ATIBESLM 35

“You… what do you mean?” Lin Chudong’s mind was seized by a sudden roaring sound. His questioning was unconscious.

Xia Huan smiled. “Nothing much, just the literal meaning.”

After saying this, Xia Huan gently slid the cigarette pack out of Lin Chudong’s hand. He lowered his head to pick one out and held it between his lips. The orange-red glow of the lighter reflected on his face, revealing an expression as obscure as fog, impossible to read clearly.

Lin Chudong stared in a daze, his palms ice-cold.

Xia Huan felt the tobacco irritate his throat. He was a strange person; he could remember things that had happened and things he had seen with perfect clarity. If he wanted to remember something, he could never forget it for a lifetime.

For example, even until now, he still remembers scenes from when he was two years old. His parents were tearing each other apart and kicking in a luxurious hotel.

He also remembers the way Fei Lan only had eyes for Ye Lingwei.

Come to think of it, he was the one who knew Ye Lingwei first. Didn’t Fei Lan only get to know Ye Lingwei because the elders of their families knew each other? Yet he—he became Ye Lingwei’s friend from the very first day of kindergarten.

Ye Lingwei was good-looking and had a quiet personality. His grades were a bit poor, sure, but back then, people weren’t classified by grades yet. Those things didn’t exist in the eyes of children. In the beginning, Ye Lingwei was actually quite popular.

Actually, there was another reason for his popularity. Auntie Li hoped he would get familiar with his little classmates as soon as possible, so she slung a small bag over his shoulder. Inside were all kinds of beautifully packaged, delicious candies, allowing him to use them to make friends.

However, candy isn’t effective forever.

Ye Lingwei was in poor health and couldn’t play games with everyone. The teachers gave him all kinds of special treatment, and added to the fact that his grades were bad, he had almost no friends left. Only Xia Huan stayed by his side consistently.

Until Fei Lan appeared by his side. For Ye Lingwei’s sake, Fei Lan transferred classes, became his deskmate, and urged him to read and study.

At first, Ye Lingwei wasn’t willing. “It’s fine even if I don’t study. I won’t read.”

“Who told you that?”

“Xia Huan.”

Xia Huan had always taught Ye Lingwei this way. Back when everyone else still had a pure heart, Xia Huan’s entire being was already occupied by total darkness.

Since then, Fei Lan, consciously or subconsciously, guided Ye Lingwei to distance himself from Xia Huan. Xia Huan had almost no opportunities to spend time alone with Ye Lingwei.

So what?

Didn’t they still cut ties in the end? And here he thought their relationship was so good.

Xia Huan stubbed out the cigarette in his hand. There was still half left. He tossed the remainder into the trash can, his expression faint.

He had watched Ye Lingwei lose his light step by step, become disliked by everyone, and become a solitary figure. He had even planned exactly what kind of savior persona he would adopt when he made his entrance. Yet now, all of this has been ruined by Fei Lan.

Just like when they were children—right on the verge of success, it was ruined by Fei Lan.

—

Ye Lingwei received a call from Auntie Li telling him that Ye Xuan had been in a car accident.

The corners of Ye Lingwei’s mouth hooked up. After a moment, he adjusted his expression and tone. He asked in a small voice, “How did Er-ge get into a car accident?”

Auntie Li sighed on the other end. “It was racing, of course. I told him long ago that it wasn’t safe, but he said I didn’t understand the meaning of racing. He’s had plenty of accidents, big and small, but this time his leg is fractured. He just got back from the hospital.”

All the children in the Ye family were practically raised single-handedly by Auntie Li; her heart ached for every one of them. She had never married, so some people said she planned to retire and live out her old age in the Ye household. Before Auntie Li could even speak, Ye Xuan had stepped up directly.

“So what if she is? I’m happy to support her in her old age.”

Ye Xuan indeed wasn’t a good older brother, but that was only true as far as Ye Lingwei alone was concerned.

Ye Lingwei didn’t know what Auntie Li’s intention was in calling him.

Did she want him to go back and visit?

Just as the thought crossed his mind that she might actually intend this, he heard Auntie Li say, “Jiaojiao, come back and see your er-ge, okay?”

Ye Lingwei didn’t speak for a long time.

Auntie Li waited anxiously for his answer.

“No,” Ye Lingwei said slowly, enunciating every word.

However, if Ye Xuan were truly crippled, he might actually consider going back to take a look.

Auntie Li was dumbfounded. In truth, all along, she felt that they were just roughhousing—they are brothers, after all. Brothers don’t hold overnight grudges.

Elders all like to think this way. In their eyes, the hatred of children is just playing house. It doesn’t need to be taken seriously.

After hanging up with Auntie Li, Ye Lingwei turned around and saw Fei Lan. Fei Lan turned off the classroom lights, his gaze sweeping over the phone in Ye Lingwei’s hand. “What’s wrong?”

“My er-ge got in a car accident,” Ye Lingwei said.

The gloating in his tone was almost entirely unconcealed.

Fei Lan let out a laugh. “Congratulations.”

Ye Lingwei was stunned for a moment, but then his smile slowly became even more dazzling and brilliant.

—

The book on the bedside table updated with new content.

It was about Ye Xuan.

It was still just some past events interspersed within the story. Actually, Ye Lingwei was more looking forward to knowing what happened after the original host passed away. Unlike Lin Chudong, who was a typical male lead, the inexplicably uncomfortable Xia Huan was actually one of the male leads too. If these two were the male leads, Ye Lingwei was very curious about exactly what direction the subsequent plot would take.

Could it even move forward?

Ye Xuan was just three years older than Ye Lingwei.

They attended the same primary school. Ye Xuan was good-looking, loyal, rich, and generous. He didn’t have that pretentious air of rich kids—he didn’t wear little leather shoes and ties or look down on playing in the mud. Ye Xuan’s popularity has been explosive since childhood. Even if he was sharp-tongued and cold, the number of people surrounding him only ever increased, never decreased.

It formed an absolute contrast with Ye Lingwei.

When Fei Lan wasn’t there and Xia Huan wasn’t there, Ye Lingwei was all alone.

In primary school, they had duty weeks—sweeping leaves on the playground or picking up mineral water bottles left behind by the upperclassmen on the basketball court. Ye Lingwei’s grades had been bad since childhood, not because he didn’t want to learn, but because he couldn’t. He had to take medicine and go to the hospital for regular checkups; fatigue would cause chest tightness so he simply gave up on learning.

It was supposed to be group duty, but everyone in Ye Lingwei’s group had taken off, leaving him all alone as a solitary figure picking up water bottles on the playground.

He was a tiny little thing, hugging several empty water bottles in his arms. When he bent over to pick one up, others would fall out, and he would chase after the bottles with tireless patience.

Ye Xuan was playing basketball on the court right next to him. A classmate called out, “Aren’t you going to help your little brother?”

“Help with what?” Ye Xuan held the basketball, not even glancing at the little boy not far away. “Serves him right.”

The most excessive thing Ye Xuan ever did—a matter that the original host held a deep grudge over, refusing to call him ‘Er-ge’ for a whole month—was also written there.

He had come back for the three-day break during the high school sports meet. His buddies called him out to play games, so he was in a rush to change clothes and leave. As he came downstairs after changing, the original host came out of his room with a pale face and stopped him.

“Er-ge, can you help me get my medicine? The guard outside is new and won’t let the doctor in.”

The daily medication was extremely expensive. While taking it wouldn’t cure his heart condition, without it, the chest tightness and pain brought by the condition were inevitable. There was no one else at home, and Ye Lingwei found that he simply couldn’t make it to the intersection.

It was fortunate that his second brother came back.

However, why did it have to be his second brother?

Not Auntie Li, not Uncle Chen.

Ye Xuan didn’t even think. He shook off Ye Lingwei’s hand. “I have things to do, figure it out yourself.”

The medicine was eventually brought in by Auntie Li, who happened to meet the doctor at the gate. When Auntie Li returned with the medicine, Ye Lingwei was leaning against the living room sofa, drenched in cold sweat. Auntie Li felt she would never forget Ye Lingwei as he looked in that moment—as if in the very next second, he was going to die, going to vanish.

Ye Xuan didn’t get home until late into the night.

He had completely forgotten that Ye Lingwei had asked him to get the medicine that afternoon.

However, Ye Lingwei would remember for a lifetime the despair of watching his second brother close the door without ever looking back.

That main door was shut clean and tight. The last thing Ye Lingwei saw was that rose bush by the entrance. Its petals were as red as blood, but when the downpour came that night, it was uprooted by the wind.

Ye Xuan’s disregard for Ye Lingwei wasn’t just a disregard for his life or death.

Ye Lingwei liked to draw. He didn’t paint aesthetic watercolors or profound oil paintings; he liked drawing comic strips. He could take the content of fairy tale books and draw lifelike scenes just by reading the text.

He said he wanted to be a fairy tale artist in the future.

Characters in fairy tales are simple, and he could ensure every character had a happy ending.

However, the half-finished pages Ye Lingwei left in the living room were taken by Ye Xuan to tease the dog. The dog tore the drawings to shreds one after another.

That was the first time the usually reticent Ye Lingwei lost his temper so badly. Ye Xuan crossed his arms, finding it somewhat amusing. “What kind of junk are you drawing anyway? 

“Give it to the dog, even the dog despises it.”

The updated content in the book came to an abrupt halt right here. Ye Lingwei flipped through a few more pages, paused for a moment, then tossed the book directly toward the floor-to-ceiling window. It hit with a muffled thud.

After sitting cross-legged on the bed for a few minutes, Ye Lingwei suddenly jumped off. He grabbed a jacket from the closet, threw it on, snatched his keys, and walked right out the door still wearing his slippers.

So you like racing, do you?

What kind of junk is that?

—

Auntie Li hadn’t expected Ye Lingwei to come back. She was in such high spirits it was like a holiday, repeatedly crying out that Jiaojiao was back, then pretending to scold him for not calling ahead. “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back?”

Ye Lingwei smiled. “I wanted to give you a surprise.”

Although Auntie Li didn’t say it out loud, Ye Lingwei could see just how happy she was.

Ye Lingwei surveyed the living room. The staircase spiraling up from one side, the dining room lit so brightly by the crystal chandelier that it was blinding, the black leather sofa, and the fresh fruit on the coffee table.

It was Auntie Li’s habit. Even when Ye Lingwei wasn’t home, the fruit platter would still be stocked as usual with his favorite cherries.

An inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over him.

“Why did you come over in your slippers? Aren’t you afraid of tripping?” From the moment Ye Lingwei walked in the door, Auntie Li’s nagging hadn’t stopped—ranging from why his hair was wet to how he could possibly go out wearing slippers.

As she spoke, Ye Cen came down from upstairs. Seeing Ye Lingwei standing in the living room, he frowned. “Why didn’t you say you were coming back?”

He couldn’t exactly call it unwelcoming, but it definitely wasn’t a welcome, either.

Ye Lingwei didn’t look at him. His gaze swept around the living room. “Where is Er-ge?”

Ye Cen looked toward a corner of the living room.

Ye Lingwei followed his line of sight and successfully spotted Ye Xuan. He hadn’t noticed him when he first walked in. It was a corner of the living room with a single armchair and a small side table next to it. Ye Xuan’s leg was propped up on the chair, phone in one hand, snacks in the other, crunching away expressionlessly. He had seen Ye Lingwei the moment he walked in, but he was too lazy to speak up.

On some level, Ye Lingwei was also responsible for his fracture.

The moment he crashed to the ground, the pain of the leg fracture couldn’t compare to one-thousandth of the cramping pain in his heart. As he curled up on the ground, Yan Bai and the others thought Ye Xuan had suffered some internal injury.

In that instant, a question surfaced in Ye Xuan’s mind, Is a heart attack this painful, too?

If it is, he never knew that it hurt this much.

Ye Lingwei squatted down in front of Ye Xuan and reached out to touch his plaster-cast leg. He looked up, asking with a touch of innocence, “Er-ge, does it hurt?”

Meeting those clear and innocent eyes, Ye Xuan felt a pang of guilt for the first time. He shifted his gaze away in a panic, looking elsewhere, and coldly said, “Get lost.”

When Ye Lingwei had his heart attacks, he never asked if it hurt. Now that the other was asking him, he felt he didn’t deserve it.

“It must hurt a lot, right?” Ye Lingwei lowered his eyelashes, his tone revealing deep distress. He whispered, “Er-ge, why must you race? Auntie Li says it’s very dangerous.”

“What do you know?” Ye Xuan frowned. He really hadn’t expected that one day, Ye Lingwei would dare to lecture him.

For Ye Xuan, racing was one of the most important things in life. Nothing could override his passion for it. He could dedicate his entire life to racing.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all,” Ye Lingwei argued. Right now, he looked completely like a child angry out of worry for his older brother’s safety.

The more he spoke like this, the more Ye Xuan couldn’t bring himself to face him.

In normal times, Ye Xuan could have just left Ye Lingwei there and walked away, but not now—his leg was injured, and he simply couldn’t walk. Ye Xuan was so frustrated he felt like he was going to explode.

“Er-ge protected me, so I must protect Er-ge too,” Ye Lingwei said in a low voice.

Yuan Song had dropped out of school. His arm was broken, and then his home was invaded by several strange men who frantically smashed and trashed everything. His parents were scared to death and moved house overnight.

Smashing up someone else’s home—being this violent and unreasonable—Ye Lingwei knew for a fact that Ye Xuan was the one who ordered it.

Compared to the meticulous and calculating Ye Cen, Ye Xuan only appeared cold and profound. In reality, his actions had always been crude and direct, following his own whims.

When Ye Xuan heard Ye Lingwei say this, a sudden ominous premonition rose in his heart. He sat up straight, looking warily at Ye Lingwei. “What do you want to do?”

Ye Lingwei had changed—he had become ungovernable. Ye Xuan had realized this long ago. Yet now, in this very moment, he had an even stronger sense of foreboding than that time at dawn when he was ordered to buy oden.

Ye Lingwei pressed on his knees and stood up slowly. Looking down at Ye Xuan from above, he said with an innocent tone, “Helping you, Er-ge.”

He sighed with feigned affection, looking utterly resigned. “As a member of the Ye family, you can’t just race forever, Er-ge. Besides, I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

Ye Xuan looked at Ye Lingwei and coldly said, “So?”

“You will find out in a second, Er-ge.” Ye Lingwei laughed. “You’re going to thank me.”

Ye Lingwei turned and walked toward the kitchen. There was a knife there specifically for chopping bones—not heavy, but exceptionally sharp. It was one Auntie Li had bought specifically for chopping chickens and ducks, fully half a meter long.

Right in front of Ye Xuan, Ye Lingwei drew the knife from its sheath. The blade refracted a cold, silvery glint under the lamp.

Without hesitation and without a single pause, Ye Lingwei dragged the knife and walked toward the courtyard.

His target was clear.

Parked in the courtyard was Ye Xuan’s most treasured motorcycle. After the crash this morning, the bike had developed a few minor issues, and two mechanics were currently repairing it.

Seeing Ye Lingwei approach, they stood up in curiosity.

Ye Lingwei slowly raised the knife. Ye Xuan was leaning against the window. Unable to move, he reached out and pushed open the glass. His tone, rarely ever flustered, now began to show panic and disbelief. “What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

Hearing the commotion, Auntie Li came over from the backyard. When she saw this scene, her heart leaped into her throat. Although she didn’t approve of Ye Xuan racing, she had never once entertained the thought of smashing his bike.

“What on earth are you doing? Don’t hurt yourself!” Auntie Li shouted, slapping her thigh in distress.

Ye Lingwei looked at the matte black motorcycle in front of him. Undeniably, it was handsome. If it hadn’t met him… sigh, actually, he couldn’t put it that way. It could only blame the fact that it followed the wrong master.

Or rather, blame its master for having treated the original host’s drawings like dirt.

Ye Xuan was on the verge of tears. He was so frantic he tried to scramble off the sofa, but Ye Cen held him down. Ye Xuan looked up at Ye Cen and implored him, “Da-ge, stop him, quick! You stop him! Tell him I’ll do anything—anything at all—just don’t let him touch my motorcycle.”

Everyone knew how much Ye Xuan loved his vehicles.

Ye Lingwei naturally knew too.

Ye Cen didn’t speak.

Ye Xuan wiped a hand across his face and stuck his head out the window. “F*ck! Ye Lingwei! If you f*cking touch my motorcycle today, I’m never done with you! Never!”

“Oh,” Ye Lingwei said expressionlessly.

“…”

Sighting a specific spot, Ye Lingwei raised the knife and hacked down onto the rear tire. A deep gash appeared on the rubber, but it didn’t burst. Ye Lingwei immediately followed up with another chop. Upon hearing the hiss of escaping air, he revealed a satisfied smile.

His palms were going numb—numb from the vibration of the knife handle.

Ye Xuan was already on the brink of madness. He shouted frantically, “You two, stop him! I’ll give you money!”

Standing to the side, Ye Cen indifferently said, “It’s just a vehicle. If he likes it, just let him play.”

“What do you mean ‘just a vehicle’? This bike cost me several million!” Ye Xuan roared. “He’s been with me for five years!”

Ye Cen paused for a moment. “Oh.”

“…”

The two mechanics hesitated for a moment and attempted to step forward.

However, they had only taken half a step when the beautiful youth in front of them raised the knife. Pointing the tip at them, he smiled very gently and harmlessly. “Be careful now. Take another step and try it?”

The two grown men gulped, frozen in place. Money is important, but life is more important.

The third chop came down on the front of the bike. The fuel gauge, speedometer, and rearview mirrors shattered instantly. Ye Lingwei didn’t feel like he possessed that much strength; it was simply that this knife was too effective.

Ye Xuan watched with near-total despair as his bike in the courtyard began to slowly turn into a pile of scrap metal.

How dare he?!

Ye Lingwei did dare. After plunging the tip of the knife into the fuel tank, Ye Lingwei dropped the blade. He reached out his hand to the man beside him, palm open, and said, “Got a light?”

The man didn’t dare refuse. He pulled a lighter from his pants pocket and handed it over. As he did, he saw that Ye Lingwei’s palm had been rubbed raw and red by the knife handle. The skin in the very center was already oozing traces of blood.

Why go to such lengths—hurting himself just to hurt others?

Such an expensive racing bike… why destroy it, even at the cost of his own injury?

Ye Lingwei seemed unable to feel the pain. He flicked the lighter on and said to the two mechanics, “You’ll want to stand back now.”

The two mechanics ran like the wind, retreating all the way to the main gate.

Ye Lingwei stepped back a few paces himself. Gasoline flowed from the hole in the tank, pooling at his feet. Lowering his eyelashes and breathing in the pungent scent of petrol, he finally deigned to cast a glance at Ye Xuan’s despair-filled face.

“Second Brother.” He shouted, “Watch closely!”

He withdrew his gaze and relaxed his grip. The lighter dropped from his fingers. The flame kissed the gasoline, igniting it in an instant. Ye Lingwei walked to the living room entrance, watching as tongues of fire raced along the fuel trail, climbing rapidly toward the already wrecked motorcycle.

Auntie Li stood dazed for a long while, looking at Ye Lingwei. “Jiaojiao, how could you…”

Ye Lingwei didn’t speak. He simply waited, expressionless. The flames burrowed into the fuel tank. Wisps of black smoke rose from the chassis, spiraling into the air where the streetlights caught them, staining the light itself black.

“Bang!”

The smoke thickened and rose into the sky in an instant. Ye Lingwei closed his eyes and turned his head away. When the motorcycle detonated, parts were blasted everywhere. A violent heat wave rushed right up to the house, and the sound of the explosion was loud enough to almost shatter the villa’s glass, startling birds throughout the entire wooded area. Ye Xuan’s hand dropped weakly. He didn’t even have the energy to curse anymore.

Ye Lingwei opened his eyes, only to have his face cupped by Auntie Li. “How did your face get hurt? Are you okay? Why is your temper so explosive lately?”

Ye Lingwei raised his hand and touched his face. There was a shallow cut, likely grazed by flying metal shrapnel.

“I’m fine,” he said.

He was very happy.

Auntie Li pulled Ye Lingwei inside. The destroyed motorcycle was obviously less important than the person. Ye Lingwei obediently let Auntie Li put a band-aid on his face. Only after the wound was treated did Ye Lingwei think to go check on Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan leaned listlessly against the sofa. When two slender, pale calves appeared before his eyes, he looked up with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Done playing?”

“Happy now?”

Ye Lingwei didn’t say yes, nor did he say no. He let out an ‘aiya,’ sounding like he was whining playfully. “Er-ge, then promise you won’t use my drawings to tease the dog anymore, okay?”

Ye Xuan froze. He looked at Ye Lingwei in disbelief. It took him a long time to recall the incident about using Ye Lingwei’s drawings to tease the dog. When was that? That was back when Ye Lingwei was in middle school.

Ye Xuan said with difficulty, “Just for that… you destroyed my bike?”

“Mm.” Ye Lingwei nodded.

“Ye Lingwei, I am your Er-ge! What do you take me for?” Ye Xuan sneered. “So you came here today to collect a debt?”

“Pretty much.” Ye Lingwei yawned, speaking leisurely. “But Er-ge, in the future, don’t say things like ‘I’m your Er-ge’ anymore.”

Ye Xuan waited to see what other nonsense Ye Lingwei was going to spout.

“When I call you Er-ge, it’s all an act. However, don’t say it yourself, Er-ge. It’s actually quite disgusting,” Ye Lingwei softly said.

Ye Xuan froze completely. After a long moment, he suddenly bent at the waist, clutching his chest. Ye Lingwei watched coldly, then turned around without the slightest hesitation.

Ye Xuan heard Ye Lingwei bidding Auntie Li farewell and saying goodnight.

In this moment, he was finally willing to acknowledge the blood ties between them. He was healthy, yet after Ye Lingwei spoke such heartless words, the pain was so intense that, for a split second, he lost all other sensory awareness.

“You’re going back this late?”

“Then let Ye Cen drive you back?”

“Tell Auntie Li, did you get into a fight with Ye Xuan?”

Ye Lingwei politely declined Auntie Li’s suggestions and walked outside to hail a taxi himself. He was in a good mood—a particularly good mood—so good that he slept soundly right through until dawn.

Perhaps because he had expended too much energy last night, Ye Lingwei started sleeping the moment he arrived at the classroom. He rested his face on his arm, which was stretched out on the desk, palm facing up.

Gao Linhao always adhered to the philosophy that ‘even if my grades are poor, my attitude is absolutely impeccable,’ so he arrived at the classroom bright and early—hiding under his desk to slurp noodles.

While Ye Lingwei was sleeping hazily, he felt as though someone was holding his hand.

He lifted his head blankly and saw Fei Lan squatting in front of his desk. His palm, rubbed raw from last night, was completely exposed to Fei Lan’s gaze.

“What happened to your hand?” Fei Lan frowned and asked, but he froze the second Ye Lingwei lifted his head.

There was a band-aid stuck to the side of his face. It was exceptionally glaring to look at.

Before Ye Lingwei could fully come to his senses, his chin was seized. A faint trace of hostility surfaced in the depths of Fei Lan’s eyes. “Little kid, you aren’t pretty anymore, you know that?”