No matter how shocked and resentful Xue Jing Yi was, the truth was that Xue Zi Xuan quietly walked away and completely ignored her, who was curled up in the corner.
Xue Jing Yi was out of methods. She could only forcibly raise her head in grief and whisper, "Brother, you're back. I waited for you all night."
"You could wear thick pajamas and wait for me by the heater, or you could wait for me in the bedroom with central air-conditioning. In the middle of the night, what are you doing, wearing a nightdress in the corner? What are you getting ready to do? You want to have another relapse and annoy me? You don't even cherish yourself, so how could others cherish you?" Xue Zi Xuan stood firm, and looked at the young girl with a stern face.
"I'm sorry. Mom and Fu Bo made me go to bed early, so I didn't dare to wait in the living room. In my room, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hear your footsteps coming back. Brother, I assure you, I will definitely cherish myself from now on. Don't get angry, okay? If I did something wrong, tell me what it is. I will change for certain." Xue Jing Yi stepped forward hesitantly, trying to pull on her brother's clothes. This was her habitual movement, as if connecting with his clothes would allow her to follow him for a lifetime.
Xue Zi Xuan took two steps back and said quietly, "Go back to your room." Will definitely change if she did something wrong? These words could only fool her blindly loving parents. If Xue Jing Yi set her mind to something, even if she must step on a ground of blood and skeletons, she would still strive to go forward.
"I won't go back. I want to talk to you." Xue Jing Yi raised her little face, which held a weeping expression.
"I have nothing to talk to you about." Xue Zi Xuan turned away and did not look back at all. "The body is yours. If you want to trample on it then that's your problem. Maybe others will feel bad, but I won't. Shape up and behave yourself*." This was his last word of advice. If she still walked the same path in this life as she did in her last life, then he would not show any kindness to her.
[*T/N: 好自为之 hao zi wei zhi – could mean "shape up and behave yourself", but could also mean "you're on your own"]
Xue Jing Yi covered her mouth. The pain was beyond words. Won't feel bad for her. He admitted with his own mouth that he would not feel bad for her. The chill brought by this sentence was far stronger than the ice and snow outside. Xue Jing Yi froze instantly. It wasn't until a long time later before she stepped forward and slowly walked back to her bedroom. She dug into the duvet indifferently, like a soulless puppet, and closed her eyes.
She thought her heart would be torn by this sentence, but weirdly, she didn't feel any discomfort. In the midst of it, she seemed to become stronger and more determined. As long as her brother did not leave her, she could bear many cruel blows.
"Brother, you said you won't care about me, but you must be lying to me, right? This is a radical method*, it must be a radical method, so that I will cherish myself. Fine. I will listen to you. I will take good care of my body. Don't get angry with me. I know, you dote on me, you cherish me…" In the midst of talking to herself, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
[*T/N: 激将法 ji jiang fa – indirect, psychological method of getting somebody to do as one wishes, for example, goading someone or saying the opposite of what you want someone to do. Works well on people with brash or childish temperaments.]
Xue Zi Xuan didn't know that Xue Jing Yi had distorted his original intention. Of course, even if he knew it, he would not care. He could not sleep. Even if the teenager's room was just downstairs, he still could not sleep. In the previous life, as long as he could stand under the same sky as the teenager and look at him from a distance that was neither too far nor too near, he would be satisfied.
But now, he longed for something more real. What was a bottomless pit of desire? This was a bottomless pit of desire. When he could see, he wanted to touch; when he could touch, he wanted to hold; when he could hold, he wanted to kiss; when he could kiss, he wanted to completely and utterly possess; to possess forever and ever.
Unable to suppress the heat in his heart and body, he took out a cigarette from the drawer and lit it. He stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and watched the white snow outside while puffing away on the cigarette.
When the snowflakes fell, the slight rustling sounds made the night seem even quieter in comparison, and the strong sense of loneliness followed the spicy smoke invading his nasal cavity and lung tube. Xue Zi Xuan's eyes reddened unconsciously.
He took two hard breaths, crushed the cigarette, and walked to stand outside the boy's bedroom door. After more than ten minutes, he put his palm on the doorknob and turned it gently.
The door could not be opened. The teenager had locked it before going to bed. Xue Zi Xuan supported his forehead with his hand, sighed lowly, ignored the coldness of the sky, and went to wake Fu Bo up in the middle of the night.
"Young Master, what do you want the keys for?"
"Ah, all right, this is the key to the first-floor rooms*, this is the key to the second-floor rooms, and this is the key to the third-floor rooms. Sir's study requires a fingerprint and iris scan. If you want to go in, you must ask him for permission. I can't help you here. Young Master, you can just take these three keys. You don't need to return them to me. Everyone in the family has a set, but you never asked for it, so I forgot about it." Fu Bo took out three keys.
[*T/N: It's hard to distinguish if something is a singular or plural noun. Even context doesn't really help, but I'm assuming such a big house can't have only three keys in total, so they're probably master keys.]
Xue Zi Xuan took the keys and walked away. He tried several times before finding the right one.
Sleeping in the wolf cave, how could Zhou Yun Sheng dare to put down his alertness? When he heard the sound of unlocking coming from the door, he immediately turned over to get out of bed and hid behind the door. The light from the corridor projected through the gap in the door, like a long golden thread along the floor. Then a tall figure blocked the light and slowly entered.