Chapter 33: Biological Part 1

Today’s itinerary was rather private, so Dai Linxuan’s outfit fell somewhere between formal and casual: a crisp white shirt inside, topped with a light chestnut cardigan. After fastening the last button, he opened the door and walked out.

Lai Li stood right at the doorway and naturally took the bathrobe he’d just changed out of, with yesterday’s clothes still draped over his arm.

“…Where are you taking them?”

“Aren’t you going to wash them?” Lai Li paused at the laundry room door and turned his head to look at Dai Linxuan. “You said last night that every one of these houses is home.”

“So?”

“You always have people take the clothes away to wash. What’s the difference between that and treating this place like a hotel?” Lai Li asked in a declarative tone. “Bro, look around. Is there a single thing in this house that belongs to you?”

Dai Linxuan chuckled mockingly. “Don’t you have a lot of stuff here?”

He’d only bought this apartment recently, and Lai Li hadn’t stayed over many times. All the daily necessities were restocked periodically by Uncle Ren.

“I at least have clothes.” Lai Li paused. “Bro, leave a few things here. That way, you won’t have to have someone send them over the next morning… if you still want to stay with me in the future.”

The implication in his words made it sound like he was the one begging and unable to let go.

Dai Linxuan was momentarily speechless, then sighed after a while. “My dear Young Master Lai, do you know that a lot of clothes can’t go in the washing machine? You think I have people take them away because I don’t treat this place like home?”

Lai Li: “…I haven’t washed them before. I wouldn’t know.”

Of course, Dai Linxuan knew. He’d washed Lai Li’s underwear the first time he’d had a wet dream.

At sixteen, Lai Li had called out “Bro” as he lost himself, but when he woke up, he finally seemed to understand shame. He sat there with his head down, not saying a word. When Dai Linxuan pretended not to know and asked what was wrong, the little rascal slowly pulled out his shorts and said, “You can’t let the auntie wash this, right…?”

“The shirt I wore yesterday will be ruined after one cycle,” Dai Linxuan said flatly as he stepped forward. “Give it to me. You go sleep.”

The apartment’s laundry room was narrow. While taking the clothes, Dai Linxuan pushed Lai Li out, not letting him near the washing machine. Lai Li stared at his brother’s back, rooted to the spot.

“You can call the auntie from home to come over later if you don’t want to take them away.” Dai Linxuan tidied up simply, then glanced back to see Lai Li still hadn’t left. “—Go look in the mirror. See how you’re no different from a ghost right now.”

Only then did Lai Li snap out of it, slowly giving him a glance. “Bro…”

“I’ll give you the camera in a few days.” Dai Linxuan brushed past Lai Li’s shoulder as he left the laundry room. “My schedule’s tight these next couple days. No time to get it for you.”

He could have told Lai Li where the camera was and let him fetch it himself, or had someone deliver it. But clearly, Dai Linxuan had no intention of doing so.

Maybe he planned to tamper with it, or maybe he didn’t want to reveal his recent whereabouts. Either way, Lai Li wasn’t going to take it lying down.

“Go sleep.” Dai Linxuan stopped and turned sideways to look at him. “Sleep on your side if it hurts.”

Lai Li lowered his gaze, quickly hiding the darkness in his eyes. “Bro, I’m hungry.”

Dai Linxuan checked the time and headed to the kitchen. “What do you want? I leave at nine, so I can only make something simple for breakf—You made this?”

Two bowls of noodles were already served on the table, steaming hot, accompanied by fried eggs and a side of greens. They looked decent.

“Yeah.” Lai Li pulled out a chair, gesturing for his brother to sit. “Try it.”

Dai Linxuan tasted the fried egg. “—Not bad. You’ve improved a lot, Little Chestnut.”

Only then did Lai Li sit down, saying lightly, “I fried it a few times.”

The taste was decent, but Dai Linxuan had no appetite. He was increasingly tempted to crack open Lai Li’s head and see what was inside.

Whose little brother would get beaten by his older brother, get sternly told to cut ties, and then turn around and make breakfast for him—trying multiple times?

Lai Li watched him. “Not to your taste?”

Dai Linxuan stared at him steadily for a moment, nearly tempted to repeat last night’s words. But then he thought, other people’s little brothers weren’t like Lai Li, and other people’s big brothers weren’t like him—harboring improper thoughts about their brother.

Forget it. As long as the body stayed away from him, it would be fine. Otherwise, he might really commit another crime someday.

“Stop fussing around from now on.” Dai Linxuan took a sip of the soup. “Do you like cooking?”

Lai Li understood the subtext: if he didn’t like it, don’t do it. So he retorted, “You don’t like it either.”

Dai Linxuan let out a soft, amused sound. “What then? You were harder to please than a crown prince when you were little.”

Especially the last couple years, when Lai Li’s appetite had been tiny. He’d get full after two bites and often had no stomach for food, so they had to sneak in small, frequent meals at other times.

One night, Dai Linxuan woke up in the middle of the night to find Little Chestnut sprawled in his arms, staring at him with big round eyes like a little milk dog.

When he asked why he wasn’t sleeping, Little Chestnut whispered in a tiny voice that he was hungry and wanted egg fried rice.

Dai Linxuan’s heart softened terribly, but he didn’t want to wake the auntie, so he searched tutorials online and clumsily made a bowl of egg fried rice—the grains weren’t even separated.

Unexpectedly, Lai Li ate it all politely, his belly swelling round.

Dai Linxuan tried a few more times later and found that no matter how it tasted—as long as he made it—Lai Li would obediently finish every bite, leaving nothing behind.

From then on, to ensure Lai Li got enough nutrition during his growth spurt, Dai Linxuan gradually learned to cook. He did it less after Lai Li grew up, though—truly no time.

“It’s not for you.” Lai Li picked up a chopstick of noodles and ate them. “It’s for my future life…”

His expression stiffened as he barely swallowed the noodles. “It’s so bland, and you call it good?”

Dai Linxuan smirked, stirred the noodles apart, and kept eating. “You go too heavy on flavors. I think it’s just right.”

Lai Li suspiciously took another bite—still bland and tasteless. The fried egg was passable, its crispy golden crust standing in for salt.

Dai Linxuan glanced at him. “If it’s too bland, dissolve some salt in hot water and mix it in.”

Lai Li refused. “No need.”

His brother could eat it, so he could too.

Dai Linxuan didn’t press. Casually, he asked, “What does learning to cook have to do with your future life?”

“Mastering one more skill is never a bad thing.” Lai Li lowered his eyes and chewed on the greens. “If you get tired of me later, I can still cook for you.”

Dai Linxuan laughed. “What, treat the family chefs like decorations?”

Lai Li shook his head slightly, offering no further explanation.

“Do as you like.” Dai Linxuan finished the last bite of noodles, pulled a napkin to wipe his mouth, considered his words for a moment, and said softly, “Little Chestnut, Bro will never let you end up isolated and helpless.”

“…” Lai Li’s hand tightened slightly on his chopsticks. “Even if—”

Before he could finish, someone called Dai Linxuan. He didn’t answer right away, waiting for Lai Li to continue. “Even if what?”

“Nothing.” Lai Li smiled faintly. “Bro, take the call.”

Dai Linxuan answered. On the other end was Li Jue, the assistant he’d brought to Dai Corporation. “President Dai, Dai Enming’s secretary just called. He says he can’t make lunch today.”

Dai Linxuan asked, “Reason?”

Li Jue said, “They were tight-lipped. Just insisted it was a sudden thing.”

It was almost noon already—very sudden indeed.

Dai Linxuan said, “Don’t hassle them about today’s cancellation. Ask when they’re free next time.”

Li Jue replied, “Got it. I’ll handle it right away.”

After hanging up, Lai Li asked, “Dai Enming bailed?”

“Yeah.” Dai Linxuan tapped his fingers thoughtfully.

Dai Enming was Dai Enhao’s cousin, as well as a shareholder and director at Dai Corporation. Early on, before entering the board, he’d signed an acting-in-concert agreement with Jiang Qiujun. Even though it had expired, he still aligned with her faction and wasn’t likely to flip suddenly.

Having his secretary notify Dai Linxuan’s assistant meant he didn’t want direct contact. It suggested the person or matter forcing Dai Enming to cancel lunch was awkward—possibly involving him.

Dai Linxuan sent a message home asking if Dai Yi was there.

[Cai Bo]: Little Yi just left. Said she’s going to Great-Uncle’s for lunch.

What a coincidence.

He didn’t know how Dai Yi had learned about his lunch with Dai Enming… Due to her age and Dai Songxue’s disdain for daughters, she couldn’t enter the board anytime soon. Actually, going out to make connections now was ideal. There were too many people in this generation of Dai Corporation vying for power. Even without the hidden conflicts, it was a stinking quagmire.

Lai Li interrupted Dai Linxuan’s reverie. “Bro?”

Dai Linxuan came back to himself, cleared their bowls into the kitchen, and repeated, “Go sleep.”

Lai Li stopped at the kitchen doorway, sunlight streaming through the window and stopping just at his toes. “Can’t sleep.”

Dai Linxuan said okay. “I’ll knock you out after I wash these.”

Lai Li stood in the shadows, eyes downcast, gaze on the floor, voice soft. “Bro, I can’t sleep without you.”

Dai Linxuan put away the washed bowls, tapped the cabinet shut with a soft click. He turned to Lai Li, drying his hands as he asked, “Then how have you managed these past two years?”

How had he managed… Nights lived in yesterday, days in the present—neither had Dai Linxuan, so both were equally hateful and painful.

Familiar clamor filled Lai Li’s ears, separated from the apartment’s sounds by a thin membrane, like simple tinnitus.

They could break through at any moment, swapping places, inverting reality and dream.

Lai Li stepped back, voice hoarse. “Bro, you go ahead and get busy.”

He hurried to the bedroom. Just before closing the door, resistance came from behind.

He curled his lips subtly.

But Dai Linxuan didn’t get into bed. Instead, he sat in the single armchair by it, crossing his legs elegantly and propping up his laptop. “I’ll work on a proposal. Leaving at three this afternoon.”