Si Jinghuan’s face was grim, and he said nothing. As soon as Si Maoyan opened the door, he shoved him aside forcefully and strode straight inside.
Although he had mentally prepared himself before coming here, Si Jinghuan was still horrified by the conditions inside and out.
The cramped, narrow hallway was lit by flickering streetlights, and the nauseating stench of mold and decay wafted in wave after wave.
The driver had told him to wait in the car, but he refused, insisting on standing at the doorway to see for himself what kind of life his younger brother—who had sneaked back behind his back and abandoned everything he’d given him—was now living.
Now that he saw it, he thought he’d be happy.
But to his surprise, his chest felt tight and unbearably heavy; standing in the darkness, he nearly burst into tears.
His younger brother—the one he’d practically raised as his own son since their father’s passing—was now crammed into this tiny space, barely large enough to be called a home, all for the sake of a woman.
Si Jinghuan stood at the doorway, caught between a rock and a hard place. If he went inside, the cramped room wouldn’t even have room for him to stand.
A bed took up almost all the space; forget a wardrobe—there wasn’t even a clothes rack, let alone any clothes.
Si Jinghuan was blocking the doorway, and Si Maoyan couldn’t get in.
He glanced curiously at his older brother’s silent back, reached out to push him aside, closed the door behind him, and squeezed his way inside.
Si Maoyan casually tossed his bag onto the bed, sat down boldly, patted the empty spot beside him, and smiled at his older brother: “Bro, sit down.”
Si Jinghuan pressed his lips tightly together, his brow deeply furrowed, and remained standing stiffly by the doorway, reluctant to sit down for a long time.
The conditions here were appalling. A palm’s width from the side of the bed was a toilet—it didn’t even have a door, just a half-torn, yellowed curtain.
Mold spots crept up the surrounding walls. It felt like even breathing here would poison him, yet his younger brother had been living here for two days. Si Jinghuan gripped Si Maoyan’s shoulders firmly and ordered, “Come on, let’s go home.”
Si Maoyan looked at his older brother with a puzzled expression, sizing him up from head to toe, before finally letting out a derisive laugh: “Hah… Are you planning to keep me locked up?”
“Lock you up?” Si Jinghuan’s anger flared, and he stared at Si Maoyan in disbelief. “So this is how you’ve felt about me all these years?”
The wooden door stood shut; beyond it lay an endless abyss of darkness, while inside, the two brothers stood locked in a tense standoff.
One sat, the other stood; their faces—seven parts alike—were etched with resentment and anger toward one another.
“That’s right. Brother, I’m twenty-two now.” Si Maoyan also stood up; he was now the same height as Si Jinghuan, his upturned almond-shaped eyes bloodshot. “Stop meddling in my life, okay?”
“For all these years, I’ve only ever loved Zhao Xinnan. Just let me have my wish—I’m begging you.”
Seeing him like this, Si Jinghuan hated Zhao Xinnan with a vengeance.
Si Maoyan used to be such a well-behaved kid, but ever since he’d been learning from her for half a year, he’d gone completely mad.
He stopped studying, abandoned his family, and spent his days acting as if his life depended on it—wailing and screaming that he absolutely had to become a son-in-law in her Zhao family.
He’s only seventeen—what’s the point of not studying?
To become a son-in-law of the Zhao family, just to do Zhao Xinran’s laundry, cook her meals, and clean up after her?
Between Pei Hongwen and Si Maoyan, Si Jinghuan simply couldn’t fathom just how much charm Zhao Xinran possessed to have both of these men completely under her spell.
He felt like he was going in circles.
Six years ago, in an effort to calm Pei Hongwen down and prevent him from getting too deeply involved, he’d arranged for Zhao Xinran to come to their home as Si Maoyan’s tutor. Not only did that fail to rescue Pei Hongwen, but it also dragged his younger brother into the mess.
Six years later, he hoped Pei Hongwen and Zhao Xinnan would become inseparable, so he could at least save his younger brother. But Pei Hongwen suddenly came to his senses and actually jumped out of that “pit of fire” on his own. Before he even had a chance to rejoice for his brother, in a moment of inattention, his younger brother plopped right back in.
Why are they all so eager to serve as fuel for Zhao Xinran—burning themselves to light her way? How selfless and noble of them.
“I just don’t get it. Do you really like her that much? So much that you’d give up everything—preferring to live in a house where you can’t even open your mouth to breathe at night for fear the wall plaster will fall into your mouth—rather than go home? Just because I’m keeping an eye on you, not letting you continue to pursue her without any dignity?” Si Jinghuan laughed through gritted teeth. He covered his eyes, lowered his voice, and spoke with a tone of sorrow: “I’m your older brother!”
“Yes, that’s right—you’re my older brother,” Si Maoyan smiled indifferently, completely ignoring Si Jinghuan’s anguish. “But you’re also the one who locked me in my room to keep me from going to see her. When I climbed out the window, you broke my legs and ordered the doctor to give me a sedative. You knew full well I didn’t want to go abroad, yet you forced me to apply to schools. When she got married, you forced me to sit in the audience and watch it all happen right before my eyes.”
“Yes, you’re my older brother, but you’ve also ruined my life. Every single day abroad, I couldn’t sleep. I begged you for a photo of Zhao Xinran, but you wouldn’t give me one. In the end, I went on a hunger strike to force you, yet all you did was send me a photo of her wedding.” Si Maoyan was laughing when he suddenly covered his face and wept helplessly: “Brother, I love her. I’m your younger brother—how could you treat me like this?”
“First of all, you were the only one who had feelings for Zhao Xinran at the time; she didn’t feel the same way about you. Plus, she was about to get married. Your pursuit of her was wrong, both legally and morally. As your older brother—and the eldest brother is like a father—you were seventeen at the time, a minor, and lacked the capacity for independent thought. I should have reined in your inappropriate behavior instead of letting you ruin someone else’s marriage.”
“Second, when you heard that Pei Hongwen’s dowry to Zhao Xinran was all of Xinpei’s shares and half of the Pei Group’s shares, you went crazy. You insisted on hiring a lawyer to transfer all the company shares and real estate Dad left you to her for free. That was clearly a sign of mental instability. I couldn’t let you make such an irreversible mistake while you were mentally unstable.”
“Finally, you’re a minor who hasn’t even graduated from high school. You’re not studying hard—what do you think you’re doing? Do you really believe that Zhao Xinran will look up to you, take pity on you, divorce Pei Hongwen, and marry you just because you’re a high school dropout clutching those so-called shares and properties? You’re far too naive, Si Maoyan. Everything I did back then was to help you. If I’d let you cause a scene in front of Zhao Xinnan and ruin her plans, she would have been even more ruthless than I was.” Si Jinghuan laughed bitterly in his rage—both for himself and for Si Maoyan’s foolish, childish behavior back then.
“Why do you think she’s still willing to sit down and have a meal with you in a civil manner? Isn’t it because you parted on good terms back then? If she knew how difficult you were to deal with, do you really think she’d even give you the time of day?” As Si Jinghuan spoke, he saw guilt and helplessness flicker across his younger brother’s face, and his anger began to subside. After all, they were brothers.
Si Jinghuan patted Si Maoyan on the shoulder and finally softened his tone: “I’m your older brother—how could I ever harm you?”
“The way you were back then really scared both your older brother and Mom. Listen to me—go home. This place is simply unfit for human habitation.”
Si Maoyan lowered his head and averted his eyes. He wanted to argue, but he vaguely remembered that those were indeed things he had done. He remained silent for a long time, and after a while, managed to squeeze out only one sentence: “Then why won’t you let me go back to China now? I’ve already graduated from college, yet you still have Uncle Liu watching over me every day. My classmates all think I’m some kind of royal prince, with bodyguards by my side.”
“Of course—we’re afraid you’ll rush back to China to hand over shares and houses to Zhao Xinran again…”
“You didn’t make Uncle Liu watch over you. He’s devoted his whole life to the Si family and never had a chance to travel abroad. I just thought that since you were going overseas to study, it would be a good opportunity for Uncle Liu to see the world, too.” ” As he spoke, Si Jinghuan rolled his eyes, looking as though he was disappointed in his younger brother: “I told you back then to study screenwriting—come back to China, join our family company, and make movies and TV shows. It would’ve been easy. But no, you had to be a rebel and switch your major to industrial design. With that major of yours, do you really think any company will hire you when you graduate and come back? “I told you to stay abroad for the sake of your future career.”
“…That’s none of your business. I can find a job on my own.” Si Maoyan pressed his lips together. Every word his older brother spoke—both explicitly and between the lines—seemed to be for his own good, making it look as though he was the one being ungrateful.
But could all those long days and nights spent waiting abroad all these years really be brushed aside so casually?
If he truly had his best interests at heart, as he claimed, why couldn’t he have let him study in China?
Si Maoyan felt a surge of pent-up frustration; he had to get it off his chest, so he asked bluntly, “Then why didn’t you let me study in China?”
“If you’d studied in China, would you have been able to settle down and focus on your studies—to get into a decent university? And once you got in, would you have been able to resist going after… …pursue Zhao Xinran? She’s a married woman. As a college student, if you pursue her and destroy her family, are you going to ruin her—or ruin yourself?” Si Jinghuan sighed. “I was your age once, too, so I naturally understand how young people feel—impulsive and passionate, unable to control their emotions. But Maoyan, what’s too rigid is prone to breaking. If you don’t control yourself, you’ll only end up burning yourself—harming both her and yourself.”
“You and Zhao Xinran aren’t a good match; you’re no match for her. Listen to your older brother: let it go. Let go of this hopeless one-sided crush and focus on living your own life. You’re still young—there are plenty of girls out there you could like. Why insist on hanging your hopes on just this one? ”Even Pei Hongwen hadn’t managed to warm her heart in ten years—how could his younger brother possibly succeed?
In his opinion, that woman, Zhao Xinran, had no heart and certainly no capacity to love.
Whether it was Pei Hongwen or his younger brother, any man by her side would only become a stepping stone on her path to success.
A terrifying woman.
Back then, he’d almost fallen for her himself…
“No way.” Si Maoyan shook his head firmly. “I can’t let her go. Brother, I’ll be honest with you—I came back to China just for Zhao Xinran. No one can stop me, not even you or Mom.”
“I figured as much…” Si Jinghuan gave a wry smile. The moment he heard over the phone that his younger brother had run off, he knew his brother had come back to China to be a homewrecker.
No, third wheel wasn’t the right term anymore—Zhao Xinran was already divorced.
It seemed Si Maoyan didn’t know that yet, and Si Jinghuan certainly wasn’t going to be so kind as to rush to tell him.
He was getting old; he’d tried every possible argument, good and bad, but his younger brother remained unmoved. Si Jinghuan was getting annoyed. He thought to himself, “I might as well just listen to Mom’s advice. Kids and grandkids have their own destinies; I’ll just enjoy my own life regardless of what happens to them.”
When the time comes and Si Maoyan is being led around by the nose by Zhao Xinran—cheated out of his money and his heart, left with nothing—then his younger brother will realize that he was only looking out for him.
Tsk, that woman Zhao Xinran really is a disaster!
If only he’d agreed to her demands back then, this whole mess could’ve been settled six years ago, and things wouldn’t have turned into the tangled web they are now.
Besides, judging by the way Pei Hongwen was acting, he’d probably regret the divorce in a few days and start begging Zhao Xinran to take him back.
That’s when the real drama would begin.
If these two weren’t his younger brother and his best friend, he’d be more than happy to sit back and watch the show. He might even team up with Zhao Xinran to turn this melodramatic love triangle into a screenplay and make it into a movie—who knows, it might even launch the careers of a few rising stars.
“Bro, you’re always stopping me from pursuing Zhao Xinran. Is it because of Pei Hongwen? He’s your friend, so you’re taking his side—that’s why you keep holding me back, right?” Si Maoyan looked at his older brother with a look of sudden realization, determined to get to the bottom of it.
“Si Maoyan, why would you think that? You’re my own flesh-and-blood younger brother! Fine… Since you’re so set on this, I’m not going to interfere anymore. Do whatever you want. But you absolutely cannot stay here any longer—go home right now. Mom heard you’ve returned to the country and has been pestering me since early this morning to bring you back. No matter how much you resent me, you can’t just not go home.”
“Got it. I’ll go back after my interviews next week.” Hearing his brother say he wouldn’t interfere anymore, Si Maoyan’s eyes darted about, then he looked at his brother ingratiatingly and held out his hand: “Bro, I remember I have a place around here. Could you give me the keys? It’ll be more convenient for me to get to work.”
“Working around here? Are you going to Xinpei?”
“Yeah.”
“Did Zhao Xinran pull some strings to get you in there to wait on her?” Si Jinghuan eyed his younger brother suspiciously, his expression gradually turning serious.
“No, she doesn’t know I’m interviewing at Xinpei—I decided to go on my own. “Sigh, bro, didn’t you say you weren’t going to meddle anymore?”
“I’m really at my wits’ end. What kind of karma did I accumulate in my past life to end up as your older brother in this one?”
“Bro, just give them to me. And my card, too—could you please lower the monthly spending limit? I need money for work and living expenses.”
“Hmph. So now you’re thinking of your big brother? Who was it just a moment ago telling me not to meddle in your affairs?” Si Jinghuan snorted derisively, wishing he could turn on his heel and walk out right then and there. But after all, this was the younger brother he’d watched grow up—he just couldn’t bring himself to be that harsh: “I turned it off the day before yesterday, as soon as I found out you were coming back to the country.”
“Really? Bro, you’re the best.”
“Come on, follow me downstairs. We’re going home today. The day after tomorrow morning, I’ll have the driver take you to Xinpei for your interview.” Si Jinghuan tugged at his younger brother’s shirt, ready to leave. He didn’t want to spend another moment in this run-down place Si Maoyan had rented; he felt like if he stood there any longer, mold would take over his entire lungs.
“Hey, bro. Wait—my bag’s still on the bed.”
“Hurry up. As soon as we get back, throw away that cheap bag you bought. It looks like junk just by looking at it.”
“No way. I picked this out specifically as a couple’s set.”
“…How on earth did Mom give birth to someone as love-struck as you?” If he’d known his younger brother would turn out like this, he should’ve just strangled him back then. “And by the way, Si Maoyan, I’m warning you: the house and the shares are Dad’s inheritance for you. You’re not allowed to give them to that woman.”
“Oh, come on, bro. Just leave me alone. Focus on running your company. Your little brother here is off to a medical company to contribute to society.”
“…I hope you’re really contributing to society, and not just contributing to Zhao Xinran for nothing.” Si Jinghuan was speechless, so angry that he didn’t speak to his younger brother for the rest of the ride.
Author’s Note:
Si “Little Puppy” Mao: “Bro, I love her.”