Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Actually, Qi Yanyu wasn’t even looking, absentmindedly picking at the meat of the chicken mid-wing Gu Jinglan had grilled.

Qi Yuanhan watched as Qi Yanyu kept eating without so much as glancing at it, gaping in disbelief. "You’re still eating? Stop!"

Gu Jinglan quickly asked, "Is it raw inside?"

Qi Yuanhan split open his chicken wing. "Look, there’s still blood inside."

Gu Jinglan suddenly remembered and remarked casually, "Sorry, that wing was placed at the very edge of the grill earlier."

Huang Shaoze’s wing was fine, and he chuckled. "Old Qi, in Brother Gu’s heart, me and Qi Yanyu come before you."

Qi Yuanhan put the wing in another bowl and refused to eat it.

Gu Jinglan, however, turned to the wing in Qi Yanyu’s bowl. "Let me check. Is there really blood in yours?"

"Probably not," Qi Yanyu said without bothering to inspect it. Gu Jinglan nudged him. "Use your chopsticks to pull it apart and see."

"No need."

Afraid that Qi Yanyu’s delicate stomach might suffer from food poisoning, Gu Jinglan grabbed a fresh pair of unused chopsticks and peeled back the part of the wing near the bone.

"There’s a little blood. Don’t eat it."

The area near the bone was slightly red, hard to say if it was the bone or bloody meat. If marinated long enough, chicken wing bones could still appear red even when fully cooked. Qi Yanyu wasn’t bothered. "It’s fine." After all, this was the only slightly sweet meat Gu Jinglan had grilled for him.

Gu Jinglan actually threw his wing out. "Do you still want wings? I’ll order another portion for you." Seeing how determined Qi Yanyu was to eat them.

Qi Yanyu asked, "Will you grill them again?" He only wanted Gu Jinglan’s cooking.

"Don’t bother. If you want some, I’ll do it," Qi Yuanhan immediately flagged down the waiter to order another portion.

"Then never mind," Qi Yanyu said, not one to waste food.

Qi Yuanhan: "???"

Huang Shaoze chimed in, "I’ll take it!"

After this mishap, Qi Yuanhan wouldn’t let Gu Jinglan grill anything else. Though he went all out on wagyu, he still valued food—what if the ¥8,866-per-pound wagyu got ruined by Gu Jinglan’s grilling?

With Gu Jinglan no longer grilling, Qi Yanyu lost his appetite for the barbecue.

Instead, Qi Yuanhan enthusiastically grilled and split everything down the middle between them.

But seeing their plates piled high, he complained, "Are you eating or not? If not, I won’t share anymore. What, are you two picky like some married pair?"

"I see you don’t want to reference my immunology homework," Gu Jinglan retorted, being straight and not fond of being called a couple.

Qi Yuanhan chuckled and dropped the teasing. "Hurry up and eat, you two. You’ve got so much left—if you don’t want it, give me some."

Gu Jinglan passed some over. Meanwhile, Qi Yanyu’s petite dessert arrived—a small portion, so he had deliberately saved half his appetite for it.

After finishing the dessert, he took a sip of the refreshing "Emerald Dew" through a straw. He couldn’t drink much, just enough to get a taste of its light, milky-free freshness. Even that left him feeling stuffed.

Leaning back in his chair, he glanced at Gu Jinglan before finally checking his phone buzzing nonstop and turning it off.

There was still a third of the bottle of Lafite left unfinished. Gu Jinglan had had a few sips, while Qi Yuanhan drank the most, his face turning red. "I’ll take the leftovers back to the dorm for a midnight snack," he announced.

When everyone had almost finished eating, Qi Yanyu went to pick up the check.

After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Qi Yuanhan remained curious: "How much was tonight's meal?"

"Forty-nine thousand."

Huang Shaoze clicked his tongue—the prince was loaded.

They also packed some leftover grilled meat. Qi Yuanhan, cheerfully asked, "How does this compare to your usual dining expenses?"

Qi Yanyu answered honestly, "A bit more expensive."

Huang Shaoze tensed up. "Really?"

"So, was 413 worth this meal?" Qi Yuanhan turned it into a question of value.

With Gu Jinglan there, of course it was worth it. Qi Yanyu nodded.

Yintai Mall had one hour left before closing. They had originally planned to browse some clothing stores, but a slight red rash appeared on the back of Gu Jinglan's hand and neck.

"There was chestnut powder in the dessert earlier," Gu Jinglan finally realized.

"Are you allergic to chestnuts?" No one answered Qi Yanyu.

"What should we do?" Qi Yuanhan, still grabbing a windbreaker without looking up, asked, "That's such a random allergy?"

Huang Shaoze inquired with concern, "Should we go to the hospital for a steroid shot?"

"Minor issue," Gu Jinglan couldn’t care less. "It’ll clear up in a couple of days."

"You guys don’t get it. Brother Gu doesn’t treasure his looks at all—he doesn't take care of himself," Qi Yuanhan remarked while trying to grab a windbreaker to try on. "If I were him, I’d absolutely do face masks and use SK-II daily."

Huang Shaoze laughed. "If it were me, I’d just go into showbiz and make money."

Qi Yanyu noticed the faint red rashes on the side of Gu Jinglan’s neck, though his face was still clear. As Qi Yuanhan said, it was truly a waste of such beauty.

"I’m gonna head out. I have something to take care of," Gu Jinglan said after receiving a call.

"I’ll go back too."

Gu Jinglan clarified, "I'm not going back to school." With that, he left.

Qi Yuanhan and the others continued browsing the clothing store. Qi Yanyu said, "I’ll head out first."

"You bailing already too? Don't rich kids shop?" Qi Yuanhan didn’t expect two people to leave at once.

"I don’t shop at these stores," Qi Yanyu replied before walking away.

Qi Yuanhan glanced at the Palace sign overhead. Was Palace fancy enough? Their T-shirts cost thousands!

Gu Jinglan left too quickly for Qi Yanyu to catch up. On purpose, he pulled out his phone to search for a pharmacy, then cabbed it to the biggest pharmacy, where he bought cetirizine hydrochloride tablets, loratadine tablets, and several other anti-allergy medications.

With the medicine in hand, he took a car back to campus.

Since outside cars weren’t allowed inside the school, the car stopped at the entrance.

At the school gate, a man sitting inside the car watched from afar as the other got out and was intercepted by his bodyguards.

His figure was still pretty lean, his complexion always pale. The night breeze ruffled his hair as he looked confused. Yet, he came over with the guards flanking him.

This was a riverside lawn where Qi Yanyu spotted a familiar car parked nearby.

After getting in, he detected a faint whiff of lingering cigarette smoke in the air. Even though the windows had been left open to air out, the scent hadn’t completely dissipated. It was that person’s ever-present tobacco scent and the cigarettes he’d smoked waiting up all night.

"Where did you go?" Outside, lights dotted the riverside, and the distant neon high-rises glowed faintly. Qi Muyao’s face was still visible, not entirely obscured by the dusky light.

"I went out to eat with my roommates," Qi Yanyu replied matter-of-factly.

"Why didn’t you answer your phone?" Qi Muyao’s tone was calm—for now—his smile fleeting.

"I didn’t notice," Qi Yanyu said, used to fielding such questions.

"Oh," Qi Muyao chuckled, noticing Qi Yanyu’s unbuttoned collar. He naturally reached over to fasten it—not out of concern, but with the cool authority of someone in a higher position. "And last night? Where were you last night?"

Last night?

Had the counselor reported his absence from the dorm?

"Last night…" Qi Yanyu hesitated, scrambling for an excuse, unsure if it would hold. "I went out."

"Out? Where to?" Qi Muyao took his time, waiting for Qi Yanyu to either lie or fumble for words.

The pressure caused a tightening in his chest. "Did the counselor tell you I wasn’t in the dorm?" Teachers, classmates, even his roommates—it was as if someone monitored his every move and reported it daily.

"The counselor didn’t have to tell me," Qi Muyao said.

So Qi Muyao already knew he hadn’t been in the dorm last night.

Qi Yanyu flexed his fingers subtly, but Qi Muyao noticed the rustling sound from the medicine bag. "What did you bring back?"

Before Qi Yanyu could refuse, Qi Muyao fished out a few boxes of medicine and read the labels aloud. "Loratadine tablets. Are you having an allergic reaction, or has your asthma flared up again?" Qi Muyao only recognized this one—a medication for acute asthma or allergies.

Qi Muyao had once warned that if Qi Yanyu had another stomach illness or asthma attack, he’d have to drop out and return home.

Qi Yanyu dodged, "It’s not for me."

"You bought it for someone else?"

Qi Yanyu was tired. He didn’t want to answer any more of Qi Muyao’s questions. "I need to go back to the dorm. Curfew’s soon."

"I taught Lan Xiaoxiao a lesson—slapped her a few times, knocked two teeth loose," Qi Muyao said casually.

Qi Yanyu turned in surprise.

"Are you worried about your Zhou Yuan?" Qi Muyao studied Qi Yanyu’s face closely, looking for signs of tension, unease, concern, or anger.

"No," Qi Yanyu wasn’t worried, but he wanted to know Zhou Yuan’s fate. "Zhou Yuan… what happened to him?"

"We dislocated his arms and legs."

The man blinked, lowering his gaze as if deep in thought. His face showed no trace of distress or anger.

Qi Muyao wondered if he was just too shocked by what he’d heard. He reached out to touch Qi Yanyu’s face—it was cold, probably from the night breeze.

"Do you want to go see Zhou Yuan?"

"Not at all," Qi Yanyu shot back.

Qi Muyao looked pleased, his eyes roaming over Qi Yanyu's face and neck. "Where did you go this morning?"

This morning?

If word about last night had gotten to Qi Muyao this fast, then he must already know Lan An had taken him home.

Then he realized he had woken up in Gu Jinglan's house.

"I... crashed at a friend's place."

"Why not return to school?" A big hand kept stroking his cheek, but Qi Yanyu squirmed uncomfortably and dodged it. "Or home?"

"It was just more convenient at my friend's..." Qi Yanyu said uneasily.

The moment he pulled away, his chin was lifted. The man stared hard into his eyes. "You can't go on being gay, got it, Yuyu?"

"What if I am?" Qi Yanyu rarely openly defied his elder brother's demands, though his time back at school had given him some will to live.

"I can fix you." Qi Muyao's eyes were black as pitch. Just as Qi Yanyu was about to say, "It can't be changed," his words were cut off. "I have ways to correct you."

This provoked Qi Yanyu into glaring at him in bewilderment and anger. Qi Muyao drawled, brushing aside Qi Yanyu's stray hair. "When you stayed at your friend's, did you sleep in the same bed?"

"..." Qi Yanyu's brows furrowed.

He should have known—Qi Muyao would never simply let things slide. Tricking him into treatment, forcing him to take medicine, pretending to respect his wishes.

"You're crossing a line," Qi Yanyu replied, his heart cooling.

"Did the two of you—" Qi Muyao raised both hands, slapping them together suggestively.

"Before you stick your nose in everything," Qi Yanyu snapped, "shouldn't you confirm that we've already severed ties?"

"Our relationship was mended the moment you came home, wasn't it?" Qi Muyao's smile never touched his eyes.

"Do you like that look—what was his name... Gu Jinglan—that type of look?" Qi Muyao took a moment to recall the name from last night. "Or do you like how he had your back in front of Zhou Yuan?"

"Are you done—"

Qi Muyao mercilessly cut him off. "True, someone as weak as Zhou Yuan, who hides behind Lan Xiaoxiao, can't compare to your dependable Gu classmate."

Insane! He's off his rocker again!

Just like before, when he had knelt and begged for permission to be with Zhou Yuan—that same smug look!

Unreasonable!

Qi Muyao was never normal!

Qi Yanyu grabbed the door handle to leave, but the car was locked down.

"If you want someone strong-willed, decisive, and on your side, I can find you a woman like that," Qi Muyao drawled.

Qi Yanyu tugged at the door uselessly. "Let me out. Unlock this damn door."

"Even if you only like that look, I can find you a woman who's a close enough match."

"Crazy, absolutely crazy!" Qi Yanyu shouted, threatening the driver while pulling at the door. "Unlock this damn door!"

The driver paid him no mind. Qi Yanyu’s temper flared as his face was grabbed roughly, forcing him to meet Qi Muyao’s gaze and listen to his words:

“You should’ve thought of this outcome when I lost you a year ago!”

Qi Muyao’s eyes burned with fury and hatred, his fingers unyielding as they gripped the face of defiance—twisting, fighting to escape the car.

“When you told me we were cutting ties, did you ever think about how much pain you caused me? I raised you with so much effort, and you just ran off with a man? If it were for a woman, I might’ve let it slide! But a man?!”

“You’re out of your mind—completely deranged!”

Qi Yanyu muttered, pulling at the car door, trying to slam against the window. He didn’t want to stay inside anymore, whispering to himself, “I shouldn’t have gotten in the car… I shouldn’t have trusted you…”

His fingers and palms spasmed uncontrollably—a telltale sign of his meltdowns.

He shoved Qi Muyao’s hand away from his face, even as Qi Muyao, blind with rage, seized him and hurled him back. “Let me make this clear—the Qi family doesn’t produce deviants, nor anyone with mental illness. You’d rather die than be a damn queer! Do you hear me?”

Qi Yanyu trembled all over, his fingers curling but unable to form a fist. He wanted to punch Qi Muyao, but all he landed was a feeble slap against his cheek.

His fingers spasmed, his face numb and twitching slightly.

No one *dared* slap Qi Muyao—ever. Only Qi Yanyu would dare hit and kick him, even landing a blow on his thigh.

Blind with rage, Qi Muyao seized Qi Yanyu’s shoulders and hurled him hard. Qi Yanyu’s head cracked against the car door with a sickening thud before he collapsed into the footwell between the seats.

Qi Muyao pressed down on his face, his features twisted, a grotesque, shadowed demon in the half-light as he snarled:

“You want to be a homosexual, huh? Fine. You can try again in your next life. If you dare run off with another man, it won’t just be your legs I break. You’ll rot in that bed till you die.”

“Fuck you, Qi Muyao…” Qi Yanyu’s throat tightened, face numb with pain, fingers unable to straighten, arms pinned uselessly beneath him, chest heaving. “Fuck you, Qi Muyao—I hope you die a horrible death—”

His head was slammed into the padded footwell again and again. Even as his nails broke and fingers bled, Qi Yanyu dug them into Qi Muyao’s arm with all his strength. “You’re going to hell—fuck you—”

“Fuck me? I’ll fuck you first.” Qi Muyao drove his knee or elbow into Qi Yanyu’s stomach, forcing spittle—or maybe bile—to drip from his mouth. “Qi Yanyu, do you really think I can’t handle you? A coma patient’s still breathing, right?”

Tears blurred Qi Yanyu’s vision as he struggled to kick Qi Muyao away, only to find his legs pinned under the other man’s weight. “Qi Muyao, fuck you—just kill me then! If I’m dead, there won’t be a homosexual anymore—kill me—”

“I should’ve drowned you when you were just a kid, always clinging to those boys! When you were a teenager sneaking off with male classmates to hike at night, I should’ve crippled you! Then none of this would’ve happened. If I’d known you were a—”

The brothers clawed and thrashed like animals in the back, their swearing escalating to pure filth. The driver, horrified by the scene, quickly unlocked the doors, flung himself out of the car, and yanked open the rear door to pull Qi Muyao away.

Qi Muyao, tall and muscular from regular workouts, had an overwhelming advantage over Qi Yanyu, as breakable as a porcelain doll.

Face numb, tears streaming unnoticed, Qi Yanyu convulsed uncontrollably, his legs cramping and going numb. “It’s not too late… today’s the day I end this…”

After a few more brutal hits, he heard Qi Muyao laugh coldly. “Fine. You want to be a homosexual so badly? You’ll *never* leave that fucking bed again.”

Good. *Great*.

So this was his reward.

He shouldn’t have held onto any illusions. He’d actually believed Qi Muyao had changed, that he’d felt guilt or remorse.

But he hadn’t. It was all a fucking act to reel him back in.

He’d never changed. All that ‘respect’ crap? Total horseshit.

Good. *Great*. Qi Muyao—you’d better fucking mean it.

If you can't do it, you're a dog!

You're more of a dog than a dog! You're not even as good as a dog, you were never even as good as a dog!

Qi Yanyu didn’t know whether he was cursing inwardly or screaming aloud. He kept swearing, his face a mess of tears, laughter, or blank convulsions.

He clawed at Qi Muyao, though he couldn’t tell if his nails were still raking across Qi Muyao’s back or face.

Qi Muyao, you’re really something.

*Fuck your mother!* Just strangle me to death tonight.

If you don’t choke me out tonight, you’re a coward.

If you don’t kill me tonight, you don’t deserve the name Qi Muyao anymore.

*Fuck your mother.*

You’re all lying to me.

Qi Muyao, just call yourself a goddamn son of a bitch.

Qi Yanyu swore so hard tears flooded his face. He had no idea Qi Muyao was also cursing him back, a nonstop stream of *fuck your mother,* while the driver and hired muscle shouted and tried to pull them apart, the noise overwhelming his ears.

All he knew was that Qi Muyao wasn’t holding back at all.

Qi Muyao had torn off the act completely.

He thought playing the celibate saint in hotels for half a year meant he had reformed.

Total fucking bullshit!

He was born gay and he’ll die gay—end of story!

Damn it, Qi Muyao only took him back home and pretended to give a shit because he thought he had changed.

He even thought Qi Muyao had grown a fucking conscience.

Listen to me—whether you hear it or not doesn’t matter—I’m gay as hell.

Just fucking kill me already!

*"Kill me!"* Do you hear?!

*"Fucking kill me—I stopped wanting to live a long time ago."*

And this sentence, Qi Muyao happened to hear amidst his own endless stream of curses. "You don’t want to live, huh? You stopped wanting to live a long time ago?"

"Fine, I’ll show you what it means to wish you were dead tonight."

Even seven or eight hired muscle couldn’t pull the two fighting brothers apart.

"They’ve lost it—totally fucking lost it!" The driver was so terrified he was crying, unsure whether to call the second young master. *"This is bad—the eldest’s gonna kill the third young master!"*

Screams, shouts, all kinds of noises filled the air.

Qi Muyao had held back for so long, and now just over some half-assed white knight, he spread his legs for them.

How fucking pathetic is that? Isn’t that vile?

Does he not know what shame is?

That bastard actually hit him over some guy!

Oh, so he’s tough now?

If he’s got backbone, I’ll snap it.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, or whose sobbing finally jolted Qi Muyao back to awareness.

Qi Yanyu, who was left behind, had at some point "died" like a corpse.

No one could tell where the blood came from, smeared across Qi Yanyu’s face.

His eyes, nose, mouth—most of his face was covered in blood.

His hands were coated in blood too—sticky and warm, yet unnervingly cold.

"Xiao Yu?"

Qi Muyao shook Qi Yanyu’s shoulder, only to realize that at some point, Qi Yanyu’s face had turned purple, the kind of corpse-like pallor only seen in true-crime shows.

"Xiao Yu?"

There was no response. Instead, as he was shaken, more blood oozed from some unseen wound.

It trickled backward into his ears, thick and congealed.

The hand poised to grab his face fell limp.

Qi Muyao panicked. He tried to lift Qi Yanyu, but he was wedged in place, impossible to move.

Lifeless—no breath, no movement in his chest.