Chapter 26 Caught in the Act

Chapter 26 Caught in the Act

Just as Lin Xishan belatedly realized he'd already asked Pei Zhi this question before—and knowing Pei Zhi, he definitely wouldn't answer straight—he was about to drop it.

"Mm." Pei Zhi suddenly admitted, his voice low and muffled.

Huh?

Did he hear that right?

"I'm jealous." Pei Zhi said it again. "Can you keep your distance from him from now on?"

Lin Xishan raised an eyebrow, looking at him. "Pei Zhi, do you know what you're saying right now?"

Pei Zhi's Adam's apple bobbed. He raised his head, meeting Lin Xishan's gaze, his voice a little hoarse: "I know. I'm not talking about the arrangement."

Lin Xishan paused, then asked carefully, "Then what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about..." Pei Zhi's voice faltered. "Can you not leave? I'm not asking you to come back as my kept person. I just want you with me. Nowhere else. I know I don't deserve you. You're so good, you have everything. But I—"

"Let's be together." Lin Xishan cut off his rambling. "Is that okay? I like you."

Pei Zhi looked up at him blankly, tears falling again.

He'd already lost count of how many times he'd cried in front of him today. Pei Zhi felt so useless.

He always hated showing weakness, but in front of this person, all his defenses were like paper—punctured at the slightest touch.

He wanted to say yes. God, he really did.

But...

"I love you, but we can't be together yet." Afraid Lin Xishan would get angry and leave again, Pei Zhi grabbed his sleeve this time to stop him. "It's because of my condition. I don't want you to suffer, and I can't stand the thought of being with you while I'm such a mess. That wouldn't be fair to you."

"So if you never get better, we'll never be together?" Lin Xishan said calmly.

"I went to ask the doctor. He said as long as we work through it step by step—like..." Pei Zhi's face suddenly flushed deeply. "As long as you practice more intimate actions with me, and then gradually build up, I'll slowly get used to it..."

"So we'd be doing that, but not as a couple?" Lin Xishan tilted his head with a smile, deliberately teasing him. "Under what pretext?"

"Patron." Pei Zhi said, stubbornly shoving the card back into Lin Xishan's hands.

"Seriously, can you just not spend this money?" Lin Xishan was a bit speechless. Anyone who didn't know better would think the guy in front of him was some billionaire CEO, when in reality, after handing over this million, his pockets would be cleaner than his face.

Pei Zhi kept his head down: "It's not that I can't spend it. It's that money is all I have."

Lin Xishan didn't like seeing him like this—so down on himself.

In his eyes, Pei Zhi on stage—wild and unrestrained—was the version he liked best.

"You've still got that pretty face." Lin Xishan laughed and reached over to pinch his cheeks.

Mm, so soft.

If Pei Zhi's fans saw this usually arrogant, untamable guy being so docilely pinched on the face, they'd definitely be shocked speechless.

With that thought, Lin Xishan couldn't help but lean in to kiss Pei Zhi.

At that moment, the door burst open, and Lin Jichuan's voice came through, deliberately lowered but barely containing his excitement: "Surprise——"

Lin Jichuan was holding two bags. The moment he stepped inside, his expression shifted from elation to instant shock, his movements freezing like someone had pressed pause.

The living room light was off, but he could see perfectly. His brother, Lin Xishan, was sitting sideways on the sofa, one hand cupping a stranger's face, lips pressed against lips.

That pose was nowhere near "just helping someone up."

The two bags fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Huh? Was this really his brother Lin Xishan—the one who was always smiling but kept everyone at a distance?

It felt unreal. Why was he smiling so goofily?

The two on the sofa pulled apart.

Lin Xishan turned his head, brows slightly furrowed, his expression showing the irritation of someone whose moment had been interrupted.

Lin Jichuan opened his mouth, voice cracking: "You... you two... Lin Xishan, you—"

"Get out." Lin Xishan's tone brooked no argument.

Lin Jichuan instinctively stepped back, then watched helplessly as the door slammed in his face.

Lin Xishan's final words, thrown at him, were: "You're staying somewhere else tonight."

He stood in the hallway, staring at the closed door, feeling like he'd been hit by lightning. Only one thought remained: the person keeping his brother was right now on his dorm sofa, kissing his brother.

Didn't they just fight? How were they already back together?

And why did HE have to go stay at a hotel just because THEY were dating? So unfair!

Also, that guy looked kind of familiar. Where had he seen him before...

Inside, Lin Xishan sat back down on the sofa, closing the distance with Pei Zhi again.

Pei Zhi's ears were so red they looked like they might bleed. He sat there rigidly, not knowing where to look.

"Your roommate?" Pei Zhi's voice was a little strained.

"Mm."

"He doesn't know about us?"

"He kind of does." Lin Xishan said with a slight smile, reaching up to smooth Pei Zhi's tousled hair. "No need to be nervous. He doesn't bite."

Pei Zhi didn't say anything, but his lashes drooped and his lips pressed together.

He didn't look relaxed—more like he was trying hard to look relaxed.

There was a knock at the door.

No, not a knock. A bang. Lin Jichuan's voice came through the door, forced calm barely hiding his agitation: "Bro, open the door. I won't come in. You come out. I need to talk to you."

He remembered who that guy was!

Wasn't that Pei Zhi? Pei Zhi was the one keeping his brother?

What kind of messed-up worldview was this?!

The pounding wouldn't stop. Lin Xishan sighed. "I'll go calm him down. You just sit here."

After saying this, he stood up, walked to the door, pulled it open, and stepped out, closing it behind him.

In the hallway, the two brothers stood face to face, two strikingly different yet equally handsome faces looking at each other.

"Are you out of your mind?" Lin Jichuan lowered his voice, but the accusation in his tone couldn't be suppressed. "You brought a guy like that to the dorm? Do you even know what kind of person he is before you—"

"I know." Lin Xishan cut him off.

Lin Jichuan was taken aback for a moment. "You know?"

"Pei Zhi, 24, lead singer of the rock band 'Abyss.' The guy on the poster you've got on your wall—isn't that him?"

Lin Jichuan seemed stuck, his expression turning extremely complicated. He wanted to deny it, but under Lin Xishan's gaze, he couldn't bring himself to lie. "...That was from a while back. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is you're with him, and you never told me before."

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because he's my—" Lin Jichuan's words caught halfway. He took a deep breath and swallowed the rest. "...Forget it. I'll stay out of your business. But make sure he doesn't get caught by the paparazzi. His face isn't exactly unknown in the industry, and you don't want this to go viral, do you?"

Lin Xishan leaned against the hallway wall, watching his younger brother's forced-calm expression, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "Got it. Anything else?"

Lin Jichuan stared at him for two seconds, then turned and walked away. After a few steps, he stopped and called back over his shoulder: "I want to see him tomorrow."

"Who?"

"Who do you think?" Lin Jichuan's voice came from deeper in the hallway, with a helplessness like he'd been cornered. "Him. Pei Zhi. I want to talk to him."

Lin Xishan leaned against the wall and shook his head with a smile. "Fine, fine, go on, go on. Don't come bothering us today." With that, he pushed the door open and headed back into the dorm.

Lin Jichuan watched the door close in front of him, touched his own nose, and felt sorry for himself.

This was his dorm too!

But he didn't dare stand up to his brother, so in the end, he reluctantly decided to find a hotel to crash at.

When Lin Xishan returned to the dorm, Pei Zhi was still standing by the door. When his eyes met Lin Xishan's, his Adam's apple bobbed. "He knows everything?"

"Yeah."

"Including that I'm the one bankrolling you?"

Lin Xishan thought for a moment. "He knows someone 'supports' me. But he didn't know it was you. Now he does."

Pei Zhi was silent for a few seconds. "I heard everything he said outside the door. The poster on the wall—he knows me?"

"He does." Lin Xishan walked back to him, reached up, and pinched his earlobe. It was cold, but it started heating up at his touch. "And it's more than just knowing. You're basically his idol."

Pei Zhi's eyes widened slightly.

Lin Xishan looked at his stunned expression and couldn't help but laugh. "What's with that face?"

Pei Zhi slowly looked down at his own toes. "He said he wants to see me tomorrow."

"Scared?"

"No." Pei Zhi paused, then honestly corrected himself. "Actually, a little."

Lin Xishan smiled. "What's there to be scared of? He's not going to eat you. With me around, you've got nothing to worry about."

Pei Zhi didn't respond, but his spine straightened a little.

Lin Xishan knew it wasn't all nerves—there was something else there too.

"Pei Zhi." Lin Xishan called him.

Pei Zhi looked up.

"Tomorrow when you see Lin Jichuan, whatever he wants to say, just listen. You don't have to answer anything you don't want to." Lin Xishan raised his hand, his fingertip gently brushing the dark circles under Pei Zhi's eyes. "Let's get some sleep first. You look like you haven't slept in seven days."

Pei Zhi didn't deny it.

He really hadn't slept in seven days. Or rather, he had tried, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw the memory of Lin Xishan prying his fingers apart, and then he'd jolt awake, unable to fall back asleep.

He followed Lin Xishan to the bed, watching him spread out the blanket, fix the pillow, and pat the mattress before saying, "Sleep here."

Pei Zhi stood there, hesitated for a moment, and finally lay down.

Lin Xishan went to turn off the light, then walked back and lay down beside him. No matter how nice it was, the dorm bed was still a twin, and two grown men squeezed together were naturally shoulders touching, feet touching.

Pei Zhi turned on his side, turning to face Lin Xishan. Lin Xishan turned too, and they faced each other, separated by half an arm's length.

"Can't sleep?" Lin Xishan asked.

"Yeah."

"What are you thinking about?"

Pei Zhi was silent for a while. "Thinking about what you said."

"Which part?"

"You said you like me."

Lin Xishan blinked, saying nothing.

Pei Zhi's eyelids lowered, his voice very soft. "Did you say it because you feel sorry for me?"

"No. It's because I really do like you."