Chapter 46: Zhou Zhuoyi: The Little Brother Can’t Be Replaced

Pei He was halfway through the massage when Zhou Zhuoyuan, who had been sitting upright, suddenly slumped over and fell asleep.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, adjusted the man’s position, and carefully tucked the blanket over him.

Running back and forth between two rooms was far too much hassle. If something happened, he might not notice in time. So Pei He simply settled onto the sofa by the bed and scrolled through his phone.

Following the method he’d looked up online, Pei He soaked a towel in warm water and gently wiped Zhou Zhuoyuan’s face. As he did so, a faint murmur suddenly escaped his lips.

“Don’t…”

Don’t what? Don’t bully him? Don’t hit him? Don’t come closer? Or don’t call him cute?

Pei He leaned his ear close to Zhou Zhuoyuan’s lips and heard him whisper, “Don’t die…”

He froze for a moment, then slowly straightened up. This time, Zhou Zhuoyuan didn’t shed any tears. He simply started breathing rapidly the instant Pei He pulled away.

Was he dreaming of someone important dying?

The hot-tempered Zhou Zhuoyuan, who seemed so skilled at protecting himself, apparently harbored many secrets—secrets that always left him heartbroken.

Pei He brushed the stray hairs from his ear and said with unwavering resolve, “I won’t die.”

The dream turned utterly bizarre.

At first, Zhou Zhuoyuan shuttled back and forth on the day of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and Aunt Wu’s death. Scenes of Zhou Zhuoyi’s heart attack and Aunt Wu closing her eyes replayed endlessly.

Suddenly, both Zhou Zhuoyi’s and Aunt Wu’s faces morphed into Pei He’s. Their dark pupils brimmed with earnestness as they declared, “I won’t die. I hope you can muster your courage, treat death as an opportunity you can afford to miss, and go on living well.”

It was so eerie that Zhou Zhuoyuan broke out in a cold sweat.

Thanks to Pei He’s scientific and meticulous care, the reluctant fever patient gradually improved after sweating it out.

By dinnertime, his fever had mostly broken. But the illness clung like a silken thread, leaving him weak and coughing—a lingering malaise that forced him to stay at the hotel and recuperate.

Pei He stopped wandering outside too. He spent the whole day in Zhou Zhuoyuan’s room, watching movies with him. His ideas were endless: cartoons one moment, horror flicks the next.

He enthusiastically recommended one. “This is amazing. I watched it before and loved it.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan asked, “If you’ve already seen it, why watch it again?”

Pei He replied, “Because it’s that good—you can watch it a million times.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. He watched with rapt attention, turning during an exciting scene to gauge Zhou Zhuoyuan’s reaction—only to find him fast asleep, still sitting up.

Pei He felt a twinge of disappointment. He gently laid him down and adjusted the covers, then noticed the faint smile curving Zhou Zhuoyuan’s lips. He couldn’t tell if he’d dozed off at a funny moment or was lost in a pleasant dream.

That smile chased away Pei He’s gloom. Gazing at Zhou Zhuoyuan, who so often sacrificed sleep for studying, he murmured, “All right. If you’re tired, get some rest.”

~~~

Soon, it was the penultimate day of the vacation Zhu Wan had approved for Zhou Zhuoyuan. She video-called him.

Zhou Zhuoyuan ended the video call and asked Pei He to pause the movie. “The Zhou family members are calling me. Can you come back later?”

Pei He flashed an OK sign. He didn’t ask why it was “the Zhou family members,” just as he hadn’t inquired earlier about when Zhou Zhuoyuan had vomited blood.

He shouldn’t pry too much into He Qinglan’s boyfriend.

When the belated call connected—which she’d unilaterally switched from video to voice—Zhu Wan spoke remarkably calmly. “What time’s your flight tomorrow? I’ll have your big brother pick you up.”

The distance to the reassuring North City had made Zhou Zhuoyuan bold. “I caught a cold. I’m planning to head back in a couple of days.”

Worry crept into Zhu Wan’s voice. “When did that happen? Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Have you taken any medicine?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan replied, “Today. So I figure it’ll take a couple days to shake it off before I can travel.”

She instantly detected the brush-off in his tone. “I’ll have your big brother come get you tomorrow.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan’s heart lurched. This was his vacation—what little was left of it. He couldn’t bear having it cut short. “No!”

Zhu Wan pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine, then I’ll come myself. Does that work?”

His lips began to tremble. The memory of that bowl of porridge surged up, churning nausea in his throat. His words stuttered out like a glitching tape: “No. Don’t push me, or… I’ll… stay right here.”

Zhu Wan had lost count of how many times Zhou Zhuoyuan had rejected her like this. Ever since she’d refused to accompany him during his studies, the refusals never stopped—excuses when he was in a good mood, ugly threats when he wasn’t.

When she thought back to what had happened last time, Zhu Wan felt a twinge of fear. This was the child she had carried for ten months, born tiny and crying fiercely in the doctor’s arms. She had fainted before even getting a good look at him, only imagining what a spirited little guy he must be. But last time at the Zhou Family home, Zhou Zhuoyuan had been anything but spirited. His fever spiked and fell repeatedly, refusing to break no matter what they did. In her arms, he lay limp, gasping through his mouth, and later he couldn’t even keep medicine down—he vomited every dose.

Zhu Wan hadn’t believed the doctor at the time. Zhou Zhuoyuan had clearly wanted to return to the Zhou Family. He hadn’t hesitated for a second between the Lin Family and the Zhou Family, even asking on the road how much money they could give him. But in the end, with no other options, they had treated the dying horse as if it were alive. And sure enough, after leaving the Zhou Family, Zhou Zhuoyuan began to recover bit by bit. So she had no choice but to admit the doctor was right: he had a strong psychological rejection of the Zhou Family, which was why his illness wouldn’t improve.

Now, Zhou Zhuoyuan didn’t just reject the Zhou Family—he was starting to reject her too.

Zhu Wan took a deep breath and explained, “I’m not forcing you. I’m just concerned.”

Only words like that could calm Zhou Zhuoyuan down. “I don’t need anyone. My friend has been taking care of me.”

He was willing to owe Pei He a favor. If Pei He ever needed help in the future, he would go through fire and water for him without a second thought.

Zhu Wan took a big step back. “Then give me your boyfriend’s contact information.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan gave her his burner number. “Don’t call him, though. He’s pretty introverted.”

After the call ended, his burner phone received a transfer of fifty thousand from Zhu Wan.

Zhu Wan: Thanks for taking care of Zhuoyuan. Please let me know if anything comes up.

Zhou Zhuoyuan replied: No trouble at all. Thank you, Auntie.

Then he pocketed the fifty thousand.

~~~

The snow had stopped, and the sun blazed brightly outside, almost painfully so. Zhou Zhuoyuan had holed up in the hotel for three days, so when he finally stepped out, his eyes needed a moment to adjust. He squinted at Pei He, who was crouched on the ground shaping a snow bunny.

Pei He had shown him a tutorial on his phone the day before. It wasn’t too difficult.

“So cute!” Pei He marveled at his own handiwork and placed the snow bunny in Zhou Zhuoyuan’s palm.

Through his gloves, Zhou Zhuoyuan was afraid he’d drop the little thing, so he cupped it carefully in both hands, meeting its sesame-seed eyes. “These eyes are so tiny.”

Pei He walked ahead. “Aren’t beady eyes cute?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan said, “Smaller than beady eyes.”

Their plan for the day was still to head to East City. Pei He had guessed that Zhou Zhuoyuan was there looking for someone and had suggested they check out the snack street. Zhou Zhuoyuan understood his intention but played along without saying a word.

It was too far away—a round trip wasn’t easy. If they didn’t find the person today, he’d have to wait until after the Gaokao to come back to North City.

As they boarded the bus, the driver cleared his throat. “Better not bring stuff made of snow onboard. It’ll melt.”

Pei He glanced at the snow bunny still cradled in Zhou Zhuoyuan’s hands and said regretfully, “We’ll leave it here for now. I’ll make you a new one when we get there.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan: “…”

It sounded like he was the one obsessed with the little thing.

In the end, their search came up empty. Zhou Zhuoyuan retrieved the snow bunny from behind the bus stop shelter and placed it on the sill outside the hotel window. “Goodbye,” he whispered softly.

~~~

“You said you were going with your Competition Boyfriend. How come it’s him now? Did you break up?” Zhou Zhuoli eyed his brother, who wasn’t keeping his usual deliberate distance but was slouched by the window looking utterly drained. “He’s not bad, I guess. But try not to be too casual about relationships. Weren’t you just with that last one not long ago?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan was speechless at his brother, who had zero dating experience yet loved to spout nonsense with that one-track mind. “You’ve never even had a single relationship yourself—don’t make wild guesses and try to lecture me! We didn’t break up. He had something come up last minute, so I went with a friend instead.”

The words “never even had a single relationship” stabbed Zhou Zhuoli right in the heart. He lost the will to chat with his tactless little brother—though Zhou Zhuoyuan had no interest in talking to him anyway.

Zhou Zhuoyuan’s low spirits weren’t just because they were leaving North City for the Zhou Family home. These past few days, he hadn’t been able to reach He Qinglan at all, and he was starting to worry that maybe He Qinglan’s family had done something to him.

Fortunately, that evening, Zhou Zhuoyuan finally got a call from He Qinglan.

The other boy’s voice was full of apology. “Sorry, Little Yuan. The past few days have been insanely busy, but I’m finally done. I’m back now. You…”

He paused, then asked tentatively, “Do you still want to spend the New Year with me?”

Zhou Zhuoyi watched Zhou Zhuoyuan dash to the door like the wind, fully geared up and putting on his shoes. He walked over and asked, “Bro, where are you going? The New Year’s Eve dinner is about to start.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan was in a great mood and replied to him, “To see my boyfriend. I might come back here tomorrow.”

Zhou Zhuoyi thought he had misheard. “What friend?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan only left behind the words “boyfriend” before shutting the door.

Zhou Zhuoyi’s fingers began to tremble. He shakily pulled out his relief medication and returned to the living room to wait for dinner.

It’s fine—boyfriends can be swapped out, but little brothers can’t. He comforted himself that way.

They were twins who had been together in their mother’s womb, so he should be the person closest to his brother. Although Zhou Zhuoyuan hadn’t realized it yet, he would grow up eventually and come to understand these truths.

–

He Qinglan had arranged to meet at an open area about six kilometers from the Zhou Family. By the time the driver dropped off Zhou Zhuoyuan, he had already been leaning against a tree and waiting for quite a while.

This was the designated spot for setting off fireworks, but probably because it was so remote and New Year’s Eve dinner time hadn’t passed yet, there weren’t many people around.

He must have resolved a major issue at home. He Qinglan gazed at Zhou Zhuoyuan with eyes full of relaxed, gentle affection.

He pulled Zhou Zhuoyuan into a big hug. “Little Yuan, I missed you so much.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan waved at the driver behind his back to hurry up and leave, then hugged him back. “I missed you too.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan had a sensitive stomach, so He Qinglan had naturally taken dinner into account when calling him out at mealtime. He had pitched a tent here, with a fire inside keeping it nice and warm.

The two exchanged their travel souvenirs. He Qinglan took the bento he had made himself out of the insulated bag and heated it over the fire.

It was a spacious tent, and Zhou Zhuoyuan sprawled out on the inflatable bed nearby like a flat pancake. “Little Lan, I feel like I could live here with you for the rest of my life.”

He Qinglan picked up a blanket and draped it over his stomach, chuckling. “With our level of education, we could never end up resorting to living in a tent.”