Lu Yingchi hummed in acknowledgement, then turned to ask, “Brother Jian, where is your home?”
Jian Song’s breathing hitched. After a few seconds of silence, he replied in a relaxed, nonchalant tone, “My home? My home is just like everyone else’s; nothing special about it.”
Lu Yingchi noticed that Jian Song did not want to continue this topic, so he dropped it.
The path the three of them took home made Lu Yingchi’s house the farthest. When they reached an intersection, Jian Song stopped and waved goodbye to Lu Yingchi. “Brother Jian is home. Bye.”
Lu Yingchi waved back, watching Jian Song walk into the small alleyway until he disappeared from sight. Thinking of the fleeting look of loneliness on Jian Song’s face just moments ago, Lu Yingchi shifted his weight and followed him.
Jian Song did not notice Lu Yingchi trailing him.
Lu Yingchi had expected Jian Song to live in a shabby area, but that was not the case. After passing through the small alley, he found himself in a large villa district. Lu Yingchi stared at the familiar buildings, stunned. Is this not the neighborhood we just moved into?
He watched Jian Song walk around the park and stop in front of a massive villa. People who lived in this residential area were either wealthy or powerful. Lu Yingchi squinted as he watched Jian Song raise his hand to knock on the door. He waited for at least three or four minutes before someone finally opened the door for him.
The locks in this community were usually fingerprint, facial recognition, or at the very least, a code. Yet, Jian Song had nothing. He had to wait for someone to open the door to his own home.
Lu Yingchi stood behind a large tree not far away, watching Jian Song enter the house. Five or six minutes later, the light in a small window on the third floor turned on. Lu Yingchi frowned. If the layouts of these villas were similar, that room should be a storage room. He stood there for a while, thinking that perhaps the layout of Jian Song’s house was different. Surely no one would make their child live in a storage room in a house this big.
Lu Yingchi stomped his feet to wake them up from the numbness and left.
His own home was in the detached villa district behind Jian Song’s house. That area could not be bought with money alone; the entire plot, including the artificial hill park and the land itself, belonged to Lu Yingchi’s family.
Jian Song, who had just been in Lu Yingchi’s thoughts, entered his room and dropped his school bag on the nightstand. The room was small, and the stickers on the wall that could not be scrubbed off revealed that it had once been a storage room. However, Jian Song had cleaned up the messy space and turned it into a tidy room. It was sparsely furnished: a bed, a desk by the window, and a stool. Jian Song did not have many clothes; they were all piled under the bed because the room was too small for a wardrobe.
Jian Song had only just sat on the bed to rest when a knock came at the door. At the sound, Jian Song’s body stiffened reflexively. A soft, gentle voice came from outside: “Songsong, come out. Your father has something to tell you.”
Jian Song pressed his lips together. What must come, will come. He stood up, opened the door, and walked out, eyes lowered. “Dad.”
The slender, gentle Omega standing before him gave a soft smile. “Oh, your father knows about what happened. When you apologize later, make sure your attitude is good. Do not make him angry again.”
Jian Song did not speak; he stood silently in place.
The Omega sighed helplessly. “Your brother did not do well on his exams, and he was already angry. Do not add fuel to the fire. Do not make Dad sad, okay, Songsong?”
Jian Song glanced up at the petite Omega, who looked as if a gust of wind could blow him away. In the end, Jian Song surrendered. He nodded and walked downstairs in silence.
At the dining table, Lu Xing was eating. Opposite him sat Jian Song’s stepfather, Lu Jian’an. Seeing Jian Song approach, Lu Jian’an set down his chopsticks and said in a flat voice, “Come over. Kneel.”
Hearing this, Jian Song glanced at his father, who gave him a gentle smile and mouthed the words: Do not resist.
Jian Song’s spine, which had been straight, suddenly slumped. He walked over and knelt without a word.
Lu Jian’an could not bear to hit Lu Xing, as Lu Xing was his biological son, so he used any excuse to take out his frustrations on Jian Song. Jian Song was Ming An’s son; Ming An had brought Jian Song along when he married Lu Jian’an. To keep his place in this home, Ming An had lowered his head and conceded everything, treating Lu Xing a thousand times better than he treated Jian Song.
The heavy wooden board struck Jian Song’s back. Lu Jian’an put significant strength into every blow. No one in the room dared to make a sound. Even Jian Song bit his lip tightly and did not make a peep.
Lu Xing continued to eat his meal, as if everything happening had nothing to do with him. Ming An listened to the sound of the board hitting flesh, his eyelashes trembling. He picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Lu Xing’s bowl. “Xiao Xing, try the red braised pork Dad made.”
Lu Xing lifted his eyelids to look at Jian Song’s back and said flatly, “Dad, stop hitting him. I will do better next time.”
Lu Jian’an stopped his hand, tilted his head to look at Lu Xing, and said nothing. He placed the board on the table. “Go back to your room.”
When Jian Song rose from the floor, he nearly collapsed and had to lean on a nearby chair to steady himself so he would not fall disgracefully. He did not look back at Lu Jian’an or the others, because he knew that even if he did, he would only see a scene of fatherly love and filial piety that had nothing to do with him. The moment his father had entered this family, he had ceased to be his father.
At the turn of the staircase, Jian Song heard voices from behind him.
Lu Jian’an said impatiently, “He is eighteen now. When are you going to make him leave?”
Ming An’s voice remained very light. “Soon. The day after tomorrow, at the latest.”
Lu Jian’an scoffed. “Better be quick. You should never have brought this dead weight along when you married into this family. Get him out of here now.”
“Okay, honey, do not be angry. Try the soup I boiled.”
“Mm, the taste is not bad. Xiao Xing, eat more. Your father’s cooking is quite good.”
“Okay, thank you, Dad.”
“Oh, no problem.”
Jian Song did not want to hear any more of their conversation. He had been hit so many times that his eyes had not even turned red. But listening to those words now, tears blurred his vision. Jian Song reached up to wipe them away, touching a wound on his face, which only made the tears flow more freely. Now, every time he moved his arm, his back burned with intense pain.
Back in his room, Jian Song did not dare to lie down; he could only sprawl on the bed. Thinking of the words he had just heard, Jian Song sniffled. Forget it. I have wanted to leave for a long time anyway. He could just live in the dormitory; the school had single rooms.
Yet, a sense of abandonment rose from the bottom of Jian Song’s heart. He had been here with Ming An since he was seven. Lu Jian’an had never liked him, always viewing him as a parasite eating their food and using their things. But Jian Song never had; every cent Jian Song had spent since growing up had come from his father’s pension. He did not owe the Lu family anything. But Lu Jian’an insisted that Jian Song owed them.
When Lu Jian’an first hit Jian Song, Ming An would try to block it or intervene, but as the occurrences became more frequent, Ming An chose to pretend he did not see. Jian Song had thought about resisting, but Ming An would always tell him to endure it a little longer, saying they were living under someone else’s roof and not to make Dad sad. Jian Song had endured it time and time again for Ming An’s sake.
And now, after all that endurance, he was about to be kicked out.
Jian Song gave a self deprecating laugh and buried his face in his pillow.
Caught up in his emotions, Jian Song did not notice Lu Xing’s arrival. But he smelled the scent of pheromones. He turned abruptly to look at Lu Xing. “Why are you here?”
Lu Xing held up the medicine in his hand, the intention obvious. “Who was the one who walked home with you earlier?”
Jian Song looked at Lu Xing with vigilance and disgust. “What does that have to do with you?”
Lu Xing let out a soft laugh. “It seems you have added a newcomer between you and Jiang Qi. Songsong, I can tolerate Jiang Qi, but that does not mean I can tolerate others.”
Jian Song endured the pain in his back and sat up. His originally sweet and soft chocolate pheromones turned sharp and aggressive. “Get out! Who I walk with has nothing to do with you!”
Feeling Jian Song’s genuine resistance, Lu Xing placed the medicine on Jian Song’s table. “Songsong, do not make Brother angry. You know, ever since you were a child, you have belonged to Brother.”