The bathroom door suddenly swung open. Seeing Ji Zhouye standing there with his upper body bare, Shen Li froze, his gaze instinctively dropping to his chiseled abdominal muscles.
“Since you are so insatiable, let’s wash together,” Ji Zhouye said coldly.
It was already too late for Shen Li to regret it. Ji Zhouye didn’t give him any chance to change his mind, grabbing his wrist and pulling him straight into the bathroom.
Ji Zhouye forcefully pinned him against the wall.
Watching his clothes get stripped away, Shen Li felt a wave of profound regret. Why on earth did he have to go and provoke this man?
Against the bathroom sink, inside the bathtub.
And finally, back on the bed.
That entire night, Shen Li felt nothing but deep regret.
Panting out of regret, crying out of regret.
Everything hurt.
He slept all the way until the afternoon of the next day. When Ji Zhouye called him to eat at noon, Shen Li groggily kicked Ji Zhouye to show his displeasure.
Deep down, Ji Zhouye still felt a twinge of pity for him, so he didn’t press the issue and let him sleep until he woke up naturally.
When Shen Li finally woke up, the only people in the villa were Butler Zhang and his wife, Aunt Zhao.
Butler Zhang and Aunt Zhao had a wonderful relationship; Butler Zhang managed the garden, while Aunt Zhao took care of the cooking and cleaning. The two of them had a clear division of labor, yet they would often help each other out.
As soon as Shen Li walked downstairs, Aunt Zhao poked her head out from the kitchen, “Mr. Shen, you are awake? Come have something to eat.”
He looked around the room, but couldn’t find any sign of Ji Zhouye. Walking into the dining room where Aunt Zhao was setting down the dishes, he asked, “Aunt Zhao, isn’t Ji Zhouye here?”
“Sir went out.” Aunt Zhao placed the final dish on the table and ladled a bowl of soup, setting it right in front of him. “Before leaving, Sir instructed me to make sure you finish your meal.”
Shen Li scooped up a spoonful of soup and took a sip. “What can he do if I don’t eat?”
“Sir said if you don’t eat, you can bear the consequences yourself,” Aunt Zhao replied.
Shen Li stared in silence.
Did someone really need instructions just to eat a meal?
He wasn’t stupid enough to starve himself to death.
Aunt Zhao stood off to the side, watching him eat. Shen Li unhurriedly went through his meal, but as a thought crossed his mind, he asked, “Aunt Zhao, with Ji Zhouye’s temperament, how on earth do you and Uncle Zhang manage to put up with him?”
Aunt Zhao smiled warmly. “Sir always looks cold and aloof, like he has no human empathy, but actually, he is a very good person. He never loses his temper with us, and he has never treated us unfairly.”
He never loses his temper?
That had to be the funniest joke he had ever heard.
Ever since they reunited, especially right after they got back together, Ji Zhouye had lost his temper at him plenty of times.
Good grief, that meant all of his bad tempers were reserved exclusively for him, and on top of that, he had to take it.
Shen Li chuckled, feeling too annoyed by the thought to finish even half his meal.
Yet, not wanting to let Aunt Zhao’s hard work go to waste, he forced himself to eat a little more. Good food and other people’s hard work were two things that deserved to be respected.
After finishing his meal, Shen Li checked his phone. There were not even any messages from Ji Zhouye. Waking up and leaving without saying a single word was entirely Ji Zhouye’s signature style.
“Aunt Zhao, did Ji Zhouye mention what time he will be back?”
“He didn’t say. Sir mentioned that if he runs late, you should go ahead and have dinner without him.”
Wanting to smoke a cigarette, but reluctant to fill the house with the smell of tobacco, Shen Li headed out into the courtyard.
After all, the other night Ji Zhouye had made it quite clear how much he disliked the smell of smoke on him.
It was muggy outside, the harsh sun baking the ground uncomfortably. The flowers and plants in the courtyard were wilting in the heat, so Shen Li made his way over to the gazebo and lit a cigarette while standing inside it.
The weather was far too hot to linger outside for long. He finished the cigarette quickly, aired himself out to get rid of the smoke smell, and prepared to head back inside.
Just then, a figure appeared outside the black hollow-iron gate, pressing both hands against the bars to peer into the courtyard. If not for the facial features that bore a striking resemblance to Ji Zhouye, Shen Li would have genuinely mistaken the person for a petty thief.
“Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhao, can you open the gate for me?”
Uncle Zhang came out first, with Aunt Zhao following right behind him. Uncle Zhang unlocked the gate and let the visitor in.
Uncle Zhang greeted him, “Young Master, come on inside where it’s cool.”
“Where is my brother?” Ji Zhiyu asked.
“He went out,” Uncle Zhang replied.
Ji Zhiyu let out an “Oh,” but his gaze instantly turned hostile the moment he noticed the person standing inside the gazebo.
“Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhao, you two go on back inside. I’ll be right there.”
Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhao turned and left.
Shen Li watched as the young man marched straight toward him. He recognized him; he had met him once back when he was dating Ji Zhouye.
At the time, he was still an unpolished youth. While he had matured quite a bit since then, compared to Ji Zhouye at the same age, he still looked rather childish.
Shen Li let out a helpless sigh. Sometimes, childish troublemakers could be remarkably bothersome.
Before he could react, his collar was yanked forward, forcing Shen Li to meet a pair of angry eyes. For a split second, that fierce glare bore an uncanny resemblance to Ji Zhouye.
Ji Zhiyu clenched his fist and struck him right across the face with full, unheld force. “You actually dare to show your face here again! You actually dare to appear around my brother!”
“Hiss.” Shen Li winced, his face tilting to the side as a thin trail of blood welled up at the corner of his mouth.
Ji Zhiyu raised his fist, intending to land another blow, but seeing that Shen Li had no intention of fighting back, he lowered his hand in frustration. “My brother might forgive you, but I sure as hell won’t. I know exactly how you treated my brother back then, and I know what he had to go through because of you.”
“Let me tell you this: as long as I, Ji Zhiyu, am breathing, don’t ever expect to step foot through our family’s door,” Ji Zhiyu warned harshly.
His parents were open-minded and respected their children’s choices, but that didn’t mean this jerk deserved a place in the Ji family. Anyone else would do, but absolutely not this scumbag.
Still unsatisfied and furious, Ji Zhiyu cursed, “Bastard!”
Shen Li wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Aren’t you hot? Let’s go inside.”
The two of them walked back into the house, completely ignoring each other as they headed off to their respective rooms.
Ji Zhiyu had set up a gaming room on the third floor where he could sleep and play video games whenever he wanted. Whenever he grew tired of his parents’ nagging, he would come stay here for a couple of days.
Back in his room, Shen Li tended to the cut at the corner of his mouth.
Of all the places to hit, why did he have to go straight for the face?
The corner of his mouth was bruised purple and swollen; there was no way it would heal in just a few days.
He had been bullied by the older brother for an entire night, and now he was getting beaten up by the younger brother during the day. Was there anyone on this earth having a more miserable time than him?
He really owed these two brothers.
Then again, he did genuinely owe Ji Zhouye.
After dressing the wound, Shen Li collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep, not waking up until four o’clock.
When he went back downstairs, he overheard Ji Zhiyu complaining about him to Aunt Zhao.
“My brother has completely lost his mind, dragging a piece of trash like this back here. Has he forgotten how this scumbag treated him?”
Aunt Zhao chuckled softly. “Young Master, I’m not really clear on what happened between Sir and Mr. Shen. We are just outsiders observing from the sidelines; some things have to be resolved by the people directly involved.”
“I’m angry precisely because I’m an outsider! My brother even lets him live here, while I don’t even get that kind of special treatment.” Anger was written all over Ji Zhiyu’s face as he fought fiercely for his brother’s dignity. “The moment my brother gets back, I’m making him kick this guy out.”
“Ji Zhiyu.”
A cold, icy voice rang out, carrying a heavy, oppressive weight.
Hearing the voice, Ji Zhiyu spun around. “Brother, you’re back.”
Shen Li stood not far from Ji Zhiyu, looking straight toward Ji Zhouye.
Ji Zhouye’s gaze locked onto the corner of Shen Li’s mouth, a dark, suppressed fury burning deep within his eyes. “What happened to the corner of your mouth?”
Only then did Ji Zhiyu notice the person standing behind him. A fleeting sense of guilt washed over him, like being caught bad-mouthing someone right in front of them. Still, he brushed it off, everything he said was the absolute truth.
What truly terrified him, though, was the terrifying aura radiating from his older brother, who looked ready to explode with rage.
Ji Zhiyu stared hard at Shen Li. If this bastard dared to snitch on him, he would look down on him for the rest of his life.
The air pressure inside the massive living room dropped to a freezing low, making it difficult for anyone to even breathe.
Casually, Shen Li reached up and rubbed the corner of his lips. “I woke up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, was still half-asleep, and accidentally walked right into the bathroom door frame.”