It was also the first time Shen Sixian had realized that this younger brother of his, related to him by blood but never acknowledged by him, seemed very bad at taking care of himself.
He was clearly frail and sickly, yet he never seemed to care about his health, always pushing himself, always being stubborn.
"So you came down to find ice for a cold compress?"
Shen Sixian frowned, almost blurting out a question about whether the person before him had any common sense at all.
"Yes."
Having such an absurd proposition confirmed by the other person only left Shen Sixian even more speechless.
"Who told you that a bruise from a bump would go away if you put ice on it?"
As Shen Sixian frowned, he also sighed softly to himself. He released the wrist he had been supporting, took Shen Shuangjian by the forearm instead, and headed toward the nearest sitting area.
Usually, anyone in the main building only needed to use the dedicated landline or send a message, and the live-in servants housed in the corner building opposite would hurry over as quickly as possible.
But Shen Sixian had a rough idea of where the first-floor hall's first-aid kit was kept. Or perhaps it simply had not occurred to him that he could leave something like this to the servants.
In any case, he did not call anyone over. Instead, he opened the first-aid kit, found medicine for bruises, and, without thinking, lowered himself onto one knee in front of Shen Shuangjian.
But before he could do anything else, Shen Shuangjian, who had been sitting upright, reached out of his own accord and spoke in a tone that suggested he did not want to trouble Shen Sixian:
"Thank you, elder brother. I can do it myself."
Shen Sixian's hand paused just as he was about to unscrew the medicine bottle. He looked up at Shen Shuangjian sitting upright before him, then noticed that he was currently kneeling on one knee.
His brows drew together slightly. Shen Sixian quickly stood and set down what he was holding, his voice still carrying a measure of indifferent unconcern.
"Suit yourself."
He walked at a leisurely pace to the corner by the bookcase on the left. His long, well-defined fingers brushed lightly over books with all manner of covers. Only after carefully selecting one did he return to sit in an armchair nearby.
Silence settled over them. Looking absorbed, Shen Sixian turned two pages, but even halfway through the third, he had yet to hear any movement from the other side.
He had thought someone like Shen Shuangjian would be unable to keep from whimpering repeatedly while applying the medicine.
In the end, Shen Sixian could not resist raising his eyes toward the more dimly lit spot. Sitting there was a boy whose beauty could not be concealed even in the darkness.
He was somewhere between a youth and a young man, a little less childish, yet without a trace of an ordinary man's maturity.
The dim light fell over him like gauze attempting to veil a pearl. Naturally, the result was the opposite of what was intended: it did nothing except add a hazy beauty.
Shen Sixian watched him sit with his head lowered in silence. The cotton swab in his hand was soaked in dark medicine, but despite his long hesitation, it still had not touched the bruise.
He was clearly frightened, yet he still insisted on putting on a brave front.
The corners of Shen Sixian's lips lifted slightly. He closed the foreign-language book, whose contents he knew nothing about, with one hand and walked toward Shen Shuangjian.
"Weren't you going to put the medicine on? What are you waiting for?"
When Shen Sixian sat down beside him, Shen Shuangjian's already unsteady hand trembled, nearly driving the cotton swab into his wrist bone.
Shen Shuangjian pressed his lips together ever so slightly and did not answer.
The hall was too dark. Although Shen Shuangjian's night blindness was not severe, he inevitably had trouble seeing when attempting something so precise.
And his years of frailty had left his limbs weak. The hand holding the cotton swab was unsteady and kept trembling slightly, making Shen Shuangjian all the more hesitant and afraid to proceed.
"Give it to me."
This time, Shen Sixian easily took the things for applying the medicine from Shen Shuangjian's hand, and the latter did not refuse with distant politeness again.
Although Shen Sixian's hands were not as steady as those of a doctor wielding a scalpel to save lives, he had spent years writing and had some skill in calligraphy. At any rate, they would not waver the way Shen Shuangjian's did.
His broad, long-fingered hand barely needed to exert any effort. With just a gentle grip, he enclosed Shen Shuangjian's entire hand in his palm.
When the cotton swab touched the darkest, most severe part of the bruise, Shen Shuangjian instinctively frowned at the sudden sting despite Shen Sixian's light touch, and his hand involuntarily struggled to pull away.
Unfortunately, Shen Sixian seemed to have anticipated this. Just as Shen Shuangjian's arm trembled and tried to retreat, he suddenly tightened his grip, firmly restraining Shen Shuangjian's hand.
"Why are you pulling away?"
"..."
Shen Shuangjian had not intended to pull away. It was only because Shen Sixian's movements were too decisive and his expression too cold, coupled with that instant of pain, that Shen Shuangjian felt certain he had used force.
"Sorry."
Shen Sixian did not know how younger brothers spoke to their older brothers in normal families, but he knew it certainly would not be the way he and Shen Shuangjian spoke to each other.
Shen Sixian did not answer. He merely applied the medicine with light, quick movements, then wrapped gauze around it to keep the medicine from rubbing off on anything else.
Afraid that tightening the gauze around the wrist would press against the bruise, Shen Sixian tied it very loosely, merely wrapping it lightly around. It only took so many layers because Shen Shuangjian's wrist was so slender.
"Perhaps I ought to admire you for managing to get yourself into this state." Shen Sixian lowered his head and spoke to Shen Shuangjian as he tied it.
Unfortunately, before he could finish his cutting remarks, Shen Shuangjian's immediate reply choked them all back.
"I bumped it at the dining table."
Shen Shuangjian's gaze at that moment could even have been called earnest. He looked at Shen Sixian, and although he did not spell everything out, he still made his point clearly.
Only then did Shen Sixian remember that when he had grabbed Shen Shuangjian at the dining table, the latter seemed to have let out a very soft, slow cry and apparently struck the corner of the table.
He simply had not paid much attention at the time, nor had he imagined that such a light bump could leave such an obvious bruise on his wrist.
Just like the princess and the pea.
The fairy tale came to Shen Sixian's mind unbidden, and he even found himself smiling. He would never have imagined that one day he would use such a cute comparison to describe Shen Shuangjian.
"Are you reminding me to apologize to you?"
Shen Sixian let go and put the medicine bottle and remaining gauze back into the first-aid kit. As he spoke, he raised his head, his face once again cold and indifferent.
Shen Shuangjian could not discern the implication behind his words or what he was so conspicuously trying to conceal.
Shen Shuangjian only knew that he did not need Shen Sixian's apology. In his world, there had never been any question of forgiveness.
If he was hurt by someone or something, or sensed danger, all he needed to do was stay away.
Wariness, aversion, resistance, and withdrawal were the feelings Shen Shuangjian had experienced most throughout his short life, far outweighing all his joys and sorrows.