Bai Huan did not go in immediately. He remained standing where he was, his expression clouded with confusion.
"Come in," Bai Mingzhen repeated.
Bai Huan voiced the question troubling him. "Didn't you say you didn't welcome anyone into your home? Whenever Bai Xing and I came to see you before, we could only wait outside."
"Things are different now," Bai Mingzhen said. "You've already moved out of the Bai family home."
"What does that mean?"
"I just don't welcome people from the Bai family. Come in."
Bai Huan finally understood what Bai Mingzhen meant and stepped inside. He hadn't expected that being reduced to the status of a false young master would come with such a benefit—he could finally enter his brother's home.
However, Bai Mingzhen's residence was quite different from what he had imagined.
Take the Bai family's ancestral residence, for example. It had a classical, dignified style, with every corner of the house meticulously finished and carvings charged for by the millimeter. The flowers in the garden had to be specially cultivated varieties, and the trees had to be at least a hundred years old. Walking inside felt like entering a traditional Chinese courtyard.
Then there was Banchun Manor, where he had grown up, which was practically a European palace. He had also visited Lu Hu'an and the others' homes, where collectibles worth millions or even tens of millions were embedded in the walls. Every time someone passed them, the owners would launch into a story about their history.
But Bai Mingzhen's house wasn't nearly so extravagant.
It was decorated in the Bauhaus style, something Bai Huan had only ever skimmed a few pages about in an introductory book. There were cold steel tubes and leather, bright yet warm splashes of red, blue, and yellow, and several prints displayed as decoration rather than collectibles.
It wasn't quite what Bai Huan had imagined. It didn't look so cold and austere, nor did it look particularly "expensive."
But Bai Mingzhen's very next sentence made a joke of that impression.
"The sofas and chairs are collectible pieces you can't buy on the market. Take a shower before sitting on them."
"...I know!"
The house was spacious, and the upper and lower floors shared a consistent style. Bai Huan followed Bai Mingzhen up to the second floor and asked why he hadn't installed an elevator.
"Waste of space."
"What about when you get old and your knees give out? Are you still going to climb stairs?"
"I'll worry about that when I'm old."
On the second floor was an enormous glass wall that could rotate and slide back and forth, making the interior much brighter. Bai Huan found it rather novel and took a few photographs nearby.
Bai Mingzhen handed him some clean clothes.
"Wear your own underwear. I don't have your size."
"Of course. It's not like I climbed a tree wearing nothing but a pair of underwear."
Bai Huan took the clothes and followed his brother's directions into the bathroom.
There was a large, square bathtub inside. It had been ages since he'd taken a bath, and the sight made him long for one. In fact, he had absolutely no intention of standing on ceremony. He stripped himself naked in no time, took a quick shower, then climbed into the bathtub to soak.
The sensation of warm water enveloping his entire body was wonderfully comfortable. Bai Huan ought to have been growing drowsy, but the thought that he was using the very bathtub his brother had used made him so excited that he couldn't settle down. He splashed the water a few times, slowly slid beneath the surface, then wriggled back up.
Snow-white bubbles clustered around the boy's head and face like snowflakes.
Feeling thoroughly satisfied, he thought: Fuck that real young master. Whoever wants to be the real young master can have it. All he wants is for Bai Mingzhen to be his brother.
"Bai Mingzhen!" he called.
No one answered. Only his echo came back to him.
"Brother!"
Bai Huan waited a while before finally hearing a response.
"I want some water."
"Come out and pour yourself some."
"I've been running around outside all morning. I want some now."
The moment Bai Mingzhen heard him asking for water, he guessed that Bai Huan had probably taken it upon himself to turn a shower into a bath. He couldn't be bothered to say anything more. It wouldn't do any good anyway.
The bathroom window was open, and the temperature was regulated. Fresh air circulated constantly, replacing the old air, so there was no steam lingering in the room.
Thus, when Bai Mingzhen entered carrying a glass of water, what he saw was Bai Huan's shoulders rising above the surface like two lily petals.
The boy was gazing out the window. Hearing the door, he turned his head. His face was damp, and droplets rolled down his cheeks like water sliding off a freshly washed green apple.
How lovely.
What Bai Mingzhen meant was that youth was truly a wonderful thing.
He handed Bai Huan the glass and watched him finish drinking.
"Did you come running over here for something?"
Bai Huan rolled his eyes at him.
"Can't you wait until I've finished my bath before we talk?"
"No."
Bai Mingzhen sat down on the edge of the bathtub.
"Fine."
When you were under someone else's roof, you had no choice but to bow your head.
Bai Huan reluctantly sat upright, and two not-yet-ripe cherries emerged above the water.
Bai Mingzhen glanced at them once. Twice. Three times.
He pushed his glasses up his nose.
When Bai Huan was little, he used to ask his brother to help wash his bottom.
Would the Bai Huan of today still do that?
After a long moment, a sudden splash of water flew out of the bathtub and struck Bai Mingzhen squarely in the face.
Bai Huan had decided to administer the punishment before conducting the interrogation.
He withdrew his hand.
"Did you go to Bai Chen's opening ceremony today?"
Bai Mingzhen removed his glasses, shook the water off them, and set them aside.
"Where did you see that?"
"One of my former classmates posted something on Moments. Your name was on the event program. Bai Chen was the student representative. With his grades, how could he possibly have gotten that position? You must have donated money to the school for him."
After presenting his analysis, Bai Huan spoke with absolute certainty.
"The program had your name on it."
Bai Huan was too indignant to let the matter go. Determined to get to the bottom of it, he sprang up from the bathtub like a carp leaping out of water, turned around, and draped himself over the edge to reach for his phone.
His brother was sitting right beside him but made no move to help. He merely watched.
Bai Huan unlocked his phone, tossed it to Bai Mingzhen, and lay back down.
Bai Mingzhen opened Moments and found the post.
His name was indeed on the program.
But this kind of school wasn't short of money in the first place.
It was true that he had donated money to schools before, but those had all been schools in impoverished regions. He had also specifically instructed them not to use his name unless necessary.
Bai Huan mistook Bai Mingzhen's silence for an inability to defend himself.
Anger and grievance arrived before his tears.
He shot to his feet so abruptly that Bai Mingzhen had no time to prepare himself. Turning his head, he found himself staring at the boy's little bird swinging back and forth.
"...Huh?!"
A vein practically throbbed visibly on Bai Mingzhen's forehead.
He wiped the water that had splashed onto his face and finally said, unable to endure any more, "Let me make a phone call and ask."
Bai Huan pouted and moved to the opposite end of the bathtub, as far away from Bai Mingzhen as possible.
Once seated, he folded his arms and refused to speak.
Bai Mingzhen went to retrieve his own phone.
When he returned, he made a call directly in front of Bai Huan. He asked a few somewhat vague questions about how the guest invitations had been arranged.
Then his gaze darkened.
He ended the call in a fairly normal tone, motioned for Bai Huan to remain silent, and dialed another number.
This time, he turned on the speakerphone.
"Oh my, has the sun risen in the west? What made you think of calling your mother today?"
Cheng Yueqing's voice was both sweet and sharp.
Bai Huan recognized it from the very first word.
He lowered his eyes, his entire demeanor growing considerably more dejected.
"Why is my name on the guest list for Bai Chen's school's opening ceremony?" Bai Mingzhen asked directly.
"Oh, you have the nerve to ask! Some time ago, Taimi got into trouble outside, and you cleaned up his mess for him. You spent quite a bit of money again, didn't you? Xiao Chen is your younger brother too. Why haven't I seen you come home to visit him even once, or have a meal with him? You're the one showing favoritism and making Xiao Chen feel hurt. Your father and I can only think of ways to help you two build a relationship!"
There was reproach in Cheng Yueqing's words, which only made her sound all the more self-righteous.
Listening to her, Bai Huan felt his heart clench.
They were a family now.
"Did Bai Chen tell you he was upset?"
Bai Mingzhen always knew how to get straight to the point.
Cheng Yueqing was silent for a moment.
When she spoke again, her tone had not changed.
"I'm his mother. Whether he's upset or not, I can tell just by looking at him. If you have time today to call me and argue about all this, you'd be better off driving to your younger brother's school and making an appearance."
"I don't have time."
Bai Mingzhen walked over to the bathtub and dipped a finger into the water to test its temperature.
It was getting a little cold.
He needed to end the call quickly, but there was still something he hadn't said.
"Taimi's school is holding its opening ceremony too. Aren't you going to go and see him?"
This time, Cheng Yueqing was silent for even longer.
When she finally spoke, she sounded as though she were crying.
"I was going to go. I'd even arranged my schedule for it. But I was afraid Xiao Chen would mind..."
"That's enough. I have something else to do."
Bai Mingzhen was looking at Bai Huan as he ended the call without another word.
Bai Huan was crying.
"The water's cold. Come out."
Bai Huan remained motionless.
"Are you talking about the person or the water?"
Bai Mingzhen simply pulled the plug and began draining the bathtub.
"Whichever you think."
With the water gone, it was rather awkward for Bai Huan to remain sitting in the tub, so he had no choice but to stand up.
He went over to the shower to rinse himself off, while Bai Mingzhen rolled up his sleeves and began scrubbing the bathtub.
"Aren't you going to call a housekeeper to do that?" Bai Huan asked, sniffling.
Water splashed and pattered around them.
"No need."
Bai Huan muttered something indistinct under his breath.
After a while, his sobbing grew louder.
"Madam Cheng just doesn't like me. She wants you to stay away from me too. Are you going to listen to her?"
Bai Mingzhen didn't like seeing him cry over things like this anymore.
He tossed aside the cleaning tools, turned off the shower, and picked up a towel.
Then he pulled Bai Huan in front of him and began performing the series of tasks an older brother used to be responsible for after his little brother finished bathing.
Bai Huan was accustomed to it.
Still crying, he obediently stood still without needing to be told.
"I never listened to her before, and I won't listen to her in the future. Taimi, you should have a little faith in me."
The towel was clearly soft, and it became even softer after getting wet.
Yet Bai Huan felt pain wherever it touched his skin.
His brother was rubbing too hard.
Was he angry?
"But you're a family. By blood, I'm not one of you."
Bai Huan tilted his shoulder and instinctively dodged the hand holding the towel.
When he met Bai Mingzhen's scrutinizing gaze, he said it hurt.
Bai Mingzhen clicked his tongue and had no choice but to lighten his touch.
"If I acknowledged that I was part of their family, you wouldn't be standing in my home right now."
"That's only because I was hanging from a tree. I was hurt, and you saw me."
"I could have taken you to the hospital. There was no need to bring you into my home."
"It was more convenient this way."
"Do I look like someone who's afraid of trouble?"
Bai Huan racked his brains, desperately searching for a flaw in his argument.
"They're trying to make you accept Bai Chen. One day, you'll treat Bai Chen the way you treat me, and then you'll treat me the way they treat me now."
Hearing such foolish words, Bai Mingzhen let out a helpless, derisive snort.
But it wasn't directed at Bai Huan.
It was directed at himself.
In the past, the possibility of being abandoned by his older brother would indeed have been terrifying enough for Bai Huan.
But now, how was Bai Mingzhen supposed to tell him that he no longer regarded him as merely a younger brother?
There was a very real possibility that the most romantic kind of love in the world had already become entangled with the affection he felt for his brother.
If he said something like that now, the child would probably be scared out of his mind.
"Nothing to say now, huh?"
Bai Huan sounded both smug and miserable.
Bai Mingzhen set the thoroughly soaked towel aside and picked up the clothes for Bai Huan to put on.
Only when Bai Huan began dressing did he finally answer his earlier words.
"Bai Chen is their child. He doesn't need my acceptance. Whether I accept him or not, he's still a member of the Bai family. But you're different. Without me, you have nothing."
Bai Huan's face grew hot.
"I have a dad and mom too."
"I'm not the same as them."
"They're closer to me. They gave birth to me."
A flicker of displeasure crossed Bai Mingzhen's eyes.
Even if he harbored more impure thoughts toward Bai Huan, familial affection was still familial affection. He had no intention of discarding that bond.
For that reason, he particularly disliked hearing anyone suggest that the bond between himself and his younger brother ranked below someone else's.
His voice grew a little colder, and he gave a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Do you want them the same way you want me?"
Bai Huan didn't understand at first.
But once he did, he knew there was no winning this argument.
He sighed.
"Fine. You win, okay?"
"Who's trying to win an argument with you?"
Bai Mingzhen gave him a light smack on the head.
"I just want you to remember that you don't need to keep coming up with every possible excuse to prove that I don't love you."
"Taimi, your brother loves you. In this world, the person Bai Mingzhen loves most is Bai Huan. That was never something you needed to doubt before, and it's not something you need to doubt now or ever again."