“I’m not eating.”
Jiang Ci gave a small, sulky hum and pushed the breakfast away, looking like an angry little rabbit, as though he was about to throw the whole bowl onto the floor.
Lu Shiying glanced at the trash can beside them and said indifferently, “Then I’ll throw it away.”
“Hey, don’t!”
Jiang Ci immediately snatched the breakfast back. He hurriedly tore open the paper wrapping around the sandwich and took a big bite without hesitation. It was delicious.
His cheeks puffed up as he chewed, his gaze falling on Lu Shiying’s face. Only then did he notice the faint bluish shadows beneath the man’s eyes, as though he had not slept at all during the night.
His lips pursed and his voice immediately softened. “Does your arm still hurt? Can’t you take the day off and rest? You lost so much blood yesterday…”
“It’s fine. Don’t run around after school. I’ll wait for you at the north gate.” Before leaving, Lu Shiying raised his hand as he always did and gently patted the top of Jiang Ci’s head. His warm palm carried a familiar, comforting heat.
Holding the breakfast in his hands, Jiang Ci watched Lu Shiying’s back as he walked downstairs. He hesitated for two seconds before suddenly stuffing the sandwich back into its paper bag. Then he quickly chased after him.
At a quiet corner of the staircase where there were few people around, he reached out, grabbed the man firmly by the sleeve and pulled him into the secluded corner.
“Let me look at your injury. You’re going to the hospital to have the dressing changed this afternoon, right?”
Lu Shiying said nothing. He simply undid two buttons of his shirt and exposed his left shoulder. The bandage had already been removed, revealing a long scratch. It was somewhat less swollen than it had been yesterday and a thin layer of reddish blood scab had formed over it.
Jiang Ci rose onto his tiptoes and leaned closer to examine it, his brows drawing tightly together. “At least the wound isn’t very deep but really, can’t you take the day off today?”
“Not really.” Lu Shiying fastened his buttons again. “The public reaction yesterday was too big and the company’s stock price fluctuated badly. If I don’t go in today as well, everyone will really start thinking I’ve been admitted to the ICU. There are several things that I have to handle personally.”
Jiang Ci was silent for two seconds. Then, without warning, he rose onto his tiptoes and quickly kissed Lu Shiying on the cheek.
Lu Shiying suddenly froze, his entire body going rigid where he stood.
Jiang Ci took advantage of the moment and wrapped his arms around his neck, burying his face against the crook of his shoulder. His voice came out muffled. “Brother, I’m sorry. I got angry at you again yesterday. Actually, I understand everything. The two of us are brothers, so we shouldn’t get too close, otherwise people will gossip about us.. but I really do like staying close to you.”
“I’ve thought about it. After I become an adult, I’ll slowly learn to be independent.”
“For now… just treat me like a little kid, okay? You used to say that anyone who wasn’t an adult yet was still a little kid. Don’t drive me away. Let me keep sleeping with you.”
As he spoke, he gently bumped his forehead against Lu Shiying’s chest. “I didn’t sleep at all last night. I’m so sleepy. I must have separation anxiety. It’s all your fault for spoiling me so much.”
Lu Shiying raised a hand and pressed it against his temple. In the end, his heart softened. He let out a helpless sigh. “Once you turn eighteen and become an adult, we have to live separately.”
“Okay!”
Jiang Ci immediately broke into a smile. He happily hung himself all over Lu Shiying, looking utterly foolish with joy. “Go to work, Brother. Don’t work too hard and remember to go to the hospital this afternoon to have your dressing changed.”
“Mm.”
Lu Shiying lowered his eyes and glanced at him before turning around and leaving.
When he reached the entrance, he suddenly raised a hand and covered his face. The soft sensation against his cheek seemed to still be burning there, so much so that when the principal happened to walk toward him and respectfully greeted him, he did not even hear it.
This wasn’t right.
The way he had raised this child had been wrong.
When evening self-study ended, Jiang Ci had just walked out through the north gate when he saw a brand-new Maybach parked by the roadside. Its streamlined body reflected the brilliant glow of the streetlights, gleaming brightly beneath the night sky.
His eyes immediately lit up and he jogged over. Assistant Ji had already gotten out of the car and opened the door for him.
Inside the back seat, Lu Shiying was leaning against the seatback, looking at his laptop. The glow from the screen illuminated his face, accentuating his sharply defined features.
His brother was really handsome.
Jiang Ci quickly climbed inside, looking around and touching everything in turn. The interior was luxuriously decorated and the leather seats were so soft that he could practically sink into them. His eyes shone with excitement. “This car is so cool!”
“You like cars?” Lu Shiying asked without even looking up, his fingers continuing to tap against the keyboard.
“I love them!” Jiang Ci counted on his fingers. “Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis, I like them all! Once I inherit my dad’s company in the future, I’m definitely going to buy myself an insanely cool sports car. Then I’ll go get my driver’s license.”
Lu Shiying casually replied, “You’re too stupid. You don’t need to learn how to drive. I can hire a driver to drive you around.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jiang Ci lunged at him as if he were going to hit him but his fist landed squarely on Lu Shiying’s left arm.
“Hiss, ”
Lu Shiying sucked in a quiet breath, his brows immediately drawing together in pain.
Jiang Ci’s expression changed at once. He hurriedly wrapped both arms around his arm. “What’s wrong? Did I hit your wound? Did it split open?”
“Don’t bother looking. It’s fine.” Lu Shiying tried to pull his arm back.
“Let me see.”
“No need.”
Jiang Ci ignored him completely. Without giving him a chance to object, he quickly stripped off Lu Shiying’s suit jacket, pulled off his tie and tugged the hem of his shirt outward.
This child was always frighteningly quick whenever it came to taking off clothes.
From the front seat, Assistant Ji glanced at them through the rearview mirror before silently pressing the button for the automatic partition.
The partition slowly rose, completely blocking off the back seat from view.
Assistant Ji remained expressionless as he stared straight ahead.
He had already thought these two were a little strange back then. Judging by the way things were developing, they were definitely going to end up falling for each other sooner or later.
“No bleeding.”
After carefully checking the wound, Jiang Ci finally let out a sigh of relief. He then naturally leaned forward and curled himself into Lu Shiying’s arms. “Hey, Brother, stop working for a while and talk to me.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Lu Shiying closed the laptop.
Jiang Ci simply lay flat across the seat, resting his feet against the edge of the car window while half of his body remained nestled in Lu Shiying’s arms. He tilted his head back and looked directly into his eyes.
Lu Shiying lowered his head as well and their gazes collided within the narrow confines of the car.
“After we get married someday… can we still stay in touch? I can’t bear to be separated from you. I had three nightmares last night and woke up crying in the middle of the night. I dreamed that you told me I had grown up, so you didn’t need to take care of me anymore and then you left me by the side of the road.”
“I also dreamed that I went back by myself and was surrounded and bullied by all those relatives. Uncle and Auntie, my aunts… all of them wanted my money. I cried and went looking for you but then you told me that I wasn’t a child anymore and that I had to learn to deal with things on my own.”
His fingers unconsciously tugged at the man’s clothes.
“…Maybe it’s because my parents passed away so early and Grandpa’s health wasn’t very good, so I never really got to experience being spoiled and cherished by my family. That’s why when you treated me well, I became especially dependent on you. Brother, don’t drive me away. I just want to stay by your side forever…”
“I know you think I’m childish but we’re not married yet, so why do we have to keep our distance? I don’t care what anyone else says. They can call me a giant baby, a brother’s boy, whatever they want. I just want to be with you.”
As he continued speaking, the corners of his eyes gradually reddened. He looked worried and uneasy, as though he were afraid of becoming a little stray cat abandoned outside.
Lu Shiying reached out and lightly poked the shallow dimple on his cheek with his fingertip. Seeing just how dependent Jiang Ci was on him gave him a strange, indescribable sense of excitement.
“You fool. In your brother’s heart, you’ll always be a little kid. No matter how old you become in the future, I’ll always look after you and help you. I won’t abandon you.”
Only after hearing those words did Jiang Ci finally feel reassured. He buried his face against Lu Shiying’s chest and gave a muffled “Mm.”
That night, the two of them made up and returned to the way they had been before.
Jiang Ci dragged Mimi’s cat bed from the guest bedroom back onto the balcony of the master bedroom. The enormous, chubby cat lying inside lazily yawned, as though it had already become completely accustomed to this repeated process of being moved back and forth.
In the days that followed, Lu Shiying dealt with the endless complications at the company. Within two days, he had people retrieve all the surveillance footage related to the car accident and the van driver, along with all the men in black who had been sent there, were arrested.
There were simply too many people targeting him. They swarmed toward him like buzzing flies and every time one was swatted away, another group would come crawling out.
Lu Shiying simply changed his strategy. He had the information of several vice presidents who had been evading taxes and accepting bribes thoroughly investigated and collected, then reported them directly to the authorities. In one move, he managed to swat away several more of those “flies.”
But the biggest snake was still hiding in the shadows.
The Xie Corporation, Zhuoyu’s long-standing rival.
After an investigation confirmed the facts, it was discovered that the car accident had indeed been planned by the president of the Xie Corporation, who had bribed a shareholder who had been dismissed from the company to carry it out. Once he had finished setting everything in motion, he immediately fled overseas.
Yet in less than a month, the Xie Corporation was already caught up in a bankruptcy crisis. News headlines about the matter remained on the trending lists for half a month and the entire internet was filled with discussions about it.
In Jiangcheng, Lu Shiying wielded immense power and influence. His position was higher than anyone else’s and those petty tricks were incapable of doing anything to him. Only a fool would deliberately make trouble for him. Zhuoyu Group had long since established deep roots and was practically unshakable.
By the time Lu Shiying had finished dealing with the company’s affairs, half a month had already passed.
Jiang Ci had not been feeling well these past few days, so he had taken several days off and stayed home.
Lu Shiying pushed aside all of his remaining work and returned home a little after eight that evening, intending to spend the entire week properly accompanying him.
“The Young Master is in his room.” Auntie Chen came forward to take his coat. “He fell asleep in the afternoon. I don’t know where he bumped himself at school again but there’s a little bruising and a hard lump under the skin. Dr. Nie has already treated it. You should go upstairs and take a look at him.”
Lu Shiying nodded, undid two buttons of his shirt and headed upstairs.
When he reached the door of the master bedroom, he twisted the handle, only to find that the door had been locked from the inside.
He knocked for two minutes but there was not the slightest response from inside.
Worried that Jiang Ci might be feeling unwell or had perhaps fainted, Lu Shiying immediately fetched the spare key and opened the door.
He heard the sound of running water.
When he reached the bathroom, he caught a familiar smell.
Lu Shiying frowned and pushed the door open with force.
“Ahhh, !”
Jiang Ci was so startled that he immediately shrank down into the bathwater. With both hands, he frantically scooped up handfuls of bubbles and tried to cover himself with them, his entire body jerking like a frightened rabbit.
“What are you doing?”
Lu Shiying walked in with a cold expression and the smell inside the bathroom was even more obvious now.
He glanced at the bathtub overflowing with fragrant bath bubbles, then at the boy huddled down in the water. Jiang Ci was staring at him with a panicked expression, blinking his eyes repeatedly as though he had been caught doing something he absolutely did not want anyone to see.
Jiang Ci widened his eyes and shouted, “Weren’t you supposed to be away on a business trip?!”
Lu Shiying did not answer. He walked over, drained the water from the bathtub, then adjusted the temperature and began filling it with warm water again before replying, “I heard you were sick, so I came back early. I’m not going anymore.”
“I’m not sick…” Jiang Ci awkwardly curled himself deeper into the water. “I just bumped my knee. It’s been hurting a little these past two days, that’s all. It’s already much better today.”
Lu Shiying crouched down beside him and patiently lectured him. “Are you asking to be disciplined? Don’t become addicted to doing things like this. It can be harmful to your health. Did you disinfect yourself properly? Improper habits can easily lead to urinary tract infections and they can also become addictive and affect your physical health. If it continues for a long time, it could even affect your, ”
“Stop talking!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Ci angrily splashed water straight into his face before hurriedly rubbing all the bubbles off his body.
When he climbed out of the bathtub, his foot slipped and he nearly fell flat on his back. Lu Shiying reacted quickly and caught him before he could hit the floor.
With a dark expression, Lu Shiying helped him into his pajamas and then used a towel to dry his damp hair. “You’re always so careless. Every time, I have no idea what you’re panicking about. Besides me, who else is going to teach you about these things related to your body? You need to listen when your brother talks to you. Don’t end up hurting yourself and then have to be sent to the hospital. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed?”
“Don’t you dare say another word! How could I possibly hurt myself?!”
Jiang Ci’s ears were red enough to drip blood. He kicked Lu Shiying lightly in the shin, his face burning with embarrassment. “You’re awful… I’m already an adult. I have my own privacy! I don’t want you to interfere!”
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Fleurveil
[Translator]
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← Previous
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