The afternoon light was slightly dusky and golden, free of the midday heat. Falling on the skin, it offered a gentle, peaceful warmth.
Shen Sixian sat on the sofa, looking down at the work on his phone that needed his attention. As he approved items, he thought for the umpteenth time of Shen Shuangjian, who had gone out to gather firewood.
His scrolling suddenly slowed. Shen Sixian grew a little distracted, and as his lashes trembled faintly, a trace of worry stirred in his heart.
He could not settle down, nor did he know why. His heart simply beat erratically, stirring unease.
Shen Sixian pinched the bridge of his nose. Before he could think any further, he unexpectedly heard footsteps and voices at the door.
He immediately knew that everyone who had gone out to gather firewood had returned.
Shen Sixian slowly rose. Whatever scene came to mind, a faint smile touched his lips, as though he could already picture Shen Shuangjian loosely curling his hands and pressing his lips together in grievance.
People had to suffer a little before they learned to behave.
Shen Sixian had only just reached the entryway when the closed front door opened from outside. He stopped short. The first thing he saw was a slender, delicate calf hanging beside Xie Jinghui's waist.
Shen Sixian frowned with some hesitation and looked up toward Xie Jinghui's back. Then Shen Shuangjian, covered in dirt, came into view.
Shen Shuangjian, who usually looked cool and aloof, dressed neatly in clean, modest clothes, had apparently rolled around in some patch of mud. His pale clothes were covered in dust and dirt.
His upper body rested against Xie Jinghui's back, his eyes open as he quietly met Shen Sixian's gaze.
The red cord at the end of his hair had probably been lost while he rolled. His long, cool, ink-black hair spilled loosely in disarray, dried leaves caught among the strands. The mess made him look bedraggled and pitiful.
Shen Sixian: ?
He froze in silence. A full three seconds later, Shen Sixian actually laughed out of sheer anger.
He was no fool. A glance or two was enough for him to more or less understand what had happened to Shen Shuangjian while he was out.
Shen Shuangjian lived in luxury and needed someone hovering protectively beside him even when he went downstairs. How could he possibly emerge unscathed from a rugged, uneven mountain forest?
And the truth was just as Shen Sixian had guessed. Shen Shuangjian really was the sort of person born unable to endure hardship.
His body was frail, his qi and blood failed to circulate properly, and so his limbs were often weak and his footing unsteady. Yet Shen Shuangjian could tolerate neither wind nor cold.
The mountain forest was damp and chilly. Shen Shuangjian had gotten drunk the night before, and his head was still muddled. Before the rough branches could even rub his hands red, he had lost his footing and fallen, rolling over several times.
Shen Shuangjian had hurt his knees and calves, and somehow knocked his arms against things hard enough to leave several bruises. With no other choice, the others, only halfway through gathering firewood in the forest, had to bring him back first.
And so, when Shen Sixian came to open the door, this was the sight that greeted him.
[LMAO, our bro actually laughed out of sheer anger.]
[Bro, don't smile. It's creepy.]
[In just a few hours, Shen Sixian seems to have sighed a lifetime's worth of sighs inside.]
[Shen Shuangjian: oi, bro, I'm back from causing trouble!]
[Shen Sixian took his eyes off him for just a bit, and when he came back, he found his wife had hurt his legs in a fall, covered in dirt with leaves all through his hair.]
[Shen Sixian: where's that whole sweet, soft little brother of mine? Don't you lot play him to death.]
[Shen Shuangjian heading out: stop bossing me around! Shen Shuangjian coming back: big brother~ I fell down again~]
[Shen Shuangjian: big brother, just you watch. One day I'll manage to look after myself to death.]
[God, my cool, stunning, aloof sickly beauty wife's persona has completely collapsed. Now he's a socially inept idiot, hopeless at everyday life, and a slightly rebellious brat.]
[Shen Shuangjian really is rebellious. The more you tell him not to go, the more he insists. He feels a bit like a long-haired cat that's gotten comfortable with you. Such a little menace.]
[Just not a very high IQ.]
[Wifey Shuangjian: say that again?]
[Hahahaha, Shen Sixian looks like he has "I'll behave, please spare me" written all over his face now.]
The inexplicable unease from earlier seemed to have found its explanation at this moment.
Shen Sixian pressed his lips together and furrowed his brow. The stern look on his face alone showed just how badly he wanted to give Shen Shuangjian a scolding.
But the moment his gaze caught Shen Shuangjian's bedraggled state, all his pent-up anger became a balloon punctured by a needle. He could no longer summon it.
Perhaps he was not determined to pit himself against him. He simply felt some resentment.
He resented how Shen Shuangjian seemed to take everything he did for granted, resented Shen Shuangjian's disobedience, resented his own lack of authority as an older brother and his excess of softheartedness.
Shen Sixian could not help wondering whether, if their parents were still alive, a few strikes across the palms might make Shen Shuangjian behave much better.
But once his thoughts reached that point, Shen Sixian could not help arguing against himself. If a thick, solid wooden paddle struck Shen Shuangjian's palm, even if it did not break a couple of finger bones, it would probably leave swelling and blood.
"Shen Shuangjian, are you trying to anger me to death...?"
Shen Sixian no longer even felt like settling accounts with him. He slowly lowered himself onto one knee in front of Shen Shuangjian and examined his injuries with a grave expression.
Both his knees and calves were bruised, his wrist was slightly scraped, and scattered reddish-purple marks marred his forearms and elbows.
They were superficial injuries, but with Shen Shuangjian's constitution, they would probably need quite a few days to fade. If he kept leaving him to his own devices, who knew what other injuries, large or small, tomorrow might bring?
"We're done filming. We're going home." Shen Sixian picked up the coat he had left on the sofa's armrest. "It ends tomorrow anyway. I'm taking you home now."
Without hesitation, Shen Sixian pulled off Shen Shuangjian's outer layer, which had collected the most dust, wrapped his own lightweight coat around him, then hoisted him over his shoulder and headed outside.
Shen Shuangjian was clearly startled by the sudden movement. His body abruptly lifted into the air, and he barely had time to give a small cry, even forgetting to struggle.
"E... elder brother!"
He was almost out the door before he belatedly remembered to struggle. He resisted, fighting against going home with Shen Sixian.
For one thing, Shen Sixian had acted so abruptly. Shen Shuangjian had been entirely unprepared when Shen Sixian announced that he was taking him home.
For another, Shen Shuangjian did not know why, but he always felt that Shen Sixian was unpredictable in his moods. Yet he was his older brother in name, so Shen Shuangjian naturally felt a measure of fear and resistance toward him.
"Sit still and behave."
Shen Sixian stuffed him into the passenger seat. Afraid that Shen Shuangjian would resist, he even added a mild warning as he closed the car door.
"Shuangjian, go back with Mr. Shen first."
Not only did Xie Jinghui make no attempt to stop Shen Sixian, he even brought Shen Shuangjian a fleece blanket.
"Your injuries really do need a couple of days' rest. There'll be a lot of people leaving tomorrow, and it'll be a hassle. I'll take your things for you."
Xie Jinghui smiled as he slowly closed the car door.
"And deliver them to your home myself."