“I’ll be obedient.” Gui Wen subconsciously tried to pry Zong Xian’s arms away from around his neck.
Zong Xian clearly had no intention of hurting him, his thumb lingering on Gui Wen’s Adam’s apple, gently stroking it. “Remember what you promised me: stay here.”
His movements suddenly came to a halt. “Don’t go to the second floor. Understood?”
Zong Xian’s bedroom is on the second floor. If he hadn’t accidentally heard the servants talking about it, Gui Wen wouldn’t have known that Lu Yuteng was also arranged to live on the second floor.
The sky outside the window was so pitch black that not a single star was visible. Gui Wen tidied up his bed and prepared for sleep when Zong Xian pushed the door open without warning.
Seeing who it was, Gui Wen couldn’t help frowning. Why hadn’t he locked the door properly? “Brother Zong Xian?”
“Resting?” Zong Xian walked straight over and sat on the edge of Gui Wen’s bed. “Perfect, I’m tired too.”
Gui Wen wanted to ask if the other man should be appearing here at this hour, considering his fiancé also lived on the second floor.
Zong Xian didn’t give him the chance to ask. He flipped open the quilt, slid straight into bed, and raised a hand to click off the bedside lamp, plunging the surroundings into pitch darkness where you couldn’t see your own hand.
“Good night.” Just like back at the suburban cottage in another city, Zong Xian wrapped his arm securely around Gui Wen’s waist.
Gui Wen struggled a little bit in his embrace. “Brother, you’re getting engaged. You should go back upstairs to keep Yuteng company.”
“You know I’m your brother?” Zong Xian chuckled softly, the back of his hand pressing against Gui Wen’s cheek. “Can’t I be a bit closer to my younger brother?”
Gui Wen couldn’t find words to refute him and had no choice but to let Zong Xian hold him in his arms, like a child clutching a giant stuffed doll.
Back in the suburbs, Gui Wen had already grown used to Zong Xian invading his bed, so having someone else there didn’t affect his sleep at all. He slept soundly until bright daylight.
Zong Xian was no longer by his side. Gui Wen naturally lifted the quilt and got out of bed, only to suddenly discover a thin silver chain around his left ankle.
He bent down to touch it and realized a diamond was dangling from the chain, sparkling brilliantly under the light pouring through the window.
“Awake?” When Zong Xian returned to the room, he was holding a bowl of fragrant abalone noodles.
He picked up a mouthful with his chopsticks and fed it to Gui Wen’s mouth. The latter obediently opened up and ate it. “The diamond on my ankle, is it yours?”
“A gift I bought for you.” Zong Xian raised a hand to wipe away a stray drop of soup from the corner of Gui Wen’s mouth. “This month’s allowance has been deposited into your card.”
Gui Wen subconsciously reached for his phone. A notification showed that the bank card had been credited, followed by a string of zeros so long he couldn’t count them at a glance. “It’s too much.”
“Didn’t you like it?” Zong Xian fed him a second mouthful of noodles.
Gui Wen attempted to take the bowl from Zong Xian’s hands to eat by himself, but not only could he not match the other man’s strength, he also carelessly spilled some noodle soup onto his pajama pants.
“Change them.” With a quick reaction, Zong Xian reached out to pull at the waistband of Gui Wen’s pajamas. Gui Wen tried to block his movement, but the pants had already been pulled down, exposing two fair, slender legs right before Zong Xian’s eyes.
Zong Xian’s fingers brushed against the exact spot on Gui Wen’s thigh where the hot soup had just spilled.
An indescribable itch spread from his thigh.
Gui Wen couldn’t help shivering and tried to pull away from Zong Xian’s hand, only to be pressed down even more firmly. “Are you burned?”
“I’m fine.” Gui Wen deliberately avoided Zong Xian’s gaze.
As if deliberately observing his reaction, Zong Xian kept his eyes fixed on Gui Wen’s cheek, his fingertips already touching the edge of the fabric. “Do you always wear black?”
“No, not really.” Gui Wen instinctively retreated backward. “I just wear whatever.”
Zong Xian’s fingers lingered for a long while before he finally brought himself to pull them back.
Gui Wen subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
The man claiming to be his older brother opened the wardrobe, picked out a set of clothes for Gui Wen, and unbuttoned his shirt himself to change him.
Even though Gui Wen always struggled disobediently, Zong Xian managed to accomplish what he set out to do, however clumsily.
He liked changing his younger brother’s clothes; it made him feel as though he were controlling the other person through daily routine.
Zong Xian gathered Gui Wen’s hair up with a hair tie and finally placed a set of car keys into Gui Wen’s palm. “Go out for a spin.”
“I’m driving?” Gui Wen was startled.
“Right.” Zong Xian grabbed Gui Wen’s wrist and forcefully pulled him toward the doorway. “Drive your new car.”
A brand-new black luxury car had clearly been added to the villa’s private parking lot. Gui Wen pressed the car keys in his hand and then settled into the driver’s seat. “I haven’t driven in a long time.”
“I’m not afraid of dying.” Zong Xian suddenly chuckled.
Gui Wen wanted to say that he was actually afraid of dying, but he swallowed the words back. The car’s navigation system had a destination preset. The temporary driver looked at Zong Xian in the passenger seat, realizing everything was completely under the latter’s control; the man didn’t look surprised at all. “This place is where I want to take you.”
His gaze traced across Gui Wen’s profile. “Is there anywhere else you want to go? I’ll accompany you right now.”
Gui Wen didn’t have the luxury of leisure and simply followed the navigation toward the destination Zong Xian had set, soon catching sight of the sea shimmering in the morning light from afar.
He parked safely ahead of time, and seeing Gui Wen’s flustered expression, Zong Xian couldn’t help finding it amusing. “Worried that I’ll step on the gas pedal and drive you straight into the ocean?”
Gui Wen pressed his lips together, not refuting Zong Xian’s speculation.
“Don’t be afraid.” Zong Xian got out of the car, and Gui Wen followed closely behind him all the way to the high observation deck by the coast.
Zong Xian adjusted the telescope and beckoned to Gui Wen.
He stepped close to Zong Xian’s side.
Through the telescope was an offshore island, densely covered with lush green trees, its coastline being relentlessly battered by sea waves.
“Do you like this island?”
Zong Xian’s voice rang out unceremoniously by his ear. Gui Wen pulled his gaze away from the telescope. “It’s very pretty.”
“I’ll have it put under your name.” Zong Xian raised a hand to touch Gui Wen’s face.
Gui Wen’s movements paused visibly. “You’re going to buy this island?”
“Didn’t you like it?” Zong Xian closed in on him by a step.
“Just because I like it doesn’t mean I have to buy it. It’s already great just looking at it like this.” Gui Wen looked somewhat distressed. “Brother Zong Xian, you bought diamonds, a car, and you’re giving me way too much living allowance. Don’t spend so much money.”
Before he could finish the rest of his sentence, Zong Xian uncontrollably reached out and pressed down on Gui Wen’s shoulders, forcing his back against the railing of the observation deck by sheer external force.
“Wasn’t it you who said you liked money?” Zong Xian’s face was practically inches from his. “You don’t like my money?”
Gui Wen hurriedly avoided the other’s intensely oppressive gaze. “Let me go first.”
“You were the one who provoked me first, Yan Guanbai.” As if he couldn’t hear Gui Wen’s plea, Zong Xian pinched Gui Wen’s chin on his own accord, forcing him to look up. “What on earth do you want?”
Gui Wen winced in pain, unable to stop himself from frowning deeply.
Zong Xian seemed to have completely lost his patience with Gui Wen. He used his fingers to pry open the other’s lips by force.
Gui Wen was forced to hold Zong Xian’s fingertips in his mouth for a moment before the man pulled them out, his gaze sharp enough to bore a hole through him. “Speak.”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Zong Xian applied sudden pressure with his hand. “Never thought about the consequences? You just like playing with people?”
Gui Wen’s brain short-circuited completely, leaving him with no choice but to go along with Zong Xian’s narrative. “Fine, so what if I did?”
“I see.”
Zong Xian smiled and released his grip, but the smile at the corner of his mouth clearly held no pleasant intent.
In the end, Gui Wen was practically thrown back into the car by Zong Xian. Zong Xian took over the driving, and they returned to the villa in absolute silence.
The gifts weren’t taken back, and in the end, Zong Xian didn’t buy that island either.
Gui Wen didn’t see Zong Xian for several entire days.
The white cat was temporarily boarded at a pet store, and staying alone in the empty room for too long lost all meaning. Gui Wen pushed the door open and stepped outside, just in time to run into a servant passing by with a cup of coffee.
Gui Wen instinctively stopped her. “Who is that coffee for?”
Hearing that it was for the young master Zong, Gui Wen held out his hand to the servant. “Give it to me. Where is he?”
The servant informed him that Zong Xian was in the second-floor study, so Gui Wen took the elevator upstairs.
He didn’t frequent the second floor. Every floor had all the living quarters necessary for daily life, and unless necessary, people generally stayed within their designated floors.
Holding the coffee, Gui Wen tried to find the direction of the study. Just as he turned a corner along the hallway, he happened to spot Zong Xian standing right by the bend.
Before he could approach, Gui Wen’s gaze shifted to the side, looking past Zong Xian’s back to find Lu Yuteng leaning right into the other’s arms.
Gui Wen glanced down at the coffee in his cup, turned around, and retraced his steps back to the elevator lobby.
In truth, he also wanted to ask: what exactly was it that Zong Xian wanted?
Gui Wen wanted to know whether what he held in his hands was intuition or mere hallucination.
He drank the coffee; it had already grown somewhat cold, and the taste was far from good. He set the empty cup down in the kitchen and unintentionally overheard servants washing dishes whispering to each other.
“I heard Mr. Zong is taking Madam Zong abroad to see a doctor.”
“Is Madam Zong really not doing well?”
“If she were fine, they wouldn’t be going abroad, right? I was hired by Madam Zong, I hope she’ll be okay.”
Gui Wen’s movements involuntarily paused. In the original novel, the engagement ceremony between Zong Xian and Lu Yuteng went off without a hitch, unpostponed, with all relatives attending the venue.
The Zong parents shouldn’t have chosen to go abroad right before the two got engaged.
It wasn’t until he saw Madam Zong in the villa’s backyard that he got confirmation. The woman was sitting on a bench, waving to him.
“Guanbai.” His adoptive mother placed the flower crown she had just woven onto Gui Wen’s wrist. “Your uncle and I are going away for a while.”
“Will it be a long time?”
“Maybe a long time, maybe we’ll be back soon, but we will definitely see each other again.”
Gui Wen grasped his adoptive mother’s hand. “Auntie, is there something you’re keeping from me?”
Madam Zong’s movements visibly faltered, but she quickly returned to normal. “Don’t think too much about it.”
“But isn’t Brother Zong Xian getting engaged soon?”
“Perhaps it will be postponed. Your brother is very sensible; he’ll understand.” Madam Zong stroked Gui Wen’s hair.
Gui Wen couldn’t comprehend variables that went beyond the original novel. He tried to get more information from Mr. Zong, but the man was shrewder than him, and not a single useful half-sentence could be squeezed out.
Before one rope was untied, Gui Wen suddenly found himself forced to grasp another.
Zong Xian was likewise forced to prepare for a trip abroad.