Chapter 41 "The most sensible child."

A few minutes later, Jiang's father and son knocked on the door and asked what was going on.

Duan Zhuxian said: "It's okay, just a minor scratch."

Jiang Yao stared at the "small" scrape that was still bleeding after being cleaned, his brows knitted tighter and tighter. Then he grabbed Duan Zhuxian's wrist and said, "Why don't we go get an X-ray?"

"No need, there's no fracture." Duan Zhuxian held his hand and rubbed it twice as if to comfort him, but was pushed away by Jiang Yao.

In the end, Jiang Yao applied medicine directly to Duan Zhuxian. When he was done, he searched the medicine box for a long time but couldn't find any gauze.

"Jiang Chen must have stolen my medicine box." Jiang Yao muttered unhappily, "Wait, I'll go get some gauze."

He gave an order bluntly and left in a hurry.

As the door closed, the room fell into silence.

Duan Zhuxian turned around and looked around.

This was his first time entering Jiang Yao's room. Just as he had imagined, it was like a small animal's nest, messy, crowded, warm, and with many lights on.

The target at the end of the bed was still there, but it no longer had his name on it.

When did Jiang Yao stop throwing darts at his name?

Duan Zhuxian walked over, raised his hand, and slowly touched the yellowed glue mark mixed with paper fibers on the target with his fingertips.

It was probably the moment when I found out that he had changed his college entrance examination choice.

Duan Zhuxian lowered his hands, and because the room was too messy, he accidentally knocked over a pile of books on the ground when he turned around.

Along with the book, there was also a notebook that fell out. It happened to be opened to the first page. Looking at the date, it was written when Jiang Yao was about ten years old.

His eyes fell on the notebook. Duan Zhuxian paused, then bent down uncontrollably and flipped through the childish words and doodles.

Each article is very short, some even have only one or two lines of words.

[Moving to a new city, first day, sunny weather! [Smiley Face]]

…

[When we were renovating our new house and unloading the boards, my dad only let Jiang Chen help him and didn't let me. Jiang Chen said that my dad was just protecting me, but I also wanted to do what I could for him. [Pouty Little Man]]

…

I made wood carvings for my parents for Thanksgiving. After receiving their gifts, they told me not to play with dangerous objects next time to avoid hurting myself. Did I do something wrong? Okay, to keep them from worrying, I'll never touch a carving knife again... [Crying Little Man]

…

Jiangchen School organized a study trip to the aquarium, and families were allowed to go. I wanted to go, but my parents said it was too dark and told me to stay home so they could take pictures and show them to me. I lied to them and said I was no longer afraid of the dark. [Strong Little Man]

…

Today's composition topic is "My Favorite Color." I like red best. Red is lively, even more lively than me.

There are no villains in this article.

Maybe I forgot, or maybe I was just a ten-year-old kid and didn't know how to summarize such complex emotions in a doodle.

Through the handwriting that had become somewhat faint due to the erosion of time, Duan Zhuxian imagined a small figure lying on the desk writing and drawing - a child who was left in a safe zone by his parents, alone, longing for recognition, self-control and attention.

From the first day he met Jiang Yao, Duan Zhuxian felt that Jiang Yao did not match his name. "Yao" means "dark and distant, shadowless and silent."

Jiang Yao was bright and fiery, like a handful of flames, which could easily burn his heart into pieces.

Although he has liked Jiang Yao for so many years, he has never truly understood Jiang Yao.

Before Jiang Yao returned, Duan Zhuxian sorted out the notebook and the book and put them back in their original place.

*

After dinner, the old couple of the Jiang family invited them to stay overnight. Jiang Yao didn't want to sleep in the same bed with Duan Zhuxian, but it was inconvenient for him to separate the rooms in front of his parents, so he made up an excuse and said he wanted to go back.

Yuan Li had something to explain to Jiang Yao alone, so Duan Zhuxian went out first.

Jiang Chen pushed open the door holding a cigarette box and wanted to smoke a cigarette outside, but suddenly saw Duan Zhuxian standing in the garden.

"I thought you went to the car to wait for him." Jiang Chen shuddered and said, "It's so cold outside."

Duan Zhuxian said, "Two of the street lights at the door are broken. He's afraid of the dark."

Jiang Chen was surprised: "Did he tell you?"

Duan Zhuxian said: "I discovered it."

"I didn't realize you were so attentive."

Jiang Chen smiled, lowered his head, lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, and suddenly spoke without warning: "He was kidnapped when he was a child, 20 years ago today."

Duan Zhuxian's face darkened. "Kidnapping? What's going on?"

Jiang Chen exhaled a long puff of smoke and said, "After school, he was kidnapped directly from the school gate and locked up in a dark little factory for two days and two nights. The person who instigated it was my family's competitor. At that time, there hadn't been any major cleanup, and our town was full of hooligans, so it wasn't uncommon."

"Luckily, the kidnappers only threatened him and didn't actually hurt him, but he still developed a fear of the dark. As a child, to overcome this weakness, he often spent the night alone on the dark balcony. No one could persuade him, he was a very stubborn child."

"I asked you to go home today because I thought he would be more relaxed with the whole family around him on this special day."

Duan Zhuxian frowned slightly.

After living with Jiang Yao, he consulted a familiar psychologist about Jiang Yao's various abnormalities and habits, and the psychologist did suggest the possibility of "traumatic stress".

Jiang Chen paused, then changed the subject: "Did you have a fight?"

Duan Zhuxian's expression remained unchanged: "Why do you ask?"

Jiang Chen said, "His ability to whitewash the situation may work with my parents, but it won't work with me."

Duan Zhuxian was silent for a while, then said "hmm": "There is a little contradiction."

Jiang Chen said, "He's not like me. If he and his wife have a fight that's known to everyone, even if he's upset, he'll pretend nothing happened and not embarrass his family first."

Duan Zhuxian nodded: "He is indeed a person with a broad perspective."

"As his biological brother, it might sound a bit morally absurd for me to say this, but Jiang Yao is the most sensible child I've ever met." Jiang Chen paused and patted Duan Zhuxian's shoulder. "So, be nice to him and don't bully him too much."

*

After returning to their home, Jiang Yao went upstairs immediately as if he was being chased by something, closed the door, and quickly drew a clear line between himself and Duan Zhuxian.

Duan Zhuxian looked at the stairs where Jiang Yao disappeared, then looked down at the gauze on his hand that was neatly wrapped and tied with a bow, and a helpless smile appeared on his lips.

Late at night, Duan Zhuxian heard some noise next door. After waiting for a while, he pushed the door open and saw that the lights downstairs were on.

But Jiang Yao was not on the first floor.

Thinking of something, Duan Zhuxian strode through the entrance corridor, opened the door, and was greeted by the north wind and darkness.

Most of the dozens of lights in the courtyard were turned off manually.

A few meters away, there was a figure standing on the stone pavement in the courtyard, like a thin blade standing under the night sky, trembling imperceptibly in the biting cold wind, making a silent clanging sound, full of fearlessness, willing to break but not yield, so tough that it made people feel distressed.

Duan Zhuxian remembered what Jiang Chen said today.

Jiang Yao was not wearing a coat. The wide hem of her sweater bulged in the wind and then collapsed, outlining her thin and strong waistline.

On such a cold winter night with the temperature in single digits, he didn't even bother to put on more clothes. He is truly a stubborn kid.

Duan Zhuxian shook his head and took off his coat.

Just at this moment, the voltage suddenly became unstable and the few remaining lights in the courtyard began to flicker.

The person in front of him trembled, his shoulders visibly hunched, and his fists clenched instantly. The force of his nails digging into his palms caused his entire arms to tremble.

Duan Zhuxian immediately strode over and saw beads of sweat oozing from Jiang Yao's forehead as he put on his coat.

The voltage was restored and the light stopped flashing, but Jiang Yao's mind was still blank. He felt movement behind him and his frantic heart skipped a beat.

The first thing that covered his back was body temperature, infusing his tense nerves, followed by the touch of fabric, wrapping around his frozen body.

Jiang Yao turned his head suddenly and unexpectedly saw Duan Zhuxian's blurry face in the night.

He subconsciously tried to pull at the extra coat on his body, but failed. His hands and feet felt weak and he couldn't use any strength to defeat Duan Zhuxian.

"I was here first."

Wrapped in a loose long coat, Jiang Yao had a stern face and looked at people with his eyes pressed down under his eyelids. His whole body was filled with the expression of "Don't mess with me, I'm very lonely now."

Duan Zhuxian asked, "Didn't we agree on a temporary truce at noon?"

Jiang Yao corrected with a blank expression: "It means a temporary truce today."

"Today isn't over yet." Duan Zhuxian looked at his watch. "There are still fifteen minutes and twenty seconds until midnight."

Jiang Yao was speechless.

Someone is indeed a successful businessman, and he is very good at haggling.

Jiang Yao couldn't see clearly in the dark, so Duan Zhuxian didn't hide the tenderness in his eyes. When the wind blew over, he straightened his collar for him and said, "You have to attend the school celebration in two days, be careful not to catch a cold."

The last day of this year is the 100th birthday of his high school alma mater. As outstanding alumni, he and Duan Zhuxian both received invitations.

Jiang Yao almost forgot about this.

The temperature dropped tonight and it was really cold. My fingers were numb. Duan Zhuxian's coat was just right.

But he couldn't let go of his pride, so he raised his chin arrogantly towards Duan Zhuxian and said, "I'll take the clothes, you can go now."

Duan Zhuxian asked, "Are you not afraid if I leave?"

Jiang Yao's expression froze, and even his slightly weak voice rose a few notes: "What's there to be afraid of for a grown man like me?"

Looking at Jiang Yao's pale face and the look of pretending to be strong, Duan Zhuxian understood.

In front of his mortal enemy, Jiang Yao has self-esteem to defend.

So Duan Zhuxian nodded, turned around and walked into the house.

Jiang Yao: "..."

asshole!

Let’s go!

Not a bit of sincerity!

Jiang Yao didn't expect that Duan Zhuxian would listen to him so much this time. He stared at Duan Zhuxian's back as he disappeared in the warm light inside the door, gritting his teeth.

Standing in the darkness, my heart, which had finally calmed down, began to beat wildly again.

It seems that it still doesn't work.

Twenty years have passed, and he still hasn't gotten over the hurdle in his heart. He becomes brittle every time this day comes.

It's really useless...

But for the first time, he didn't want to show off his strength. It seemed that the appearance of someone had thrown him off balance, and he could no longer muster his willpower.

But if he followed Duan Zhuxian into the house and happened to run into Duan Zhuxian, it would seem as if he was really afraid of something.

Someone was so sinister that he might have been waiting in the living room to laugh at him.

When Duan Zhuxian returned with the hot milk, Jiang Yao had already taken off his coat.

Duan Zhuxian held his forehead with his hand, showing a serious expression, and walked over, intending to teach someone who didn't take care of his body a lesson, but suddenly he stopped.

He saw Jiang Yao with his back to him, arms crossed, holding his coat in his arms. He gripped the fabric with such force that his fingers were stretched to an almost transparent pale blue.

Just holding her like this wasn't enough to calm the trembling of her shoulder blades.

Jiang Yao lowered his head, buried his nose in his collar, took a deep breath, and then restrainedly sniffed the scent bit by bit, as if he was afraid that the scent on the clothes would run out, until his chest, which was heaving violently, gradually slowed down.

A look of surprise flashed across Duan Zhuxian's eyes.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Jiang Yao looked up as if waking from a dream and quickly put his clothes back on his shoulders.

The next second, he was hugged face to face with his coat.

He was stunned and almost couldn't breathe. He lowered his chin over the other person's shoulder, stretched his neck and yelled, "You, you, you... let me go!"

Duan Zhuxian: "No."

Jiang Yao: "?"

Duan Zhuxian held the back of Jiang Yao's head with one hand, and the words fell hotly into his neck along with his breath: "I gave you the clothes, I'm cold."