Chapter 2.1

Jian Suiying twisted his foot, so he didn’t bother going to work and rested at home for two days.

On the day before the entrance exams, he was watching a movie on the couch when he received a call from Jian Suilin. Jian Suiying glanced at the caller ID and pressed mute. He didn’t bother to answer, but Jian Suilin didn’t give up and continued to call. Jian Suiying got so annoyed that he picked up and lazily asked, “What’s up?”

“Ge, I heard from Li Yu that you injured your foot.”

“Yes, I twisted it.”

“Are you feeling better now? How are you going to eat?”

“I can still starve myself to death.”

“Is someone taking care of you there?”

“I just twisted my foot, not paralyzed. I don’t need anyone to take care of me.” Jian Suiying missed several scenes in the film and said with some impatience, “I’m going to hang up.”

“Hey, ge!”

“What now?”

“Did you apply medicine? Did you massage yourself? If you don’t take care of your foot, it will take at least two weeks to heal.”

“It’s not that much trouble, it’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Why don’t I bring you some medicine? Our basketball team often has people injured, so I know how to deal with these things.”

Jian Suiying had a few days off to rest and relax at home but didn’t want to see his brother, so he refused: “No, you’ll be taking the entrance exam tomorrow, don’t mess around.”

“The teacher said not to review these days, so I listened and I’m currently staying at home to rest. I can go see you.”

“If I said no, then no.”

“Ge…”

“Aren’t you quite annoying? I’m tired of you being so foolishly oversensitive.”

Jian Suilin immediately swallowed back his words.

“Tomorrow’s your entrance exam. Don’t embarrass the Jian family, ah. Don’t make us lose face.” After speaking, he hung up and went on to continue eating snacks and watching movies.

In fact, Jian Suiying’s foot has almost healed already, a little twist isn’t such a big deal after all, but he just wanted to take the opportunity to steal a little more free time. Originally he was in a good mood, but Jian Suilin’s phone call made him quite unhappy. This kid Li Yu hurt his foot, he should be the one who’ll personally take care of him. What does it mean for him to let Jian Suilin call instead? It’s strange that he’s not angry at all.

When the image of Li Yu’s reddened ears and evasive eyes came to mind, Jian Suiying thought that simply recalling it wasn’t enough, and he wanted to see the other in person again. Jian Suiying paused the movie, his flat suddenly quieted down and made the empty feeling more obvious. He suddenly felt that the house was unbearable to stay in, there was no company at all.

He found his cell phone in the crack of the sofa and dialled back Jian Suilin’s number.

The other end quickly answered the phone: “Ge?”

“Yes.”

“Ge, do you… do you want me to come over?”

“No, I want to eat some crawfish.”

“Then I’ll pack some for you?”

“I don’t want to eat at home, come over to my place and pick me up and take me to Guijie.”

“Okay, I’ll be right over.”

“Hey, call Li Yu too.”

“Ah… call Li Yu?”

“Call him, ah.”

Jian Suilin was silent for a moment, then he hesitantly asked, “Why?”

Jian Suiying momentarily gave it a thought then justified, “He’s the grandson of Li family, there is no harm in letting him visit. It just so happens that you two have a good relationship, and I want his brother to get me a piece of land in Beihai.”

“Oh, but I’m not familiar with his brother. I’ve only met him a few times.”

“I’m not familiar with his brother either, so it’s best to get to know him through Li Yu. Call him and tell him to have a meal with us.”

“Okay.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Jian Suiying just hung up the phone a few minutes ago when the phone rang again. He looked and saw that it was Jian Suilin’s number.

“Qtja firf?”

“Velslcu.” Llr ojatfg’r nblmf mjwf ogbw atf batfg fcv.

“Gjv?”

“Velilc lr ublcu ab nlrla sbe.”

“Tfjt.”

“P abiv tlw ab yglcu jii tlr raeoo jcv rajs ja sbeg qijmf abcluta.”

Aljc Velslcu vlvc’a ilxf atlr, “Qts lr tf rajslcu klat wf?”

“Tbeg tbwf lc atf mlas lr mibrf ab tlr fzjwlcjalbc mfcafg. Kbwbggbk atfgf’ii yf qifcas bo batfg raevfcar ajxlcu atf fzjwr, rb atfgf’r ybecv ab yf j iba bo agjoolm. Qtja lo tf’r ijaf?”

“Did he not tell you that I twisted my foot? I can’t drive.”

“I know, but it’s faster to take a taxi from there than from home.”

“Dad, I don’t have a place for him to stay.”

His old man tsk-ed, “Why are you so against letting your brother stay for one night!”

Jian Suiying rolled his eyes.

His father said, “Suiying, you are all grown up. No matter what, Suilin is your brother. When we all die, you’ll have only your brother to rely on, do you understand?”

His father, from the past to the present, always wanted them to have a harmonious relationship and often found ways to make them spend time together. However, all of this was useless, and Jian Suiying wanted to ask his father if he understood that since he had failed to control himself and let that woman intervene in his family, forcing his mother into such a situation, Jian Suilin can never be like a normal brother to him, not for the rest of his life. The fact that he can interact with Jian Suilin calmly is already considered generous of him.

Jian Suiying said lazily, “Alright, alright. Do as you like.”

His father then gave a satisfied hum and was about to hang up the phone when Jian Suiying spoke again.

“What?”

“Dad, tell Xiao Lin-zi to call Lao Li’s grandchild as well. Since I have a lot of space here, why don’t I just send both of them along tomorrow?”

“Can he even stay with you, ah?”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask. His father and his older brother hold real power, maybe they can be used at some point, it never hurts to have a good relationship with their family.”

“Okay then, I’ll tell Suilin to ask.”

Jian Suiying hung up, hoping that Li Yu would stay with him tonight, otherwise it wouldn’t be interesting at all.

Jian Suiying waited at home for more than an hour until he was already squinting on the sofa before the doorbell rang.

Jian Suilin had indeed brought Li Yu with him, which instantly improved Jian Suiying’s mood.

As soon as Xiao Lin-zi came in, he looked at Jian Suiying with concern, “Ge, how is your foot? Let me take a look at it for you.”

“No, it’s fine, what’s the use of looking at it? You’re not a doctor.”

“Let me take a look, I’ve brought active oil and I can give you a massage.”

“Don’t, just come in and sit.” Jian Suiying’s polite words were completely directed at Li Yu.

Li Yu also greeted: “Jian-ge, how is your foot?”

“It’s nothing serious.”

Jian Suilin helped him sit down and insisted on seeing his feet. Jian Suiying was reluctant at first, but then he thought that if he showed his swollen, steamed bun-like ankle, it would somewhat stir up Li Yu’s guilt. He figured that it was okay to let them look, so he graciously put his foot down on the sofa.

Jian Suilin pulled up his trouser leg and frowned at his foot: “Ge, did you go to the hospital?”

“No, why do I need to go to the hospital? It will be fine in a few days.”

“You can’t do this, you won’t be able to walk for a long time if you don’t treat it.” He took out a bottle of oil from his bag, “I’ll give you a massage. The pressure might feel painful, so hild it in.”

Before Jian Suiying could say anything, Jian Suilin had already unscrewed the cap of the bottle and poured a generous amount on his foot.

Jian Suilin carefully put his feet on his lap, holding his ankles with his hands and began to massage them from light to heavy pressure.

Li Yu’s face didn’t look worried, only sitting next to them while watching. His body was a little stiff, and he felt uncomfortable sitting down. He did not understand why Suilin was so nice to this kind of brother, even ingratiating himself to him.

He always knew how Jian Suiying treated Jian Suilin, and the older’s grudge wasn’t Jian Suilin’s fault, but Jian Suiying had been angry at Jian Suilin since he was a child. He had always had a preconceived notion of Jian Suiying, and what annoyed him most was that, from some point on, Jian Suilin told him, “My brother is actually nice to me,” and then proceeded to stick his face on his cold ass.

He felt bad for Jian Suilin every time he watched him condescendingly calling on his older brother.

But Jian Suiying didn’t think like this at all.

In his opinion, no matter how much he bullied the younger, it was perfectly normal for Jian Suilin to please him. He is the eldest grandson of the Jian family, he can earn money and do things, and many people in the family rely on him and his father to live a privileged life. Now that his grandfather is old, the head of the family is his father, and the second in command is himself. To put it bluntly, one day his father will no longer be the head, and the whole Jian family will have to rely on him. The mother and son duo will have to look at his face if they want to live a good life, and Jian Suilin is not stupid, so who will he please if not his older brother?

So when Li Yu said Jian Suilin worshipped him, he felt ridiculous.

The pressure Jian Suilin put was getting heavier and heavier, and Jian Suiying bared his teeth in pain: “Hey hey, it hurts, your hand isn’t small.”

“If it doesn’t hurt, it’s not effective, it helps to activate the blood.”

“Alright, alright, alright! It hurts too damn much, don’t press it.”

“Ge, endure a little bit more so that you can get better faster.”

“Shit, I want to get better slowly, okay? So don’t press!”

Jian Suiying insisted on taking his foot back.

Jian Suilin hugged his foot and almost coaxed him, “Ge, please bear with it a little longer, okay?”

“No.” Jian Suiying kicked him in the stomach, but actually did not use much force, and took the opportunity to pull his foot back.

Li Yu, however, couldn’t watch any longer, and stood up with a dark face, “What Suilin is doing is also for your own good, what are you doing?”

When he said this, both of them froze.

The Jian family brothers’ mode of getting along was a willingness to fight and a willingness to suffer, and the two of them had long gotten used to it.

Jian Suilin was a little embarrassed: “Li Yu…”

Li Yu also realized that he lost his temper and sat down with a frown.

Jian Suiying also frowned and wondered what he was so angry about. Was it because he kicked Jian Suilin? He pondered about it and truly felt that this wasn’t a big matter at all, so he didn’t expect Li Yu to be quite righteous.

Jian Suilin took wet wipes and wiped his brother’s feet clean: “Ge, don’t you want to eat crawfish? Let’s go.”

“Did you get your driver’s license down?”

“Got it down.”

“Well, good, what kind of car do you want to drive for school?”

“Ge, you decide.”

“Well, let’s see how you do. Do well and brother will get you a good car.”

“Thank you, ge.”

Jian Suiying always liked to eat spicy crawfish. His mother especially loves to eat them and often brought him some when he was a child. She would come to him and peel them into his bowl. His father never came, saying that these things aren’t clean. Often, for these unpleasant things, his father and his mother would quarrel.

His mother is a real lady. She had an ancestral accumulation of wealth. During the war, her family donated tons of gold to the Communist Party, and aspiring relatives also joined the war, so the Cultural Revolution didn’t suffer. His grandfather is different, his ancestors were eight generations of poor farmers, so poor that a child cannot afford to wear pants. They couldn’t eat before following the party, and they didn’t expect to go this far today.

Then his paternal grandfather and maternal grandfather established a deep revolutionary friendship, so there naturally was a dowry. It was a beautiful thing, but who knew it would end up like this? Compared to the woman’s gentle and submissive appearance– whether she was faking it or not– his mother was at a disadvantage.

After all that crap, his paternal grandfather felt too ashamed to face his maternal grandfather, so he simply ignored the family business and went to the countryside to farm.

After his mother died of illness, his grandfather didn’t speak a word to his father for around five years. It was only when his maternal grandfather passed away and Jian Suiying grew up and reconciled their relationship properly that his grandfather let his father in once more.

When he was a child, he hated that woman and his father very much. At that time, he became rebellious to an extent. Whatever would make them embarrassed or feel bad, he will do it.

He remembers that he once threw the seven or eight-year-old Jian Suilin in the pool, tied a rope around his hand, and then squatted on the shore to watch him floundering in the water, then dragged him up, then repeated it three or four times.

Later he was found, and his father beat him so much that he didn’t get out of bed for almost a month.

This didn’t seem to be the most excessive thing he did. Anyway, if one thinks about it, the fact that he didn’t kill Jian Suilin and he didn’t get killed by his dad when he was a kid was quite a miracle.

At his age, he was no longer interested in doing those things again. Thinking about their own childhood, he had a little conscience, but Jian Suilin would still saddle up to please him, so Jian Suiying truly felt that he was now good to Jian Suilin. Not to mention that in the past two years, he trained him in business and stock market speculation, and gave him a sponsorship of at least two million.

So Jian Suilin is good to him, he’s right to have filial piety.

Now, Jian Suilin was nimbly peeling shrimps, while Jian Dashao ate one at a time.

“Well, this family is doing just fine, Xiao Lin-zi, peel a few for Li Yu as well.”

Li Yu sulked, “I can do it myself.”

“Let him do it, you can just keep your hands off, it’s quite hot.”

Li Yu’s face was expressionless: “I’m used to doing it myself.” He ripped off the shrimp head at once, a small fire of anger rising vaguely in his heart

He especially resented Jian Suiying for ordering Jian Suilin like this.

In his eyes, Jian Suilin had an elegance rare amongst boys his age, he would treat people with gentleness and courtesy, and he was very well-liked at school.

For almost ten years, he had been looking forward to seeing Jian Suilin again, and every day he spent with him now made him reminisce. It was as if Jian Suilin was a jewel in his own eyes, and he was content to glance at him every once in a while. But in the eyes of others, he was only like a mere stone used for pressing a pickle jar open, which could be used or not. This huge psychological gap really makes him full of resentment towards Jian Suiying.

Jian Suiying didn’t seem to hear the sarcasm in his words, continuing to gulp a mouthful of wine, “You two eat less spicy food, I’m afraid your stomachs won’t be able to stand it tomorrow. Don’t drink wine too, it’s too cold. Let’s just eat, let’s make sure you’re in good condition tomorrow, I can’t let you both feel sleepy or have an upset stomach tomorrow.”

Jian Suilin smiled and nodded, “Don’t worry, ge.”

Jian Suiying said, “Are you nervous?”

“No.”

“Yo, really?”

Jian Suilin laughed, “Really, I’m mentally prepared.”

Jian Suiying also grinned, and also asked Li Yu, “Li Yu, are you nervous?”

Li Yu shook his head, “I don’t feel much.”

“Good, you have a bit of gusto. I wasn’t nervous at all before my own college entrance exam because I knew I won’t do well. But it doesn’t matter, I don’t need to rely on diplomas to eat.”

Jian Suilin immediately said, “Ge, you’re still intelligent.”

“Well, that’s true. But you’re different, you grew up with good grades, so the family expects more from you than they did from me. In the future, you’ll either be in politics or business, but it’s still impossible to say for now. Passing the examination to get to a good school is only good for your future career after all. So in tomorrow’s examination, if you can get into X University…”

Jian Suilin looked at him with a bit of expectation in his eyes.

“If you can get in, ask me for whatever you want.”

Jian Suilin’s eyes lit up, but he didn’t speak.

Jian Suiying laughed, “You haven’t thought about it? Fine, keep this in mind and tell me when you got an idea.”

“Thank you, ge.”

Jian Suiying looked at Li Yu again, “Where do you want to go after the exams?”

Li Yu looked at Jian Suilin and didn’t say anything. He was looking forward to the summer vacation soon, and it would be great to spend it with Jian Suilin, but he really didn’t want to see Jian Suiying.

Jian Suilin was a little excited, “Ge, do you want to take us to have fun? Don’t you have to work?”

“I’m my own boss, isn’t getting myself a day off up to me?”

“I’ll go wherever it’s convenient for you.”

Jian Suiying thought about it but he really didn’t know where to go. If he could just take Li Yu along, he would bring him to all the romantic and amorous places, but with his own brother joining, where would he bring them, the playground?

Jian Suiying gave Li Yu a somewhat greedy look. He mentally looked forward to when he could finally spend time alone with him.

Soon, the three people’s lips have gotten red due to the spice. Despite the air conditioning, the summer heat still made them sweat all over. A pot full of shrimp, like a small mountain, gradually went down as they ate.

Jian Suiying’s drinking capacity has been trained at the wine table, it wasn’t easy for him to get drunk, but it was easy to make his face red. He also drank more than usual, so even his toes were red.

Jian Suilin and Li Yu didn’t drink, so they just watched Jian Suiying drink more wine, skin slowly turning red.

This Jian Dashao is a fashionable gay, he likes to dress on point. This time, he was wearing beige knitwear, and his large V-neck has been open to his front chest, showing his usually hidden firm beautiful pectoral muscles. Adding his pink skin and slightly watery eyes, the girls who served them their hot pot were afraid to look at him, they were shy and timid that they ran after glancing at him.

Jian Suiying wasn’t aware of his own appeal. Mainly because there was already a beauty beside him, and his heart was already itching for the boy next to him. He naturally doesn’t know if there were other beauties looking at his own self.

Li Yu was sitting next to Jian Suiying. Jian Suiying put his face closer to chat with him, the smell of his body penetrating Li Yu’s nose. The smell of the perfume that mixed with the smell of alcohol really wasn’t that good, but it gave him a strange sensory stimulation. He didn’t know how to describe this feeling. He only knew that although he wasn’t willing to drink wine earlier, he suddenly wanted to drink some as well.

After chatting more, his resistance to Jian Suiying became a little lighter. Jian Suiying was very knowledgeable and could tell many things. He also loves to joke, so it was still fun to talk to him.

The three of them ate and drank, and before they knew it, time had passed. That night, Jian Suilin and Li Yu slept at Jian Suiying’s house, and the next day they took a taxi to the examination hall.