Chapter 80
"As you can see." Shan Li didn't retreat, still unwilling to move away from Pei Huai. Even though Pei Huai's elbow was wedged between their chests, eliminating any possibility of separation, Shan Li watched his blood brother approach him, watched his collar being pulled up.
Xiang Mingqi approached him with a ferocious look of rage, his facial muscles twitching violently. He used his body to separate the two of them, front and back, and stood in front of Pei Huai with his back.
"I've warned you many times."
"You were the one who breached the contract first."
"So what? What you and I are fighting over isn't a toy, it's someone we're both willing to die for. Why should I keep my promise?" He sneered, "I've given you everything. And yet you still want to take him away from me. That's not fair."
"The same applies to you."
Xiang Mingqi refused to give in: "He chose me, it has nothing to do with you, a bastard!"
"Since you're so stubborn, let's talk about something practical: what can you give him?" He stared at him and spoke in a steady tone, "My younger brother, a man with no inheritance rights, except for three or four worthless suburban properties and a sum of money to get rid of people. What else do you have? You squandered it, and I took it away. Can you earn it back?"
"Shan Li!" His lips trembled. "I don't care what you and your father want from me. But don't take my people."
"I'm getting ready, bro. What do you want?"
He said viciously, "I will cut off your tongue."
"Don't threaten me, it's useless." The man whose name was called narrowed his eyes and looked at him with a look between mockery and pity from beginning to end. "No matter who took it away, the fault is yours. Useless thing. Your biological parents died before teaching you many things. Xiang Mingqi, what do you have to compare with me?"
"That's not your turn—" Pei Huai grabbed his wrist just as his clenched fist was about to strike him in the face. Suddenly, Xiang Mingqi's expression collapsed to the extreme. He was about to cry out in grief, "Brother..."
"Don't do it." Pei Huai held his hand comfortingly, his fingers strong. "He is my superior now. We have a contract. I will guarantee his safety."
Xiang Mingqi's jaw muscles bulged fiercely, and he glared at Shan Li, who was rolling up his sleeves, with a venomous look. He reached out and hugged Pei Huai's shoulders, his eyes looking at him from over his shoulder with no mercy.
"This time it's for his sake."
"Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Pei to discipline my brother." The calm and composed provocation sounded maddening.
"Single gift."
Xiang Mingqi was about to explode when Pei Huai grabbed his hand and called for a halt. Shan Li, sitting across from him, paused, his gaze fixed on him. "...What's wrong?"
"Do you want to sleep with me?"
"elder brother!"
Her eyes narrowed reflexively. "I want more than that. My body, my emotions, and the final choice. I can wait until you're tired of me before giving me an answer. As long as it's you, it doesn't matter to me."
Pei Huai tilted his head, thinking about the meaning of his words.
"No rush, take your time to think about it." The man raised his hand and bit his index finger. "How do I compare to him? You have to use it to know."
When Xiang Mingqi's face was twisted with jealousy and an ugly expression, Pei Huai withdrew his fingers, unfolded a wet towel expressionlessly, and wiped it carefully: "No need."
He picked up a corner of the wet wipe with his index and middle fingers and threw it on the ground.
"I've heard a lot of talk about love and hate." He raised his chin and said, "I don't feel anything special."
Leaving Shan Li behind, they both returned to their room. Xiang Mingqi, who had followed closely behind, pinned him to the bed and harassed him for a long time. The boy asked, "If this happens again, brother, whose side will you take?" Without waiting for an answer, he hung his head anxiously, muttering, "He's right. No matter how much I do for you, it's nothing compared to a check from him. I can't even compare to him."
Pei Huai looked at him, looked away and said, "You don't have to compare yourself with him."
The other person suddenly looked at him like a puppy holding a frisbee and asked him, "Really, brother?"
He patted his head lightly, then leaned down and placed his forehead against his, their noses touching.
——"What is given to you is yours." He said, "No one can take it away."
Just a few minutes after four in the morning, Pei Huai kicked Xiang Mingqi awake from his deep sleep and asked him to check out.
He didn't ask the housekeeping staff to knock on Shan Li's door, but instead took a cash rent payment to keep the conversation quiet. They took Zhuang Zhuang with them and, before sunrise, set off on their motorcycles for Coal Valley. Pei Huai had some idea that Shan Li would be furious, so he gave his mountain bike to a street vendor who stopped him en route, diverting the pursuers onto another road.
Transferring to a bus, they traveled from the interstate highway that spanned the city to the rural area surrounding the river, which was lush and green.
After getting off the car, there was only a five or six-meter-wide cement road, winding and twisting. There were no roads leading to the distant mountains to the south or the rice paddies to the north, so they didn't go there. Xiang Mingqi dragged his suitcase along the steep road, the wheels bouncing louder than the car engine, and he shielded his brows with his hands to block the sun. Pei Huai, holding the hand of Zhuangzhuang, who had finally agreed to leave the field, followed the road, passing by the livestock shacks near and far, and finally to the edge of a large cornfield.
It's not harvest season, there are no waist-high corn stalks, and no one is working in the fields.
In the distance, they spotted a hunched figure spreading feed into the chicken coop. For some reason, he lost his balance, and, holding the enamel basin, he took tentative steps toward the edge of the field. His back foot lost its grip, and he stumbled into the ditch, his ankle twisted. Pei Huai quickly went over and pulled him back.
The old man struggled to get up from the mud: "Who is it?" Pei Huai then discovered that his pupils were covered with a layer of gray, and he probably had a serious cataract.
"Uncle Yan, it's me."
Hearing the voice, the old man opened his mouth in disbelief: "Ahuai...Ahuai? Our Ahuai is back!" The old man happily wiped his hands on the corner of his clothes, touched his face, and then opened his thumb to scratch his eyelashes: "Our Ahuai has very long eyelashes and a straight nose. Let me see, you can't just watch me make up lies to lie to me... Oh, it's really Ahuai, it's really Ahuai! It's been more than ten years, it's been more than ten years." After that, he limped and led them into the house.
Pei Huai turned around and looked at Xiang Mingqi, who was confused, and explained, "This is the uncle I knew when I was a child. He was very kind to me."
The house wasn't very big, and it looked much the same as before. It probably hadn't been remodeled in over a decade. Uncle Yan urged them to find a seat while he went to get a pot of tea.
By the time it was ready and brought into the living room, his arm, supporting the bottom of the pot, was trembling, and he couldn't help them pour it. Xiang Mingqi wanted to help, but the old man cheerfully waved him away. Uncle Yan's arm was trembling as he fumbled and placed the teacup in front of the two people's eyes. He bent down, fished out a wooden stool from under the table, and sat down.
"Ah Huai, you're... 24 this year, right? So you've been away for quite a while. Are you doing well? What made you want to come back?"
"I'm tired and want to come back and take a look."
"Unlike you. Our Ah Huai never took tiredness seriously before. Did you suffer any injustice outside? Tell me about it."
Pei Huai lowered his head and thought for a moment, then replied, "A lot of things. I'm not very happy outside."
"Come back and rest if you're tired. I'll be happy as long as you're willing to come home and stay here for a few more days. Ah Huai, stay and have a meal before you go back."
"No." He shook his head and refused. "I want to go back to the old house."
"It's okay. I'm glad you're willing to come home. By the way, Ah Huai, did you bring anyone else with you this time? I just heard some noise, it should be from this direction." The old man stretched out his hand towards Ming Qi. "It's you, right? I'm so sorry for what I did just now. My eyesight is not good, and I was so happy to know Ah Huai was back that I forgot to ask your name."
Xiang Mingqi enthusiastically shook the old man's wrinkled hand and shook it vigorously: "Hello, my name is Xiang Mingqi, and I'm Brother Pei Huai's current boyfriend!"
"Bo hey...what is that?"
"It's just my boyfriend."
Uncle Yan smacked his lips with a smile. "I was saying, Ah Huai is old enough now. Twenty-four, it wouldn't be strange if he brought anyone home. Blame it on me, my brain hasn't been sharp in recent years, I can't think of anything. Xiao Xiang, how old are you?"
"Twenty-two."
"Twenty-two years old...right after graduating from college, right?"
"yes."
"That's good, that's good. They are close in age, so it's most suitable for him to live together with Ah Huai." Uncle Yan was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He looked around, and his hands groped for Xiang Mingqi's muscular arms, and then searched for the back of his hand. Xiang Mingqi cooperated by turning over his palm and letting him use the calloused index finger to outline the palm lines. "This child is good. He didn't have good luck when he was young, but he is loyal. Xiao Xiang, our Ah Huai has had a hard life since he was young. His father is not a good guy. In the past, he was the only one who supported the whole family. You have to be nice to him, ah, so that I can rest assured."
"Don't worry, Uncle Yan." Xiang Mingqi also laughed with him, "I promise, just leave him to me. I will take good care of him for the rest of his life."
"This young man speaks well. Come, come, have some tea."
The two of them were tormented by Uncle Yan for half an hour, and then nagged for another half an hour, before they finally found a chance to say goodbye to the old man and headed towards Pei Huai's old house. As they left, Uncle Yan followed them out with his hands behind his back, looking lost, and saw them off for a few steps.
"I like it here." Xiang Mingqi has been jumping around since he came out.
Pei Huai looked at him closely to ask why.
"You haven't frowned much since you came back to Coal Valley." He picked up Zhuangzhuang, who was lying down and unable to move, and kissed the cat's head. "I like it here. I like any place that can make you happy."
Zhuangzhuang's whiskers were pressed down, revealing the face of a kitten resisting a kiss, and he pushed him with his front paws.
"To Mingqi."
"Ah, what, what, brother, what did you say?" The more Zhuangzhuang pushed him, the more Xiang Mingqi wanted to stretch his face in front of it and kiss its big face.
"With you." Pei Huai took a small suitcase from his suitcase, held it in his hand, looked at Xiang Mingqi and nodded lightly, "I'm very happy too."
"What? What was that just now? So handsome, so gentle, so touching! I am indeed the best person in the world at making Brother Pei Huai happy. Zhuangzhuang, we have finally gotten our due after all the hard work - ah, don't bite me!"
The old house wasn't far away, about a mile or two north of the cornfield. Within sight, you could see sparsely scattered houses. His house was a single-family home, with beige brick walls and a concrete yard. It had been renovated in recent years, adding another floor and a roof covered in black resin tiles.
Xiang Mingqi extended his index finger and knocked on the door. As he approached, he realized it was open. He looked inside and saw a man in a sweatshirt smashing a bottle at the doorway, cursing as he walked out. The drunken man took a few steps before noticing them, puffing on his cigarette and squinting his eyes as he looked over.
"What are you two doing here? We have no money, no money! I asked you to pay us a penny. If you have the guts, take my wife who can't lay eggs with you two."
“This is my home.”
"Your house?" The drunkard took a sip of his drink as if he'd heard some ridiculous joke, his eyes raking him up and down. "Who are you? I rented this place," he said confidently as he stepped forward. "That fat guy rented it to me for eight hundred a month. He said the owner's family got into trouble and it's gone. So he got the benefit. You keep saying this is your house, but which one are you in the black and white photo?"
"Who are you talking about?!" Xiang Mingqi raised his arm to block the senior behind him.
Who knew Pei Huai was the one who didn't hold back? He slapped the drunkard so hard that his head went dizzy. A nosebleed streamed from his mouth, and half his lip was torn open by his teeth. Pei Huai grabbed the man's neck and pushed him to the ground. With a thud, he thrust the blade against the back of his neck.
Press down with your fingers, cutting a shallow line of blood.
"...I'll give you three seconds. Call and get my second uncle over."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com