Chapter 41

Chapter 41

"041"

Xiao Lancui came out of the bathroom to find Lu Ao had already put away the groceries.

He was clumsy at it, though—still a pampered young master at heart.

Xiao Lancui didn't care. He'd already hired a housekeeper to come by daily to clean and cook three meals.

Tonight's dinner would be a test run.

Xiao Lancui picked up his backpack and said, "If you like the food, we'll keep her. If not, we'll find someone else."

Lu Ao trailed after him. "Brother, you're leaving now?" He tugged gently at Xiao Lancui's sleeve, head bowed. "What time will you come tomorrow morning?"

The dark stubble on his head was growing back thick, and the scar that had been hidden was healing fast.

Xiao Lancui reached out and ran his fingers over the jagged scar. Lu Siye had hit him hard.

Xiao Lancui stayed silent, tracing the scar. Lu Ao didn't move, just bowed his head a little lower to give him better access.

Xiao Lancui pulled his hand back. "Mm, I've got things to do. I'll call you tomorrow whether I come or not."

Lu Ao's face lit up. "Mm! I'll be waiting for your call, brother!"

Xiao Lancui left. At the stairwell, he glanced back once. The door was still open, Lu Ao standing quietly in the doorway, watching him.

When he saw Xiao Lancui turn, he raised his hand and waved hard, eyes locked on him.

"Goodbye, brother!"

It was an odd feeling.

No matter where you go, what you do, day or night, there's always a place, a person waiting for you.

Xiao Lancui had had that once, briefly.

But people change. The young man who'd taken an arrow for him without hesitation had ended his life without mercy in the end.

This time, he'd hold on tight, grip hard, and fully possess someone who would never betray him—someone who belonged only to him.

In the old stairwell, the motion-sensor lights flicked on as he descended and clicked off behind him. When he finally stepped out of the building, the six o'clock sky was pitch black, untainted. The cold wind howled as it cut through. Xiao Lancui headed for the gate, took two steps, and his phone rang.

He figured it was Xiao Jingli checking in. He walked a few more steps before pulling out his phone. When he saw the caller ID, he froze.

He swiped to answer, raised the phone, and tilted his chin up as he looked back at the lit window on the third floor.

The window was wide open. In the dark, the young man saw him too, leaning halfway out, watching him without moving.

His vision was blurry—he couldn't make out the young man's face, only knew he was smiling. His cheerful voice came through the receiver, pounding against Xiao Lancui's eardrums.

"Brother, can I call if I miss you?"

Xiao Lancui looked away, turned, and walked on slowly. "Yeah."

"Then I'll just keep missing you, so you can't hang up!"

His voice was bright, like a kid who'd gotten his way.

Xiao Lancui really couldn't bring himself to refuse. Was it because he'd died once? People got more sentimental and soft-hearted.

Xiao Lancui walked out of the complex, still on the phone. Out of the corner of his eye, he casually noticed a man across the street pretending to wait for a bus.

Dark long down coat, baseball cap, holding a bag of fruit.

Xiao Lancui looked away and got into the waiting cab like nothing was wrong.

That was one of the Lu family's men.

With the Lu family's resources, it wasn't surprising they'd found him so fast.

There was still one more problem to deal with.

At 18, he was legally an adult and didn't need a guardian anymore, but the Lu family could still take Lu Ao back by claiming he was mentally ill.

He said into the phone, "Be good, I have to go. There are bad people out there. Lock the door when you sleep."

Lu Ao listened to the dial tone, unconcerned about the insignificant ants downstairs. He closed the window and headed back to the living room.

He got dressed quickly, turned off the lights, put on a mask, and went out.

Xiao Liqin had a big penthouse in Yujing Garden on the Second Ring Road, where he stayed occasionally.

It wasn't convenient to go to the hospital today, so he went back to Yujing Garden and called a private doctor over. Once his wounds were treated and the doctor left, he dialed Xiao Anfeng's number first.

No surprise there: "Sorry, the number you have dialed—"

Xiao Liqin hung up and called Xiao Mian.

Xiao Mian picked up just as the ringing was about to end. "Brother, he hasn't reached out to me."

Xiao Mian knew why Xiao Liqin was calling. He paused a beat. "Mom's old condition flared up again. She throws up after eating. I have to stay with her. No time to go find Xiao Anfeng."

Xiao Mian used full names when he was pissed.

Xiao Liqin was annoyed. He poured himself a glass of wine, sank into the sofa, and said, "Take care of Mom. I'm not coming back tonight."

"It's this late and you're still going after him?" Xiao Mian blurted out. "Isn't it a good thing Xiao Lancui shares blood with us? His reaction was way over the top."

Xiao Liqin set down his glass, his voice turning sharp. "Xiao Mian!"

Xiao Mian realized he'd slipped up. He tried to change the subject, but in the end, he couldn't hold it back. "I'm just saying! Compared to some random stranger, Xiao Lancui sharing half our blood is better, and besides..."

Xiao Mian coughed twice. "I've realized Xiao Lancui isn't that bad. He's actually pretty decent..."

"Ah Mian, I know you've gotten close to him lately." Xiao Liqin wouldn't even say Xiao Lancui's name. "I don't meddle in who you hang out with, but Xiao Lancui is off-limits."

Xiao Liqin took a sip of wine. His mouth throbbed with pain—self-inflicted. He narrowed his eyes. "Xiao Lancui isn't as gentle and harmless as he looks. There's a mad dog at his side. Be careful you don't get bitten to death without even knowing it."

Xiao Mian said nothing.

Hadn't Xiao Lancui mentioned he'd just picked up a little dog?

"If you hear anything about your second brother, let me know." Xiao Liqin left it at that and hung up.

He took another sip. The bitterness mixed with the lingering taste of rust. His mouth was cut up in several places.

He thought back to that face full of surgical stitches, running through every possible candidate, but none fit. Where the hell did Xiao Lancui find that mad dog—

Click.

The lights flickered, then slowly dimmed.

The entire apartment was plunged into darkness, with only the distant city lights glowing through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Xiao Liqin frowned. Why the power outage? He set down his glass and reached for his phone, but a noise at the door made him look up instinctively.

The door swung open from outside.

*

Xiao Lancui arrived at the restaurant Xiao Jingli had reserved.

It was the capital's most exclusive private dining spot—reservations for regular folks required at least a year's notice.

A server led Xiao Lancui down the corridor to the private room.

The server opened the door and left. Xiao Lancui walked in to find Xiao Jingli sipping tea, his hand gripping the cup without realizing it. As Xiao Lancui took his seat, Xiao Jingli smiled and asked, "Traffic jam? You're awfully late."

On the way, he'd pretended to care, calling three times to hurry Xiao Lancui up.

Xiao Lancui had taken his sweet time, riding the bus over.

Xiao Lancui took a few sips of water, and as Xiao Jingli's fingers grew more and more restless, he finally replied, "Yeah, traffic was a nightmare."

He didn't bring up Xiao Anfeng at all. Once the dishes were served, he ate with total focus. Xiao Jingli's last bit of patience snapped, and he asked outright, "What did you want to talk about regarding your second brother? Did you two have a fight?"

Xiao Lancui chewed a fried ginkgo nut—the chef was good, almost like the imperial cooks of the Dali dynasty. He chewed slowly, savoring it, and under Xiao Jingli's impatient stare, finally answered, "I want my memories back. That's what would cause a falling out."

Xiao Jingli's face changed. He stared at Xiao Lancui—had he found out about the switch from back then?

Xiao Jingli deeply regretted not striking first, back when Xiao Lancui wasn't completely dead yet, to wipe out the threat for good.

No need to wait until they went abroad—he had to kill him now—

"Second brother seems to like Lu Siye now." That light remark blew the top of Xiao Jingli's head clean off.

Xiao Jingli forgot everything else. He shot up so fast his chair tipped over.

Ignoring the chair, he glared at Xiao Lancui, eyes wide with fury, and demanded, "What?! Say that again!"

Spit flew into the dishes. Xiao Lancui set down his chopsticks, looking troubled as he deliberately tried to calm Xiao Jingli down. "Dad, don't get so worked up. Maybe my friend saw it wrong..."

Xiao Jingli cut him off. "What exactly did your friend see?"

Xiao Jingli was almost losing his mind. If you saw two men together and assumed they were involved—besides publicly coming out, it could only mean kissing or sleeping together...

Xiao Jingli slammed his hand on the table, consumed by rage. "Spit it out!"

Xiao Lancui said, "They went into the same suite and didn't come out until almost noon the next day."

Xiao Jingli's face went pale. Xiao Lancui pressed on. "On the way here, I thought it over. Dad, you said I like Lu Siye, but I don't remember that at all. If second brother is really with him, that's fine by me."

Xiao Lancui smiled. "I know you're worried about me, Dad. I'm fine. If they really love each other, I wish them the best."

Xiao Jingli grabbed his teacup and smashed it on the table, sending shards and tea flying. Xiao Lancui had already dodged in time, then put on a worried look. "Dad, your hand's bleeding!"

He pulled out tissues, giving Xiao Jingli a moment to pull himself together. Xiao Jingli had a bleeding cut on the webbing between his thumb and index finger. He tucked his hand behind his back and forced a tight smile. "It slipped. It's nothing."

He nodded. "I've heard what you said. Your lost memories will come back in time." He tried to brainwash Xiao Lancui. "You and Lu Siye loved each other first. You shouldn't give up your happiness. Don't worry, Dad won't let anyone take it away from you."

Then he added, "I've got things to do. Take your time eating."

He didn't wait for Xiao Lancui to respond. He grabbed his coat and strode out.

The footsteps faded. The servers, who'd heard the commotion and were waiting to clean up, came in. Once they'd cleared the mess, Xiao Lancui had them take away all the dishes and bring new ones.

This meal was going on Xiao Jingli's tab—no reason not to enjoy it.

Xiao Jingli hadn't even left the restaurant before calling Xiao Anfeng. When it went straight to voicemail, he nearly crushed the phone in his hand.

The phone didn't break, so he hurled it onto the car's floor mat as he got in.

Xiao Anfeng, seeing Xiao Jingli emerge from a distance, quickly hid behind a stone pillar, watching Xiao Jingli's car pull out of the parking lot.

His eyes were red, and he didn't follow further.

He had seen it—Xiao Lancui had entered the restaurant earlier too.

He knew this private dining spot. Xiao Jingli only brought important business partners, and Xiao Lancui.

He had always wondered why Xiao Jingli ignored his own flesh and blood to dote on some stray child.

So that was it—Xiao Lancui was his son too!

The son born of his true love!

Xiao Anfeng clenched his fingers, his whole body trembling.

If only Xiao Lancui had died when he fell into the sea last time...

Then he would never have known any of this, and even if he did, a dead man couldn't compete with him anymore.

He couldn't stop thinking—why wouldn't Xiao Lancui just die?

Through blurred vision, he saw the man he hated walk out of the restaurant.

After enjoying a lavish meal full of fatherly love, Xiao Lancui looked positively cheerful and content.

Xiao Anfeng stared at Xiao Lancui with deadly intensity.

Just then, Xiao Lancui walked toward him. Xiao Anfeng quickly ducked back behind the pillar, peeking at Xiao Lancui.

Xiao Lancui was on the phone.

Speaking loudly enough for Xiao Anfeng to hear, he said, "Lu Siye, let's meet up."