The Eldest Brother is Handsome but Sick. - Chapter 1

“Now listen, Physician Yan, that isn’t how you talk business. Delivering medicinal herbs in a heavy snowstorm is no easy feat. You’ve cut my price by more than half, how am I supposed to survive?”

The setting was Zhibai South Street in Jingning Town, Yizhou.

A heavy snow had fallen earlier that day, yet the streets were packed with people. They chatted, browsed wares, or enjoyed snacks, creating a picture of communal harmony. However, a keen observer would notice that most of the crowd consisted of women. No matter what they were doing, their eyes kept drifting with practiced nonchalance toward a single apothecary.

They were there for the show.

In front of the shop, two men one stout and one slender were locked in a heated argument over the price of herbs.

The slender one was Yan Jin, the Senior Disciple of the “Sansheng Hall” medical clinic. He was tall and elegant, with a willow-thin waist and long legs that gave him excellent proportions. His face was legendary among the local women, young and old alike. If one only looked at his physical form coupled with his noble bearing and the faint scent of medicine clinging to his robes, he seemed the picture of a tragic, ethereal beauty. He was like a lonely white lotus, a cold and elegant gentleman who could enchant a crowd simply by standing still.

Unfortunately, he had a mouth.

“Now, now, Boss Chen, there’s no need for such harsh words,” Yan Jin said, ignoring the man’s furious glare. He grinned and patted the merchant’s shoulder. “Besides, we’re old friends. Give me a discount—think of it as securing a loyal customer for next time.”

“Don’t give me that,” Boss Chen snapped, brushing Yan Jin’s hand away. “Eighty taels of silver. Not a single copper less!”

“Hey!” Yan Jin’s eyes widened. “Why can’t it be less? The same herbs only cost thirty taels last winter.”

“Is this the same situation? My dear Master Yan, look at how deep the snow is this year! Go ask around—who else is even willing to deliver herbs in this weather?”

Yan Jin stopped arguing. He simply nodded, and then, under the watchful eyes of the entire street, he dragged a wooden chair out from the apothecary. He wrapped his fur cloak tightly around himself and curled into a ball on the chair, looking for all the world like he intended to sit there until the end of time.

Seeing the crowd grow larger by the minute, Boss Chen paced back and forth in agitation. “Sansheng Hall is a famous clinic in Jingning. Is it really worth acting like a hooligan out here in the freezing cold?”

“You say that, but it’s only because.” Yan Jin paused. The crowd instinctively held their breath, leaning in to listen.

“Because I’m poor!”

His pronunciation was crystal clear, his tone utterly righteous.

In an instant, muffled laughter erupted from all corners of the street.

Boss Chen was visibly purple with rage. Only then did Yan Jin speak again, his voice slowing down: “Before I came here, I carefully calculated your transport costs. Forty-two taels. Even in a blizzard, that price ensures you won’t lose a penny.”

“You—”

“Let me finish,” Yan Jin interrupted.

“This year, we suffered a drought followed by these storms. Jingning Town is holding up, but the surrounding poor villages are struggling. Their local doctors can’t afford medicine, and many villagers are dying because they’re too afraid to seek help. These herbs are a lifeline for those people.” He dropped his playful act, stood up, and bowed deeply with solemn sincerity. “Forty-two taels is every last cent Sansheng Hall has. I ask you, Boss Chen, to show a little mercy.”

The cold wind continued to howl, but Yan Jin’s words carried a heavy weight.

Boss Chen remained silent for a long time. He sighed, just about to praise the physician for his righteousness, when the man who couldn’t stay serious for three sentences flashed a row of white teeth.

“Of course,” Yan Jin added, “if you want to just give them to me for free, I wouldn’t say no.”

“…” Boss Chen’s face went from red to purple. “Get out!”

By the time Yan Jin returned to the clinic, twilight was bleeding into the sky. He pulled his cloak tighter, shivering through several sneezes. He hurried toward the accounting office, thinking to himself: I have to supervise the herb delivery to the villages the day after tomorrow. I absolutely cannot get sick.

At that thought, his face fell. He slowly crouched down in front of his door, huddling into a fluffy ball. “This is it. I’m so poor I can’t even afford the New Year.”

Being broke was truly the ultimate suffering. The wind is so strong today; is it possible it might blow a stack of banknotes onto my face? Maybe I should stay crouched here a bit longer?

He sat there for an unknown amount of time.

Suddenly, Yan Jin looked up at the sky, his lips pressed thin and his eyes brimming with tears.

His legs. They were numb. He couldn’t get up.

“Move. You’re blocking the way.”

A voice came from behind him cold, indifferent, and utterly heartless. Yan Jin knew exactly which icy mouth those words came from without even looking.

Su Huai. Barely fifteen years old, he was the “bargain” Junior Brother Yan Jin had personally rescued from a wolf’s den six months ago.

Despite being his savior, the two of them didn’t get along. To be precise, Su Huai harbored a unilateral disdain for this Senior Brother who spent every day “disgracing himself” in public.

Of course, Yan Jin wasn’t entirely innocent. He was… eccentric. In every sense of the word.

For instance, two days ago, the local government arranged a seminar for doctors to study together. Upon hearing the news, Yan Jin sought out Su Huai the only reliable member of the sect.

“Junior Brother,” he had said, “interested in covering the morning meeting for me? Ten coppers a session. When they call the roll, just say your name is Yan Jin. They usually don’t ask questions; you just have to stand there like a post.”

Or yesterday, when Su Huai was taking a carriage to the West Street to buy supplies, Yan Jin had tapped on the window, his eyes curved in a smile: “Morning, Junior Brother! Want to carpool?”

The list went on.

Yan Jin chose to put those memories behind him. Su Huai stood over him, watching as the white ball of fur shifted in an incredibly bizarre manner to clear the path.

“Yan Jin.” Su Huai frowned, unable to bear the sight. “If your legs are too numb to stand, just say so.”

“Oh,” Yan Jin looked up, remarkably honest. “My legs are numb. Do me a favor and give me a hug?”

“…”

That was Yan Jin’s specialty: saying the most ridiculous things with absolute sincerity, often catching Su Huai off guard. The younger boy looked down, wordlessly meeting Yan Jin’s gaze.

Yan Jin’s eyes were the crowning feature of his face. He had a small red mole between his brows, and the corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward. When he looked at someone, he always seemed to be wearing a faint, soulful smile. After a long day of work, his pale face carried a thin flush like rouge, and his lips were a vivid red. His damp hair clung to his forehead, making him look like a begonia flower drenched by the rain.

The surroundings were silent, save for the metaphorical sparks flying between them.

Just as this “battle” was reaching its peak…

A cheerful electronic voice rang out in Yan Jin’s mind:

[Let’s see what my favorite ship is doing! A deep, soulful gaze!]

“It’s not a soulful gaze,” Yan Jin corrected the System mentally. “I’m having a staring contest with him.”

[…………] The System’s creative pen snapped. She swapped it for a new one and asked tonelessly, [Then what kind of performance art is this?]

To be honest, Yan Jin didn’t know what Su Huai was doing either. Surely, he wasn’t trying to figure out a “cool” way to pick him up?

No, impossible. Even if the sky fell, Su Huai would find the time to mock him before dragging him down into the abyss together.

Yan Jin thought for a moment and sighed. “This is probably just male competitiveness. No matter what happens, never be the first to look away mostly because you might reveal a double chin.”

Snap. The System’s pen broke again.

This was System 099, a “Health System” that had bound itself to Yan Jin before his transmigration, curing his terminal illness. Unfortunately, immediately after being cured, he had been reborn into this world. The good news: he was as hardy as a cockroach and hard to kill. The bad news: he was permanently frail and sickly. With the System’s energy depleted, it could only linger in his head, “shipping” him with others while they both lived hand-to-mouth.

Finding it boring to tease the boy while stuck on the ground, Yan Jin decided to try and stand up himself.

However, just as he was awkwardly wincing and trying to hoist himself up, the boy who had been standing frozen beside him suddenly reached out and leaned in!

Wait, what’s happening?!

The System’s eyes widened with excitement: [This beautiful brotherly bond!]

Yan Jin’s eyes widened with horror.

Su Huai was still closing in!

No way!

Yan Jin clutched his chest, a look of martyrdom on his face. “Wait, I don’t—”

“I… wait, whoa! What are you doing?!”

His sentence was cut short. No hands touched his waist. Instead, with a tight jaw, Su Huai reached down, grabbed Yan Jin by the back of his collar, and hoisted him up like a scruffy kitten. He hauled him into the accounting room and “thudded” him down onto a chair. The move was so rough that Yan Jin’s side slammed into the armrest, he had shown absolutely no mercy.

“…” The tingling of his legs combined with the dull ache in his side made Yan Jin’s face contort. After a long pause, he looked at the ceiling and said dryly, “Ah, yes. Such a beautiful brotherly bond.”

“Brothers?” Su Huai paused at the door, glancing back with a cold sneer. “Years ago, you sold me to a human trafficker for a mere ten taels of silver.”

“You sold me with your own hands. Have you forgotten?”