Chapter 11: Into the Trap (Part 2)

Chapter 11: Into the Trap (Part 2)

The dining room.

The butler had the servants bring the prepared dinner to the table.

Li Su saw they were all dishes he loved.

Song Wuyi motioned to him: "Eat first."

Li Su looked around; only he, Song Wuyi, the butler, and a few servants were in the dining room.

Li Su asked, "Where's your dad? I heard you have a big family, but why are you eating by yourself?"

Song Wuyi had already started eating and put a piece of sweet and sour spare ribs into Li Su's bowl.

"I've got my dad, my stepmom, and her son."

Li Su asked innocently, "Is he your older brother or younger brother?"

Song Wuyi looked up indifferently: "He's four years older than you. A boring person."

Li Su said, "Oh, then you probably don't get along well."

Song Wuyi asked, "Do you get along with your younger brother?"

Li Su smiled: "Of course, we're full brothers."

Song Wuyi didn't say anything more.

Li Su vaguely felt that he had said something wrong.

The food at the Song house was so delicious and exactly to Li Su's taste. He couldn't stop himself from eating a ton. When he asked the butler for a third bowl of rice, Song Wuyi stopped him.

"It's almost eight. Eating too much late isn't good for digestion; you won't sleep well."

Li Su licked his lips, still hungry for more.

"Your cook is amazing. Not just this meal—I could eat here forever!"

Another 'lifetime'.

Song Wuyi's eyes darkened a few shades.

The word 'lifetime' from Li Su's mouth was like an emotional crutch—whenever he was happy, he casually said 'lifetime.'

He clearly said he'd be friends forever, but then just turned around and forgot him.

"Alright, put down the bowl and go upstairs."

Li Su asked, "Don't we need to take the dishes to the kitchen?"

Song Wuyi got up, took Li Su's hand, and said, "No need. The help will clean up."

Song Wuyi led Li Su away.

Li Su returned to the room, and soon Song Wuyi came in.

Li Su was about to lie down and play his handheld when Song Wuyi walked in carrying a laptop. He lifted the covers and sat down on the other side of the bed.

"Are you going to sleep with me?"

Song Wuyi nodded. "Didn't your mom tell you? I don't sleep well at night. Help me out."

Li Su shook his head. "I don't think I can help. I'm not a doctor. You should try taking two sleeping pills."

Song Wuyi snorted. "You're not a doctor. Don't give bad advice."

Li Su rubbed his nose, slowly climbed into bed, and got under the covers.

Li Shuo often climbed into Li Su's bed, so Li Su was quite used to having an extra person in bed.

Li Su and Song Wuyi each did their own thing.

Li Su had already beaten the game on his handheld; only then did he remember it was supposed to be for Song Wuyi.

He moved closer to Song Wuyi.

Song Wuyi had his knees bent to prop up the laptop. His fair, cold-toned fingers flew across the keyboard, and Li Su stared, dumbfounded.

"What are you doing?" Li Su asked, curious.

Song Wuyi slowed his typing.

"Homework from school."

Li Su exclaimed, "Wow! So at your school, homework is just playing on the computer?"

Song Wuyi flicked Li Su's head.

"Take a closer look. This isn't a game."

Li Su rubbed his eyes and leaned in to stare at the screen.

Dense English text.

"The second I look at it, I get sleepy. This homework is magic."

Song Wuyi saw Li Su's nodding head so close and couldn't help chuckling a couple of times.

"If you're sleepy, go ahead and sleep first. I won't disturb you."

Li Su shook his head, then stuffed his handheld into Song Wuyi's hand.

"This is for you to play. Mom said you're unhappy, and she told me to play with you and make you happy. This is my secret to happiness. Use it as a reference. Give it back to me when you're happy."

Song Wuyi held up the console and examined it.

Things like this are so cheap that if Song Wuyi wanted one, he could have tens of thousands.

If this thing could make him happy, then he might as well be the Maitreya Buddha.

After saying that, Li Su buried himself under the blanket, leaving only his fluffy, messy hair sticking out.

Song Wuyi took a deep breath, then softly typed away to finish his cold, emotionless homework.

"Song Wuyi, you and I are the same kind of person. The blood flowing through your veins is mine. I am your real dad!"

.

"Haha, you're not a Song—you take my last name, you're a Wang. Your last name doesn't carry any status or power!"

"Your mother only married Song Shuzheng to get the Song family's property! Song Shuzheng was already with Ji Baimei! And your mother—by the time she married Song Shuzheng, she was already involved with me!"

"Song Wuyi, Song Wuyi, come down and reunite with your real parents!"

"Aqin, I've brought our son to be with you!"

Li Su slept restlessly, constantly hearing the sound of a madman grinding his teeth right next to his ear, as if ready to bite him to pieces at any moment.

He jolted awake from his dream, still rattled.

The room was pitch black. A sliver of moonlight from outside the window fell on the foot of the bed through the thick curtains.

Li Su remembered where he was.

He glanced over at Song Wuyi.

Song Wuyi was curled up, shivering as if freezing cold.

But he was clearly under the covers.

Li Su moved closer.

So the grinding sound was coming from Song Wuyi.

But it made Li Su's skin crawl.

It was clearly the sound of his teeth grinding in anger, as if he wanted to tear something to shreds.

"Wu Yi, Wu Yi, are you asleep?"

The only response was Song Wuyi's cold, teeth-chattering voice.

How did this happen?

It looked like he was trapped in a nightmare.

Li Su didn't know what kind of dream Song Wuyi was having, but he could empathize—Song Wuyi must be in great pain.

Song Wuyi must be in great pain right now.

Li Su suddenly remembered that dawn.

Song Wuyi gently wiped the blood and grime from his face with his hand and said, "You saved me." And in just two days, Li Su had developed an unparalleled attachment to Song Wuyi, not wanting him to disappear from his life.

They were partners who supported each other in desperate times.

They were each other's hope for survival.

Comrades who had shared life-and-death hardships after escaping doom.

They had already embraced many times.

In the warehouse, in the car, in the abandoned building.

In the dark, at dawn, even before parting, they had held each other tightly.

Until now.

Song Wuyi appeared before Li Su again with a completely new look—brimming with life and vibrant energy.

Wasn't this what Li Su had hoped to see back then?

Though Song Wuyi in the dream had become the boss, Li Su was never a player struggling under his blade, but a little soldier cheering him on from the sidelines.

Come on, Wu Yi.

Li Su pulled Song Wuyi into his arms, wrapping his limbs tightly around him, using his own body heat to warm Song Wuyi's coldness.

Get out of that nightmare quickly!

Come on,

Wu Yi.

Song Wuyi woke Li Su up.

.

It was drizzling outside, the sky was gloomy, like it was around four or five in the morning.

But Song Wuyi said, "It's already past eight."

Li Su turned over, intending to sleep more.

Song Wuyi went back to his room to change clothes, put on a clean white shirt, and returned to Li Su's room, pulling Li Su out of bed.

"Time for breakfast."

Li Su muttered sleepily, "Didn't sleep well. I held you all night, and my arms are so sore."

Hearing this, Song Wuyi sat on the edge of the bed and started massaging Li Su's arms.

Song Wuyi's massage completely woke Li Su up.

He yawned and casually asked, "What did you dream about last night?"

Song Wuyi said matter-of-factly, "A madman."

Li Su nodded. "I dreamed about him too, but I'm not scared of him anymore. In my dream, he only swung his knife to scare me, but never actually brought it down."

Song Wuyi listened quietly while Li Su told him about his dream.

Like Li Su, his dream also had a madman swinging a knife.

The difference was that in his dream, the madman was dismembering him, tearing him apart piece by piece.

Li Su suddenly asked him, "So did you sleep well last night?"

Song Wuyi looked down at Li Su's delicate arm in his hands.

"Not very well. But when you held me, I felt like I could breathe."

Li Su was surprised. "So I can really heal you! Looks like I have a talent for being a doctor!"

Song Wuyi just smiled, not wanting to continue the topic.

"Come on, let's eat breakfast. My family is also there. Go say hi."

After a night had passed, Li Su was finally about to meet Song Wuyi's father, stepmother, and the stepmother's child.

He was still a little nervous.

In TV dramas, the stepmother character is generally not a good person, and the stepmother's child usually bullies the protagonist along with her.

He followed Song Wuyi into the dining room.

Three people were already sitting at the table.

Li Su felt a bit awkward and only dared to sit down after Song Wuyi pulled out a chair for him.

"Hello, Uncle Song, hello, Auntie, hello, Brother Song."

It was hard to address them.

Li Su instantly sided with Song Wuyi, seeing the woman and boy next to Song Shuzheng as intruders who had taken over the nest.

Because he had heard Song Wuyi's story, Li Su felt even more indignant.

When Song Wuyi's mother was sick and not even buried yet, Song Shuzheng had brazenly brought his mistress into the house.

And the boy who came along was actually Song Wuyi's half-brother, two years older than him!

Totally outrageous!

"Xiao Su, right? Since you're here at the Song family, we're all one family now. You don't need to be so formal with titles. Your Uncle Song and I aren't married yet, so just call me Aunt Ji."

Ji Baimei warmly handed Li Su a glass of warm milk, her kind, gentle manner just like Li Su's mom.

Li Su took the milk numbly and gulped it down.

Song Shuzheng was a very serious adult, his scrutinizing gaze like a scanner, sizing Li Su up from head to toe and inside out.

"Make yourself at home. If you need anything, just call the butler."

Li Su was a little confused. He was only staying for two days—strictly speaking, he was going back tomorrow night. Why were Uncle Song and Aunt Ji telling him to make himself at home?

It was too strange.

"Thank you." Li Su didn't know how to respond, so he just said a polite thank you.

He looked over at Song Wuyi's half-brother.

Song Xianting wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses and looked very refined.

Unlike Song Wuyi's little gentleman style, Song Xianting's refined manner carried an indescribable edge. He was polite but clearly prickly and hard to get close to.

A textbook stepchild attitude.

Song Xianting seemed to catch Li Su's increasingly hostile look and gave him a cold, questioning gaze through his glasses.

"What are you looking at?"

Li Su inexplicably understood the meaning of that look, quickly averted his eyes, and played dumb while eating the breakfast in front of him.

The conversation at the table didn't linger on Li Su.

Song Shuzheng naturally began checking in on the two boys' studies.

With the end of the semester approaching, Song Shuzheng wanted them to produce satisfactory results.

Song Xianting's tone was lazy but exuded confidence: "Exams are pretty boring already. They're kind of a waste of time."

Song Wuyi didn't speak at first, only reacting when Ji Baimei, seemingly kindly, directed Song Shuzheng's attention to him.

"Don't just talk about Xianting. What about Wuyi? Wuyi has always been at the top of his grade. Can he come out on top this semester?"

Ji Baimei seemed to casually bring up the fact that Song Wuyi always came in second.

Only Li Su was completely taken aback.

Both of the Song family's sons were this outstanding?

Song Wuyi said, "My abilities are limited. When it comes to things relying on talent, I can't compare."

Ji Baimei smiled. "You're too modest. You can catch up with a little effort. Since you have your brother Xianting here, you can ask him if you don't understand something."

Song Xianting interrupted: "I don't have time. If you're going to trouble me, hiring a tutor would solve the problem."

Well, the stepmother seemed okay, but the stepson was kind of mean.

Li Su silently sized up the mother and son in his mind.

Then he looked at Song Shuzheng.

Song Shuzheng ate breakfast casually, a tablet by his side showing data Li Su couldn't follow, like it was something worth millions a minute.

Song Shuzheng didn't pay attention to the back-and-forth conversation among the three others. He was aloof, nothing like family.

But wasn't Ji Baimei the woman he had openly moved in—willing to face the gossip—at the awkward time of his ex-wife's seventh-day memorial?

Song Shuzheng was cold, and Song Wuyi had no desire to engage with them at the table.

Only Ji Baimei and Song Xianting looked like a real family, all harmonious.

What a weird Song family.