To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 10

The intoxication from the alcohol vanished halfway the moment Xie Shiyao saw Lin Zhuyi in such a state. He truly did not understand why Lin Zhuyi would appear in his room so early in the morning. If Lin Zhuyi cutting his earlobe with a knife as a child was done to file a false complaint with his father, then what about now? What did Lin Zhuyi want to gain this time? Was it his sympathy or his undignified anger?

Xie Shiyao rubbed his forehead with his palm. He forced himself to stand still despite the discomfort and spoke with irritation, “Do not tell me you did this to yourself just because I did not come home.”

The corner of Lin Zhuyi’s mouth twitched. “And if I said yes?”

“Brother, for me, this was truly a very long night. I called you and sent you messages, but you did not reply. You must have blocked me, right? I kept our agreement. I did not leave the house, and I did not go looking for you. I asked Uncle Li to check with your driver, and he said you went to the cemetery. Did you stay at the cemetery for the entire night? I feel like I am reaching my limit. I am being so good; you must be very happy and satisfied, right?”

Xie Shiyao swayed unsteadily. He walked over exhaustedly, bent down, picked up the fragments of the flower vase from Lin Zhuyi’s hand, and threw them into the trash can.

“I do not feel well right now. If you want to argue, can we do it tomorrow?”

Lin Zhuyi seemed completely caught off guard by this reaction. He looked closely and noticed that Xie Shiyao’s coat was damp; he had clearly been caught in the rain. Lin Zhuyi stood up and pressed his hand against Xie Shiyao’s forehead. It was quite hot.

“Brother, do you have a fever?”

Xie Shiyao slapped Lin Zhuyi’s hand away. He was already feeling miserable enough, and now he was smeared with so much blood. Xie Shiyao staggered and sat on the edge of the bed. “What is there to panic about? Have you not always wished for me to die?”

Those words were like a sharp arrow piercing Lin Zhuyi’s heart, pinning his expression in place. Lin Zhuyi opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could not say a word. Then, Lin Zhuyi turned and left.

Whether it was out of anger at Lin Zhuyi’s inexplicable behavior or because of the fever, Xie Shiyao lay down on the bed without even taking off his coat. He felt truly unwell. With so much of Lin Zhuyi’s blood on his forehead, he must look very unsightly right now.

Before long, Lin Zhuyi returned with a medical kit. Seeing Xie Shiyao’s condition, the bloodshot streaks in his eyes increased; he was clearly very angry. Lin Zhuyi opened the medical kit, took out an ibuprofen tablet, and forcefully stuffed it into Xie Shiyao’s mouth.

Feeling the medicine being shoved into his mouth, Xie Shiyao opened his eyes in surprise. Lin Zhuyi was staring at him intensely. It was strange. What kind of look was that?

The capsule dissolved in his mouth while he was dazed. The medicine inside was too bitter, and Xie Shiyao frowned. His gaze slid downward and noticed that the palm of Lin Zhuyi’s hand was still seeping blood.

Xie Shiyao clicked his tongue. “Take care of yourself before you try to take care of me.”

Unexpectedly, these words acted like a fuse, detonating the explosive that was Lin Zhuyi.

Lin Zhuyi began to tear the damp coat off Xie Shiyao’s body. Red stains seeped into the fabric. He crumpled the coat into a ball and threw the filthy garment onto the floor. After doing all this, he reached out to unbutton Xie Shiyao’s shirt.

Xie Shiyao was startled by this offensive gesture. “What are you doing?”

Lin Zhuyi’s hands did not stop. “Do you not know your clothes are wet? How can you not get sick wearing clothes like this? Is this how you took care of yourself during those four years in New York?”

Xie Shiyao did not want to waste words and shouted, “Get out! If I want to undress, I will do it myself. It is not your place!”

Lin Zhuyi’s hand paused. He clenched his palm, and droplets of blood fell onto Xie Shiyao like rubies.

“Of course it is not my place. Nothing is ever my place.”

In the ten years he had known Lin Zhuyi, this expression had never appeared on his face. That face, a mixture of hatred, anger, and sadness, lowered deeply.

Xie Shiyao thought he had misheard. “You want it to be your place? Is that what I think you mean? Or is my understanding flawed?”

A cold sneer appeared on Lin Zhuyi’s lowered face. “Of course. I hope that only I can be by your side. Ideally, there would be no one else. Only me. You would only be able to see me. Because I am your brother.”

In his shock, Xie Shiyao became bewildered and then frustrated. He began to take off his own clothes, throwing them on the floor. That body, meticulously nurtured by wealth, was exposed to Lin Zhuyi’s gaze.

“I have taken off my clothes. I do not want to hear your ghost logic. Can you leave now, Brother?” Xie Shiyao asked impatiently.

Unexpectedly, Lin Zhuyi suddenly pinned Xie Shiyao’s wrist. The veins on his arm bulged as he pressed him down onto the bed. Lin Zhuyi leaned in and sniffed Xie Shiyao’s hair. “As I thought, it is that perfume smell again. You really cannot stay idle. Your private life is so full it makes me envious.”

“Lin Zhuyi, get up!”

“You are the older brother. Should you not set a good example for your younger brother? You have to be responsible.”

Xie Shiyao was already dizzy from the fever, and having taken the medicine, he found it difficult to resist. He eventually kicked out, and Lin Zhuyi let go of his hands in pain.

Xie Shiyao endured the dizziness, got out of bed, grabbed Lin Zhuyi by the collar, and threw him toward the door. “I feel very miserable right now, and yet you still insist on provoking me?”

Lin Zhuyi remained silent even as he was dragged. Xie Shiyao used all his strength to drag Lin Zhuyi outside the room and slammed the door shut.

The surroundings grew quiet. Xie Shiyao leaned his back against the door, panting heavily. He should be angry. However, all he could see was the face Lin Zhuyi made when he discovered the fever. Why? If you hate me so much, why show an expression of worry?

The more he thought back, the more the world spun. Xie Shiyao shook his head, feeling he had to go back to bed, but before he could take two steps, his vision went black.

His head seemed to hit the carpet, but he felt no pain. His thoughts seemed to drift into the darkness. Vaguely, someone broke into the room. He was picked up by that person and placed on the bed, tucked in under the blankets. A wet towel brushed over his forehead, wiping away the blood that belonged to Lin Zhuyi.

The person placed both hands on his neck as if they really wanted to strangle him. But at the very moment they were about to squeeze, the person let go and held him tightly, as if they were seeking warmth from each other. At the moment he fell completely unconscious, Xie Shiyao heard a heavy sigh.

When Xie Shiyao woke up again, there was no one around. The room had been cleaned, as if everything last night had been nothing more than a dream. He got up, went to the bathroom, and washed away the stickiness from his body. As the hot water spread over him, the stickiness in his heart refused to wash away. If he remembered correctly, Lin Zhuyi had held him.

Xie Shiyao felt that his fever must have caused a hallucination. His toes left water marks on the floor. A bath towel dried his exquisite body, and he draped a white towel over his hair. By the time he stepped out of the room, he had changed into a custom-made suit with a black silk scarf tied in a beautiful knot around his neck.

In the living room, a clay pot of preserved egg and lean meat porridge was bubbling on the dining table. Beside it were fried eggs and side dishes that looked very appetizing. Lin Zhuyi was not there. However, Lin Zhuyi seemed to have left a note on the table.

“Brother, I am sorry about last night. Please do not be angry anymore.”

Xie Shiyao scoffed. He reached out, tore the note into pieces, and threw them into the trash can. He sat down, scooped a spoonful of porridge, and put it in his mouth.

“It tastes terrible.”

After breakfast, Xie Shiyao combed his hair back, swallowed a pill, and entered the Yaoshi Building in his crisp suit. He hid it well; no one noticed he was ill. If there was any difference from before, it was that the temperature in his office was set much warmer than usual by the air conditioning.

At the end of the workday, Xie Shiyao held his hand to his mouth and coughed twice. He returned to the back seat of his car, tilted his head back, and leaned against the headrest with a frown.

“Back to the old mansion,” Xie Shiyao instructed the driver.

The driver turned the steering wheel to the left, and the car headed toward the mansion. At a red light, the driver stepped on the brakes and glanced at the rearview mirror, secretly observing the young Chairman Xie. The driver was momentarily startled.

In the mirror, Xie Shiyao’s gaze was unfocused. He looked more dazed than usual, completely lacking his typical sharp edges. His breathing was much faster, and his lips were inadvertently parted, revealing a line of white teeth as he constantly exhaled hot breath.

The driver quickly said, “Chairman Xie, you do not look well. Should we go to the hospital?”

It took a moment for Xie Shiyao to snap out of it. He pressed his fingertips against his temple. “Yes, it seems I really should go.”

The Rolls-Royce made a U-turn at the intersection.

At the entrance of the private hospital, the driver insisted on supporting Xie Shiyao, but he was rejected. Xie Shiyao went in alone and received an IV drip. While the drip was running, Xie Shiyao leaned back on the sofa in the VIP ward and took a short nap.

When he opened his eyes again, the IV was not yet finished. Raindrops were pattering down against the window sill. In the empty ward, Xie Shiyao stared at the rain and suddenly felt an immense sense of emptiness.

He could not help but think of the proposal Bai Ye made yesterday about wanting to try being with him. It was quite strange; Bai Ye had known him for many years and had always been very well-behaved. He knew exactly what Xie Shiyao wanted and had never thought of crossing the line.

Xie Shiyao thought about it over and over. He could not understand why Bai Ye, who always understood him, suddenly dared to become so bold. Eventually, Xie Shiyao reached a conclusion: Bai Ye was short on money. So, Xie Shiyao typed a line of text into the chat box and sent it to Bai Ye.

“If you encounter any difficulties, contact me anytime.”

When he arrived home, it was already past 10:00 PM. Dinner was laid out on the table. Lin Zhuyi was still nowhere to be found. Beside the chopsticks lay a new note from Lin Zhuyi.

“Brother, this is a new dish I learned. You must eat more. I have not seen you all day; I miss you very much.”

Xie Shiyao crumpled the note into a ball and threw it in the trash. Miss me? Like hell you do.

After the IV drip, his stomach truly had no appetite. Xie Shiyao turned around, preparing to go upstairs. Unexpectedly, there was a note on the stair railing as well.

“Yesterday was my fault. I know I was wrong. You must get better soon.”

Xie Shiyao picked up the note and flicked it to the floor. When he reached the door of his room, another note was perched on the doorknob.

“I helped you change your blankets to thicker ones. Do not go to Yaoshi tomorrow. You should rest more at home when you are sick. Goodnight, Brother.”

With a dark expression, Xie Shiyao flicked the paper away with his finger as if it were something incredibly filthy. The door opened, and Xie Shiyao stepped inside with his long legs. His tall figure disappeared into the long hallway.

After ten seconds of silence, the door was pushed open from the inside again. Xie Shiyao burst out of the room, heading toward Lin Zhuyi’s room with rage. From the second floor to the third floor, Xie Shiyao threw the door open heavily.

The scent belonging to Lin Zhuyi rushed toward him. Xie Shiyao’s hand paused. Lin Zhuyi was standing right at the doorway.

“Hi, Brother. As I thought, you could not resist coming to find me,” Lin Zhuyi said with a smug smile on his face.

That smugness was deeply branded into Xie Shiyao’s eyes. Xie Shiyao took a step forward, tilted his head, and asked arrogantly, “What right do you have to tell me not to go to Yaoshi?”

Lin Zhuyi’s eyes slid over Xie Shiyao’s body and landed on the back of his hand where the IV had been administered. He took Xie Shiyao’s hand and gently touched the back of it. “You have to go to the hospital, yet you still want to work? Is it not enough for me to take care of you at home?”

Lin Zhuyi’s fingertips were ice-cold, causing Xie Shiyao to tremble involuntarily. Realizing this physiological reaction, Xie Shiyao pressed his tongue against his cheek and let out a laugh.

In the next second, he seized Lin Zhuyi’s wrist and pinned him against the wall. He leaned into his ear and questioned, “Take care of me?”

“Are you referring to those notes or the way you secretly held me last night?”

“We must make things clear, Brother.”