Brotherly Disrespect

This trip was arranged in a hurry. Xie Wenyu has only booked two rooms at the local high-end hotel, one for his parents and one for him and his brother.

They have been on the road for several hours today. Father and Mother Xie were a little tired and had already fallen asleep next door. Xie Wenyu was still very energetic. He was playing games on the sofa, listening to the sound of water dripping from the bathroom not far away, mixed with the warm air blowing slowly in the room. He was gradually distracted, his attention shifting to his brother who was taking a shower in the bathroom.

A few hours ago, Xie Wenkai asked him to delete An Ran in the car. The moment the words fell, Xie Wenyu was stunned.

Whether it was what his brother had said or his tone, it made Xie Wenyu a little confused. He didn’t know what to say for a long time.

There was a strange silence in the car.

After a while, Xie Wenkai said: “Just kidding.”

Xie Wenyu: “Huh?”

Xie Wenkai: “I’m not yet qualified to interfere with your friendship.”

The word “yet” was pronounced a bit heavily. The confusion in Xie Wenyu’s heart turned into weirdness. He always felt that there seems to be something in his brother’s words, but he couldn’t figure out what his brother was hinting at.

The bathroom door was opened, and with a click, Xie Wenyu came back to his senses. He saw Xie Wenkai stepping out, wiping his hair while walking towards him with hot steam: “Go and wash.”

Xie Wenyu put down his phone, grabbed his clothes and quickly walked into the bathroom.

The moment he passed by his brother, he lowered his head and did not meet Xie Wenkai’s eyes.

Pennsylvania has many mountains, many lakes, many historic sites, and has distinct seasons throughout the year. It is a good place for vacation. Xie Wenyu referred to the guide sent by An Ran, took his parents to see natural sceneries, ate local delicacies, visited villas, castles, churches, museums, and almost all the sights worth visiting.

On the last day in Pennsylvania, in an alley called Elfreth, Xie Wenyu was stopped by his parents. Mother Xie raised her mobile phone and said with a smile that she wanted to take a photo of the two brothers together.

Xie Wenyu looked at his brother.

Xie Wenkai stood on the ancient cobblestone street, with blue sky and white clouds, cool breeze and green trees, with the elegant and restrained buildings standing behind him. Just standing there casually, he looked like a classical painting.

Xie Wenyu: “Mom, why don’t you take a photo of Ge alone first?”

After Xie Wenkai took a solo photo, Xie Wenyu walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with his brother.

Mother Xie: “Come closer, don’t leave any space in between.”

Xie Wenyu then took a step towards his brother.

The moment the photo was about to be taken, Xie Wenkai suddenly raised his hand, put it around Xie Wenyu’s shoulder, and pulled him a little closer.

At this moment, a light sandalwood fragrance drilled into his nostrils.

Xie Wenyu was stunned for a second, then realized that this was the perfume commonly used by his brother.

Xie Wenyu glanced at his brother and saw that he was looking at the camera without changing his expression, so he relaxed, leaned towards his brother, and turned his head slightly towards him, showing a sunny and handsome smile.

This extremely eye-catching scene was permanently frozen in the phone.

Back at the hotel, Mother Xie sent the photos taken today in the family group. Xie Wenyu lay on the bed and clicked on the photos one by one to save.

When he got to his brother’s solo photo, Xie Wenyu sighed: “Ge, you are so handsome.”

Scrolling down, the next photo is the photo of him and his brother. Xie Wenyu admired it for a few seconds and said, “I’m still more handsome.”

Sitting on the sofa, Xie Wenkai glanced at him, the corners of his lips curving slightly.

During dinner time, Father Xie suddenly announced in the family group that the whole family was going to a dinner party tonight.

The reason was that a boss who has a close business relationship with the Xie family is also on vacation in Pennsylvania recently. Father Xie intends to organize a gathering and wants to introduce his two sons to this boss, especially Xie Wenkai. After all, the eldest son will take over the company in the future. It wouldn’t hurt to introduce him to a business partner early on.

Xie Wenkai naturally understood his father’s intentions. That night, he sat next to Father Xie and blocked a lot of wine for him.

This boss is a good drinker. He drank foreign wine mixed with white wine, but his expression didn’t change at all. On the other hand, Xie Wenkai, although he looked the same as usual, his eyes were no longer clear.

The Xie family members were born with no genes for drinking, let alone drinking mixed wines, which is the easiest way to get drunk.

Xie Wenyu didn’t touch any wine tonight. He has been eating quietly, playing the image of a good son. He doesn’t need to join the conversation between adults and doesn’t need to toast like his brother.

During the meal, Xie Wenyu watched his brother skillfully discussing business with the boss. He was a little dazed for a while—it turned out that his brother had already reached the age where he could share the pressure for their father, and he also had the ability to take over the company from their father.

But now Xie Wenyu can’t help the family, he can only do what he can, for example, after dinner, he is responsible for helping his brother who is not sober back to the hotel.

As soon as Xie Wenkai entered the room, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

Xie Wenyu followed his mother’s instructions. He helped his brother take off his coat and shoes and asked the hotel front desk to deliver a cup of warm honey water.

After the water was delivered, Xie Wenyu bought the glass in front of his brother and called out to him.

Xie Wenkai opened his eyes. At first, his eyes were empty and unfocused. After a while, he realized that there was someone standing in front of him, so he slowly raised his eyes.

His eyes gradually focused, and he fixedly looked at Xie Wenyu.

Xie Wenyu passed the glass forward: “Drink water.”

Xie Wenkai didn’t speak, nor did he reach out to take it.

It was rare to be able to discipline his brother once. Xie Wenyu’s attitude became tough: “Drink it quickly.”

Xie Wenkai called him hoarsely: “Xie Wenyu.”

The voice was hoarse as if he hadn’t drunk water for several days. Xie Wenyu’s attitude softened: “Hey, what is it?”

Xie Wenkai: “You feed me.”

Xie Wenyu: “You don’t have hands yourself?”

Xie Wenkai said solemnly: “No.”

Xie Wenyu was amused. He didn’t expect his brother to play tricks when he was drunk. He sat on the side of the bed and put the glass directly into his brother’s hand: “Don’t dawdle, drink it by yourself.”

Xie Wenkai stopped talking, stared at the glass of water with downcast eyes, took it up after a long time, and sipped it at a very slow speed.

Xie Wenyu didn’t wait and took a shower in the bathroom.

Ten minutes after he took a shower, Xie Wenyu stepped out of the bathroom door and saw his brother finish drinking the water, put the empty water glass on the bedside table, lay back on the bed and fell asleep again.

Xie Wenyu walked lightly and went to another bed to sleep.

In the middle of the night, when he was drowsy, Xie Wenyu felt the mattress suddenly sink. There seemed to be an extra person behind him.

He opened his sleepy eyes, and in the next second, a pair of big hands came around from behind and hugged him firmly.

Xie Wenyu was startled and blurted out “fuck”.

The first reaction was that a stranger had broken into the room. He began to call Xie Wenkai’s name loudly. After he called, the arms behind him tightened even more.

His whole body was suddenly surrounded by a familiar scent of sandalwood.

Xie Wenyu’s call stopped abruptly: “…Ge, is that you?”

Xie Wenkai gave a vague “en”.

It turned out that his brother had come to his bed. Xie Wenyu breathed a sigh of relief. Too lazy to argue with the drunk, he closed his eyes and prepared to continue sleeping.

Unexpectedly, Xie Wenkai’s hand moved down, got into the quilt, and tightly hugged Xie Wenyu’s waist.

This was Xie Wenyu’s ticklish spot. He moved, trying to break free from his brother’s embrace.

Xie Wenkai: “Don’t move.”

Xie Wenyu was stunned, then heard his brother continue: “Be good, let me hug you for a while.”

Xie Wenyu looked confused: “Why hug me?”

Xie Wenkai lowered his voice: “…I’ll just hug you once.”

Normally, Xie Wenkai would never speak in such a soft tone. Xie Wenyu felt the temperature of his brother’s palm, and thought of the night when his brother admitted that he was gay. For some reason, his heart sank.

How does one recognize one’s own sexual orientation?

It must be because they have met someone who made their heart beat before realizing that they like men.

That night, Xie Wenyu was 100% sure that his brother had a man he liked, and he even regarded his own brother as the man he liked.

For a while, Xie Wenyu felt a little sad.

This sadness is for his brother. Living under the same roof, Xie Wenyu knows very well that his brother is single and does not have a boyfriend, so it seems that Xie Wenkai is unrequitedly in love with someone.

Xie Wenyu sighed, decided to be a good man to the end, let his brother hold him like a statue, closed his eyes again and fell asleep.

After he let out a long breath, the man behind him opened his eyes.

The room was pitch black, but the man’s eyes were astonishingly bright. He stared at the back of Xie Wenyu’s head without blinking. After watching for a while, he lowered his head and gently touched the fluffy hair with his lips.