While Zhou Yun Sheng was still wondering about Xue Zi Xuan, the car had already been parked. Xue Zi Xuan took out his mobile phone and called the assistant to have him bring back the black car parked outside the exhibition hall. After he hung up the call, he smiled and asked, "Still want to play?"
"I still want to play, but I don't have any tools." Zhou Yun Sheng licked his lips, with a longing look in his eyes. He wanted to take this car apart and reassemble it in the way he wanted. Remodeling machinery was his second favorite hobby. In the past, in order to avoid the government's arrest warrant*, he had disguised himself as a mecha designer and worked for a year in the largest mecha production factory in the Empire, and almost became their chief.
[*T/N: ιηΌ tong ji β specifically to arrest someone as a wanted criminal]
Xue Zi Xuan stared at the teenager's pink tongue for a few seconds, and then looked away with difficulty.
"You want tools? Do you want to take the car apart?" Xue Zi Xuan's voice was hoarse.
"Can I?" When it came to his hobby, Zhou Yun Sheng forgot to pretend. He threw himself over, hugged the young man's arm and shook it.
Xue Zi Xuan looked at him, his eyes dark. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Yes, even if you want to burn it, you can. It's yours, you can do whatever you want with it." I'm yours too. You can also do whatever you want with me.
With the last sentence hidden, he gently touched the teenager's cheek.
Zhou Yun Sheng very much appreciated the young man's heroic spirit. So far, Xue Zi Xuan was undoubtedly his favorite Xue family member, and no one else. He decided that even if he got rid of the shackles of the system in the future, he would retaliate against the Xue family, but for the sake of this car and for the sake of the young man's gentle and soft consideration towards himself, he would definitely let him go.
"Then, I'll really dismantle it? I really, really would dismantle it." Zhou Yun Sheng repeated again and again.
"It's fine, you can take it apart." Xue Zi Xuan smiled. He pushed open the car door and pulled the teenager out. Then he opened his trench coat, wrapped the youth in his arms, and step by step, slowly walked back to the house.
Xue Jing Yi sat on the sofa directly opposite the door, her gaze slack, not knowing what to think. Upon hearing the footsteps, her pupils immediately refocused on the sight in front of her, and then her heart pumped fiercely.
What she saw was her brother and Huang Yi bundled tightly together, standing at the entrance and speaking in low voices. She didn't know what Huang Yi said, but her brother chuckled and rubbed the tips of their noses together. His thin lips almost touched Huang Yi's lips. She could almost imagine how warm and snuggly they were when they breathed together, and how tender they were when their eyes met. Her brother even bent down and changed Huang Yi's shoes for him. He grasped Huang Yi's toes with his hands, seeming to want to warm them up.
Even such an ardent attitude could not exchange for Huang Yi's gratefulness. He gave her brother a kick, and almost caused her brother to fall over. Instead of being annoyed, her brother laughed in a low voice and still smiled cheerfully.
Such a gentle and amiable brother has never appeared in Xue Jing Yi's memory. He only existed in her most wonderful and most secret fantasy. She once imagined a brother that fell passionately in love with her; he was exactly like this.
Fell passionately in love? These four words struck Xue Jing Yi like dull thunder, and she almost screamed. She understood, suddenly she understood everything, and her hatred for Huang Yi reached an unprecedented height.
She hurriedly took out a quick-acting salvage pill, which was placed under her tongue and waited for the severe pain of her heart to ease slightly. Then she walked over casually and called them for dinner.
Xue Rui and Xue Li Dan Ni probably wouldn't be back today. Xue Li Dan Ni was still making a fuss with her family, but the result will not change. The Li family had no reason to prevent the grandson from inheriting the Xue family business.
Xue Jing Yi sat between the two of them, watching their intimate actions, as if nothing could come between them, and her pitch-black eyes occasionally flashed with poisonous light. She felt her brother glance at her and quickly bowed her head and ate silently.
After finishing the meal, Xue Jing Yi put down her tableware and begged, "Second Brother, will you practice piano with me?"
Zhou Yun Sheng could not forget Xue Zi Xuan's cruel words when he almost broke his ten fingers, and now Xue Jing Yi asked him to play the piano at this time. Please don't be so obvious about your ambition, he thought.
"I'm not going, have Brother accompany you." Zhou Yun Sheng simply refused. After his hands were injured, the little bit of interest that he had in piano was exhausted.
Xue Zi Xuan's breathing felt obstructed. The past life was too heavy, which diluted the memory of this life. In fact, he could not remember the scene at that time. He only knew that the boy's piano sound disgusted him, but how was that possible? In the future, the teenager will become a great pianist who shines throughout the new century. Who knows how many people would be deeply enchanted by his piano?
There must be something wrong. He was anxious to verify it and pulled the boy towards the piano room. Xue Jing Yi smiled secretly and slowly followed.
Standing in front of the piano again, Xue Zi Xuan's mood fluctuated and his expression was difficult to discern. He sat down and placed his ten fingers on the piano keys, but he did not press a note for a long time. The scar from a lifetime ago could be wiped away, but the scars in his heart would always exist. His love and focus for the piano could never be recovered, because he has found something that he loved and was more devoted to.
With a turbid sigh of breath, he finally put down the last bit of nostalgia and called, "Xiao Yi, come and play a song."
Zhou Yun Sheng shook his head. Instead of stepping forward, he took two steps back and hid his hands behind his back. This man had schizophrenia, and God knows whether he will break Zhou Yun Sheng's hands when listening to him play. He had never forgotten the cruel words that Xue Zi Xuan said last time.
"Go, try again. You really do have a talent for music. I'm not lying to you." Xue Jing Yi egged him on in a low voice.
Xue Zi Xuan felt shame and regret over that incident. He walked over quickly, held the youth in his arms, and apologized again and again. If he could have arrived earlier, he would never have done anything to harm the teenager.
Zhou Yun Sheng really didn't want to touch this thing again, but the system that hadn't been heard from in a while suddenly released the fourth task: play a song in front of Xue Zi Xuan.
According to past experience, every mission issued by the system was a trap. In the process of completing the mission, he would always be struck by the children of fate in various ways. So as soon as a new mission appeared, he knew that it would not be anything good.
He pushed away Xue Zi Xuan, and turned to leave with a very determined attitude. He was worrying about how to drain the system, and the opportunity came. Evading a mission would absolutely receive a punishment of level five or higher. The amount of energy the system needed for that was not little.
Originally, the teenager should have become a pianist who shines all over the world, but because of his savagery, he imprinted a psychological fear of playing a musical instrument on the boy. This understanding made Xue Zi Xuan's heart twist in pain. In one moment, he felt like he was guilty of a terrible crime, in the next moment he thought: it was also fine like this. If the teenager left that high-profile stage, would Xue Zi Xuan be able to hide him away and not let anyone see him? Could he prevent Xue Yan from meeting him?
This selfish thought flashed through his head for a second and then faded away without a trace. Xue Zi Xuan gripped the boy by his shoulders, and pressed him onto the piano bench. He pleaded, "Xiao Yi, will you play a song for me? Just one song."
Zhou Yun Sheng was unmoved. His clear eyes stared straight at the young man, silently recounting his resistance. He was not competing with Xue Zi Xuan, but competing with the system.
The system issued several warnings, the consistently monotonous electronic sound showed violent fluctuations, as if angered by the host's malicious strike. But no matter how angry it was, it could only save as much energy as possible for self-preservation. It initiated a level three punishment instead of the established level five to level seven punishments.
The pain of having one's body ripped apart engulfed him. Zhou Yun Sheng supported his forehead with one hand, covering the very carefree smiling expression on his face. He thought he must also be sick, sick with a disease called "self-abuse syndrome." The more ruthless the system's punishment, the more delighted he would be, delighted from his body to his heart.
Xue Zi Xuan saw the teenager sitting silently in front of the piano, placing one hand on his knee, trembling slightly because of fear (in truth, pain), one hand supporting his forehead, covering his pale face. His stooped figure seemed weak and frail, as if it would break with a light snap.