To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 29

Xie Shiyao did not slap Lin Zhuyi’s hand away. “In fact, you could have directly betrayed me from the very beginning.”

“But you cannot make me believe in you first, and then deceive me.”

“Human hearts are made of flesh. Lin Zhuyi, I am hurting deeply.”

Leaving those words behind, Xie Shiyao turned around and left the office.

Enduring the complex gazes of everyone, Xie Shiyao went to the meeting room to hold a meeting as if nothing had happened.

Once he confirmed that he had explained the arrangements for the upcoming month down to the finest detail, he told everyone that he was taking a vacation and that they should contact the relevant person in charge if anything came up.

At the very end, he added with a sneer, “You can look for my younger brother too. After all, have you not all gotten to know him by now?”

Xie Shiyao left the Yaoshi building alone and sat down inside his car.

Supporting himself against the steering wheel with one hand, he tightly gripped his mobile phone with the other to call Uncle Li.

Xie Shiyao asked Uncle Li if he had gone to check the basement yet, and if there was anything unusual inside.

Uncle Li’s voice, however, sounded incredibly terrified. “I think you need to come and see for yourself. I cannot put it into words.”

Xie Shiyao rested his head against the center of the steering wheel. “Uncle, can I trust you?”

Uncle Li had probably not seen the trending searches yet, replying honestly, “What is wrong with you? You sound completely weak. Shiyao, how about I make a video call to show you first?”

Xie Shiyao rolled his forehead against the steering wheel and shook his head. “Forget it, I will go back and look myself. Do not touch anything inside. Go to my room afterward and help me run some hot water in the bathtub. The weather is too cold, and I want to take a hot bath.”

Dazed, he drove all the way back home. Using all the dignity he could muster, he entered the old family estate with the bearing of the head of the household and walked toward the room Lin Zhuyi had mentioned.

If Lin Zhuyi had not brought it up, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to enter this place.

Turning the doorknob, an uncomfortable odor wafted out. This was the place where Lin Zhuyi’s mother stored miscellaneous items. Aside from a small sofa, the surrounding cabinets were filled with various achievements that the woman had acquired in the past.

There were dance competition trophies, photos taken with his father, childhood pictures of Lin Zhuyi, and cabinets full of books that the woman liked to read.

Xie Shiyao searched around with his gaze, which eventually landed on an old English dictionary.

He tried pushing it inward.

Instantly, the sound of an object vibrating came through. The bookshelf slid open, revealing a hidden door inside.

Xie Shiyao mocked himself in his heart for being so foolish. Lin Zhuyi had calculated perfectly that he would find that woman disgusting, even factoring in the reality that he would never actively step into this room.

He truly saw right through him. He was indeed worthy of enticing him to walk toward the cliff step by step with clear awareness.

Xie Shiyao took a deep breath and pushed open the hidden door.

He believed he had prepared himself psychologically.

Yet Xie Shiyao still widened his eyes uncontrollably.

The walls were completely covered in photographs.

They were photographs of him.

They were about his four years in New York.

He approached in disbelief, taking one down to examine it closely. How could this be? This was indeed him. Where did Lin Zhuyi get these photographs from?

Xie Shiyao hurriedly began removing the photographs one by one.

It was him. It was still him. It was entirely him. Xie Shiyao grew a bit frantic, sweeping his large hand through the air.

Those photographs fluttered down like snowflakes in the dark room, completely swallowing Xie Shiyao.

Only now did he understand that during every single second in New York, Lin Zhuyi had been hiding in the shadows, licking him with those empty eyes.

The constantly falling photographs almost cut into Xie Shiyao’s eyes with pain.

Covering half of his face, he took a large breath through the gaps between his fingers, then lowered his hand, stepped over the photographs on the floor, and looked at the table in the center of the room.

Beneath the table were several rows of drawers. Xie Shiyao extended a hand that was trembling from anger and pulled a drawer open.

Inside the drawer were diaries. He randomly pulled one out and flipped it open.

The date inside happened to be the exact month he had left for New York years ago.

“He is gone. My entire body felt numb upon learning this news, and I could not speak. I was put into an ambulance again. The doctor said this is called respiratory alkalosis and told me not to be too sad. I do not understand; I am not sad at all. I just hate him so much.”

“Did I play too far and force him away? I regret it so much. I really want to start over.”

“He really let himself go after leaving. I want to kill him. On what grounds is he this happy? He stole the happiness that originally belonged to me. I hate you.”

“I want to kill you. I want to make you hurt. I want to make you regret it just like I do.”

Xie Shiyao’s hand shook as he closed this diary and pulled out another.

This one seemed to be from the recent half year.

“He has become soft, which is excellent. The day I become the only one is getting closer and closer. I am looking forward to it so much.”

“I kissed him in front of his little lover. Quite nice. He actually dared to ask me today if I liked him. How arrogant. If he knew how much I loathed him, he would definitely be terrified, haha.”

Seeing the words “haha”, Xie Shiyao laughed along, though his eyes held only bitterness and absurdity, entirely devoid of genuine joy.

It was painful to read. Xie Shiyao did not want to look at this one anymore. He bent down, enduring the throbbing pain in his heart, and pulled out another one.

This one was covered in dust, clearly a diary from a very long time ago. The date on the first page seemed to be the day they first met ten years ago.

“It seems I have a new toy. He looks really handsome, and he is so tall. He does not like me calling him brother, so I insist on calling him that. Mom says we are going to become a family. I do not want that; I want to play with him.”

“He scolded me. He even smashed up the house. He is truly fun to play with. For such a beautiful person, he can have such a terrible temper.”

“I am a bit reluctant to part with it, but I gave him the little bear Dad gave me. This is my favorite item, and I cannot fall asleep without holding it. It is a bit old because it has accompanied me for too long. For such a precious gift, it is fine if he does not like it, but he was actually frightened by it. I dislike him.”

Xie Shiyao instantly recalled the day after their first meeting, when Lin Zhuyi had left a little bear outside his door with its eyeballs gouged out.

“I went downstairs to eat today, and when I returned, my jellyfish was dead too. Perhaps jellyfish do not adapt well to moving house either. I want to preserve the jellyfish; after all, it is my very first friend.”

“Forget it. I still want to give my friend to him. If we are truly of the same kind, he will definitely cherish my gift.”

Unknowingly, with a soft thud, the diary fell to the floor.

Xie Shiyao supported himself against the corner of the table, feeling as though he were about to lose his breath.

He truly was sick. It turned out that the terrifying little bear and the jellyfish corpse were not intimidation. They were childish displays of goodwill.

He collapsed into the chair, suppressing the overwhelming waves of emotion in his heart.

With his head resting weakly against the back of the chair, Xie Shiyao calmed himself down alone in this hair-raising, dark little room for a very long time.

Right at that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the trash can beneath his feet.

He did not know what he was thinking as he reached down, scooping out the crumpled ball of paper inside.

The moment he opened it, Xie Shiyao’s eyes inevitably grew moist.

The words on it had been crossed out, but that did not prevent Xie Shiyao from seeing the contents clearly.

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

“But I feel it is so unfair.”

Then, he opened another crumpled ball of paper.

There were a few sentences inside it as well.

“I do not want to go on hating. I have decided to forgive him.”

“We will make up, and build a home together again.”

“Forget it, it is too corny. I will wait for an opportunity to tell him in person.”

Xie Shiyao was unable to snap back to his senses for a long time.

He could not help but recall that back in the mall, aside from the kiss that broke his heart, Lin Zhuyi had indeed said that they had the ability to piece a home together.

Could it be that the matter of the trending searches truly was not Lin Zhuyi’s doing?

Suddenly, there was no sound of footsteps. There was no sound of breathing.

A snow-white, ice-cold hand reached out from behind, quietly wrapping around Xie Shiyao’s neck.

On the black screen of the computer before him, the reflection of Lin Zhuyi appeared.

His fingernails slid gently across the skin of his neck. With his head tilted beside Xie Shiyao’s face, Lin Zhuyi gazed at Xie Shiyao’s terrified face, murmuring softly, “Brother, have you finished reading my sincerity?”

This ghost-like voice rang out abruptly. Xie Shiyao’s heart skipped a beat, and he turned his head in horror amidst the darkness.

Lin Zhuyi’s eerie face hung right before his eyes.

Xie Shiyao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He organized his words in his mind before finally asking, “What is going on with this room? The photographs, where did they come from?”

Lin Zhuyi glanced at the paper in Xie Shiyao’s hand. “Originally, I had been looking forward to you stepping into my room so I could punish your betrayal here. But just like what you saw just now, my heart softened, and I regretted it.”

He paused deliberately, using the pad of his finger to brush across Xie Shiyao’s cheek. “You said that human hearts are made of flesh, and that you would hurt too. But when I heard you instinctively suspecting me, my heart was hurting as well.”

Lin Zhuyi’s arm wrapped tightly around him, making Xie Shiyao feel nearly suffocated. He wanted to remove the arm, but Lin Zhuyi’s strength was too immense, showing absolutely no intention of letting go.

Xie Shiyao could only look up to stare directly at him. “Since it was not you, why did you not explain it clearly when I asked you?”

Lin Zhuyi widened his eyes, laughing in utter disbelief, his voice suddenly growing much louder, “You suspected me! Are we not family? I have treated you this way; even a stone should have been warmed up by now.”

“Xie Shiyao, I am not the only one who knows about our relationship. You do not suspect them, yet you suspect me?”

“Brother, at that moment, I even had the urge to kill you. However, I have grown over these years. Yes, I will no longer break you like I did when I was a child, because that will make you run away. If you run away, I will end up in the hospital again, which is uncomfortable. Therefore, I will control myself.”

After finishing these words, Lin Zhuyi had already calmed down significantly. He extended the tip of his tongue, using his soft tongue to brush across Xie Shiyao’s ear contour. “This time, I will use a method that prevents you from running away to make you hurt, and to make you regret.”

The dangerous sound of moisture echoed near his ear. Xie Shiyao alertly realized that regardless of whether they could eventually clear things up, Lin Zhuyi was definitely going to go completely mad this time.

He glanced back at the hidden door. “Let go of me first, we will go outside to talk.”

Lin Zhuyi said, “You are no longer in a position to make demands of me.”

The negotiation failed. Xie Shiyao seized an opportunity, immediately twisting Lin Zhuyi’s arm with force, and took the chance to stand up.

Xie Shiyao strode toward the hidden door.

But just as he was about to reach the doorway, he was grabbed by Lin Zhuyi and pinned to the floor.

With his face forced against the ground, Lin Zhuyi straddled him, leaning down close as he smiled darkly, “Do you know? Since I was a child, I have always felt that the scent on your body is exceptionally fragrant. It was only over the last two years that I discovered what this scent actually is.”

He deliberately sniffed Xie Shiyao’s strands of hair. “Yes. It is a scent that makes me want to make love very much.”

This action caused Xie Shiyao’s entire body to tense up, and an inexplicable fear arose in his heart. “Let go of me right now!”

Lin Zhuyi, however, shook his head leisurely, reaching out to cover Xie Shiyao’s mouth. “Brother, from this day onward, I will confiscate your everything.”

“For instance, your freedom.”

Xie Shiyao tried hard to open his mouth, but with his mouth covered tightly, he could only emit pitiful, muffled sounds.

Lin Zhuyi tightened his grip even further, kissing Xie Shiyao’s cheek as he held him tightly. “Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. This room is filled entirely with my sincerity. Are you afraid? Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.”

“That day you asked me if I liked you. Actually, I thought about it for a long time after returning. I have indeed never liked you. But I truly care about you a lot.”

“I care about you this much, yet you still dared to harbor suspicions against me. This time you will definitely run away again, sigh. There is really no choice.”

Lin Zhuyi kept repeating these obscure phrases, and the force in his hands tightened more and more, causing a dark mist to gradually creep over Xie Shiyao’s vision.

Right before losing consciousness, he heard Lin Zhuyi whispering to him.

“Met with no alternative, let us be together forever.”

“Brother.”

“I hate you.”