“…indirect.” Dai Linxuan bent down and lifted him under the arms. “It’s just rainwater. We’ll change when we get back.”
But Lai Li insisted on wiping it off, as if the wet spot on Dai Linxuan’s pants was unbearable. He started with his hand, then used his sleeve when that didn’t work.
“Stop wiping.” Dai Linxuan pulled him up firmly, sighing inwardly. “…Forget it. Let’s head back.”
Lai Li pursed his lips. “I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s no big deal. I’m not mad.” Dai Linxuan patted his waist. “Come on, back to the hotel.”
“Let’s walk a bit longer.” Instinct told Lai Li that Dai Linxuan wanted to keep strolling with him. Though he couldn’t understand what was so interesting about the riverside—strong winds, rain, and reflections everywhere.
“Okay…” Dai Linxuan noticed his gaze and said helplessly, “Stop staring. If it’s really uncomfortable, I’ll go back and change.”
Lai Li had a cleanliness obsession, but it wasn’t about himself—it was all projected onto Dai Linxuan. He couldn’t stand seeing Dai Linxuan get dirty or stained; otherwise, he’d feel irritated and on edge.
His brother had to be spotless, perfectly pristine forever.
Years ago, someone had accidentally spilled a glass of wine on Dai Linxuan at a banquet, and Lai Li punched the guy right in front of everyone.
The guests were all refined people. Even if embarrassed, they smiled through it. But they’d never seen Lai Li’s unfiltered brutality, so by the next day, his reputation had plummeted. Rumors flew like “No amount of upbringing can erase inferior genes,” or “Dai Linxuan’s brother has violent tendencies”…
Rumor mills only exaggerated over time. Even now, some said he had antisocial personality disorder, a feral white-eyed wolf that bit anyone when crazy. The auction incident last month proved it—no surprise if he stabbed Dai Linxuan someday.
“No need to go back.” Lai Li suppressed his irritation. “I won’t look anymore.”
“Then just keep me company today and bear with it.” Dai Linxuan’s gaze paused. “There’s a roasted chestnut stall over there.”
Lai Li followed his line of sight. It was by the stairs on the Yangtze River side. Two couples were queuing, all lovey-dovey.
Dai Linxuan lightly brushed the back of his hand, then pulled away. “Treat me to a bag? Sugar-roasted ones.”
Lai Li raised the other umbrella in his hand and walked over without a word. He queued behind the couples with a look of disdain, leaving enough space for at least five more people.
Dai Linxuan watched for a bit, then took out his phone and snapped a photo.
The smoke from the roasted chestnuts drifted far, blending with the rain mist into a hazy, worldly charm. Lai Li stood there with one hand in his pocket, his face both blurred and sharp.
Only after taking it did Dai Linxuan notice a “death angle” selfie had snuck into his album. But thanks to his biased gaze, those stray hairs on Lai Li’s forehead looked especially cute.
Besides that, there was a surveillance screenshot in the album. He realized Lai Li had reactivated the monitoring he’d turned off earlier.
…Someone actually volunteered to be “watched.”
Dai Linxuan set the new photo as his wallpaper, then received a message: Villa and flight for tomorrow night booked. Please review. [Image.jpg]
【Dai Linxuan】: Thanks, appreciate it.
Dai Linxuan pocketed his phone and quietly watched Lai Li under his umbrella from afar. When Lai Li looked back, he returned a gentle smile.
Ten minutes later.
Lai Li couldn’t comprehend: “What’s so good about this anyway?”
“No helping it—everyone has their tastes. I just like them.” Eating while walking wasn’t very polite, but Dai Linxuan didn’t want to head back to the hotel yet. The weather was chilly, and freshly roasted chestnuts lost their appeal if they cooled.
They’d turn hard and tough.
Seeing Lai Li reach straight into the bag, Dai Linxuan flicked his hand. “You didn’t even wash your hands.”
Lai Li’s hands had just wiped against his pants—not exactly clean. Dai Linxuan slipped on gloves, peeled one, and fed it to his mouth.
Feeding Lai Li was a skill etched into Dai Linxuan’s bones, so practiced that even after two years, it felt effortless.
Lai Li ate it from his hand—the soft, dense texture carried a faint sweetness.
Dai Linxuan drawled leisurely, “Why be so hasty when frying each other?”
“…”
A scene flashed in Lai Li’s mind from some recent time: They sat in the car, the driver stepped out and returned with a box of “stir-fried chestnuts,” loaded with sexual innuendo.
He hadn’t eaten a single one, peeling them all for Dai Linxuan to stuff his brother’s shaky closet door shut.
Luckily, his brother seemed more restrained lately, not as blatant as before.
“Bro.”
“Hm?”
Lai Li chewed a chestnut. “You wanna fuck me, huh?”
“Cough cough!” The blunt words nearly choked Dai Linxuan to death.
He covered his mouth and nose, coughing nonstop, physiological tears welling up.
“Bro!” Lai Li hurriedly patted his back, then remembered his hands weren’t clean and impatiently used the umbrella handle instead.
“Enough… you’ll beat me to death.” Dai Linxuan caught the half-chewed chestnut he’d coughed up and stopped him with a raised hand. “There’s a coffee shop over there. Go buy a cup.”
Lai Li had zero experience in caregiving, so he did as told.
Dai Linxuan coughed a few more times behind his hand, rubbing his throat until it eased… The cough had almost triggered his conditioned gag reflex. Getting caught by Lai Li would’ve been mortifying.
His movements had been too vigorous; several chestnuts spilled from the bag. He bent to pick them up, tossed them in a nearby trash bin, and wiped his fingertips with a handkerchief.
Less than two minutes later, Lai Li returned with a cup, looking flustered, umbrella forgotten.
Dai Linxuan shifted his umbrella to shield him from the wind and rain. “Slow down, or you’ll spill it.”
“No coffee—I got hot water.” Lai Li frowned. “You think you can sleep drinking coffee this late?”
Dai Linxuan gave him a helpless look. After that comment, he wouldn’t sleep anyway. “Rain’s getting heavier. Let’s head back.”
He’d skipped today’s flight partly because of the rain—it bred instability. Tomorrow would clear up, and the morning departure left ample time.
Back at the hotel, Dai Linxuan went to 2306 first to discuss work with Li Jue and the others. When he returned, Lai Li had showered and lounged against the bedhead.
Lai Li said, “Bro, mind if I use your laptop?”
“Sure.”
Dai Linxuan had only brought one notebook; Lai Li knew the lock screen password. He said nothing more, grabbed his sleepwear, and entered the bathroom, closing the door.
Lai Li heard no lock click. His eyes flickered, but he still plugged a USB drive into the laptop. A loading bar popped up immediately.
Dai Linxuan’s shower dragged on.
Lai Li finished his task, but his brother still hadn’t emerged.
He got up, twisted open the bathroom door, and met Dai Linxuan’s gaze. His brother had just slipped into sleepwear, buttons undone, exposing swaths of jade-pale skin.
“Need to pee?” Dai Linxuan stepped aside.
Lai Li brushed past, pushed his hands away, and buttoned the shirt himself up to the top. Then he undid two.
No outsiders here; a bit open was fine.
He hugged Dai Linxuan’s waist, buried his face in the hollow of his collarbone, and licked once.
“…” Dai Linxuan pinched his nape and pulled him off. “Hungry? Eat some chestnuts.”
“Don’t like them.” Before separation, Lai Li stubbornly licked the other collarbone, then lifted the toilet lid. “Stomach hurts.”
Dai Linxuan immediately felt his hand. “Catch a chill?”
“Dunno.” Lai Li gestured for him to leave first. “Might pass after squatting a bit. Wait to brush your teeth later.”
“Okay.” Dai Linxuan lingered worriedly. “Tell me if you’re unwell.”
Once the door shut, Lai Li listened to the sounds outside and scanned the bathroom.
He silently approached the laundry hamper, footsteps soundless. After rummaging, nothing.
He quietly checked drawers, the toilet tank lid, even glanced out the window. Still nothing unusual.
Lai Li frowned. Overthinking?
Outside, Dai Linxuan pulled a syringe from his waistband, removed the needle, and handed it over with the living room trash bag to Li Jue, who came for documents. “Dispose of this.”
Li Jue blinked. “Got it.”
He was puzzled—what trash needed midnight handling when housekeeping came tomorrow? Vomit? But Dai Linxuan didn’t smell of booze.
Must be Lai Li’s. The guy was a drunkard.
When Li Jue first became Dai Linxuan’s assistant, he’d often see the boss drop overtime midway to pick up some plastered ancestor.
At first, he thought it was a lover. Later, he learned it was his brother.
Not an only child himself, Li Jue couldn’t fathom fetching a drunken brother. A sister, maybe—to prevent assault. But Lai Li? He was the assaulter. And there were drivers—why go personally?
…
Each harboring suspicions, they ended the night.
Dai Linxuan slept two hours earlier than the night before—a backlash from bodily overexertion. But he hid it, waking on schedule the next day and silencing the bedside alarm.
Lai Li clung tighter than a dog, draped sideways over him, numbing half his arm and leg. The bedding steamed with heat.
He shifted Lai Li’s arm to rise, but Lai Li looped his waist, drawing him closer. Eyes shut, he leaned in for a kiss—bribing—
“Bro, sleep more.”
Half-asleep, Lai Li was always gentler than usual.
Dai Linxuan lay another half-hour.
Lai Li’s brain finally booted. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and buried his face in Dai Linxuan’s neck, inhaling deeply.
Dai Linxuan itched from his hair, sighing. “Spare me, young master.”
Lai Li paused, hand sliding down. “We got time…”
Dai Linxuan seized his wrist. “No time.”
They stared; Lai Li pinned Dai Linxuan’s hand to the pillow and kissed him solidly. Not knowing gentle kisses, he ground and rolled for ages, only licking at the seam of his lips.
Lai Li got up. “I’ll go to the company with you.”
Dai Linxuan had no objection. “Up to you.”
Packed, they headed to the airport with the assistant, arriving in Danshi before eleven.
Liu Zeng waited in the parking lot, holding the door.
Dai Linxuan asked, “Traffic bad today?”
“Jam-packed,” Liu Zeng said. “But we’ll make it by one.”
Dai Linxuan nodded, boarded the business car’s back seat, and pulled Lai Li in.
Once underway, Dai Linxuan busied himself—taking calls, sending emails, orchestrating work methodically while coordinating the afternoon shareholders’ meeting with allies: agenda, speeches.
Jiang Qiujun called, asking their location.
Lai Li watched Dai Linxuan’s expression, unsure of his stance.
Jiang Qiujun let Dai Linxuan into Dai Corporation only because Dai Enhao was dying soon. She wanted an ally before the will dropped.
But what made her so sure he’d side with her?
Because she’d made him a bastard, saddled with a shameful birth? Or years of neglect?
The latter, his brother might forgive. But “illegitimate son”? That must’ve tormented him, especially right after learning the truth.
“Entering the city, half-hour out…”
Dai Linxuan paused, eyes dropping. Lai Li suddenly gripped his hand.
He continued to Jiang Qiujun: “Yeah… What? That serious? Okay, got it.”
He hung up and dialed out—no answer.
Lai Li asked, “What happened?”
Dai Linxuan replied, “One shareholder’s hospitalized.”
Lai Li: “Bad?”
Dai Linxuan frowned. “Acute diarrhea.”
Lai Li’s eyes darkened. No need to guess—it was one backing Dai Linxuan. Today’s meeting had two items: Dai Corporation entering shipping, and electing new directors.
His brother played fair, but some favored dirty tricks.
Phone buzzed. Message from Third Uncle: Handled?
Lai Li stared darkly, replied Yeah*.
From the corner of his eye, a massive truck appeared on the cross street.
It drove normally; the opposite light turned yellow, slowing the truck as if to stop.
Their light turned green. Liu Zeng floored it.
Lai Li’s heart lurched. Faster than anyone could react, he vaulted over the front seat, pressed Li Jue’s shoulder for leverage, hooked the driver’s headrest, seized the wheel, and yanked left hard—
The sudden swerve threw everyone off-balance. Li Jue slammed into the door; Dai Linxuan’s phone hit the floor. He barely grabbed the overhead handle, face paling. “Lai Li!!”
The truck, meant to halt at yellow, suddenly accelerated, barreling toward their original path—but at that instant, Lai Li had wrenched the wheel, so it only clipped the front end.
Even so, the car’s direction and speed both spiraled out of control. The business van plunged headfirst into the central median greenery, while the large truck barreled over the sidewalk and slammed into the construction site diagonally across the street.
“Bang! Bang!” Two explosive crashes echoed through the middle of the road.
The black business van’s front end shattered, its windows splintering like spiderwebs with a sharp tearing sound as a thick cloud of dust billowed up from the ground.
