Could it be... could it be that I had to clasp his hand like Tang Xiao did, put on a sorrowful expression, and say, "Brother Xiao, love Ah Yin for me as well"?
Could it be that I also had to beg Tang Xiao to be gentler when doing that, not so rough? My heart aches.
No. Absolutely not.
Faced with his brother's question, Tang Hao could only shamelessly rasp, "Brother Xiao, what a coincidence. I'm going to Coconut Grove City too. We're headed the same way, so let's go together."
Hearing Tang Hao's words, Tang Xiao's face showed displeasure, while Ah Yin looked at Tang Hao with even greater disgust.
But Tang Hao no longer cared. He knew that if he withdrew now, he could indeed preserve the friendship between the siblings, but it would also mark his own defeat. He refused to accept such an ending. No matter what schemes Tang Xiao had used to steal Ah Yin's love, Tang Hao would snatch Ah Yin back from him.
On the journey that followed, Tang Hao became an eyesore. Whenever Ah Yin and Tang Xiao grew even slightly close, he would appear at the wrong moment like a third wheel.
Although Tang Hao knew that doing this would only make Ah Yin hate him more, he could not accept seeing his woman being affectionate with another man—even if that man was his own brother.
The consequence was that Ah Yin grew to hate Tang Hao more and more. She no longer even called him Brother Hao, and her attitude toward him became increasingly sharp.
At dinner, virtuous Ah Yin prepared a sumptuous meal for Tang Xiao.
Tang Hao stared longingly at Tang Xiao's steaming hot food and swallowed. This was treatment he had enjoyed exclusively in his Previous Life.
Thus, he shamelessly asked, "Ah Yin, is there a portion for me?"
"You?" Ah Yin said harshly. "I happened to make two extra portions."
She brought over a plate of fish and a serving of tofu. When he saw those two dishes, Tang Hao's face fell.
One of the dishes was called So Many Fish, and the other was called Ai Si Tofu.
Tang Hao picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. It was salty—far too salty. He almost spat it back out.
"Is it good?" Ah Yin asked with a beaming smile.
"It's good." Tang Hao nodded through gritted teeth.
"If it's good, then finish it all," Ah Yin said.
Tang Hao looked at Tang Xiao, who was eating with great relish. Remembering Ah Yin's cooking in his Previous Life, he immediately understood that she had done this deliberately.
But to avoid worsening Ah Yin's impression of him, Tang Hao pinched his nose and finished the dark cuisine Ah Yin had specially prepared.
In Coconut Grove City, Ah Yin and Tang Xiao wrote their blessings and wishes on lanterns like a couple. Tang Hao stood in the shadows behind them, staring at them with ominously glowing green eyes.
When they arrived at an inn, Ah Yin told the manager, "Two rooms. One single room and one couple's room."
"No. Three single rooms." Tang Hao spoke with hostility. "One of you is a man and the other is a woman. How is it proper for you to stay together?"
"Tang Hao, Brother Xiao and I have already confirmed our relationship. What's wrong with us sleeping together?" Ah Yin said disgustedly.
"Ah Yin, you... you aren't married yet. In any case, you can't sleep together." Tang Hao stammered for a long while before finally finding such an excuse.
"Tang Hao, what's the point of clinging on like this? You'll only make me hate you more."
"All right, all right." Tang Xiao stepped forward as a mediator. "Three single rooms it is." He had already noticed that something was wrong with his younger brother and did not want to provoke him further.
Tang Xiao's compromise made Tang Hao breathe a sigh of relief. These past few days, watching him and Ah Yin grow increasingly intimate had driven Tang Hao to the brink of collapse. If they slept together, Tang Hao would go completely insane.
That night, Tang Xiao personally went to find Tang Hao and consoled him, "Brother Hao, matters of the heart can't be forced. If Ah Yin doesn't like you, she doesn't like you. Why put yourself through this? There are plenty of fish in the sea. With your Talent, what woman could you possibly want and not have?"
Tang Hao stared at Tang Xiao with a chilling gaze but said nothing. Instead, he turned around and entered his room.
If he had not been reborn, and Ah Yin had rejected him, Tang Hao might have been in great pain, but he would have made the same choice as his brother: withdrawn voluntarily and fulfilled the two of them.
All of that was founded on the fact that he had never possessed her.
But he—Tang Hao—had possessed Ah Yin's love!
He also knew what that love entailed. It was the belonging of the child chosen by God, and the struggle over the future ruler of the Douluo Continent.
In his Previous Life, he had won. He had gained a virtuous wife and a filial son. His son had become a God, while he had become the Lord of the Plane of the Douluo Continent, ruling over everything in it.
He had gained love, power, and strength all at once.
Now, he was being told that everything he had once possessed would belong to Tang Xiao. When he imagined his virtuous wife leaning against his brother's chest, his future son calling his brother "Dad," and Tang Xiao sitting in the place that had once belonged to her while controlling the fate of all living beings, while he himself grew old alone, how could Tang Hao accept that?
Amid his chaotic thoughts, sounds came from the room next door.
"Ah Yin, what are you doing?"
"Brother Xiao, of course I'm here to be with you."
"Brother Hao is in the room next door."
"Why should we care about him? We're a couple. It's only natural for us to be together. What right does he have to interfere?"
"But... I feel that something is wrong with Brother Hao's mood."
"That's his problem. If he can't accept it, then let him listen from next door. If that still isn't enough, when you run out of strength, call him over to give you a push. Then he can feel like he's participating too, can't he?" Ah Yin said, as if deliberately trying to provoke Tang Hao.
"Aaaaaah!" Tang Hao let out a baboon-like roar and went completely insane—
Why was this happening—
Tang Hao's eyes reddened, and he panted like an enraged bull!
Tang Xiao must have used some despicable method to make Ah Yin fall in love with him. He must have.
Could it be that he had also been reborn, and had returned to steal everything from me?
No. Absolutely not. What belonged to me was mine. I would never allow anyone to take it away.
A flash of resentment passed through Tang Hao's eyes.
As if he had made some sort of decision, he murmured in the darkness, "Ah Yin, you belong to me, Tang Hao. You'll always belong to me. Even if... even if I have to use the most despicable means, I'll keep you by my side."
He no longer had the heart to listen to what Ah Yin and Tang Xiao were saying in the room next door.
"Ah Yin, don't provoke Brother Hao anymore. His state isn't right."
"Hmph. I'm doing it on purpose. So what? Who told him to circle around us like a fly?"
Before you continue