Still shaken, Xue Qian dragged his bedraggled body back to shore and plopped down. He could not tell whether the moisture running down his temples was cold sweat or river water.
He did not even know how he had walked into the river. In his daze, he had only felt unbearably hot and parched, and wanted somewhere cool to stay.
The boy's face scrunched up like a steamed bun. Xue Pingyuan flicked his forehead, unfastened his own cloak, and tossed it over the boy's head.
"What's got you so upset? Tell me."
"There's no one here but you and me."
Xue Qian was mortified. Who the hell wanted to die? He had only done that because he had lost some control over himself.
Besides, he had come to his senses now...
He found himself an excuse. "Brother, I wasn't trying to drown myself."
"I just wanted a bath. After all, I haven't had a proper wash in days."
No one would have believed such a flimsy excuse, and Xue Pingyuan looked openly skeptical.
"If you weren't trying to drown yourself, what were you doing soaking in the middle of the river? Raising fish?"
How was he supposed to answer that?
Before he could think of a reply, Xue Pingyuan asked coldly, "Bathing with your clothes on? Is that some fetish of yours?"
Xue Qian's mouth twitched. Now he really had no answer. He lowered his head dejectedly and honestly explained the strange things that had been happening to him.
The more he said, the darker Xue Pingyuan's expression grew. Only after he had finished did he cautiously study his elder brother's face.
Good lord, that look was practically murderous.
Xue Qian pulled the cloak off his head and wrapped it tighter around himself. If his brother accidentally beat him to