Chapter 59: The Reactions of the Two Brothers
Jiang Linmu’s head was still spinning when he returned to his room.
Even though he usually read quite a bit of Tongren fanfiction—and strictly only read stories where he was the Zuo-wei and his Ge was the You-wei, blacklisting any author who dared to put someone else on the Zuo side—this was different.
But…
Fragments of last night’s events kept popping into Jiang Linmu’s mind in intermittent bursts.
He…
Jiang Linmu shook his head violently and sprang up from his bed.
No! This isn’t right! This isn’t right at all!
He slapped his face hard, trying to drive those absurd and… heart-stirring… images out of his mind. It must be because the drug hasn’t completely worn off yet! Otherwise, why would he…
In the middle of…
He paced restlessly around the room. A glass of water sat on the nightstand; he picked it up and drained it in one gulp…
No, I can’t think about it anymore!
He forced himself to shift his attention, his gaze landing on the pile of unopened new games and figurines on his desk. Normally, he would have pounced on these things, but now he couldn’t muster even a shred of interest.
Jiang Linmu! That was…
You were drugged! It was an accident! Hurry up and forget those damn images! Otherwise, your Ge will beat you to death if he finds out! The Jiang family ancestors would crawl out of their graves to thrash you!
But… at that time…
Stop! Shut it!!!
Jiang Linmu suddenly rushed into the bathroom, turned on the cold water tap, and buried his face in the icy stream.
The bone-chilling cold finally calmed his feverish brain a little.
He looked up at his own face in the mirror and took a deep breath.
“Jiang Linmu, listen up,” he said to his reflection, enunciating each word. “Last night was an accident caused by the drug. Jiang Qing did it to save us, to take care of us. Those messy feelings and memories are just side effects of the drug. From now on, forget them! Forget all of it! Just go back to how you were before… okay?!”
The person in the mirror nodded firmly.
He wiped his face, walked out of the bathroom, and climbed back into bed. He wrapped himself tightly in the quilt, leaving only his eyes exposed to stare at the ceiling.
“Forget it… forget it…” he muttered softly.
But some things become clearer the more you try to forget them.
Especially when he closed his eyes… it was as if the scent was still lingering at the tip of his nose and before his eyes.
Jiang Linmu suddenly pulled the quilt up, covering his head completely.
It was over.
He seemed to… really… be a bit “not right.”
—————————
On the other side:
Su Lin sat blankly by the edge of his bed.
He had indeed sensed what that person wanted to do to him last night, but after realizing the other party only wanted to help him vent the “heat,” he had been unexpectedly calm.
Under a certain impulse, he had made that call.
What would happen if his… found out?
When Jiang Qing rushed toward him without a moment’s hesitation…
It wasn’t just the relief of being rescued; it was more like a secret, almost obsessive… response.
See? In the most dangerous moment, his… would come for him.
This realization was more potent than any drug…
He had even deliberately let the drug take its course… because he knew Jiang Qing would come and see him at his most vulnerable and desperate. He wanted to see how his… would treat a version of him like that.
And Jiang Qing’s reaction… exceeded his expectations.
There was no disgust, no panic, and even… after that…
He remembered Jiang Qing…
He also clearly remembered how he had used the drug’s influence to greedily claim that warmth and attention, how he had carefully tested the other’s bottom line, even on the edge of blurred consciousness…
Now that the drug had faded and logic had returned, those memories hadn’t blurred; instead, they had become even more vivid…
Su Lin slowly raised his hand, his fingertips unconsciously tracing his own neck…
He knew exactly what Jiang Qing meant by that “let it end here” warning this morning.
His… was drawing a line, defining that chaos as an “accident” and demanding everyone forget it.
But… my…
Can we really act like nothing happened?
Can it really be erased so easily?
He stood up and walked to the full-length mirror.
The young man in the mirror was still a bit pale, but in those eyes—usually calm and gentle—something different had settled.
…Want to act like nothing happened?
Of course.
He could listen to…’s words. How could he not listen to…’s words?
Su Lin sat back down on the edge of the bed and picked up his phone, the screen’s light illuminating his expressionless face.
He opened his contacts, found Jiang Qing’s number, and let his fingertip hover over the screen for a moment. Ultimately, he didn’t call, but instead edited a simple message:
[Gege, I’ve rested well. Thank you for taking care of me last night.]
Sent.
Then, he put down his phone.
———Little Theater———
[Hua: Susu, don’t act like a white-lotus-turned-black right now. Tell the truth—was your brain still a bit muddled when you first woke up????]
[Susu: …….]
[Hua: Did you not expect that you’d actually succeed??????]
[Susu: …….]
[Hua: Do you think… he really didn’t notice? Did Jiang Qing really notice nothing at all? Don’t forget, he was sober at the time.]
[Hua: ……]
[Susu: …….Can you stop talking. Where is my dignity…]
[Jiang Qing: See, you’re not as honest as Jiang Linmu.]
[Susu: …….I hate you.]
[Jiang Qing: Don’t act spoiled.]
[Susu: …….Oh.]
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