Lan Yin slipped her fingers into the pocket of Zhi Zuo Si’s jacket. Zhi Zuo Si stared at her hand. Lan Yin shrugged. “My son is threatening to kill himself. Of course I’m so upset that I need a cigarette.”
“You’ve never run out of lousy excuses to smoke.” Despite saying this, Zhi Zuo Si did not stop her. Lan Yin lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and revealed a satisfied expression. “Why don’t we settle this with a show of hands? That would be fair.”
“In your dreams. Put your feet down. You’re the one who spoiled this brat.”
“Oh, now you’re holding me responsible? Once he decides something, who can possibly change his mind? Who knows which one of us he inherited that from? Everything Zhi Li got from my side is an advantage.”
Under the table, Ke Bu lightly tugged on Zhi Li’s trousers and whispered, “Will this really be okay?”
“It’ll be fine. We’ll wait until they’ve both worn each other down.”
Zhi Zuo Si’s cold gaze burned toward Ke Bu, though his eyes still did not rest on Ke Bu’s face. “Regardless of whether that thing of yours is small, you’re still a man. Do you understand the consequences of this?”
How many times did he have to repeat that blow before he was satisfied? Ke Bu sat upright with both hands properly placed on his knees and nodded repeatedly with impeccable politeness. “Your instruction is entirely correct.”
“Stop pretending. Anything he takes a liking to probably isn’t anything good either.”
With the cigarette resting at the corner of her mouth, Lan Yin chuckled, her shoulders moving with the laugh. “That’s certainly true.”
Ke Bu wanted to go home. He wanted to run home crying, hide beneath his blanket, and sob while biting his pillow.
“Are the two of you done? Save that kind of talk for later.” Zhi Li’s words did not help in the slightest. He looked at Zhi Zuo Si again. “Are you sure about this? If you refuse to accept Ke Bu, I’ll use any means necessary to break the two of you apart.”
Zhi Li’s words made Ke Bu break out in a cold sweat beside him. Yet Zhi Zuo Si showed no reaction at all, the lighter spinning rapidly between his fingers. “That depends on whether you’re capable of it.”
“You object that much to the sex of your son’s partner?”
“I don’t care what anyone else does, but you cannot.”
“Why?”
“Because the two of you are half brothers who share the same mother.” Lan Yin leaned back, lifting the front legs of her chair so that only the two rear legs supported it.
Ke Bu gripped the table tightly. “Please don’t make strange jokes at a time like this.”
Zhi Zuo Si and Zhi Li each kicked one of the chair legs out from under her. Zhi Zuo Si swept Lan Yin a sidelong glance. “A woman should know when to keep her mouth shut.”
Lan Yin fell backward. Just before she hit the ground, she extended one hand to brace herself. Her elbow bent and exerted a slight force, bringing the tipping chair upright again. She flicked the accumulated ash from her cigarette with her index finger.
“It’s fine, baby. Tomorrow, I’ll find you a new father who can accept Ke Bu. I guarantee he’ll like Ke Bu enough to frame him and hang him on the wall.”
“Thank you for the thought, but I don’t need that!!!” Ke Bu felt his health steadily draining whenever he spent time with this family.
Zhi Zuo Si’s phone rang. He answered and exchanged a few words, then stood and tossed the lighter onto the table. “I don’t want to spout that bullshit about doing this for your own good. No means no. What could the two of you possibly understand at your age? The matter is settled. I still have something to do.”
Zhi Zuo Si rose and was about to leave.
“Then I can only apologize. I can’t comply with your demand.”
Zhi Zuo Si turned his head, his gaze meeting Zhi Li’s. “Then try.”
With that, he walked away without looking back.
Zhi Li also stood. He gazed at Zhi Zuo Si’s departing figure. The little building was silent, and Zhi Li’s voice sounded exceptionally pleasant as he slowly said, “Please, Dad. I’m serious.”
Ke Bu looked at Zhi Li. At that moment, countless emotions filled his heart and continued pouring out, impossible to restrain. Zhi Zuo Si stopped. After a pause, he said nothing and continued walking.
“Don’t you want to hear the additional condition I’m offering?” An almost imperceptible, scheming smile appeared at the corner of Zhi Li’s mouth. “I can guarantee that Yin won’t sing again until the day she enters her coffin.”
Zhi Zuo Si stopped once more. “Since when did you become so talkative? You want to enter the Zhi family? Then follow the family rules. Defeat me first. We’ll do it tomorrow afternoon.”
“Fine,” Zhi Li agreed.
“I wasn’t referring to you.”
“Then forget it. I withdraw the offer.”
Ke Bu, standing behind Zhi Li, raised his head. “I want to try.”
Zhi Li turned and stared at Ke Bu. Ke Bu’s eyes shimmered. “Zhi Li, let me try.”
“I said no, so the answer is no.” Zhi Li frowned, and the anger in his voice was unmistakable.
“It might be overestimating myself, but I want to do something—something for you. No, that’s wrong. I want to do something for myself. I’m the one who wants to stay beside you, so let me fight for my own love for once.”
Ke Bu walked up to Zhi Zuo Si. “Uncle, you don’t need to take pity on me or hold back. I already know what the outcome will be, but if I at least make the effort, I won’t have anything to regret. If I lose, you don’t have to acknowledge me. You can dislike me, despise me, and ignore me. But could you still allow me to remain beside Zhi Li like this? If I can’t succeed this year, I’ll try again next year. If not next year, then the year after that. Perhaps… perhaps one day, I’ll finally be able to.”
For the first time, Zhi Zuo Si looked directly at Ke Bu’s face. That youthful, earnest expression held both pleading and determination. He said nothing, merely walked past Ke Bu and disappeared into the night.
“Do you understand what you’ve just done?” Zhi Li asked coldly.
“I do,” Ke Bu replied calmly. Then he began pacing back and forth across the room. His steps grew faster and faster until he finally exploded. “Zhi Li, did I just agree to something incredibly stupid? I’m finished! What was I saying about next year and the year after? I might not even survive this year! Your father is going to beat my brains out. Quick, take a photograph of me and keep it in your wallet as a memento. This might be the last time you ever see my body in one complete piece.”
“Calm down.”
“I’m about to die! Can’t I at least be a little emotional?”
Lan Yin lowered her legs, stood, and stretched. Completely ignoring the atmosphere, she said, “Zhi Li, I don’t recall promising you that I would never sing again for the rest of my life. I’m a woman with principles. Some things will never change.” No one in this family, blood relative or otherwise, would do anything without receiving some benefit.
Zhi Li glanced sideways at Lan Yin. “Just tell me what you want.”
“Ten years of kissing privileges.”
“One year.”
“Isn’t that cutting it down far too drastically?!!”
“Five years. I won’t accept any less.”
“One year.”
“Four years.”
“One year.”
“Who taught you to bargain like that?!!!”
“You only get one year. Take it or leave it.”
“Tch~~” Lan Yin threw away her cigarette butt and said nothing more, which meant the agreement had been reached. She yawned and prepared to return to bed, only for Zhi Li to grab her.
“You think you can simply leave?”
“Is there something else?” Lan Yin asked with open delight at his misfortune.
Zhi Li looked at her. She shrugged, stepped forward, and planted one foot on Ke Bu’s as he continued pacing wildly. Ke Bu grimaced in pain but finally stopped moving.
“Stop running around blindly. There’s only one truly important thing you need to do in life, and that’s take good care of your ass.”
“Is the value of my life merely to give him somewhere to vent his desires?”
“What else would it be? Don’t worry. Do I look like the kind of woman who would sleep with a man for nothing and fail to get some benefit from it? I’ve already figured out his weakness completely.”
“Your Highness, do you understand what you’re saying?”
Want to enter the Zhi family? Ke Bu, burn your cosmos!!
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