Chapter 25: Younger Brother Xu

Chapter 25: Younger Brother Xu

A friend with a great temper spoke up, lowering her head as she said, "The water is lukewarm, you can drink it directly."

Her voice was like the clashing of jade, enunciating each word clearly, exuding an undeniable chill that couldn't be ignored.

There was even an indescribable sense of familiarity to it.

Huo Qing: "…"

Cupping the thermos, smiling gently, her words flowed steadily and unhurried.

Of the three imagined scenarios, only the thermos proved accurate—it was indeed for the person seated beside her, to whom she offered a brief moment of silence.

Pink-haired downed a hearty gulp from the thermos. After he finished, his good-tempered friend reclaimed it, tightening the lid before slightly bending over and extending another hand.

Though neither lame nor incapacitated to the point of needing assistance to stand, Pink-haired still leaned on the human crutch to rise, taking the opportunity to lavish praise on it.

The crutch's gaze fell upon his bandaged hand, momentarily speechless. Then came the question: "Does it hurt?"

Chen Bai glanced around him and casually remarked, "Not bad."

"..."

Standing to the side and observing the two of them, Huo Qing suddenly connected the dots in her mind, a strange realization dawning on her.

Her eyes sparkled, her back straightened, and she no longer felt as overwhelmed by the situation.

After the patient handover ceremony concluded and they left the hospital, Huo Qing stood next to the driver, watching the two depart.

Pink-haired turned around, still waving halfway through their departure, and his good-tempered friend also nodded slightly, acknowledging her with a greeting.

Huo Qing waved back at the first opportunity, bidding them farewell.

Watching the duo get into their car and then seeing the vehicle drive away, she turned to the driver beside her and said, "Isn't this friend much better than my brother?"

The driver didn't grasp the nuance in her words and felt that this was a tricky question to answer, so he chose to remain silent.

As the black car left the hospital's parking lot and reentered the road, heading back in the direction they came from, it marked the end of an encounter and the beginning of another journey.

In the car.

Some Pink-hairs, lively and energetic outside, turn into a limp mess once they get in the vehicle.

Chen Moubai, engrossed in his phone, slumped in the passenger seat, continuously sliding down to the bottom only to prop himself back up again.

He received several messages, some from others, and one from today's almost-newcomer. Accompanying these messages were two transfers.

The first was his salary, while the second was a substantial sum, labeled as medical expenses and a token of gratitude.

If any issues arose with Huochuan at the engagement banquet, the matter would transcend mere monetary compensation.

Though he craved money and enjoyed its presence, Chen Bai knew which funds were rightfully his and which were beyond his grasp.

After accepting his due wages, he declined the second transfer, merely suggesting that should there be further need, they could seek him out again.

Gritting his teeth, Pink-hair suffered the pain of rejecting a significant amount, setting his phone aside after sending his response, patting himself gently.

The person beside him turned their head, their gaze lingering momentarily on his hand before asking, "Does it hurt?"

This question had already been asked once at the hospital, but his good-tempered friend asked it again.

"It hurt like hell."

The man in the passenger seat responded with a flurry of punches and kicks, limited by the space and seatbelt; otherwise, he might have escalated into a jumping frenzy.

Compared to the person who calmly said he didn't feel pain in the hospital, this was as if two completely unrelated individuals were being discussed.

Back in the safety and comfort of the car, Chen Moubai dropped all pretenses, gesturing wildly with his hand. "It was alright when the skin first broke, I didn't feel much. But during disinfection, it felt like pouring lava on the wound – you know what lava is, right? My cells must have died off in waves."

He lamented, "My cells had only just arrived in this world."

"Poor things, my cells."

He seemed more heartbroken than physically pained.

Xu Sinian comforted both the person and his cells, then inquired about how the injury occurred.

The message from this person had been simple: his hand was injured and he was at the hospital, hoping for a kind soul with time to spare to pick him up. He hadn't provided any further details.

Chen Bai spoke succinctly, "Doing a good deed turned out to be a win-win situation for everyone involved."

With his salary in hand, the God of Wealth unbothered, and an additional sum credited to his account, the abrasions on both hands were well worth it.

"Was that your friend earlier?" Xu Sinian, gripping the steering wheel, asked, "He seemed quite young."

Chen Bai nodded, "Yes, he is also the younger sister of one of my clients."

Sliding down in the passenger seat again without resistance, he remained where he landed, saying, "I remember you have a younger brother as well."

All those meals weren't in vain; a born conversationalist had already gleaned much information about his good neighbor over dinner.

"Yes, he's in high school."

Mentioning his younger brother couldn't help but stir a slight twitch in his brow, a hint of vexation evident, as he said, "He really enjoys video games."

His brother, Xu Lang, originally attended a private school where individuality was encouraged and many restrictions were absent. Due to his overly pronounced individuality, the family transferred him to a public high school.

Despite the change of schools, Xu Lang remained unchanged, frequently scaling walls to play video games or watch gaming livestreams at night. The tutors hired for him seldom lasted a month before resigning.

"..."

The game streaming host commented, "This might not be so good, huh."

The good neighbor looked even more troubled.

Only then did Chen Bai realize that precisely because things were heading in an undesirable direction, his younger brother had been sent to the good neighbor's place by their family.

Even before he arrived, the decision was made. He would be delivered during the next extended weekend.

Xu Lang feared nothing but his own brother. At such times, only the good neighbor could keep him in check.

"How can your brother fear you," Chen Bai's thoughts took a detour, as he remarked, "You're rather gentle."

A good temper, capable of taking down ten men with one punch yet devoid of any violent demeanor - wasn't this the ideal older brother?

Xu Sinian glanced sideways at the lump slumped in the passenger seat and smiled.

With an injury on his hand, he couldn't get it wet for the time being. That evening, Chen Bai enjoyed a complimentary dinner courtesy of the good neighbor.

Unable to touch water but able to continue gaming, the bandages were slightly cumbersome but didn't hinder his performance. Chen Erbai, injured yet determined, took the field.

Playing through his ailment, today's teammates were especially considerate. Together, the two moved as one, drawing the ire of an opposing team member who publicly berated them for acting like a lovey-dovey couple in plain sight. In response, Chen Moubai promptly silenced his critic with a well-placed shot.

Injured, yes, but it didn't impede his gameplay.

During these days with a wounded hand, Chen Bai spent his time between lock picking and streaming, receiving messages from his money-making partner in the process.

His agent sent him an audition invitation, complete with a snippet of the script, inquiring if he had any interest in giving it a shot.

The audition was scheduled for two weeks later, with principal photography set to begin over two months after that. It was a period drama, with a stylist on hand to provide wigs, meaning his hair color would have no bearing on his participation.

The invitation came from another director within the industry, seemingly with some clout, who was friends with the director from the previous production. This director extended the audition offer specifically after being recommended by the previous crew's director.

He was being considered for two roles: one of a physician who clawed his way up from the bottom, and the other of a spoiled nobleman born into privilege.

By design, they were characters with diametrically opposed personalities.

The agent's advice was to give it a try, to prevent any last-minute hitches down the line.

Apart from the audition invitations, his money-making partner also had several offers for magazine shoots at hand, but her suggestion was to hold off on accepting them for now.

For his first magazine shoot, he was landing on "EV," starting at a naturally high level. For the sake of long-term financial planning, it would be better not to step down and accept shoots for lower-tier magazines next.

Specialized matters should be left to specialists, and Chen Bai agreed to heed their advice.

Thus, his mission for the following two weeks became immersing himself in the scripts.

There were two scripts for the audition, each with several segments. The exact segments chosen for the day of the audition remained unknown, but they would certainly come from within these selections. With no clue as to which segment would be picked, he had no choice but to memorize them all.

Fortunately, Chen Moubai's memory was decent enough that he only needed to carve out some time during his lock-picking sessions; two weeks would be more than sufficient.

During the day, he'd work on picking locks and read through scripts, while at night he'd continue with his livestreams as usual. Once his bandages came off, his playing style became noticeably more aggressive than before.

He encountered someone who mistook him and Vegetable Porridge for a couple again. After repeated occurrences, he had learned not to bother explaining; instead, he'd simply eliminate them without hesitation.

The screen switched to the battle royale interface, and his phone, set aside, lit up. He took one hand off the keyboard and glanced down at his phone.

It was a message from his good neighbor, who should still have been at work.

Leaning against his seat, Chen Bai read through the message from start to finish, his eyes slightly lifting at the corners. He then raised his hand to type.

Xu Lang's neighbor's little brother had arrived ahead of schedule. The family couldn't bear to see this person spending all day playing games at home anymore, so they sent him over early.

The good little brother didn't have a key, and the good neighbor wouldn't finish work until late into the night. He still had the spare key that the good neighbor had given him before, which could be used to let him in.

It was a simple matter. Chen Bai replied to the message, turned down the volume on his headphones, and told his viewers and friends in the live stream: "My friend's little brother has arrived, I might need to step away for a bit."

---

On the quiet street, a black car stopped and quickly drove off without any sentimentality.

As the car left, a figure appeared on the empty street.

A person dressed in blue-and-white school uniform, carrying a backpack, held a phone in one hand. His half-lowered eyes slightly lifted as he looked up at the old residential building that clearly showed its age.

Standing in front of the building for some time, feeling the chill from the wind, Xu Lang finally entered the residential building.

He shouldn't have held any expectations for what was inside. If the exterior looked old, the interior wasn't much better – dim lighting and laborious stairs to climb.

Ascending the stairs floor by floor, Xu Lang halted before a grand door. Bowing his head then lifting it again, he verified the doorplate before raising his hand to knock.

- Yet not quite knocking. At the last moment before the knock, Xu Lang retracted his hand, removing an earphone from his ear and stuffing it into his school uniform's pocket. Hesitating for a moment, he took out the other earphone as well, then proceeded to knock on the door.

"Click —"

The person in the school uniform was aiming to knock on the door before him, but after the sound of footsteps, the door that sprung open was the one next door.

His first sight was a striking pink-haired head, followed by a peculiarly familiar sight of a classic, ordinary outfit.

This was someone objectively handsome.

The pink-haired individual looked at him and asked, "Are you Little Brother Xu?"

Quickly adding, "Your brother should have mentioned it; I have the key. Come inside, once this game is over, I'll find it for you."

This person spoke swiftly, moved quickly, and before Xu Lang could fully process what was happening, he found himself being led along, stepping into the house and closing the door behind him.

The pink-haired figure turned, walking towards the master bedroom while instructing him to wait in the living room, saying, "I'll be as quick as possible; it should take around ten minutes."

Xu Lang arrived at the sparsely decorated living room and stood by the couch.

After a moment of bewilderment, he chose to put on a pair of earphones in an attempt to understand the situation, rather than sitting down right away.

The master bedroom was just off the living room, its door left ajar. As he tilted his head to put on the earphones, he saw someone returning to their computer, lowering their head to put on their own earphones, saying, "Something's come up here, we need to wrap this game up quickly."

"…We need to wrap this game up quickly."

The voice from the earphones merged with the one coming from the master bedroom, causing the person in the living room to pause, hand mid-air as they were about to put on another set of earphones.