Uncle Lu quickly arrived, the movement alerted Xia MingWen in the study. The two men walked in one after the other, concern etched across their faces.
Will glanced up and was slightly embarrassed. Now all three of them were staring at his back, his face reddened in nervousness.
Why did Dad have to come too? Unaware that he was already thinking of Xia MingWen as his father, Will tried to pull his shirt back down to stop their examination of him. However as soon as he moved, Xia JianYu caught his hand and stopped him from moving.
Uncle Lu opened the first aid kit and began cleaning the areas that were bloody, before bandaging him. Will winced as the wounds stung. He felt that this world was miserable, the injuries hurt when they were inflicted and when they were treated it never seemed to end. Sigh, what he wouldn't give for a little mana right now. A small minor healing spell and he would be good.
Will went to cradle his cheek with his hand, only to discover that Xia JianYu was still holding it. He softly tugged a bit, but he couldn't break free.
Xia JianYu patted his hand, thinking that An An was scared again. Ah, An An is so cute. Look at his little pout, he probably wants his teddy bear.
So, Will was given the small teddy bear to hug by his newly acquired brother. His face flushed again, at this rate he was going to turn into a tomato permanently. He didn't want the bear. That was for little kids, which he wasn't. He might be in the body of one, but he was a proud wizard apprentice who had long outgrown such toys. Earlier was just a coincidence, he really meant to grab the pillow and not the bear! As he thought so, his arm brought the bear to his chest in case anyone tried to take it back. Well, since it was a gift from his big brother who clearly wanted him to feel better of course he would take care of it.
Taking the whole scene into his eyes, Xia MingWen smirked a bit. His sons were so cute, he just wanted to pull them both in for a big hug. Sadly, An An is hurt so he stopped himself. At this thought he frowned again, he had originally scheduled a hospital appointment for tomorrow to examine the little guy's health. He hadn't imagined that the woman had been so heavy handed on such a young child, some of those cuts were deep. After rubbing both of his son's heads, he got up to go discuss with Ning Huan about the situation.
Uncle Lu finished up soon after and left the two boys alone. Xia JianYu turned to look at Will, this made Will slightly apprehensive. The air seemed to still as they both just stared at each other. Soon Will couldn't take it, and he fidgeted around his eyes darting from left to right attempting to come up with something to say.
Before he had the chance, Xia JianYu finally spoke. "An An, let's go tour the house and then get lunch. I am sure you're hungry by now." His voice was gentle and sincere, trying be as nice as possible so that the smaller boy wouldn't be afraid of him.
That was it? Will almost gasped in relief, when he heard the older boy. He had thought there must be some major problem, what with how serious his face was.
"Okay, B-brother," he stammered. Xia JianYu was still staring seriously at him as though they were adults discussing the annual business budget, rather than two little buns exploring their house.
Xia JianYu helped him dress in new clothing before he grabbed hold of his hand again and pulled him gently out of the room. He kept his head down in shyness, he knew how to dress himself okay? Why did Xia JianYu have to help him?
The Xia family mansion three floors not including the basement and attic, which were used only for storage. The first floor held the entry hall, the kitchen, the dining room, the ballroom, the music room, and the parlor. It was where most of the entertaining happened, guests were rarely allowed outside the first floor.
The second floor was where most of the bedrooms were along with the library. There were a few guest rooms there as well. Will discovered that Xia Jianyu's room was right next to his, but the master bedroom was down the hall.
The third floor was dedicated to serious business. Xia MingWen's study was there, as well as a room that had been built out for Xia JianYu to be a study when he got a bit older. There was also a conference room, for more confidential matters. That was what Xia JianYu said anyway, Will wasn't really sure what that exactly meant though. What type of confidential stuff?
The last stop on the tour, was the garden. Conveniently, this is where they were going to be eating as well. Will wasn't very interested in this garden, all it had were some boring flowers and trees. Unlike the garden he had in his previous life, filled with magical herbs and plants. He had even had a strange Cannibal Flower that tried to bite him every time he visited. Now that was a real garden.
Xia JianYu led him to a gazebo in the very center of the garden where lunch was to be had. Both Xia MingWen and Ning Huan were there waiting, servants had just arrived with dishes as well. Will felt his stomach make its presence known, and he sped up. He felt as if he hadn't eaten a real meal in a hundred years.
He soon felt that it was a mistake. The meal was traditional D country fare, probably so as not to make him uncomfortable.
Unfortunately he was not Ning An, he had already discovered that the people here used a pair of sticks as eating utensils very different from his home country.
To be perfectly honest, he was almost completely incompetent with them. Eating side by side with the Xia family, he felt completely overwhelmed. Every move they made was filled with aristocratic elegance, no effort was wasted and nothing was out of place.
He on the other hand was a different story. His hands trembled badly trying to get the darn things in the correct posture, then when he finally managed that, the food he grabbed would slip back down to the plate. He had asked Jenny why the body hadn't retained muscle memory and she had replied that it was a twofold problem.
The first was that the original was only allowed to eat after his grandmother, usually a small pittance that was leftover therefore he had never really learned clearly.
The second was that he himself was completely unfamiliar with chopsticks so his subconscious was rejecting them. All in all, he had to learn by himself which quite obviously hadn't happened yet.
Embarrassment and frustration swirled together as he failed to get any food, all his actions felt absurd and awkward to him as his he became flustered. Will dared not look up at the rest of the table, because the one time he did he caught the fleeting disgust of Ning Huan and some of the servants.
They were probably ridiculing him for being so vulgar. He couldn't bear to see the same idea from his new father and brother. Tears filled his eyes, the blurry vision making it more impossible to work.
At first Xia JianYu and Xia MingWen didn't notice Will's situation, they were discussing tomorrow's hospital appointment. Then Xia JianYu noticed the small boy trembling out of the corner of his eye. He was alarmed, what had upset An An? He soon realized that Ning An didn't know how to use his chopsticks properly, but was too shy to ask for help. Xia JianYu deeply reflected on his lack of awareness as an older brother. He should have noticed sooner! Now An An was crying sadly into his plate. Xia JianYu gently reached over and took the chopsticks from the boy, only to realize that probably wasn't a good idea.
Will shrink away as soon the chopsticks were taken, he thought that Xia JianYu was annoyed at him. The tears started to flow faster down his cheeks, he was so ashamed. He had upset his new family just hours after meeting them. What if they didn't want him anymore?
Xia JianYu was at a loss staring at Ning An who was now sobbing even harder. He had just wanted to show him how to use them, but now An An was shrinking away from him as if he was afraid that he would hit him.
At this time, Xia MingWen came to the rescue. He reached over and picked up his sad little son. Will felt himself pressed up against a warm and broad chest, a hand was rubbing his back softly. He cried even harder now, feeling the care from his father. He just wanted to tell him that he would be better, so don't abandon him. Please? I will work hard, so don't leave.
His fingers clung tightly to the man's clothes, his face buried into them soaking them with tears. Xia MingWen hugged him tightly as if to reassure him that he wouldn't let go. Xia JianYu got up and joined in, rubbing Will's head in appeasement.
The whole scene overflowed with warmth and love, the three of them seemed to gain some sort of bond. As Ning Huan watched them, her gaze turned cold. Her plan may need to accelerate.