When Lu Shiying heard the knock at the door, he opened it and found Jiang Ci standing outside, looking up at him with an innocent, almost guileless expression.
“Brother, if something is making you unhappy, can you tell me?” Jiang Ci asked as he walked inside and took his hand.
“It’s nothing. Go to sleep. There are still some proposals from the company that need to be reviewed. I just want to sit here quietly for a while.” Lu Shiying walked over to the computer and sat down, opening the internal system of Zhuoyu Group once again.
Jiang Ci obediently trotted over after him, too, dragging a chair closer before sitting down beside him. He placed both hands neatly on his knees, his eyes fixed intently on the screen, looking as though he were seriously studying whatever was displayed there.
Lu Shiying glanced sideways at him. “Can you understand any of it?”
Jiang Ci shook his head.
The corners of Lu Shiying’s lips lifted. Just like when he was little, Jiang Ci would stare at things he could not understand anyway, as if he could somehow learn them simply by looking at them long enough. He really was silly.
“Every time Uncle and Auntie come back, you get upset. You always seem annoyed whenever you see them. I don’t really understand…” Jiang Ci hesitated before continuing, “They’ve always been pretty good to me.”
Jiang Ci fell into a dilemma. Every time his uncle and aunt came back, they would buy him toys and give him presents. During the New Year, they would even give him generous red envelopes. There was practically nothing he could find fault with when it came to the way they treated him.
But his brother did not like them, so Jiang Ci did not know which side he was supposed to take.
Lu Shiying habitually reached out and gently rubbed the top of his head. “They want to make up for the love they failed to give me but I’ve already grown up. I don’t need it anymore. So if they want to make up for it by giving that love to you, that’s fine, too. You don’t need to struggle over it. Just interact with them normally. I’m simply used to being on my own.”
Jiang Ci asked curiously, “Over all these years, I’ve noticed that Uncle and Auntie only come back to China when there’s an important event they need to attend. Even during the New Year, the whole family only gets together once every two or three years. Is it because of this?”
Lu Shiying continued talking with him. “Yes. When I was little, I grew up with my grandparents. Uncle Zhang and Auntie Chen were acquaintances whom my grandparents hired to take care of me. After my grandparents passed away, Auntie Chen looked after me at home, while Uncle Zhang took me to school whenever I had to go out. When I was young, my parents always told me that they would make sure I had a good life. In my memories, the only time they actually accompanied me was during the period when I was in kindergarten. After that, they became busy with work and gradually lost themselves in money.”
“In their eyes, benefits were more important than their child. Zhuoyu Group is a future technology company, mainly focused on intelligent robots and right now, that industry is in its prime. What they said was right. There’s no one in this world who doesn’t like money. Since they gave me such a good life, I have no reason to completely sever ties with them.”
“It’s just that, in my heart, they are only my parents in name. They aren’t family to me.”
After listening to him, Jiang Ci gradually understood. Lu Shiying was actually a very good person and he continued to acknowledge them as his parents because he still had filial feelings toward them. If it were most people faced with parents who had been so irresponsible, they probably would have stopped associating with them long ago.
“Did they do something really terrible to you?” Jiang Ci still asked one more question.
Although he was worried that his brother might get angry and Uncle Zhang had also warned him not to ask too many questions, he still wanted to know.
As expected, Lu Shiying fell silent. His fists tightened, the sound of his knuckles clenching faintly audible. He did not want to mention what had happened when he was a child, when he had been kidnapped. He had never been willing to expose his weaknesses to anyone.
Jiang Ci suddenly took his hand and said, “Brother, don’t be angry. If you don’t want to talk about it, then I won’t listen. When you want to talk about it someday, you can tell me. I’ll definitely be on your side.”
Lu Shiying looked down at the fair, slender hand resting over his own. It was a size smaller than his and its warmth seeped gently into the back of his hand. For some inexplicable reason, his heart suddenly beat a little faster.
He turned his hand over and held Jiang Ci’s hand in return, then pulled him into his arms.
Jiang Ci quietly hugged him back, feeling that his brother was no longer angry.
“Come on. Let’s go to sleep.”
Lu Shiying took his hand and led him outside. He glanced toward the living room and, after realizing that the woman had already left, returned to the master bedroom to rest.
Jiang Ci followed him into the room, took off his shoes and climbed onto the bed. He hugged Lu Shiying’s arm and carefully looked it over. The wound showed no signs of inflammation.
Lu Shiying pulled him into his arms and lowered his head to examine Jiang Ci’s slender arm. The place where he had cut himself during the day was now nothing more than a shallow mark. After the bleeding had stopped, the scab that had formed was very thin but there was some blood swelling beneath the skin. He might have started bleeding slightly again at some point, because there were several bluish-purple bruises around the wound.
His own injuries were nothing to worry about. All he wanted was for Jiang Ci to stop getting hurt.
“Brother, Auntie Man just asked me whether I would choose three hundred billion or you.”
Lu Shiying knew that Jiang Ci was a little money-lover, so he answered without even thinking about it. “You definitely said three hundred billion, right? With that much money, you could eat and drink whatever you wanted for the rest of your life.”
Jiang Ci immediately shook his head and wrapped his arms around Lu Shiying’s waist. “How could I? I chose you, Brother, because I think you’re more important.”
Lu Shiying froze for a moment.
If wealth and family affection were truly placed in front of someone as a choice, would anyone really give up three hundred billion?
That was an enormous fortune.
“Give me the card.” Lu Shiying held out his hand.
Jiang Ci reached into the pocket of his pajamas, fished out the card and placed it in his hand. He blinked as he looked at Lu Shiying, his fair little face carrying a hint of youthful innocence.
Lu Shiying glanced at the black card in his hand. He thought the little fool was simply too naïve. Then he looked directly at Jiang Ci’s face and asked, “Three hundred billion. You really weren’t tempted by it at all?”
Jiang Ci immediately shook his head. He wrapped his arms around Lu Shiying’s waist and lay down beside him, speaking in a quiet voice. “I only want to be with you, Brother. Because you’re a good person. You’re something money can never buy.”
Lu Shiying did not know what was happening to him.
His heart suddenly began beating incredibly fast and even his breathing gradually lost its steady rhythm. He kept his expression composed and did not allow himself to panic but almost unconsciously, he wanted to lift his hand and hold Jiang Ci, to pull him tightly into his arms and never let go.
He raised his hand, leaving it suspended in midair as he hesitated.
As his heartbeat became increasingly chaotic, the man suddenly withdrew his hand. He turned onto his side, avoiding the boy’s embrace and turned his back to him.
Lu Shiying felt that he had crossed a line.
This was the child he had raised himself. He should not be keeping him by his side like this, sleeping together every single day.
“Jiang Ci.”
Jiang Ci raised his head in confusion and crawled closer, wanting to nestle back into his brother’s arms, only to be pushed away again. “Hmm?”
Lu Shiying steadied his breathing and said to him, “Go sleep in the guest room. We should start sleeping separately.”
“Why? You said before that we could always sleep together…” Jiang Ci was completely unable to understand.
Couldn’t good brothers live together?
Lu Shiying still had his back turned to him, one hand pressed against his chest as he forcibly tried to calm his racing heartbeat. After a moment, he turned sideways and looked at him coldly. “If the friends around you found out that you cling to your brother every day, lie in your brother’s arms and even want to take a bath with your brother, they would only think you were a useless person, a completely dependent brother’s boy who can’t do anything on his own. You need to learn to be independent.”
Jiang Ci instantly sat upright on the bed, staring at him with an innocent, aggrieved expression. His temper flared like a cat whose fur had suddenly been ruffled. “I’m not useless! I was only trying to comfort you out of the goodness of my heart. I wanted to hug you and you still wouldn’t appreciate it. Besides, you cling to me every day too. The moment you receive a love letter, you rush all the way to my school. You’re a brother’s boy yourself!”
Lu Shiying: “?”
Why had he suddenly become so fired up?
Jiang Ci hopped off the bed in a flash, grabbed his stuffed bear, then ran to the balcony and directly dragged the sleeping Maine Coon out. He even hauled the enormous cat bed along with it.
Because the Maine Coon was so large, its cat bed was enormous as well, making it extremely difficult for him to push and drag everything by himself.
Lu Shiying had originally wanted to help him but Jiang Ci had already summoned every ounce of strength he had and managed to drag it all away.
He was really leaving.
“Meow, ”
When Mimi opened its eyes, it discovered that its cat bed had somehow been moved from the master bedroom balcony all the way to the guest bedroom balcony.
“Meow?”
The Maine Coon stood up and looked around in confusion. It watched as Jiang Ci closed the door to the guest bedroom, locked it from the inside and then stomped angrily over to the bed to sleep.
“Meow~”
Mimi jumped onto the bed. Jiang Ci looked utterly wronged as he pulled the cat into his arms and hugged it tightly.
“Mimi… Brother called me useless. We’re not going to play with him anymore. I was only thinking that he was injured and in a bad mood, so I comforted him and gave him a hug and what did I get in return? He actually called me a brother’s boy? Who decided that just because you grow up, you can’t sleep together anymore?”
The Maine Coon licked its paw. It had no idea what Jiang Ci was talking about but it still obediently lay down beside its owner, its tail draped over him.
Jiang Ci closed his eyes and hugged Mimi as he went to sleep. Having such a huge, chubby cat lying beside him made him feel quite safe, too.
Two hours later.
He still couldn’t fall asleep.
In the master bedroom, Lu Shiying was tossing and turning restlessly on the bed, unable to sleep either. His heartbeat had only just settled down, yet now it had become chaotic all over again. Even standing on the balcony and letting the night breeze blow over him did nothing to calm him down.
Over all these years, there had been girls who pursued him, admirers from his company and even business partners who had tried to arrange marriages for him. He had never felt the slightest stir of emotion toward any of them. He had politely turned every single one of them down.
He had no longing for marriage whatsoever. All he wanted was to live alone. With enough money, there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish and only by living alone could he remain completely free.
He had never even fallen for anyone before.
Lu Shiying ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes, trying to force himself to fall asleep. Yet his mind was filled with Jiang Ci’s beautiful face and the sound of his voice as he curled up in his arms and called him “Brother.”
Those words just now had actually been enough to throw his heartbeat into complete disarray.
Was he crazy?
The next morning.
Lu Shiying got up at seven in the morning, brushed his teeth, washed his face and prepared to take Jiang Ci to school. However, when he went to the guest bedroom, he found it completely empty, with the blanket rolled into a messy heap on the bed. Auntie Chen had not yet come in to tidy up, so Jiang Ci had probably only just gotten up.
“Auntie Chen,” Lu Shiying called as he went downstairs and walked over to the dining table. “Where’s Xiao Ci?”
Auntie Chen looked up when she heard him. “Ah, Young Master, didn’t he send you a message? That child just got up this morning with two enormous dark circles under his eyes. He asked Uncle Zhang to take him to school. He only left about two minutes ago. He didn’t even eat breakfast.”
“He left that quickly…” Lu Shiying sat down and started eating breakfast. Then he took out his phone and sent Uncle Zhang a message, reminding him not to let Jiang Ci eat anything from outside.
“Pack another breakfast for me.”
“Okay.” Auntie Chen nodded and went into the kitchen to look for a paper food container.
Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.
The sunlight was particularly bright today, yet there were several dark clouds nearby and a sunshower was falling. The weather in Jiangcheng was often like this, with the sun shining brightly even while rain fell from the sky.
Morning self-study had already begun and the classroom was filled with the lively chatter of students.
Some were reciting their lessons, while others were whispering and chatting with their classmates. All the voices blended together, making it impossible to tell exactly who was actually studying.
During morning self-study, everyone would openly chat as though it were perfectly normal and even the teacher could not make out the individual conversations amid all the overlapping voices.
Jiang Ci’s deskmate bumped his shoulder. “Bro, what’s wrong? Why do you look so troubled? You look completely listless.”
“Xie Xu, we’ve known each other for two years now, so we know each other pretty well. You know my brother too. He takes me to school every day, gives me presents, buys me clothes… Do you think I’m a brother’s boy?”
Xie Xu froze, then gave an awkward, ingratiating smile. “That’s not really something I can answer. If your brother hears that I’m talking about the two of you behind your backs, he’ll probably kill me.”
Jiang Ci was just about to say something when a commotion suddenly came from outside. Many of the students near the windows turned their heads to look outside. Jiang Ci also tilted his head curiously but he could not see who was causing the disturbance.
It was not until morning self-study ended, when many of the students headed toward the cafeteria and Jiang Ci and Xie Xu also got up to leave, that he finally saw him.
At the corner of the staircase, Lu Shiying was standing there with a breakfast bag in his hand.
Zhuoyu Group operated on a nine-to-five schedule and Lu Shiying often brought Jiang Ci breakfast before heading to work afterward. They had only had their little quarrel yesterday, yet he had still come today.
Lu Shiying walked over and handed him the breakfast. “Eat it while it’s still warm. I have to go to work. After evening self-study, go to the north gate like usual. I’ll wait for you by the roadside. Don’t wander off.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
⚠️ TRANSLATOR COFFEE LEVELS CRITICALLY LOW ⚠️
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Even He, an outsider, couldn’t stand itChapter 2 · DaddyChapter 3 · Thank you for the gift!Chapter 4 · Do You want to sleep with your brother?Chapter 5 · Smart BabyChapter 6 · Life in a Wealthy FamilyChapter 7 · Genius BrotherChapter 8 · Brother’s giftChapter 9 · Xiao Ci was injured.Chapter 10 · ThoughtfulChapter 11 · Treat as treasureChapter 12 · Only recognized oneChapter 13 · Lu family coupleChapter 14 · A closed heartChapter 15 · Understanding my brotherChapter 16 · Reluctant to hitChapter 17 · UneasyChapter 18 · PossessiveChapter 19 · Teenage RebelChapter 20 Part 1 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 2 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 3 · The car accidentChapter 21 · My heart is racingChapter 22 · Physiological Knowledge