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His maternal grandparents had rushed to the hospital after his car accident, and his parents had rushed abroad after his plane crash. Only Cheng Shao was tough enough not to have been cursed to death by him. Still, Cheng Shao had suffered terribly from his antics during those years.

The two brothers had lived together for nearly thirty years. One look at Cheng Yu's expression, and Cheng Shao knew what he was thinking. He could not help but chuckle. "I am indeed tough, and smarter than you. So you don't need to worry. No matter how much trouble you cause, you won't be able to kill me."

As Cheng Shao spoke, he reached out and ruffled Cheng Yu's hair. "I'm your brother. We're family. I'll always stay by your side and take care of you for the rest of your life."

Cheng Yu dodged Cheng Shao's hand with obvious disgust. Cheng Shao then pulled his phone from his suit pocket and opened the photo album for him. "An'an is pregnant. The doctor said the pregnancy isn't very stable, so I didn't bring her with me. But next June, you'll have a little nephew or niece. Aren't you happy?"

Cheng Yu's gaze swept over the photo album. The woman in the pictures was delicate and gentle. Her fair, slender right hand rested lightly on her slightly rounded belly. Bathed in autumn sunlight, she looked even more tender and loving with maternal warmth.

Cheng Yu curled his lip dismissively. "She's so ugly. The child she has won't be much prettier either."

Cheng Shao resisted the urge to twitch at the corner of his mouth and sighed with a headache. "Can't you ever say something nice?"

Cheng Yu sneered.

Cheng Shao had never been able to get angry with this willful younger brother. Even though Cheng Yu had once fought him for a woman, driven him out of the Cheng Family over the inheritance, suppressed his career at every turn, and made his life miserable, Cheng Shao had not had the heart to punish him after turning things around. When he learned that Cheng Yu had mental health issues, he had only forcibly sent him to a sanatorium for treatment.

In Cheng Shao's eyes, Cheng Yu had never been bad by nature. He was merely too willful, too obsessive, too childish. If he had been properly taught and patiently guided, their Cheng Yu would surely have become the most obedient and outstanding child in the world. Unfortunately, life was unpredictable. The ordeals fate had inflicted upon Cheng Yu had been too crushing and cruel, breaking him completely.

Cheng Shao indulged in a moment of brotherly sentimentality. Then he opened the insulated food container the bodyguard had set beside him. Inside were several of Cheng Yu's favorite dishes, all made by An'an herself, along with Cheng Yu's favorite lotus seed paste and salted egg yolk mooncakes.

Cheng Shao held a mooncake to Cheng Yu's lips. "Want a taste?"

Cheng Yu leaned back to avoid the mooncake Cheng Shao was trying to feed him. His disdainful gaze circled the mooncake several times before shifting to Cheng Shao's face. He stared fiercely at Cheng Shao for a long while. Only when Cheng Shao continued holding up the mooncake patiently did he straighten his back and lean slightly forward, taking a bite from its edge.

The soft pastry and sweet lotus seed paste spread through his mouth, accompanied by the rich, lingering flavor of salted egg yolk. Cheng Yu, who loved sweets, instinctively narrowed his eyes before opening them again without a trace of emotion. He glanced sideways at the bitten mooncake and gave it a lofty assessment. "It's passable."

"Tasty, right?" Cheng Shao automatically translated that into words he preferred to hear and smiled. "I made it myself, according to your tastes."

Cheng Yu said nothing.

The brothers shared a reunion meal in the quiet hospital room. Throughout it, Cheng Shao kept talking about the company and family matters, while Cheng Yu mostly listened in silence. It was not until the meal was over, after Cheng Shao had helped Cheng Yu wash up, take his medicine, and lie back down, that Cheng Yu suddenly spoke as Cheng Shao prepared to leave. "...If only I hadn't killed Pei Yan back then."

If I hadn't fought with Pei Yan back then, I wouldn't have accidentally pushed him into the water. Pei Yan wouldn't have hit a rock in the fishpond and fallen unconscious, missing the best window for rescue. Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't have gotten into a car accident on their way to the hospital. Cheng Kaiyun and Chen Lingyun wouldn't have been reminded of their grief and driven me abroad to fend for myself. And I wouldn't have caused so much trouble just to see Mom and Dad, only to get Cheng Kaiyun and Chen Lingyun killed in a plane crash when they came abroad to see me.

Or, taking it one step further—if time went back more than twenty years, if Chen Lingyun had not accidentally become pregnant with me ten months after giving birth to Cheng Shao, if she had not been too afraid to get an abortion because of her health... then I would never have been born. Chen Lingyun would not have been fired from the factory for having a second child, would not have suffered so much afterward, and would not have always resented me, her unnecessary son who only brought trouble to others.

Would everything have been much better if I had never been born?

Caught off guard by the name of a childhood friend who had been dead for years, Cheng Shao's body stiffened involuntarily. He had not expected that, even after all these years, Cheng Yu still had not forgotten that person or that incident.

Cheng Shao's throat felt dry and itchy. He coughed lightly. "You can't blame yourself either. It was just an accident."

Cheng Yu lay in bed, staring straight at the pale ceiling. "There have been far too many accidents in my life."

That bastard Pei Yan. He'd loved going against me ever since we were kids, and even after dying, he had to drag me down with him. Cheng Yu ground his teeth. I've never escaped Pei Yan's shadow in this life.

Cheng Shao did not speak. He turned slightly and looked at the still figure lying on the bed. There were some things Cheng Yu did not know. But Pei Yan was already dead, so Cheng Yu had no need to know them.

"Get some rest early, and don't overthink things. The doctor said you worry too much. Try to take things easy when something comes up. I'll come see you again next weekend." Cheng Shao patiently reminded him before finally leaving.

Cheng Yu closed his eyes and listened to the faint click of the door lock. Everyone he had met in his life said he was calculating and scheming. He had never denied it; he had even taken some pride in it. After all, the curses and fear of those he had defeated were merely praise and recognition from another angle. Cheng Yu had lived nearly half his life. Since even his parents despised him, refused to want him, and cast him aside like worn-out shoes, he might as well make everyone fear him. After all, one had to make a splash in life somehow.

Cheng Yu felt that he had never regretted anything, even if it had turned him into a lunatic in other people's eyes. He stared unblinkingly at the ceiling until his eyes were too dry to remain open, then slowly closed them.