045
Previously, Su Ximu had known about the Video Tape incident, but he hadn’t carried much of a mental burden over it.
But now…
He stared blankly at the wall in front of him, lost in thought. A sudden massive wave of morality bent his waist right back down, the one that had just perked up in a jolt.
Fortunately, at that moment, there was another knock on his bedroom door.
“Xiao Xi, can you open the door for Big Brother now? You haven’t eaten lunch yet.” Su Xuanxiao spoke from outside the door, indicating that he wasn’t one to go back on his word. It hadn’t been long, and here he was, coming up the mountain to “bother” his little brother whose mind was already a mess.
Upon hearing this, Su Ximu got up and opened the door.
He saw Big Brother with the butler, Uncle Li, behind him. Uncle Li held a tray with food that had already been portioned out—dishes that looked exquisite at a glance.
He was just about to give thanks when he saw Big Brother hand over a phone.
Seeing Xiao Xi’s puzzled expression, Su Xuanxiao explained, “It’s a call from your second brother. He said he has something to tell you.”
Second brother?!
The creditor of 536227253$?
Su Ximu held his breath slightly, but he knew avoidance wouldn’t solve any problems.
He clenched his palms, then the young man squeezed his eyes shut and, with great responsibility, took the phone from Big Brother’s hand.
Come to think of it, in the over a month he’d been here, he had never actually met Second Brother or spoken to him.
As for those previous memories, Second Brother did appear in them, but aside from the first few days after arriving when he’d looked through them, he hadn’t delved deeper afterward.
Now, thinking back, he found it strange—even though the memories were crystal clear, his impression of Second Brother wasn’t deep. It was somewhat blurry.
The same went for Big Brother and Third Brother.
He still felt like he had just watched an ultra-long, super clear movie. No sense of immersion.
Of course, he was smart enough not to mention this to Big Brother or Third Brother, as it might hurt their feelings.
As his thoughts churned, Su Ximu pressed the phone’s receiver to his ear. He was just about to greet Second Brother first when a voice came from the other end.
“Xiao Xi?”
“Here!” The young man, weighed down by heavy thoughts, responded reflexively.
Then, he heard a light chuckle from the other side.
It was just a very soft laugh, as if Su Wuzi on the line didn’t want to let him stay anxious for too long.
He only heard him say, “Xiao Xi, Big Brother told me about what happened today, and Third Brother mentioned the Video Tape thing before.”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with me?” Almost before Su Ximu’s anxiety could build, he heard Second Brother say this.
“Mm. The Video Tape I kept at home was a backup, and you didn’t ruin that backup either, Xiao Xi. I checked the surveillance footage and found out that Jianglou had some drinks that day too. He ruined the backup himself but thought it was you.”
Su Xuanxiao nodded beside him. “That night, he also broke some of my collectibles. But he sobers up quickly and doesn’t remember what he did while drunk, so he pinned everything on you, Xiao Xi.”
From the start, they’d scripted a hangover story for the kid, so every blame fell on his head.
Now, it was time for him to shoulder some himself.
After hearing the explanations from Big Brother and Second Brother, Su Ximu first breathed a sigh of relief for himself, then realized and started sweating for Third Brother.
Second Brother’s single Video Tape had cost over five billion, and Big Brother’s collectibles must have been expensive too.
Could Third Brother afford such massive debts?
“He can.” Su Xuanxiao’s tone carried the finality of a feudal family patriarch.
In that second, Su Ximu gained a new understanding of Third Brother’s personal wealth.
Then, he heard Second Brother say over the phone, “And even if you really did break something of mine, Xiao Xi, don’t be afraid.”
The implication was that even if he had ruined the Video Tape, it wouldn’t matter.
Su Ximu always felt that Second Brother’s voice had a familiar quality that made him want to get close and trust it.
It was especially pleasant—mild and indulgent in a way he’d never heard in his first dozen years, laced with a gorgeous, intoxicating richness that made his ears tingle just a bit.
Of course, it might also be because this voice had just absolved him of a debt of five hundred thirty-six million two hundred twenty-seven thousand two hundred fifty-three.
This was probably the true essence of heavenly music.
Su Ximu thought so.
Su Wuzi had learned from experience this time and reacted quickly enough.
Having set down that massive burden, Su Ximu turned to prepare for his meal. Though he was still a bit dazed about how to interact with his family going forward, at least he wasn’t choking down food under the weight of enormous debt.
The dishes Uncle Li brought were all ones he loved, including red-braised shrimp even bigger than his palm.
The drink was freshly squeezed orange juice, with a little flower tucked on the rim as decoration.
Two big shrimp, some vegetables, a small half-bowl of rice, and a few sips of juice. With no one around, the young man contentedly narrowed his eyes.
After a short while, he got up, tray in hand, and went downstairs.
He had originally planned to wash the dishes himself, but Uncle Li, who happened to be downstairs, immediately took the tray from him.
He said he could wash them himself, but Uncle Li’s expression was as if he’d suffered a major blow.
With no choice, he handed the tray back to Uncle Li.
After returning upstairs to his bedroom and sitting on the wide sofa, mist gradually gathered in Su Ximu’s clear eyes.
For him, back when he was younger, if he encountered emotions that were hard to process at the time, he would choose to sleep.
Sleeping seemed to give him a strong sense of security.
His emotions would gradually sort themselves out during the long slumber.
But after truly growing up, he never used that method again.
Because getting too lost in sleep wasn’t good.
But this time, perhaps because the emotional impact was a bit strong, or maybe because he’d just eaten and was hit with post-meal drowsiness, he simply curled up on the sofa with a throw pillow without even taking a shower or changing into pajamas.
The moment his eyes closed, he fell asleep instantly.
In the pitch-black, sweet dream, his world began to shift.
Su Ximu clearly knew he was dreaming again.
This time, it was new content he hadn’t dreamed before.
He dreamed he had turned back into his very young self, holding a stone and seriously writing on the gray ground.
After writing for a good while, he finally finished two characters and said to the older child squatting beside him, whose face he couldn’t make out, “This is ‘Xuan’.”
Then, he pointed with his somewhat dirty little finger. “This is ‘Xiao’.”
The older child beside him nodded seriously, staring at the two characters on the ground with such focus, as if committing them to memory.
“This is ‘Wu’ ‘Zi’.”
“This is ‘Jiang’ ‘Lou’.”
…
Night had fully fallen. Having slept a full seven or eight hours on the sofa, Su Ximu had even missed dinner.
When the young man on the sofa opened his eyes, his first reaction was to grab paper and pen from the drawer and start writing on the white paper.
After a good while, the young man, still with a trace of sleepiness in his eyes, held up the paper in his hand with a somewhat complicated expression.
Xuanxiao
Wuzi
Jianglou
What a mess of ghostly scribbles.
Xuanxiao was xuan?
Wuzi was ??
Jianglou was ? mi
Why had the him from the dream, as a little kid, written them so confidently? Even teaching other kids how to write.
Sure enough, sometimes when people grew up, they couldn’t even empathize with their younger selves.
At that moment, knock knock knock—the door sounded.
This time, it was Third Brother’s voice from outside, calling him to eat dinner.
Su Ximu casually set down the paper and got up to open the door.
Su Jianglou figured that after an afternoon of settling down, he could probably control his emotions for a short time.
So this time, not only did he bring dinner for Xibao, but he also brought his own portion, planning to eat with Xibao.
These past few days, for the sake of this emotional control issue, Su Jianglou felt he hadn’t been attentive enough to Xibao.
Xibao didn’t know why and might think Third Brother didn’t value him.
After Su Ximu opened the door and saw the huge tray in Third Brother’s hands, he immediately stepped aside to let him into the bedroom.
Then he quickly walked a few steps to the coffee table and pushed the miscellaneous items to one side.
Su Jianglou set down the tray. Su Ximu took a quick look—every item inside was basically something he loved from the Employee Canteen at the Tourist Garden.
In a blink, Su Ximu felt like he had figured something out.
He asked, “Third Brother, when I was working at the Tourist Garden, did you prepare the employee lunchbox for me?”
Su Jianglou paused in his movements at the question before recalling. “Oh, the employees at that Tourist Garden have pretty unique tastes. I was afraid you wouldn’t be used to their food. Was the taste okay?”
In that moment, Su Jianglou also had a realization.
He thought Xiao Mu was just Xiao Mu, yet he still couldn’t help being good to him.
These past couple days, he didn’t know what was going on—his emotions felt so much more intense.
Su Ximu blinked, holding back the hot feeling in his eyes, and said in a slightly louder voice, “Mm! It was the best lunchbox I’ve ever had!”
But Su Jianglou reached out and hugged him. “I won’t let you eat lunchboxes anymore, Xibao.”
Why?
He thought that lunchbox was really good.
Back at the Wang Family Mansion, he never missed a meal.
Su Ximu was puzzled.
At that moment, with nothing blocking his view, Su Jianglou spotted the other thing on the coffee table.
He released the young man in his arms, stretched out his long arm, and picked up the paper with writing on it.
It was less like writing and more like the shaky doodles of a little kid just learning to write.
But Su Jianglou’s eyes heated up as he looked. Xibao, had he remembered something?
He stroked what should be read as “Jianglou”—those two “characters”—over and over.
Until a voice by his ear snapped him awake.
“Third Brother, did you bring colored contacts?”
Dark gold ones, very pretty.
Su Jianglou snapped back to attention at those words, hearing the blood rushing like a torrent right by his ear. He finally realized he couldn’t keep indulging in this moment with Xibao.
He needed to enter the dungeon earlier than planned.
Afraid he might lose control and scare his precious little brother whom he’d lost and found again, Su Jianglou’s actions from then on were incredibly hasty.
“Xibao, something sudden came up on my end. Get some good rest tonight.”
“Right, can you give me this paper?”
After getting an affirmative reply, Su Jianglou stood up and left in hurried steps.
Su Ximu watched him go from behind, utterly baffled. Did Third Brother… have diarrhea?
Almost the second he stepped into his own room, Su Jianglou covered his face, strands of Black Mist leaking from between his fingers.
Realizing he was losing it, he decided there was no time like the present. He pulled an Ancient Bronze Key from his pocket and gripped it tight.
Second Brother’s dungeon was heavily guarded; no weird ones had ever gotten in. The dungeon key he pulled out could only be used once.
The Black Mist enveloped the key. As the Black Mist eroded it, Su Jianglou finally vanished from the spot as wished.
In another bedroom
After seeing Third Brother off and sitting back down to eat, Su Ximu picked up his spoon and opened his mouth.
The next second, clatter—the spoon dropped to the floor, and the person disappeared from the room.
