eat his words. He had expected Qie Xieling to struggle, to wince at the intense heat, and perhaps even spit out the mouthful of spiciness.

But instead, Qie Xieling devoured it with gusto, relishing the burning sensation that danced on his tongue. His lips were already stained a vibrant shade of red, evidence of the fiery sauce he had been indulging in. As he picked up a spoonful of the blazing squishy squid, he brought it to his mouth, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The man’s lips twitched as he observed Qie Xieling’s audacious display. He had never seen someone enjoy spicy food like this before. Qie Xieling’s enthusiasm was contagious, and the man found himself drawn into the spectacle despite being quite irritable.

Qie Xieling came out of his food trance and noticed that he wasn’t eating so he playfully nudged a plate of some creamy pasta toward him. "Come on, give it a try," he urged, his voice laced with mischief. "Don’t be shy. Eat some. You must be hungry, right?"

"I don’t eat food prepared by someone else. I already drank nutritional supplements," he said before standing up.

Qie Xieling was a little disappointed. These meals cost him an arm and a leg. He really wanted the old man to eat something good before he left but the man didn’t like it at all. He nodded his head slightly before continuing to take another bite. The taste seemed to change and the food wasn’t as good as before anymore. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The man continued packing away his things while glancing at Qie Xieling at the corner of his eye. He saw him pack away the things after a few bites before walking out. He didn’t ask anything. He just continued packing. But when Qie Xieling wasn’t back after ten minutes he tapped his communicator and asked,

"What is he doing?"

A second or two later someone replied back, "He is giving away food to the homeless outside." The man’s brows knitted with confusion in his eyes. Before he could think about it, Qie Xieling came back and he didn’t seem visibly upset.

"Here," said Qie Xieling before making a transfer of whatever was left from his advance. "That’s to thank you for saving me. You must have risked your life harbouring a criminal."

The man was a little stunned. This he truly didn’t expect. "I don’t need your money. Whatever I needed I got from your escape pod."

Qie Xieling smiled before saying, "My life is worth more than that and my friends’ lives are worth even more. This is all I have so I can only give you that for now," alluding to the fact that if he died everyone else would die too.

The man was a little confused. He couldn’t understand what he meant by friends. "Oh, here. I also bought you this," he said as gave him a box with expensive clothes. He had seen the man’s old clothes and felt like he needed good clothes to wear.