To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 31

Xie Shiyao raised his eyes hazily and asked, “What?”

Lin Zhuyi said coldly, “Do you think I am joking? Brother, I want you to say you love me with your own mouth, but I will not listen. I want to see you in pain, and I want to see you feel pleasure. I want you to forever remember exactly who turned you into this state at this very moment.”

He patted Xie Shiyao’s cheek and warned, “Cry out if you understand. Otherwise, even if you pass out, I have plenty of ways to make you wake up.”

Xie Shiyao truly felt as though he was being driven insane. However, his rationality, driven by a stubborn desire to win, managed to gain the upper hand as he said through gritted teeth, “If you have the guts, then just destroy me.”

Through the movement of his lips, Lin Zhuyi roughly guessed Xie Shiyao’s refusal.

Consequently, Xie Shiyao immediately experienced what it meant for things to become even more intense.

Lin Zhuyi held him close. Accompanied by the continuous jingling of the bells, he covered Xie Shiyao’s mouth and spoke venomous words in a whispering tone from time to time, saying, “You are already like this yet you are still so stubborn. I can see that you are actually enjoying this quite a bit.”

“Do you regret turning me gay? Now you definitely wish you had never turned me gay, right?”

“Do you realize that it is already too late now?”

“Do you understand that you have to take responsibility for turning me gay?”

The colors before his eyes were gradually replaced by white, before turning into a chaotic blur resembling television static. Following an incredibly intense wave of numbness, Xie Shiyao’s head fell backward, and he completely lost consciousness.

Yet Lin Zhuyi did not stop.

Thus, this contest between beasts transformed into a paradox. Xie Shiyao would occasionally awaken in a daze, only to lose consciousness again amidst the intense pleasure, repeating the cycle continuously without any indication of when it would finally end.

Whenever he was conscious, every single part of his body felt like an absolute sensitive zone. Even a simple touch on his finger would cause him to feel numb and itchy.

Despite this, Xie Shiyao would rather bite his lips until they bled than speak that phrase, I love you.

Lin Zhuyi bit down on his earlobe.

Xie Shiyao spoke with a hoarse voice, struggling to form the words with his lips as he asked, “Why are you treating me like this?”

Lin Zhuyi understood the movement of his lips and countered, “Do you not understand?”

The previous lingering warmth vanished instantly, and Lin Zhuyi’s expression suddenly became incredibly terrifying as he said, “Because I hate you.”

“I hate you for leaving for four years without a word of farewell, and for never contacting me even once. It is as if our past never held any meaning whatsoever to you.”

Xie Shiyao spoke weakly, uttering two words, “You idiot.”

The hands that had been clutching Lin Zhuyi’s collar finally loosened slowly and fell downward.

He knew that the dynamic between them was complicated, and that was never hate at all.

Lin Zhuyi did not see the words Xie Shiyao spoke. He merely continued to hold him tightly, appearing incredibly unreconciled.

Amidst the golden bells, Lin Zhuyi kissed Xie Shiyao’s forehead gently, brushed away the hair that was soaked with sweat, and said stubbornly, “The two of us have absolutely no need for a concept as cheap as love.”

“It is far too low class. Just hearing the word makes me feel disgusted.”

Xie Shiyao did not know exactly how long he had slept.

When he opened his eyes once more, the exact same darkness stretched out before him.

His previous memories were reduced to intermittent fragments, and the slightest movement now caused his entire body to ache as though it would explode. Xie Shiyao even began to question if his bones had been shattered, wondering how it could possibly hurt this much otherwise.

He wanted to call out Lin Zhuyi’s name, but his throat was entirely too dry. Before he could manage to speak, he burst into a series of harsh coughs.

Right then, a chilling voice rang out from the darkness in front of him.

“I made food for you. It is right beside the nightstand. There is no need to worry because I have already cleaned you up and applied medicine, so you will not develop a fever. You are actually quite resilient, considering you only passed out after an entire day.”

Lin Zhuyi’s words were spoken calmly, yet hearing them caused a surge of fury to rise directly from Xie Shiyao’s heart.

It was far too dark in the room, and since no lights were turned on, he could not see a single thing. He could only rely on his senses to grope around the head of the bed. The moment his hand brushed against an object that felt like an ashtray, he threw it forcefully in Lin Zhuyi’s direction with a heart full of rage without a second thought.

There was a loud clattering sound.

Lin Zhuyi did not even attempt to dodge, and very quickly, a thin line of blood began to stream down from his forehead.

Xie Shiyao pressed his hand against his mouth and coughed several times. He did not bother to speak further, choosing instead to endure the pain as he got out of bed to grope around for the exit.

“Is brother planning to leave? What a pity. Very well, you are free to leave whenever you wish. The door is unlocked, so do as you please.”

Lin Zhuyi kept his hands slipped inside his pockets as he followed right behind Xie Shiyao, watching silently as Xie Shiyao searched for the door.

The exact moment Xie Shiyao finally wrapped his fingers around the doorknob, Lin Zhuyi said calmly, “However, before you walk out, why don’t you try to guess exactly where we are?”

These unprompted words caused Xie Shiyao’s heart to tighten instantly. He remembered that Lin Zhuyi had previously said welcome home, so he had instinctively assumed that this location was the old family estate.

He began to question whether this place was actually home.

Lin Zhuyi did not grant Xie Shiyao much time to ponder the question.

He walked over to the wall beside the door and pressed a switch.

At that exact instant, the blackout curtains hanging on the wall beside the door automatically rolled upward.

A flood of blinding light rushed directly into the room.

Xie Shiyao widened his eyes in absolute disbelief.

The view hidden behind the curtains was not the scenery outside the old family estate.

It was a conference room.

This was the main conference room inside the Yaoshi building.

Inside the conference room, a full table of people was currently seated. The employees were entirely oblivious to the situation inside this room, sitting around the table with serious expressions as they conducted their meeting across this pane of one way glass.

The light and shadows from the slide presentation on the large screen reflected onto Xie Shiyao’s face. He stood entirely frozen to the spot, and even his breathing came to a sudden halt.

Lin Zhuyi walked over and patted Xie Shiyao gently on the shoulder, saying, “You went through the trouble of sending me off to Yuancheng just so you could construct a room like this. If you had not set the passcode to this room as my birthday, I truly would not have been able to get inside. Thank you for the gift. Truly, I am exceptionally fond of it.”

Xie Shiyao’s mind went entirely blank for a brief moment.

Everything that had transpired since yesterday was already something he needed to process thoroughly on his own.

Yet now, he had been personally brought by Lin Zhuyi into this very room that he had originally designed to spy on Lin Zhuyi.

Xie Shiyao’s shocked expression failed to elicit any significant reaction from Lin Zhuyi. Lin Zhuyi reached out to switch on the lights in the room casually, wrapped his arms tightly around Xie Shiyao from behind, and pressed his face against his hair, saying, “Feel free to leave if you want to. The door is not locked, and I will never lock it either. However, because you were planning to take a vacation, you arranged a significant amount of work for everyone beforehand. They are all exceptionally busy right now, and they will be coming in here to hold meetings very frequently.”

“Your body is completely covered in hickey marks. You certainly would not want the security guards managing the surveillance feeds to witness you in this state of undress, right? Well, brother?”

Xie Shiyao’s breathing quickened amidst his absolute fury.

This was the highest quality one way mirror available on the market, which he had selected with his own hands.

This was the finest glass, and it also served as the most perfect natural mirror.

Consequently, he could clearly witness the employees conducting their meeting outside, while simultaneously viewing his own reflection in the mirror inside the room, being held tightly from behind.

Lin Zhuyi lowered his head, nuzzling against Xie Shiyao’s neck as he said, “I have also thought things through. Since you are incapable of trusting me like a family member, it is far better for us to revert to our previous mode of interaction. There is no need for change, and there is no need for a home. Do you still remember? When we were children, I said that if I were a rat, you would be the sewer that I lived in. Life had become entirely too comfortable recently, causing me to forget that a rat is simply a rat, only fit to spend its entire life inside a sewer. One cannot become so greedy as to want to remain outside forever just because they caught a glimpse of the light.”

He raised his head, studying Xie Shiyao with a distant gaze before continuing, “From the exact moment you began to doubt me, I no longer desired anything at all.”

“I only want you to fear me. Hate me. And never be able to leave me.”

“Of course, I am not going to urge you to stay. However, I believe you will choose to remain here entirely of your own free will, will you not?”

Those pale fingers stroked Xie Shiyao’s cheek gently, yet the gesture was entirely devoid of any tenderness as he asked, “What is the matter? Are you too consumed by anger to speak?”

“Brother, you actually deserve this completely. To think you even went through the trouble of soundproofing this room. If they were to hear the sounds you made, I would truly be exceptionally displeased. Still, it is quite strange. Why exactly did you soundproof this room? Were you originally planning to take me inside this room?”

Bloodshot lines crawled into the whites of his eyes as Xie Shiyao took a large stride forward, clamping his fingers forcefully around Lin Zhuyi’s throat, and snapping, “Shut your mouth right now.”

Lin Zhuyi raised both hands, making a motion as if sealing his lips shut, and let out a faint smile.

This provocative attitude caused Xie Shiyao’s anger to intensify further. A nameless fury rushed straight to his head, and he struck out with a heavy slap, using enough force to send the other man’s hearing aid flying across the room.

Following that, Xie Shiyao delivered a sharp kick, sending Lin Zhuyi crashing down onto the floor.

To appease the immense anger he had accumulated, merely inflicting these two blows was far from sufficient. Xie Shiyao stepped firmly onto Lin Zhuyi’s chest, gradually increasing the pressure as he demanded, “Are you trying to claim that all of this happened because I was in the wrong? Is that your justification for making me experience these things?”

Lin Zhuyi stared with his innocent eyes, and it was impossible to discern whether he could even hear the question clearly at this point.

Xie Shiyao let out a cold, mocking laugh. He forced himself to remain calm for a long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice, saying, “You are right. I was in the wrong. I should never have harbored any greed regarding you. The moment I saw you at the funeral back then, I should have packaged you up and thrown you straight to the United States, telling you to get lost.”

… Lin Zhuyi lay numbly on the floor, remaining entirely silent.

Xie Shiyao stared up at the ceiling for a brief period, likely exerting an immense effort to restrain his emotions. Then, he moved to sit astride Lin Zhuyi’s body, raised his hand, and delivered another heavy slap to his face.

Following that, he lowered his head and let out a deep, heavy sigh inside this very room that had become a trap of his own making.

“I came within a hair’s breadth of believing that I was finally going to have a home.”

“Younger brother, it appears that neither of us is worthy of such a thing.”

After saying that, Xie Shiyao blinked his eyes to force back the tears that had blurred his vision. He stood up with great difficulty, picked up the fallen hearing aid, and tossed it directly at Lin Zhuyi, commanding, “Fill the bathtub with water for me. I need to take a bath.”

Lin Zhuyi adjusted his hearing aid and replied, “I have already washed you.”

A bowl filled with porridge traveled in a straight trajectory through the air, brushing past Lin Zhuyi’s cheek before smashing violently against the wall.

“Get out. Do exactly as I instructed,” Xie Shiyao said coldly.

Lin Zhuyi brushed off his trousers and stood up, saying, “You do not seem to comprehend the current state of affairs clearly yet. Brother, I am laying all my cards on the table now, and I am no longer going to play a part. Do you truly believe I will continue to listen to your commands the way I did before?”

Xie Shiyao turned his head, glaring furiously at Lin Zhuyi.

Lin Zhuyi flashed a strained smile and said, “Yes. That exact expression. You should look at me with that exact expression. This is precisely how the two of us are supposed to be.”

He stepped forward, wrapping both arms around Xie Shiyao’s neck, and pressed a deep, forceful kiss onto those thin lips.

His tongue forced its way past the barrier of his teeth, tasting him in an absolute, domineering manner. When they finally parted, a bright, glistening thread of saliva stretched between their lips.

Even though the man was standing right in front of him, Xie Shiyao was entirely unable to discern a single shred of anything that could be described as genuine affection within Lin Zhuyi’s hollow eyes.

Lin Zhuyi leaned close to his ear, his voice quiet yet carrying an absolute, overwhelming sense of pressure as he said, “Xie Shiyao.”

“From this day forward, hate me until the day you die.”