Shen Sixian was so angry that he ended up in the hospital.
Due to exhaustion and extreme emotional fluctuations, Shen Sixian briefly lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he was already in a hospital room.
The anger that had lingered in his mind before he fainted seemed to still remain. When Shen Sixian opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was the soft touch of his own palm. Then, he heard intermittent whispers in his ear.
"My brother is all alone..."
" Zhizhi..."
Shen Sixian frowned and half-opened his eyes, subconsciously tracing the source of the sound. Then Shen Sixian realized that the soft touch on his hand was Shen Shuangjian holding his hand.
In his line of sight, his cool yet gentle younger brother sat on the edge of the bed, his hand clenched loosely, but his body was pulled into the embrace of the tall man behind him.
" Zhizhi, I'm here, there's a nurse. I'm afraid you'll get tired." The man gently coaxed, lowering his head and bringing his face close to Shen Shuangjian's neck.
Shen Shuangjian seemed to have long been accustomed to the man's closeness. Even when they were close and their breaths mingled, he did not frown or flinch, but simply pursed his lips and refused without saying a word.
Faced with Shen Shuangjian's tactful and silent rejection, the man's expression remained completely unperturbed.
He gently brushed his lips against Shen Shuangjian's forehead, the gesture intimate and natural, yet devoid of any lust.
The two bodies are close together, and although they look so different, one of them is so accommodating that even when the other looks up, it does not appear dependent or weak.
Shen Sixian, a very subtle movement, but it was still noticed by Shen Shuangjian, who was holding his hand.
"Brother?" Shen Shuangjian turned around and saw that Shen Sixian, who had been unconscious with his eyes closed not long ago, had already woken up at some point.
" Zhizhi, your brother is alright."
Shen Sixian smiled gently, his gaze soothing.
He probably knew that Shen Shuangjian had been sitting by his bedside ever since he entered the hospital that morning, otherwise Xie Jinghui wouldn't have kept trying to coax Shen Shuangjian go back and rest.
His Zhizhi was born weak; even after watching TV for a long time, he would still curl up wearily and sleep for two or three hours.
No one is more pampered than him.
" Zhizhi, you should go home first. Your brother will be back tonight and have dinner with you." Shen Sixian gently, trying to persuade Shen Shuangjian, whose eyes were already showing signs of fatigue.
"But···"
Shen Shuangjian had only uttered two words when Shen Sixian gently interrupted her. "Listen to me, you go back first. Your brother has some things he wants to say to Mr. Xie."
Xie Jinghui looked up upon hearing this, but simply pulled Shen Shuangjian her feet without saying a word, coaxing, "I'll have someone take you home. Zhizhi, your brother has something to say to me. We'll go back after he's finished speaking."
Shen Shuangjian reluctantly agreed to let Xie Jinghui escort him to the car and back to the Shen Residence.
When Xie Jinghui returned to the ward, Shen Sixian, whose complexion had improved considerably, had already sat up. He leaned against the headboard, calmly waiting for Xie Jinghui.
Seeing this, Xie Jinghui understood immediately. He pulled out a chair and sat down with an air of superiority.
"Mr. Shen, let's speak frankly between us."
With Shen Shuangjian not around, the two of them no longer needed to worry about being too sharp-tongued and revealing each other's hidden sides, which might offend Shen Shuangjian.
"When did you and Zhizhi start dating?"
Knowing that the other person also knew Shen Shuangjian's most private and intimate nickname, Shen Sixian didn't need to change his address. He looked straight ahead and asked calmly.
What's done is done; it's impossible to deny or reverse what has already happened.
It's as foolish as pointing to the collapsed ruins after an earthquake and telling people you hope earthquakes won't happen again so everything can go back to square one.
Shen Sixian has never been one to run away from reality. The fact that he asked this question means that he has accepted the facts and is trying to make things more perfect and simpler.
"On my first day in Moscow, I approached him for the first time." Xie Jinghui lowered her eyes, making no attempt to hide anything. "And on his birthday, I became his official lover."
Birthday?
Shen Sixian frowned and looked at Xie Jinghui. He narrowed his eyes, as if he had heard something outrageous. After a long while, he laughed, half mocking and half angry.
"I should have expected that. After all, Mr. Xie is known in business for never leaving empty-handed. If he sets his sights on something, even if he doesn't devour it all, he'll tear off a large chunk of it."
Shen Sixian were ostensibly complimentary but subtly critical, even his tone carrying a sarcastic mockery.
"But I also want to ask you, what do you love most about Shuangjian?"
Shen Sixian did not deny the fact that Xie Jinghui would fall in love with Shen Shuangjian, after all, his Zhizhi was born to be loved by others.
What Shen Sixian truly questioned was what aspect of his love for Shen Shuangjian, and how much of that love was sincere and how much was feigned.
Shen Sixian's question came suddenly, but it may not have been Xie Jinghui.
Xie Jinghui had actually thought of this question before he asked it, but he still hadn't figured out the answer.
"Have no idea."
Xie Jinghui was honest and decisive, and almost instantly, Shen Sixian's expression changed.
Before Shen Sixian react, Xie Jinghui's voice rang out again in a low tone.
"I first met him by the lake at the hospital. I was visiting my seriously ill aunt, and that's when I met Shen Shuangjian."
"Besides me, no one knows about this encounter. Everyone thinks I first met him at the manor on the outskirts of Beijing, even Shuangjian herself thinks so."
Xie Jinghui's voice grew softer and softer, as if she too was gradually lost in her memories as she spoke.
"I still remember the blankness I felt when I first met him. That blankness lingered for many days, plunging me into a long daze every night, and then, in my dreams, we met again."
"I once regretted my blank space, but I also regretfully accepted reality. I thought we were two parallel lines that would never intersect."
"I know nothing about his name, who he is, or what kind of life he led."
"But I never expected to run into him again."
Xie Jinghui turned the ring on her finger, her voice and gaze as gentle and tender as ever.
"Should we proceed cautiously, exploiting the businessman's ruthless methods to lure him into a trap, or should we patiently guide him, cleverly using a facade to trick him into getting closer?"
"Or rather, what should I offer in exchange for something from God?"
The inner turmoil and internal struggle of that moment, apart from Xie Jinghui himself, would never be known to anyone else in the world.
"I always presumptuously tried to understand him and guess what he was thinking."
"I thought he was cold and aloof, a naturally heartless person. I wondered then if a forceful and authoritarian approach would work?"
"But I soon discovered that he was probably very fragile and not good at socializing; he was a natural-born hedgehog. So I wondered if a gentle, slow approach might be helpful."
But I realize I might have been wrong again.
"He always seems different from what I've predicted and imagined. I can't use my experience and shrewdness to outmaneuver him like I can with human nature."
"He is complex, yet simple. I find him both tender and vulnerable, yet also cold and sharp. He seems to naturally crave love, yet cruelly pushes it away."
"I imagined his gentleness and beauty, and I also speculated about his decay and indifference, until one day, I suddenly realized that I hadn't tried to cater to his true nature for a long time."