For once, the on-call nurse hadn't called Chu Qiubai for help that night. 

Yet, Director Chu still couldn't manage a full night's sleep—he was jolted awake by a nightmare. 

This unsettled him far more than a sudden midnight emergency call. 

Fortunately, it was the same monotonous, familiar dream. A recurring nightmare he’d had for over a decade. It was so familiar that he barely needed time to process it, quickly recovering from the lingering panic. 

Groping for the phone on his nightstand to check the time, he saw it was just past 3:00 AM. 

Severely sleep-deprived, Chu Qiubai put the phone down and drifted back into a groggy slumber. 

Catching these few extra hours of sleep felt surprisingly much more restful than he expected. Had it not been for a call from a young nurse in his department, he likely would have slept right through his alarm and been late. 

This rare occurrence of getting more than six hours of sleep led Chu Qiubai to believe that today would be a pretty good day. 

But his premonition failed him. During the very first surgery of the day, his first assistant seemed to have left his soul elsewhere. Exposing the surgical field, retracting tissues, securing target positions—not a single task was done to standard. 

Chu Qiubai gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and efficiently excised the lesion in total silence. 

Operating rooms where he was the chief surgeon were rarely this quiet. The second assistant beside them clearly sensed the grim atmosphere, diligently keeping his head down and holding the retractors, not even daring to breathe too loudly. 

Fortunately, the rest of the procedure went relatively smoothly. It wasn't until the patient's abdomen was closed and the skin sutured that Chu Qiubai, who had maintained a freezing demeanor throughout, threw down his hemostatic forceps and cursed, "You dare step into an operating room leaving your fucking mind behind?!" 

The first assistant, who had made several perilous mistakes, flushed beet red. Knowing he was entirely in the wrong, he didn't dare make a sound, let alone talk back to the young director's fury. He simply lowered his head in silence and took the scolding.

He had just returned to his office and sat down when Vice Director Guo Junping pushed the door open and walked in. 

Without even looking up, Chu Qiubai continued with his own work, completely ignoring Director Guo who had come to plead for leniency. The first assistant who had repeatedly zoned out during the surgery just now was Guo’s relative. 

Guo Junping stood awkwardly in front of the desk of the hospital's youngest surgical director for a while. Seeing that Chu Qiubai still had no intention of acknowledging him, he finally couldn't help but clear his throat. "Director Chu, are you busy?" 

"Not busy, but not exactly free either," Chu Qiubai replied, still not looking up. "Director Guo, if you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to stand there like you're being punished in my office. It's annoying." 

Guo Junping choked on his words. A hundred different ways to plead for mercy swirled in his mind, only to be swallowed back down. 

Chu Qiubai was outspoken and had a notoriously short temper. But his professional skills were impeccable, and his family background was prominent. Despite his young age, he was universally recognized in the medical circles of Jianghu City as the "Number One Scalpel." 

The infectious disease department of Youmin Hospital, where Guo Junping worked, was famous nationwide, but surgery was not their strong suit—it was even considered quite weak. 

Therefore, the fact that Chu Qiubai was willing to travel all the way from a top-tier hospital in Jianghu to Jing City's Youmin Hospital for a one-year exchange program was a blessing the hospital's management wouldn't have even dared to dream of. 

The Chu family held an extraordinary status in Jianghu. The Yuannan Group, currently helmed by Chu Qiubai's younger cousin Chu Jianglai, originated from Yuannan Pharmaceuticals. With a long-standing history, Yuannan Pharmaceuticals was the undisputed oligarch and titan of the domestic pharmaceutical industry. 

Although Chu Qiubai's branch of the family wasn't the main lineage, his father, Chu Zhentian, had quite a knack for business. Backed by Yuannan, the scale of their business was not to be underestimated either. 

Chu Qiubai lacked no money and cared little for status; he devoted his heart and soul entirely to his profession. The fame and fortune that others chased weren't exactly dirt to him, but they weren't far off. 

Rumor had it that in his early years, a colleague who wanted to curry favor with the Chu family tried to flatter Chu Qiubai by calling him the "Emperor of Surgery." This sycophantic praise was immediately met with Chu Qiubai’s disgust: "The Emperor of Surgery? Even though medical students are science majors, there's no need to come up with such an uncultured title, is there?" 

He disliked engaging in pointless socializing, but he wasn't ignorant of the ways of the world. Knowing perfectly well what these exaggerated compliments were aiming for, he stated his position bluntly: "We are all just ordinary doctors. There's really no need to pin these grand titles on me. Save the lip service to coax your wives and kids at home. I prefer associating with people who have solid professional skills. If we all perfect our techniques and properly treat patients, that beats anything else." 

Unbothered by money and indifferent to hollow fame, Director Chu was direct and possessed an aloof personality, but his private relationships with colleagues weren't bad at all. Everyone understood that he was simply a genuinely good, hard-to-find doctor.

Guo Junping knew Chu Qiubai didn't lose his temper without cause. Song Ru'en, in the first assistant position, had clearly been out of it—something everyone in the operating room had witnessed. Chu Qiubai was not wrong to scold him. But for the sake of departmental harmony, Guo Junping, as the Vice Director, had to step up as the peacemaker. 

"Is Director Chu still angry?" 

"The first assistant you handpicked managed to successfully complete the surgery without even bringing his soul along, allowing the patient to come out of the OR safely. What do I have to be angry about?" 

Hearing this, Guo Junping thought to himself: Wow, he's actually furious.

"Song Ru'en definitely crossed the line this time, but Director Chu, please don't stoop to his level. You know about his family situation. Just let it slide this once and be a bit more forgiving." 

Not long ago, Song Ru'en's wife had abandoned him and their ten-year-old daughter to run off with another man. This was no secret at Youmin Hospital. 

Surgeons endured high-intensity work, immense psychological pressure, and constant overtime. The number of days they could spend with their wives and children all year round could be counted on one hand. It wasn't uncommon for marital issues to arise, but for a wife to just elope with someone else like Song Ru'en's did was quite rare, making it a well-known piece of local gossip. 

"Who doesn't have a few messy issues at home? If he hasn't adjusted his mindset, he should take a leave of absence and stay home, not come here and endanger patients." 

Chu Qiubai's words made sense, but they were inevitably a bit ruthless. 

Guo Junping shook his head. "You're just about to get married, still in your honeymoon phase. Naturally, you don't understand Old Song's difficulties. Besides, you know how short-staffed our department is. How could he just take leave whenever he wants?" 

Chu Qiubai finally looked up and asked, "Are the young girls in our hospital's HR department professionals at human resources, or professionals at gossiping?" 

He had only just submitted his leave request for his wedding, and now even Guo Junping knew he was getting married? 

"Preparing for a wedding is a great thing, why hide it? Besides, your leave request would have landed on my desk sooner or later anyway. What difference does it make if I know now or later?" 

"I'm not preparing for a wedding..." Chu Qiubai lowered his head and went back to reviewing his medical records. "We're already legally registered. I'm just going back to hold a belated ceremony." 

"Oh! Then a huge congratulations is in order!" 

"No need for congratulations, just approve the leave." 

Meeting a soft rebuttal, Guo Junping wasn't annoyed. He smiled and chatted with him for a few more minutes, indirectly continuing to plead for Song Ru'en. 

"I heard from Old Pan that Song Ru'en is extremely remorseful. He even slapped himself a few times in the locker room." 

Hearing this, Chu Qiubai's attitude gradually softened. "Alright. It's not like I'm an unreasonable person. Would I really refuse to partner with him for a surgery again?" Keeping his head down, he marked clinical indicators in the file that required special attention while shooing Guo Junping away. "Do you have anything else? If not, go do your actual work and give me a moment of peace. You're so loud."

There had been only that one elective surgery scheduled for the entire morning. He didn't have outpatient clinic duties or meetings to attend. But Chu Qiubai didn't intend to stay idle. He opened a copy of the Sanghata Sutra on his desk and began to copy it by hand. 

Copying sutras was a habit he had cultivated over many years. From the Heart Sutra and the Universal Gateway Chapter to the Diamond Sutra, over the years, he had copied various scriptures no less than a hundred times. 

Chu Qiubai had been plagued by nightmares for years, only seeing improvement around the age of twenty-six or twenty-seven. But recently, the nightmare that had tormented him for so long had suddenly made a comeback, with a faint tendency of becoming even worse. 

Every word of the scripture was a gem, every sentence transparent and enlightening. Chu Qiubai kept his head down, but when he reached the line, "Exhaust all evils to attain Srotapanna, then practice charity to distance oneself from all suffering," his pen suddenly paused. 

Guo Junping hadn't been gone for long when someone pushed the door open and walked in again. 

Thinking Guo had forgotten something and returned, Chu Qiubai frowned and looked up, saying, "Director Guo, do you still have some—" His voice cut off abruptly. His pupils dilated slightly in shock. A storm of chaotic thoughts churned wildly in his mind, yet his face displayed an extreme, icy indifference: "Why is it you?" 

If he remembered correctly, the travel-worn young man standing before him was supposed to be in New York. 

It had been a while since they last contacted each other; their last phone call was two months ago. 

At that time, Chu Qiubai had just been transferred to Jing City. The surgical department at Youmin Hospital had a massive talent shortage—they notoriously treated women like men, and men like beasts of burden. As a new hire, Chu Qiubai barely went home for days, rushed off his feet. 

When he received the call from Chu Jianglai's assistant, he had just finished a minor surgery. 

During the procedure, the assistant had sent several messages urging him to come and collect his personal belongings left at Chu Jianglai's apartment in Jianghu. 

In fact, similar calls and texts hadn't stopped all morning. 

Chu Qiubai's smooth brow furrowed slightly. Just as he opened the chat log, his phone buzzed again. 

Unsurprisingly, the caller was still Chu Jianglai's trusted aide. This was the ninth call in two hours. 

Chu Qiubai felt an indescribable trace of pity for the man. What kind of pressure must an employer put on someone to drive them to frantically call over and over, repeating the exact same thing like a madman? 

Not wanting to drag this out any further, Chu Qiubai answered the phone and stated bluntly, "Please tell Chu Jianglai not to call me again." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sour from exhaustion, and added, "I don't want those things anymore. He can do whatever he wants with them." 

The person on the other end was visibly stunned. Then, a rustling sound came through the receiver. The phone had clearly been passed to someone else. Soon after, Chu Jianglai's voice traveled across the airwaves: "You don't want any of it? What about the paintings you bought at auction? And the things Dad loved, you don't want those either? You used to treasure them so much. How can you just abandon them?" 

Perhaps it was a bad signal, but the voice on the other end sounded slightly distorted. Even so, the familiar timbre made the sharp ache in Chu Qiubai's heart vividly clear. He suddenly felt a sense of dissociation, unable to distinguish between dream and reality. His lips, hidden beneath his surgical mask, pressed tighter together. The flat line of his mouth was as cold and hard as his resolve: "I used to treasure you more." 

The implication was clear: I'm abandoning all of it, including you.

The breathing on the other end of the line instantly grew ragged. 

Chu Qiubai knew full well that this might just be another layer of "deeply affectionate" acting, but his heart couldn't help but palpitate violently in rhythm with the other man's ragged breaths. 

"What do you mean? You don't want the paintings, you don't want to come home, you don't want the company, and now you don't even want me?" The fiercely emotional, aggrieved interrogation hit him like a heavy blow to the chest. Even though the act was absolutely flawless, Chu Qiubai felt like an audience member who had stayed up all night reading spoilers—it tasted like ash in his mouth, leaving him utterly exhausted. 

He didn't know how to answer, so he remained silent. 

Seeing that he wasn't going to reply, the young man on the phone let out a deep breath: "Alright, I won't rush you anymore. You can come home whenever you want, but you have to tell me before you come, okay? You've been in Jing City for so long and didn't take anything with you; you have to come back home eventually, right? Don't be mad at me, or at least let me know what I actually did wrong. Brother Qiubai, you have no idea. New York is so boring, work is so exhausting. I'm so tired, and I miss you so much..." 

Chu Qiubai knew, of course, that urging him to take away the items he once treasured was nothing more than an excuse Chu Jianglai fabricated just to contact him. But the other party's sudden softening still left him at a loss for what to do. 

According to the Chu family's official narrative, Chu Jianglai was not of Chu blood. He was merely a child sponsored and fostered by the Chu elders out of charity. He and Chu Qiubai weren't even on the same household register. 

Despite this, the relationship between the two had always been profoundly close. 

They weren't blood brothers, but they were closer than most. 

Yet, recently, the brothers—who appeared perfectly harmonious to outsiders—suddenly fell into a cold war. Chu Qiubai, who rarely ever bothered to relocate, took advantage of Chu Jianglai being on a business trip abroad to abruptly leave Jianghu and hastily transfer to Jing City, thousands of miles away. 

Until he was fully settled in Jing City, Chu Jianglai, who was far away in America, knew absolutely nothing about it. 

Before leaving, Chu Qiubai hadn't seen Chu Jianglai for a whole week. 

Chu Jianglai, who was too busy with work to return home, constantly yielded and apologized for this: "I'm sorry, Brother Qiubai. Are you upset that I haven't been coming home much lately? I really am sorry. I want to come home every single day, but there are just too many things to do. I can never finish them. I'm not doing it on purpose; please don't be mad at me." 

Chu Qiubai only listened to one of those max-length voice messages. He converted the rest into text. The general meaning was always the same—expressing apologies and how much he missed him. 

He didn't dare listen to them, terrified that his heart would soften. 

What a pitiful younger brother, one might think. Working so hard, only to be nitpicked by his unambitious older brother and forced into an inexplicable cold war. 

Chu Jianglai naturally noticed Chu Qiubai's uncharacteristic distance. But he was busy sniping company stock prices, massively buying up shares that were being panic-sold in an attempt to secure absolute control of the board. 

Chu Qiubai hadn't been answering his calls for days and rarely replied to texts. Other than finding a moment to send a few voice notes, Chu Jianglai was truly stretched too thin to do anything else about this cold war. 

A few years ago, when their father Chu Zhentian passed away suddenly, the Chu family faced an unprecedented crisis. 

At that time, Chu Jianglai, barely an adult, took on a massive portion of the pressure, juggling his studies with running the business. 

Over the years, Chu Qiubai had forsaken business for medicine, and the power of the Chu family gradually concentrated entirely into Chu Jianglai's hands. Yet, he never showed the slightest disrespect toward his older brother, always acting like a loyal dog who only listened to him. 

During those days, in an effort to pacify his inexplicably hostile older brother, Chu Jianglai—despite being completely swamped—even took a long detour just to drop by the house before his flight to America. 

Pressed for time, he didn't even make it past the entryway. Standing at the door, he urgently told Chu Qiubai, "Brother Qiubai, I have an emergency business trip. I might not be able to come home for a while. Please don't be angry with me. Wait for me to come back!" 

Before this, Chu Qiubai hadn't spoken a word to him for three whole days. 

Facing the rushed but desperately sincere Chu Jianglai, Chu Qiubai nodded and said the only words he’d spoken to him that entire week: "Have a safe trip." 

But he didn't wait for him. 

The moment Chu Jianglai left, Chu Qiubai boarded a flight to Jing City. He was in such a rush that aside from a glass desk lamp, he didn't even pack a single piece of luggage. 

To outsiders, the Chu family was currently at a sensitive juncture of officially handing over actual controlling power. 

Walking away right in the middle of this storm immediately triggered wild speculations about the brothers' relationship. Some said Chu Qiubai possessed high moral character and voluntarily distanced himself from the center of power to avoid internal family strife. Others claimed Chu Jianglai used iron-fisted tactics to force the legitimate heir out of Jianghu, making him forfeit the war for control. Still, others rumored that Chu Qiubai's sudden departure to Jing City was a move to gather reinforcements... 

In reality, all those guesses were wrong. 

The power of the Chu family had been firmly established long ago, the moment Chu Qiubai chose to study medicine and plunge headfirst into the world of a surgeon. 

Chu Jianglai never had to fight for it. In fact, if anyone dared to harm Chu Jianglai's interests, Chu Qiubai, as the older brother, would be the first to object. 

But his relocation from Jianghu was indeed to hide. Not to hide from a power struggle, but purely to hide from Chu Jianglai. 

However, Chu Qiubai himself knew that this was completely unnecessary. 

During this period, in order to firmly secure control over a new drug development project, Chu Jianglai was bound to be incredibly busy. He wouldn't have the time to return to China at all. 

But Chu Qiubai couldn't bear to stay in Jianghu any longer. He couldn't even step foot inside the house he and Chu Jianglai had shared for so many years—not even one step. 

He thought he could be resolute, decisive. That he could be exactly what everyone thought he was: a rational, emotionally detached, professionally superior man. But he realized he couldn't. Facing Chu Jianglai, initiating a one-sided cold war was the absolute limit of his capabilities. 

In truth, Chu Jianglai only had to sigh softly over the phone, and Chu Qiubai's throat would instantly tighten. 

His heart felt as if it had been pierced by the tip of a needle. It was only a tiny wound, but inside, everything was rotten. The slightest touch would send countless streams of hot blood gushing out. 

"Brother Qiubai, don't be mad at me anymore, okay? Let's make up, I'm begging you. I want to go home so badly, to see you so badly. What about you? Do you miss me?" 

"I don't. Chu Jianglai, I don't want any of those things anymore. Stop calling me." 

Chu Jianglai froze. Before he could speak, Chu Qiubai had decisively hung up the phone. 

It wasn't that he was incapable of being ruthless; he just needed a little more time. Fortunately, over the following months, Chu Jianglai hadn't harassed him again.

At this moment, Chu Qiubai stared at the uninvited guest who was supposed to be far away in New York. The man smoothly closed the door and locked it. Unable to control himself, the tip of Chu Qiubai's pen trembled slightly, but he tried his utmost to maintain his composure and asked, "What are you doing here?" 

As if hurt by his distant tone and utterly unapproachable attitude, the exceptionally handsome young man gave an innocent pout. "I came to find you, Brother Qiubai. I missed you so much." 

Chu Jianglai had a gorgeous pair of eyes. The shape was smooth, the irises striking black and white. When he looked at someone, he carried an inexplicable, sharp presence. However, the outer corners of his eyes drooped slightly, acting like the scabbard of a sharp sword, restraining his piercing gaze within soft curves to create an innocent, deeply affectionate look. 

His fingers turning white from gripping too hard, the ink from Chu Qiubai's pen left a jarring blot on the sutra paper. Chu Qiubai pulled a few medical records over to quickly cover the scripture. With a cold expression, he said, "Chu Jianglai, I thought I had made myself very clear." 

"But I don't understand." 

Chu Jianglai leaned his hands against the desk, bending down to look him straight in the eye. "What exactly did I do wrong? Tell me, and I will definitely fix it." His righteously aggrieved attitude concealed an unparalleled, precious childishness. Even more miraculously, at this moment, despite Chu Jianglai maintaining a towering, dominant posture, he still gave off the illusion of a loyal dog gazing gently at its owner. 

Sitting in his office chair, Chu Qiubai turned his head to avoid his gaze. 

He didn't speak. He couldn't. 

When it came to what exactly Chu Jianglai had done wrong, he didn't even know where to begin. 

"You're mad that I took over the North American business behind your back, aren't you? I apologize. I'm sorry, I should have discussed it with you!" 

Chu Qiubai knew very well that Chu Jianglai excelled at playing politics, excelled at lying, excelled at apologizing, and excelled at calculating every step. But what he excelled at most was making Chu Qiubai's heart soften. 

Evading the crux of the matter, the young man with a clear, resonant voice managed to pin the blame of a power struggle directly onto Chu Qiubai's head with just a few sentences. Meanwhile, he innocently widened his eyes, a pitiful glimmer of tears pooling beneath his thin eyelids—as if the person who had woven an earth-shattering lie and aggressively forced Chu Qiubai to pack his bags and flee Jianghu was someone else entirely. 

In fact, after learning the truth, Chu Qiubai had briefly suspected that his younger brother might have a split personality. 

You know, like it often happens in novels and movies? Two polar opposite personalities living in the protagonist's body, one kind and one vicious. The kind one is forever kept in the dark by the other. 

Unfortunately, Chu Jianglai was perfectly sane. His schemes over the years were intricate and practically flawless. 

His meticulous calculations made it impossible for Chu Qiubai to even invent an excusable lie for him. 

Although Chu Qiubai was five years older than Chu Jianglai, strictly speaking, he hadn't watched the other grow up from birth. They weren't on the same household register and held different passports. 

The first time Chu Qiubai saw Chu Jianglai in person, Chu Jianglai was already seven years old. 

According to their parents' unified story, Chu Jianglai was born during the strict implementation of the One-Child Policy. To avoid the severe repercussions of negative public opinion, Chu Jianglai's biological mother chose to give birth to him in America. 

"His mother is my best friend. Something happened in her family, and she couldn't raise the child anymore. So your dad and I decided to sponsor him. You remember that auntie, right? She held you when you were a baby." 

Chu Qiubai had no recollection of his mother's best friend, but when he was suddenly informed that he had a younger brother, he didn't feel any aversion to it. 

Though his daily conduct was very straightforward, Chu Qiubai belonged to the type who was poor at expressing his emotions. Over time, he became used to being misunderstood as a cold person. Yet, his blatant favoritism toward Chu Jianglai was something everyone knew. 

One of the reasons was naturally that Chu Jianglai had been incredibly endearing since childhood, especially toward Chu Qiubai. 

More accurately, back then, Chu Jianglai was like an energetic puppy, constantly and joyfully revolving around Chu Qiubai as his absolute center. 

Even though, upon their first meeting, Chu Qiubai had been surprised that such a young child could possess eyes that seemed to see completely through the ways of the world. However, he quickly convinced himself that he had misunderstood. 

Chu Qiubai had never seen a child so innocent, adorable, and good at acting spoiled. It only took him a few days to entirely accept this sponsored younger brother who had returned from overseas. 

But looking back now, perhaps Chu Qiubai's first impression had been correct all along. Those dark, heavy eyes had already begun to show the nascent form of the decisive, manipulative strategist he would become. 

For a very long time, Chu Jianglai acted like a loyal hound who loved nothing more than circling around Brother Qiubai. His talent for business only gradually revealed itself a few years ago, after Chu Zhentian passed away in a car accident. 

After Chu Zhentian's death, Han Ruiqin, as a woman alone, struggled immensely to hold the company together. As the sole legitimate heir, Chu Qiubai was utterly devoted to frontline clinical work and had no intention of taking over the family business. Yet, the massive, complex affairs needed someone to shoulder them. 

Thus, amidst universal skepticism, nineteen-year-old Chu Jianglai was appointed in a time of crisis. Instead of letting the headless company fall into ruin, he achieved remarkable results in a short period of time, silencing the "rebels" in upper management. Anyone who saw it couldn't help but praise that the Chu family had a worthy successor. 

And it was this exact Chu Jianglai—a man of indispensable merit—who was now suddenly apologizing inexplicably for being too busy with work. It left Chu Qiubai caught between tears and laughter. 

Looking wronged, Chu Jianglai still seemed to miss the point, continuing his earnest apologies: "Please don't be angry with me anymore, Brother Qiubai. If you want, I can hand my current position over to you right now. A few days ago, Mother Chu was discussing shares with me, and I told her I don't want anything. I'll give it all to you—" 

"Enough!" 

He had leaned in too close. His warm breath intentionally or unintentionally brushed against Qiubai's neck. Out of pure reflex, Chu Qiubai felt his body go weak, forcing him to put up an even sterner front of rejection. "Stop talking." 

The young man who had risen to prominence in the business world, garnering endless praise, immediately shut his mouth at the reprimand. Like a dejected puppy, he tucked his tail between his legs, lowered his head, and said, "Brother Qiubai, I'm sorry." 

Sure enough, dealing with Chu Qiubai didn't require grand citations or earth-shattering arguments. A single "Brother Qiubai, I'm sorry," was enough to utterly defeat him. 

Chu Qiubai forced himself to evade the young man's arms that were reaching out to hug him, saying, "There are so many matters with the company. Dad is gone, and someone has to help Mom shoulder the burden. I've said it many times: I have no interest in business. How you want to take over, or when you want to take over, I have no objections. I don't need the shares under your name, nor the seat on the board of directors." 

"Then why are you..." Chu Jianglai's eyes surged with a painful emotion that made Chu Qiubai's heart tremble. "Why are you mad at me?" 

Chu Qiubai suppressed the urge to slap him across the face just to make him stop acting. He shook his head in denial. "I'm not mad." 

Chu Jianglai stared at him, as if trying to decipher whether he was telling the truth. After a brief standoff, the handsome young man let out a bitter laugh. "Not mad? Then why did you suddenly abandon me to come to Jing City? And why are you suddenly marrying someone else? Brother Qiubai, I can give you anything you want, just please don't ignore me..." 

"I don't need anything." 

"Then what about me?" 

"What about you?" 

"If you never prepared to stay with me for the rest of your life, then why did you provoke me in the first place?" 

Chu Jianglai's eyes were bloodshot, his nostrils flaring rapidly. His agony looked incredibly genuine. 

For a brief second, Chu Qiubai deliriously thought that he himself was the scum who loved and left. 

But he wasn't. 

Not wanting to engage in a meaningless debate any longer, he wearily turned his face away, avoiding the burning gaze coming at him. "Jianglai, three months ago when I first left Jianghu, I made things very clear. We will always be the best of brothers, taking care of Mom together." 

"Who wants to be your best brother!" 

Chu Jianglai flew into a rare, explosive rage. He seemed genuinely panicked. "Chu Qiubai! What exactly are you unsatisfied with? Spit it out! I'll change!" 

"Nothing. I'm not unsatisfied with anything." Chu Qiubai lowered his eyes against his will, telling him calmly, "Chu Jianglai, you are great, but we are done." 

Chu Jianglai froze. "What do you mean 'done'? Are you breaking up with me?" 

The endless confrontation made Chu Qiubai feel exhausted. Even though he had actually gotten some rare, high-quality sleep last night, he still couldn't avoid feeling tired. He thought to himself: I must be one of the rare older brothers in the world who has to discuss "breaking up" with the younger brother he grew up with.

"I don't agree to it!" 

Falling in love requires the consent of two people, but breaking up only requires the consent of one. 

"It's not a break-up. Jianglai, you will always be my most important younger brother." A wave of sorrow surged in his chest, but Chu Qiubai pretended everything was fine. Faking it enough times eventually brought a fleeting, weightless sense of relief. 

But Chu Jianglai seemed severely provoked by his lukewarm attitude. He suddenly lunged forward, pressing him into the office chair. Gripping his wrists forcefully, he demanded, "Why are you treating me like this?! What did I do wrong? Am I the last person in the whole fucking world to know you're getting married?!" 

Then why did you treat me the way you did? Chu Qiubai questioned in his heart. 

He was pinned down tightly, his wrists aching from the grip. 

The aggressively looming Chu Jianglai's gaze darkened for a split second, but his tone suddenly turned soft and clingy. "Brother Qiubai, don't throw me away. You said I was your favorite. I'd rather die than be separated from you." His long, slightly curled eyelashes trembled childishly. His puppy-dog eyes were heartbreakingly desperate. 

At this moment, it had been barely an hour since Chu Jianglai got off the plane. He had flown direct from New York to Jing City. During the twelve or thirteen hours on the flight, he hadn't closed his eyes for a single second. 

The moment he saw Chu Qiubai, all his anxiety and violent hostility melted into a bizarre sense of stability, mingled with an even deeper restlessness. 

Chu Qiubai looked up at him. What a beautiful face! Even the bloodshot veins in his eyes, brought on by the exhausting journey, acted as outstanding accomplices, making him appear so incredibly sincere and desperate. 

Clearly, he was the one forcefully pinning someone down, yet he acted as if he were innocent, haggard, and fragile. 

"Don't get married, okay? I'm begging you." 

In the past, Chu Qiubai would have fallen right into this trap of innocence. 

Determined not to repeat the same mistakes, his face went ice-cold. He stated stiffly, "It seems Mom hasn't told you yet. Legally speaking, I am already married. We registered last week. Next week's ceremony is just going through the motions." 

For a brief second, the hairs on Chu Qiubai's arms stood up instinctively. He genuinely suspected Chu Jianglai might strangle him to death. 

But Chu Jianglai didn't. The dangerously cold, viper-like gaze was replaced by agonizing devastation in just a second. He let go of his wrists, letting out the kind of whimper a small animal makes when abandoned. Like a large dog cruelly discarded by its owner, he was so heartbroken he didn't know what to do, only able to lightly hunch his shoulders to express his grief. 

"I really don't understand," Chu Jianglai choked out. "But it must be my fault. I ruined everything. And the worst part is... I don't even know what I did wrong." 

If he hadn't gone into business, Chu Jianglai would have been perfectly suited for acting. He possessed stunning looks and superb acting skills; countless audiences would surely go mad for him. 

But Chu Qiubai knew far too much. He no longer wanted to be in the audience. 

"Don't cry..." 

"What about you? Can you not abandon me either? Your dad is gone, your mom doesn't like me at all. I only have you." 

In a daze, Chu Jianglai buried his face into the crook of his neck, his voice weak and low. "Brother Qiubai, I only have you..." 

He looked so harmless, so pitiful. But as Chu Qiubai stared at his soft, fluffy hair, all that filled his mind was the sight of Jianglai’s back in New York with his arm around various women—and that old disc placed on the top shelf of the audio-visual room.