Zhou Wenbai went downstairs to find Ji Tan curled up in the corner of the sofa, looking like a wronged kitten. Zhou Wenbai’s expression softened.
“Was Tuan Tuan frightened?” Zhou Wenbai walked over, pulled Ji Tan into his arms, and stroked his slightly cool cheeks.
Ji Tan called out again, “Zhou Wenbai.”
“Yes, you called me, yet you say nothing?” Zhou Wenbai asked with amusement. “Are you making me guess?”
Ji Tan frowned unhappily. He straddled Zhou Wenbai’s lap, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, “Did Zhou She give me a nickname behind my back?”
Zhou Wenbai’s hand, which had been stroking Ji Tan’s curls, paused. He raised an eyebrow. “Is this what you were thinking about for so long?”
Ji Tan hesitated and nodded. “Why did he say I am your sheep-mother? Then what does that make me?”
Zhou Wenbai smiled but remained silent. Ji Tan understood the implication and said angrily, “What right does he have to give me a nickname?”
“Did you not give him one, too?” Zhou Wenbai countered.
Ji Tan was being double-standard. He muttered, “That is different. He does not even know I gave him a nickname. What right does he have to give me one?”
“He has no morals, so do not bother with him.” Zhou Wenbai, just as unreasonably, shifted the blame onto Zhou She.
Ji Tan tilted his head in curiosity, wondering why Zhou Wenbai spoke ill of Zhou She so naturally. Zhou Wenbai looked back at him with a smile.
“Zhou Wenbai will always be on Tuan Tuan’s side.”
Ji Tan laughed happily upon hearing this.
“Alright.” Zhou Wenbai coaxed Ji Tan and took him to eat. “Does Tuan Tuan not love the food Zhou She cooks? Today is Zhou She’s cooking. We shall take our revenge by trying to eat him into bankruptcy.”
What a pathetic way to seek revenge. Ji Tan found Zhou Wenbai’s childishness amusing.
Zhou She came downstairs shortly after. Ji Tan and Zhou Wenbai were chatting happily, but the food on the table remained untouched. Zhou She took his seat.
“Tuan Tuan insisted on waiting until everyone was present to eat,” Zhou Wenbai said, serving Ji Tan first before placing the second bowl in front of Zhou She. “I told him you would not mind, but he would not listen.”
“There is no need to wait for me.” Zhou She took the bowl and paused, saying calmly, “Thank you.”
Ji Tan chewed on the tip of his chopsticks, looking at the split on the corner of Zhou She’s mouth.
“Do not daydream.” Zhou Wenbai put a chicken wing into Ji Tan’s bowl. “Eat your food.”
Zhou She had not prepared much: cola chicken wings, steamed sea bass, stir-fried pork with peppers, okra salad, and a bowl of tomato and egg soup.
“When are you coming back?” Ji Tan asked while gnawing on the wing.
Zhou Wenbai gave Ji Tan a general timeframe. “It will not be long, three days at most.”
Ji Tan nodded. “That is quite fast.”
Zhou Wenbai raised an eyebrow and set a trap for Ji Tan. “Does Tuan Tuan think the time is short?”
Caught off guard by the questioning, Ji Tan replied vigilantly, “It is not short at all. It is a long time, and I will miss you.”
“You had better.” Zhou Wenbai feigned a sigh. “I hope that when I return, Tuan Tuan still remembers me.”
“You are being too dramatic.” Ji Tan stood up to serve Zhou Wenbai some soup, saying obediently, “I will send you a message every day.”
An unexpected delight.
“Then I shall wait for the messages Tuan Tuan sends me every day.” Zhou Wenbai took the egg soup Ji Tan handed him, held his hand, and kissed his fingertips. “Thank you for your trouble, Tuan Tuan.”
Ji Tan then served two bowls of egg soup for Zhou She and himself.
“Do not go to any trouble, just eat your food.” Zhou Wenbai could not stand seeing Ji Tan being so considerate; it felt as if he had brought Ji Tan here to suffer. “I will do whatever needs to be done.”
Ji Tan obeyed while holding a mouthful of rice.
“Good boy.” Zhou Wenbai leaned over and kissed Ji Tan’s forehead.
Zhou Wenbai and Zhou She went upstairs.
“I am leaving in a moment. Remember to take Tuan Tuan to school tomorrow.” After giving these instructions, Zhou Wenbai’s gaze rested on Zhou She’s split lip before shifting away. “Zhou She, I do not need you to help me find out the so-called truth.”
“I do not care if Tuan Tuan can tell us apart. In fact, I do not need him to.”
Zhou Wenbai said, “I know Tuan Tuan does not love me. He is just following Ji Yuan’s arrangements to find a partner with a regular job who lives an ordinary life in society, just to get by.”
“I am very grateful that my job is being a doctor, which is Tuan Tuan’s first choice.” Zhou Wenbai looked up, the chill in his eyes seemingly about to turn to frost. “Zhou She, do not test him, and do not frighten him.”
“I am always the weaker one in front of Ji Tan; do not let me lose him.”
It was a warning. In choosing between love and family, and between his lover and his brother, he chose his lover. Zhou She was not surprised that Zhou Wenbai would make such a decision. Zhou She nodded.
The ice in Zhou Wenbai’s eyes melted as he glanced at the wound on the corner of Zhou She’s mouth. “Is there povidone-iodine at home? Remember to apply it.” After saying this, Zhou Wenbai brushed past Zhou She.
Zhou She called him to stop. Zhou Wenbai stood still, quietly waiting for Zhou She to speak.
“That is not all. Ji Tan remembers that you cannot stand the sight of red.” Zhou She looked away. “There were no tomatoes in the egg soup he served you.”
Zhou Wenbai froze, and his gaze suddenly softened.
“I did not notice.” Zhou Wenbai could not help but curl the corners of his lips as he chuckled softly. “It seems that even a cardiologist like me can have moments of poor vision.”
Zhou Wenbai went downstairs. The sound of his footsteps gradually faded, followed by the sound of intimate whispers downstairs.
Zhou She looked around the room Zhou Wenbai had decorated so warmly for Ji Tan, walked a few steps inside, and closed the ventilating window. The wind on an autumn night was very cold, and someone who had been ill was physically weak and could not withstand such a harsh breeze.
After about half an hour, Zhou Wenbai left. Ji Tan had a regular sleep schedule and went upstairs at nine-thirty. Zhou She came out of the study, went to the kitchen downstairs to make a cup of honey water, and passed the balcony. In the corner of the neatly arranged plants, there was a gap. Zhou She placed his fingers on the outer wall of the transparent glass cup, the warmth of the honey water spreading to his fingertips. Was it a coin-leaf plant or a money tree?
Zhou She withdrew his gaze and went upstairs.
“Knock, knock.”
“What is it?” Ji Tan squeezed a defensive little face out of the crack in the door, glaring at Zhou She. “What do you want?”
Zhou She looked at Ji Tan’s amber eyes, which showed no sign of sleepiness, and handed him the honey water. “Drink this and go to sleep.”
Ji Tan reached out a hand, fumbling to take the honey water from Zhou She’s palm. He took a sip and found it a bit hot. Anxious to get Zhou She to leave, he frowned and gulped it down despite the heat. Ji Tan’s red, moist lips were slightly swollen—not from the hot water, but because Zhou Wenbai had done plenty of work before he left.
“What time are you going to sleep?” Zhou She took the empty glass from Ji Tan.
Ji Tan did not know why Zhou She was so comfortable bossing him around; it had started from the moment they met. Of course, part of it was because he could not tell the difference between Zhou She and Zhou Wenbai, and part of it was because he had never resisted.
When asked by Zhou She, Ji Tan replied with insufficient confidence, “I was just sleeping.”
Taking advantage of his height, Zhou She looked through the crack in the door above Ji Tan’s head and saw the evergreen plant that had vanished from the balcony. Its branches and leaves had been trimmed into a round shape and placed on the bay window, with scattered leaves and branches on the floor.
“Sleep at ten.” Zhou She sternly arranged a schedule for Ji Tan.
Ji Tan did not dare to resist and simply replied with a dry, “Oh.”
Zhou She gripped the door that Ji Tan intended to close and held out a hand. “What is in your hand? Give it to me.”
Ji Tan’s eyes widened for a moment as he reluctantly and slowly placed the small scissors in Zhou She’s palm.
“Do you have a coursework assignment in landscape design that requires pruning plants?” Zhou She was not very familiar with Ji Tan’s niche major, but he did not think it would require Ji Tan to stay up until ten at night to prune plants.
Zhou She confiscated Ji Tan’s weapon, raised his chin slightly, and said, “Keeping plants in the room at night affects sleep. Take the plant out as well.”
Zhou She’s nagging, one after another, made Ji Tan a bit unhappy. Ji Tan took a step back, refusing to cooperate. Zhou She ignored Ji Tan’s little temper, walked directly into the room, and took away the evergreen plant on the bay window.
“Do not open the window at night; it will be cold.” Zhou She closed the window Ji Tan had opened again.
As soon as Zhou She walked out of the room, the door behind him was slammed shut. Zhou She did not mind; he carried the plant that Ji Tan had pruned into a ball back to the room next door.
Ji Tan threw himself onto the bed and pulled out his phone to complain to Zhou Wenbai.
“He is like my mother.”
Staring at him, extremely strict.
Zhou Wenbai, who was on the plane, could not receive Ji Tan’s message and could not reply to him. Losing his plant and having nothing left to play with, Ji Tan soon fell asleep.
The next day, Zhou She called Ji Tan up to eat breakfast and sent him to school.
“Are you eating at school, or shall I pick you up for lunch?” Zhou She asked.
Ji Tan opened the car door. “I always eat at school.”
“I will come to pick you up in the evening.” Zhou She gave his instructions.
Ji Tan replied and walked toward the school gate. Zhou She watched Ji Tan walk into the school gate before he drove away.
Ji Tan had classes all day on Wednesday, with both required and elective courses scheduled. Fortunately, he would not have to attend them anymore after the elective exam.
“Tan Tan.” Ji Yunxin chased him out after the last class and called out to him. “Come home for dinner tonight. Grandfather told me to call you and Zhou She.”
Ji Yunxin added, “Mom and Dad are also coming.”
“Ji Yunxin, stop bothering me. I do not want to go.” Every time Ji Yunxin talked to him about this, Ji Tan would explode.
Ji Yunxin was used to it. “Are you living with Zhou She now?”
“Madam Zhong should have notified Zhou She to come to the Ji family house tonight.” Ji Yunxin paused. “Both you and he need to come.”
Ji Tan frowned. “Why do I have to go just because Zhou She is going?”
Ji Yunxin leaned into Ji Tan’s ear and whispered a few things. Ji Tan was slightly surprised. “Really?”
“I do not want you to go, either.” Ji Yunxin’s expression revealed some concern. “Tan Tan, I heard you had a high fever a few days ago. Are you feeling better now?”
Ji Tan dodged Ji Yunxin’s outstretched hand. “I am fine.”
Ji Yunxin’s fingers, left in the air, lingered for a few seconds before he pulled them back.
“I will go to the Ji house.” Ji Tan left him with those words and walked past Ji Yunxin.
Zhou She’s car was parked at the school gate. Ji Tan saw it at a glance.
“Are you going out to eat, or shall we go back and wait for me to cook?” Zhou She turned on the air conditioning and started the vehicle.
Ji Tan fastened his seat belt, asking strangely, “Are we not going to the Ji family house for dinner?”
Zhou She caught a glimpse of Ji Tan wanting to open the window again and locked the button on the main driver’s side.
“Do not indulge in the cold.” Zhou She withdrew his gaze. “There is nothing to go for. If you do not want to go, do not go.”
Ji Tan took out his phone to find a late message from Zhou Wenbai.
“I tell him that he has managed the lively little kitten until it has wilted.”
Ji Tan’s soft lips bloomed into a sweet smile. After exchanging a few messages with Zhou Wenbai, he closed his phone. Ji Tan turned his head to meet Zhou She’s gaze as he waited at a red light.
“I am going,” Ji Tan said. “Ji Yunxin told me that Dr. Zhou’s mother went to the Ji family house.”
Zhou She’s eyes froze for a moment, and his thin lips moved, but he did not speak in the end.
The drive was just under an hour before they reached the Ji family home. Ji Tan got out of the car first. After Zhou She got out, he took a few quick steps and grabbed Ji Tan’s arm. Ji Tan looked at Zhou She in confusion. Zhou She’s hand was dried and heated by the car’s air conditioning, but he felt stiff when he touched Ji Tan’s slender, soft fingers.
“If you want to marry Zhou Wenbai, start listening to me from now on.” Zhou She awkwardly pulled Ji Tan into his arms and whispered into his ear, “Do not speak to my mother.”
Ji Tan struggled slightly as he was held by Zhou She, but he was forced to interlace his fingers with his. Ji Tan’s eyes were confused. Zhou She pressed his thumb against the corner of Ji Tan’s lips, which were subconsciously trying to dodge, and leaned down to touch them.
It looked like a kiss, but Zhou She whispered to Ji Tan, “Behave yourself, and I will take you away after the meal.”
“The main lead seems to be tricking you into pretending to be a couple in front of Zhong Peiyi.”
He still did not dare to say it too clearly.
“523, I am neither blind nor stupid.”
The system shut up.
Ji Tan’s fingers suddenly relaxed, pressing softly against the back of Zhou She’s hand. His clear, light-colored eyes resembled sweet, warm sugar. “I will behave.”
His soft fingertips pressing against the back of his hand sent a tingling itch down Zhou She’s skin; Zhou She’s hand trembled imperceptibly. It seemed that as long as he used the reason of marrying Zhou Wenbai, Ji Tan would always be obedient, no matter what he asked him to do. This thought flashed through Zhou She’s mind, making his dark, calm pupils tremble for a moment.
Zhou She shifted his gaze away, his Adam’s apple rolling out a few inaudible syllables. “Hmm.”