The three men went back to the ward together. Shi Jin let Shi Weichong sit on the couch in the corner, poured him a glass of water, then went to the bathroom, leaving Gua Five with him.

After a quick morning toilette, Shi Jin sat opposite his brother, replacing Gua Five. He inquired, still politely, “Would you like to have breakfast together? The food here is quite good.”

Shi Weichong nodded yet again. “Yes, thank you.”

Don’t mention it, Big Brother, you’re oh-so-welcome.

By this time, Shi Jin was certain Shi Weichong had something he wanted to say and would not leave until he did, so he turned to Gua Five and asked him to help him get two breakfasts.

Gua Five nodded. He eyed Shi Weichong, then got up and walked to the door, but instead of going out, he made two phone calls. After hanging up, he didn’t come back but stayed there, apparently waiting for someone to deliver the food.

While Shi Jin and Gua Five conversed, Shi Weichong glanced around the ward. He waited for Gua Five to leave then said to Shi Jin, who very obviously was less than enthusiastic to see him, “Don’t be nervous, I really came just to see how you were doing.”

Shi Jin replied, “Okay.”

“Are you better?” Shi Weichong continued.

“Much better.” Shi Jin responded politely.

“How did you get hurt?”

“A little accident.”

“How were you since that time?”

“Not bad.”

“You lost some weight.”

“You too.”

“……”

“……”

As this dry conversation ground to a standstill, the atmosphere became oppressive and awkward.

Shi Weichong set down the water glass. Abruptly, his tone became solemn: “Xiao Jin, I know I don’t have the position to say this anymore, but I…”

“Breakfast has arrived,” Gua Five interrupted, approaching them with a tray.

Shi Jin breathed a sigh of relief. He helped Gua Five set the table and invited his brother to eat.

Shi Weichong still wanted to speak. However, as his gaze fell upon Shi Jin’s patient pajamas, he temporarily shut up and picked up his chopsticks.

After a similarly stuffy and awkward breakfast, the brothers faced each other again.

Shi Weichong tried to say something again, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the phone in his pocket rang. The ringtone was clearly set to a single person, because his expression became complex the moment he heard it, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

Shi Jin’s interest stirred, and his mind immediately produced all kinds of speculations. This reaction—did Shi Weichong finally fall in love? Is this his girlfriend or boyfriend calling?

Probably noticing his curiosity, as Shi Weichong took out his phone, he explained, “It’s my mother.”

Oh, it’s just his mother.

Shi Jin automatically recalled all information he’d read about Shi Weichong’s mother, Xu Jie, and lost interest. Soon, however, boredom left him—in fact, boredom became the last thing he felt.

“Mom.” Shi Weichong answered the phone. The person on the other end probably inquired about his whereabouts, because he went on to say he wasn’t in the company, no, not at home either, he’s visiting Shi Jin in a hospital on the other side of the ocean.

Shi Jin and Xiao Si instantly noticed that after Shi Weichong said this, Shi Jin’s progress bar rose, albeit only a little.

“Is it really up by 1 point? I didn’t see wrong?” Shi Jin asked for confirmation in his mind.

Xiao Si affirmed,

For a second, Shi Jin’s sharp gaze focused on Shi Weichong’s phone. Then he looked away as if nothing had happened, bowed his head, and began to peel a mandarin orange, at the same time asking Xiao Si to enhance his hearing.

The buff worked quickly. Soon, Shi Jin heard a female alto in the receiver: {What are you talking about? Visiting Shi Jin? Weichong, have you completely ignored everything I have said to you?}

Shi Weichong glanced at Shi Jin, who was “engrossed” in peeling the mandarins, and lowered his voice. “Mom, I know what I’m doing.”

That seemed like the wrong thing to say because Xu Jie’s tone instantly became severe: {Oh, do you? I don’t think so! Shi Jin left, and did it of his own free will, so why are you bothering with him? I heard you want to give a portion of shares to him? Don’t you remember it was because of him that we had to live a lie? Are you going to be as foolish as your father?}

“Mom!” Shi Weichong’s expression became a little ugly. Finding his voice got too loud, he hurriedly suppressed his emotions and said as gently as he could, “Mom, it has nothing to do with Xiao Jin—everything was clearly Dad’s fault. Please don’t say such things again. Don’t worry about the shares, I know what I am doing.”

Xu Jie’s voice grew sharper and shriller, gaining a trace of ferocity: {It has nothing to do with him? Are you really saying this? Because of Shi Jin, your father treated both of us like nothing more than chess pieces. Because of Shi Jin, you ran off to Chengdu on New Year’s Eve, leaving me to spend the whole Spring Festival alone. And now, because you want to give Shi Jin the shares, you gave up your control of Ruixing, completely ignoring the company’s current situation. If you keep getting involved with him, I’m afraid that you will throw your own mother away one day too!}

Shi Weichong, obviously having a headache, tried to placate her: “Mom, please calm down and—”

{Calm down? Keep getting in contact with him, and you’ll know what I’m talking about!} Xu Jie interrupted him then hung up.

Shi Weichong lowered the phone. Looking weary, he pressed a finger to his forehead between his eyebrows.

Shi Jin silently canceled the enhanced hearing buff and took a look at his progress bar, which went up to 500 the moment Xu Jie ended the call. He ate a mandarin orange segment, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth instead of fruity sweetness—this could be called a disaster out of the blue. He never imagined Shi Weichong would be able to make his lethal factors increase just by a visit and one phone conversation with a person on the other side of the ocean. Thank you, Big Brother, your “brotherly love” is really touching.

“Xiao Jin.” Shi Weichong shook off his previous mood and called Shi Jin, who looked absent-minded.

Shi Jin swallowed the mandarin orange, looked up at him, and asked knowingly, “Your mother got mad because you came to see me?”

Shi Weichong shook his head and told a baldfaced lie: “No, she was a bit angry because of something else.”

Shi Jin immediately asked, “Something else?”

Shi Weichong seemed to have no strength to continue talking nonsense. He picked up the briefcase next to his foot, took a document from it, pushed it in front of Shi Jin and said, “This. You divided your Ruixing shares into five parts and passed them to all to us, leaving nothing to yourself. I didn’t stop you then because I had selfish motives, however, now I feel it wasn’t right. After considering the matter, I decided to return to you the part you should’ve taken.”

Shi Jin did not touch the document. “You mean the one-sixth? But what I should’ve got was the whole Ruixing, wasn’t it? Originally, Dad left it all to me.”

Shi Weichong apparently didn’t expect him to say that. For a moment, he was dumbfounded, then looked at him, wrinkling his eyebrows.

“All the shares I gave away should be under your name now,” Shi Jin said in a tone of certainty, watching him calmly.

Shi Weichong saw that his expression was rather cold, and his frown smoothed. He nodded. “Yes… Please don’t be angry, Xiao Jin.”

“I’m not angry, Big Brother. You gave up a lot of profit to get all the shares out of our brothers’ hands,” Shi Jin continued, his tone still confident.

There was nothing to hide. Shi Weichong nodded again. “At the time, Ruixing was in turmoil. To stabilize the situation, they transferred all their shares to me to help me compete with Xu Tianhua.”

“Oh, you’re really close,” Shi Jin said, deliberately indifferent. He pinched the mandarin in his hand, separating it into two parts, and went on, “In other words, right now, you either want to give me a portion of the benefits you’ve gained from other things or you’re you going to return the one-fifth of the shares you got from me in the beginning?”

Shi Weichong was silent. Obviously, Shi Jin guessed right.

“Boring. I don’t need the shares, and I don’t want to get dragged in any trouble because of whatever benefits you plan to give me. Suffering because of it once was enough, I don’t need a second time.” Shi Jin refused without a sliver of hesitation and pushed the document back.

Shi Weichong’s lips tightened. “No, you need it, Xiao Jin. With this stock, you will be free to do whatever you want, instead of staying with Lian Jun and risking your life.”

Shi Jin replied bluntly, “All I want to do is stay with Lian Jun. I don’t mind risking my life for him—I wouldn’t mind even if I died for him. That is what I want.”

Lian Jun, who had rushed back after a phone call from Gua Five, barely opened the door a crack when he heard Shi Jin’s words. His hand trembled, and he lowered it silently, continuing to listen from the corridor.

In the room, Shi Weichong’s brows furrowed. Feeling that Shi Jin’s answer sounded a bit off, he began, “What do you mean by that? You don’t…”

“I like Lian Jun,” Shi Jin interrupted him.

Shi Weichong couldn’t help but sit up straight. “Didn’t you say that what you feel for Lian Jun is simply admiration?”

This question reminded Shi Jin of the embarrassment during the first dinner with Chen Qing. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he let out a cough and replied, “Well, isn’t admiration the first step toward love?”

Shi Weichong’s face darkened. “Then what about Lian Jun? A one-sided love leads to nothing but tragedy!” 

“He also likes me,” Shi Jin answered, wedging in the knife. “We’re already together, and we’re going to marry once I reach the requisite age.” Of course, the latter was nonsense—he only added it to shock his brother.

Outside the door, Lian Jun’s tense body relaxed, and his forehead smoothed out. He looked behind and signaled to Gua Nine, who came back with him, to call Uncle Long.

Gua Nine nodded, turned around, and left.

Shi Weichong was indeed shocked—he never imagined that during the few short months he hadn’t seen him, his barely-adult younger brother not only hooked up with an older man of a dangerous background but even planned to marry him. He took a deep breath to get a hold on his emotions and said through clenched teeth, “I don’t agree—you’re too young. Choosing a life partner is too important a matter to decide on someone haphazardly. You need to slow down and think things through.”

“I already did. Don’t try to stop me from pursuing happiness just because you’re over thirty and still single—I don’t want to become an old bachelor, like you.” Shi Jin twisted the knife.

Pulsating veins popped out on Shi Weichong’s forehead. Suppressing his temper, he said, “Xiao Jin, you’re still thinking like a child.”