After My Cheap Husband Faked His Death, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with His Younger Brother - Chapter 2

Luo Huai winced, clutching his backside. The pain was so intense that he curled back into the duvet, watching helplessly as the man who had inflicted such torture on his behind tossed a stack of cash onto the bed. The man then straightened his cuffs with refined elegance, picked up his suit jacket, and strode away with casual flair.

Thump.

The door clicked shut.

“My god, it wasn’t a dream…”

The spot on his butt where he had been pinched burned like fire. Tears pricked Luo Huai’s eyes, and he squeezed them shut, feeling utterly exhausted.

Great. Aside from his head and his waist, he now had three times the misery.

“That guy hits like a total psychopath.”

Luo Huai felt his life was truly miserable. The man had just dumped money and left; he could not even tell who had “bought” whom.

But oh well, he thought. He had managed to see his face just now, and that Alpha was actually quite handsome. It was not a total loss!

Luo Huai dressed himself, and before leaving the room, he could not resist sniffing the air for the pheromones lingering in the room.

Beyond the sweet scent of his own acacia blossoms, there was an extremely faint, cool fragrance of fir wood. It was wispy and thin, and even though only the base notes remained, it still carried an overwhelming sense of dominance.

Fir, huh.

Luo Huai stepped out.

[Luo Huai, it is the day of the return visit to your parents’ home. The butler said you were not there. Did you go back alone?]

A WeChat message popped up from the contact saved as “Idiot.”

Luo Huai rubbed his temples and clicked his tongue.

He quickly told the taxi driver the location of the Luo family estate before taking a deep breath and typing back:

[I did not want to disturb your rest, so I did not tell you. You can just head over directly; I will explain everything to Mom and Dad.]

Lin Yuhe was cold to Luo Huai, but he always kept up appearances in front of Luo Huai’s parents. A “return visit” was something he could not afford to neglect.

However, Luo Huai had acted so “considerate.” The way he phrased it, “your rest,” carried an undercurrent of bitterness between the lines.

There, he thought. Let that idiot feel guilty.

Luo Huai exited WeChat, immediately ordered some decent-grade health supplements and fruit through a delivery app, requested them to be dropped off at the villa gate, tossed his phone aside, and leaned back in his seat to pretend to nap.

When he arrived at the Luo residence, Lin Yuhe had not arrived yet.

He walked in carrying the gifts. Luo’s mother was sitting on the living room sofa; she paused when she saw him.

“Oh, child, why bring gifts when coming to your own home? Where is Lin?”

Luo Huai smiled and handed her the items: “Mom, he had something come up at the office, so I came ahead of him. He will be here shortly.”

The word “Mom” slipped out, but it felt incredibly foreign to Luo Huai himself.

He had been back in this house for less than two months; he still found it hard to get used to the fact that he suddenly had a mother.

Luo’s mother seemed equally awkward. She took the gifts, opened her mouth to say something, but eventually just pointed to the sofa: “Child, sit down first.”

Luo Huai nodded and sat down obediently.

The Luo family living room was vast, with exquisite decor; every piece of furniture was worth a fortune. Sitting there, Luo Huai always felt like a guest in someone else’s house.

In reality, it was exactly that. Despite the mother and son having identical eyes, there was no intimacy between them whatsoever.

Luo’s mother sat at the other end of the sofa. After a moment of silence, she tried to find a topic, asking if the last few days around the wedding had gone well, if he was getting used to the Lin household, and how Lin Yuhe was treating him.

Luo Huai answered them one by one, his responses flawless and his face masked with a smile.

After chatting for a while, seeing that the house was quiet, Luo Huai deliberately asked: “Mom, where is Jingxi? Why is he not at home?”

Luo’s mother sighed, though her eyes softened, a reaction she clearly reserved for her own child: “That kid, he disappeared right after your wedding, saying he was going to a friend’s house. He did not even come home last night.”

Luo Huai nodded without a word.

A friend’s house.

He remembered the provocative message he had received at dawn.

Yes, a “friend’s house.”

Luo Huai picked up his teacup and took a sip, hiding a mocking smile behind the rim of the cup.

Half an hour later, the door opened.

Lin Yuhe walked in, followed by Luo Jingxi.

Lin Yuhe was wearing a light-colored suit, his hair combed meticulously. With his sword-like brows and starry eyes, he was indeed a handsome Alpha.

But compared to the one at the club last night, he was definitely paled in comparison, Luo Huai thought.

“Mom,” Lin Yuhe greeted, his gaze sweeping over Luo Huai on the sofa.

Luo Huai stood up and greeted him with a smile, his tone softening: “You are here.”

As he approached, he clearly saw Luo Jingxi’s hand just letting go of Lin Yuhe’s arm.

Luo Huai’s smile remained unchanged.

Luo’s mother walked over with a smile: “Jingxi, you are back too? You brat, always running off.”

Luo Jingxi blinked his watery eyes and gave a cute, obedient smile: “I just happened to run into Brother Yuhe on the way, so we came back together.”

As the words left his mouth, Lin Yuhe looked at Luo Huai’s expression, his jaw tight, as if he were terrified that Luo Huai might expose them.

Luo Huai kept smiling and did not say a word.

“Jingxi,” Luo’s mother said, sounding slightly displeased, “Your Brother Yuhe is married to Xiao Huai now. You need to keep a proper distance and stop clinging to him all the time.”

Luo Jingxi stuck out his tongue in a playful manner: “I am just used to it. Sorry, Brother Xiao Huai.”

He looked at Luo Huai with an apologetic expression.

Luo Huai met his gaze and smiled gently.

“It is fine,” he said softly. “I know that Jingxi and Yuhe are very close.”

As he said this, his gaze brushed over Lin Yuhe. His expression held a hint of timidity, grievance, and obedience, the kind of fawning look that says, “I am fine, do not worry about me.”

Lin Yuhe’s brow furrowed slightly. “That, I…”

Just as he started to speak, footsteps echoed from the stairs.

“Are the children all here?”

Luo’s father’s voice came down with a smile.

Luo Huai looked up.

Luo’s father was walking down the stairs, and following behind him was a man.

The man was wearing a dark gray shirt with the cuff buttons done up to the very last one. He carried a suit jacket over his arm. He had an upright stature, broad shoulders, and a slim waist; his aura was exceptional.

Further up, he had a face with incredible bone structure. His eyes were deep-set, his nose bridge high, and his thin lips were slightly pursed. He wore a pair of silver-framed glasses, and his entire demeanor was gentle yet distant.

Luo Huai’s eyes locked onto that face.

His heart skipped a beat, then began hammering at three times its normal speed.

That face.

Those eyes.

That back, standing by the hotel window this morning, slowly buttoning up his cuffs. That man who pinched his butt twice and walked away with a faint smile after tossing down a stack of cash.

That man!

He is walking down the stairs right now!

Luo Huai’s mind went completely blank.

“Xiao Huai, Yuhe, Jingxi, come here,” Luo’s father gestured with a smile. “Let me introduce you.”

The man paused for a second, walked down the stairs, and stood beside Luo’s father, his gaze sweeping over the people in the living room with indifference.

When his eyes landed on Luo Huai, he stopped for only a second before moving on.

That glance was incredibly faint, but Luo Huai felt his backside start to throb in pain again.

“This is Pei Jiheng,” Luo’s father said. “A brother I swore to when I was doing business overseas. Although we are brothers, he is only four years older than Yuhe; you can just call him Uncle. He just returned from abroad and will be developing his career here from now on.”

Luo Huai calculated internally: four years older than Lin Yuhe meant he was six years older than him.

Bah! An old bull eating tender grass! A beast in human clothing! A hypocritical scoundrel!

Pei Jiheng nodded slightly as a greeting.

Lin Yuhe and Luo Jingxi were in perfect sync as they called out, “Hello, Uncle.”

When it was Luo Huai’s turn, he pulled himself together, opened his mouth, and found his throat a bit dry.

“H-hello, Uncle.”

Pei Jiheng looked at him; behind the lenses of his glasses, his eyes were unreadable.

“And who is this?” he asked Luo’s father.

“My son, Luo Huai. This child suffered quite a bit in his earlier years and only just returned home,” Luo’s father introduced, his expression turning melancholy for a moment. “He married the Lin family’s youngest son yesterday, and today is the return visit.”

Pei Jiheng nodded, raising an eyebrow slightly. He kept his gaze on Luo Huai without looking away, speaking slowly: “Happy wedding.”

Luo Huai forced a smile: “Thank you, Uncle.”

Pei Jiheng had already turned his gaze away, taking a seat at the dining table at Luo’s father’s invitation.

“Sit, everyone, sit. It has not been this lively in this house for a long time.”

Luo’s father laughed heartily, sat next to him, and began chattering about business matters.

Luo Huai sat opposite them, holding his teacup, stealing glances with his peripheral vision.

The man sat upright, his posture casual, nodding occasionally or saying a word or two, maintaining the image of a gentle elder. He was even more composed than Luo’s father, who had been in business for many years.

Who on earth is he?

As Luo Huai wondered, his gaze could not help but fall on the man’s hands.

The lighting last night had been too dim, and he had not clearly seen what the man was wearing, but he remembered these hands, long and pale with distinct knuckles. When he pinned him against the door…

Luo Huai snatched his gaze back, lowering his head to drink his tea.

What are you thinking about? Calm down!

But that scent of fir wood seemed to linger at the tip of his nose.

Wait.

He suddenly remembered something.

Alpha.

The man last night was an Alpha; the pheromones were so thick they made his legs go weak.

But this man in front of him—

Luo Huai secretly took a sniff.

No pheromones.

Just the faint scent of men’s cologne, indistinguishable from any ordinary person.

Luo Huai froze, then immediately realized.

Pei Jiheng is pretending to be a Beta. The reason is unknown.

“Xiao Huai?” Luo’s mother’s voice rang out. “What are you thinking about?”

Luo Huai snapped out of it, realizing everyone was looking at him.

He blinked and revealed an obedient smile: “Nothing, I was just listening to Dad and Uncle talk, and I got lost in thought.”

Luo’s father laughed: “This child, having not been around since childhood, is actually quite obedient now that he is back.”

Pei Jiheng’s gaze landed on his face, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

“Is that so?” he said. “You look… indeed obedient. But… did you not rest well last night?”

Luo Huai met that gaze and always felt there was some hidden meaning behind it.

He smiled slightly: “Thank you for your concern, Uncle. It is the wedding night, you know, hard to get any sleep.”

The insinuation could not have been clearer…

The two locked eyes, and it was Lin Yuhe who coughed twice, confused, though no one paid him any mind.

Luo Huai’s eyes were calm, and he read a hint of playfulness in the eyes behind Pei Jiheng’s glasses.

‘Keep up the act.’

Luo Huai squinted.

‘You, too.’