Tang Yuanyang covered his head. “Stop hitting! There are others who want to acquire it besides Dai Linxuan. Young Master He will help!”
He Shuxin was still hospitalized. Tang Yuanyang had targeted Lai Li to make a statement and secure some funding from the He family.
Besides, according to He Shuxin’s “pedophile” claim, Lai Li had already fallen out of favor with Dai Linxuan—boarding school was proof. He’d even dared to hit He Shuxin, so Dai Linxuan probably didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Who knew what trouble he’d cause next.
“He Shuxin? Are you a complete idiot?” Tang Xueda gnashed his teeth. “Does your old man have less face with the He family than you, you punk? If it were that simple, why would I resort to such sleazy tactics to please Dai Linxuan!”
Xiao Zhou: “…”
Tang Xueda had never believed the pedophile rumor. He’d dealt with Dai Linxuan before—he wasn’t that kind of person. But Dai Linxuan was indeed too good to Lai Li; there might be something unclear there. That’s why he’d brought Xiao Zhou, who bore some resemblance, as a gesture of “sincerity.” Even if rejected, it shouldn’t anger him.
Before coming to school, he’d thought Tang Yuanyang’s beating was timely. Following the usual pattern, Dai Linxuan might’ve agreed to a high price for Jiang Feng to apologize for Lai Li. But now—
“You damn idiot, how dare you use a knife!”
“It wasn’t my knife!” Tang Yuanyang roared in breakdown. “How could I do something so stupid!”
Tang Xueda wanted to beat this disobedient son to death. “Does it matter whose knife it was!? Didn’t I warn you over and over: Don’t provoke Lai Li! Don’t provoke Lai Li!”
Tang Yuanyang was sprayed with saliva but finally shut up. Only then did fear creep in belatedly. So many onlookers, and no one had seen Lai Li slip him the knife—not even he’d reacted in time.
“Even if the company survives, it’ll fail in your hands sooner or later.” Tang Xueda suddenly deflated. “Who can you outplay, Yuanyang?”
Tang Yuanyang froze.
Tang Xueda let out a long breath. “Of course I know you didn’t wield the knife. You think Dai Linxuan can’t tell?”
Tang Yuanyang was stunned. “He knows and still acts like this? He dotes on Lai Li that much? Enough to ignore business?”
Tang Xueda ignored him, muttering to himself. “Your grandpa always said Dai Linxuan was the sharpest of Danshi’s younger generation. Now I see he was right… He probably knew our plan from the start. He turned down three invitations before this—he was just toying with us like dogs. Lai Li was just an excuse.”
“Dad, what are you talking about?” Tang Yuanyang was baffled. “What’s going on between you guys?”
…
Lai Li entered the apartment and asked puzzledly, “Why not go home?”
Dai Linxuan took off his suit jacket and sat on the sofa, closing his eyes. “It’s closer to your school.”
Lai Li pointed to his neck. “Guess if the counselor will let me skip military training tomorrow?”
Dai Linxuan said, “Then rest.”
The apartment was one Lai Li had bought after filling out his applications. It was a ten-minute drive from school, over two hundred square meters, exquisitely furnished.
Lai Li carried the takeout to the kitchen and found what seemed to be a microwave. It had too many buttons; he could only identify the power switch.
As he debated skipping it or searching online, Dai Linxuan walked in, carrying a faint scent of alcohol. He moved Lai Li aside, took plates from the sterilizer cabinet, portioned the food, and put them one by one into the microwave.
During the wait, Lai Li leaned against the doorframe, watching Dai Linxuan with an inexplicable irritation.
It wasn’t the first time a business partner had tried to push someone on Dai Linxuan, but today felt the most disgusting.
Not because Xiao Zhou resembled him, or because he was a boy—but because Dai Linxuan was flawless in both private and public virtue, yet sleazy people still projected their filth onto him with rumors and slander.
Though some incomprehensible changes had happened lately, for the past twelve years, Dai Linxuan had been an impeccable brother—too good, even.
“Didn’t you enjoy dinner?” Dai Linxuan asked, looking at the warming glow in the microwave.
“Hm…?” Lai Li didn’t catch on. “The noodles were too soft. I barely ate any.”
Dai Linxuan said nothing more.
Four dishes and a soup made for a lavish night snack, but Dai Linxuan barely touched his chopsticks. He poured himself a full glass of red wine and stared out the window in a daze.
Lai Li snatched the glass and downed it in one go. “White wine, then red—you’re trying to kill yourself.”
Dai Linxuan glanced at him but didn’t pour another. “Get some rest early.”
He got up and headed to the secondary bedroom.
Lai Li watched his back, the frustration that had been building inside him over this time reaching its peak. Back in the country for just half a month, Dai Linxuan had first used him as a tool to vent his desires, then acted like nothing happened—no explanation, nothing. And now he was off to the secondary bedroom, pretending to be some gentleman?
So it wasn’t him thrusting into his little brother’s mouth that day, huh? Fucking hell.
Lai Li slammed down his chopsticks and followed him to the secondary bedroom.
Dai Linxuan had just stripped off half his clothes when he heard the footsteps but didn’t stop. With the last button undone, his shirt fell onto the bench at the foot of the bed, revealing his pale back.
Dai Linxuan had perfect posture, his spine straight like a pine tree, with just the right amount of muscle covering it—firm yet supple.
Lai Li suddenly forgot what he had wanted to say, inexplicably recalling what He Shuxin had said before getting beaten into the hospital: “Your brother’s waist-to-hip ratio is so perfect, standing in a crowd in a suit is like scattering aphrodisiac.”
Dai Linxuan unbuckled his belt. “Go sleep now that you’re full. The auntie will clean up in the morning…”
His voice cut off abruptly as he lowered his gaze to his waist, where an extra hand had appeared.
“Lai Li, go back to your room.”
“How about you punch me?” Lai Li rested his forehead against Dai Linxuan’s shoulder, drawling lazily. “Why do I feel like you’ve wanted to hit me since you saw me today?”
Dai Linxuan had never properly beaten Lai Li—not once.
Lai Li’s breath brushed Dai Linxuan’s shoulder as he whispered seductively, “Why hold back? If you think I did wrong, just hit me. It’s not like it’ll kill me—”
The rest of his words died in his throat. Dai Linxuan gripped his jaw and swung him onto the bed, kneeling over him. Despite the violent motion, his tone remained restrained. “Why didn’t you let the knife go for your throat? I swear I’d grind Tang Yuanyang to dust and make you happy.”
Lai Li sank into the bedding, somewhat surprised, but he quickly recovered and patted his brother’s hand lightly. “He was spreading rumors about you. I was pissed, and it was just a way to get you to pick me up and bring me home.”
Dai Linxuan stared at him for a long time before slowly saying, “If you’re going to throw your life away like this, just give it to me.”
Kneeling over him, Dai Linxuan looked calm, but Lai Li somehow sensed a hint of subtle loss of control. His wound was being pressed hard by Dai Linxuan’s thumb, the white dressing starting to show hints of red.
“Fine.” Lai Li reached up to hook his arm around Dai Linxuan’s shoulder, drawling lazily, “Bro, hasn’t this life of mine always been yours? Take it whenever you want.”
The force in Dai Linxuan’s hand gradually increased. Lai Li grunted, his breathing growing labored, but he didn’t resist. He just focused on observing Dai Linxuan.
The dim yellow light cast shadows on Dai Linxuan’s profile, his eyes completely hidden in the darkness. For a split second, Lai Li wondered if he was imagining it, but Dai Linxuan seemed to hate him.
Why?
Lai Li had thought Dai Linxuan was just angry about his self-harm today, but now he realized it was more than that. The light was too dim, though—he couldn’t read Dai Linxuan’s eyes.
Just as Lai Li was on the verge of suffocating, Dai Linxuan suddenly released him. As he caught his breath, the dressing on his wound was peeled back again. Dai Linxuan gripped his jaw and tilted his head up, forcing his neck into the longest arc, then leaned down and took it into his mouth. When the wet tip of his tongue slid over the slender wound, a mix of stinging pain and tingling numbness exploded in Lai Li’s mind like strong liquor, making his heart jolt.
The next second, a tearing pain ripped through—Dai Linxuan had bitten his neck, hard enough to seem like he wanted to tear off a piece of flesh!
“Hng… Bro?”
Lai Li had no choice but to keep his head tilted back, suppressing the urge to chop the back of his brother’s neck with a knife-hand strike. He loosely hugged Dai Linxuan’s shoulders and growled, “Dai Linxuan, are you fucking a dog!?”
