To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 4

Xie Shiyao prided himself on having seen it all; to him, most things were hardly worth mentioning.

Yet Lin Zhuyi’s words, less a threat and more a premonition, caused his heart to skip a beat unexpectedly.

Xie Shiyao replied calmly, “I do not have time to play with you, kid. Please hurry up and get lost back to your doghouse.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Lin Zhuyi’s mouth as his gaze shifted upward to meet Xie Shiyao’s eyes. He did not make a sound, but simply mouthed three words.

“You are finished.”

Xie Shiyao doubted his own eyes. “What did you just say?”

Lin Zhuyi shook his head, looking relaxed as if nothing had happened. “Can you invite me to go home together today?”

It was like playing the lute to a cow. It was a waste of breath to even speak with Lin Zhuyi.

Once Xiao Guai emerged from the bathroom, Xie Shiyao also changed his clothes. He tied the silk scarf around his neck to hide the scar. Xie Shiyao did not give Lin Zhuyi a second glance, pulling Xiao Guai along as they walked out.

He did not look back. But behind him, Lin Zhuyi’s gaze clung to him from the shadows of the room. It was burning and tightening.

The air outside was indeed more peaceful than that inside the hotel.

Xie Shiyao took the driver’s seat, opened the sunroof, breathed in the fresh air, and played a random song. Xiao Guai sat in the passenger seat without hesitation and fastened his seatbelt. “Brother Xie, is it okay to leave your brother there all by himself?”

Xie Shiyao shot a dissatisfied glance at Xiao Guai, stepped on the gas, and spun the steering wheel with one hand. The car pulled out of the underground parking lot. “He is not my biological brother.”

As the engine roared, Xiao Guai asked anxiously with curiosity, “Ah, then why is he so clingy toward you?”

Xie Shiyao tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Xiao Guai did not understand what the gesture meant. After a moment of thought, he took out a cigarette, placed it in Xie Shiyao’s mouth, and carefully lit it.

Xie Shiyao took a drag. Amidst the swirling smoke, Lin Zhuyi’s maddening face surfaced in his mind again. He needed to say something to drive that face out of his head. This feeling of being backed into a corner made him incredibly irritable. He glanced at the innocent Xiao Guai beside him, and a near-reckless desire to confide in him welled up.

He spoke. “He and I only lived together for ten years. This person is a ‘bad seed’ by nature, ever since he was a child.”

Xiao Guai clearly did not understand the weight of those words. “How can that be? His face does not look like a bad person’s.”

Xie Shiyao handed the cigarette between his right fingers to Xiao Guai. “He is rotten to the core. When Lin Zhuyi’s mother and father had him, they were living quite poorly. Later, when Lin Zhuyi was four, his father committed a crime, a serious one. He could only hide in a friend’s house; if he stepped out, he would be caught.”

“His father was hidden perfectly well, but suddenly one day, the police burst through the door and took him away. To this day, he has not been released.”

Xiao Guai let out an “Ah.” “Then he is quite pitiful, growing up without a father.”

Xie Shiyao glanced at Xiao Guai mockingly. “What is so pitiful about it? He was the one who made the phone call to report his own father.”

Xiao Guai’s eyes widened. This was strange; given Lin Zhuyi’s behavior earlier, he did not seem like someone with a sense of justice. “No way! Then what was he after?”

Xie Shiyao’s gaze gradually grew cold. Yes, what was he after? And what exactly did he want? Who knew.

Two days flipped by.

Lin Zhuyi seemed quite satisfied with his display of power that day. Consequently, he had been in a good mood for the following days. Even though Xie Shiyao had blocked him and stopped contacting him, he endured his annoyance and stayed in high spirits.

Because his mother had passed away and he was a rare, exceptional student, the school had granted Lin Zhuyi a leave of absence.

At dawn, Lin Zhuyi woke up as usual, got out of bed, speculated on Xie Shiyao’s next possible move, put on his sportswear, donned his headphones, and went out for a jog. Passing over a bridge and taking two turns, Lin Zhuyi actually heard a commotion through his headphones in an alleyway.

“Why is there so little money today? Did your grandfather not give you any? Or do you just not want to give it to us, so you are trying to fool us with these three or five yuan?”

Lin Zhuyi stopped his pace to find the source of the noise. In the alley, four or five thugs were cornering a boy who looked very thin and weak against a wall. The boy was frail and fair, with tears in his eyes. “I, I really do not have any money today. Please do not hit me. I beg you.”

A thug reached out, snatched the boy’s backpack, and shook it. Books clattered to the ground. Confirming there was no money inside, the thug raised his hand to strike. “You just want to hide the money. You actually dared to fool us!”

The boy held back a loud cry. At the moment he was about to be hit, the boy saw Lin Zhuyi outside the alley, wearing headphones and walking in with a dark expression. The thug had no idea someone was approaching. He barked at the boy, “What are you looking at? You’re not even taking your beating seriously? You!”

Before he could finish, Lin Zhuyi had already drawn near. With his hands in his pockets, he raised his leg and delivered a kick to the thug’s stomach.

“Who, who the hell are you? Kill him!”

The remaining thugs swarmed him. Lin Zhuyi was composed, his movements ruthless and precise, targeting joints and soft spots. Soon, the thugs were all lying on the ground groaning.

Lin Zhuyi walked up to the leader of the thugs. As the man clutched his stomach and tried to get up, Lin Zhuyi raised his foot and ground his sole firmly onto the man’s face, pressing his cheek against the rough ground.

“How boring,” Lin Zhuyi’s voice had no ups or downs. “I will give you five seconds. Run.”

The thug leader trembled in fear, unable to speak a word. Taking advantage of Lin Zhuyi’s lack of attention, the leader scrambled away from under Lin Zhuyi’s sole and snarled at the boy, “We, we’ll deal with you another day! Let’s go!”

Lin Zhuyi watched them flee in a flurry of pain with indifference. He looked down at the shivering boy on the ground and crouched. “Why be afraid? They did something wrong; shouldn’t they be punished?” Lin Zhuyi asked.

The boy wanted to say something, but he was too terrified. Even words of gratitude were stuck in his throat.

Lin Zhuyi suddenly raised his voice, “Hey!”

The boy jumped in fright, his whole body trembling. Lin Zhuyi picked up a book that had been trampled on the ground and patted off the dust. As he handed the book over, Lin Zhuyi had already returned to his pure and innocent smile. “My brother did something recently that made me very unhappy. I need to make a friend to attract my brother’s attention. Can you help me?”

While Lin Zhuyi was making a new “friend,” Xie Shiyao was in the President’s office of the Yaoshi Building, sipping freshly brewed, steaming Pu-erh tea. Just then, a trending notification popped up at the top of his phone.

“Pure Image Crumbles! Independent Singer Exposed for Faking Education and Family Background; Suspected to be a Former Nightclub PR!”

No name was mentioned, but Xie Shiyao had an inexplicable premonition that he knew this person. He clicked on the trending topic. As the photos loaded, Xie Shiyao recognized that the protagonist of the news was Xiao Guai.

Since he wanted to start a new life as a celebrity, why couldn’t he hide his past properly? How unintelligent. Xie Shiyao closed the page, suddenly regretting his impulsiveness that night.

Around five in the afternoon, Xiao Guai called Xie Shiyao several times. It was nothing more than saying he had been framed and begging Xie Shiyao to help him. Despite thinking Xiao Guai was a bit foolish, Xie Shiyao still transferred a large sum of money to him for public relations use. He also spoke to Gu Jinsheng, asking him to introduce Xiao Guai to a few reliable PR firms.

Even after handling everything, Xie Shiyao’s heart did not find peace. Whenever he thought about Lin Zhuyi’s sudden appearance at the hotel that day, Xie Shiyao felt that Xiao Guai’s situation was inseparable from Lin Zhuyi.

At the end of the workday, Xie Shiyao drove his car out of the parking lot with a heart full of frustration. He liked holding the steering wheel, enjoying the sense of control. Besides that, when driving, he felt a sense of peace, as if he were escaping from everything.

The steering wheel followed the direction of his heart. Passing by were the street scenes near the Yaoshi Building. Clothing boutiques, jewelry stores, bookstores. Near the roadside of a bookstore entrance, Xie Shiyao caught a glimpse ahead.

He actually saw Lin Zhuyi. What surprised him even more was that there was someone standing beside him whom he had never seen before. Specifically, it was a boy.

The boy was talking and laughing with Lin Zhuyi. They seemed to be discussing something very interesting. Lin Zhuyi’s face was covered in a gentle smile that was completely foreign to Xie Shiyao. This was strange. In Xie Shiyao’s memory, Lin Zhuyi had never made a single friend.

That smile made Xie Shiyao feel extremely displeased. What was so funny? Why was he smiling so happily? It was an eyesore.

All his frustration vented out in heated breaths. Xie Shiyao suddenly felt a malicious playful urge. He glanced at the rearview mirror, stepped hard on the gas, and drove the car straight toward Lin Zhuyi’s direction.

Seeing Xie Shiyao’s car appear, especially seeing the man smiling inside, the boy beside Lin Zhuyi was terrified. The boy let out a cry of alarm and retreated repeatedly, his face turning pale.

Lin Zhuyi did not think of avoiding it at all; he even returned a cunning smile to the person in the car. Just as the terrified boy was certain the driver was a madman and the car was bound to hit them, Xie Shiyao turned the steering wheel to the left. The car shifted direction and merged steadily into the main road.

Lin Zhuyi stared at the direction where Xie Shiyao’s car disappeared and deliberately raised his hand to check his watch.

The boy was still shaken. “Do you know that person?”

Lin Zhuyi spoke to the boy with composure, “I do not. I have things to do and must leave now.”

The boy’s heart skipped a beat. “But we haven’t added contact information yet.”

Lin Zhuyi’s face wore a refreshing expression that only appeared after a victory. “I never add anyone’s contact information. Except for my brother.”

The boy did not understand. “Then do you not socialize? What do you do if you want to contact someone?”

Lin Zhuyi replied, “As long as I want to, I can find anyone.”

The boy asked in confusion, “Why do I feel like you’ve been especially happy since just now?”

This time, Lin Zhuyi finally revealed a smile from the bottom of his heart. “Of course. Just now, I confirmed one thing. My brother cares about me.”

For Xie Shiyao, there were no banquets or social activities today. He had originally intended to go home right after work. But since leaving the main road, he insisted on driving in a large circle around Northern City.

Stepping on the gas at that moment felt quite good. But after the thrill passed, he regretted it slightly. He was no longer a child; why was he doing something so childish? But since he had done it, it was done.

The occasional indulgence made his mood quite pleasant. Lin Zhuyi had provoked him time and again; it was about time he was taught a lesson. Xie Shiyao drove to the seaside to look at the ocean for a while before driving back to the ancestral home.

To his surprise, as soon as he pushed open the door, he saw Lin Zhuyi. He was sitting on the sofa in the center of the hall. Hearing the door, he turned back gloomily. “Long time no see, Brother.”

Xie Shiyao had only one thought left in his mind. Today, he absolutely had to change every password in the house.

Xie Shiyao took off his coat. “What are you doing here?”

Lin Zhuyi put on an innocent smile. “Brother almost drove his car into me today. I guessed you must have missed me, so I came home specifically to see you.”

“Have you had dinner yet? Brother, let me cook a meal for you. Only, tonight, can I stay?”

Xie Shiyao smiled. “You still want to stay until night? Sorry, if you do not leave now, I will call the police to come and take you away.”

Lin Zhuyi rose from the sofa, his hands behind his back, acting out a pure and honest image. “That might not be possible. I have already started stewing the soup. Pork bone and yam soup; it is good for the stomach. Even if you want to call the police, wait until after dinner, okay?”

“If you do not eat, I will be very angry.”

Without waiting for Xie Shiyao’s reply, Lin Zhuyi walked straight toward the kitchen.

Regarding the fact that Lin Zhuyi could cook, Xie Shiyao found it quite unbelievable. Truly a bit curious, he also went to the kitchen to take a look. On the stove, a clay pot was steaming. Xie Shiyao found a towel, wrapped it around the lid, opened it to peek inside, and took a surprised sniff. The smell was quite normal; he probably had not poisoned it.

Xie Shiyao asked in disbelief, “When did you learn to cook?”

Lin Zhuyi took out meat that had been thawed in advance from the sink, pulled out a sharp kitchen knife, pointed it vaguely toward his own chin, and smiled. “I would also love to tell Brother. Unfortunately, I do not remember.”

As he spoke, Lin Zhuyi began cutting the meat with sharp strokes. “After losing my memory, many things I have forgotten the source of have become instincts. Like cooking.”

Lin Zhuyi paused. “Like, wanting to live with you.”

Xie Shiyao sneered, feeling an urge to test him. Standing behind Lin Zhuyi, he focused on the hand holding the knife. He placed his own hand over it provocatively and gripped the hilt through that cold hand.

The back of Lin Zhuyi’s hand could not help but tremble, and the veins on it quickly became prominent. Xie Shiyao curled his lips. Taking advantage of Lin Zhuyi’s distraction, he pulled the knife out and tossed it into the sink with a clatter.

His shadow almost completely enveloped Lin Zhuyi. “Didn’t you hate me the most growing up? Didn’t you claim back then that you would sooner or later be the death of me? Then what are you doing now? Acting nice to me? What is this, a ten-year-late apology?”

Lin Zhuyi slowly turned his head. Through their intertwined warm breaths, their gazes collided.

Lin Zhuyi opened his mouth and suddenly drew closer. “What exactly happened between us in the past that made you so hostile toward me?”

“Brother, if I start acting obediently every day from now on, will you forgive me? Will you accept me and from now on look only at me? Are you willing? Will you?”