To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 27

Lin Zhuyi understood that this was by no means an invitation, but rather a new round of gaming on the edge of danger.

Yet knowing this, he still felt the urge to accept the gamble.

Lin Zhuyi leaned forward a fraction.

Xie Shiyao turned his head to avoid him, smiling. “So foolish. I was joking.”

He set down his red wine glass, stood up, and stretched. “I am tired. Before going to sleep, how about you dry my hair for me?”

Without waiting for Lin Zhuyi to answer, he already took a step forward and headed upstairs.

Just as Xie Shiyao anticipated, the moment he sat down in front of the sink, Lin Zhuyi arrived.

Lin Zhuyi stopped behind him, and the sound of the hair dryer being plugged in echoed in his ears.

Fingers threaded through his hair as hot air brushed past the back of his neck. Lin Zhuyi’s ice-cold fingers, mingled with that hot air, gave Xie Shiyao a trace of unfamiliar comfort.

“Are you satisfied?” the voice of the person came from above his head.

Xie Shiyao closed his eyes and nodded gently. “You must have sleeping pills on your body. Why is it that whenever you get close to me, I feel this tired?”

Lin Zhuyi did not stop the movements of his hands.

“That is called peace of mind.”

Xie Shiyao frowned. “Peace of mind, with you? I do not believe it.”

Lin Zhuyi stared at the face of the person in the mirror, remained silent for a long time, and then looked away. “Yes. Of course.”

“I do not believe it either.”

Perhaps it was because he drank the red wine, or perhaps it was because of the white noise of the hair dryer. Perhaps it was because the touch of Lin Zhuyi’s fingers felt good, or perhaps it was because of the fragrance on Lin Zhuyi’s body.

The sleepiness came abruptly yet naturally. Xie Shiyao’s head began to feel heavy. He tried to steady himself, but ultimately gave up.

As drowsiness surged, Xie Shiyao’s head lost its support, drooping slowly until it rested sideways against the other person.

Lin Zhuyi’s eyes were filled with confusion, apparently not expecting that Xie Shiyao could fall asleep under such noisy conditions.

However, he still blew Xie Shiyao’s hair until it was completely dry before turning off the hair dryer. He lowered his head and patted Xie Shiyao’s face. “Go sleep in bed.”

Xie Shiyao opened his bleary eyes, swayed as he stood up, and walked toward the bedroom.

By the bedside, Lin Zhuyi watched this person exhibit a rare childishness upon getting into bed, feeling quite helpless.

He was just about to turn around to turn off the lights, but Xie Shiyao, who was already lying in bed, suddenly grabbed his hand and muttered in a daze, “Do not leave. Sleep together.”

As if afraid that Lin Zhuyi might misunderstand, Xie Shiyao added, “Do not misunderstand, just sleep. I cannot sleep well alone.”

Lin Zhuyi said nothing for a moment, as if weighing whether this lingering invitation from Xie Shiyao was a mockery or sincere.

Ultimately, he took off his shirt, exposing a physique with obvious signs of working out, and turned off the lights.

“Then just sleep.”

The two bodies pressed against each other. Xie Shiyao commanded softly in the darkness, “Turn around.”

Lin Zhuyi did not argue either, quietly doing as he was told. Xie Shiyao then hugged him from behind, much like a child needing to hold a large stuffed toy to sleep.

Then he spoke.

“Lin Zhuyi, you are very good at kissing.”

“Who taught you?”

Leaving behind this near-complaining murmur, Xie Shiyao buried his face in the short hairs at the back of Lin Zhuyi’s neck and fell fast asleep.

Discovering that Xie Shiyao was truly asleep, Lin Zhuyi felt incredulous at first, finding it absurd enough to laugh. Afterward, he removed Xie Shiyao’s arm, wanting to get out of bed, but ultimately he did not.

Lin Zhuyi lay back down, talking to himself.

“Are you not afraid?”

“If you become accustomed to it, are you not afraid?”

“Are you not afraid?”

From that night onward, every few days, Xie Shiyao would command Lin Zhuyi to come sleep in his room.

Perhaps it was to tease Lin Zhuyi, or perhaps he truly treated the person as a living sleeping pill. After all, every time Lin Zhuyi was present, he would sleep very well.

He thought to himself that he needed Lin Zhuyi’s closeness, even if it was under the guise of teasing.

Thus, at night, they were brothers who refused to admit defeat to one another, while during the day, they were Director Xie and Director Xie’s little assistant.

Xie Shiyao also granted Lin Zhuyi the right to enter his office. However, from the day they almost crossed the line, both of them restrained themselves a great deal.

Lin Zhuyi performed well. In fact, sometimes in Xie Shiyao’s view, his performance already far exceeded the scope of merely being well.

Sometimes, he had just criticized his subordinates for being too careless with a proposal, and not a few hours later, Lin Zhuyi would present a PowerPoint presentation he made himself. The contents inside would always give Xie Shiyao a great surprise.

Lin Zhuyi was very intelligent. Every time a meeting concluded, he would share some of his own insights with him in private. Taking just a few of those suggestions could generate a significant profit for Yaoshi.

Xie Shiyao also tried adopting some of the advice, and as expected, they made a fortune.

Sometimes looking at Lin Zhuyi dressed in a full suit, Xie Shiyao even wondered if this person had a split personality. Was this still the bad individual he had known since childhood?

He looked a bit like a man now.

It was quite good. It also felt quite unfamiliar to him. Perhaps he did not understand Lin Zhuyi at all.

Xie Shiyao detested stupidity. However, the flip side of detesting stupidity was admiring strength.

Since Lin Zhuyi stopped causing trouble, his various performances at Yaoshi indeed qualified him for Xie Shiyao to appreciate him as a man.

Sometimes, Xie Shiyao truly wanted to secretly watch for a while through the crack of the door while Lin Zhuyi was taking meeting minutes for others.

It was only because he valued his dignity, not wanting to be seen by the employees, and even less wanting to be seen by Lin Zhuyi, that he dropped the idea.

Xie Shiyao quickly thought of a method.

A method that could satisfy that trace of unadmissible curiosity without compromising his dignity.

That day, he called Lin Zhuyi into the office and instructed calmly that the amusement park project was moving forward, telling Lin Zhuyi to follow the driver to Yuancheng to broaden his horizons, and let the amusement park manager take him along to learn some things.

The moment Lin Zhuyi left, the huge glass wall of the meeting room tea room was replaced. It was changed to a one-way glass that looked almost identical.

Looking out from inside the tea room, the meeting room was perfectly clear. Looking inside from the meeting room, it was merely a mirror.

The restroom and small kitchen inside the tea room were renovated to be more comfortable. Fearing that staying there might not be cozy enough, and also to give himself a pleasant place to take a midday nap, Xie Shiyao even added a small refrigerator and a reasonably sized bed.

Xie Shiyao did not intend to let anyone else know the password to this small room. However, since all his information could be found by searching online, Xie Shiyao did not use his own birthday as the password, setting it to someone else’s instead.

The workers who came to install it and the security guards responsible for the meeting room surveillance all signed non-disclosure agreements. Everyone also moved to a temporary meeting room for conferences. No one would come to this entire floor, so Xie Shiyao did not worry about the secret of the room being discovered.

The room was renovated very quickly, finished in just a few days.

Lying on the soft bed in the room, Xie Shiyao gazed at the empty meeting room, losing himself in thought as he imagined the image of Lin Zhuyi quietly typing on his computer to take records.

During this period, Lin Zhuyi would also frequently send messages to Xie Shiyao, using their unique method.

For instance, during this kind of break time, Xie Shiyao would open the mobile application connected to that voice recording pen, and Lin Zhuyi’s voice would occasionally carry through the recording pen.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

Xie Shiyao naturally ignored it intentionally.

However, the more he did not reply, the more enthusiastic that person became, repeating the words he wanted to say over and over again.

“Brother, what are you doing?” “What are you doing?”

Aside from these kinds of phrases, on many occasions, Lin Zhuyi would also ramble about his experiences through the recording pen.

“Brother, I am eating. I am alone.” “I went to the hotel. The bed is uncomfortable. I do not like it.” “I do not want to go to work anymore. Going to work means I cannot see you. It is no fun.” “Brother, I saw a cat on my way to the construction site. It is black and white. Quite rare.” “The amusement park manager is a bit stupid. Can we fire him? Communication is truly exhausting.” “The weather is turning warm.” “Without me, can you fall asleep?” “How strange, I find myself somewhat unable to sleep. Have I caught your illness as well?” “Brother, what are you doing?” “When I return, let us go see the sea. Let us go see the spring sea.”

Xie Shiyao would pretend not to hear if his mood was ordinary, but if his mood was better, he would make a phone call over, adopting the posture of a superior to ask about the situation at the amusement park.

Regarding the fact that he could hear the voice from the recording pen, he never mentioned a single word.

Lin Zhuyi returned one month later.

That day, Xie Shiyao declined a dinner invitation and had the maid at home buy some ingredients to cook hotpot.

Go see the spring sea.

What could possibly be different about the spring sea? Childish.

Xie Shiyao changed his clothes and admired himself in front of the mirror for a while. Upon confirming his hairstyle was not messy, he went downstairs to wait for Lin Zhuyi to return on the sofa.

He did not wait too long before the door was pushed open by Uncle Li, and the setting sun behind the door shone inside, bringing a gust of cool wind.

Outside the door, a corner of a black overcoat was lifted by the wind.

Lin Zhuyi wore a tailored suit, the wind brushing past his face as his hair fluttered lightly.

The setting sun was too piercing, causing Xie Shiyao’s breath to catch.

Seeing Xie Shiyao, Lin Zhuyi tossed the Bentley car key in his hand aside and walked over with large strides.

He appeared to want to embrace Xie Shiyao, but right at the instant he raised his hand, he restrained himself again, clenching his palm and retracting his hand. “You are at home. That is great.”

“Did you think I would not be at home?” Xie Shiyao asked.

“Yes,” Lin Zhuyi used his gaze to continuously size up Xie Shiyao, “you are always very busy.”

Xie Shiyao feigned ease. “It just so happens that I have nothing to do today.”

The hotpot boiled on the dining table, and they chatted for a few more unexciting, awkward sentences before both heading to the dining table.

Across the rising heat of the hotpot, their gazes frequently intertwined awkwardly.

Sometimes it was Lin Zhuyi looking at him, and Xie Shiyao would pretend not to see, merely picking up food; sometimes, their gazes crossed when they sneaked glances at each other.

Unsure whether it was because they had not seen each other for a month, or because he knew Lin Zhuyi had performed very reliably and steadily in Yuancheng, Xie Shiyao always felt that Lin Zhuyi seemed more mature than before.

Because they were both covered in the scent of hotpot, after dinner, they went upstairs to their respective rooms to shower. Xie Shiyao dried his hair while sending a message to Lin Zhuyi.

“Come sleep in my room.”

Xie Shiyao turned off the lights and lay in bed, inexplicably recalling that phrase about wanting to see the spring sea again.

In his memory, there was a very beautiful sea at Santa Monica in California.

This thing was out of reach and untouchable. Why not use the opportunity of going abroad for a vacation to settle things with the brat?

Go to New York after visiting California, show him the place where he used to live, and purchase a few new outfits for him. It would be quite good.

Xie Shiyao looked around the room. This old mansion, this Beicheng, contained too many wretched memories of the past. Unless wrapped in an impulse, he truly did not want to take action here.

If they were to start anew, it would be better to discard the shadows of the past. Aside from the so-called brother and little brother, they could create some brand-new memories.

Memories that were not so life-and-death.

The moment Lin Zhuyi entered the blanket, Xie Shiyao propped up his head and drew close. “Do you have a United States visa?”

These words caused Lin Zhuyi to display a vigilant look, and he narrowed his eyes. “I do.”

Xie Shiyao lay back down with satisfaction, his words carrying some pride. “Once I finish managing the current matters at hand, Brother will take you to America to have fun.”

The vigilance in Lin Zhuyi’s eyes gradually turned into confusion. “Is it time for a separation? Do you want to abandon me there?”

Xie Shiyao was speechless, glancing at the person beside his pillow. “Did you not want to go see the spring sea? There is a very decent place. No need for you to drive, we will take a plane. You have performed well recently, so there is no need for me to abandon you there. Go together, return together.”

Lin Zhuyi froze.

His pupils dilated and then contracted violently. His expression was momentarily filled with anger, but very quickly, that anger was covered by confusion.

Ultimately, Lin Zhuyi lay down calmly, pulled up the blanket, and uttered a near-murmur to himself, “How strange. We are not supposed to be like this.”

Those words did not seem to be spoken to Xie Shiyao, but rather to himself.

Because Lin Zhuyi was beside him, Xie Shiyao obtained a long-awaited comfortable sleep without relying on sleeping pills.

Right after confirming that Xie Shiyao had fallen into a deep sleep, Lin Zhuyi stood up, got out of bed, and closed the bedroom door.

Lin Zhuyi walked all the way down the stairs, went to that basement belonging to him, and crossed through the secret door of the basement.

He checked around, pulled out a chair, sat before the desk, retrieved the diary for this year, flipped it open, and began to write.

The preceding parts were all texts similar to a diary, but when writing the final two sentences, Lin Zhuyi pursed his lips, as if this passage was very painful for him.

“He does not seem to hate anymore, what should I do?” “Should I forgive him?”

Writing up to this point, Lin Zhuyi paused for a moment, continuing to write with great force.

“But I feel it is so unfair.”

The tip of the pen nearly tore the paper. Just as the final period was finished, Lin Zhuyi seemed to regret it, immediately crossing out these three lines of text.

Merely crossing them out was not enough. Expressionlessly, he tore off this entire page, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

The lights in the room were not turned on, and the blue light of the computer screen struck the side of Lin Zhuyi’s face. He leaned against the back of the chair, raised his head, closed his eyes, and allowed his entire self to sink into the darkness.

“Alas.”

The night was eroded by dawn, and the two individuals put on their suits, ate breakfast, and went to work together just as they were accustomed to before.

Xie Shiyao booked airline tickets to California for one month later, two round-trip tickets.

In order to be able to enjoy the holiday with an undivided mind, he became busier than usual, solely to handle matters ahead of schedule.

However, even if he was busier, he would still clear out a bit of time to lie down behind that one-way glass inside the crafted small room, calling it a rest.

This room was specially soundproofed, fearing that if a phone call suddenly came, it would be heard by the people holding a meeting outside.

Therefore, that day at noon.

When Xie Shiyao was answering a phone call inside, he saw the meeting room door open, and Lin Zhuyi sat in front of the one-way glass, seriously typing with the tie clip he bought fastened to his tie.

When the long table of the meeting room was filled with people, yet he could only see Lin Zhuyi.

Xie Shiyao gripped his phone tightly.

Driven by a sudden impulse, he took a few steps forward and stopped before that one-way glass.

A slender finger extended, sliding across the person’s hair, hearing aid, and the neatly trimmed short hairs at the back of the neck through the glass.

Unsure whether there existed some form of telepathy in this world.

Lin Zhuyi suddenly turned his head at the right moment.

They gazed at each other silently through the one-way glass.

Inside the phone receiver, the person calling him kept asking if Director Xie was still there, but Xie Shiyao had no mind to answer.

If not for being separated by this layer of glass, he might never have seen clearly that Lin Zhuyi’s eyes were actually so hollow, and yet so large.

Xie Shiyao bent his waist, looking at him carefully through the glass.

The little brother whom I have hated for half my life.

During the days when I am not around, did you also look at me through a glass belonging to you?