Chapter 53 Brother, It’s Your Fault I Became Like This

Chapter 53: Bro, You’re the Reason I Ended Up Like This

Ting Zhenxi hadn’t been going out lately, and Li Wangyue thought it was weird.

He used to be busy, coming home just to leave again soon after, and Li Wangyue would let out a sigh of relief.

He always heard Ting Zhenxi on the phone, sometimes early in the morning, sometimes in the middle of the night, his voice very low.

He couldn’t fall asleep.

After Ting Zhenxi got off the phone, he’d come find him.

Li Wangyue tried locking the door, but it didn’t work; Ting Zhenxi always got in.

But he never did anything.

It seemed like he just wanted to watch him, keep an eye on him, stop him from leaving.

At Whale Zheng Li

Ting Zhenxi handed him a document to sign. Li Wangyue skimmed it—it looked like equity transfers, along with some waivers and agreements to drop certain claims.

Li Wangyue hesitated for a minute, then signed it all.

He was worthless to the Ting family now; Ting Zhenxi would probably ditch him soon.

Sure enough, the next day, Ting Zhenxi was gone.

Li Wangyue waited until noon, but no one came back. Ting Zhenxi used to bring him food, and now, the house was empty except for him.

Li Wangyue wanted to go out for a while to buy some stuff. His computer was broken and needed fixing, or he couldn’t work on his designs.

He grabbed his laptop bag, walked out, and opened the car door. He remembered the last time he went out without telling anyone, and when he came back, Ting Zhenxi was waiting in the dark living room, smiling, asking if he’d found another guy outside.

It was just a random run-in with a college classmate; they talked for less than three minutes, and Ting Zhenxi still threw all his family’s info in his face, asking if he wanted to look after this guy’s sister, who was about to take the civil service exam.

Li Wangyue begged him, apologized like crazy, and barely calmed him down.

He still texted Ting Zhenxi, saying he was getting his computer fixed and would be back in about three hours.

Ting Zhenxi usually didn’t reply, probably too busy to care.

But today he did, with just a couple of words.

“Stay put.”

Li Wangyue couldn’t just sit around. His design was due to the client today, and he still had a little left to finish.

Ting Zhenxi sent him a bunch of card numbers and a password—the message was obvious.

Li Wangyue was disappointed.

He knew he wasn’t as successful as Ting Zhenxi at that age, but he still made a living with his own two hands. He didn’t want to be stuck in a golden cage like some invisible prisoner.

Besides, what was he, anyway?

Ting Huayi’s stepson? Even then, he was an adult and should support himself.

Ting Zhenxi’s… plaything?

That made him even colder inside.

He didn’t take the money Ting Zhenxi offered.

Ting Zhenxi then sent him a picture of a brand-new, top-of-the-line computer, basically saying if he wanted a new one, it could be delivered and set up in an hour.

That was already a compromise.

Li Wangyue gripped the steering wheel, the keys in his hand like a hot potato—he squeezed and let go, over and over.

He didn’t want to keep being obedient.

Just as he drove out the gate, his phone, propped on the dash, lit up again. He thought it was Ting Zhenxi and didn’t want to pick up, but it turned out to be Ting Huayi’s secretary.

This guy had arranged family dinners for him before, and even picked him up once when he was stuck at work and couldn’t make it.

Li Wangyue pulled over and picked up.

The voice on the other end was polite but distant, asking if he’d stopped working at Yunda University. Li Wangyue was only briefly surprised before realizing the Ting family knew everything he did.

To say his so-called “university professor” job was decent, any change in work would naturally draw attention.

Li Wangyue didn’t mention that Ting Zhenxi had ruined his new job. He just said his contract had expired and he wanted to gain experience in a commercial company.

The secretary exchanged pleasantries with him politely, then invited him over for dinner that evening, sending the address and time before he could respond.

Li Wangyue had no choice but to agree.

After waiting in the shop for a while and picking up his repaired computer, he didn’t have time to go home. Coincidentally, it wasn’t far from the coffee shop where Ji Zhijia had a membership card, so he went there to briefly handle some work.

A small piece of cake was placed beside him.

“I didn’t order this,” Li Wangyue said.

The server smiled slightly and bowed, saying, “It’s from the shop—a new item for members to sample.”

Ji Zhijia had loaded up on cards to chase someone, but the next day the barista quit, so almost all his friends could use his card to spend.

Seeing this, Li Wangyue thanked him, picked up the fork, and took a bite.

It tasted okay. He turned to look for a feedback card to write a review, but noticed a familiar face standing behind the counter.

The former barista was chatting with the shop manager, apparently a friend of his.

Li Wangyue reached for his phone to tell Ji Zhijia, only to find he no longer had his contact info.

He searched around in confusion, then remembered to check the blacklist.

Sure enough.

The calls he made and the messages he sent—Ting Zhenxi probably received them before the intended recipient.

He suddenly felt it was pointless. The surprise of seeing the barista earlier vanished.

After finishing the dessert, Li Wangyue took his computer and left, driving aimlessly along the national highway until he neared the airport area.

He parked, opened a can of cola, and sat watching planes take off one after another, flying overhead and disappearing into the clouds.

He thought of his old home, next to a train track that rumbled all day long. When he couldn’t sleep, he would count—how long it took for a train to approach and pass by.

Later, his parents managed to scrape together some money and moved to a better apartment complex, but then his grandpa was severely injured in a car accident, forcing them to sell it and move back into a rental, until his dad died.

Li Wangyue finished his Coke and drove back to his old house.

He spent his middle and high school years here. He still remembered every window, every alley. His study looked out onto a lake—the landscaping wasn't great, but it was better than nothing.

He parked by the lake and scrolled through his texts with his mom.

Li Ping always sent him pictures, trying to reassure him her overseas assignment was okay, but it was a grind. Most of the time, she was in protective gear in the photos. Li Wangyue had no clue what kind of research needed suits that thick, and he worried constantly, only able to tell her to be careful.

Li Ping sent him pictures almost every other day. Today was day two, and Li Wangyue checked every few hours.

As night fell, it got cold. He hung around the lake for a bit, planning to go have dinner with Ting Huayi.

He turned around, and a dark figure was standing by the car, smoking. The faint red glow of the cigarette tip was especially creepy.

Li Wangyue instinctively took a step back.

"You said you'd be home in three hours." Ting Zhenxi stubbed out the cigarette on the car door and looked down at his watch. "What the hell does 'three hours' mean to you, big brother?"

In the dim twilight, Li Wangyue couldn't see his face, only a shadow slowly getting closer.

"Uncle asked me to dinner tonight. I was gonna head straight there," he explained.

"I don't give a damn about him. I'm asking about you." Ting Zhenxi glanced sideways at the low-rise apartment buildings nearby. "Thinking of going back to your old house again?"

"Just bored, came to check it out," Li Wangyue said, avoiding his eyes.

"Just that? You wanna go back, but it's too late—your old place was already rented out." Ting Zhenxi said unhurriedly. "Rented to a high school kid. His mom works in a factory, his dad drives a truck. He lives by himself."

Li Wangyue didn't know why he was saying this, until Ting Zhenxi's next words showed his hand.

"Are you really just casually coming back to look?"

Li Wangyue suddenly understood. "You think I'd be interested in that kid?"

"Hard to say. After all, big brother's got a soft heart, a kind nature." Ting Zhenxi's voice was low, and he laughed in the darkness. "Who knows, you might take a shine to him and wanna stalk him. Wasn't it high school when you had a crush on me too?"

Li Wangyue clenched his fists, his breathing ragged, his heart racing. Then he turned away and suddenly gagged.

"In your eyes, I'm like that—able to fall for anyone that easily..."

"Isn't that the truth?" Ting Zhenxi said coldly.

Li Wangyue didn't wanna argue. With red eyes, he straightened up and looked right at him. "Then you can be happy now. Seeing you makes me wanna puke."

Ting Zhenxi's gaze was empty, with a faint, knowing smile, his expression unchanged.

They faced off for a moment, but Li Wangyue was the first to crack, his lips trembling, his nose stinging as he gasped, his Adam's apple quivering uncontrollably.

Ting Zhenxi didn't need to say a word. Just watching him quietly like this was enough to tear down all his walls.

"Even better," he finally said, taking his time. "I love seeing you disgusted by me but not being able to get rid of me."

He grabbed Li Wangyue's hand and yanked him toward the car.

Li Wangyue struggled, trying to scream for help, but his arm was twisted and pinned against the car door, his shoulder pressed down hard, pain making his eyes water instantly.

Ting Zhenxi whispered a warning in his ear, smiling: "Shout louder, and someone'll find us."

Li Wangyue bit down on his lip.

Ting Zhenxi got more excited, his voice creepily gentle, like he was coaxing him.

"You really wanna be caught, don't you? Watched by others, like this with your own brother..."

Li Wangyue said nothing.

"Say it. Say you like it. Why you gotta be so stubborn."

Still, Li Wangyue didn't make a sound.

Pissed off by his sudden defiance, Ting Zhenxi pulled out his phone and pointed the camera at him.

Li Wangyue instinctively turned his head away, raising his hand to cover his face, tears splashing onto Ting Zhenxi's hand.

Ting Zhenxi was delighted, as if confirming his own suspicion.

"You really do like being watched," he said, feeling Li Wangyue's body react. "See, you can't bear to let me go even more."

"Fuck... off." Li Wangyue forced the words through clenched teeth, face buried, shoulders trembling.

"How can you be so gentle with others and so harsh with me?" Ting Zhenxi kissed the back of his neck affectionately, deliberately calling him big brother. "Cursing like that will corrupt me."

Li Wangyue was turned over, seeing the moonlight outside the window, hanging high.

He remembered the suspended moon trapped in Ting Zhenxi's window frame.

His vision blurred—he didn't know if it was tears or the night fog.

He let out a faint laugh. "You've been rotten for a long time..."

Ting Zhenxi bit into the side of his neck, pulling him tightly into his arms.

"It's all your fault, big brother. You made me this way."

-

Ting Zhenxi didn't take him to dinner, nor did he take him home. Instead, he drove up a winding mountain road to a vacation cabin Li Wangyue had never seen before.

The mountain was pitch black, dotted with only a few faint lights.

Li Wangyue curled up in the back seat, wrapped in Ting Zhenxi's jacket, his wrists bound with his tie, with no other clothes to cover himself.

Ting Zhenxi always found new lows.

His phone rang again.

He wanted to grab it to see if it was his mom, but Ting Zhenxi took it.

He glanced at it and hung up directly.

"Whose call?" Li Wangyue's voice was hoarse.

"No one." Ting Zhenxi tossed him a bottle of water. "Not your mom."

Li Wangyue calmed down a bit.

Ting Zhenxi turned the wheel into the garage and parked.

"Give me... my pants." Li Wangyue pushed himself up on the seat, barely upright, forcing out the words, filled with shame.

"You don't need that." Ting Zhenxi lifted him out from the back seat.

Li Wangyue felt deeply insecure, struggling instinctively, but was held even tighter, unable to move. The cold wind made him shiver uncontrollably.

Ting Zhenxi lowered his head, using the moonlight to look at the thin layer of sweat on his neck, glistening in the night. When afraid, the lines of his neck became more pronounced, his breathing rapid, every bob of his Adam's apple especially alluring.

Ting Zhenxi stared at his body, his gaze direct and unashamed.

"Give me my phone back," Li Wangyue said.

"Why?"

"I want to call my mom."

"What, got bullied and wanna cry to your mom?"

Li Wangyue felt exhausted from talking to him and sighed, "My mom hasn't reached out to me in days. I want to call and see if she's okay."

Ting Zhenxi said nothing and gave no response.

Li Wangyue knew something was off and grabbed his collar, "What happened to my mom?"

Ting Zhenxi gently pushed his hand away, "Get some rest."

Li Wangyue lunged for the phone and called Li Ping.

Ting Zhenxi watched him quietly, picked the coat up off the floor, draped it back over his shoulders, and turned up the heat.

"Why won't it go through..."

Li Wangyue redialed three or four times, but no one ever answered.

Li Ping never did this. Even during surgeries or emergencies, she'd let him know beforehand.

Ting Zhenxi tried to take the phone, but Li Wangyue grabbed his arm.

"What did you do... I'm begging you... It's my fault. Don't be mad. I'll do anything, just leave my mom alone."

His eyes went red, and he dropped to his knees right in front of Ting Zhenxi.

He thought Li Ping would be safe overseas. He thought at least Ting Zhenxi couldn't get past Ting Huayi's protection.

He was too naive, and he'd underestimated how ruthless Ting Zhenxi could be.

Ting Zhenxi looked down at him, took his hand, ran his thumb over his wrist, and pulled him up.

Li Wangyue held onto his hand tightly, begging for a sliver of mercy.

"Stop kidding yourself. What's done is done." Ting Zhenxi poured a glass of warm water, coaxing him to drink it, "Get some sleep."

Li Wangyue didn't want to drink, but Ting Zhenxi wrapped his arms around him, kissed the top of his head, pinched his chin to force the water down, then covered his mouth, making him swallow.

The drug kicked in fast, his limbs going completely limp, unable to move.

Ting Zhenxi carried him to bed and tucked him in.

Only when he was out cold did he behave a little.

Ting Zhenxi took his phone, playing with his hand as he scrolled through it.

Li Wangyue had reached out to a few real estate agents, apparently interested in a three-bedroom, two-living-room place. It wasn't close to downtown, but it was quiet, had a nice setting, good security, and a hospital within a ten-minute drive.

He'd told Li Ping his plan, that he could use being closer to work as an excuse to have her move in too.

Ting Zhenxi scrolled through those chat records.

It was a different Li Wangyue than the one in front of him.

He seemed to have many sides, and every side was loved by someone.

He could fall in love with him, just as easily with someone else.

Ting Zhenxi didn't want anything he could have so easily.

So better to let it be hate.

This was a feeling Li Wangyue had never had before—fresh, burning, unique.