Chapter 31: Eyes Red Beyond Belief

Chapter 31: Eyes Unnaturally Red

Xu Xingli had to admit he knew Xu Zhou intimately. After more than a decade of living side-by-side, despite lacking a blood connection and even harboring mutual resentment, an uncanny psychic bond persisted between them.

This profound understanding allowed him to effortlessly and completely wound Xu Zhou.

Xu Zhou had misunderstood, and Xu Xingli was well aware of it.

He also knew that if he offered no explanation, Xu Zhou would descend into madness.

This had been his intention from the start, and besides, there was no compelling reason to explain the bruise.

Xu Zhou was not a valid reason.

This was a mantra Xu Xingli had constantly repeated to himself since his rebirth.

He remained silent, and just as he anticipated, the other person grew agitated.

The moment he spotted the bluish mark, Xu Zhou instinctively formed a conclusion. It was just too coincidental that Xu Xingli and Jian Ran had returned together that night, and so much later than usual.

He couldn't help but assume the worst.

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to rationalize it. What if Xu Xingli had simply injured himself by accident?

No, this matter couldn't be dismissed with a flippant word like "just," as if nothing truly mattered.

Both possibilities inflicted agony upon him. A sudden inferno ignited in his heart, erupting in profound sorrow, intertwined with a wild, deeply buried obsession.

Xu Zhou's hands clenched tightly onto the hem of Xu Xingli's clothes, his knuckles emitting faint clicks. He struggled to rein in his volatile impulses, looked up at the person before him, and asked in a chillingly cold tone, "What did you two do?"

Xu Xingli offered no reply, nor did he meet his gaze.

His deliberate act of lowering his eyes to avoid contact almost instantly provoked Xu Zhou. Xu Zhou reached out, gripped his jaw, and forced him to look up.

This person truly seemed on the brink of madness, yet his eyes were as dull and lifeless as stagnant water.

"What did he do to you? Or... were you willing?" Unlike the force in his hand, the tone of this question was so soft and low it was almost inaudible.

Xu Xingli's heart suddenly constricted with pain.

This couldn't be happening.

He lowered his eyelids, and after several seconds, curled his lips into a mocking smile. He wasn't sure if he spoke genuinely or against his will when he said, "It's none of your business, Xu Zhou."

The grip on his jaw tightened further, and Xu Xingli saw Xu Zhou raise his other hand.

The next second, that hand swung towards him.

Xu Xingli instinctively closed his eyes. He even instantly formulated a plan for retaliation if he were actually struck.

But the anticipated sharp pain never came. Instead, a familiar warmth and a slightly rough texture cupped his cheek.

He was stunned, and it took him a long time to slowly open his eyes.

Dark pupils gazed deeply into his.

"I'll pretend this never happened," Xu Zhou suddenly declared. "It was my fault."

Having said this, he immediately released Xu Xingli, turned, and walked out of the house.

In an instant, ashes lay everywhere, his heart barren, not a single blade of grass growing.

It wasn't until Xu Zhou's figure vanished that Xu Xingli regained his composure.

No matter the circumstance, Xu Zhou had never laid a hand on him, even when his actions had crossed Xu Zhou's boundaries.

Xu Xingli suddenly felt a pang of self-reproach.

Xu Zhou in this life had been kind to him. Why should he burden this Xu Zhou with the grievances of a past life? But then, a thought struck him: perhaps Xu Zhou was inherently deceitful; otherwise, why had he been so cold and heartless in the previous life?

He suddenly felt a little contemptible again.

He couldn't entirely hate Xu Zhou, nor could he love him anymore.

Left alone in the empty hall, Xu Xingli lowered his head and ascended the stairs.

The first floor remained silent until midnight. Xu Zhou never returned.

Xu Xingli desperately tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with him, buried his head under a pillow, and counted sheep to lull himself to sleep.

But it was all in vain. At 2 AM, Xu Xingli, having counted two thousand sheep, confirmed a stark reality—he was suffering from insomnia.

He irritably rubbed his face while curled up in bed, letting out a deep sigh.

It must be because he hadn't drunk hot milk tonight.

After much deliberation, he still blamed Xu Zhou.

Xu Xingli pouted. Having identified the cause, he swiftly threw off the covers, got out of bed, opened his bedroom door, and headed downstairs.

Everyone in the Xu family was asleep, and the house was dimly lit. Xu Xingli fumbled his way down the stairs in the dark, and for the last three steps, he leaped down as was his habit.

Safely reaching the first floor, he was about to head to the island counter when he unexpectedly noticed a dim light emanating from it.

Someone who had returned at an unknown hour was already seated at the island counter, looking up at the sound of his movement.

Without warning, their gazes met.

Xu Zhou's gaze remained intense, his emotions unreadable. In his hand was a wine glass with half a glass of red wine, and several almost empty bottles of wine were beside him.

Upon seeing him, Xu Zhou didn't avert his gaze, but stared straight ahead, then raised his glass and drank, his gaze still burning.

Xu Xingli pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and then walked towards the kitchen.

He could feel Xu Zhou's gaze following him every step of the way.

But he couldn't dwell on that now; he just wanted to quickly drink a glass of milk and then go back to bed.

Opening the refrigerator, he found a carton of milk, twisted it open, and was about to pour it into his mouth when a hand suddenly reached out and snatched the milk carton away.

Xu Xingli instinctively turned around, about to curse, but was first choked by the pervasive smell of alcohol and started coughing.

Xu Zhou silently watched him, then walked to the kitchen, took out a pot, filled it with water, heated it, and then placed the milk carton inside to warm.

His movements were practiced, almost instinctive.

After placing the milk in the pot, Xu Zhou remained by its side, not looking at Xu Xingli. Neither of them spoke for a while.

Soon, the milk carton was removed. Xu Zhou walked back to the island counter, and from somewhere, produced the cup Xu Xingli usually used for milk, pouring the milk into it.

After that, the cup filled with milk was placed in Xu Xingli's hand.

The air remained silent.

Xu Xingli initially intended to take the milk back to his bedroom, but after only a few steps, he finally turned back.

As always, he met someone's gaze.

He always seemed to be able to catch Xu Zhou's gaze.

This was also the first time in a long time that he had looked so closely at Xu Zhou's face.

It was captivating, and distinct from Xu Xingli's own features. His majestic fox-like eyes, straight nose, soft lips, beautifully defined jawline, and prominent Adam's apple—every detail was a breathtaking sight.

He didn't show his drunkenness on his face, but the corners of his eyes were unnaturally red, very different from his usual demeanor, yet not appearing weak or pitiful, but rather more aloof and cold.

He had drunk too much, and his whole body was permeated with the smell of alcohol, but it wasn't pungent. At least Xu Xingli didn't find it unpleasant.

He had also smoked. Xu Xingli detected a faint scent of tobacco.

Realizing this, Xu Xingli frowned, and finally couldn't help but walk over, take Xu Zhou's wine glass, and scold, "Drinking so much, do you still want to live?"

Hearing this, Xu Zhou paused, opened his mouth to say something, but it was slurred and his voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

Xu Xingli didn't have the patience to decipher it. He simply poured out all the wine in the glass, put it in the sink, then walked to the drunken man, slapped him on the back, and said, "Go upstairs to your room and sleep! I don't want to see you dead here tomorrow morning when I go to school, that would be bad luck."

Xu Zhou didn't move.

Xu Xingli's anger flared, and he turned to leave: "If you don't go, I'm leaving. I'm also idle, why would I want to bother with you?"

Just as he took a step, he heard the sound of a chair dragging behind him.

Xu Zhou actually followed.

Xu Xingli instinctively let out a sigh of relief.

The two of them quietly walked to the second floor, one in front of the other. Xu Xingli even kindly escorted him to his room door.

Seeing Xu Zhou standing thoughtfully at the door, his eyes still fixed on him, Xu Xingli uncomfortably blinked and said, "I'm leaving," then continued to walk upstairs, but his pinky finger was gently hooked.

He was stunned, and slowly turned his head.

Xu Zhou gazed at him deeply, his voice low: "What else did I do wrong here? Can you tell me?"

Xu Xingli was bewildered.

Xu Zhou continued: "I just don't want you to be so resistant to me, Xing'er... it's all my fault... don't say that word so easily again... I can't lose you."

By the end of his words, a layer of mist had formed in his eyes, appearing particularly noticeable in the darkness.

Did he want to cry?

Was Xu Zhou about to cry?

Xu Xingli's eyes widened, completely speechless.

But then Xu Zhou became completely drunk, his eyes closed, muttering words like "attic," "resist," "high," and "jump," completely incoherent. Even the King of Heaven wouldn't understand him.

Xu Xingli helplessly rubbed his forehead, and finally pushed open Xu Zhou's room door and put him to bed.

Fortunately, Xu Zhou didn't bother him after lying on the bed. Seeing him close his eyes, Xu Xingli returned to his own room, exhausted.

But he still couldn't sleep.

Xu Zhou's words kept replaying in his mind, disturbing his peace.

What did he mean? Was Xu Zhou asking for his forgiveness? But Xu Zhou hadn't done anything wrong in this life. Did his actions make him misunderstand? And what was that "I can't lose you" about? There was no such plot in the previous life!

Xu Xingli irritably ran a hand through his hair.

Then he felt something was amiss again.

Xu Zhou's words seemed to have flaws; it felt like he was revealing something, and his emotions didn't seem pure. But Xu Xingli couldn't figure it out, and as he thought about it, he leaned towards an extremely absurd answer he had never considered.

No way.

Xu Xingli shook his head.

But Xu Zhou was too strange, wasn't he?

Young Master Xu was so anxious he wanted to scratch someone.

These inexplicable thoughts battled in his mind for half the night. Xu Xingli finally couldn't bear it anymore and fell asleep at four o'clock.

The next morning, he was woken up by the butler. He groggily went downstairs, almost face-planting into his bowl while eating breakfast. Xu Zhou was a few minutes later than him, but in much better condition. Aside from the headache from the hangover, which made him frown, he didn't even have dark circles under his eyes.

Xu Xingli immediately wanted to roll his eyes. But he was afraid he would faint, so he could only temporarily make a mental note of it, saving it for later.

Just like that, the two of them met each other's gaze again.

Xu Zhou still didn't avoid it.

It seemed he had no memory of what happened last night.

Xu Xingli mentally rolled his eyes again.

"Did you put medicine on the bruise? Does it still hurt?" The hungover person sat down next to Xu Xingli as usual, rubbing his temples with a frown as he asked. He didn't get a reply, but was first glared at by the person next to him.

Xu Zhou: "..." What's wrong again, young master?

He indeed had no memory of what he did last night, only remembering opening bottle after bottle of expensive fine wine and being covered in the smell of alcohol.

As for how he got back to his bedroom, he had no recollection.

Xu Xingli's dark circles were too obvious; he noticed them immediately. A few fragmented memories flashed through his mind, and Xu Zhou had a hazy thought.

"What happened last night?" he asked.

Xu Xingli, however, abruptly put down his cutlery, picked up his schoolbag, and left, not forgetting to glare at him again.

Xu Zhou: "..."

He stared intently at Xu Xingli's retreating back, and his jumbled thoughts suddenly became clear.

The figure before him gradually merged with the shadowy figure from the middle of the night.

He was stunned.

Xu Xingli didn't know his brother had remembered everything. He arrived at school seething with anger. Jian Ran was already in the classroom, standing with two male classmates of the same grade. Seeing him, Jian Ran immediately waved and greeted him.

"My goodness, Lizi, did you fight monsters last night? Why do you have panda eyes?!"

As he got closer and saw the dark circles under Xu Xingli's eyes, Jian Ran exclaimed in disbelief.

Xu Xingli threw his schoolbag onto the desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, leaned back, and closed his eyes, saying coldly, "Don't even ask."

Knowing he was angry, Jian Ran immediately shut up, but his gaze drifted to the two people beside him, and then he remembered something. He poked Xu Xingli's shoulder with his index finger and said, "Oh, right, these two are guitarists. They said they want to join our performance."