To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 17

Xie Shiyao grabbed Lin Zhuyi, led him all the way downstairs, entered the garage, and threw him into a red sports car.

As the scissor doors opened, Xie Shiyao breathed heavily with difficulty. He sat in the driver’s seat, started the ignition, and stepped hard on the accelerator.

The engine roared fiercely as the red sports car surged into the night, driving toward a mountain not far from the old family estate.

It was a popular scenic spot for tourists, featuring a winding mountain road. If one drove to the highest point, they could see the sea below.

But it was too late now. Not a single soul was on the mountain road, only a darkness so thick it felt almost solid.

Accompanied by the roar of the engine, Xie Shiyao drove the car onto the mountain road. As he turned the steering wheel, he spoke in an unusually calm voice:

“You probably do not know this, but when my dad met my mom, he did not have much money.”

“If it were not for the money and resources from my mom’s family, Yaoshi would not even exist today.”

Lin Zhuyi did not expect Xie Shiyao to suddenly bring this up. He looked up in surprise, studying Xie Shiyao’s expression in the rearview mirror.

Xie Shiyao accelerated the car and let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Actually, I never wanted to manage Yaoshi at all. The money I made in the United States was already enough to spend. Now, it takes so much time and effort that sometimes even I wonder what I am striving for every day.”

“Maybe a part of it is for my mom. Without her, there would be no Yaoshi. I really do want to protect the things that originally belonged to her.”

“But that is not all. If I do not immerse myself in work, I truly do not know what the meaning of living is. When I was in the United States, I wanted so badly to prove to Dad: ‘Look, I do not rely on you, yet I can do very well, and I can live decently.'”

“But he is gone. Everyone is gone. It all feels so meaningless.”

The car speed increased further, and the wind outside scraped against the car windows, making a terrifying sound. Perplexed, Lin Zhuyi said, “Brother, you”

“Don’t interrupt me. And do not call me brother.”

The car swept past a sharp turn. Xie Shiyao calmly turned the steering wheel. “To be honest, you gave me another reason why I had to take over Yaoshi.”

“Only by keeping busy do I not have to look at you.”

“But time and time again, you insist on forcing me to look at you in this manner. Lin Zhuyi, there are only the two of us here, so let us both be honest. Just now, you were acting again, were you not? Just like when you faked your amnesia, it was deliberate, right?”

Lin Zhuyi fell silent for a short moment, then said, “Do you wish for me to be acting, or to be sincere?”

The sound of drifting tires echoed as they navigated another bend. Xie Shiyao said, “You do not have any sincerity.”

As if finding it difficult to breathe, Xie Shiyao unbuttoned two more buttons on his shirt. “Do you know? Ever since we were at the house earlier, I have been thinking that it is truly meaningless for the two of us to keep fighting back and forth like this.”

“I am tired, Lin Zhuyi. I will give you one last chance. I want a straight answer. From the time of the funeral until now, how much of what you have done was real, and how much was an act?”

The constantly accelerating speed caused even Lin Zhuyi to show a worried expression.

Lin Zhuyi said, “If it was an act, what can you do about it? Kick me away? Or ignore me like you did before?”

“I have done so much for you. Whether it is real or fake, does it really matter? You are driving too fast, slow down. It is dangerous.”

The hand with which Xie Shiyao held the steering wheel tightened unconsciously.

With a look that said just as I thought, he smiled as if experiencing a sense of release. “As expected, you cannot manage to be honest.”

“It is meaningless.”

“Do you know? I am sick and tired of playing this dishonest game with you. You were the one who forcefully dragged me into your game, attempting to use your so-called amnesia to overturn our past relationship. But how could that be possible?”

Ahead, the outline of the next turn on the winding mountain road emerged in the dark.

Xie Shiyao kept one hand loosely on the steering wheel, but he had absolutely no intention of turning, nor did he plan to look at the road anymore. Instead, he tilted his head to look at Lin Zhuyi. “Deceiving me time and time again, you have to get your retribution, little brother.”

During this prolonged gaze, Lin Zhuyi’s world slowed down and stretched out infinitely.

The front of the car had already veered off the road.

Aside from the rushing sound of blood flowing through his vessels, Lin Zhuyi was drawn into Xie Shiyao’s light-colored pupils amidst the rush of spiking adrenaline.

Just as he wanted to say something, he heard Xie Shiyao’s incomparably calm voice.

Xie Shiyao’s eyes crinkled as he flashed Lin Zhuyi an unprecedented, exhausted, and almost gentle smile. “Since I cannot hear the truth from you even at the very end”

“Then let us face the finale together.”

“Game Over, little brother.”

The sports car charged straight ahead.

Lin Zhuyi’s eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe that Xie Shiyao would actually choose to perish together with him.

Right at the exact instant before the car was about to plunge off, Lin Zhuyi lunged over, his elbow knocking away Xie Shiyao’s loose grip, and wrenched the steering wheel to one side.

The sports car let out a piercing scream that nearly tore their eardrums apart, violently twisting sideways.

Like a drunkard, the red sports car bumped and roared as it lunged onto the side of the mountain. It scraped along the way, sending sparks flying everywhere and making a clattering racket, before finally, reluctantly and dejectedly, coming to a halt.

Silence and lingering dread weighed heavily down between the two of them.

Xie Shiyao snapped back to his senses, gradually releasing the brake he had instinctively stepped on just now.

He tried to let go of the steering wheel, only to find that his fingers were frozen, as if they did not belong to him. His fingertips shook uncontrollably, and his eyes began to look bloodshot.

The delayed dread washed over his entire body like ice water.

A chill quietly crept up from his tailbone along his spine. Only then did he realize his arms were too weak to be lifted. Looking back at that reckless impulse from just now, it felt both blurry and unreal.

His stomach churned faintly, bringing a wave of post-exhaustion nausea.

The surroundings were completely filled with the burnt smell of friction from the tires.

They stared at each other in the aftermath of surviving a disaster.

Lin Zhuyi, who was usually effortless no matter what he did, now had messy hair and pale lips that parted slightly as he panted. Those eyes, which usually held calculation or grievance, were now filled with anger.

As they locked eyes, Lin Zhuyi’s eyes gradually turned red.

He looked at Xie Shiyao for a long while, then raised his injured hand and firmly pressed it against Xie Shiyao’s cheek.

On Xie Shiyao’s currently pale face, a bright streak of blood belonging to Lin Zhuyi immediately appeared.

Lin Zhuyi’s hand was so cold, and shaking so much.

In the next second, Lin Zhuyi pulled Xie Shiyao by his hand and hugged him tightly.

Xie Shiyao lowered his head in a daze. He had not expected that his first reaction would not be to push Lin Zhuyi away, but rather to try hard to see Lin Zhuyi’s expression clearly.

Then, he saw it in the reflection of the car window.

Lin Zhuyi was shedding tears expressionlessly. The scalding tears dampened his shoulder.

Those tears fell straight down from those empty eyes, completely unrestrained. There were no sobs, no tremors; row after row, they just flowed quietly like that.

Xie Shiyao had seen this kind of expression once before, in the room of the Yaoshi Hotel he opened with Xiao Guai.

But the tears this time were completely different from the performative crying back then.

Lin Zhuyi cried for him. For the first time, he cried without a single bit of acting.

It was as if he really was very important to Lin Zhuyi.

With the bloodstains rubbing onto the suit, Lin Zhuyi held him tighter and tighter. “You think everything is meaningless, and even more so, tedious, right? Why are you only saying this now? Why?”

Xie Shiyao did not know what to say.

Lin Zhuyi’s voice grew a bit louder. “Brother, if everything makes you so miserable, and makes you feel so empty”

“Then from now on, let me become your meaning.”

“What did you say?” Xie Shiyao thought he had misheard.

Lin Zhuyi held him. “If you feel like you cannot swallow your pride, just take it as me begging you, okay? Since you care about me, why do you still push me away? Can you please not be even more childish than me?”

Childish? A little bit. It was forced out of me by you.

Care? Perhaps. If hating you counts as a form of caring.

Physiological tremors bound Xie Shiyao’s body. He tried his best to control his quickening breath, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

He really wanted to say: By what right do you dare to be my meaning? What should I use to believe a liar like you?

But Xie Shiyao also felt that Lin Zhuyi’s expression just now had already provided the answer.

An answer that no longer needed to be sought through testing, but was forced out by almost dying together.

Xie Shiyao raised his hand and patted Lin Zhuyi’s back reassuringly.

“Alright, let go. I will take you to the hospital to wrap your hand.”

Lin Zhuyi looked up into his eyes under the moonlight. “And then? After the hospital, what then? Are you going to run away while it is being bandaged?”

The hearing aid glinted with a cold light. Xie Shiyao’s Adam’s apple bobbed for a moment. He forced himself to support his draining body so he would not rest his head on Lin Zhuyi. “I will not. I am very tired.”

“After the hospital, we will go home together,” Xie Shiyao said hoarsely.

The sports car’s wheel hubs seemed to be ruined. Even though the ignition started, it could not move, so they could only wait for someone to pick them up.

It was very cold on the mountain road late at night. While waiting for someone to arrive, Xie Shiyao remained quiet, speaking no more.

Lin Zhuyi then took off his jacket, draped it over Xie Shiyao’s shoulders, and looked at him with worry from time to time.

He could tell that Xie Shiyao was forcing himself to hold up. How strange, he should have been happy, yet he did not feel any sense of victory.

The backup people only arrived half an hour later. They watched as the sports car was towed away, and they were taken to the hospital by a driver. By the time they left the hospital and returned to the old estate, the sky was almost dawning.

Lin Zhuyi stood at the door of Xie Shiyao’s room. “My room was smashed to pieces by me. It seems impossible to sleep in.”

Xie Shiyao did not answer, nor did he bother to acknowledge Lin Zhuyi’s hint. He simply took off the clothes stained with Lin Zhuyi’s blood and collapsed onto the bed.

Lin Zhuyi spoke again, “Brother almost killed me today. Can I sleep in your room?”

There was absolutely no connection between these two sentences. There were so many empty rooms in the old estate; any room could accommodate a person.

Yet Xie Shiyao did not scold him either. On a night like this, if he were by himself, the moment he closed his eyes, he would probably see that cliff they almost drove off of.

He really did not want to sleep alone tonight. Even if the person accompanying him to sleep was Lin Zhuyi.

Xie Shiyao closed his eyes. “Go find a quilt and lay out your dog bed on the floor.”

Soon, the sound of making a bed came from beside him. Lin Zhuyi seemed to have taken off his clothes and really did set up a makeshift bed right next to the bed.

It turned out to be quite a peaceful night.

The pleasant scent on Lin Zhuyi would waft over from time to time. Accompanied by that scent, Xie Shiyao actually fell asleep just like that without relying on sleeping pills.

Before completely entering deep sleep, Xie Shiyao seemed to hear Lin Zhuyi sighing, asking that she let him become his meaning.

This sentence kept echoing within the boundless darkness.

Little kid, how could you understand what meaning is.

When waking up the next day, Lin Zhuyi was not in the room.

Xie Shiyao let out a sigh of relief. He took a shower in the bathroom as usual, tidied himself up, went downstairs for breakfast, and headed to the Yaoshi building.

Everything was proceeding step-by-step. However, as it approached clock-out time, Xie Shiyao declined the evening dinner gathering.

He got into the car. After careful consideration, he drove around the commercial street. Ultimately, he put on a face mask and a hat, drove into the parking lot of his own mall, and entered the Harry Winston boutique.

After entering the private VIP room, among the dazzling array of in-stock items displayed by the sales associate, Xie Shiyao took a liking to a pair of stud earrings.

The diamonds on them were emerald-cut. Just looking at them made one’s eyes light up.

He asked the sales associate, “Can engraving be done on the earring posts?”

The sales associate indicated that it was certainly possible. However, if he wanted engraving, the items had to be sent to the United States, and it would take three months to be delivered to his hands.

Xie Shiyao thought about it; he probably could not wait three months. But he still bought the earrings first.

Carrying the dark blue shopping bag, he looked for a place in the mall that could process jewelry.

The clerk looked at the sparkling pair of earrings inside the square box, and then looked at the tall, long-legged Xie Shiyao in his tailored suit, unable to tear their eyes away. “Sir, is this a gift for a girlfriend?”

Xie Shiyao tapped the glass counter with his knuckles. “No, it is for”

He paused for a beat, and in the end, as if accepting it, said, “A birthday gift for an enemy.”

Not understanding the situation, the clerk put on gloves, picked up an earring, and inspected it closely. “What words do you plan to engrave on this earring post? Generally, nobody engraves words in this spot; once engraved, it is very hard to be seen.”

Xie Shiyao chuckled softly. “It does not matter, just engrave my words on it.”

The clerk tore off a piece of paper for Xie Shiyao, letting him write down the words he wanted engraved on it.

Without any thought required, Xie Shiyao picked up the pen and carefully wrote down a single word in cursive.

—Sorry.

The clerk was also a naturally familiar person and observed the beautiful handwriting on it in confusion. “Sending a gift to an enemy? What is it for?”

Xie Shiyao sized up the clerk with composure, dropping a sentence that left people utterly baffled.

“For the mutual destruction we almost achieved.”

When he came out of the shop, Gu Jinsheng called him, saying he happened to be shopping at the Yaoshi mall and asked if Xie Shiyao was nearby. If he was, they could grab a meal together.

Xie Shiyao figured it was fine, so he agreed.

Thus, in a private room of a Japanese restaurant in the mall, Xie Shiyao met Gu Jinsheng, who was dressed flamboyantly and wearing exaggerated sunglasses.

The private room door closed, and Gu Jinsheng took off his sunglasses, growing interested. “I see your complexion is not very good. What is wrong, have you not coaxed that little brother of yours yet?”

Xie Shiyao retaliated, “Mind yourself first. The Lu Yingcheng you asked me to check on last time, I have investigated him thoroughly. He started from scratch to become the CEO of a listed entertainment company. He is not very old, so he cannot possibly be a pushover. Can a person like that willingly let himself be slept with by you?”

Gu Jinsheng was disdainful. “You are really malicious. I merely mentioned your brother, and you open full fire on me. Hey, turn around and send me all the investigated data on Lu Yingcheng, this meal is on me. Let me tell you, this person is too interesting, I am definitely sleeping with him.”

He shifted the conversation. “But do you really have no thoughts toward your brother? Only last time did I discover that those little lovers of yours happen to be the exact same type as your brother. All these years, you could not have been dwelling on your brother the whole time, purposely collecting substitutes for him, right?”

Xie Shiyao glared at Gu Jinsheng. “Do you know what you are saying? That is my brother, how old is he even? Are you crazy?”

Gu Jinsheng was thoughtful. “I get it. You think he is too young, and you do not hold the moral high ground, so you endured it and did not make a move.”

Xie Shiyao got a headache listening to this, so he simply threw out the absolute truth hidden in his heart: “Which older brother have you seen who would sleep with his own younger brother?”

“I will not sleep with him. It is impossible in this lifetime. Unless I do not want my future anymore.”

Gu Jinsheng was dismissive. “Oh, do not speak too absolutely. Besides, I see the way he looks at you is not innocent either. Are you really satisfied with just being brothers?”

Xie Shiyao originally wanted to break things down and explain to Gu Jinsheng his past with Lin Zhuyi, which was comparable to a tangled mess.

But ultimately, thousands of words dissolved into brief phrasing: “Yeah. Just being brothers.”

“We can only be brothers.”