Chapter 44 You Suck

Li Tian was genuinely happy.

He was a little skeptical at first, especially with Jia Lin being so sketchy, but he had to give it to the man.

Getting Rai out of his shell was a great idea. Although it was implied the idea was supposed to be beneficial for himself, Li Tian definitely felt this would help his little brother get out of his shell instead. He wanted the boy to be happier and free.

He could force it if he wanted to, but the kid had been forced enough in his short life. Persuasion or trickery might be better...

At least Rai would feel like he was making his own decisions.

Meilin had said they wouldn't publish Rai's pictures, but he would still get a private copy.

It was the perfect opportunity to get as many good pictures of him and Rai as possible!

No need to care about the paparazzi here.

Li Tian had proceeded to try the best he'd ever had in a photoshoot. He searched for the right angles, the positions that would expose his wardrobe the most, and the way to make it more fun for his greenhorn little brother. Since the boy was supposed to be his apprentice, he had to properly act the part of a good teacher.

He wanted to show off Rai to the world if possible.

He realized the moment he extended a hand to the boy onto the superbike, the other party's face had lit up with a shred of happiness. It was the happiness he was explicitly trying to cultivate.

Li Tian wanted to further bring out more honest expressions from him as much as he could during the shooting process. The more the singer did his best, and the more Rai started enjoying himself, the more he felt a sense of satisfaction.

Eventually, expressions he had never even made out in public began to emerge on his face. It didn't matter though, because they were made for Rai.

Slowly the boy also became more lively and enthusiastic with his 'job', quickly learning the ropes on the know-how of being a model.

Yi Huanxing didn't hold back either and would come up to the two of them concerning the photos and even said a few rare words of praise from time to time. It was clear that even he felt the shots he had gotten were of superb quality.

There was a nice feel to them that was hard to describe with words.

Most of them were portrayed with happiness but there were also a few they managed to imbue with a more dark or adult feel. They were sure to be more popular amongst the female audience.

However, as Yi Huanxing was looking through the photos, he still felt something was missing.

"Mr. Li Tian, Mr. Leixue," he went up to them again.

Because of the good impression Li Tian had of the photographer, as well as the great photos he had put out, the singer took the time to pay attention to him. "What is it?"

"I want to take a picture of the two of you angry," the man stated very straightforwardly without beating around the bush at all.

"Angry?" both the Li heir and Zhou heir cocked their heads to the side.

"Yes. I want an emotion of seething anger to pull through. I want to encompass this emotion into a few photos fitting of the image of the clothes you are wearing," Yi Huanxing said it like it was an obvious fact.

"I have no problems. An angry glare isn't hard to pull off," although Li Tian was rarely asked to look angry in a picture, it was a simple thing. The issue was his little brother. Had the kid ever even expressed his anger before? "What about you Leixue? Are you okay with it?"

Rai was quiet for a bit before answering unsurely, "I can try but I don't know if I can pull it off right. You will teach me, right?"

Li Tian answered him with a big smile and a thumbs-up, "No problem!"

Snap.

The sound of the camera went off again. Yi Huanxing never let an opportunity go to waste and by now the two of them were used to it.

"I will give the two of you some time to prepare yourselves. Just start whenever you are ready," the photographer casually mentioned before scooting off a bit further with his camera ready.

Li Tian glanced at the man shuffling off with an eyebrow raised, before kneeling down to speak on Rai's level. "Have you ever been angry before, Leixue?"

The singer asked it in such a gentle tone, anyone with the opportunity to hear it would be surprised that he had it in him. Rai also noticed it of course, but as they were both currently being watched and had a job to do, he remained unfazed on the surface.

"I've felt angry before, definitely," he nodded his head without question.

"Have you ever expressed your anger to the person in question?"

"I..." Rai paused for a moment. Feeling angry was a normal emotion to feel, but the young man in front of him went and jumped the gun further. The more he thought about it, the less he felt sure. "I don't think so..."

"I thought as much. You're too kind, Leixue," Li Tian moved to put his hand on Rai's head as if to rub it, but then immediately remembered he wasn't supposed to and stopped himself.

𝘔𝘦? 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥?

The boy felt skeptical but didn't question it. His work teacher was about to teach him something and he was already spot on with him never getting angry.

"Getting angry or showing anger, like any other emotion is all about expressing it with your eyes. But anger, specifically, can only be expressed properly with the eyes. You don't need to frown for people to understand. Even an angry 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 isn't considered strange," the singer explained with detail. He suddenly grinned and put his hand close beside his mouth to whisper, "I should know best because I love expressing anger to people even when I'm not actually that angry."

Rai looked at him in surprise at the confession.

"Shhhh... Don't tell anyone," Li Tian put a finger against his lips. "It's a secret."

The young man was being playful about it but it still made the boy curious. "Why?"

"Well, firstly," Li Tian scratched his chin, "it keeps people at a distance. I don't like how people are always so fast to get close to me, so acting angry will make them be wary of trying to be friends. Odds are they always have a hidden agenda anyway. Another reason would be because it keeps people on their toes. They stay aware of my presence and don't slack off."

"Oh..." realization hit Rai. It absolutely made sense. Suddenly, some of the rumors circling around the young star were also explaining themselves. The older brother wasn't as stupid as the media made him out to be.

The proud grin on his face did make him look a little silly though.

"It does get me into some trouble from time to time but it doesn't really matter," the singer finished off.

𝘏𝘦𝘩. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘪𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, Rai smiled to himself. He really didn't want to believe the young man was the conniving heir his father painted him out to be.

"Sounds a lot like you," the boy finally said a little teasingly. "Please teach me."

"Of course!" Li Tian agreed and thought out loud. "Leixue, you have very big and unique eyes so they should convey emotion a lot more clearly. So wearing your bangs down all the time definitely hid most of your feelings well."

Rai nodded in agreement, unsurprised the Li heir noticing the matter.

"My eyes are a lot different from yours. My family is naturally inclined to glares so our eyes are sharper and more obvious than most. But because your eyes are naturally expressive, it shouldn't pose much of a problem either."

Rai knew of the prominent Li Clan trait like most people. The noteworthy members of the Clan all had distinguishable intimidating eyes. He nodded in understanding, "Okay."

"Good. Now since it's only for a photo shoot, we don't need to express too much anger, don't wanna scare off the viewers, but show just enough to keep them wondering 𝘸𝘩𝘺."

Seeing the boy focused on listening, Li Tian's lips curved into a smile before he continued, "Let me demonstrate. I will keep my lips in a smile yet show anger through my eyes. Watch them carefully."

Rai stared at the Li heir's eyes and eyebrows as they slowly shifted from the previous smile into an emotion he was also familiar with. Li Tian's eyebrows curved downwards, and the eyes that always crinkled in a teasing smile had become sharp like a hawk as they glared straight at the small boy.

The eerie part about the glare was how the smile was naturally playing on the young man's lips.

The expression made Rai shiver in discomfort as if Big Brother Tian was actually angry with him but only smiled at him passive-aggressively. The boy was more used to direct anger than being treated with passive aggression. There was no angry person who didn't directly lash out at him unless there was a third party involved.

"I'm going to change my expression again," Li Tian suddenly declared with his angry smile on.

Within seconds, his lips that were originally curved upwards, slowly started to twist down in the opposite direction, forming a frown. At the same time, his crooked eyebrows also furrowed even further, increasing the wrinkles in between them. Li Tian's already sharp eyes became more slanted, expressing even more of the heavy emotion.

If what Rai sensed was anger before, then what he got from the young man now was pure fury. There was no holding back in the expression at all like he was ready to release it at any moment. If the glare from before was resentful, then one now was just vicious.

From discomfort, the boy began to feel anxious instead. It was the same feeling he got when having to face his father. The only difference was the piercing glare that seemed to diminish his entire existence.

Rai had subconsciously held his breath.

Li Tian was kneeling down in front of him to be at his level and was even doing this in front of a viewing audience, yet he managed to convey all of this perfectly.

Moments later, the Li heir relaxed his face muscles into a small smile and asked carefully, "Was that too much?"

"N-No..." Rai struggled to find his voice.

Li Tian put a hand on the boy's shoulder and tried to comfort him a bit, "Don't worry. I would never actually get angry at you. We won't need anything more than a glare for the shoot either, so you should be able to pick it up quite fast. The expression I made was the bare minimum of what I do when I get angry."

Without meaning to, Rai's mouth hung open.

𝙄 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵??? 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮!?? Big Brother Tian's words were more outrageous than the last.

"T-That...Are you sure you can do something worst than that?" he asked warily. If he could, the boy wasn't sure if he wanted to see it.

Li Tian clocked his head to the side at the question and answered thoughtlessly, "Of course. There are different degrees of anger and usually, my expression reflects that. My anger for someone spilling a drink on me and for someone murdering a loved one should be totally different, right?"

"M-Murdering a loved one!?" even if one were to make a comparison, isn't that a little too drastic?

"Ah. It's just a figure of speech," the Li heir shook his head. "Don't think too much into it."

"Oh..." these were the few times Rai felt it impossible to read his teacher's expression.

The young man could convey emotions on his face perfectly, yet at the same time, reveal nothing at all.

"Okay, now it's your turn. Time to get angry. You can start with a frown since it's easier then try lifting your lips into a smile after."

"Un," the boy nodded and scrunched his face into something that somewhat resembled a frown.

"Pfft.. You look like you just sucked on a lemon. Hahahaha!" Li Tian was unabashed in his laughter.

It made Rai blush in embarrassment, yet also relieved at the young man's lightheartedness.

"Maybe instead of focusing on your face, you should focus on your feelings instead," the singer advised like a wise man. The words he spouted out made one wonder if he was like the rumors at all. "Think of the person that makes you angry, why they make you angry and don't hold back your expressions in front of him this time."

The instant Rai heard that, the appearance of his father entered clear in his mind and his face automatically frowned, albeit slightly.

"Good. You're still holding back a bit but it's a start," Li Tian was still kneeling in front of the boy and didn't want to distract the boy from his concentration so he continued without pausing. "Now if that man were to say 'Go to hell,' what do you reply?"

"W-What?" the boy's concentration still broke.

It didn't stop Li Tian, though. His face was stoic this time. "If the man that did all those things to you suddenly went and said 'Go to hell,' what do you say?"

"I..." Rai felt lost. How do you answer that?

"No, you."

"Huh?"

"That's all you need to say. If you can't think of anything, but you've got a belly full of anger and need to express it, just throw his insults back at him. It may not be the best come back, but it works."

Rai inadvertently gaped at Big Brother Tian in disbelief.

The young man wasn't bothered at all though. He stared straight into those watery eyes and continued, "I'll say it again. Go. To. Hell."

The boy swallowed his hesitation and tried to reply, "N-No, you."

"Go to hell!"

"No, you!"

"You call that a comeback!? You fucking suck! Just go to hell!!"

"NO. You suck!! You go to he-" Rai suddenly realized what he was about to say and stopped. "Ah! Big Brother Tian, I didn't mean-"

That's when he saw the big grin on the young Li heir's face. It was an expression of satisfaction and one Rai couldn't understand at all. He was just about to curse the man. So why did he look so happy?

The thought of the singer cursing at him first didn't even cross his mind once.

"You did it, Leixue!" Li Tian grabbed both his shoulders. "You expressed yourself clearly. I'm proud of you!"

"You are? I did?" understanding what had just happened, Rai felt a little flustered.

"Yeah! You were great. So how did it make you feel?"

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭?

Then he noticed that he had unconsciously tightened his fists. As he slowly loosened them, his heart also felt a sudden sense of relief.

𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦... 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺. He could feel his stress lower down a surmised amount.

Releasing one's anger at someone was easier said than done, and many factors had to be taken in as well. You couldn't show your anger to just anyone.

However, being allowed to express such emotion, or any emotion for that matter, was an invigorating thing.

"It... feels good," he admitted with surprise in his voice.

Li Tian was someone known to express his emotions freely, regardless of the situation or consequences.

𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭?

Rai didn't know the answer to his questions, nor was he brave enough to ask, at least not with everyone still watching.

𝘖𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵... The boy looked around and noticed everyone eyeballing them intently. "Ah..."

His face unwittingly turned red, and with his pale skin, he looked like a tomato. Everyone had seen and heard everything they had done.

However, before he could think about jumping into a hole, someone clapped his hands.

It was supervisor Jia Lin.

"That was great, little Leixue! I knew you had it in you!" the supervisor cheered, and soon, praises started to echo from the other viewers as well.

"You looked so cool!"

"Knocked it out of the park!"

"That gave me shivers!"

"Huh...?" Rai stood there stunned for a moment.

"Of course he is! He's my one and only apprentice! You hear that, Leixue?" Li Tian chuckled happily. He couldn't rub his little brother's head like he wanted to, so instead he opted to tap the boy's forehead instead, right in between the eyebrows. If the boy's bangs were let down, this would have been impossible. "Looks like you expressed your anger perfectly."

The tapping was simple but it affected the receiver greatly. The only other person that had ever made him feel this way was none other than Big Brother Lang...

Rai pursed his lips silently but in truth, he was actually holding back the lump that had stuck in his throat.

At that moment he didn't care what his father said. He chose to believe the person in front of him. The person grinning like the happiest man in the world just from him yelling back 'You suck' at him.

Finally, Rai mustered enough self-control to say the words he wanted to the most, "Thank you, Big Brother Tian..."

With a kind smile, Li Tian poked his forehead again and answered, "Anything for you, Leixue."

.....