Chapter 88: Do It Again

“Bro, don’t—”

Lai Li’s pupils contracted. Before he could finish his words, a fist came flying at him. He stood rooted to the spot without so much as swaying.

But only the wind grazed his face.

Lai Li’s eyelashes fluttered slowly.

Dai Linxuan looked at him. “Why didn’t you dodge?”

“Bro, stop messing around.” Lai Li frowned. “I’m not fighting you.”

“Didn’t we used to spar all the time?”

They had stepped into the ring more times than he could count. The first time was after Lai Li’s initial kidnapping. Dai Linxuan realized he needed self-defense skills and dragged him straight to a fight coach without another word.

But Lai Li hated getting close to people, so Dai Linxuan had to teach him personally.

He wasn’t a pro, and his instruction was pretty crude, but Lai Li picked it up fast. The coach called him a natural talent and hounded him to go pro…

Of course, Dai Linxuan wouldn’t let him. He coaxed and tricked Lai Li into turning the guy down.

Later, as they got older and Lai Li could interact normally with others, Dai Linxuan got busier and handed him off to the coach properly. He only occasionally hopped into the ring to check his progress.

The last time they’d gone at it was over two years ago.

“Stop standing there like an idiot.” Dai Linxuan loosened his fist. “I’m serious. If you win, you can do whatever you want.”

Lai Li pursed his lips. “Your pants aren’t right for this.”

“Easy fix. I’ll go change now.” Dai Linxuan bent down to lift the ring rope. “The clothes I stashed here should still be around… they wouldn’t have tossed them.”

Before his leg could swing over, a body pressed close from behind, wrapped around his waist, and threw him in a takedown.

The ring mat was soft. It didn’t hurt.

Lai Li pinned him down, his dark eyes staring intently. “Bro, you haven’t trained in forever. How’re you gonna fight me?”

“True enough.” Dai Linxuan smiled up at him. “Here’s the deal: Give me a handicap. If you take me down five times in ten minutes, you win. Otherwise, if I take you down three times in ten, I win. Sound good?”

Lai Li grew agitated. “You really have to…”

Dai Linxuan hummed. “I do.”

Lai Li raised his hand immediately, but Dai Linxuan knew him too well. He flipped over and slipped away. When he stood, he wobbled but didn’t panic. He backed up into the ropes, used the rebound to steady himself, and drawled, “Pinning me for ten minutes doesn’t count.”

Lai Li was truly pushed to the edge. Without a word, he swept a low kick across. Dai Linxuan dodged easily. Lai Li braced on the ground and followed with the other leg. Dai Linxuan kept retreating until he had nowhere to go.

He simply grabbed Lai Li’s calf, yanked him close, and said, “You won’t win dragging it out like this—”

The next second, Lai Li hugged his waist and slammed him to the mat!

Dai Linxuan reacted fast. He sat up mid-air, thrust his hips to shove Lai Li’s face aside, and pulled his legs free.

“One.” Lai Li rose slowly and licked his lips. “Bro.”

Dai Linxuan paced. “Keep going—”

As the attacks intensified, Dai Linxuan found his rhythm. Sweat beaded all over his body. Lai Li was the same, pulling every dirty trick except going all out.

In Dai Linxuan’s eyes, Lai Li had too many openings. In just three minutes, he’d spotted at least five chances for a choke.

His brother was still too fragile. Anyone could hurt him.

Lai Li clenched his fists. His punches looked vicious but never truly sank into flesh. They grappled and tumbled into the ropes, then bounced back.

Finally, Lai Li found another opening. He hooked Dai Linxuan’s leg and waist-tossed him down.

“Two.” Lai Li whispered in his ear, then stood and backed away.

Still under four minutes.

Dai Linxuan’s expression turned serious. He started anticipating Lai Li’s next moves. He really couldn’t let Lai Li be his bodyguard—not anytime soon, anyway.

They couldn’t use lethal moves like chokes on each other, only skill and leverage.

When Lai Li grabbed his wrist, Dai Linxuan reversed it, cupped his chin, and spun to flip him over.

“One.”

Dai Linxuan grew more focused, but Lai Li only got more irritated. He realized Dai Linxuan truly didn’t want him sticking close.

Why? What shady shit was he hiding?!

Lai Li’s punches gained real force. The fight turned tense, heavy, like it decided life or death—or some huge prize. Neither would yield.

In the final minute, they each had one shot left.

Lai Li’s sclera was still bloodshot from before. The pained, aggrieved look in his eyes hurt to see, like he carried the world’s suffering.

In an instant, Dai Linxuan locked his waist. But Lai Li’s gaze lingered in his mind, and his grip slackened.

“Bro, going soft now will get you—”

With a thud, Dai Linxuan hit the mat and heard the rest through Lai Li’s ragged breaths: “—counter-killed.”

Dai Linxuan touched the corner of his eye and nodded at the wall clock. “Time’s up, baby.”

Lai Li jerked his head away. The second hand had indeed passed ten. Furious, his eyes reddened. He pushed up to leave, but Dai Linxuan yanked his arm, pulling him crashing down hard onto his chest.

Dai Linxuan yelped in pain.

Lai Li said coldly, “Don’t use the same move twice.”

The boy-who-cried-wolf effect.

Dai Linxuan sighed inwardly, ignored the ache in his ribs, slipped his hand under Lai Li’s armpits, hugged his back tight, and held him close.

“First intense workout since the hospital?” Dai Linxuan steadied his breathing. “Catch your breath.”

Lai Li: “This is nothing. Again.”

“…” Dai Linxuan was helpless. “You’re the young master with a packed schedule. Why play bodyguard for me?”

Lai Li scoffed. “Who else treats me like a young master besides you?”

Dai Linxuan stroked his hair. He almost said plenty—the housekeepers and aunts all saw him as family. But it became: “If I treat you like one, isn’t that enough? Who else do you need?”

“…” Lai Li fell for it. He went quiet, then said, “One more round. No stakes.”

Dai Linxuan chuckled. “What, not satisfied? Or do you just wanna hit me?”

“You’re the one who wants to hit me.” Lai Li broke free, grabbed his hand into a fist, and pointed it at his own face. “You’ve wanted to punch me for ages. Don’t deny it.”

Dai Linxuan: “…”

Lai Li said, “Here’s your chance today. Punch away.”

Dai Linxuan frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

He moved to stand, but Lai Li pinned his shoulder to the mat. “Throw a punch today, or you’re not leaving this room!”

“Spoiled—” Dai Linxuan rolled, flipped Lai Li down, and slammed a fist beside his ear. “Can you stop poking at me every damn day?”

Lai Li didn’t speak. He lunged and pinned him again.

Dai Linxuan had no choice but to fight back, but his fists never landed on Lai Li—just knocked him down over and over, like when he was a kid.

And just like then, he eventually couldn’t keep up.

Lai Li hunched over. “Two years ago, I seduced you and dragged you down—”

Dai Linxuan hooked his leg. When he fell, he immediately pulled back.

Lai Li did a carp flip to his feet. “But then I said those hurtful things right after. Did you really forgive me?”

Dai Linxuan: “Shut up.”

Lai Li ignored him, panting. “I slept with you and forgot immediately. You’re not mad?”

After pinning him again, Dai Linxuan didn’t retreat. He kept pressing Lai Li’s shoulders, brows furrowing deeper, like he endured something.

Lai Li pointed at his face. “Hit here. My face didn’t get surgery. A couple days’ rest and it’s fine.”

Dai Linxuan’s chest ached with each throb, pissed at Lai Li.

“Stop frowning. I hate it.” Lai Li grabbed his hand and pressed it to his neck. “If you’re upset, just hit me. Or bite me like before—”

“Bro, I like the pain you give me.”

It always etched moments into his flesh and blood.

“Like pain, huh?” Dai Linxuan nodded and reached for his waist.

Lai Li startled and glanced at the door instinctively.

“Scared of what? No cameras.” Dai Linxuan said calmly. “You’ve been hard for a while, haven’t you?”

The fabric tented more. Lai Li dropped his gaze. “You too.”

Dai Linxuan: “I’m not impotent.”

Lai Li gripped his wrist tight. “Door’s not locked. Someone could walk in…”

Dai Linxuan asked mildly, “Not here?”

Lai Li’s mind blanked. He never imagined his upright bro could suggest something so lewd. He struggled. “…No.”

No cameras, sure. Just the ring in the room, and the coach wouldn’t barge in without permission. But there was a bar counter, pool table, mahjong setup on one side, and huge lake-view windows opposite…

Plus, the ring wasn’t spotless. Letting his bro lie there was like letting dust violate him.

So Lai Li repeated firmly, “No.”

Dai Linxuan stood, pulling him up. “Then home.”

“Now?”

“We ate lunch. You’re not out of energy, are you?”

Lai Li hesitated as he followed, put on his shoes, got in the car, returned to Hezi Mountain Mansion, took the elevator, and opened the door.

What did his bro mean? Sex?

Why so sudden? Wasn’t he unwilling before? Distracting from the bodyguard talk?

Dai Linxuan walked into the bedroom. “Go shower.”

Lai Li dazedly stepped under the spray. Ten minutes later, he wandered back in a fog.

He’d taken too long. Dai Linxuan had showered in the guest bath. He came in, lifted the back of Lai Li’s bathrobe collar, and kissed his nape. His lips trailed slowly down his spine.

Lai Li felt uneasy. “Bro…”

Dai Linxuan murmured low, “Right here.”

He gripped Lai Li’s shoulders, sat him facing forward on the bed, then pushed his chest to lay him back. Dai Linxuan braced on one side and leaned down to kiss his eye corner.

Lai Li’s pent-up agitation exploded. He grabbed his bro’s shoulders, flipped him under, and ravaged his mouth in a storm.

“Bro…”

Dai Linxuan’s brow twitched faintly before he silenced him.

Since that one lesson before, Lai Li always kissed with eyes closed, letting Dai Linxuan spy openly. Lai Li sometimes sensed it, but whenever he peeked, Dai Linxuan’s eyes were either shut or met his innocently.

Lai Li dipped his head into Dai Linxuan’s shoulder. “I remembered some things.”

Dai Linxuan’s heart skipped. “What?”

“Clips of you teaching me to fight. Lots.” Lai Li nibbled his collarbone. “Bro, doing things once more brings it all back.”

Dai Linxuan paused. “Scared?”

Lai Li looked up. “…Of what?”

“Didn’t you remember?” Dai Linxuan said softly. “You know what I mean.”

Lai Li: “I’ve never been scared with you around.”

Dai Linxuan: “Really? Not even the first time we sparred?”

Lai Li scowled, straddled his hips. “Is that it? You feel guilty, so now you’ll sleep with me?”

“Of course not.” Dai Linxuan gazed at him. “I just want to know how you felt back then.”

“Then I’ll tell you: Yeah, I was scared.” Lai Li bit out each word. “Scared you’d find out I was Cricket, used to fighting in rings. Scared I’d hurt you by accident! Scared you’d ditch me, scared—”

Dai Linxuan yanked him down and kissed him again.

Lai Li couldn’t refuse, only squeezing out, “You didn’t know about that stuff back then. Don’t feel guilty over nothing… Hmph.”

His bro’s kisses were killer. Lai Li felt unsatisfied yet thrilled, a tingling itch racing from palate to brain, scalp exploding in shivers.

He heard a bottle cap pop.

It rolled to the floor with a faint clink, drowned in the heat. Lai Li didn’t register until his bro’s hand slid downward—

“……!” Lai Li jerked upright, but it was too late. Dai Linxuan flipped him straight onto the bedding beside them, pinning him down face-first.

“Ge—”

Dai Linxuan stroked the tiny surgical scar on the back of his head, leaning down to chuckle by his ear. “Didn’t you say you wanted to do it again?”

Lai Li’s counter-move froze. In that instant, his brain cells nearly burned out from overthinking—

Two years ago, hadn’t he been on top? So why didn’t he remember?

Wasn’t the first time supposed to hurt? Had Jing Deyu lied to him???

Dai Linxuan warmed the lube with his fingers, his touch gentle. “Little Chestnut, it seems like you’ve misunderstood something.”

Lai Li stiffened for a moment before giving up the resistance. He buried his face in the pillow and gritted out through clenched teeth, “Dai Linxuan, if I don’t remember after we’re done, then you—”

Then what?

Lai Li didn’t even know. What could he possibly do to his big brother?

He used to threaten others all the time: “If you do this or that, you’re dead meat,” and he’d probably follow through. But he could never say those three words to his brother.

Dai Linxuan, in a pretty good mood, asked, “Didn’t you say you liked the pain?”

Lai Li shut his mouth.

Twenty minutes later, he finally figured out why he hadn’t remembered that night two years ago—

His brother was still dawdling and hadn’t even gotten to the main event! Pain my ass!

“You—”

Dai Linxuan didn’t let him finish the question. He shoved his fingers into Lai Li’s mouth, pressing down on his tongue root, his thumb teasingly pinching the tip.

He grabbed a packet from beside them, tearing it open with his teeth, and feigned regret. “I actually gave you a chance back then, but unfortunately, the first thing you said was…”

Lai Li, annoyed that he was biting something else, suddenly recalled that voice from back then in sync—“Ge, I don’t want to ruin you.”

Just as Dai Linxuan was about to roll it on, Lai Li started thrashing violently. He paused, pulled out his slick fingers, and smiled. “Not willing?”

Lai Li snatched the little packet from his hand and flung it away without looking, where it smacked the window with a “bang,” leaving a glossy streak.

“Where’d you get this?”

“Liao De gave it to me this morning.”

“How did he know your size—”

Dai Linxuan clamped a hand over his mouth. “I asked him for it.”

Lai Li peeled his hand away, his eyes brimming with murderous intent. “So now he knows we—”

With Lai Li’s obsession about sticking together twenty-four-seven—not to mention wanting to be his personal bodyguard—who could they even hide it from?

Dai Linxuan coaxed him. “He already knew I liked you before. He won’t blab. You’ve known him long enough; he keeps his mouth shut on important stuff.”

“…I don’t have any diseases.” Lai Li closed his eyes and grabbed his hand before he could grab another one. “No condom. No one but you has ever fucked me.”

Lai Li always dropped bombshells like that, sending heart rates skyrocketing.

Dai Linxuan took a moment to steady himself, then dredged up his last shred of conscience. “Little Chestnut… this is your final chance.”

Lai Li opened his eyes and twisted his head to stare at him. “What do you mean?”

“If you refuse now—say no, or shake your head—I can pretend none of this ever happened. I’ll stay by your side as your brother forever. I have no plans to get married, and strictly speaking, I don’t even like men, so you don’t have to worry about all that nonsense.” Dai Linxuan kept going. “Whether you want to stay single forever or date whoever—men, women, cats, dogs—it’s up to you—”

Lai Li’s face stayed calm, but his anger had built to a boiling point. “You could really stand seeing me with someone else? Stand me parading around in front of you with hickeys from them?”

Lai Li nearly gagged at his own words, pissed enough to spit blood. “We’re this far in, and you’re still spouting this hypocritical bullshit!?”

“I’m a hypocrite with a strong possessive streak. After this, there’s no way I’ll ever let you go.” Dai Linxuan crooked a finger, gently scraping his cheek. “Little Chestnut, I’m truly a terrible person—this isn’t self-deprecation. You shouldn’t put me on such a pedestal. Think it over carefully before we continue.”

Lai Li bit his tongue and roared, “You said you loved me, that you wanted to grow old with me and be buried on the island—was that all just bullshit to toy with me!?”

Dai Linxuan pried open his jaw and murmured to himself, “Looks like you’ve made up your mind.”

As he pushed in, he leaned down to kiss Lai Li, repeating almost the exact same words from back then. “Don’t regret it… I love you.”

Lai Li’s eyes burned red as he glared death at him.

Dai Linxuan let out a deeply satisfied sigh.

He had finally, completely claimed the brother he’d raised. There was no turning back now.