Chapter 61: The Meeting Part 2

Finding hard evidence against the true culprit was police work. On the twelfth day post-crash, Dai Linxuan, in formal attire, impeccably groomed and radiant, attended He Chengze’s sixtieth birthday banquet.

Photos showed him smiling as always, exuding triumphant ease.

It felt off, but no one could pinpoint why—

Until someone noted: Where’s his brother Lai Li!?

The public then realized the critically injured Lai Li had vanished post-crash, fate unknown.

Speculation swirled; many assumed him dead.

Lai Li’s reputation was poor, especially contrasted with his brother—hardly a loss. Not cheering was mercy enough.

Some even said Lai Li took the hit for Dai Linxuan, a fitting end to his arrogant, bullying life.

But soon, rumors emerged: Dai Linxuan and Lai Li’s relationship was improper; Lai Li held dirt on him.

Otherwise, why spoil such a wayward brother when Dai Linxuan was the epitome of virtue and charity?

The crash helped him—even if Lai Li survived, he’d die on the table.

The article painted vividly without specifics, leaving “improper” to imagination. No one bought it; comments trashed it, saying even if Dai Linxuan were gay, he’d never fancy that scum Lai Li.

From his banquet poise, he clearly didn’t care much for the brother.

Debate raged.

…

These were surface-level reports; reality held far more.

Lai Li read article after article. With fragmented memories, this was his only way to catch up.

Seventeen comatose days leaped by in text—ethereal, as if stolen or never existed.

Lai Li swallowed the metallic taste of blood in his mouth deeply and glanced at the surveillance camera in the room.

Many things had probably spiraled out of control by now—for instance, his brother sending him to this sea island, or what his brother might have done during these past dozen days while he was comatose, meeting people he wasn’t allowed to see or doing things he wouldn’t permit.

Just thinking about it made Lai Li feel unbearable.

A tangled mess of memories churned together, like a knotted ball of thread that couldn’t be cut or unraveled.

Lai Li’s first thought was of the tracker in Song Zichu’s eyeball… So much time had passed; the fishing plan was likely ruined.

And where was his phone? Had his brother discovered something?

For the moment, he couldn’t recall if there was anything on his phone that his brother couldn’t know about… There probably wasn’t; he’d always disguised himself meticulously, or else his brother wouldn’t have treated him like a normal person for so many years.

But… but.

Why had he been unconscious for so long!?

Lai Li’s head throbbed with pain. The irritability and rage from fourteen days of lost control had nowhere to vent. He swung his hand fiercely, sweeping the vase on the bedside table to the floor. With a loud crash, it shattered into pieces, porcelain shards scattering everywhere.

Liao De, guarding outside, heard the noise and pushed the door open immediately, meeting Lai Li’s frenzied gaze.

Get out!

Liao De understood his meaning but still took the broom from the nurse’s hand and came in to sweep up the porcelain shards on the floor.

He didn’t leave. Instead, he looked at Lai Li and said, “Your brother hasn’t had a good night’s sleep this whole time. Sleeping pills don’t even work anymore.”

Lai Li still clenched his fists tightly, the IV needle on the back of his hand nearly bursting.

Liao De continued, “Did you see the news about Dai Enxian being taken away by the police? He embezzled funds from the Dai Corporation and bribed superiors for his own construction company.”

Dai Enxian was Dai Second Uncle.

Liao De sighed. “On the day of the accident, your brother said Dai Enxian couldn’t be touched yet. But since you didn’t wake up after surgery, your brother went mad. He turned around and handed Dai Enxian over to the police, even clashing with the old master over it and getting punished by family law.”

Lai Li jerked his head up. Towering rage thickened into something tangible. If Dai Songxue were in front of him right now, he would probably stab him to death without hesitation—then dismember him slowly.

“—He hit my brother?” Lai Li nearly lost his mind, enunciating each word in his heart. “What right does he have to hit my brother? What… the… hell… gives him the right?”

Liao De could guess what he was thinking. “Your brother didn’t say it like that. I just guessed. That day, I wanted to comfort him and accidentally touched his back…”

Dai Linxuan had clearly flinched in pain at the time.

Lai Li’s gaze turned terrifyingly sinister, his fists cracking audibly as he gripped them.

Liao De’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly soothed him. “I’m telling you this so you’d know—your brother really went crazy because you wouldn’t wake up. These days, he’s contacted countless medical teams, poring over data and past cases day and night. He even… Anyway, for his sake, recover properly and let him get some good sleep.”

This worked. Lai Li calmed down a bit, his out-of-control emotions easing. He mouthed silently, “Even what?”

Liao De made out the shape of his lips and hesitated. “Slipped up. Nothing.”

Unable to withstand Lai Li’s piercing stare—like a ghost’s—Liao De grabbed the broom and dustpan and fled.

Just as Lai Li was about to set aside the laptop, a fresh news alert pushed its way to the forefront. The headline read #Deep Brotherly Bond Between Half-Brothers from a Wealthy Family#.

Lai Li’s heart jolted. He clicked it open immediately. Fortunately, the content wasn’t as bad as he’d feared.

The report was very brief, essentially saying that Dai Linxuan truly cared deeply for that younger brother. Attached below was a video shot by a passerby on the day of the accident—

In the shaky footage, the scene was chaos. Dai Linxuan only had time to toss a hurried instruction to his bodyguard: “There are still three people in the car.”

Then he scooped up his unconscious brother horizontally and ran toward the oncoming stretcher from the ambulance, his voice trembling as he lowered his head. “Talk to bro, don’t sleep, Little Chestnut, don’t sleep…”

Anyone could hear the gut-wrenching panic in his tone.

Dai Linxuan placed Lai Li on the stretcher and jogged alongside, murmuring something softly that couldn’t be made out. The camera angle only captured Dai Linxuan’s bent back and bloodstained suit, as if he might collapse under the strain at any second.

The moment the ambulance doors closed, the lens caught Dai Linxuan’s eyes, bloodshot like he hadn’t slept for three days and nights.

…

Lai Li kept dragging the progress bar back, watching it over a dozen times. He instinctively wanted to save it but realized this wasn’t his computer. There were no phones in sight on either side of the bed, so he memorized the URL for later.

He tossed the laptop aside and couldn’t help slipping his hand under his clothes to press the wound beneath the bandages. The sudden sharp pain made him gasp softly.

So severe—it would probably leave a large scar… It would cover the one from twelve years ago, etching the day of the accident fully onto his body as a new anchor point.

This was probably the only pleasure the car crash brought Lai Li.

.

Dai Linxuan arrived two hours earlier than he’d said, probably taking a private plane to save time.

Shrouded in the night, he strode quickly into the Sea Island Villa. Heading to the sickroom with Liao De, who came to meet him, he asked, “How’s Little Chestnut?”

Liao De replied, “He refuses to cooperate with detailed checks, but he seems okay overall. Still, after being comatose for over ten days, there might be some aftereffects from brain damage—like aphasia. That can be addressed with later rehab training…”

“Bro.” A soft call came.

“?” At the sickroom door, Liao De heard Lai Li’s “bro” and was speechless. So it wasn’t aphasia—he just didn’t want to talk to him?

Up until he’d gotten off the plane, Dai Linxuan’s emotions had been calm, without much agitation. But seeing the awake Lai Li with his own eyes made his hurried steps slow obviously. His ears buzzed, and surging emotions flooded him like a dam bursting, drowning out whatever Liao De was saying.

The chill he’d brought from Danshi in November dissipated completely the moment he stepped onto the sea island and met Lai Li’s gaze.

The short distance from the door to the bedside felt like a century.

Dai Linxuan’s body swayed uncontrollably. Fortunately, he steadied himself on the bedhead preemptively, unnoticed.

Touching Lai Li’s warm hand, his wandering soul finally returned fully to his body, like waking from a long dream.

The usually high-EQ, considerate Dai Linxuan, in this moment, asked the most useless two words: “Does it hurt?”

“—It hurts.”

Lai Li wasn’t one to lie and comfort others. If it hurt a little, he’d make his brother know it hurt a lot.

Dai Linxuan took off his coat and set it on a nearby chair. He seemed to want to hug Lai Li but didn’t know where to start. In the end, he just leaned down and brushed his lips restrainedly against Lai Li’s forehead. All his torment turned into a light sigh. “You nearly scared me to death…”

Liao De had closed the door for them ahead of time and didn’t see this scene.

Standing outside, he let out a long breath, feeling somewhat relieved.

Just yesterday morning, when Dai Linxuan was still here, Liao De had inadvertently seen him sitting by the bed, holding Lai Li’s hand. “Tormenting me on purpose, huh? You little rascal…”

Liao De thought his behavior was odd—not quite like a brother to a brother… Before he could think more, he heard the next line.

Dai Linxuan’s tone was gentle and calm, but the meaning was terrifyingly extreme, as if possessed by some evil spirit—

“If things settle down in a bit and you still don’t wake up, I’ll pull your oxygen tube myself and take you with me, okay? The cemetery’s ready; switching back to a double plot is easy enough.”

No matter how straight Liao De’s orientation, he realized at that moment that Dai Linxuan’s feelings for Lai Li were off.

Then he watched as Dai Linxuan leaned down and kissed the corner of Lai Li’s mouth.

Dai Linxuan knew he was there. He didn’t avoid it or explain, just calmly put on his coat. “I need to head back. Take care of him for me… Pretend you didn’t see what just happened. Little Chestnut doesn’t want anyone knowing.”

Liao De was momentarily unsure whether to be shocked that Dai Linxuan liked his own brother, or shocked that his feelings had twisted to the point where if Lai Li didn’t wake, he wouldn’t want to live either.

It felt like he’d just met Dai Linxuan for the first time.

—Fortunately, Lai Li had woken up.

Recalling that scene from yesterday after a day apart, Liao De felt a bit like those two had survived a disaster.