To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 6

Xie Shiyao spoke with amused interest, “It seems you are eager to follow in your aunt’s footsteps and have my lawyer sue you for harassment as well.”

Lin Zhuyi remained in the kitchen, his back turned to Xie Shiyao, concealing his expression.

“Brother, legally speaking, the core of harassment lies in acting against another person’s will.”

“I have lived in this house for ten years. Even the butler greets me with respect. Using a lawsuit to intimidate outsiders is effective, but using it on me will not hold up.”

“Because I am simply coming home to take a look.”

The sound of running water echoed from the kitchen; Lin Zhuyi appeared to be washing his hands. When he finally emerged, droplets of water trailed down his well-defined fingers, falling from his fingertips.

Lin Zhuyi walked toward Xie Shiyao and came to a halt directly in front of him. He leaned down until their faces were nearly touching, close enough to count one another’s eyelashes.

“Brother, legally and emotionally, you need a much more powerful charge if you want to drive me away,” Lin Zhuyi said.

The cool mist of water had not yet dissipated when Lin Zhuyi suddenly raised his hand. With his fingertips, he traced the phantom curve of Xie Shiyao’s neck. Without making actual contact, his fingers slid all the way to the Adam’s apple, where they hovered and stopped.

Then, Lin Zhuyi spoke with deliberate slowness: “For example, self-defense.”

Xie Shiyao did not reply immediately; he simply took a drag of his cigarette.

Amidst the flickering embers, Xie Shiyao held the slender cigarette between his index and middle fingers and lazily turned his wrist. With an incredibly light flick of his finger, a speck of grayish-white ash fell.

The ash drifted down like falling snow. In that brief moment of descent, it extinguished and cooled, landing right on the back of Lin Zhuyi’s hand.

Xie Shiyao looked down at the speck of ash and asked composedly, “Is that ‘justifiable’ enough?”

Lin Zhuyi shook his head calmly. “Not enough. I want more.”

More?

Xie Shiyao reached out abruptly, grabbed Lin Zhuyi’s collar, and jerked him downward so that Lin Zhuyi’s ear—the one with the hearing aid—was aligned perfectly with his mouth.

He whispered every word with sharp precision, “When you were little, you would get nauseated just by being near me. What is wrong with you lately?”

Lin Zhuyi’s Adam’s apple bobbed for a moment. He then tilted his head slightly to meet Xie Shiyao’s gaze.

“Perhaps it is because those nauseating memories make me remember you more vividly than any other emotion in the world.”

“Only you can make me feel this way. So, Brother, I think I will just keep haunting you.”

Since Lin Zhuyi began faking his amnesia, these were the most sincere words Xie Shiyao had heard from him.

In an instant, the familiar, twisted Lin Zhuyi—the one who had been entangled with him for a full decade—seemed to be fully resurrected through that single sentence.

Compared to the act of being submissive and innocent, this version of Lin Zhuyi was the one who made Xie Shiyao feel grounded. If a devil wore the face of an angel, it made him feel lost; but when the devil bared its fangs, he felt at peace.

When he first met Lin Zhuyi, Xie Shiyao only thought the boy had a pretty face. He never could have imagined that such a core was hidden beneath that pure, kind exterior.

Xie Shiyao could not help but recall their first meeting ten years ago.

It was a sweltering midsummer day.

Ten years ago, not long after his biological mother passed away, Lin’s mother moved into the old family estate, bringing the seven-year-old Lin Zhuyi with her.

Xie Shiyao, still a student at the time, was sitting in the hall playing video games. The television screen flickered, Lin’s mother was being noisy, and the cicadas were buzzing outside. When he first saw Lin Zhuyi, Xie Shiyao felt a ringing in his ears.

He had never seen anyone who suited his tastes so perfectly.

The boy was holding a transparent fish tank containing a tiny jellyfish. While the jellyfish drifted about, the child remained hauntingly quiet.

If he were not the child of a mistress, Xie Shiyao thought, he would definitely make a move on him once he grew up.

At that time, Xie Shiyao was in the depths of his rebellious phase and had not yet learned to hide his temper. Consequently, he welcomed the mother and son in his own unique way.

For instance, he trashed the house amidst a storm of curses.

Xie Shiyao also vaguely remembered that while he was throwing a tantrum to avenge his mother, Lin Zhuyi simply stood quietly behind his mother, watching him with those pitch-black, bottomless eyes.

A voice in his heart told him that Lin Zhuyi was definitely not a character who could be easily handled.

This was proven on the second day of Lin Zhuyi’s stay.

Xie Shiyao had just woken up, bleary-eyed with messy hair, and pushed open his door to head downstairs for food.

A tattered teddy bear sat at his doorstep.

The bear’s glass eyes had been gouged out, and the stitching at the corner of its mouth was torn, revealing dark yellow cotton stuffing.

Next to it was a note written in red ink: “For you, Brother.”

Xie Shiyao’s eyes darkened. He grabbed the toy, hauled Lin Zhuyi up by the neck, and gave him a harsh scolding.

The newly moved-in Lin Zhuyi still had a healthy right ear back then. He rubbed his ear and simply said, “I thought you would like it, Brother.”

Xie Shiyao snarled, “If you dare call me Brother again, I will hit you.”

Lin Zhuyi did not call him Brother again. However, the next day, he left a dead, shriveled jellyfish at Xie Shiyao’s door, ceremoniously placed atop two thick paper towels.

It was then that Xie Shiyao realized he had provoked a psychopath.

Xie Shiyao threw both the bear and the dried jellyfish onto his father’s desk and threw a massive fit. To appease him, his father handed him the keys to a Bentley.

Young and impulsive, Xie Shiyao was still fuming. He tossed the keys into a corner of his room, having no intention of driving it.

Unexpectedly, two nights later, the windows of that Bentley were smashed to pieces.

The house only had surveillance at the main gates, not in the garage. Because Xie Shiyao’s temper had been explosive since his mother’s death, his father naturally assumed it was Xie Shiyao—refusing the peace offering—who had smashed the gift himself.

It was logical. His father was used to Xie Shiyao’s rebellion. No one in the household doubted it; they only looked at Xie Shiyao with frequent sighs of disappointment.

This felt worse to Xie Shiyao than a scolding.

But Xie Shiyao knew who did it. And he knew how to strike back.

Once his father returned home, Xie Shiyao retrieved the dashcam footage from the Rolls-Royce his father frequently drove, which was parked right next to the Bentley.

Upon reviewing the footage, he saw it: as expected, the one bold enough to frame him was Lin Zhuyi.

Shortly after, a blurry video of Lin Zhuyi smashing the car in the darkness was played in the principal’s office of Lin Zhuyi’s elementary school.

To prevent Lin Zhuyi from being expelled, Lin’s mother paid the school a large sum of money. The incident was dismissed as a “family dispute” and never mentioned again. Naturally, Lin’s mother gave Lin Zhuyi such a severe “education” that he could not get out of bed for two days.

Xie Shiyao was delighted.

No one could outplay him. No one could, and no one was worthy.

However, at three in the morning while Xie Shiyao was asleep, he rolled over and came face-to-face with a pair of hollow eyes.

“You seem very happy these past two days,” Lin Zhuyi whispered, leaning over his bed.

Startled, Xie Shiyao sat bolt upright. “Who let you in? Get the hell out!”

Lin Zhuyi did not move, seemingly talking to himself. “I never imagined you would like it this way.”

“What are you talking about?” Xie Shiyao shoved him. “Get out now, do you want a beating?”

Lin Zhuyi let out a couple of giggles. “Xie Shiyao, even if I leave this room, I will not leave this house.”

“Do you remember that jellyfish? My jellyfish died. You are my next jellyfish, one that can stay with me much longer.”

“I think you will be able to play with me longer than that jellyfish did. So, I want to keep playing with you forever.”

From that day on, it was as if Lin Zhuyi had become a different person.

If the previous Lin Zhuyi merely seemed gloomy but still retained some semblance of manners, the Lin Zhuyi after that night completely stripped off the cloak of politeness.

It was as if Lin Zhuyi found provoking Xie Shiyao to be an incredibly interesting pastime.

Lin Zhuyi would deliberately knock over Xie Shiyao’s plate during dinner; he would bump his shoulder into Xie Shiyao when passing him in the house; and when Xie Shiyao was not home, he would not only tear up his completed homework but also delete all of Xie Shiyao’s game saves. When Xie Shiyao returned, Lin Zhuyi would sit with his chin in his hands, smiling as he admired Xie Shiyao’s explosive rage.

Xie Shiyao’s perception of Lin Zhuyi gradually shifted as well.

Initially, he just wanted to teach the mother and son a lesson and let them know they were not welcome.

But gradually, through Lin Zhuyi’s cat-and-mouse games, Xie Shiyao’s malice toward him became increasingly pure.

Toward someone who challenged his authority, the young Xie Shiyao simply wanted to destroy them.

One day, Xie Shiyao discovered that an expensive, custom-made designer coat of his had not only ended up in Lin Zhuyi’s room but had a massive hole cut into it.

Xie Shiyao was furious. But beyond the anger, he felt a strange sense of excitement.

He finally had a legitimate reason to get rid of Lin Zhuyi. Even better, the adults were not home yet.

Holding the coat in one hand, Xie Shiyao walked downstairs and stopped in front of Lin Zhuyi, who was eating dinner. He flicked his wrist and threw the coat over Lin Zhuyi’s head.

“What happened to this coat? Care to explain?” Xie Shiyao asked.

Lin Zhuyi pulled the coat off his head, revealing eyes that remained completely unruffled. “You do not need to wear things that look this good. I do not like it.”

Xie Shiyao narrowed his eyes. “You are just a brat. Whether you like it or not is none of your business. This time, have you thought about the price for what you have done?”

Lin Zhuyi sneered. “A brat? You are five years older than me and have quite the reputation at school, yet how is it that you cannot even handle a single ‘brat’ like me?”

Hearing this, Xie Shiyao’s blood boiled. He grabbed Lin Zhuyi’s collar, threw him to the floor, and landed several punches.

Since Xie Shiyao was older and naturally stronger, he beat Lin Zhuyi until the corner of his mouth was split, yet Lin Zhuyi’s gaze remained steady.

Looking at that gaze, Xie Shiyao’s fury intensified. He wondered, “He has been beaten like this, so why is he not afraid? Why will he not submit? Why is this person so difficult to break?”

He wanted to say something that would pierce Lin Zhuyi’s heart and infuriate him: “You are just a rotten seed from the womb. You cursed your father into prison and cursed your mother’s subsequent husbands to death. Whoever touches you dies. You are a natural-born jinx.”

Lin Zhuyi simply smiled and wiped the blood from his own face onto Xie Shiyao’s cheek.

“If I am that good at cursing people to death, then I will eventually curse you to death too. When you die, I will savor the expression you had at the moment of your death every single day. I am really looking forward to it,” Lin Zhuyi said, as if wanting more.

Xie Shiyao’s breathing quickened. “How does something like you even deserve to enter my home? You are a sewer rat, a maggot on rotten meat. Looking at you makes me feel sick.”

Lin Zhuyi’s expression had been relatively calm, but at the word “sick,” a look of sheer ruthlessness appeared in his eyes.

“Sick? How am I sick? Are you not just as disgusting? You act so polite at school, but the moment you are home and no one is watching, you show your true nature. To be honest, Xie Shiyao, you enjoy this, do you not? Only I can force out this side of you that you refuse to show others. You should be thanking me. This is the real you, a natural-born piece of trash wrapped in a pretty shell. If I had been obedient and submissive, you would have destroyed me long ago. When it comes to being ‘rotten,’ you are much purer than I am.”

Xie Shiyao’s heart thundered. “If your ears are that bad, just cut them off. Can you not understand human speech? Why are you saying all this? Let me tell you: you make me sick. I wish you would vanish on the spot, as if you never existed. Do you understand?”

Lin Zhuyi’s face finally changed. With a sudden burst of strength from nowhere, he instantly pinned Xie Shiyao to the ground.

Xie Shiyao had not expected such explosive power from a body so much smaller than his own.

Just as he was about to push him off, he saw Lin Zhuyi pinning his chest down with a knee while drawing a fruit knife from the dining table.

“It seems the little kid cannot win with words, so he is playing with knives to threaten people,” Xie Shiyao said, tilting his head up to look at Lin Zhuyi.

The cold glint of the blade reflected between Lin Zhuyi’s fingers. He slowly lowered his head, his face devoid of any emotion. “I hear you clearly. You hate me. Fine. Then hate me a little more.”

With that, Lin Zhuyi raised his hand, gripping the knife.

The glint of the blade stung Xie Shiyao’s eyes.

In that instant, Xie Shiyao felt a genuine sense of threat and truly realized the ruthlessness hidden within Lin Zhuyi’s character.

Then, something warm dripped onto Xie Shiyao’s neck, followed by a metallic, sweet scent.

Red liquid was dripping from Lin Zhuyi’s earlobe.

The thin earlobe had been sliced open by the fruit knife. The liquid stained Lin Zhuyi’s jaw, his white shirt, and his neck.

Sitting atop him, Lin Zhuyi kept his head low, his eyes hidden in the shadows. “What does it matter if you hate me? You had better think about how you are going to explain this to your father first.”

“When your father gets home, I will tell him that you started a fight with me first, said you would cut my ears off because they are bad, and then used a knife to hurt me. Since it is just an earlobe, he probably will not punish you too harshly, but I advise you to be prepared.”

“Next time, maybe I will not choose the earlobe. I will choose a place that will truly make your father lose his temper.”

A torrent of curses exploded in Xie Shiyao’s mind. His anger was as scalding as the substance dripping onto his neck.

Earlobe? Next time it would not be the earlobe? Then where? His face? Or—this psychopath, Lin Zhuyi, he would do it. He would definitely do it and then frame him!

A massive sense of helplessness seized Xie Shiyao.

He was not afraid of fighting or getting hurt, but he loathed the desperation of being unable to defend himself, and the judgment in his father’s eyes when he would inevitably say, “Why are you always bullying your younger brother?”

Under the erosion of helplessness, his anger turned into a near-desperate irritability.

Xie Shiyao’s fist clenched abruptly at his side. Before he could scream a curse, Lin Zhuyi took the fruit knife and lightly grazed the fabric of Xie Shiyao’s shirt over his chest with the tip.

“Listen closely, Brother. If I am a maggot, then you are the rotten meat. If I am a rat, you are the sewer I live in. You cannot outplay me. I will be watching you forever. Even after your father dies, my mother dies, and this family falls apart, you will never be able to shake off a bastard like me for the rest of your life. Do not even think about it, Xie Shiyao. Do not even think about it.”

“See? You are a piece of trash, and so am I. We have a long way to go. Let us two pieces of trash keep hating each other even in the next life. You want it to end with death? That is impossible.”

“It will only end… never.”

Until death… and beyond.

Those words were like a tightening curse, making Xie Shiyao’s head ache more and more.

His head had ached ten years ago, and it ached now, ten years later.

The pain pulled Xie Shiyao back from his memories.

He blinked. Lin Zhuyi’s face was inches away.

Though he had just been fearing Lin Zhuyi in his memories, now he was holding Lin Zhuyi’s collar, with barely a breath between them.

Unlike before, there was no longer any malice visible on Lin Zhuyi’s face; only that submissive, almost loyal expression.

The low bubbling of a ceramic pot came from the kitchen. Lin Zhuyi’s voice was like the jellyfish floating in the tank all those years ago: transparent, quiet, and carrying an unspoken toxicity. “Why did you zone out?”

Suddenly, as if a thought occurred to him, Lin Zhuyi asked, “Brother, no way.”

“When you were spacing out, were you thinking about me?”