Brother's War (18)

Cheng Qian had not expected Cheng Yu to actually confront him head-on, and his expression instantly turned ice-cold.

Just as the deadlock reached its peak, Si Jiu broke the tense atmosphere.

"A-Yu, I want Second Brother... ugh..."

Then came another bout of dry heaving.

Cheng Yu froze. He lowered his gaze, meeting the young girl's tear-filled eyes. "What did you just call me?"

Meanwhile, Cheng Qian offered a smile that made one's spine tingle. "What is it that you want?"

A single sentence managed to provoke both of them.

"What are you two doing?"

A cold voice, reminiscent of someone chewing on shards of ice, drifted down from the stairs.

Cheng Yuan stood there, observing the two locked in a standoff, his gaze finally settling on the figure in Cheng Yu's arms.

Cheng Qian took a step back first. "Yinyin is making a fuss, crying for Second Brother."

Cheng Yuan frowned and looked at Cheng Qian. Without a word, a single look conveyed his meaning: What did you do?

Cheng Qian gave him an innocent look in return, shrugging to indicate: I didn't do a thing.

Too lazy to engage in their silent exchange of glances, Cheng Yu stepped around the blocking Cheng Qian and headed toward the elevator, saying, "You can call Second Brother yourself. Yinyin hasn't been like this in a long time; no one else can calm her down except him."

Cheng Qian let out a "tsk," but under Cheng Yuan's stern gaze, he reined in his unruly attitude and honestly muttered, "I've already called. Second Brother is in a neighboring city; even if he rushes back, it won't be that fast."

"Then ask Second Brother what we can do." Cheng Yu stepped into the elevator without looking back.

Cheng Qian sneered, "Heh..."

Cheng Yuan walked down the stairs. "Where are you taking her?"

Hearing this, Cheng Qian suddenly remembered something. He pulled out his phone and saw several missed calls.

He had almost forgotten about this little kid.

The corners of his lips curved upward as he sent a text message to that number. As he put his phone away, his fingers brushed against the keychain in his coat pocket, and with a gentle hook of his fingertip, he pulled out that horribly ugly doll.

"Too ugly. Might as well just burn it."

He was smiling, but it was the kind of smile that broke people out in a cold sweat.

Cheng Yuan pressed down on his hand. "A-Qian?"

Cheng Qian said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Your behavior this morning crossed the line," Cheng Yuan said in a low voice. "You know what Second Brother is like. Why didn't you discuss it with me beforehand?"

Cheng Qian gazed at his twin brother, his beautiful eyes rippling with a treacherous depth. "Discuss what? You wouldn't have agreed anyway. Haven't you always sympathized with Chenginyin that girl? Since A-Yuan wants to be the noble and untainted gentleman, then let me be the petty villain who holds grudges and seeks revenge for every slight. What does Cheng泽 even count as? Just because he's a few years older than us, he acts like an elder. To put it bluntly, he's nothing more than the Master's experimental subject, so how is he any different from us? Doesn't he have to act like a dog every month, begging the Master for the medicine in his hands just to ease his physical agony? Guess how the Master would feel if he knew that the darling of his heart had been raised like this by Cheng泽? Since Cheng泽 could do it, why wouldn't I dare?"

A sharp clatter echoed from not far behind them.

Cheng Qian and Cheng Yuan frowned and turned around simultaneously. After three seconds of silence, a timid figure crept out from the hallway behind the stairs.

"Xiao Cheng," Cheng Qian flashed a bared-teeth smile.

Cheng Cheng frantically waved his hands, stammering, "I—I didn't hear anything just now."

This was truly a textbook performance of "the thief crying 'thief'."

"Right, what did Second Brother say just now? Oh, just feed Yinyin the soup he made himself. A-Yuan, take Yinyin's soup from the kitchen and bring it up to her. Xiao Cheng..."

Cheng Qian walked toward Cheng Cheng.

Cheng Cheng felt his legs turn slightly weak. In this "family," the one he respected most was the eldest brother, the one he admired most was the second brother, and the one he feared most was the fourth brother, but at this moment, the third brother filled him with sheer terror.

With a smile on his face, Cheng Qian walked up to Cheng Cheng, hooked an arm around his neck, and whispered in his ear, "It's been a long, long time since we had a heart-to-heart talk, hasn't it?"

Cheng Cheng cast a desperate plea at Cheng Yuan. "...Fourth Brother..."

Cheng Yuan turned around. "I'm going to deliver the soup."