In a small apartment in Chenzhou City.
On the table, a few bottles of wine and three small dishes were laid out.
Shen Tanqi leaned on his hand, his mind filled with the image of Yu Ce’s tearful eyes before he left. Those sorrowful, heart-wrenching eyes made Shen Tanqi feel a tightness in his chest.
He missed him so much, wanted to hug him, and tell him how much he liked him.
Why did he realize this so late?
He had never hated his indecisiveness more than in this moment.
Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on the door.
His small apartment didn’t have a doorbell, it had long since rusted and wouldn’t budge even if pressed.
Shen Tanqi immediately got up and ran to the door, pulling it open in a flash.
“Huh?” The person on the other side was carrying a bag of crayfish and a few bottles of beer. Looking down at the stunned Shen Tanqi, he smiled, “What are you staring at? Help me carry this stuff in.”
Shen Tanqi’s eyes welled up, and without thinking, he rushed forward and hugged him tightly.
The beer bottles clinked together in the bag, making a jingling sound.
“Hey, hey… that’s a bit much.”
Shen Tanwu was somewhat helpless, letting his silly brother cling to him. He only had one free hand, unable to even pat his brother’s head.
“Brother.”
Shen Tanqi’s tears fell uncontrollably, streaming down his face. He hadn’t suffered any grievances, but the moment he saw Shen Tanwu, the tears just flowed.
Hearing the tremble in his voice, Shen Tanwu pursed his lips and asked softly, “Who bullied you?”
Shen Tanqi shook his head and replied, “No one.”
“If no one did, then let go.” Shen Tanwu chuckled, “Did your partner dump you or something?”
Shen Tanqi’s tears had almost stopped, but hearing this, he couldn’t hold back anymore. His shoulders shook, and he cried even harder, like a dam bursting open.
Shen Tanwu took a sharp breath, “You actually got into a relationship?”
Unbelievable. He was still single, and yet his younger brother not only started dating but also got dumped.
Incredible. Just incredible.
Shen Tanqi wiped his tears, took the crayfish and beer from Shen Tanwu’s hands, and said softly, “Come in.”
The brothers finally entered the apartment, sitting face to face at the small table.
They hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Working in different cities, Shen Tanwu and Shen Tanqi rarely had the chance to meet. They mostly exchanged a few phone calls each month, talking about family matters. Beyond that, they hardly knew what the other was up to.
Shen Tanwu rested his chin on his hand, carefully observing Shen Tanqi, and asked quietly, “Tell me, what kind of beautiful girl made you cry this much?”
Hearing this, Shen Tanqi stopped sobbing and coughed lightly, “It’s not a girl.”
As the words left Shen Tanqi’s mouth, Shen Tanwu’s expression changed dramatically. “A guy?”
Shen Tanqi whispered, “Yeah.”
Shen Tanwu tried to digest this information, thinking of their ridiculous parents, and realized it made sense for Shen Tanqi to not like girls. After a while, Shen Tanwu awkwardly said, “A guy is fine too. Bring him home sometime.”
Shen Tanqi’s voice grew even softer, “He’s not from here.”
“Not from Chen City, huh?” Shen Tanwu took a deep breath, “Well, that’s okay. We can still meet up and have a meal together.”
Shen Tanqi’s head almost dipped under the table, “He’s not in Chen City… he’s in a book.”
Shen Tanwu paused, then suddenly stood up, cupping Shen Tanqi’s face with a serious expression, “Come on, brother. Let’s go see a doctor.”
“…I’m not crazy, bro. I really traveled into a book.” Shen Tanqi grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled out the little yellow chick from under the table.
The system awkwardly waved at Shen Tanwu and greeted, “Hi~”
Shen Tanwu: ?
He jumped back suddenly, almost knocking over the table.
A talking… chick????
The air went silent, the atmosphere tense.
“You’re not crazy,” Shen Tanwu clutched his chest, turned around with a blank expression, and said, “I am.”
Shen Tanqi quickly pulled him back, making Shen Tanwu sit on the stool. Taking a deep breath, he recounted everything that happened in the book.
Shen Tanwu’s expression went from shock when he heard Shen Tanqi became cannon fodder in a cultivation world, to a complete brain freeze when he mentioned having three kids. By the time Shen Tanqi described how the protagonist, Yu Ce, stabbed him to death with a sword, Shen Tanwu’s face had gone numb.
When Shen Tanqi finished, the two brothers stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.
“Jeez…” Shen Tanwu rubbed his temples, closed his eyes, and opened them again, “You’re not joking, right?”
Shen Tanqi solemnly shook his head and held up the system again.
The system, even more embarrassed, greeted, “Hi~”
After a long pause, Shen Tanwu looked away from the system and struggled to speak, “So, you want to go back?”
From what Shen Tanqi had said, it seemed the events in the book world weren’t over yet, and that little brat Yu Ce was still waiting for Shen Tanqi to return.
Hearing this, Shen Tanqi nodded. Suddenly, he stood up from the stool and knelt in front of Shen Tanwu.
“Holy crap.” Shen Tanwu was so startled he nearly fell off the stool. He quickly grabbed Shen Tanqi, who was about to kowtow to him, “What are you doing?”
Shen Tanqi slowly raised his head, his eyes brimming with tears, “I have to go back, brother. I want to go back.”
Scenes like this were rare between them. Since they were both boys, they were straightforward by nature and never liked overly emotional or sappy moments.
Shen Tanwu stared at him intently and said in a deep voice, “Get up.”
After a long pause, under his brother’s death glare, Shen Tanqi shakily stood up.
“Sit down.”
Shen Tanqi, still trembling, sat down again.
Seeing him like this, Shen Tanwu couldn’t help but find it amusing. Casually, he said, “You really wanted to kowtow to me?”
Shen Tanqi bit his lip, holding back his tears, and nodded.
“Cut the crap.” Shen Tanwu pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and tossed a lighter into Shen Tanqi’s hand, saying curtly, “Light it.”
Shen Tanqi extended his hand and lit the cigarette for him, feeling a bit wronged, “Brother.”
Amidst the swirling smoke, Shen Tanwu squinted at his brother, whom he had raised with great effort, and said flatly, “A few words and you think I’ll let you run off with some guy we know nothing about?”
Shen Tanqi hesitated, then quietly defended Yu Ce, “He’s not a bad guy.”
Shen Tanwu took a deep drag, his tone turning cold, “What are you muttering about? This guy who wants to take away the brother I worked so hard to raise isn’t a bad guy?”
Hearing this, Shen Tanqi lowered his head, too afraid to speak further.
After a long silence, Shen Tanwu slowly gathered his thoughts, finishing his cigarette. He stubbed it out in the trash and asked, “Is he good to you?”
“Yes,” Shen Tanqi replied without hesitation.
Seeing his quick response, Shen Tanwu snorted, “Idiot. He kissed you right before you left to make you desperate to go back to him. Got it?”
Shen Tanqi nodded, “I know.”
“You know you still…” Shen Tanwu, frustrated and disappointed, raised his hand to knock Shen Tanqi on the head. However, he paused when he saw the resolute look in Shen Tanqi’s eyes.
This foolish kid had never expressed what he truly wanted. When they were younger, they would pass by an old lady selling popsicles. Other kids would cry and cling to their parents, begging for one. But not Shen Tanqi. His silly brother would glance at the popsicles, his mouth practically watering, yet he pretended not to want one, not to care.
Because he knew they couldn’t afford it.
Thinking about it, Shen Tanqi hadn’t had a good life following him. Born into such a family, it felt like struggling in a chaotic mire. If he could escape, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
Shen Tanwu looked at him quietly, his hand, suspended in mid-air, suddenly fell and gently ruffled Shen Tanqi’s soft hair.
The short hair was still a bit prickly, just like when he was a child, like a little dumb dog.
“Alright.” Shen Tanwu sighed, pulling him into a hug, just like he used to when Shen Tanqi was a child and had been beaten, crying so hard he couldn’t breathe. He would hold Shen Tanqi like this.
“Then go back. It’s a good thing to have someone who cares about you.”
After raising this stinky kid for so many years, it was time for him to take a break too.
Shen Tanqi’s tears soaked his shirt as he clung tightly to him.
“Don’t wipe your snot on me.”
“Mm…”
After a while, Shen Tanqi had cried enough. He slowly lifted his head from his brother’s embrace and inquired, “When does our little sister take her leave?”
“…Speak normally. Don’t use fancy words, I don’t understand.” Shen Tanwu believed he had truly transmigrated, and the aftereffects of being in the book world hadn’t worn off yet.
Shen Tanqi wiped his face and asked again, “When will our sister get a break?”
He had wanted to call their sister to get together, but her line was busy and he couldn’t get through.
Shen Tanwu pondered for a moment and said, “It’ll be a while. If you want to see her, just go find her directly.”
With that, he grabbed his chopsticks and took a couple of bites of food, “Hurry up and eat, don’t waste it. You said you’re in a hurry, right? After we eat, we’ll head to her university to find her.”
Shen Tanqi nodded, feeling instantly relieved. Just seeing his brother made everything seem manageable, and all the anxiety of the past days melted away.
He realized that as long as he was with his brother, this place was also his home, and there was nothing to fear.
The small room was filled only with the quiet sound of chopsticks and bowls clinking.
“When are you leaving?”
“After, after finishing dinner with little sister.”
They sat in silence. Shen Tanwu kept his head down and finally couldn’t help but sigh heavily.
“Damn it,”
Tears fell into his food, and he swallowed them down in one gulp, cursing again, “Damn it.”
Shen Tanqi stared at him in astonishment. He had never seen Shen Tanwu cry before; this was the first time.
“What are you looking at, eat your food,” Shen Tanwu gritted his teeth, “In this life, I have to marry off two little troublemakers. I must have owed you two in my past life.”
Although raising children is both frustrating and annoying,
But, if they really have to go,
He can’t bear to let them go…
He really can’t bear it…
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
