On the other side, Bai Ziyuan cautiously glanced at his second brother, then sidled over to tug at Bai Ziyan’s sleeve, acting spoiled and clingy, “Second Brother, I want to drink cola.”
He pointed toward the campus convenience store over there.
Bai Ziyan glanced at the limping Bai Ziyuan, taking in his face, which had been burned red by the sun, and his heart ultimately softened. “Go wait in the car.”
Chasing his younger brother off to the car, Bai Ziyan rubbed his temples and walked toward the convenience store. University A’s convenience store was quite large, with an entire wall of refrigerated display cases on the left side. He stood before the fridge and picked up a bottle of iced cola.
At that moment, someone spotted him and called out in surprise, “Senior Mohan, why have you come back to campus?”
Bai Ziyan paused in surprise and looked up. The person took a look at Bai Ziyan, froze for a moment as well, their expression shifting from surprise to confusion, and finally turning into apology. They repeatedly bowed and apologized, “I’m so sorry, I mistook you for someone else.”
Bai Ziyan smiled and shook his head, indicating it didn’t matter.
He thought to himself: So Mohan was also a student at University A.
The student who had mistaken his identity walked past Bai Ziyan’s side, and Mohan stepped aside to make room.
He still remembered that this person was his junior. When he had left the school, this junior was still a freshman, and now that three years had passed, the junior was also about to graduate.
Times had changed, and he had returned here once again, but in the identity of a ghost.
Suddenly, he felt a strong yearning for his professor.
After finishing buying the cola at the convenience store and along the way politely declining three or four students who came up to ask for his contact information Bai Ziyan returned to the car. He handed the iced cola to Bai Ziyuan and asked, “Tell me, what was this all about this time?”
Bai Ziyuan unscrewed the bottle cap, took a fierce gulp, let out a satisfied breath, and only then spoke with a mix of irritation and grievance, “Second Brother, you have to believe me. This time I really didn’t start it.”
The unruly and rebellious Bai Ziyuan transformed into an obedient, aggrieved big dog when facing his brother. “I know Eldest Brother is currently discussing business cooperation with the Mo family, so how could I possibly go looking for trouble at a time like this? This time it really was because Mo Shengshan went crazy for no reason that I hit him back.”
Bai Ziyan remained unmoved. “Tell me, what was the situation at the time?”
Bai Ziyuan hugged his cola and thought carefully back on it.
“I’ve been busy preparing my group assignment these past few days and haven’t seen much of him. The only possible conflict we could have had was the group assignment we both handed in today—my work turned out slightly better than his. Could it be he’s unhappy because of that?”
“No, even though he’s a piece of work, if he loses on coursework, he’ll only look to win it back through coursework; he wouldn’t resort to physical blows. But other than this, I honestly can’t think of any other reason.”
Hearing this, Bai Ziyan fell into contemplation as well. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Before he made a move on you, what were you doing?”
Bai Ziyuan scratched his head. “I was chatting with my buddy—remember that model set you bought me for my birthday some time ago, Brother? They were all so envious. I was feeling pretty pleased at the time, so I sang a line: ‘There’s no one in the world better than an older brother.’ Then Mo Shengshan flew into a rage without a word and punched me. Since I was hit for no reason, I couldn’t just let him beat me up, so I retaliated.”
Bai Ziyan fell deep into thought.
The Mo family only had three children. If they were talking about Mo Shengshan’s older brother, that could only be Mohan.
Mohan’s status was awkward, and his relationship with Mo Shengshan was likely abyssal. This time, it was probably just Bai Ziyuan singing a random line that Mo Shengshan mistakenly took as a taunt, leading the two of them to blindly brawl.
Listening to Bai Ziyan’s deduction, Bai Ziyuan was so angry he almost cursed out loud. “What does his d*mned brother being good or bad have to do with my brother?! I was just making a casual remark, and he came right at my face with a punch. My eye is still bruised black right now. Who did I ever cross to deserve this!”
Bai Ziyan knew his younger brother had suffered a grievance this time, so he coaxed him, “This wasn’t your fault. That model series you like just released a new set—come on, I’ll take you to buy it.”
“Wow! Really?! Brother, you’re the best!”
“I love you the most, Second Brother!”
Upon hearing this, Bai Ziyuan’s eyes lit up instantly. He transformed from a hot-tempered little dog right back into a clingy, spoiled little sweet-talker—a sight that would surely shatter the jaws of his classmates if they saw it.
Bai Ziyan patted his younger brother’s head, thinking to himself that Mohan’s identity was far too sensitive for the Mo family. Today, his brother had merely sung a line of a song and been mistaken for provocation; who knew what kind of conflicts might break out in the future? This was extremely disadvantageous both for his third brother and for the business cooperation between the Bai and Mo families. He would need to think of a way to resolve this later.
Quietly seated near the car door, Mohan watched the interaction between Bai Ziyan and his younger brother, feeling a twinge of envy for the warmth of their bond.
As for the fact that Mo Shengshan despised him to the absolute extreme, Mohan found that he didn’t seem to care as much as he had imagined.
He was merely a bit surprised that Mo Shengshan loathed him to such a degree, and perhaps felt a tiny sliver of sadness—only a tiny sliver.
This sorrow was just like the moisture picked up while strolling through a forest on a summer day; once hit by the sun, it evaporated and vanished without a trace.
In the blink of an eye, it was late into the night. Bai Ziyan had spent the day processing work, going on a date at the amusement park, and handling the aftermath of his younger brother’s brawl. Even Mohan felt exhausted just watching him, but Bai Ziyan himself seemed to feel quite fine. Upon returning home, he still had the energy to jog on the treadmill for an hour, prompting Mohan to marvel at his robust physical stamina.
After Bai Ziyan emerged from the bathroom, instead of preparing to sleep, he sat holding his phone in deep contemplation for a long time before finally dialing his assistant’s number.
“Look into the individuals who tragically lost their lives in accidents at Happy Valley over the past few years.”
Pausing for a moment, Bai Ziyan spoke in a low voice, “Check on their burial arrangements. If there are any unclaimed ones or whose burial arrangements are improper, see that they are given a proper burial, and let me know.”
After finishing this call, Bai Ziyan’s body finally relaxed. This call meant that the worldview he had stubbornly adhered to for twenty-seven years had been broken by his own hands.
Mohan stared dazedly at Bai Ziyan, unable to articulate the complex mixture of emotions swirling in his chest.
He had never expected that after his death, the person who arranged his burial would not be a member of the Mo family, nor would it be Duan Cang, but rather Bai Ziyan.
After Bai Ziyan fell asleep, Mohan also seated himself on the bedroom carpet, waiting for the prison-breaking cow-patterned cat to show up.
Yet this time seemed somewhat different from usual.
The exhaustion accumulated during the day gradually surged up. Before he could wait for the cow cat, he could not help but slowly close his eyes. Right before drifting off to sleep, a stray thought crossed his mind do ghosts need to sleep, too?
Time slipped away. Suddenly, Mohan felt a weightless sensation as if stepping on clouds. He snapped his eyes open, only to find the surrounding scenery flashing past at breakneck speed, just like passing through a tunnel.
In less than the space of a single breath, his location had completely changed.
The spot where he stopped possessed a terribly familiar scenery—it was precisely the “home” he had once shared with Duan Cang.
Strange, how did I get here? Or is this merely a dream?
While wondering, he suddenly heard a low, suppressed groan.
Following the sound, Mohan walked into the familiar bedroom and saw Duan Cang curled up on the bed. His complexion was deathly pale, yet his cheeks were shockingly flushed. Beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his lips were completely drained of color.
Duan Cang clutched his stomach tightly with both hands, looking as though he had passed out from the pain.
Mohan hurriedly stepped forward, instantly recognizing that Duan Cang’s stomach ulcer condition had flared up. Not only that, looking at Duan Cang’s wet hair, he could tell that the other had probably taken a cold shower and gone to sleep without drying it. To make matters worse, the window was still wide open, letting the chilly summer night breeze blow directly against Duan Cang’s head.
Stomach pain combined with a cold shower caused a mild fever in Duan Cang, whose physical condition was already precarious due to continuous overtime lately.
Duan Cang’s stomach condition had once been very severe, but later, under Mohan’s careful care, it hadn’t acted up for many years. He had no idea how Duan Cang had been abusing his body during this period to let it deteriorate to such an extent; simple medication was probably no longer sufficient—he needed to be hospitalized.
Yet at this moment, Duan Cang had already passed out.
To make matters worse, Duan Cang disliked having other people in his house, so the massive villa held only Duan Cang himself.
At least help him call an ambulance.
Whether driven by an eager impulse to save a life or simply because his experience saving people during the day had left him bolder, Mohan easily picked up Duan Cang’s mobile phone this time.
He grabbed Duan Cang’s index finger to unlock it via fingerprint, wanting to make a call, only to realize that his own icy-cold ghostly form could not interact with touchscreens. He had no choice but to grab Duan Cang’s hand to use as a stylus, quickly dialing the number of the hospital under the Duan family’s name.
Once the number was dialed, even if no one spoke on this end, the hospital would still send someone over to check if their CEO was experiencing any emergencies.
Having finished all this, Mohan let out a breath of relief. The exact moment that breath escaped, the phone slipped through his palm and dropped onto the bed. When he reached out to touch it again, he could no longer make contact with anything.
Simultaneously, the familiar exhaustion enveloped him once more.
It turns out that interacting with items in the mortal realm truly comes with a price.
He forced himself to stay awake, wanting to wait until the ambulance arrived and took Duan Cang away before leaving.
At that moment, however, Duan Cang opened his eyes and looked in his direction.
Mohan was stunned. Can he see me? Or is this another blunder like the one with Bai Ziyan last time?
As he pondered, Duan Cang’s pupils rolled slightly, locking accurately onto his position.
It seems he really can see me.
Duan Cang’s brow knitted weakly. Even though he lacked strength while ill, he still radiated the inherent authority of a person in power.
“Stomach hurts. Mohan, get me my medicine.”
Not knowing if the other could hear him, Mohan stood in silence for a moment before replying, “I called an ambulance for you.”
“Go stew some wolfberry and millet porridge. I want to drink some.”
He acted as though he had forgotten that Mohan had already left, stating his demands as a matter of course. Mohan simply looked at him in silence, making no move to hurry off to the kitchen to prepare it for him like he used to.
He would call an emergency ambulance for Duan Cang, but he would no longer wash his hands and make soup for him.
The former was merely a normal expression of human empathy.
He could no longer continue loving.
As if displeased by his unmoving stance, Duan Cang impatiently knitted his brows. “Are your hands crippled and your ears deaf too? Didn’t you hear me say I want porridge?!”
Duan Cang was still in pain, so his voice wasn’t loud, but hearing it made Mohan’s head ring with a loud buzz, dredging up voices buried deep within the recesses of his memory.
A sudden, immense panic welled up in his chest. The voices inside grew louder and louder, clamoring so noisily that his head spun, completely losing track of time and space.
[Of course I’ll treat you well. Even though you’re just an illegitimate child who doesn’t understand much, it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re by my side, naturally I’ll take care of you.]
[You’ve always grown up in the mountains and don’t understand these etiquettes. Remember to stay close to me so you don’t make a fool of yourself.]
[Mohan, do you really think you’re amazing just because you can craft a few handmade trinkets? These things can be mass-produced by machines in massive batches.]
[What else do you want to do? Your hands are already ruined; nobody would even hire you for physical labor. Leave? Where else could you even go?]
[These hands of yours are only good for cooking for me; at best, they can be considered slightly useful.]
[You’re sending food to others? Do you really think the food you cook tastes that good? It was just me forcing myself to swallow a couple of bites so I wouldn’t crush your self-esteem, to make a useless waste like you feel somewhat useful. Aside from me, do you see anyone else willing to eat it?]
A massive wave of terror enshrouded him, driving him to walk toward the kitchen, just like he had done every time before.
Yes.
He was an illegitimate child of awkward status, a child resented by his mother, a social outcast with few friends and no close family, a crippled good-for-nothing with ruined hands.
After leaving Duan Cang, he could do nothing; it seemed he could only die.
Yet he did not want to die.
Before drawing his final breath, his grandfather had held his hand and told him to live on well.
He had to stay closely by Duan Cang’s side, not only because he loved Duan Cang, but also because outside of Duan Cang, there was no one else in this world who would love a useless waste like him.
His mother hated him, his father ignored him, the villagers avoided him, and children pelted him with stones.
His grandfather loved him, yet also hated him. The only instruction he left behind his whole life was for him to live on well.
His grandfather had loved him, so he could sense the existence of love. But because his grandfather rarely expressed it, he didn’t know how love manifested, leaving him to chase after an imaginary immortal like someone desperate for eternal life.
Later, he met Duan Cang and experienced the long-craved feeling of affection from him. For the sake of the meager fondness Duan Cang displayed, he had plucked out his entire heart and gifted it to the other person.
Yet he did not know that the intended recipient of this affection was never him.
And so, the heart he plucked out was destined to be trampled underfoot.