To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 20

Lin Zhuyi widened his eyes slightly in surprise.

This really was a kiss that merely grazed the surface.

Their lips met, only to part just as quickly.

Xie Shiyao seemed startled by his own unexpected action as well. He released his grip in dismay and backed away slightly.

Lin Zhuyi licked his lips, lowered his eyes, and smiled.

In the next second, Lin Zhuyi wrapped his arms around Xie Shiyao’s waist and pinned him heavily onto the sofa.

Then, Lin Zhuyi kissed him without taking no for an answer.

The tips of their tongues became two fires tangled together. It did not feel like a passionate embrace, but rather like a struggle. The only things left in the surroundings were the sounds of ragged breathing and the slightly unseemly, faint friction between their clothes.

“This is our first time having a proper kiss, brother. You have to remember it clearly.”

Lin Zhuyi bit Xie Shiyao’s lips and whispered.

Xie Shiyao had no way to retreat. Forget it, he did not want to lose the upper hand either. He grabbed Lin Zhuyi’s hair, flipped them over to be on top, and responded intensely.

It was unclear whose mouth was cut, or if both of their mouths were bleeding. The metallic sweetness of blood mixed into their mouths, and the suits on both of them were wrinkled from gripping.

A silver thread mixed with traces of blood stretched between their lips, reflecting Lin Zhuyi’s infatuated face. “Brother”

Xie Shiyao’s eyes were also losing focus. “Where is that girl? Where did she go?”

Lin Zhuyi said displeasedly, “I told her I do not like women, called a designated driver for her, and sent her away.”

Xie Shiyao first let out a mysterious sigh of relief, then found it amusing. Who was the one who used to say with absolute certainty that he had no interest in men?

Lin Zhuyi cradled Xie Shiyao’s hand, placing his lips over the fingers and sliding all the way down the knuckles, his tongue drawing intimate circles in the gaps between the fingers.

“How can even your finger joints be this beautiful?”

Combined with Lin Zhuyi’s face, which suited his taste perfectly, this action made Xie Shiyao’s heart itch with desire.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the numbing sensation coming from his fingertips. He decided to throw caution to the wind and packed his rationality away into the alcohol. “Do you want to go home?”

Lin Zhuyi held Xie Shiyao’s fingers in his mouth. “What does brother want to do when we go home?”

Xie Shiyao almost unconsciously swirled his fingertips around Lin Zhuyi’s tongue. His words carried all kinds of resentment accumulated over the past ten years.

“I do not know. But right now, I really want to take you. If we do not go back now, I am going to regret it.”

While kissing those fingers, Lin Zhuyi pulled off Xie Shiyao’s suit jacket. “Then let us not go home. Right here.”

This answer made Xie Shiyao feel incredibly stimulated.

It was an answer that exceeded his expectations and suited his taste far too well.

He even lamented in his heart, wondering why it had to be Lin Zhuyi of all people.

That was until a hand slipped inside his clothes.

Xie Shiyao shuddered all over. “What are you doing?”

Lin Zhuyi said with an innocent face, “Are we not going to continue? We need preparation.”

Confusion crept into the corners of Xie Shiyao’s eyes. “I am not going to be the one at the bottom. You are crazy, take your hand away.”

He thought about it and felt that something was even more wrong. He pushed Lin Zhuyi’s head away. “How do you know about preparation?”

Lin Zhuyi stared straight at him without speaking.

Originally, everything that happened just now had an element of being possessed by a temporary madness.

Xie Shiyao fastened his buttons, put on his jacket properly, and pressed his palm against his forehead, which was still dizzy. “What is with your kissing skills as well?”

Lin Zhuyi rested his chin on Xie Shiyao’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around Xie Shiyao very naturally.

“Brother, am I too naturally gifted and frightened you?”

The tone was gentle, but the arms holding him grew tighter and tighter.

Xie Shiyao was squeezed until he could not breathe. Applying force with his backhand, he pinned Lin Zhuyi against the back of the sofa. “Alright, behave yourself.”

They were once again at a distance where their breaths mingled.

Lin Zhuyi seemed to have only him in his eyes, and only him left. He approached with such infatuation, resting both hands on Xie Shiyao’s shoulders, and kissed him once again.

The fragrance on that body left him completely dazed. He simply opened his mouth, his hands wandering over Lin Zhuyi’s body as he responded to the kiss.

He thought that his entire body must be thoroughly soaked in Lin Zhuyi’s scent.

But what exactly was this scent?

Perhaps it was a scent that he could not approach, should not obtain, did not deserve to want, and had to run away to the United States just to manage to ignore.

That was probably why it smelled so good.

Lin Zhuyi kissed Xie Shiyao’s earlobe, lightly licking the earlobe that had been pierced. “Are you this provocative when you kiss others too?”

Kissing others?

Xie Shiyao froze. That was right, he did not kiss others. He was just such a contradictory person, allowing himself to indulge in the sea of desire yet only wanting to enjoy it without involving emotions, which was why he did not kiss.

Having broken a habit held for many years, Xie Shiyao felt a delayed sense of shame.

He really wanted to make up for this shame on Lin Zhuyi’s body. “How about you take the bottom?”

“No way.” Lin Zhuyi replied very promptly. “I want you to treat me differently, completely different from how you treat anyone else. That is easy to understand, right?”

Xie Shiyao impatiently choked Lin Zhuyi’s neck, his heart burning with unbearable longing. He really wanted to give Lin Zhuyi a slap and then block that annoying mouth with his own.

But letting him be the one below was absolutely impossible.

No matter how wild he was, he did not have the heart to pin Lin Zhuyi down and force him. The intimacy he pursued required both people to enjoy it. Seducing someone into compliance through force would not do.

Even if he could use the alcohol to vent his anger on Lin Zhuyi.

He regretted it deeply. He picked up the earring and put it back in the box, leaning against the wall as he stood up amidst his dizziness. “Going home, going home.”

Xie Shiyao walked fast. Lin Zhuyi sat helplessly for a moment before chasing after him to support Xie Shiyao as they walked out of the hotel.

The moment the Maybach door opened, Xie Shiyao collapsed into the car seat.

Lin Zhuyi sat in the back row, pulling Xie Shiyao into his embrace and holding the drunk Xie Shiyao tightly.

The corners of Xie Shiyao’s eyes had already begun to flush under the effects of alcohol, and his styled hair was messier than usual.

He was indeed a bit drunk. After leaning for a short while, his body began to slide down, his head almost knocking against Lin Zhuyi’s shoulder.

“Back to the old estate.” Lin Zhuyi stared at the person in his arms and expressionlessly instructed the driver.

The car started, and the driver drove steadily in the front.

Lin Zhuyi pressed a button in the back seat.

The partition lowered, completely blocking the front view.

It was as if only the two of them were left in the car.

Lin Zhuyi placed Xie Shiyao’s head on his lap.

Probably because Lin Zhuyi’s gaze was too naked, Xie Shiyao felt as though he were about to be burned by that look.

Xie Shiyao opened his eyes into a slit.

Lin Zhuyi just looked down at him like that. He gazed at him with those deep eyes that he had found very beautiful since their very first meeting.

Xie Shiyao’s lips parted and closed, seemingly muttering a curse before grabbing Lin Zhuyi’s tie and pulling him downward.

Behind the partition that seemed capable of isolating everything, the two of them kissed passionately.

In the back seat, only the sounds of them embracing each other and their scorching breaths remained.

It felt just like having an affair behind the driver’s back.

Lin Zhuyi said during a gap in the kiss, “I have never seen you drink this drunk before. Does me being with someone else make you that sad?”

It was not sadness.

It was just a bit of unwillingness to lose.

But Xie Shiyao did not plan on saying it. His hand groped around the side, and after finally finding the earring box, he said to Lin Zhuyi, “Lower your head.”

The emerald-cut diamond stud earring was thus personally put into Lin Zhuyi’s ear piercing by Xie Shiyao.

He wanted to put the earring into the little rascal’s other ear as well, but he found that he could not pierce it through no matter what.

Xie Shiyao suddenly realized something. His expression turned a bit more serious as he asked the question he had long been curious about: “Why did you get your ears pierced in the exact same place as me?”

Lin Zhuyi kept his head lowered, saying something obscure.

“Because I was unwilling to lose.”

When Lin Zhuyi said this, his eyes were redder than usual. He took the remaining earring from Xie Shiyao’s palm, stuck out his tongue, and placed it right in the center of his tongue.

Immediately after, he leaned into Xie Shiyao’s ear, taking Xie Shiyao’s pierced earlobe into his mouth.

Warmth enveloped the earlobe, and Lin Zhuyi used the tip of his tongue to skillfully push the earring.

The earring found the opening and slid right in. With a soft click, that earring was actually put on properly.

The lingering heat on the earlobe was more intense than all the kisses from earlier combined. Lin Zhuyi cradled Xie Shiyao’s face, examining it with satisfaction.

“One for each of us, brother. You are not allowed to take it off, okay?”

Making the most unreasonable request in the most polite tone, this was perhaps a certain talent of Lin Zhuyi’s.

Xie Shiyao ran his hand into Lin Zhuyi’s hair, massaging Lin Zhuyi’s scalp. “Depends on my mood.”

The streetlights rushed backward along the window, illuminating the faces of the two from time to time. Xie Shiyao lay very comfortably on Lin Zhuyi’s lap, and before long, he grew somewhat weary.

“If I fall asleep, you will probably strangle me to death, right?” Xie Shiyao suddenly said.

Lin Zhuyi replied, “I will control myself.”

Xie Shiyao smiled contentedly, closing his eyes amidst the silhouettes of light pushing past wave after wave.

He did not remember how he returned home, nor did he remember whether Lin Zhuyi actually got into his bed.

Xie Shiyao only knew that when the sunlight spilled into the room the next day, the side of the bed was empty.

It was as if everything from yesterday had never happened. Yet when he went to the bathroom to take a shower and passed the mirror, seeing his own face.

On his right ear, the sparkling stud earring clearly reminded him of everything from last night.

Memories were like a tide, almost swallowing him up. Xie Shiyao sat on the toilet lid in annoyance, repeatedly hitting his own head with his hand.

He took off the earring and held it up to the light to look at it.

The engraved “Sorry” on it was not very obvious. That was good, there was no need for that kid to see it.

He got up and walked around. Whether it was the bathroom or the bedroom, the trash cans were very clean, and there were no unwrapped or used wrappers.

Xie Shiyao let out a sigh of relief, feeling a bit puzzled and a little inexplicably disappointed in his heart.

Once he finished grooming, Xie Shiyao turned back into the high-spirited young Director Xie, looking completely unlike someone who was suffering from a severe hangover.

He searched around the main hall with his gaze.

Fortunately, Lin Zhuyi was sitting at the dining table, holding a cup and drinking coffee.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Lin Zhuyi looked up.

Their eyes met in an instant.

The indulgence from yesterday in the restaurant and the car crashed back into his mind through Lin Zhuyi’s deep eyes.

Xie Shiyao was dazed for a moment, then adjusted his state, pulling out a chair to sit next to Lin Zhuyi. “Do not stay at home anymore. You can go back to school in the future.”

Lin Zhuyi was expressionless. “I do not need to. If I go to school, I cannot be your personal assistant.”

Xie Shiyao did not expect that Lin Zhuyi was still dwelling on this matter. He could not help but laugh, covering his mouth with his hand as he chuckled quietly.

“Brother, what is so funny?”

“Nothing, it is not funny at all.” Xie Shiyao let out a long breath. “I am going to the company in a bit. In the evening, I will have the driver pick you up. We will have dinner together.”

Lin Zhuyi naturally leaned his head on Xie Shiyao’s shoulder. “Does this count as a date?”

Xie Shiyao frowned. “Is our relationship that good? When have you ever seen an older brother take his younger brother on a date?”

Lin Zhuyi smiled, his mouth half-open as the tip of his tongue slid across the contour of Xie Shiyao’s ear. “How do we count as normal brothers?”

The hot air exhaled by that person caused Xie Shiyao’s lower abdomen to tighten.

He had the urge to kiss again.

However, this time there was no alcohol to use as a cover. Xie Shiyao ultimately endured the discomfort below, finished his breakfast, and drove to the Yaoshi building on time for work.

From time to time, he would always recall that fresh and stimulating sensation when his lips were bitten last night.

By the time he came to his senses, Xie Shiyao was already sitting in his executive chair, opening the surveillance software.

On the black-and-white screen of his phone, Lin Zhuyi seemed to have just returned from seeing his psychiatrist, sitting quietly on the sofa and looking at his phone.

Xie Shiyao lowered his eyes, his thumb slowly brushing over that face on the screen.

Suddenly, Xie Shiyao’s phone rang.

Lin Zhuyi had sent several messages in a row.

“Brother, I want to see you.”

“I want to see you. I want to see you.”

At this moment, a ray of sunlight happened to spill down from the cloudy sky, enveloping Xie Shiyao entirely in a warm light.

Yet sitting in that golden space, he looked at the jagged concrete and steel buildings outside the window, sighing helplessly.

At clock-out time, Xie Shiyao got into the car driven by the driver. Seeing Lin Zhuyi in the back seat wearing a hoodie, Xie Shiyao frowned.

“Did I not buy clothes for you? You still go out dressed like this.”

Lin Zhuyi did not pick up the topic. “Where are we going to eat?”

Xie Shiyao had booked a Japanese restaurant before heading out, but he did not intend to tell Lin Zhuyi. He said awkwardly, “Why do you ask so much?”

The driver drove the car out smoothly. In a place where the rearview mirror could not see, Lin Zhuyi used the pad of his finger to brush across Xie Shiyao’s palm.

Xie Shiyao pulled his hand away, looking at Lin Zhuyi with anger.

Seeing Xie Shiyao like this, Lin Zhuyi actually turned the corners of his mouth up with great delight under the sunlight.

Once inside the private room of the Japanese restaurant, it was just the two of them left again.

The dishes were served one after another. Xie Shiyao merely ate his food, remaining silent.

Opponents who had confronted each other for so many years now suddenly shared a trace of intimacy. Xie Shiyao was somewhat speechless, not knowing how to interact properly.

Lin Zhuyi, on the other hand, picked up food while staring at Xie Shiyao without any concealment.

Xie Shiyao grew annoyed by the staring, clearing his throat stiffly. “Do not look at me, look at the food.”

Lin Zhuyi said, “I must look more at a person who can get on the trending searches based on a single video.”

Xie Shiyao wiped his mouth with a tissue. “How did I get home yesterday?”

“I carried you back on my back.” Lin Zhuyi shifted his eyes. “Ah, I was afraid you would sleep uncomfortably, so I also took off your clothes for you.”

Xie Shiyao unconsciously clenched his palm. “I thank you for sparing my life. I did not do anything to you, right?”

“No.”

“You did not do anything to me?”

“No either.”

Xie Shiyao rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward slightly. “Why not?”

Lin Zhuyi also leaned closer. Across a table, he tilted his head. “I did it on purpose.”

On purpose?

Lin Zhuyi continued, “That way, your mind would be full of me for the entire day today.”

“You will be puzzled, you will guess, you will wonder whether we actually continued or not. Just realizing that nothing really happened will make your heart itch with absolute craving.”

A calm smile appeared on Lin Zhuyi’s face. He raised his hand, brushing across the corner of Xie Shiyao’s mouth. “I succeeded, did I not?”

This sentence, along with this hand, made the depths of Xie Shiyao’s heart burn with heat.

An excited smile broke out at the corner of Xie Shiyao’s mouth. He lowered his head, wanting to suppress that smile. “Why did I not realize before that you are this interesting?”

Lin Zhuyi released his hand. “Do not praise me. It is not suitable for us to say such things. Compared to praising me, choking each other’s neck is more suitable for us.”

“Yeah.” Xie Shiyao lamented. “Sometimes, I genuinely want to strangle you to death.”

Lin Zhuyi said with pleasure, “Being able to torture you truly makes me happy.”

“But brother, do you want to choke my neck right now? I can let you choke it however you want.”

Xie Shiyao thought for a brief moment, waving his hand at Lin Zhuyi. “Sit over here.”

Lin Zhuyi did as he was told. That enticing fragrance once again wrapped around Xie Shiyao’s body and mind.

As if under a spell, Xie Shiyao raised both hands, placing them over Lin Zhuyi’s neck.

But right at the moment he was actually about to apply force, Xie Shiyao buried his head and bit hard into Lin Zhuyi’s neck.

Looking at that bite mark, Xie Shiyao looked up with satisfaction, using his hand to wipe away the trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He said composedly, “This is the punishment for you calculating against me.”

This bite was delivered with a lot of force, yet there was absolutely no expression of pain on Lin Zhuyi’s face. The gaze with which he stared at Xie Shiyao was visibly dense and heavy.

He used his finger to wipe a bit of blood from the bite mark, smearing the blood onto his lips. That abrupt, vivid red immediately made Lin Zhuyi’s lips look even fuller.

“If you bite me, you have to receive a punishment too.”

Before Xie Shiyao could react, Lin Zhuyi reached out and firmly pinned him against the back of the chair.

Immediately after, his body sank, and he sat astride Xie Shiyao’s lap in a face-to-face position. He lowered his head, feeding the bloodstains on his lips into Xie Shiyao’s mouth.

At that instant, Xie Shiyao’s scalp went numb.

He wanted to push the person away, but his body betrayed his brain. The feeling of kissing Lin Zhuyi was too stimulating. In this enclosed private room, what was wrong with indulging for a brief moment?

What was wrong with it?

Why should he be the only one agonizing over it?

If retribution was to be received, then it had to be faced by both of them together.

Those hands with neatly trimmed nails gradually moved up Lin Zhuyi’s back from below, holding him tightly.

The breathing of both of them quickly became ragged.

However, when Lin Zhuyi’s hands began to behave improperly, Xie Shiyao grabbed Lin Zhuyi’s hair and pulled him backward.

That vulnerable Adam’s apple was thus exposed under Xie Shiyao’s gaze.

Xie Shiyao gave Lin Zhuyi a provocative look. Then, while gripping his hair, he composedly opened his mouth, staring intently at Lin Zhuyi’s expression as he took that Adam’s apple into his mouth.

Lin Zhuyi surged all over, his breathing becoming even faster than before.

Not bad.

This was exactly the reaction Xie Shiyao needed to see.

Xie Shiyao licked that Adam’s apple, whispering softly, “Making me hard, are you not afraid?”

Lin Zhuyi bit his mouth, trying hard to maintain a steady tone. “Did you not also say with absolute certainty that you really could not get hard for me?”

Xie Shiyao retorted instead, “You also said you have no interest in men.”

Lin Zhuyi placed his hand on Xie Shiyao’s head, his five fingers tightening. “It seems we are both liars.”

“My skill at deceiving you is definitely more sophisticated than yours.” Xie Shiyao spoke in a very small voice, and merely hearing it made Lin Zhuyi’s ears itch with torture.

Just as Lin Zhuyi wanted to say something to get the upper hand, footsteps suddenly came from outside the private room.

Someone knocked on the door.

The waiter’s voice came respectfully from behind the door. “Hello, do you need a tea refill?”

Xie Shiyao smiled, leaning back as he teased Lin Zhuyi. “Do you want a tea refill, little brother?”

Lin Zhuyi looked completely unafraid. “The chairman of Yaoshi letting his own younger brother sit on his lap to kiss, if someone sees it, do you no longer care about your reputation?”

“Reputation? Is that not the thing you have wanted to destroy the most since you were a child?”

“What a pity.” Lin Zhuyi said into Xie Shiyao’s ear. “I cannot remember any of it, brother.”

Xie Shiyao smiled.

He patted Lin Zhuyi. “Get down. I am thirsty and want to drink tea.”

Without waiting for Lin Zhuyi to move, Xie Shiyao looked directly toward the outside of the door. “Come in.”

The waiter, who had been waiting outside the door for a while, pushed the door open upon hearing the voice.

To their surprise.

Two remarkably handsome men were sitting at opposite ends of the long table, each wearing a single diamond stud earring, flashing a decent smile at the waiter.

Startled in his heart, the waiter hurriedly walked over to refill their tea, not forgetting to steal another glance at them before leaving.

However, was it very hot in this room? Their clothes looked quite messy. Filled with confusion in his heart, the waiter silently closed the door.

The moment the waiter left, Lin Zhuyi’s eyes glued themselves onto Xie Shiyao.

“Brother, that person kept looking at you just now.”

Xie Shiyao picked up his teacup, blowing gently at the hot tea. “Unhappy?”

Lin Zhuyi’s expression was completely written with displeasure. “How could I be?”

“Very good.” Xie Shiyao took a sip of tea. He thought to himself that he was not the only one saying the opposite of what he meant, which caused a secret wave of pleasure to rise in his heart.

The two of them ate a few more bites of food just like that, as if nothing had ever happened.

After a long silence, Lin Zhuyi put down his chopsticks. “You were the one who touched me first. You have to take responsibility.”

Xie Shiyao knew exactly what Lin Zhuyi was talking about.

But he really wanted to see Lin Zhuyi’s reaction. “How should I take responsibility? How about I calculate against you for a while, just like how you calculated against me?”

Lin Zhuyi looked up, not understanding the meaning.

Xie Shiyao picked up a slice of tuna sashimi, dipped it in soy sauce, used his chopsticks to take a little bit of wasabi paste, placed it in the center of the fatty otoro sashimi, and slowly placed it into his mouth.

He chewed and swallowed deliberately before speaking, “Did you not want to make my heart itch with craving? The one experiencing that craving cannot be you alone, little brother.”

“Fine, let us test it out then.”

After Lin Zhuyi finished speaking, he shaped his mouth into words with great interest.

“You are finished.”

Xie Shiyao’s pupils trembled for a fraction of a second. Back at the Yaoshi Hotel, Lin Zhuyi had made the exact same mouth shape at him. However, that time was a blatant threat, whereas this time felt more like a dangerous flirtation.

If there was anything different about the days after Xie Shiyao broke his rule of not kissing, it was that the look in their eyes when they looked at each other had gained an extra layer of something different from that day onward.

Xie Shiyao kept the suggestion of Lin Zhuyi wanting to be his assistant deep within his heart.

With Lin Zhuyi’s naturally superior intelligence, even if he did not go to school, Xie Shiyao was not worried about Lin Zhuyi’s college entrance examination results.

But he would occasionally wonder if not going to school and not socializing was truly fair to Lin Zhuyi.

“You have to take responsibility.”

That sentence of Lin Zhuyi’s would always slip into Xie Shiyao’s hollow heart from time to time.

Sometimes, Xie Shiyao would sit in his completely empty office, smoking one cigarette after another.

He sat alone in his executive chair, imagining Lin Zhuyi putting on a suit, entering and leaving his office, and quietly looking at him with those large eyes.

Reason knew that doing this was wrong.

But if he could provide the little rascal with an opportunity to step into society, where he could not only grow but also accumulate resources, would there be any place more suitable than Yaoshi?

Thinking up to this point, a wave of bitterness arose in Xie Shiyao’s heart.

He had clearly walked the path all by himself as well.

Just thinking about the fact that he actually entertained the thought of nurturing his opponent caused a bitter smile to hang at the corner of Xie Shiyao’s mouth.

How great of a price and how many exceptions would these repeated calls of “brother” eventually extract from him?

Xie Shiyao tilted his head back, sinking his exhausted body into the executive chair.

Perhaps no amount of loss could match a single willingness and the selfish motive he persistently refused to face.

The smoke dissolved in the unlit office. Xie Shiyao closed his eyes, lightly tapping his head with his hand.

Wake up, Xie Shiyao. That is Lin Zhuyi. The Lin Zhuyi who has opposed you for ten years. The younger brother who wishes for nothing more than to fall into hell together with you.

Carrying a heart full of conflict, Xie Shiyao left the Yaoshi building.

The cold wind outside scraped his face with a bit of pain.

What puzzled him was that the driver who was supposed to pick him up did not appear.

Instead, a black two-door Bentley was parked at the entrance.

The car window lowered quickly.

Lin Zhuyi was dressed in comfortable clothes, supporting the steering wheel with one hand. His stud earring reflected the flowing light under the setting sun.

“Hi. I got my driver’s license.”

“Give you a lift?”