To Treat Each Other Like Brothers - Chapter 9

A sense of being seen through crawled up his spine. As Xie Shiyao debated whether to ignore the message or reply, Lin Zhuyi actually called him.

Xie Shiyao decided he should answer. He needed to deflate Lin Zhuyi’s arrogance. To do that effectively, he needed to see the expressions on the boy’s face as he spoke so that he could respond accordingly.

Xie Shiyao turned on the speakerphone while continuing to watch the surveillance footage. He remained composed as he said, “Hello?”

Lin Zhuyi maintained his previous posture, his voice carrying a hint of a smile. “Is your surveillance in black and white or color? Can you see me clearly? Compared to the person you slept with a few days ago, my physique is definitely better, is it not?”

Xie Shiyao stared at the figure on the screen, his gaze darkening. Whatever Lin Zhuyi had been eating to grow like that, his development was incredible to the point of being irritating.

Xie Shiyao’s breathing quickened. “How did you know there were cameras in the house?”

Lin Zhuyi looked toward the camera as if making eye contact with Xie Shiyao through the screen.

“Perhaps you do not know, Brother, but I have a very strong sense of territory. I do not like people entering my room without permission.”

“I guessed you would not let me stay here peacefully. So, for the past two days, every time I left the house, I applied a little Vaseline to the doorknob. But today, when I returned, I saw that the Vaseline had extra fingerprints… fingerprints that did not belong to me.”

Lin Zhuyi continued, “These prints were a size larger than either of ours, like those of an older worker with rough hands. Following that logic, I wondered what would require a worker to enter my room.”

“Ah, my brother missed me and wanted to see me at every moment, right?”

Xie Shiyao held his breath for a second. With that level of intelligence, it was a waste that the boy only used it to play cat-and-mouse games.

He snapped, “Since you know I am watching, put your pants on immediately.”

“No,” Lin Zhuyi replied with a provocative smile. “I am waiting to bathe. The tub is not full yet, and I happened to be bored, so I thought I would have some fun with you.”

Xie Shiyao’s jaw tightened. “If you want to stay here, you must follow my rules. You must be obedient.”

Lin Zhuyi raised the hand that was not holding the phone and looked at his fingertips with boredom. “You are in such a hurry for me to get dressed. You are not still watching me, are you?”

“Careful, Brother. Do not get an erection looking at me. I am not like you; after all, I have no interest in men.”

Xie Shiyao’s breathing was faster than usual. He shook his head. “Little one, rest assured that I find you entirely repulsive. Although your hardware is acceptable, it is a pity it belongs to you.”

“So, save your effort. I truly cannot get hard for you.”

In the footage, Lin Zhuyi uttered a soft “Oh,” acting as if he had been struck by the comment. “Do not be so sure. Do not forget, Brother, you will eventually cry for me once.”

“Alright, the water is nearly ready. Let us talk next time. Goodnight, Brother. I hope you dream of me. A nightmare is fine, a sex dream is also fine. I do not mind.”

Lin Zhuyi finished his suggestive sentence with a laugh and hung up. He disappeared from the camera view, seemingly heading for his bath.

Xie Shiyao resisted the urge to throw his phone on the floor. Where did this brat get the capital to be so arrogant with him?

He exhaled and stared at the ceiling for a moment. However, the images from the surveillance footage seemed to have a mind of their own, forcing their way into his head. Thinking of those images, Xie Shiyao glanced at his own arm.

The size was truly excessive.

“Tch, ridiculous,” Xie Shiyao muttered with a frown.

The more he thought about it, the more he hated feeling like he had lost the upper hand to Lin Zhuyi. He disliked being subordinate to anyone, let alone Lin Zhuyi.

Xie Shiyao sat in the study for a while before standing up and walking to the third floor. Without knocking, he pushed open the door to Lin Zhuyi’s room.

The sound of water came from the bathroom. Lin Zhuyi was evidently still bathing. Xie Shiyao pushed the door open and looked down at the startled boy.

He said calmly, “If provocation like that happens a second time, you will no longer be allowed to stay in this house.”

Lin Zhuyi blinked. “Ah…”

Perhaps because Xie Shiyao’s sudden appearance in the bathroom was too shocking, Lin Zhuyi hesitated for a long time before saying, “Brother, since you are here, would you mind bringing me my towel?”

A malicious smile touched the corner of Xie Shiyao’s mouth. He looked down at the “villain” whose defenses finally showed a crack and said with satisfaction:

“Were you not quite at ease just a moment ago?”

“Lin Zhuyi, do not expect me to fetch anything for you. To me, you are merely a pet that is temporarily permitted to exist. The fact that I have not shoved your head underwater is already my greatest mercy to you.”

Steam filled the bathroom. Lin Zhuyi stared blankly at Xie Shiyao without saying a word. Perhaps because he had been soaking in hot water for so long, his face was much redder than usual.

He looked unsettled.

As expected, he was a paper tiger. That was the disadvantage of being young.

Xie Shiyao leaned down and reached out toward the stunned Lin Zhuyi. As a warning, he patted the boy’s water-streaked cheek.

“This is the attitude you should have toward me. You must remember it well.”

“Goodnight, little brother. I hope you dream of me too. A sex dream is unnecessary. A nightmare is more suitable for you.”

Having said his piece, Xie Shiyao pulled his hand away, gave Lin Zhuyi a meaningful look, and walked out of the bathroom.

He did not close the door as he left, allowing waves of cold air to drift into the bathroom. Overlapping with the sound of his retreating footsteps was the thumping sound of Lin Zhuyi’s heartbeat.

Lin Zhuyi extended his ring finger and touched the spot where his face had been patted, wiping away a few droplets of water. Then, he relaxed back into the tub and put that ring finger into his mouth.

His brother was five years older, yet how could his hand be so soft?

Lin Zhuyi smiled happily as he savored the touch. Fortunately, the only thing his brother noticed was his flushed face and not his other physiological reactions.

He tilted his head back and whispered, “How could a dream with you be called a nightmare?”

“I have always wanted to dream of you, but you are too stubborn. You refuse to come every time.”

The leaves in North City were quietly turning yellow.

For some reason, a light drizzle refused to stop. For the entire following month, it was rare to see a clear sky.

As Xie Shiyao expected, Lin Zhuyi was not content to remain cooped up in the house. During that month, Lin Zhuyi mentioned wanting to get his driver’s license.

Since Lin Zhuyi had behaved well enough without causing trouble, Xie Shiyao found a driving school for him. It was a way to give the boy something to do; letting him go out and pester the people at the driving school was a fine alternative.

Because Xie Shiyao planned to develop a large-scale amusement park with a hotel in a nearby tourist city, he spent the entire month in a busy, celibate state.

He firmly believed that everyone would eventually leave him. Therefore, he never gave his heart to anyone or attempted to depend on anyone. He treated every passerby as a temporary diversion.

Only money would not leave him. Money had no life; it brought power. That was the only thing he could hold onto firmly.

He often thought that if money had a life, it would have grown legs and run away from a rotten person like him long ago.

One day, Xie Shiyao finished a dinner meeting with some officials. Taking advantage of the alcohol in his system, he had his driver take him to the North City Cemetery.

He stepped out of the car holding a black umbrella. Once he was far enough away that the driver could no longer see him, his steps became unsteady.

The black tombstones were polished bright by the rain. The names of his parents stood side by side.

Xie Shiyao crouched down, his umbrella tilting to the side and allowing the rain to fall on him. He reached out, his fingertips lightly brushing the photograph of his mother.

After a long time, Xie Shiyao sighed.

“Mom, do you still hate me?”

“I do not think I was wrong back then. But the words you said before you died were far too cruel.”

Even now, he was still trapped by those words, unable to move on.

Xie Shiyao sat silently in the rain before the tombstone for a long time. When he finally returned to the back seat of the car, soaked through, he removed the silk scarf from his neck, folded it, and wiped the raindrops from his face.

Just then, someone placed a voice call to him.

“Brother Xie, I have been back in North City for three days. When will you have time to see me?”

A familiar, delicate male voice came through the receiver. “I still have the keys to your New York villa. I cannot go back for the time being. Where are you? Should I come over to return the keys?”

Muddled by alcohol, Xie Shiyao hesitated for a moment before recognizing who it was. It was one of his more intelligent lovers from New York.

“Bai Ye. Send me your location. I will come over now.”

Using the return of keys as an excuse for a meeting meant there was no way he would let him leave once they met.

Xie Shiyao smiled mockingly at himself. His mood was indeed poor, and seeing Bai Ye to feel that sense of flattery would provide some solace.

Raindrops drummed against the roof of the Rolls-Royce. Half an hour later, Xie Shiyao appeared at the entrance of a detached villa.

The door opened from the inside, and Bai Ye stepped out.

Upon seeing Xie Shiyao, Bai Ye wore a pure expression but curled his lips confidently. He threw open his Chanel wool coat, revealing the carefully selected leather fetish lingerie underneath.

Xie Shiyao kept his hands in his pockets, composedly measuring every inch of the body beneath the coat with his eyes.

“The keys are inside. Come in and get them, Brother Xie.” Bai Ye reached out, took Xie Shiyao’s arm, and welcomed him in.

The dark night gradually brightened. The sky began to turn pale, but the rain did not stop.

The bed was a mess. Xie Shiyao lay on the bed smoking while Bai Ye, his face flushed, lay in his arms and refused to let go.

“Brother Xie, since you returned to the country, you have not contacted me like you used to. If you are in a relationship, you must tell me, or I will be heartbroken,” the exhausted Bai Ye said weakly.

Xie Shiyao thought Bai Ye was quite interesting; even in this state, he was still trying to test him.

He blew a smoke ring. “I do not do relationships. You know that.”

“Yes, yes,” Bai Ye complained with a pout. “You never date, you never kiss, and you only care about the physical side. But I have wanted to ask for a long time: is it just me that you do not kiss?”

Xie Shiyao held the cigarette between his fingers. “Kissing is too intimate. If I am going to kiss someone, it should be someone truly important. That goes for me and for you.”

“True, you are right.” Bai Ye drew circles on Xie Shiyao’s chest with his finger. After a while, he suddenly looked up.

“But Brother Xie, we have known each other for so long. Do you want to try something with me?”

Xie Shiyao looked at Bai Ye with confusion. “Do you mean kissing, or something else?”

“Something else, of course.”

Xie Shiyao instinctively asked, “Have you run into some difficulties lately? I can help you.”

Bai Ye had a “just as I thought” expression, but he did not give up. “And if it is not that?”

Xie Shiyao inexplicably thought of the ill-fated puppy and the coat that Lin Zhuyi had destroyed. Although he did not know what kind of psychological state drove Lin Zhuyi to madly cut the coat—only to actually pay him one hundred thousand yuan afterward—Xie Shiyao offered a friendly warning:

“My family recently adopted a fierce dog. His temper is unpredictable, and he does not understand human speech very well.”

“If you get too close to me, you might get bitten.”

Xie Shiyao had intended to stay overnight at Bai Ye’s place; after all, in his mind, an embrace was the best sleeping pill. But Bai Ye had crossed a line. Knowing his situation, he had still crossed the line. It seemed this would be the last time with Bai Ye.

Xie Shiyao returned to the old estate in the early morning, still feeling the effects of the alcohol. He felt a bit cold and his head began to ache, perhaps due to being in the rain for too long.

Even though the hall was filled with thin sunlight, Xie Shiyao felt the house was eerie. There was a shattered vase on the floor.

As he stepped onto the stairs, Xie Shiyao was surprised to find spots of blood.

The curtains upstairs were all drawn. The higher he climbed, the darker it became.

Xie Shiyao did not want to think too much; he walked toward his room’s floor in a daze. The distance from the stairs to his room was only a few meters, yet he felt as if he had been walking for a very long time. He felt weak and exhausted.

When he finally reached the door of his room, he let out a sigh of relief and turned on the light.

The bedroom instantly brightened.

Xie Shiyao’s breathing hitched for a moment.

Lin Zhuyi was sitting on the floor by the bed, his hands covered in blood, tightly clutching a shard of the vase.

“Hi, Brother.”

“Where have you been?”