Chapter 5: Part 2 - Two-Faced

But they were brothers who grew up together, and there was nothing of each other that they haven’t seen before. Jin Yanliu said while drying his hair with a towel, “I don’t want to eat western food. I want to eat the porridge you made for me last time.”

“Then do you want to eat Bao Zi*?” Zhou Beiyang asked.

*TL note: Baozi, or bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. They are a variation of mantou from Northern China. – courtesy of google chrome.

“Yep!” Jin Yanliu continued, “I want the ones with beef filling!”

With a grunt of understanding, Zhou Beiyang went out.

This typical and warm life comforted Jin Yanliu at once. He stood beneath the showerhead and turned up the water, allowing the hot water to flow down his body. Rubbing his hair, he strengthened his determination.

This was such a pure and deep brotherhood… and he not only won’t allow that imposter destroy it, but he’ll also make sure that the imposter won’t get any of the pure familial affection either!

Speaking of which, isn’t he just too unlucky?

Not only did he not reconcile himself, but he also became even angrier.

After this shower, Jin Yanliu was even more certain that he and Zhou Beiyang didn’t do anything last night. There wasn’t even a silver of a clue on his entire body, no matter how careful he searched.

However, during the shower, his dream from last night became clearer.

The hot body and the sensations from the dream felt so real, just like a splash of scalding hot water that left him tensed.

The him in the dream was so wild. On the other hand, the other party was like a dead fish, looking at him while gasping in excitement but not moving in the slightest.

Jin Yanliu wasn’t a picky eater. He enjoyed both western and eastern cuisine, with his breakfast being the same few dishes rotated along. His favorite food was Bao Zi, the ones sold from a Bao Zi store in BanShan that had been open for over a decade. When Zhou Beiyang returned with the Bao Zi, the porridge was also almost done cooking. JIn Yanliu was wearing a loose tunic and long pants, stirring the porridge with a spoon.

Zhou Beiyang arrived next to him and took the spoon from his hands. “Go eat the Bao Zi first.”

And so Jin Yanliu went to eat the Bao Zi. Taking one for himself, he passed another one over. “It’s a bit scorching.”

Zhou Beiyang opened his mouth and bit down, leaving half, and Jin Yanliu stuffed the remaining bits to his own mouth, wiping the oil stains on the corners of his mouth using fair, slender fingers.

Zhou Beiyang glanced at him with his eyes slightly shimmering, before lowering his head to serve the porridge.

“Why are you always drinking these days? And you even dyed your hair,” he asked after a moment.

When Jin Yanliu heard the question, he answered with a smile, “What about it? Does it look good?”

As he said so, he pursed his lips and blew upwards, making his hair flutter against his forehead, looking very vain.

“It looks nice,” Zhou Beiyang said, ”but I almost didn’t recognize you last night.”

That meant that Jin Yanliu’s appearance could contain this type of color.

“I wanted to change my image, so I dyed it on impulse.” Jin Yanliu paused. “I’ll need to dye it back once I start the new film though.”

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Zhou Beiyang set a bowl of porridge in front of Jin Yanliu. “Did you experience something troubling recently?”

“Something small; I can solve it myself.”

Zhou Beiyang didn’t ask any further, only saying, “If you want to drink in the future, drink at home. I’m also getting busy these days, so I’m unable to stay by your side every day. You need to be careful, especially when you’re outside by yourself.”

Jin Yanliu smiled but did not speak.

Finally, Zhou Beiyang looked him in the eye and asked, “Do you understand?”

“Yeah.” Jin Yanliu said. “I was drunk yesterday; was my behavior disgraceful?”

“It’s fine. Only I saw.”

True. In this world, perhaps only Zhou Beiyang knew everything about him. Although they weren’t related by blood, their relationship was better than most blood brothers. Between them, there didn’t exist the word ‘secrets,’ and they were always very honest with each other.

Jin Yanliu glanced at Zhou Beiyang. Zhou Beiyang sat with his back very straight, wearing clothes that were prim and proper. The difference between a boy’s and a man’s face became more apparent these past few years, especially showing within his long, thick eyebrows. In addition with his 186 cm height, Zhou Beiyang was basically a clothes hanger**. The weather today was scorching, but his buttons on his collar were still buttoned all the way to the top.

**TL note: “衣架子身材”= a clothes hanger figure, basically saying that the person looks good with all types of clothing,

Doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, and no bad habits of any kind. This gentleman who is as gentle as jade and bears abstinence is the person who gives him the most tenderness and is also whom he provides the most tenderness to.

But from yesterday’s meeting, Jin Yanliu discovered that this rascal’s figure was so good, with well-defined abdominal muscles and a strong waist. He’s no longer the little boy who followed him around, trying to learn how to dunk (basketball term).

It looks like Zhou Beiyang does have the talent to be gong***, especially since… his physique has always been better than mine, Jin Yanliu thought.

***TL note: We all should know what this is. It’s the term for the top/the dominant/the love-giving/ the seme of a boyxboy relationship.

With a man of this grade by his side, it was indeed a little dangerous.

Was there a man that was better than his little brother?

The possibility of the imposter letting him slip through his fingers… was indeed slight.

Jin Yanliu bit down harshly on his Bao Zi.

Once breakfast was over, Fatty Xiao came around, just in time to see Zhou Beiyang leaving the house. Scrolling down the car window, he greeted Zhou Beiyang. Zhou Beiyang nodded without the air of a big star nor the son of a prosperous household; instead, there was just a sense of indifference and distance that stretched on for thousands of miles.

This wasn’t much different from his usual demeanor.

Looks like nothing big happened last night after all.

Fatty Xiao heaved a big breath and pushed open the entrance to go in.

Zhou Beiyang didn’t head back to the hotel right away. Driving down QiuMing mountain, he went straight to the villa range at the foot of the hill. The car stopped in front of the villa. He got out of the vehicle and unbuttoned his collar as soon as he entered the house, revealing a large hickey on his collarbone.

With the curtains drawn, he reached out and picked up a lighter and cigarettes from the coffee table. In the dim room, a cluster of flames rose up and lit into view the man’s deep eyebrows. Biting the cigarette holder, he took a deep breath with his eyebrows rising and falling, threw the cigarette case down on the coffee table, and went to the next room.

The room also had drawn curtains, and Zhou Bieyang turned on the lights with a cigarette in his mouth. As soon as the room was lit, the pictures on the walls disappeared.

The whole wall was filled with Jin Yanliu’s photos, from when he was in his teens to his twenties, both images of him wearing clothes and not wearing clothes. The room did not have a bed, only having a stacked pile of cardboard boxes, baseball gloves, guitars, transformers, teddy bears, middle school textbooks… etc. These were all used back in the old days. There was also a closet by the wall, hanging rows of old clothes of different sizes, including school uniforms and suits.

Zhou Beiyang pinched the cigarette butt and exhaled a long smoke, his eyes unfocused and cloudy.

The human heart was complicated, but there was only one sort of love. Hating that one couldn’t hold him by the cusp of one’s heart, hating that one couldn’t break his waist, bite his skin, and drag him into the abyss.

Author’s note: To clear things up: Little Zhou is a bit distorted and perverted because he’s been suppressing himself, and his tastes are very heavy! He walks the route of repression, which results in extreme explosions!

Translator’s note: *insert slow clap sfx.