Chapter 34 If Brother Doesn’t Like It, Then I Won’t Wear It

Chapter 34: If Brother Doesn’t Like It, Then Don’t Wear It

The event ended in the early hours, just like a night market—starting as dusk fell and ending as dawn approached.

Li Wangyue and Ting Zhenxi left first. Zhao Bing had caused trouble here, and although Gao Li had handled it on the surface, he still needed his brother to put in a word; otherwise, the hosts wouldn’t be pleased about the disruption.

He called Zhao Xiujian, but it went unanswered for a long time. Zhao Bing sat anxiously in a chair, biting his nails and jiggling his leg.

Ting Zhenxi offered to call, but Zhao Bing swatted his phone away. “It’s not to the point where I have to beg him. I’m not about to beg him.”

“Then you’ll stay here?”

“Whatever. It’s not like I’ve never slept in a lobby before. I’ve crashed on the floor in airports with crowds everywhere.”

“So you got kicked out by security.”

“Anyway, don’t worry about me. You two go ahead.” Zhao Bing waved his hand, plopped back down like he didn’t care, sprawled out with his legs up on the armrest as he played on his tablet.

Li Wangyue waited for Ting Zhenxi’s decision.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Zhao Bing shot up like a rocket, grabbed it, and held it to his ear.

The next second, his face darkened, and he said coldly into the phone, “Mm. How much longer is he gonna be? I need to get out of here. Just have him say a word—it won’t take time.”

“I’m terribly sorry, Chairman Zhao is briefing his subordinates. Please wait a moment,” the secretary said respectfully.

Zhao Bing let out a cold snort, didn’t bother hanging up, just tossed it on speaker, and went back to playing a fishing game on his tablet.

Zhao Xiujian really had a bad temper, yelling at his subordinates again. Some unlucky employee was getting chewed out.

With a temper like that, no wonder his wife left him, Zhao Bing thought, smirking. The two had been going through a divorce lately, and his little niece was causing chaos everywhere.

Thinking of his brother—always the golden boy, smug, everyone’s favorite—whose family was about to crumble, about to lose his wife and kid, Zhao Bing felt a weird sense of satisfaction.

Zhao Xiujian finally got what was coming to him, finally looked pathetic.

Later, when Zhao Xiujian acted all high and mighty again, he could just say, “At least I’ve never been divorced,” and shut him up.

“I told you, you can’t run that story. Do you know what’s at stake? Cutting corners won’t help. I’m warning you again, don’t do anything stupid…”

A muffled voice came through the phone. Zhao Bing didn’t even bother looking up. Zhao Xiujian was a control freak, an absolute nightmare to work for.

“You hang up on me, and I’ll—if I catch wind of anything, I’ll… Shit. Hang up.”

Then came the sound of a fist slamming on a desk.

Zhao Bing laughed.

Ooh, look at that. Got hung up on. The big boss got hung up on by his own employee.

Zhao Bing silently gave that employee major props for guts.

He picked up the phone.

“Who?” Zhao Xiujian’s voice came from far away, super annoyed. After listening to the secretary for a moment, he said, “Just text him. I’m busy.”

The secretary said quietly, “Xiao Zhao is waiting for you to answer.”

“Don’t have time.”

Then the voice faded again; he had already left.

Zhao Bing gripped the phone, face blank. After hanging up, he hopped off the chair. “Alright, all good~ Let’s go, go back together. I’m freaking starving…”

He bounced along, shoving Li Wangyue’s shoulder, but tripped over something in the dark and crashed into a chair. Li Wangyue quickly turned to help him, but his wrist was grabbed and pushed away by an outstretched hand.

In the dim light, no one could tell who was who.

Li Wangyue wanted to check if he was hurt, but a tall, dark figure cut him off. Ting Zhenxi stood with hands in his pockets, eyes lowered. “Keep moving. What’s the holdup?”

Li Wangyue had no choice but to turn back.

Zhao Bing decided to stay and play for a few days, sending the driver to take him back to the hotel. Li Wangyue and Ting Zhenxi went to the garage to drive home.

True to his word, Li Wangyue drove. The sky was just starting to lighten, and he could finally make out the watch on his wrist.

It ticked once a second, a faint, crisp sound.

“Eyes on the road,” the passenger reminded him.

Li Wangyue glanced over. The other man had his eyes closed, seemingly resting, yet he knew Li Wangyue had almost drifted off.

Embarrassed and a bit sleepy, Li Wangyue forced himself to stay alert, thinking he was driving Ting Zhenxi home.

He tried to make conversation: “What did Xiao Zhao bid on at 12:30? I didn’t see clearly.”

The car fell into a strange silence.

Li Wangyue was stunned. He’d spoken only after confirming Ting Zhenxi wasn’t asleep, but within seconds, there was no response.

Just as he thought Ting Zhenxi wouldn’t answer,

“Three stamps.”

“…Oh.” Li Wangyue nodded.

“Interested?”

“No. Just asking. He doesn’t seem like someone who collects stamps.”

“Does he seem like someone who collects antique calligraphy and paintings?” Ting Zhenxi said.

“True.” Li Wangyue sighed helplessly.

Last night, Zhao Bing had been angry. Since he was spending his family’s money anyway, he barely looked at quality or authenticity. If he thought something was pretty, he just named a price, throwing cash around like it was worthless paper. Even the waitstaff at the bar had gotten a big tip.

Zhao Bing was young, handsome, and wild in his manner. He looked like the type who mingled with beautiful people, seeking pleasure, loving sports cars and champagne.

Antique calligraphy and paintings? Stamps? Definitely not his style.

Suddenly, Ting Zhenxi took out his phone and called Zhao Bing, asking for the three stamps from last night.

Zhao Bing was half-asleep and yawned. “What’s there to say? I’ll just give them to you. I’ll have someone send them over.”

“Mm.” Ting Zhenxi put down the phone and turned to Li Wangyue. “He’s giving you the stamps. Happy?”

“He’s giving them to you,” Li Wangyue said, sensing a hint of displeasure and cautiously clarifying, “He values you as a friend.”

Ting Zhenxi smiled, though it was unclear what he was laughing at.

"Li Wangyue, look, you've forgotten again—we're family."

-

Zhao Bing's stamps came home with them.

Ting Zhenxi tossed the box onto the table without even opening it. Li Wangyue glanced at it, and Ting Zhenxi told him to open it himself and take a look.

Li Wangyue, of course, wasn't about to open it.

He didn't know why Ting Zhenxi had suddenly gotten upset, but Ting Zhenxi's moods were hard to read anyway, so him suddenly being pissed was actually pretty normal.

But when he got upset, Li Wangyue's mood soured too, and he couldn't help worrying about him.

Li Wangyue opened the stamp box and took a quick look. "From what I can see, it's clearer here than at the ghost market. They should be real, but they're not that old, so the value's a bit lower. Still, Xiao Zhao didn't get ripped off."

Ting Zhenxi walked to the fridge, grabbed some cold water, and chugged it, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped it down.

"Drink something warm," Li Wangyue couldn't help but suggest, heading to the dining area to get some warm water.

As he brushed past Ting Zhenxi, his wrist got grabbed.

"...What's wrong?"

Li Wangyue felt a sharp sting on his wrist. He looked down—the scratch on the watch had dug into his skin again.

Ting Zhenxi screwed the cap back on and put the half-empty bottle of water back in the fridge.

"Zhao Bing gave you a gift. When are you gonna return the favor?"

"What?" Li Wangyue had no clue what he was getting at.

Ting Zhenxi stared at him, then repeated in a totally casual tone: "When are you gonna return the favor?"

Li Wangyue thought he was hinting that he'd taken an expensive gift without giving anything back, so he quickly said he'd find time to pick something out and hand it to Zhao Bing himself.

"That's it?"

"That's probably all I can do," Li Wangyue admitted his limits. "Or, do you know what brand or stuff he likes? Could you help me pick something out?"

After all, Zhao Bing, the young master, was generous by nature—he'd often throw money around to make his friends happy. Once, Shang Wendu casually mentioned he wanted to try skydiving, and that same night, during a thunderstorm, Zhao Bing chartered a plane and dragged a few people up into the sky.

Shang Wendu said, "On a night like this, the chances of getting struck by lightning are pretty high."

Zhao Bing said, "Yeah, they are."

Ting Zhenxi said, "Really? Then let's try it."

Zhao Bing said, "Awesome."

Li Wangyue said, "The wind's too strong, it's dangerous—let's land first."

Zhao Bing said, "I'll listen to Wangyue."

He did plenty of reckless stuff, but he was genuinely loyal to his friends.

Li Wangyue knew some of the brands Zhao Bing usually used, but he figured it'd be safer to let Ting Zhenxi, his old friend, make the call. It was also a way to... show goodwill toward Zhenxi, quietly loving what he loved.

That should be fine, right...?

Only then did Ting Zhenxi's expression soften a little, as if something he'd said made him happy.

"I'll send you the list later," he said.

That meant he was willing to help, so Li Wangyue thanked him.

Back in his room, it only hit him later that this gift had never been something he wanted. Ting Zhenxi had unreasonably demanded it from Zhao Bing and then unreasonably shoved it on him.

But he was Ting Zhenxi—being unreasonable was totally normal.

The sky was already bright, but after a sleepless night and the tense drive back, now that he'd relaxed, the aches in his body and the fogginess in his head started to hit him.

Li Wangyue slumped over the desk, debating whether to take meds and sleep or force himself to stay awake.

After all, even though he was tired, that didn't mean he could sleep. He knew the torment of insomnia all too well.

Forget it.

Lying in bed with my eyes open was the same as lying there anyway—no point in fighting it.

Li Wangyue made up his mind, but then he heard a sound from the other side of the wall.

It was the click of a lock.

The house had such good soundproofing that he couldn't even hear footsteps outside the room—only the sound of a door closing and locking, carried through the tightly connected walls.

Li Wangyue straightened up, stood, and pressed his ear to the wall to listen closely.

The first sound was soft—a door closing—he hadn't noticed it, but the lock click was unmistakable.

Ting Zhenxi had gone back to his room and planned to stay a while.

He'd thought Zhenxi might go out, since he didn't look tired at all.

But it turned out Zhenxi wanted to rest too.

Li Wangyue licked his dry lips, opened the drawer, and fished out the medicine from the very back, washed it down with warm water, and pulled the covers over himself as he got into bed.

It was still light out, but luckily the room's curtains blocked out most of the light.

Only after lying down did he remember he hadn't taken his watch off.

He wasn't in the habit of sleeping with a watch on. Even the one Ting Huayi had taken from Ting Zhenxi and given to him, he'd always take off before bed.

But now, as he touched the metal on his wrist—it was the exact same thing as the one on Ting Zhenxi's wrist.

They had something identical.

A twin object, like something out of the uncanny valley.

A strange, wonderful sense of satisfaction welled up in Li Wangyue's chest.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and soon he sank into a deep sleep.

The room was empty and bright, with a hint of...

The bedroom door opened, and a man entered from outside, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.

The sleeping person's brow was slightly furrowed—he was always like that, as if bearing too much, or unable to bear it, his brow never relaxed.

So fragile and delicate, yet so resilient and tenacious, both pitiable and infuriating.

"You said you wanted to give me a return gift." Ting Zhenxi's fingertips gently brushed aside his bangs, traced down along his jawline, and tucked his hair behind his ear. "You said it yourself—no one forced you."

His fingertip traced over the lips like he was handling a piece of art, then pressed against his bottom teeth, forcing his mouth open.

"You're looking forward to it too, aren't you? Me treating you like this." His voice was deep and warm. "That's why you offered yourself as a gift to me."

"Can I tell you a secret? I don't like my things being touched by others. So yeah, Ting Wanxi's hand—I broke it."

"A gift can only be given to one person. You should understand that. Otherwise, that'd be really rude."

Ting Zhenxi spoke softly, as gently as if he were telling a bedtime story.

He touched the guy's face. The fire-scarred watch on his wrist pressed against the other man's cheek, seeming to discomfort him. The sleeping man murmured and turned his head away.

Ting Zhenxi's eyes narrowed. His palm was empty.

Then his gaze fell on the watch.

"Don't like it?" He reached out, unbuckled the strap, and took off his watch. "Then I won't wear it."

He casually placed the watch on the table. When he reached out again, without the metal in the way, the guy instinctively leaned into his cool palm, even nuzzling it without thinking.

The man's dark eyes locked onto his warm cheeks, then dropped to his lips.

A low buzz sounded.

Ting Zhenxi frowned. The phone on the table was ringing, flashing with an incoming call.

An unknown number, no saved contact, calling for the first time.

The sleeping guy didn't stir; his breathing stayed steady.

Ting Zhenxi picked up the phone, gently stroking the man's cheek with one hand while expertly unlocking and answering the call with the other.

As he listened, he opened the phone's photo gallery, checking if there were any photos he shouldn't have saved.

The voice on the other end was urgent: "Teacher Li, come to the hospital quickly... Professor Liu, Professor Liu had an accident!"

His finger, hovering over a landscape photo, paused. His expression shifted slightly, and he immediately looked at the sleeping figure.