To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 5

For a moment, Xie Shiyao felt as if a lump were stuck in his throat.

He hadn’t expected that his string of interrogations would be met with such a rapid-fire succession of mindless questions from Lin Zhuyi.

Just then, Xie Shiyao’s phone rang at the perfect time.

Someone was calling him.

Xie Shiyao initially didn’t want to answer, but seeing it was a local number, he pressed accept. He didn’t speak, waiting for the other party to open the conversation.

From the phone came the voice of a middle-aged woman. “Hello? Is this Xie Shiyao? Is Lin Zhuyi with you?”

The voice was quite familiar.

Xie Shiyao searched his memory and quickly recalled the owner of the voice. However, he had a very poor impression of this person, so he spoke irritably, “You must be Lin Zhuyi’s aunt. The kid goes missing and only now you think to look for me?”

The aunt sounded very displeased. “I don’t know what kind of game you two brothers are playing, but I am at your front door right now. I am taking Lin Zhuyi back.”

“We are not brothers. I don’t have a younger brother like him.”

“By the way, the gate is unlocked. Come in and take him away quickly, before my patience runs out.”

Lin Zhuyi looked at Xie Shiyao with dissatisfaction.

Seeing that look on Lin Zhuyi’s face made Xie Shiyao feel wonderful. He didn’t even give him a direct glance as he turned to leave, sat down on the hall sofa, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

The aunt entered soon after. She was still wearing those clothes that smelled of kitchen grease.

Xie Shiyao raised his index finger and pointed toward the kitchen. “The person is in the kitchen. Go on, I’ll allow you to go.”

The aunt gave Xie Shiyao a resentful look and walked into the kitchen. “Zhuyi, Auntie has come to take you home. Come on, follow me back.”

Lin Zhuyi had his back to the aunt as he cut meat, pretending not to hear.

“You child, why won’t you leave? We are the relatives who share a blood relation with you!”

“Wherever Xie Shiyao is, I am.”

The aunt was so angry she couldn’t speak for a long while. She thought for a moment and then turned around, standing before Xie Shiyao. “What kind of spell have you cast on Lin Zhuyi?”

Xie Shiyao maintained a languid posture. “I allowed you to enter, yet you’re making threats in my home. Do you think I have a very good temper?”

“You!” The aunt pointed at Xie Shiyao. “I know you’re gay. Having Lin Zhuyi run to find you every other day, what kind of wicked ideas do you have!”

Xie Shiyao burst out laughing. “And you? What kind of ideas are you playing at?”

“You… what did you say?”

Xie Shiyao said, “Honestly, I quite pity you. Working so tirelessly just to snatch an inheritance.”

“But do you even know a reliable lawyer? Even if you just want to grab some money, would you even know how to grab it properly?”

The house fell silent, leaving only the rhythmic sound of meat being chopped in the kitchen.

The aunt couldn’t help but take two steps back. “A person like you with a dark heart sees everyone as dark.”

Xie Shiyao curled his lips. “I am not a good person. I never have been. But I am certainly smarter than you.”

That smile-with-a-hidden-blade expression provoked the aunt into a fit of rage. “Fine! You act so polite outside, but in private, you’re just a beast-faced gay man! Lin Zhuyi was so young back then, and you wouldn’t even let him go. I heard your mother was literally provoked to death by you; looking at you now, you really deserve it!”

The chopping in the kitchen stopped.

Xie Shiyao tugged at his collar. “Apologize.”

As he said this, although Xie Shiyao was smiling, a sudden chill gathered in his eyes. The aunt was cowed by that coldness, and her momentum instantly halved.

“Apologize for what? Was I wrong to call you a gay man? I—”

Xie Shiyao didn’t hear the second half of the sentence.

From his position on the sofa, he could see directly into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Lin Zhuyi had picked up the silver kitchen knife, turned around, and was calmly walking toward the aunt.

Fresh minced meat still clung to the sharp blade.

Hearing the footsteps and seeing the change in Xie Shiyao’s expression, the aunt became instantly alert and followed his gaze to look back.

She immediately met Lin Zhuyi’s indifferent eyes.

She had indeed heard of Lin Zhuyi’s various behaviors when he was a child. Instinct told her that Lin Zhuyi was serious; that knife really could swing down at her at any moment.

The aunt looked at the kitchen knife and then at Lin Zhuyi, quickly forcing a strained smile. “Zhuyi, what are you trying to do? We are family!”

Lin Zhuyi continued forward with the knife.

Despite his youth, that air of utter disregard for everything made the aunt feel that things were taking a turn for the worse. Fear turned into an invisible dark aura climbing up her legs. As she retreated, she shouted, “You’re just a kid! What are you doing with that knife? Put it down!”

Lin Zhuyi remained unmoved, not even blinking. His steady footsteps created a bone-chilling echo in the empty ancestral home.

Because Lin Zhuyi didn’t say a word and just stared straight at her, the aunt involuntarily raised her feet, retreating step by step, trying to maintain a distance from this terrifying child.

Unfortunately, she retreated to the very end. With nowhere left to go, her back finally hit the cold wall.

At that exact moment, Lin Zhuyi stood before her, looking down at her.

In the next second, with a face as cold as frost, Lin Zhuyi raised his hand and swung the kitchen knife down heavily!

Thud—

The sound exploded beside her ear. The aunt closed her eyes.

The expected pain didn’t come. Holding her breath, she tremblingly opened her eyes.

Only then did she realize the kitchen knife was deeply embedded in the wall. The blade was only a few millimeters away from her left ear.

Several strands of permed, scorched-yellow hair drifted slowly to the floor.

“My brother told you to apologize, but you didn’t hear him. Since you can’t hear, what use is an ear? I’ll chop it off for you, shall I?” Lin Zhuyi spoke unhurriedly.

The aunt’s breathing lost its rhythm. The palpitations from the aftershock made her gasp for air, and even her legs wouldn’t stop shaking.

Holding the hilt, Lin Zhuyi used the blade against the wall and twisted it slightly deeper. “I was actually in a very good mood. But you ruined my rare good mood.”

“Insulting my brother to my face… how dare you.”

“Everything about him—where did you get the right to judge it?”

Lin Zhuyi’s tone was so chillingly cold that Xie Shiyao was momentarily dazed.

Even though Lin Zhuyi had grown so much taller and looked no different from an adult man, the way he held the knife clearly showed Xie Shiyao the Lin Zhuyi of childhood.

That’s right. This was the most familiar Lin Zhuyi in his memory.

Underneath that obedient shell was the real, ruthless Lin Zhuyi who had breathed the same air as him in this ancestral home for ten years.

Except, in the past, the person Lin Zhuyi threatened with a kitchen knife was himself.

So when Lin Zhuyi used that familiar madness purely and entirely to protect him, Xie Shiyao found it exceptionally incomprehensible and difficult to accept.

Xie Shiyao suppressed the confusion in his heart, hid the wavering in his eyes, and said sternly, “Lin Zhuyi, put the knife down. Don’t go too far.”

The aunt, as if grabbing a lifesaver, nodded rapidly. “Yes, yes, yes! Good boy, put it down!”

Lin Zhuyi maintained his posture. “Since it is Brother’s request…”

“Then I will certainly listen to Brother.”

He glanced at Xie Shiyao and easily pulled the kitchen knife out.

Lin Zhuyi opened his five fingers. As his right hand let go, the kitchen knife turned into a silver streak. With a heavy clatter, the hilt fell hard onto the aunt’s toe.

The aunt screamed in pain, quickly crouching down and clutching her foot, gasping through her teeth.

Lin Zhuyi seemed to find her expression amusing and said pleasantly, “Oops, my hand slipped.”

He turned his head and gave a tilted smile toward Xie Shiyao. “Brother, was I obedient? Even though I was so angry, I let her go. Are you happy?”

Happy my foot. This lunatic.

Xie Shiyao ignored him, stood up, and walked to the aunt. He took a few long strides, pondering what to do with this stupid woman.

The aunt, however, struck first, grabbing the hem of Xie Shiyao’s trousers. “Listen, I see now… you’re the only one who can keep Lin Zhuyi in line. I… I won’t ask him to come home. If nothing else works, let him live back here. He’s lived here so long anyway…”

Lin Zhuyi seemed to enjoy this, nodding “Mm” every now and then in agreement.

Xie Shiyao, however, was not pleased.

Did she think his house was an orphanage where people could come and go as they pleased?

Furthermore, the aunt’s previous words had touched his sore spot; he didn’t plan on letting her go so easily.

Xie Shiyao put his hands in his pockets and kicked the kitchen knife away with the tip of his shoe. “The fact that you can’t control Lin Zhuyi is your own problem.”

The aunt’s breathing quickened, and her voice trembled. “I was wrong! I’ll never let him follow me back to my house again. Aren’t you his brother? You have to take care of him!”

“Brother?” Xie Shiyao crouched down unhurriedly, meeting the eyes of the aunt who was slumped on the floor. “Didn’t you just say I’m a beast-faced gay man?”

“No, no, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have said that!” The aunt gave Lin Zhuyi a fearful look. “Lin Zhuyi staying here is fine! You… you two brothers get along well! I won’t disturb you anymore! I’m leaving!”

The aunt rose, wanting to run. Xie Shiyao tilted his head and asked, “You plan on leaving just like that?”

The aunt turned around stiffly, all color drained from her face.

Xie Shiyao looked up. There was no emotion in those light-colored pupils, only a vast indifference. “Coming and going as you please, and now even trying to force a person onto me.”

He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. It was an extremely oppressive posture, yet he still maintained his elegance. “Truly shameful.”

“I will give you two choices,” Xie Shiyao’s tone was flat. “First, sign an agreement. You, as Lin Zhuyi’s temporary guardian, have failed in your duties and cannot fulfill your maintenance obligations. Therefore, you will voluntarily pay twenty thousand in child support every month until Lin Zhuyi becomes an adult. The money will be deposited into Lin Zhuyi’s account.”

“What?” The aunt’s eyes widened in surprise. “What’s the second choice?”

Xie Shiyao gave a very faint smile. “Second, I’ll have a lawyer sue you for defamation and harassment right now. Oh, I forgot to tell you, the legal department of Yaoshi Group just won a significant defamation lawsuit. They happen to be a bit idle lately.”

The aunt’s lips trembled. Looking at this excessively young man, she suddenly felt a sense of terror.

“Don’t… don’t bully people like this. I was really wrong… I know you’re not short on money; there’s no need to make things like this…” she said, her face pale.

Xie Shiyao leaned back against the sofa, no longer looking at the deathly-pale aunt. With his face turned away and his hand supporting his chin, he said with utter boredom:

“No. When you sign the agreement, close the door on your way out.”

“The wind is strong; it makes my head ache.”

In the end, under Lin Zhuyi’s constant gaze, the aunt tremblingly and reluctantly signed the agreement and left like a drowned dog.

Xie Shiyao sat on the sofa lighting a cigarette. Lin Zhuyi, as if nothing had happened, leisurely cut vegetables in the kitchen.

“Brother, does this mean you’ve agreed to let me live here?”

As the cigarette was lit by the flame, Xie Shiyao tilted his head and blew a smoke ring toward Lin Zhuyi. “When did I ever say I’d allow you to move back in?”

Lin Zhuyi’s hand cutting the vegetables paused.

Xie Shiyao continued, “Don’t think that just because you finally said a couple of human-sounding things on my behalf, I’ll let you stay.”

“You said it yourself when you were little. I am just a pure piece of trash. Since I’m already this rotten, how could I possibly let the past go, and how could I have any sympathy for you?”

“The money from your aunt is your reward for listening to me and putting down the knife. But once I finish this cigarette, you should take your reward and leave, Lin Zhuyi.”

As the words fell, the continuous sound of chopping in the kitchen came to an abrupt halt.

The entire ancestral home fell into a deathly silence.

After a long, long time, Lin Zhuyi’s voice emerged slowly from the kitchen: “Brother.”

“What if I don’t agree?”