Chapter 144

In his “previous life”, Zixiu had once heard someone say ‘Love destroys all, and makes all!’

He was not a romantic person, and used to think that such words were nothing but the obscurantist nonsense from those idle literary youth! But now, he knew that love could really change a person. Since his senior brother insisted on turning their childhood friendship into love, rather than something more rational like brotherhood or schoolmate love, then love really could make people crazy, make people stupid, make people disgusting, and make a straight man say something like “You’re so merciless, so cruel, so unreasonable…” which he had always read in romance novels!

Anyway, the two of them did not share the same bed. Hearing what Huali said, Zixiu did not think they were any closer, but felt more awkward to be with him!  As a man, he was cared about and protected by another man. Most importantly, his senior brother’s confession of love made the relationship between them more like that between a man and a woman! Zixiu felt more like a woman!

Given the current situation, two men sharing the same bed was not a big deal. However, as his senior brother had taken him as a “woman”, he did not dare even do this! Zixiu grew even more depressed when the next morning he had trouble getting his shoes on because of his big belly, his senior brother got down on one knee and helped him put on the shoes, which reminded him of the moment in fairy tales when the prince put on Cinderella’s shoes. Alas! How embarrassing! How come he was so “lucky” that he had met such a thoughtful, considerate, and gentle “prince”!

‘Senior Brother, can you stop being so gallant?!’ Zixiu protested inwardly, being a little annoyed from embarrassment. He was already depressed by his androgynous appearance, and now his senior brother was rubbing salt on his wound! He really deserved to be beaten up! However, next, he thought in a different way. It was normal that a young man who had his first serious crush lost in love and became dull. His senior brother had always taken good care of him, so he just did this naturally… Alas! He, Liu Zixiu, had sacrificed his self-esteem to preserve the self-esteem of an introverted man!

The two of them, to be precise, it was Zixiu, who had been wrestling with himself all the time in the morning. Now, they finally sat in the hall of the hotel to enjoy their breakfast.

As soon as the food was served, Huali automatically picked food into the bowl in front of Zixiu. He did this so naturally as if he were picking food for his beloved girlfriend!

‘Why don’t you just feed me!’ Zixiu thought resentfully. His senior brother complained that he was playing dumb, but actually, he had gone even further than he did! After all, he had not agreed to upgrade their relationship to a couple the night before… To be precise, before he could express his opinion, his senior brother had chimed in, saying that the pregnant woman should go to bed early and get as much rest as possible. It turned out that his senior brother was a crafty guy as well!

“Senior Brother, I’ll do it myself! We need to get out of the city asap, right?” Didn’t his senior brother see that the food in his bowl was almost piled up into a hill?

Huali seemed to have known that Zixiu was going to say this. He immediately stopped picking food for him and put down his chopsticks. With a serious look on his face, he asked, “Zixiu, do you hate me?”

“No! I…”

“What’s on your mind is also on your face. Don’t try to hide it from me!”

‘Huh? Is it so obvious?’ Zixiu touched his face subconsciously, thinking that since his senior brother was ready to be rejected, he did not have to hide his true feelings, so he put it straight. “Well, I admit I’m not used to the custom of picking food at dinner in this country!” Er… It seemed he had said something wrong, but at the mention of picking food, he couldn’t help but think of the shameless Nangong Du! “Sorry, Senior Brother! I don’t hate you, but I don’t feel for you the way you feel for me!”

A few seconds later, as he did not see the bitter look of lovelorn on his senior brother’s face as he expected, Zixiu couldn’t help but ask, “What do you say?”

The next second, he started regretting it. How come he acted as if he were a hesitant pure girl who was probing his senior brother’s resolve? Sure enough, he was too kind and soft-hearted!

“Zixiu, I won’t give up. I’ll keep taking care of you… but I won’t force you to accept me. I can wait!”

“You can wait?” ‘Look, he’s still an immature and irrational boy!’ Zixiu shook his head helplessly as if he had been through a lot. He then said earnestly, “Senior Brother, I admire your determination and courage, and appreciate your care, but I may let you down. Putting aside whether I am worth the wait, and whether I’ll accept you or not, I just want to tell you not to make promises easily to others, because commitment comes at a price, and time changes everything! When people are young, they fantasize that everything in the world can last forever. In the end, they only find out how naive they are. Their promises are so insignificant and unrealistic to an unpredictable future…”

“Are you trying to convince me that I like you is just my illusion again?”  Hearing that Zixiu was trying to negate his love for him with a long speech again, Huali had to interrupt him. He wondered why Zixiu was so pessimistic like an old man at such a young age. He often blurted out a mass of absurdities with a serious look! “Zixiu, you doubt my sincerity, don’t you?”

“I believe what you are saying is from the bottom of your heart at this moment, but who can guarantee that you won’t change… No! I mean, don’t you think liking someone of the same sex is morally unacceptable? The masses will look down upon you!” There was no way that ancient societies were even more tolerant and open than modern societies!

Huali pondered for a while for the new phrase of “the masses” before he continued, “I don’t care about what others think. I just care about what you think! You said you wouldn’t look down on me!”

“Uh…” ‘How come I always shoot myself in the foot?’ Zixiu thought angrily. “Then how about your master? Don’t you even care about him?” After all, respect for teachers was the most important thing!

“If Master Yan can’t forgive me, I’ll take you as far away as possible from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms!”

“?!” It sounded so familiar. ‘Did Lingxiao also say something like that, or maybe I watched too many romantic TV series? What’s wrong with these guys?’ “Senior Brother, I’m not as good as you think. I am a person…”

“That’s why I want to get closer to you. I hope the two of us can get to know each other better!”

“Get to know each other better?” Was it so easy to turn a straight man into a gay?  Did he know how Mark Lira had become Liu Zixiu? “Senior brother, if you insist, you will hurt yourself even more! You’d better… ”

“Zixiu! Since time changes all, it can also change your attitude to love. I’ll wait until you fall in love with me!”

“I… Senior Brother! Seems you’re overconfident!”

“If you don’t like the way I speak, I can correct it!”

“Forget it! Let’s talk about it later! Now the most important thing is to save my dad!”

“All right! Let’s eat!”