Chapter 2 I'm Really Good at This

Lu Heyang was reluctantly seated at the dining table, staring blankly at the golden fried egg on his plate.

Actually, Lu Xun wasn't wrong—they were far from innocent.

Ten years ago, Lu Xun had climbed into his bedroom from the balcony, holding a knife to his eyelid. It was Lu Heyang who had said he could make him feel good. It was him, the older brother, who had personally taught Lu Xun how to fall.

"I gave you the best one," Lu Xun said. "I'm pulling a Kong Rong, so as your brother, you should be thanking me."

"...Thank you."

Hearing the response, Lu Xun picked up his chopsticks, looking satisfied.

Lu Heyang took a bite of the egg. It was actually cooked very tenderly, with just a hint of soy sauce for flavor. Maybe Lu Xun knew his stomach was sensitive—the milk was even warmed up. But he had no appetite to appreciate any of it.

His thoughts were a mess, and the only clear one was that he shouldn't have gotten so drunk, much less brought this person into his home.

"So, when are you..."

"I'm not planning on leaving." Lu Xun preempted his question. "You see, I'm technically dead—no place to stay, no ID—so I can only live here with you."

"As you know, I'm really good in bed." Lu Xun said this with a smile, quickly adding, before Lu Heyang could get angry, "But if you don't need that, I can do housework—I'm pretty good at that too."

If they were normal brothers, like thousands of other brothers out there, sleeping in the same bed, eating at the same table, kicking a ball around, fighting, competing over girls, growing up together, maybe Lu Heyang would care.

But what kind of relationship did he and Lu Xun have?

They had been physically close, but also enemies with knives drawn.

Lu Heyang knew Lu Xun hated him. Every day since he returned to the Lu family, Lu Xun had hated him. And Lu Xun had become an irreparable rift between him and their parents.

Thirteen years ago, Lu Heyang wasn't even a Lu—he was Lin. When 16-year-old Lin Heyang came home from school, he found his adoptive parents looking distressed, with a strange middle-aged couple sitting in their living room. When they saw him, they started crying, saying he was their long-lost son, who had been kidnapped years ago. After a brief moment of shock, Lin Heyang calmly packed his things and left Haihe City with his biological parents, Lu Bingwen and Su Mei, the very next day to start a new life with them in Jiayou City.

It wasn't until he walked into the house that Lin Heyang realized his parents, thinking they'd never find him again, had adopted another boy named Lu Xun in the meantime, who now had all his old toys and occupied his former room.

This boy was the complete opposite of his quiet, aloof self—wild, like a tree growing untamed, as vibrant as the summer sun—the kind of boy parents idealized.

Lu Xun came home with a basketball, wearing only a tank top, his body radiating heat and the smell of sweat. The smile on his face disappeared the moment he saw Lin Heyang when the door opened.

"Come say hi to your brother," Lu Bingwen and Su Mei called to him with awkward smiles. They hadn't explained the truth to Lu Xun beforehand because they weren't certain that the boy from the DNA match was really their son.

Lu Xun shot Lin Heyang a cold glance, then turned and stormed inside, slamming the door.

Maybe Lu Xun was right—Lin Heyang considered himself heartless. He adapted quickly, severing ties with his adoptive parents in a matter of days without any lingering attachment. He didn't have many memories or feelings for Lu Bingwen and Su Mei, yet he put on an act of pleading for protection, pretending to be deeply affectionate, deliberately trying to please them. When he opened his suitcase, there was nothing from his past—just some study materials.

Lu Xun would mock him with a half-smile, calling him a "phony," and even believed that his "turning from darkness to light" was just because he was "avoiding hardship," since Lu Bingwen and Su Mei were much better off financially than his adoptive parents.

So what if he was avoiding hardship? This was all rightfully his. Besides, this ability to please people was ingrained in his nature. Ever since he was kidnapped at five and throughout the ten years with his adoptive parents, he had learned how to live more comfortably.

To Lu Bingwen and Su Mei, Lin Heyang's demeanor only deepened their guilt and sympathy. They moved out of their master bedroom to give it to Lin Heyang, squeezing themselves into a smaller guest room, and filled Lin Heyang's new room with all the best food, drinks, and toys.

Before the new school year, he took back the surname "Lu" and transferred to the same high school as Lu Xun in Jiayou City. Because Lu Heyang started school a year later, they ended up in the same grade but different classes.

And that's when the long tug-of-war began.

His fish tank would mysteriously tip over onto his bed, with goldfish flipping belly-up in his sheets. Sometimes, he'd find his half-finished homework in the trash, and once, he even drank milk that had been laced with honey.

Everyone in the house knew he was allergic to honey.

Lu Xun's dislike for him was written all over his face, but Lu Heyang was different—he hid his resentment deep inside. He never tattled, always gave Lu Xun the drumstick during meals with their parents, volunteered to wash dishes, made breakfast for Lu Xun, and even helped him with his math homework.

The more he acted like this, the more their parents praised him, the more Lu Xun hated him, and the more pleased Lu Heyang felt.

This "brotherly love" charade only ended when Lu Bingwen and Su Mei died in a car accident. Without an audience, they lost the will to perform, becoming "strangers" living together, sharing an inheritance.

But Lu Heyang knew that Lu Xun's hatred hadn't lessened with the loss of their parents' favoritism—if anything, it had reached a peak.

Because on the day of the accident, Lu Bingwen and Su Mei had planned to take Lu Xun out to buy supplies for his college entrance exams. But Lu Xun had something come up at school, so Lu Heyang went instead. When a heavy truck lost control and barreled toward them, Lu Bingwen and Su Mei had held Lu Heyang tightly, shielding him so that he only suffered minor injuries and survived.

Lu Xun couldn't care less whether Lu Heyang lived or died, but he had lost his parents again, thanks to Lu Heyang.

They loved him so much, they even gave their lives for him.

Another nagging thought haunted him—if he had been in that car, would they have sacrificed themselves for him too?

But that question would never be answered, like a bone-deep poison that tormented Lu Xun over and over, transforming into hatred for Lu Heyang.

And now, this person was saying he wanted to stay at his place, cooking and doing laundry. Lu Heyang thought he must have misheard.

"I learned to cook from Mom," Lu Xun said. "If you want eggs this tender, you have to sprinkle a little water at the bottom of the pan and steam them."

He smiled faintly as he spoke. "See? I'm more like Mom's son than you are."

Almost thirty years old and still competing over who's closer to their parents. Lu Heyang suddenly lost patience with Lu Xun's childishness. He wiped his mouth and stood up. "Do whatever you want. I'm going to work."

Lu Xun said nothing, his gaze lingering on him, watching as his stiff, aching body pulled on a shirt and slacks, his long fingers quickly tying a Windsor knot, and fastening a silver watch around his wrist.

Yesterday, when he was beneath him, his eyes red and throat spilling soft moans, he hadn't looked nearly this put-together.

"What are you doing for work now that you're back?" Lu Xun asked.

"You don't need to know."

Lu Xun didn't press him, only offering a reminder.

"Come home early tonight."