Big Brother / Da Ge / The Unknown

Chapter 57

Xiaobao couldn't help but hold her breath, feeling like she was suffocating, before finally exhaling shakily, her ears ringing.

Wei Zhiyuan, hearing her silence, calmly said, "Surprised you, huh? I believe in being open about things. Keeping secrets and walking on thin ice all your life isn't worth it. It's okay if you can't accept it right away."

His attitude was so accepting that Song Xiaobao couldn't help but be drawn into his calm demeanor.

She thought about it and realized that Alex and her got along quite harmoniously. No matter how her second brother changed, he would still be the same person to her, not much different.

Xiaobao's strength lay in her ability to accept things easily. With this realization, she successfully cleared the heavy stone from her heart, feeling lighter. She even kindly expressed concern for Wei Zhiyuan, "That being said, you mustn't be so candid with my brother. Let me tell you, he's just..."

The smile deepened at the corners of Wei Zhiyuan's mouth. "He knows."

Once again, poor Xiaobao was caught off guard by his remark. She coughed violently for a moment before weakly saying, "You have some guts, daring to confess like that. Aren't you afraid of being punished by that tyrant?"

Wei Zhiyuan found Xiaobao's flustered reaction quite amusing. Now that they had reached this point, there was no longer any need to keep things from her. So, he bluntly dropped the final bombshell, "Because the person I like is him."

Xiaobao's phone finally slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a loud "clack." She felt like she needed a quick-fix heart medication.

When Wei Qian finally made it home, dragging his feet, he wondered if he had entered the wrong house.

Both he and Xiaobao were often out, so they made a habit of closing all the doors and windows. Every time he pushed the door open, he felt a stifling sensation in the stagnant air, which took a while to dissipate.

At night, besides the oppressive stillness, the house was filled with eerie silence.

Wei Qian always entered with a weariness, turned on the lights, opened the windows, and even turned on the TV, just to have some noise in the house, even if it was just commercials. Then he would slump onto the couch, exhausted, and call the cleaning service.

Sometimes Wei Qian even thought about getting a pet—despite his previous disdain for shedding animals, Xiaobao's repeated requests to get a dog when she was younger were always rejected. Now, he felt that having a cat, dog, or even a mouse would at least provide some living presence in the house, something to vent to when he returned home. Even if it was just talking to a cat or dog when he entered the house, it wouldn't seem so silly.

Unfortunately, it never happened. With no one home every day, not to mention needing to care for a pet, even the electronic pets died.

Over time, "coming home" became something he didn't look forward to at all.

But this time, when he pushed the door open, the first thing he noticed was a faint smell of laundry detergent lingering in the air. Stepping onto the balcony, he saw bedsheets, pillowcases, and a few pieces of clothing hanging there, fluttering in the wind.

Then, a tantalizing aroma of slow-cooked meat wafted through the air, emanating from a small pot in the kitchen that hadn't been used in ages. Wei Qian cautiously approached, wiping his hands on a towel, and carefully lifted the lid of the pot. The fragrance that billowed out nearly knocked him over.

Instantly, he thought, "Who cares about health? Eating meat is the way to go." He no longer wanted to touch soy sauce soup with bland boiled vegetables.