“That grip was too tight.” Zhou Wenbai traced the red marks on Ji Tan’s porcelain-white wrists, his warm lips pressing against them. “My heart aches for our Tuan Tuan.”
“That is fake sympathy,” Ji Tan accused. “When Ji Enyi told you to leave, you ran away so fast.” Even though he could not tell them apart, Zhou Wenbai and Zhou She had run off at the same speed, so he did not need to distinguish who was who.
Zhou Wenbai chuckled lightly. “How could I?”
“Was it not you who wanted to stay there?” Zhou Wenbai applied the ointment he had retrieved to Ji Tan’s wrists, looking for a reason Ji Tan might have wanted to stay. “Because he is Tuan Tuan’s brother?”
Ji Tan did not like hearing that. “I do not have a younger brother. Mom only adopted me; she said I am an only child.”
“Hmm.” Zhou Wenbai spoke in accordance with Ji Tan’s wishes. “I do not want a brother either.”
“Why?” Ji Tan looked up, puzzled. “Do you not like Zhou She, either?” It was the same way he disliked Ji Enyi.
“It is not a matter of liking or disliking.” Zhou Wenbai took Ji Tan onto his lap, blowing on the ointment on his wrists to ensure Ji Tan did not fidget and get it on his sleeves. “It is just that if two people suffer together, one cannot help but blame the other for the misfortune that has befallen them.”
“Is Tuan Tuan like that, too?” Zhou Wenbai held Ji Tan’s forearm, preventing him from moving. “Do you feel that you were sent to live with Aunt Ji because of Ji Enyi’s existence?”
Ji Tan shook his head. “No. Mom would not let me play with Ji Enyi, that is why I hate him.”
Zhou Wenbai was slightly surprised. “Aunt Ji would not let you play with Ji Enyi?”
Ji Tan thought for a moment. “The mom before that one would not either.” That was Ji Tan’s biological mother, Cheng Jiayan. Zhou Wenbai had a rough understanding of Ji Tan’s history. Upon hearing this, he tightened his embrace, letting Ji Tan sink completely into his arms.
“Zhou She was very mischievous as a child. He was always going out to play when he did not want to do his homework, so Mom would make me watch him.” Zhou Wenbai’s refined voice recounted the story slowly, pulling Ji Tan into his memories. “Our personalities were completely different; I preferred to finish my plans first.” Zhou Wenbai’s brow furrowed. “But that day, I was persuaded by him. I put down half-finished homework and went to the park with him.”
Ji Tan interrupted, “What did you play?”
Zhou Wenbai paused. He looked at Ji Tan, who was genuinely curious about what game Zhou She had used to persuade him, and the tension in his eyes softened. “Who knows?”
“Maybe playing house?” Zhou Wenbai joked. He played with Ji Tan’s soft curls, brushing past his delicate and beautiful brows. “Perhaps Tan Tan was the little bride back then, which is why I could not wait to follow Zhou She out.”
Ji Tan curved his eyes. “I am younger than you.” Zhou Wenbai was six years older than Ji Tan. A two-year-old Ji Tan could not have been the little bride in eight-year-old Zhou Wenbai’s games.
“That is why I am waiting for Tuan Tuan to grow up.” Zhou Wenbai kissed Ji Tan’s smiling eyes affectionately. “From now on, Tuan Tuan will be my bride.”
“It is a pity that I did not meet a little bride as beautiful as Tuan Tuan back then,” Zhou Wenbai said, stroking Ji Tan’s shoulder. “I met a lunatic instead, who kidnapped Zhou She and me.”
If not for Zhou She, he would not have gone out, and he would not have encountered the kidnapping. Zhou Wenbai had certainly thought that way. But without Zhou She, if it had just been him, would he have definitely not gone to the park? Would he have definitely not encountered a kidnapping? No one could be certain. He was merely looking for a vent.
“Do not be angry with Zhou She, and do not be angry with yourself,” Ji Tan said, pecking Zhou Wenbai’s lips. “Do not treat the kidnapping as a misfortune you cannot overcome.”
“Why is my Tuan Tuan so good at comforting people?” Zhou Wenbai held Ji Tan’s waist, his gentle features lowering slightly. “Is Tuan Tuan worried about me, or worried that I am still holding a grudge against Zhou She?”
“Both,” Ji Tan admitted honestly. “If Dr. Zhou holds a grudge against Zhou She, is that not just holding a grudge against yourself?”
“There is no point in blaming the victim instead of bringing the perpetrator to justice.” Zhou Wenbai pinched Ji Tan’s delicate chin and kissed him. “I stopped being angry at Zhou She a long time ago, after I finished seeing my psychiatrist.” Ji Yuan was his psychiatrist. She said that the person seeing a psychiatrist is often the healthiest person in the family. Zhou Wenbai did not know if Ji Yuan was right. At the time, he thought that between him and Zhou She, he was definitely the one who was the sickest.
Ji Yuan also said she hated everyone with mental health issues. But later, she adopted a child with a congenital mental health condition. Ji Yuan explained to him that she adopted Ji Tan because he would obey her and because he was changing for the better. For a female CEO who cared about nothing but work, this sounded far too much like a mother falling for her little follower. Now that he had met Ji Tan, he was falling for him, too. Thinking about it carefully, it did not seem like it was purely Ji Yuan’s bias; Ji Tan really was very obedient.
“Alright.” Zhou Wenbai raised an eyebrow slightly. “Zhou She is fine. Tuan Tuan should focus on comforting me.” Zhou Wenbai tilted Ji Tan’s beautiful face toward his own, waiting quietly for Ji Tan to take the initiative.
“You always make me kiss you,” Ji Tan complained with dissatisfaction. “Is there nothing else that makes you happy besides kissing me?”
That was not true, but Zhou Wenbai teased him anyway. “If Tuan Tuan could tell me and Zhou She apart one day, I would be even happier.”
A flash of guilt crossed Ji Tan’s eyes. He hugged Zhou Wenbai’s neck and immediately changed his attitude. “I will let Dr. Zhou eat the little pearls in my mouth.”
Ji Tan’s soft tone tugged at Zhou Wenbai’s heartstrings; it was cloyingly sweet. Zhou Wenbai’s throat bobbed rapidly. He struggled to restrain himself, kissed Ji Tan’s tender lips, and sighed helplessly. “You little coquette, do not provoke me.”
Zhou Wenbai packed Ji Tan’s bags and sent him to Zhou She’s house. He found it difficult to explain to Ji Tan why he had to stay with Zhou She. Fortunately, Ji Tan was used to following instructions and did not like to ask questions.
“Do not choose my master bedroom.” Zhou She followed Zhou Wenbai, who was selecting a room for Ji Tan, and frowned to stop his wild behavior.
Zhou Wenbai paused. “This room has good sunlight.”
“There is another room with the same layout on the third floor.”
Zhou Wenbai worried needlessly. “What if Tuan Tuan calls you from the third floor and you cannot hear him?”
Zhou She had a headache. “Why would he be calling me for no reason?”
Zhou Wenbai’s irrational behavior subsided slightly.
“How about the guest room?” Zhou She opened the door to the room next door. “Secondary bedroom, independent bathroom.” Before Zhou Wenbai could speak, Zhou She added, “He goes to school every day; what does he need sunlight for?”
That was true. Zhou Wenbai opened the window to ventilate the room that had never been occupied, took the bedding set Zhou She handed him, and changed the sheets for the room Ji Tan would soon occupy.
“They might not necessarily trouble Ji Tan there.” Zhou She stood at the doorway. “After all, they wanted me and Ji Tan to marry in the first place.” Zhou She’s place was actually the safest for Ji Tan. Zhou Wenbai knew this.
“Zhou She, I used to wonder what would have happened if I had not gone to the park with you that day,” Zhou Wenbai said suddenly.
Zhou She curled his fingers. After a long moment, he asked, “What would have happened?”
Zhou Wenbai laughed very softly. “I do not know.”
“Ji Yuan said that people who see a psychiatrist are often the ones who are the least sick in the family.” Zhou Wenbai glanced at Zhou She’s eyes, which were identical to his own; even the chill in their depths was no different from his. “I did not accept her view at the time.” He changed the tone. “But now I think she was right.”
“Zhou She, I have walked out of it; you should, too.”
The kidnapping of the Zhou twins was too sensational; the news was all over the place, and countless people were following the latest updates on the case. The kidnapper was a lunatic, not trying to demand money from the wealthy Zhou family. The boys had simply stumbled upon a dismemberment scene while playing, and the criminal had dragged them in.
“You are my accomplice now; do not report me to the police. Kids who kill people go to jail, too. Hahaha.” The kidnapper’s bizarre laughter echoed in Zhou She’s mind, and his back was soaked in cold sweat. Zhou She forced his eyes shut, trying to wipe the bloody scene from his memory. As long as he did not deliberately think about it, it was as if he had never experienced that terrifying moment.
“You have not walked out of it; you have just found a new crutch.” Zhou She breathed out the words. “Zhou Wenbai, using Ji Tan as a fulcrum to greet a new life is not stable.” If the fulcrum disappeared, Zhou Wenbai would only sink into a worse state than before.
Zhou Wenbai knew this, but he would not accept it. “Tuan Tuan is my eighteenth birthday present.” In the end, Zhou Wenbai did not listen to Zhou She. Zhou She looked steadily at Zhou Wenbai, wanting to say more but holding back.
“Can we eat now?” Ji Tan ran upstairs in his white, fluffy rabbit slippers. “I am hungry.”
Zhou She, who had been about to turn and leave, caught Ji Tan in his arms. Ji Tan was stunned. When he could not tell them apart, he would not be intimate with Zhou Wenbai to avoid the awkwardness of recognizing the wrong person. This time, however, Zhou She had picked him up directly.
Ji Tan instinctively wrapped his arms around Zhou She’s neck, his slender white legs hanging over Zhou She’s sturdy arms. Ji Tan was unaware, swinging his legs naturally. He did not recognize who was holding him, and habitually tilted his head to act coquettishly. “When are we eating?”
“Zhou She,” Zhou Wenbai’s voice deepened imperceptibly. “Do not tease Tuan Tuan, give him to me.”
Ji Tan stopped swinging his legs against Zhou She’s arms. The soft touch no longer tickled his skin but instead pressed rigidly against it. Ji Tan slowly released his arms from around Zhou She’s neck, looking lost. Zhou She fixed his dark pupils on Ji Tan’s slightly panicked face. Until Ji Tan fluttered his long lashes to reveal his watery amber eyes, Zhou She turned and handed Ji Tan over to Zhou Wenbai, his voice flat. “Your sheep-mother is here.”
“Zhou She was just joking with Tuan Tuan.” Zhou Wenbai touched Ji Tan’s slightly moist lashes soothingly, his palm sliding down Ji Tan’s thin back. Ji Tan pursed his red, moist lips and complained in a small voice, “It was not funny at all.”
Zhou Wenbai’s palm slid down Ji Tan’s supple waist, touching his soft, cool legs exposed to the air. The legs were not cold, but his right foot, which had lost its warmth during the transfer, felt chilled. Just as Ji Tan was about to reply to Zhou Wenbai, he was cut off by the same voice.
“Your slipper fell off.”
Ji Tan’s delicate ankles were gripped by Zhou She’s long, rough fingers. Ji Tan looked down at Zhou She, who was half-kneeling beside him, his mind in a fog. Identical men held him, and identical men knelt to put on his dropped slipper. Ji Tan, who was already unable to tell them apart, felt even more dizzy. This absurd world could produce such a bizarre scene.
“Zhou Wenbai.” Ji Tan shrank tightly into Zhou Wenbai’s embrace. He did not know how to face this situation, and his voice was thin and weak.
Zhou She put the slipper on Ji Tan, released his fingers one by one, and stood up before him like a silent, imposing mountain, hiding gods and monsters that terrified Ji Tan. Ji Tan’s fair skin flushed once more.
“Tuan Tuan, go downstairs first.” Zhou Wenbai set Ji Tan down, cradled his white face with one hand, and kissed his cheek soothingly. “I will be there in a moment.”
Ji Tan nodded and, without even looking at Zhou She, ran out of the room, where the atmosphere had suddenly become suffocating.
Zhou She looked up. “Brother…”
A whistling sound interrupted Zhou She. Zhou Wenbai undid the button of his suit jacket and smashed a fist directly into the corner of Zhou She’s mouth, using his full strength. Zhou Wenbai’s hair fell in stray wisps over his forehead, and his gentle, refined brows broke through their useless disguise. The coldness in his eyes was even colder than Zhou She’s permanently frozen face. “If you are sick, get treated. Do not be idle and provoke him.”
Zhou She had his head turned by the blow; the corner of his mouth tore, spilling a few drops of blood. His eyes were half-lowered, hiding the emotions deeper within.
“Clean up before you come out, so you do not scare anyone.”
Before leaving, Zhou Wenbai closed the door on Zhou She, who remained inside.