Brothers Reunited

Sun Wei and Li Xian were both from Mountain City. They'd been childhood friends, growing up together and sharing the same bad habits.

They'd been classmates in elementary and middle school, but went their separate ways in high school.

Li Xian's middle school entrance exam scores were average, so he went to the city's Second High School. Sun Wei's scores weren't much better, but his mother taught at Experimental High School, so he got into the best high school in town.

They went to different high schools, but that didn't affect their friendship. They still hung out just as much.

Their college entrance exam scores were about the same. Li Xian went to Bincheng Neusoft University, while Sun Wei's family had some overseas connections, so his parents sent him to study in Singapore.

After three years of studying in Singapore, he returned to China in 2011 and spent a year making his way in Magic City. In 2012, he came to Bin City.

Don't get the wrong idea. He hadn't come to Bin City because of Li Xian. He'd come for a girl he'd met online.

Outside Lingbei Residential Area.

Wang Meng got into the car and teased him. "Wei Shao's gone and pulled out another big move!"

"Yeah, a deadly one-two punch..." Li Xian started the car and grinned. "If he pulls out another two or three big moves, I doubt he'll be able to go back."

"Heh... What's he even doing? Coming all the way from Magic City to Bin City just to fight with his girlfriend?" Wang Meng, a lifelong bachelor, couldn't understand Wei Shao's behavior.

Li Xian didn't understand it either, but he admired Sun Wei's courage.

They'd never even met. Despite knowing next to nothing about each other, they'd chatted online for a while, then dared to meet in person without holding anything back.

Li Xian would never have done something like that. Of all his friends, only a daredevil like Sun Wei would.

Was it admirable courage, or just being foolhardy? Who could say?

"You can't buy someone's happiness. What can we do? We can only talk to him." It was best not to meddle in someone else's relationship. As friends, the most they could do was put in a good word and encourage them to make up, not break up.

Wei Shao lived in Lily Mountain Villa, about four or five kilometers from Beiling Residential Area.

Traffic was a little heavy at that hour, and it took them more than ten minutes to reach the bus stop at Lily Mountain Villa.

Sun Wei had been waiting there for a while. With a large backpack slung over his shoulders, he stood by the road, looking around. When Li Xian spotted him, he rolled down the window and called out, "Wei Shao, over here!"

Sun Wei had much better eyesight than Wang Meng. At the sound of Li Xian's voice, he spotted the black G-Wagon. The sight of it brought a spectacular look to his face.

"Holy crap, this car is badass!"

Once he was in, Sun Wei sat on the leather seat and ran his hands all over it, spouting all sorts of exclamations. But he'd seen his share of the world, so he handled himself much better than Wang Meng and soon calmed down.

"Man, this thing is built like a tank. What a great ride for showing off... Brother Xian, you're really living large!" Sun Wei said, looking up.

Wang Meng had already told him that Li Xian had come into quite a bit of property, but Sun Wei knew it wasn't his place to ask, so he didn't bring it up.

"Damn right. Stick with me and you'll eat well and drink well from now on." Li Xian glanced back at Sun Wei's big backpack and understood that this was only a minor spat.

If Sun Wei and his girlfriend had had a serious fight, he wouldn't have left with just a backpack. He would've brought a huge suitcase at the very least.

"So what'd you fight about this time?" Li Xian asked.

"Don't ask. It was nothing." Sun Wei sounded a little impatient, but he still explained. "I just put my underwear in the washing machine, and she went on and on about it."

Just another petty squabble.

Li Xian thought to himself.

Sun Wei and his girlfriend had gotten into arguments over trivial things plenty of times. One day, they might fight because he hadn't showered; the next, they might argue over whether to take the bus or a taxi.

There was never any peace between them. The main reason was that their personalities were so different.

Sun Wei was easygoing and didn't sweat the small stuff, while his girlfriend was stubborn and liked to argue over every little thing.

They'd been living together for two years, and the fact that they still hadn't gone their separate ways was already a miracle.

"Can't you wash underwear in the washing machine?" Wang Meng, who had no idea what was going on, chimed in.

Sun Wei knew exactly how he felt and patted him on the shoulder. "Right? But my girlfriend says you shouldn't wash underwear with your other clothes."

"Haha... All right, all right." Sun Wei's remark made Li Xian laugh. The guy wasn't completely clueless. "Wei Shao, your girlfriend's rules are clear enough. Why can't you remember them?"

"Damn, sometimes I forget. How's that my fault?" Sun Wei said, spreading his hands. He knew all the rules; he just couldn't remember them.

"All right..." Li Xian said, at a loss. Then he warned him, "Listen, brother. Don't say I didn't warn you. If you keep running off like this, you might not be able to go home one day."

"Yeah, I know! But you know what I'm like. I say hurtful things, and when we fight, I can't stop myself. I'm just afraid I'll hurt her too much."

It was always the same excuse: he was afraid of hurting her, so he chose to run away.

He had no idea that this approach carried even greater risks.

Li Xian didn't know what to say, so he changed the subject. "Where should we eat? That seafood barbecue place up ahead?"

"Sounds good. Let's order a couple more plates of kidneys and some oysters." Sun Wei leaned back comfortably.

Wang Meng had no objections and nodded. Li Xian started the car and was about to send Sui Jiji the meetup location when his phone rang.

He picked it up and saw that the caller was Sun Wei's girlfriend, Yan Hanbing.

She was just like her name suggested: unsmiling and rather cold-looking.

Li Xian held up the phone in front of Sun Wei. "Your sister-in-law's calling. You want to answer?"

"Man, I can't even get a little peace and quiet..."

Li Xian rolled his eyes and grumbled inwardly: If you really want to get away, go farther away. What's the point of always hiding out at my place?

"You answer it... I won't say anything. I'm afraid we'll start fighting over the phone." Sun Wei thought it over, then said.

Li Xian gave a quiet "Mm," and answered. Yan Hanbing's voice came through the phone.

"Li Xian. My Sun Wei's with you, right?"

"Yep, he's with me. Don't worry, we're just having a meal together. We'll definitely get him home tonight."

"Oh... Don't let him drink too much."

"Got it, got it... Anything else?"

"That's all. Don't stay out too late."

"Sure thing, sure thing..."

Before he'd even finished speaking, she'd hung up. Sun Wei spoke up. "Hey, don't hang up! I was hoping to stay at your place for a night. I've never stayed in a suite this fancy—the Chairman Suite at the Grand Hyatt."

"Why didn't you say anything while the call was still connected?" Li Xian looked back at him. "If you really want to stay, I'll book you a room and bring your sister-in-law along."

Sun Wei smacked his lips and said nothing. Li Xian pressed the accelerator, and the car moved forward. Their destination wasn't far, only two or three bus stops away.

Li Xian sent Sui Jiji a location pin. He was already on his way and wasn't far off. He might even get there before them.

Five or six minutes later, they arrived at Zhang Family Seafood BBQ. As Li Xian was parking, a coffee-colored Audi Q5 pulled in to park as well.

The owner saw Li Xian's G-Wagon and promptly made room for it. After parking, Li Xian got out, walked over to the Q5, and tapped on the window.

"Jiji... You got here fast."