Ch36 - (II). Branches

“Hi, brother.”

The moment Rong Li heard his younger brother’s voice, his tone softened immediately.

“Hehe, what are you doing?”

“I just finished eating.”

“Nothing much going on lately, right?”

“No. Everything’s fine.”

“Is anyone bullying you at school?”

Rong Jun sighed from being bombarded with questions.

“Brother, are you going to ask that every single time? I’m not in elementary school anymore. Can you stop treating me like a child? I’m in university now. We’re all adults here, and everyone should be responsible for their own words and actions.”

Although he sounded annoyed about being overly doted on, the corners of Rong Jun’s lips curved slightly upward.

“This is the first time you’ve been living so far from home. Of course I’m worried about you,” Rong Li replied, suddenly sounding aggrieved.

“Brother…” Rong Jun felt somewhat helpless. “We live in the same city.”

“Ahem…”

A quiet cough came from Rong Li’s end of the phone, clearly meant to cover up his embarrassment.

Rong Jun knew better than anyone how much his older brother loved him.

And he cared deeply about Rong Li as well, hoping that one day he could become someone his brother could rely on.

Rong Jun walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa, leaning against the cushion in the corner to ease his fatigue.

“I’ll come home once the holidays start. There are only a few days left anyway, so you don’t need to worry about me all the time.”

The line suddenly went silent.

For a moment, Rong Jun wondered if the call had disconnected. He glanced at his phone screen, but the call timer was still counting.

“Brother?”

“…Don’t come back for now.”

Rong Jun froze.

He immediately sat up straight.

“…Enj?”

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“IMd TnMdrt TPgj gP TknMMr pMC OMb. EnwO wZwCjPnfOx fT MZwC, V’rr kMJw Wfkv jMd dW JjTwrp. Qvgj?”

“idP YCMPnwC, jMd—”

“VP’T WCwkfTwrj YwkgdTw V’J Pnw MOrj MOw rwpP nwCw PngP V kgO JMZw pCwwrj,” zMOx uf fOPwCCdWPwt kgrJrj. “KOt bnfrw jMd’Cw gP VJWwCfgr AOfZwCTfPj, wZwO Pnw JgfO YCgOkn Mp Pnw zMOx pgJfrj bMdrtO’P tgCw PM PMdkn jMd wgTfrj. UM tMO’P bgOtwC gCMdOt, dOtwCTPgOt?”

Rong Jun clenched his fingers tightly.

He bit his lower lip, resentment filling his chest, but he didn’t say a word.

The Zhou family was his mother’s family.

It had also been the stepping stone that allowed the Rong family to rise again.

Now that the Rong family had regained power, the family head had discarded the Zhou family after using them.

Not only were they suppressing the Zhou family and seizing most of their businesses, they were also trying to completely absorb them.

To preserve the status of her two sons as legitimate heirs, their mother endured everything and refused to divorce.

Rong Li endured endless pressure and torment from the Rong family in order to protect them, guarding his position as the eldest grandson and acting as a counterweight against their father.

And Rong Jun… he only stand aside and be protected, unable to help with anything.

After a long silence, Rong Li roughly guessed what his younger brother was thinking.

He knew Rong Jun’s pride all too well.

“Hehe, don’t pressure yourself,” Rong Li said gently. “This isn’t something you should be carrying.”

Rong Jun opened his mouth as if to say something.

But halfway through, he stopped himself.

He fell silent for a moment.

He didn’t want to be comforted by the brother who had already endured so much.

“…I’ll take good care of myself. Don’t worry about me.”

Rong Li understood the change in his tone immediately.

He knew why Rong Jun had stopped insisting.

He understood his younger brother. But because he understood him, he cherished him even more.

Sometimes he even wished Rong Jun wouldn’t be so perceptive that he would act a little more spoiled and a little more willful.

In the end, he could only lighten the mood with a half-joking tone.

“Don’t cry by yourself when your brother isn’t around.”

“Brother!”

“Hahaha. Wait for me to come take you home.”

“…Okay.”

After the call ended, Rong Jun collapsed back onto the sofa.

He rolled over and buried his face into the cushions.

…

Over the next few days, Yan Chen noticed that Rong Jun seemed constantly gloomy and unhappy.

Whenever he asked what was wrong, Rong Jun refused to say anything.

No matter how much Yan Chen pressed him, the only answer he got was a perfunctory “nothing.”

That only made Yan Chen worry more.

Something serious must have happened.

Yan Chen tried to recall if anything special had happened around this time near the end of the semester.

What he remembered most clearly was how annoyed Rong Jun had been with him.

Back then, Rong Jun had even gotten angry because Yan Chen kept pestering him.

In a moment of frustration, Yan Chen had forcibly kissed him because he thought Rong Jun was being ungrateful.

The result was a loud slap across his face.

After calming down, Yan Chen had properly apologized.

But even so, it took an enormous amount of effort and time before Rong Jun finally forgave him.

It was during that period that Yan Chen realized just how terrifying Rong Jun’s stubbornness could be.

After that, he never dared to act impulsively again while pursuing him.

Unfortunately…

Even after they got together, he still couldn’t hold onto that relationship.

…

Since Rong Jun refused to talk, Yan Chen was afraid that asking again would only irritate him further.

So he secretly had someone investigate Rong Li and Rong Jun’s mother.

During this period, Rong Jun had been almost inseparable from him.

The only thing that could trouble him this much, yet make him unwilling to talk about it, had to be something related to those two. They were Rong Jun’s treasures, and as much as Yan Chen wants Rong Jun to only see him, he knows Rong Jun deeply cares his brother and mother.

Just as Yan Chen had expected, something had indeed happened to the Zhou family.

Realizing this, Yan Chen suddenly understood why Rong Jun had hated him so much back then.

Being powerless to help his family…

And then being harassed by a man he already disliked.

Thinking about it now, it was actually very kind of Rong Jun to have only slapped him.

Yan Chen let out a heavy sigh.

A wave of guilt surged through his chest, leaving behind a dull ache.

Even in his previous life, he knew he wasn’t worthy of Rong Jun.

But so what?

Perhaps he wasn’t worthy of him.

Perhaps no one was.

But there were things he could do for Rong Jun that others could not.

And besides. Rong Jun would only fall in love with him. No one else. And he will make sure of it.

Rong Jun is his alone.