Chapter 12 Tattling

Chapter 12: The Confrontation

Lin Xishan all but fled back to the dormitory.

The moment he entered, he pushed the door shut behind him, pressed his back against it, and blew out a long breath.

He was safe.

Lin Jichuan was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, cradling a guitar. At the sound, he looked up at Lin Xishan. "Back?"

"Yeah." Lin Xishan kicked off his shoes and headed straight for his bed, flopping down face-first into the pillow.

Lin Jichuan put down the guitar, walked over to Lin Xishan's bed, and looked down at him. "Where the hell did you actually go last night?"

Lin Xishan's voice was muffled in the pillow. "Told you, a friend's place."

"Which friend?"

"You don't know the person."

"How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?"

Lin Xishan rolled over onto his back, meeting Lin Jichuan's probing stare, and felt his head start to ache.

"Lin Jichuan," Lin Xishan sat up, trying to pull the older-brother card, "I'm your brother, not your son. I don't have to report to you where I go, do I?"

Lin Jichuan raised an eyebrow. "You're my brother, that's exactly why I care. Anyone else, you think I'd bother?"

"Then stop bothering now."

"No can do."

"..."

Lin Xishan took a deep breath and decided to try a different angle.

He stood up, patted Lin Jichuan's shoulder, and said in a gentle but firm tone, "Little bro, I know you care about me. But some things I need to deal with on my own. You get that?"

Lin Jichuan squinted at him like a wary cat. "You never talked like this before. You used to tell me everything."

Lin Xishan felt a twinge of guilt but kept his face straight. "People change."

"Change into what?" Lin Jichuan snorted. "Had a change of heart?"

Lin Xishan was slightly rattled. "Can you not use words like that?"

"Then tell me the truth."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, a silent battle of wills in the air.

Lin Xishan was the first to look away. He turned to grab the water cup on the table, hoping a drink of water would ease the awkwardness.

But just as he reached for it, the black bank card in his pocket slipped out as he moved, hitting the floor with a soft "clink."

Silence.

Silence so thick it was uncomfortable.

Lin Xishan dove to pick it up, but Lin Jichuan was faster.

He picked up the pure black card between two fingers, flipped it over to glance at the back, and asked, already knowing the answer, "What's this?"

"Nothing." Lin Xishan reached out to grab it back, but Lin Jichuan pulled it out of reach. "Give it back."

"Answer me first." Lin Jichuan held the card up for a closer look. "What kind of card is this? Where did you get it?"

Lin Xishan opened his mouth, his mind racing.

Say he found it? Too fake.

Borrowed it? From who?

Say he worked for it? What part-time job pays that much at once?

He said nothing.

Lin Jichuan watched his expression shift, his gaze growing more dangerous by the second.

"Bro," his voice lowered, "you're not actually being kept by someone, are you?"

Lin Xishan's eyelid twitched. He wanted to deny it, but he didn't have the nerve.

Seeing his reaction, Lin Jichuan's cold expression visibly cracked.

"The other day when I asked, you said 'hypothetically.'" Lin Jichuan's voice rose a notch. "So it wasn't hypothetical? Someone really wanted to keep you?"

"And then you didn't come back all night." Lin Jichuan pressed on. "And now you come back with a bank card in your pocket. Lin Xishan, do you take me for a fool?"

Lin Xishan felt a pang of guilt at his words, but mostly just helpless. "It's not what you think."

Lin Jichuan kept pushing: "Then what is it?"

Lin Xishan opened his mouth, wanting to say "I'm not being kept," but the words died in his throat.

Strictly speaking, he was being kept.

One million, on call at any time, no one else allowed to touch him, no being alone with Ye Jiaonan.

Wasn't that exactly what being kept was?

Even though he didn't plan to spend a single cent, even though he was only using Pei Zhi to fight the plot's control—he couldn't explain any of that to Lin Jichuan.

He couldn't exactly say, "Your brother is a simp and backup character in a book, and now I've found someone who can suppress the plot's glitches, at the cost of being kept," could he?

Lin Jichuan would have him committed.

"Explain yourself." Lin Jichuan slapped the card down on the table, crossed his arms, with a stance that said "you're not getting out of this until you explain."

Lin Xishan sighed. He knew he couldn't hide it anymore. Lin Jichuan was the type who, without a proper explanation, would dig up the truth on his own no matter what.

"Fine." Lin Xishan said. "I'll talk. But don't freak out when you hear it."

Lin Jichuan's expression grew even tenser.

Lin Xishan chose his words carefully. "I did accept financial support from someone."

"Financial support?"

"Yes, a sugar daddy." Lin Xishan emphasized the word. "He gives me money, and I do some things for him in return."

"What things?"

"Just... keeping him company." Lin Xishan's voice wavered with guilt.

Lin Jichuan's eyes widened.

"Keeping him company?" His voice shot up. "Lin Xishan, do you even hear what you're saying? Keeping him company? You're selling your body?"

"Can you not make it sound so dirty?"

"Then you say it nicer!"

Lin Xishan was stumped.

He'd already put it as nicely as he could—he couldn't exactly say, "That guy can't get hard for anyone else, only me, so he pays me to take care of his needs," could he?

If Lin Jichuan heard that, he'd call the police right then and there.

"Anyway," Lin Xishan tried to keep his tone light and casual, "it's a win-win. He needs company, I need money. Seems fair to me."

Lin Jichuan stared at him for five seconds.

Then he turned and marched over to his bed, grabbing his phone from under the pillow.

"What are you doing?" Lin Xishan asked warily.

"Calling Mom and Dad." Lin Jichuan's fingers flew across the screen. "Telling them their precious eldest son, the heir to the Lin Group, has a sugar daddy."

"Lin Jichuan!" Lin Xishan lunged for the phone, but Lin Jichuan was ready—he sidestepped him and hit dial.

"Hey, Mom—"

"Hang up!" Lin Xishan made a grab for the phone, but it was too late. The call had already connected.

"Jichuan, what is it?" Mother Lin's voice came through the receiver, soft and gentle, with that just-woke-up grogginess.

Lin Jichuan kept dodging Lin Xishan's grabs while shouting into it: "Mom, it's about my brother—"

"What about him? Is he hurt?"

"No, he's gotten himself—"

Lin Xishan finally got his hands on the phone, but before he could hang up, his mom's voice came through loud and clear: "Gotten himself what? Jichuan, don't leave me hanging like that!"

Lin Xishan sighed and put the phone to his ear: "Mom, it's nothing. Jichuan's full of it."

"I'm not making this up!" Lin Jichuan shouted from beside him. "Mom, my brother's got a sugar daddy!"

There was a beat of silence on the other end.

Then his mom let out a drawn-out "Oh—" that could mean anything.

"Sugar daddy, huh..." she murmured, her tone not angry, more like she was taking it in.

Lin Xishan glared at Lin Jichuan and explained into the phone: "Mom, it's not like that—"

"Hold on, Xishan, don't say anything yet." Mother Lin cut him off, and then there was a rustling sound, like she was covering the phone, but her voice still came through clearly: "Honey! Honey, get over here! Your eldest son's in trouble!"

"What's the trouble?" Father Lin's voice came from a distance, unhurried.

"Your son's got a sugar daddy!" If Lin Xishan heard right, his mom actually sounded excited about it.

He heard footsteps getting closer, and then his dad's voice came through clearly: "Who's got a sugar daddy? Xishan? A sugar daddy? Is he the one being kept, or is he the one doing the keeping?"

"Jichuan says he's got a sugar daddy!"

"Oh?" his dad said, suddenly interested. "How much?"

Lin Xishan: "..."

Lin Jichuan: "..."

Lin Xishan thought he must be dreaming.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm: "Dad, Mom, I can explain—"

"Just tell me the number first." Father Lin cut him off.

Lin Xishan squeezed his eyes shut. "One million."

The line went quiet for a second.

Then his mom let out an impressed whistle: "Ooh, not bad at all."

His dad made a thoughtful "Hmm," like he was chewing it over, then spoke: "Xishan, you remember what I told you before you left home, right?"

Of course Lin Xishan remembered.

The Lin family rule: before you graduate, you have to earn two million on your own, without any help from the family. If you do it, you prove you're fit to take over the Lin Group. If you don't, you start from the bottom and climb your way up.

"I remember," Lin Xishan said.

"Well, then." Father Lin's tone lightened. "You've got one million now. The way you got it is... well, a little unusual. But money is money, no matter where it comes from. That one million counts as half of what you need."

Lin Xishan opened his mouth to say, "I wasn't planning on spending that guy's money," but the words got stuck in his throat.

Because it suddenly hit him.

He really hadn't planned on spending Pei Zhi's money. But legally, the card was in his hands, so the money was his now.

By the Lin family rules, that counted as money he'd made.

"So," his dad's voice had that sharp, businesslike edge to it, "that one million counts as your 'starting capital,' I'll accept that. For the other million, you figure it out on your own. Get to two million before you graduate, and you pass the test."

"Dad, but—"

"You got this, son." His mom cut in, clearly amused. "But Xishan, what's the person who's keeping you like? Does he treat you well? Is he hot?"

Lin Xishan felt his temples start to throb: "Mom, can you focus on the important stuff?"

"This IS what matters." His mom said, like it was obvious. "You've got a sugar daddy, so of course your mother wants to know if he's reliable. What if he's mean to you? What if he's some weirdo?"

"...Mom."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." His mom laughed. "Your dad says he's heading out to play golf. Gotta go. Oh, and Xishan, use protection."

And with that, she hung up.

The busy signal buzzed insistently through the quiet dormitory.

Lin Jichuan froze.

He had originally planned to rat them out. He wanted to tell his parents that their pride and joy, the eldest son, was involved in some shady business, and that they should rein him in immediately.

And what happened instead?

His mom said "That's quite a bit," his dad said "That counts as half the job," and then added, "Remember to take precautions."

Is this whole family just messed up?