Xu Mother nodded, then pointed toward the kitchen, “There is still porridge cooking in the pot. Mother doesn’t know if Jiashi has eaten yet, or should Mother go dish some up right now?” As she finished speaking, a chilly night breeze blew past, causing a tickle in her throat, and she burst into a fit of violent coughing.
Xu Wen: “It’s alright, Mother, I’ll handle it. Rest in peace and take good care of your health, okay?”
After his repeated urging, Xu Mother finally returned to her room, glancing back every few steps. She also had two people to look after around the clock, so in truth, she had never truly gotten any rest.
Only after Xu Mother returned to her room did Xu Wen look toward the ajar bedroom door, clenching his fists. The very thought that there had never been any plot involving the male protagonist suffering amnesia in the original book, yet it had happened because of his younger brother, filled him with anxiety.
He had disrupted the plot; wouldn’t the heavens strike him down with lightning? Would he end up messing up the male protagonist’s grand master plan, and when the male protagonist eventually recovered his memories, would his family really end up on a blacklist?
No matter how Xu Wen turned it over in his mind, he had no choice but to face this cruel reality.
He stepped forward and pushed the door open in one go, as though opening Pandora’s box, unsure whether an angel or a demon would spring out from within.
However, the bed was completely empty, save for the tossed-aside, bundled-up blankets.
The room was small, so Xu Wen could spot a dark shadow curled up into a ball underneath the bed.
Hearing the commotion of the door being pushed open, the shadow seemed to even tremble slightly.
Finding it somewhat hard to believe, Xu Wen tentatively called out, “Hey? What are you hiding under there for?”
The shadow froze. Even though the room was lit only by a dim oil lamp, Xu Wen could clearly see the exact moment that figure stiffened.
Xu Wen walked forward cautiously two steps.
Right at that moment, the shadow moved.
His movements were exceptionally swift, darting out from under the bed like a bolt of lightning, and then like a small cannon barrel he crashed straight into Xu Wen’s embrace with a loud thump.
The fabric around Xu Wen’s waist was tightly grabbed by someone, and the youth in his arms let out a low, animal-like whimpering sound,
“Older brother…”
Xu Wen was dumbfounded. His entire body stiffened, and his hands hung awkwardly in mid-air, frozen in place to avoid touching the youth.
How did the male protagonist suddenly start calling him older brother the moment they met?
Thinking this, he voiced the question aloud.
However, the amnesiac individual was unable to provide him with an answer. Hearing his denial, the youth only clutched the fabric in his hands even tighter, terrified of being discarded by the person in front of him, his voice choking and hoarse, “Older brother, don’t leave me behind…”
Was he going to cry?
Facing a formidable enemy, Xu Wen clamped his hand around the other’s chin, forcing him to lift his head up. The very second his eyes met the youth’s face, his breath hitched.
The youth’s eye sockets were red, grievances swirling and flickering within the depths of his eyes, making him look exceptionally pitiful.
This tear-stained, pear-blossoms-bathed-in-rain scene caused a lump to form in Xu Wen’s throat, and his Adam’s apple rolled gently.
His expression abruptly darkened as he tore the youth away from his embrace, “Let’s have a meeting!”
Xu Wen sat face-to-face with the amnesiac male protagonist on the hard wooden bed, his expression solemn, scrutinizing the male protagonist before him with a sharp, terrifying gaze.
Meanwhile, the youth merely hugged his blanket, looking at him with a muddled, innocent expression, breaking into innocent and radiant smiles at Xu Wen every now and then.
The vibe felt entirely different…
Xu Wen furrowed his brows slightly in thought. During the daytime, the male protagonist had worn an expression full of deep-seated grievances and hostility toward him, and an intense aura of murderous intent had swirled around him; his eyes would dart around restlessly, making it clear at a glance that he was scheming something in his heart.
But now, it was completely different!
Leaving aside the silly manner in which the male protagonist had just hugged him and called him older brother, just looking at that soft, delicate face crying like a stained kitten, with clear eyes resembling those of a pure youth, he looked entirely like an untainted, delicate, and pampered young master.
“Older brother…” Seeing Xu Wen’s expression grow increasingly dark, the youth unconsciously murmured out loud.
“Stop right there, don’t call me brother yet.” Xu Wen pulled a metro-old-man-looking-at-phone expression, feeling goosebumps break out all over his body, “I ask and you answer, understand?”
“Oh.”
“What is your name?”
“Name? Brother…” The youth suddenly covered his mouth, blinked a couple of times, and continued, “My name is Xiao Yu, a little fish swimming freely back and forth in the water!”
The heart that Xu Wen had just lifted dropped right back down. He had actually thought the male protagonist still had his memories at this moment and knew there was a character for “Yu” in his name.
Turns out it was just the “yu” of braised fish; it was probably a childhood nickname people used to call him…
Xu Wen continued to ask, “What do you remember right now?”
“Remember what, what do I need to remember? Brother, Xiao Yu doesn’t remember anything at all, my mind is completely blank, and I can’t recall a single thing clearly.” The youth blankly repeated, trying his best to recall, but a sharp wave of pain shot through his head, and he immediately covered his head in fright, frantically calling out to the person he considered most trustworthy.
“Alright, alright, don’t think about it if you can’t remember.”
Xu Wen didn’t force him. Anyway, amnesia in the male protagonist was generally temporary, so he didn’t need to be in such a rush, and instead asked about something else, “Then why did you call me older brother?”
“An older brother is an older brother, I don’t understand.” The youth looked bewildered, then his eyes suddenly lit up, “I remember!”
Xu Wen’s heart gave a massive jolt.
“I remember older brother helping me wipe my hands! I know, only family members would do that, so you are my older brother! Brother, am I right or wrong?”
Question: How would you feel if the unhinged, all-slaughtering grand protagonist of the novel started acting cute and begging for your praise right in front of you?
Xu Wen: Thanks for the invite, my heart has already stopped, emergency medical procedures can now commence.
Through this conversation, Xu Wen was able to roughly figure out the male protagonist’s current condition: brain trauma had led to confusion in his memories, and the male protagonist had likely projected his experience with an actual brother onto him.
Although Xu Wen remembered that those imperial princes in the royal family had all ultimately become souls under the male protagonist’s blade, it did not rule out the possibility that the male protagonist might have called someone else “brother” rather than a biological sibling.
Or perhaps some hidden plot lines he wasn’t aware of.
Anyway, this wasn’t important.
“Wait, wait, wait, how old are you right now?” The male protagonist abruptly turning into a sweet little thing was no less terrifying than a muscular hunk transforming into a coquettish spoiled brat.
“Seventeen years old, older brother. Did you even forget Xiao Yu’s age? How could you forget…”
The youth muttered to himself, and the gaze landing on Xu Wen sent a chill running down Xu Wen’s spine.
“It’s not that I forgot your age, I’m not your brother at all! If I were your brother, then do you know how old I am? Do you know my name?”
The youth’s expression froze.
“See, you don’t know a thing. The reality is that I ran into you injured at the bottom of the cliff and then brought you home to save you. As for that scene in your head where I helped you wipe your hands, I was simply taking care of a patient.”
Xu Wen seized the opportunity to quickly distance himself from the male protagonist, terrified that the male protagonist would think he was taking advantage of him once he recovered his memories.