Chapter 21: Sympathy (Part 1)

Chapter 21: Empathy (Part 1)

Li Su hadn’t expected Li Shuo to dig his heels in like that.

He refused to accept Li Shuo’s words like that, stubbornly unwilling to compromise.

At this point, Song Wuyi’s existence no longer mattered; the rift between him and Li Shuo had nothing to do with Song Wuyi in essence.

It was Li Shuo who wanted to control him.

Li Shuo cruelly exposed the truth, recklessly piercing through the illusion Li Su had convinced himself was seamless, and now he was trying to force Li Su into another trap.

Li Su was being torn apart as well.

Guilt, pain.

Disbelief, helplessness.

When the first light of dawn slipped through the cracks, Li Su realized he’d dozed off into a brief, hazy sleep.

In the cramped space, Li Su was curled up on his side, damp, with ants crawling up his calf.

It itched like crazy.

Li Su sat up, brushing off his clothes.

He knocked on the door and shouted a couple of times.

“Li Shuo, are you still there?”

No answer.

Li Su had already forgotten the standoff with Li Shuo before he passed out; he only vaguely remembered they hadn’t settled it. He hadn’t responded to Li Shuo, and Li Shuo had been outside, insisting on his point.

So where was Li Shuo?

Had he just left him here and taken off?

Now that it was daylight, half of Li Su’s fear of the dark was gone.

He hugged himself, curling up into a ball.

The temperature was actually lowest in the morning, and he hadn’t eaten dinner well.

He was cold and hungry.

Li Shuo must be feeling the same way.

Thinking of Li Shuo, Li Su couldn’t stop the tears from coming again.

How long was Li Shuo planning to keep him locked up?

Was he really going to trap him forever over some ridiculous promise?

Li Su sobbed silently, tears streaming down his face nonstop, as if they would never stop.

Mom.

It’s so cold.

The door he’d been leaning against suddenly swung open, and Li Su fell backward without any warning.

When he hit the ground, he saw his mother’s face twisted with panic.

Mother Li’s eyes were bloodshot, completely red, and terrifying to see.

But Li Su threw himself into his mother’s arms.

She gave him a hard smack on the butt, her voice hoarse as she yelled: “What on earth were you doing sneaking out in the middle of the night! Do you know how scared I was when I woke up and couldn’t find you? If something happened to you, would you have your mother blame herself to death!”

His father arrived a little later, with the neighborhood security guard in tow, and both let out sighs of relief at the sight of mother and son hugging.

Neither of them mentioned Li Shuo.

Li Su felt ice-cold all over.

On the way home, Li Su asked his mom and dad: “Aren’t you going to ask where my little brother is?”

The couple seemed to just then remember that person even existed.

Li Su got his answer from the look they exchanged.

So Li Shuo really wasn’t their own child, not his real brother.

They had lied to both kids.

When they got back home.

Li Shuo was already there, waiting.

The couple was surprised to see Li Shuo at home, but that surprise was quickly replaced by the harsh reality that it was time to settle scores.

Li Su and Li Shuo stood side by side in the living room, facing Dad Li and Mother Li’s interrogation.

Why did you sneak out in the middle of the night?

That was directed at Li Su.

Li Su couldn’t come up with a good excuse, so he kept quiet.

Both kids were out in the middle of the night—at the very least, they looked like they were in it together.

Mother Li turned to grill Li Shuo.

Dad Li fetched the long “rope” from Li Shuo’s room and threw it in front of him.

“Explain this!”

Li Su’s first thought when he saw the rope was: That’s long—at least ten meters—how did Li Shuo climb down using that?

He knew Li Shuo had taken a bad fall; the injury he hadn’t had a chance to check yet was a thorn in Li Su’s heart that he couldn’t remove, but he couldn’t bring it up.

He couldn’t say it was the thing Li Shuo used to climb out the window—that would only make Li Shuo’s offense worse.

Li Su glanced at Li Shuo instinctively.

Li Shuo just kept his head down, staring at the “rope,” lost in thought. He didn’t say a word, looking like he had given up completely, which made Li Su’s heart race with fear.

He felt that if Li Shuo said the same words to their parents as he had said to him, this home would really have no room left for Li Shuo.

Li Su took Li Shuo's hand and looked up at Dad and Mom.

"I was the one who wanted to play hide-and-seek in the middle of the night, and I was also the one who stole the spare key to let Li Shuo out of his room. As for this rope, I saw it on TV and just wanted to mess around with it."

Li Su's explanation didn't get any reaction from Li Shuo.

Because this kind of behavior was too common.

Whether or not it was Li Shuo's fault, Li Su always took the blame.

Because when Li Su made a mistake, he only got a light punishment.

But when Li Shuo made a mistake, even a minor mistake could leave his skin torn open.

Mom's eyes were wide with fury, teeth gritted, as she scolded, "You wanted to play hide-and-seek in the middle of the night?! You've never had such a whim before! Did Li Shuo put you up to this! Tell me the truth!"

If it were the old Li Su, if he said he wanted to play hide-and-seek at midnight, Mom would have seen it as normal and, with a mix of affection and exasperation, told him not to mess around.

But after that incident, as soon as night fell, Li Su rarely left his room, and before bed, he had to use the bathroom several times to make sure he wouldn't need to get up at night.

Because he was too terrified.

Mom was aware, and even put a nightlight in the hallway to the bathroom, but even so, Li Su still found it scary.

So how could Li Su possibly dare to go out and play hide-and-seek in the middle of the night?

Li Su's covering for Li Shuo completely enraged Mom.

Mom pressed Li Shuo again: "Tell the truth, what really happened!"

Li Shuo remained silent.

Li Su, growing anxious, shouted at Mom, "That's what happened! I already said it, I just wanted to play, and I made Li Shuo come with me!"

Mom: "Then how did you end up in that park, and how did you get trapped under the slide?! If I hadn't checked the surveillance footage, I probably wouldn't have found you for days!"

And that door was clearly locked from the outside.

How could Li Su have done it alone?

Mom's hands and feet turned ice cold.

When she looked at Li Shuo again, her eyes were vicious.

"Did he lock you in there? Li Su, tell Mom the truth!"

Li Su's breathing was ragged; the truth was painfully obvious.

"No... it's not..."

Li Shuo let go of Li Su's hand, as if telling him to stop defending him—Li Shuo was ready to confess.

Li Su knew how serious this was.

If what Li Shuo said was true—that he was just an adopted child—

the adopted child had locked the biological son in an abandoned park for an entire night.

Mom, who was already biased against Li Shuo, would go mad, and the result would be that she would abandon Li Shuo without a second thought.

Li Su didn't want to face that outcome. He steadied himself and stuck to his story.

"I asked him to lock me in there. I did it on purpose. Because Mom, you always lock younger brother in his room, and I wanted to experience what he felt, so I asked him to lock me up too."

Mom was stunned: "Are you out of your mind?"

Li Su never thought the word 'crazy' would be used to describe him.

He looked at Mom, then at Li Shuo.

But weren't they the crazy ones?