Chapter 37

Mo Yin’s life became both calm and bizarre.

After the winter break, school started again, and Pei Qing drove him to school. Pei Qing had completely let go of all the matters at the company and entrusted all the resources to Pei Mingshu, returning to school himself.

Pei Qing’s face was icy cold. Mo Yin looked at him and said, “Actually, Pei Mingshu and I have had several secret meetings at my house.”

Pei Qing cast him a sidelong glance, his lips tight, and spat out two words, “Shut up.”

Mo Yin continued talking all the way, vividly describing his encounters with Pei Mingshu at his home, what they said and did, how they managed to keep it secret from him, and how they behaved ambiguously when together at Pei’s house, recounting every detail.

After driving down the mountain road, Pei Qing stopped the car by the roadside.

Mo Yin stared at him, observing him.

Pei Qing got out of the car with a cold face to open the trunk.

Mo Yin turned his head, secretly praying that Pei Qing would take out a bucket of gasoline and set himself on fire.

Pei Qing threw a bottle of water at him, got back into the car, and fastened his seatbelt. “Your lips are dry.”

Mo Yin: “…”

What a stubborn non-human who refused to listen!

After class, Pei Qing came to pick him up again. Mo Yin pretended not to see him, pushing the wheelchair by himself. Pei Qing came over, lifted him from the wheelchair, and carried him on his shoulder, causing a stir among the surrounding students.

Mo Yin’s head hung down, his face flushed. “Pei Qing, you bastard…”

Pei Qing seemed to ignore his insult and continued walking forward.

At night, the massage routine continued as usual. No matter how much Mo Yin insulted and mocked him, Pei Qing remained unmoved. Mo Yin cursed fiercely, but Pei Qing only raised an eyebrow and mocked, “Save some energy for the bed.”

The battle was still extremely intense.

Because Mo Yin kept trying to bite, Pei Qing turned him around, holding him tightly in his arms with one arm across his chest and the other hand gripping Mo Yin’s neck. His teeth nibbled at Mo Yin’s neck, alternating between biting hard enough to hurt and lightly enough to tickle.

In a daze, Mo Yin heard what seemed like the sound of a door opening.

Mo Yin had already collapsed on Pei Qing’s shoulder, appearing docile.

“Get out.”

Pei Qing said.

The action continued, even more intense than before.

Mo Yin felt like there was an additional pair of eyes in the room. He opened his sweat-soaked eyelashes and saw Pei Mingshu sitting on the sofa by the window, smoking a cigarette, with sparks flickering between his fingers.

Mo Yin’s mind went blank for a moment.

He couldn’t help but hold his breath, feeling nervous, even though he was somewhat slow in some aspects as a natural human.

There was a dry and low laugh from behind, cold and humorless, just the laughter without any amusement. “You said you’d feel sick at the sight of us, but it seems you’re quite responsive now.”

Mo Yin didn’t retort. He bit his lip tightly, afraid to make a fool of himself by speaking out. He closed his eyes and turned his face away.

Pei Qing got off him. Mo Yin lost his support and crawled on the bed, panting with heat, barely opening his eyes to see that the brothers seemed to be fighting again.

Well, what difference does it make if they fight again… The energy didn’t fluctuate anyway…

Mo Yin blinked slowly, and boredly pursing his lips, gradually falling asleep.

The next day, when Mo Yin woke up, he saw Pei Mingshu again. In the following days, Mo Yin hardly had any opportunity to be alone with Pei Qing. Apart from transportation back and forth, whenever he was at Pei’s house, Pei Mingshu would try to be present to prevent Pei Qing from harming Mo Yin.

The brothers kept competing, and finally, they fought again in front of Mo Yin.

With red eyes, Pei Qing’s fist missed Pei Mingshu and hit the ground with a loud thud.

Pei Mingshu grabbed his collar and slammed him onto the ground, shouting sternly, “I warned you not to hurt him again!”

Pei Qing didn’t hesitate to kick Pei Mingshu in the stomach. “Get lost!”

Pei Mingshu could endure pain and loss and even pose afterward.

But he had nothing. Was he just Pei Qing’s illegitimate child? Did he do anything wrong to Mo Yin? He just liked him. He thought they were kindred spirits, sharing the same thoughts, and was prepared to spend the rest of his life with him. He had imagined all their future together in his mind.

He couldn’t recall, nor could he forget. Just seeing Mo Yin would spread that torn-like heartache throughout his body as if he had just learned that his father was not a police officer who had sacrificed honorably, but rather a man who had a wife. It felt the same, even though Mo Yin didn’t even pretend to be doing it “for his own good.”

It was just pure malice and exploitation.

Yet, he still couldn’t let go, couldn’t bear to discard it. Time couldn’t be reversed. Since he first saw Mo Yin, that careless glance, who knew the future would turn out like this?

“You don’t care because you’ve never truly loved him—”

Pei Qing shouted, veins bulging in his forehead and neck.

The first that Pei Mingshu swung stopped halfway.

Pei Qing cried.

Tears fell from his bloodshot eyes, his gaze determined and cold.

Pei Mingshu slowly released his grip on Pei Qing’s collar. Pei Qing lay on the ground, his long legs casually scattered. Pei Mingshu knelt on one knee for a while, maintaining the posture of clenched fists before slowly sitting down. His arm rested on the bent leg. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window behind him, the wind blew over the snowy sea of flowers, all silent and still.

Mo Yin had been watching the two brothers fight all along.

They fought intermittently, and he had gotten used to it. He just wasn’t sure why they suddenly took to fighting.

Moyin pushed his wheelchair slowly closer to the two.

Pei Qing and Pei Mingshu seemed to have reached a tacit understanding. Neither of them hit each other’s face. Although the injuries on their faces had almost healed, they still bore numerous scars, far from fully recovering.

Just a bit more effort, just a little bit of strength.

Mo Yin felt he was infinitely close to success, but he just couldn’t see through the fog of truth.

After a while, Pei Qing stood up and left Moyin’s room without a word, as if nothing had happened.

He wasn’t worried about leaving Pei Mingshu alone with Mo Yin. In his mind, Pei Mingshu had always been the sanctimonious pseudo-gentleman, bound tightly by things that were worthless in his eyes.

Pei Mingshu also stood up slowly. He straightened the wrinkles on his clothes and walked up to Mo Yin. Mo Yin looked up at him, his gaze still pure.

Pei Mingshu asked him, “Do you want to move out?”

Mo Yin replied coldly, “Would moving out make a difference? If he wants to find me, it’s just a matter of time, isn’t it? Or is it that by moving out, you can turn a blind eye to everything, so whatever happens between us won’t concern you anymore?”

Pei Mingshu smiled, “I was thoughtless.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Mo Yin said lightly. “It’s quite comfortable sleeping with him.”

Pei Mingshu fell silent for a moment. “As long as it’s consensual.”

“Whether it’s consensual or forced, as long as it feels good.”

Facing Mo Yin’s “carefree” attitude, Pei Mingshu’s heart clenched tightly. He stood still for a long time until Mo Yin casually said again, “Actually, it’s quite comfortable sleeping with you too.”

Mo Yin seemed indifferent, “It’s just okay.”

“Alright,” Pei Mingshu said, “I understand.”

As he walked past Mo Yin, Mo Yin grabbed his sleeve. Looking up at him, Mo Yin asked, “Is it because you’ve never really loved me that you can stay so calm compared to Pei Qing?”

Pei Mingshu turned sideways, and the sunlight outside the window outlined him in a brilliant halo. He leaned slightly toward Mo Yin’s ear, his breath spraying warmly and ticklishly on Mo Yin’s skin, “I love you.”

Love wasn’t about the heavens collapsing. And who knew if he wasn’t tormented, if he wasn’t in pain? He just felt he didn’t deserve to be in pain.

Brushing past his cheek, Mo Yin still didn’t let go. He squinted and asked Pei Mingshu, “Why? I’m not the person you imagined at all. Do you still love me?”

Pei Mingshu gently looked at him and whispered softly, “You seem not to doubt Pei Qing’s love for you either.”

“Of course not, he has nothing. Even if I’m bad, he still wants to hold on to me.”

Pei Mingshu smiled, “Your view of him is too one-sided.”

“Are you saying he has feelings for me beyond possessiveness?”

“Yes.”

“And you? What do you love about me?”

“If it could be explained clearly, then it wouldn’t be love.”

“Love can’t be quantified,” Pei Mingshu patiently explained. “It’s just a feeling.”

Seeing Mo Yin still looking somewhat puzzled, he reached out and ruffled Mo Yin’s hair. “When it comes, you’ll know.”

Mo Yin thought to himself that he didn’t want to know.

Seeing these two idiots being tormented like lunatics, he hoped that thing would never come into his life.

He now understood why the Naturals were considered the pinnacle of human evolution. Although sex was enjoyable, it was just an embellishment in life. They, the Naturals, were masters of emotions, masters of feelings. They controlled themselves and were never influenced by external forces.

…External forces.

Mo Yin looked thoughtfully at the wide-open door.

Their inner selves, which they relied on, had already been shattered by him. So what about the external?

Friendship was important to Pei Jingyou, but in reality, neither of the brothers cared much about it. Pei Mingshu fulfilled his duty out of responsibility, and Pei Qing had completely given up, choosing to let go.

The two brothers no longer had any other relatives in this world, and their relationship with each other remained as bad as before. They couldn’t be each other’s pillars.

So, what was left?

Mo Yin felt somewhat incredulous, but after eliminating all options, the answer in front of him was simple and almost laughable.

*

In April, the weather had completely warmed up. After several rains, the air halfway up the mountain was fresh and pleasant, and the flowers were exceptionally vibrant. The entire Pei mansion seemed to have finally emerged from the gloom of winter.

After the last fight between the two brothers, Pei Qing became much more obedient. Well, maybe not obedient, but he was subdued. He still slept with Moyin at night, but they no longer engaged in that kind of activity.

Sometimes in the middle of the night, when Mo Yin woke up to push him away, saying he needed to use the bathroom, in the bathroom, Pei Qing would kiss him uncontrollably. Mo Yin obediently didn’t resist or bite him. He just let his arms rest on Pei Qing’s shoulders as if indulging in a passionate love affair. Pei Qing’s nose was pressed against his, lips tantalizingly close, and he spoke softly, “What naughty thoughts are you holding back now?”

Mo Yin tightened his arms around Pei Qing’s neck, his face tilting slightly, and kissed him on the lips, moist and tender. “Preparing to kill you.”

Pei Qing smirked coldly. “How are you going to kill me? In bed?”

Their relationship became strange, as if not as tense as before.

Pei Qing’s grip on his arm loosened a bit too.

With just that bit of softness and concession, Mo Yin immediately felt Pei Qing’s heart wavering again. In the darkness, he placed his palm on Pei Qing’s chest, his face tilting slightly, a mix of curiosity and wonder.

In the morning, when Pei Mingshu went to work, Mo Yin was at the door. Pei Mingshu came over and asked, “Are you here to see me off?”

Mo Yin replied, “Don’t dream.”

Pei Mingshu smiled, showing no signs of anger, and ruffled Mo Yin’s hair. Mo Yin didn’t dodge, but his gaze was strange.

Pei Mingshu always felt that Mo Yin was like some kind of animal, possessing a different kind of mentality from them, secretly observing them from the shadows. This association made him feel both sorry and fond of Mo Yin. He quietly left Mo Yin’s room a cake he loved to eat.

The next morning, Mo Yin came out again to meet him. “I don’t want cake.”

Pei Mingshu said, “Then what do you want to eat?”

“I don’t want to eat anything.”

“Did you eat the cake from yesterday?”

Mo Yin fell silent.

Pei Mingshu smiled. In his eyes, there were gentle ripples of tenderness. “I understand.”

The atmosphere at the Pei mansion had finally become lively again these days. It was almost the two young masters’ birthdays. Last year, Pei Jingyou hosted a grand banquet, with all the prominent figures in the city attending. But this year, neither Pei Mingshu nor Pei Qing showed any intention of making a big fuss.

Ding Mohai, besides being the chief secretary, also doubled as a half-butler now. Under his command, the servants of the Pei family slowly started to move, adding some extra decorations.

Pei Qing sneered at this, having no fondness for his own birthday.

Pei Mingshu, on the other hand, remained noncommittal, adopting a laissez-faire attitude.

The weather had warmed up, and the gloom seemed to have drifted away. Everything seemed to be moving slowly towards improvement.

It was Sunday.

In the morning, Mo Yin woke up to the sound of rain outside. The raindrops hit the floor-to-ceiling windows like a disordered melody. Mo Yin turned his head and saw Pei Qing holding him, sleeping with a furrowed brow.

Actually, Mo Yin knew that Pei Qing was already awake.

Every night they slept together, Pei Qing’s sleep time was actually very short. Every time Mo Yin woke up, he would find out that Pei Qing was actually awake.

He insisted on sleeping while holding him, but he couldn’t sleep all night.

Strange.

On his birthday, Pei Mingshu still had to go to the office. The merger between Heda and Youcheng was proceeding vigorously. Pei Mingshu also had no intention of making things difficult for Zhang Huachao. As long as Zhang Huachao ensured that the original employees of Youcheng were not laid off, he didn’t care much about the rest. Sometimes, he would think of his days studying abroad, feeling as if it was a lifetime ago.

Back at the Pei mansion, the servants greeted him with birthday wishes. In the morning, Pei Mingshu instructed the butler to give each member of the Pei household a red envelope.

The atmosphere in the Pei mansion was cheerful, and a faint smile appeared on Pei Mingshu’s face.

Ding Mohai returned to the mansion with him and said, “Young Master, how about a simple family dinner tonight?”

“Sounds good.”

Pei Mingshu nodded slightly. “Uncle Ding, you stay too.”

“Eh.”

Ding Mohai didn’t ask about the strange relationship between the “three brothers” of the Pei family, but he could sense it from their words and expressions. Besides sighing, he didn’t know what else to say. With Pei Jingyou gone, no one could control the two brothers, so they had to take things one step at a time.

Dinner was ready, and the servants went to call Pei Qing and Mo Yin, but only Pei Qing came.

Pei Mingshu asked, “Where’s Mo Yin?”

Pei Qing answered on behalf of the servant, “He’s not coming.”

Pei Mingshu fell silent for a moment, not saying anything.

Actually, Pei Qing didn’t want to come either. Mo Yin kept mocking him incessantly, and Pei Qing originally sat there enduring it, with a cold and indifferent face. But in the end, when Moyin seemed tired of it and drank some water, he said, “You still have a relative left. If you don’t cherish it now, you might regret it later.”

Pei Qing originally wanted to say that he didn’t care about Pei Mingshu at all, but seeing Mo Yin’s expression, he swallowed his words.

With only the two brothers and Ding Mohai at the table, compared to last year’s banquet with numerous guests, it felt extremely different. No matter what, it felt cold and lonely, especially since the relationship between the two brothers wasn’t good. Ding Mohai tried hard to lighten the mood, but the two of them remained silent throughout.

Ding Mohai couldn’t help but sigh. If Pei Jingyou knew what the two brothers looked like now, he didn’t know how sad he would be.

After a while, Pei Mingshu called a servant over. “Has dinner been served to Mo Yin?”

“Not yet, I’ll do it now.”

Pei Mingshu said, “The loofah tonight is very sweet, and he loves it. Give him a little more.”

With a “clack,” Pei Qing put down his chopsticks and said lightly, “I’ll go.”

Pei Mingshu glanced at him but didn’t object.

Ding Mohai held his bowl of rice, feeling that the situation between the two brothers was unbearable. He never expected that Mo Yin, who seemed harmless back then, would cause such a situation between the two brothers. Was this to collect a debt?

Come to think of it… Of course, it was to collect a debt…

Just as Ding Mohai was lost in thought and Pei Mingshu fell silent, a servant entered the dining room and said, “Young Master, Second Young Master, Mo Yin is upstairs!”

The fifth floor was the highest part of the Pei mansion, offering an excellent view. There was a triangular window, with two wooden bars arranged in a cross shape on top, resembling a tilted cross.

After coming up, Mo Yin leaned on the windowsill with both hands, exerting effort to lift himself from the wheelchair and sit on the windowsill as Pei Qing did before.

The entire window was opened, and a refreshing breeze instantly greeted them. The wind from the mountains was exceptionally cool, accompanied by a faint floral scent. Mo yin closed his eyes and slightly leaned out his face, understanding why Pei Qing liked to sit here. Here, one could feel free.

As the elevator arrived, Mo Ytherein turned his head, and both brothers had a thin layer of sweat on their foreheads as they squeezed out of the elevator.

Just now, when the servants shouted for them, gesturing and speaking in a hurry, Pei Mingshu didn’t want to listen anymore. He walked a few steps out and looked up, only to see Mo Yin almost half of his body leaning out of the window. Moyin was originally slender, and his lower body was paralyzed. Sitting on the windowsill, swaying in the wind, he seemed as if he might fall off at any moment. Pei Mingshu’s heart almost stopped, and Pei Qing rushed in directly from the side.

The mountain wind on the fifth floor was not too strong or too weak, gently blowing Mo Yin’s hair back and forth. Pei Mingshu suddenly noticed that Mo Yin was wearing old clothes.

A clean black T-shirt, and jeans, which looked a bit loose on him, as if he was wearing someone else’s clothes. But these were actually Moyin’s clothes, the ones he wore before the accident.

His frame was still there, but his flesh had diminished. So, the clothes fit loosely on his shoulders, his arms were slender, and the pant legs were empty, swaying with the wind.

Pei Mingshu stood still at the elevator entrance, his expression unchanged. “What are you doing sitting here?”

Mo Yin quietly looked at him, his eyes deep, then looked at Pei Qing. Pei Qing’s face was tense, his jaw seemed to be creaking.

Mo Yin gripped the window frame with one hand and leaned back slightly.

“Mo Yin—”

Pei Mingshu took a step forward, but Pei Qing didn’t shout, he just took a step forward as well.

“Don’t come over.”

During that moment of leaning back, Mo Yin felt as if the whole world had trembled.

So, he had found the last key to this world.

…It was himself.

Mo Yin felt it was incredible. He looked at them with a smile, who would have thought that the source of the harm would end up supporting them in turn? It was absurd.

Pei Mingshu and Pei Qing didn’t dare to act rashly.

“Mo Yin,” Pei Mingshu’s voice was gentle, “stop playing, I’ll come over and take you downstairs.” He took a step forward, and Mo Yin leaned back again. In an instant, his hair was blown up by the mountain wind, and the servants below exclaimed in surprise.

Pei Qing reached out to stop Pei Mingshu, his face as cold as ice, and said stiffly, “Don’t move.”

Mo Yin felt the trembling of the two forces.

He couldn’t help but feel a little amused.

Ah, that familiar feeling of collapse was finally coming again.

Mo Yin’s gaze shifted, with a hint of a smile in his eyes. Suddenly, he had another idea and wanted to try to verify his new judgment on these complex emotions of non-natural humans.

They would choose to live for “love.”

So, would they choose to die for “love” as well?

Mo Yin looked quietly at them, his lips curled slightly, and there was even a hint of tenderness in his eyes.

“Pei Mingshu, actually, when I first saw you, I wanted to dislike you. But you didn’t seem dislikable at all,” Mo Yin smiled softly, his tone gentle, “You’re a gentleman, and very gentle. Your apology is sincere, and you’ve been very good to me, so good that I don’t know how to dislike you anymore.”

Pei Mingshu’s gaze also softened. “Mo Yin…”

Mo Yin then looked at Pei Qing. “Pei Qing, you’re different. I really disliked you the first time I saw you.”

Pei Qing’s face was tense, but he didn’t seem angry. His movements were just very nervous.

Mo Yin’s calm narration made him inexplicably uneasy.

“But later, I found it very difficult to dislike you,” Moyin’s expression was somewhat confused, “Pei Qing, why are you so good to me? You never disliked me or hated me.”

“I’m really bad, and I know that it actually has little to do with you two. I’ve already exceeded what I should have done, but I don’t want to stop…”

Mo Yin’s expression became somewhat bewildered, and he murmured, “If I stop, I don’t know what to do.”

“Mo Yin,” Pei Mingshu stared quietly at his hand clutching the windowsill, his Adam’s apple rolling, “you still have many things you can do. You can study, travel, and see the world’s scenery from every corner. Do you want to study abroad? I know you don’t want to see us. I can send you to study abroad so that you won’t see us anymore.”

“Study abroad…”

Mo Yin smiled and said, “I don’t want to study abroad.”

“Study abroad…” he repeated again, his expression distant, “Have to take a plane, right…”

He looked at the two of them with clear eyes, his expression becoming resolute and firm. Then, a hint of sadness emerged, “You two are fools, but it seems like I’m being foolish too. I don’t want to hate anymore… Goodbye, and happy birthday.”

The wind whistled in his ears, and as he fell, the entire world seemed to shake.

The falling speed became surprisingly slow as if the will of the world did not allow him to fall.

The window twisted and dissolved, and the two figures behind the window ran towards him in the same posture. Pei Qing, who had remained silent, ran ahead of Pei Mingshu, trying to grab him. The distance between them did not close or widen as they fell; they remained close, but they could not touch each other…

Pei Qing’s face contorted, and cracks appeared on Pei Mingshu’s once-perfect face as well. Both of them, disregarding everything, fell in the direction of Mo Yin…

“Warning, world column energy collapse, mission failed.”

“Coordinator’s body eliminated, about to log out of the world.”

The familiar announcement sounded in his ears. Mo Yin widened his eyes, savoring the expressions of the two. He didn’t want to miss a single moment.

How wonderful it was, the pouring of immense energy, all the energy colliding and exploding in chaos… It was indescribably magnificent, like the dissolution of cosmic life, accompanied by the reckless pursuit, grander than Mo Yin’s imagination.

The two faces also began to split and disintegrate. Taking advantage of their last consciousness, Mo Yin smiled at them.

“Fools.”

His lips moved clearly, and he raised his middle finger, his eyes full of malicious joy.

“You’ve been fooled again.”

Volume Two: Return to the Wilderness