Chapter 27 Confrontation

Chapter 27: Confrontation

"I'll work hard—in every way." That was the last thing Lin Xishan heard Pei Zhi say last night.

"I'll do my best to cooperate with the 'treatment' too."

After all, it was for his own happiness.

Sure, it felt great in the moment, but every time the other person went off to throw up afterward, it was a real psychological gut punch.

Even knowing the truth, it still stung.

The next day, they had a fiery morning "treatment" session, courtesy of the usual morning physiology.

The two had just confessed their feelings and should've been in full clingy honeymoon mode—but Lin Jichuan's call came barging in with zero courtesy.

Luckily, by the time the call came, Lin Xishan had already wrapped up his "handiwork."

Hey, practice makes perfect when you're trying to speed-run winning over a beauty.

No shame in that, no shame at all.

And Pei Zhi was seriously diligent too—like, he'd help clean up the tools after the "handiwork" was done.

That earnest, focused vibe was honestly pretty admirable.

So when Lin Xishan picked up in a great mood, all he got was Lin Jichuan's stiff voice.

"I'll be waiting for you two at the campus coffee shop." Lin Jichuan hung up right after saying that.

Oh, getting bold now, huh? Lin Xishan stared at his phone with a half-smile. This Lin Jichuan—leave him alone for three days and he's ready to tear the roof off the house.

But the attitude was probably because they'd been in a cold war for the past seven days.

Well, one-sided on Lin Jichuan's end, ever since the day Lin Xishan fought with him over Ye Jiaonan.

But when he'd been forcibly controlled, he was in a daze the whole time, so his memories were pretty fuzzy.

Ah, Ye Jiaonan—speaking of which, that sticky burr had latched onto him again. What the hell was he supposed to do about that?

Strictly speaking, this time he only had himself to blame for letting himself go.

But it was a real pain. Lin Xishan had a feeling that this time, the way the other guy was clinging to him was serious.

—After all, even Lin Jichuan's idol had gone to see him and gotten shot down.

How serious was it?

It felt like the guy was trying to promote him from "backup" to the real deal.

...

Why, though? No matter how he looked at it, the plot hadn't advanced that far yet.

Could it be that Pei Zhi showing up had given the guy a sense of crisis?

What a cliché plot twist, but he had a feeling it wasn't that simple.

Whatever, he'd deal with that later.

Cross that bridge when he got to it. There was always a way.

Right now, the one he had to deal with was Lin Jichuan.

Lin Xishan casually turned to Pei Zhi: "Coffee shop okay? Or I can have him pick another spot—or if you don't wanna go, I'll just turn him down flat."

Yeah, right now all he wanted was to be all over Pei Zhi. Yesterday, since the guy had broken down emotionally, he'd had no choice but to drag him to the nearest dorm.

Honestly, the best spot for their "secret rendezvous" was still Pei Zhi's rental—no one looking for them would ever find them there.

But to his disappointment, Pei Zhi hesitated for a second, then nodded: "I'll go."

Actually, Pei Zhi had his own little agenda going on.

Even though being glued to Lin Xishan was what he wanted most right now.

This "roommate" ranked just below Ye Jiaonan on his caution meter.

It was only right to go scope things out, right?

If the guy really had improper intentions toward Lin Xishan, then he'd just rent a place near campus and have Lin Xishan move in.

If possible, keeping him locked up at home where he could only see him would be nice too.

But if he went that far, Lin Xishan would probably be pissed.

So unless he absolutely had to, he'd better not.

Same coffee shop as yesterday. When Lin Xishan and Pei Zhi showed up, Lin Jichuan was already there.

He was sitting by the window. When he saw the two of them walk in, his expression visibly stiffened—more precisely, it stiffened the moment he saw Pei Zhi.

Lin Xishan noticed his little brother's ears turning red.

He nearly laughed out loud.

The three of them sat down across from each other—Lin Jichuan on one side, Lin Xishan and Pei Zhi on the other.

The seating arrangement made Lin Jichuan feel like he was being interrogated. He frowned but didn't ask to switch.

"So you're Pei Zhi." Lin Jichuan's tone was as flat as if he were reading from a textbook.

Pei Zhi glanced at him: "Mm."

"I know who you are. I've heard your songs." Lin Jichuan paused, as if weighing his words. "That album *Abyss*—the arrangement was really good."

Lin Xishan, listening from the side, couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitching up.

He knew Lin Jichuan too well—that was probably the closest he could get to "I'm your fan, I really like your music."

Damn chuunibyou kid, still putting on airs.

Pei Zhi's expression barely changed. He just nodded: "Thanks."

The atmosphere settled into an awkward silence.

"I'm not here to talk music with you." Lin Jichuan's voice went cold and icy again. "I'm here to ask you—what exactly is your relationship with my brother... Lin Xishan?"

Pei Zhi glanced at Lin Xishan. Lin Xishan was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, with an expression that clearly said "answer it yourself."

"I'm his sugar daddy," Pei Zhi said.

Lin Jichuan's face completely broke. He snapped his head toward Lin Xishan, his voice going up half an octave: "Seriously?"

Wait, hadn't they already had a falling out? A few days ago his brother had been hanging around with Ye Jiaonan all the time, and he'd even thought Lin Xishan might as well go back to the guy who was bankrolling him.

I mean, one was paying him, and the other was after his cash.

Anyone with half a brain knew which one to pick.

He just never expected this sugar daddy to be the lead singer of the band he'd chased... used to chase and crush on.

What a small world.

Lin Xishan nodded calmly. "Yep."

Lin Jichuan's temples were pounding. He took a deep breath, then another one, and turned back to face Pei Zhi.

"What exactly are you using to keep him?" Lin Jichuan's tone turned sharp.

Pei Zhi didn't look away: "A million. My entire life savings."

Lin Jichuan's face went through a whole range of emotions.

He wanted to say, "What's a million bucks?", but remembering that Lin Xishan was publicly known as a low-income special admit, he couldn't say it. He wanted to say, "Who the hell do you think you are?", but looking at Pei Zhi's calm face, he figured there was no point.

"You two had a fight a few days ago." Lin Jichuan said it deliberately, trying to hit a nerve. "Lin Xishan was a total mess those days, even went and hung out with that Ye Jiaonan guy. Did you know about that?"

Lin Xishan frowned. "Lin Jichuan."

Lin Jichuan shrank back at the scolding, but figured he hadn't said anything wrong, and forced himself to straighten up.

Pei Zhi's tone was surprisingly calm. "I knew."

"What were you thinking?" Lin Jichuan wasn't about to let it go.

"It was my fault." Pei Zhi's voice got quieter. "I made him misunderstand."

Lin Jichuan was stunned.

He clearly hadn't expected Pei Zhi to own up to it that fast. The accusations he'd prepared got stuck in his throat, caught halfway.

After a few seconds of silence, Lin Jichuan leaned back in his chair, his tone going from sharp to tired: "So you two made up now?"

"Mm-hmm," Pei Zhi said.

"Kind of," Lin Xishan said simultaneously.

The two of them exchanged a look.

Lin Jichuan watched them exchange that look and suddenly felt like a third wheel.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, all resigned and helpless: "Fine. As long as you made up. But don't make him sad again. He acts like he can handle anything, but he's got a lot on his mind."

Pei Zhi nodded seriously. "I know."

Lin Jichuan felt uncomfortable under that phoenix-eyed gaze and looked away.

He picked up the stuffed canvas bag next to him, set it on the table, and slid it over.

"These are your Abyss albums," he said, his tone back to that deliberately cold thing. "Bought them a while back. Signed copies. Now that I've met you in the flesh, sign them for me."

Lin Xishan looked down. Inside the bag were a dozen-plus CDs neatly stacked, all Abyss albums. Some were limited editions that had sold out everywhere ages ago.

He looked up at Lin Jichuan, unable to hide the smile in his eyes.

Lin Jichuan's ears went red, his voice all stiff: "What are you looking at? I just genuinely like their music. It's got nothing to do with you."

"I didn't say anything." Lin Xishan raised both hands in innocence.

Pei Zhi pulled a CD out of the bag, flipped it over to check the back, then fished a marker out of his pocket—he always carried one since people asked for autographs at shows—and signed the cover.

After signing one, he glanced at Lin Jichuan. "All of them?"

Lin Jichuan nodded.

Pei Zhi lowered his head and started signing. He signed fast, his handwriting sloppy but firm, every signature in the exact same spot. Lin Xishan watched from the side, thinking Pei Zhi looked really good when he was focused.

After the last one, Pei Zhi put the CDs back in the bag and slid it back to Lin Jichuan.

"So you called me out," Lin Xishan said slowly, "claiming you wanted to 'talk,' but really it was just fanboying and threatening my boyfriend on the side?"

"Who's your boyfriend?" Lin Jichuan blurted out. "Didn't you just say he was your sugar daddy?"

Lin Xishan opened his mouth, then glanced at Pei Zhi.

Pei Zhi dropped his gaze without saying anything.

"Fine, sugar daddy then." Lin Xishan smiled, his tone light and casual. "It's a sugar daddy thing."

Lin Jichuan looked between the two of them, his expression going from speechless to "are you two messing with me?" He looked back and forth between their faces a few times before letting out a pointed, cold snort.

Oh, he got it now.

Sugar daddy or not, patron or whatever—it was all just part of their little game.

They both knew damn well they were running toward each other.

Ugh, gross lovebirds!

And the fact that one of them was his own brother made it ten times worse.

Getting the hell out of there was the only move.

"Do whatever you want." Lin Jichuan stood up and grabbed the canvas bag. "I'm out. Bye."

Despite his dismissive tone, the way he clutched that canvas bag was super careful.

His fanboy heart was totally exposed, wasn't it?!