Chapter 8

Mo Yin’s expression showed genuine surprise, perhaps the only time he had shown his true emotions in front of others since entering this world.

However, he quickly adjusted himself. His entire face sank, tinged with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Pushing the wheelchair to where Pei Qing stood, he snatched the card back from Pei Qing’s limp fingers.

Pei Qing stood still, neither moving nor saying more. His hands remained in his pockets as he turned and walked away.

Mo Yin looked at the half-open door, then back at the card in his hand. The absurdity of the situation lingered in his mind.

What did Pei Qing mean by that?

Did he like Pei Mingshu?

Was Pei Qing suggesting that Mo Yin was too obedient and flattering to Pei Mingshu? Or was there another implication?

Could it be that he was implying that Mo Yin had a desire for a sexual relationship with Pei Mingshu?

Mo Yin found the idea incredulous.

According to his apparent age as a natural person, he had only recently come of age. Unlike the “Mo Yin” of this world, his parents passed away shortly after his birth. In his memory, his impression of his parents was almost nonexistent, as their care and upbringing were handled by the Union’s Natural Persons Welfare Department.

Due to his naturally strong mental power, the department assigned twelve specialists to take care of him, shielding him from any outside influence until he reached adulthood and was assigned tasks. He had minimal contact with outsiders, and he had no interest in interacting with others.

The physiological desires of natural persons were very low, and the stronger their mental power, the lower their needs in this regard. Without even basic physical needs, let alone psychological ones.

The idea of liking someone felt uncomfortable and almost repulsive to Mo Yin, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin.

Mo Yin glanced at the card in his hand, then at the doorway, and finally at the box lying on the carpet. Unable to make sense of Pei Qing’s startling statement, he suddenly had a realization.

—Pei Qing wasn’t a natural person.

They were inhabitants of a small world, where their loves and hates were relatively shallow and ordinary.

Mo Yin pushed the wheelchair over to pick up the gift box from the floor.

Pei Qing had bought him a scarf, presumably as a New Year’s gift.

Mo Yin recalled the afternoon when they left the old house. There was a draft in the hallway, and he had leaned against Pei Qing’s back, hunching his neck to suppress a cough. When Pei Qing asked what was wrong, he said it was nothing, gripping his collar tightly with one hand to keep the wind out. At that moment, Pei Qing had turned his face slightly, his gaze seemingly unusual, devoid of his usual coldness, hinting at a warmth that Mo Yin hadn’t fully understood at the time, thinking that Pei Qing’s eyes were simply blurred by the wind.

The scarf was soft to the touch, feeling like sinking into a cloud.

Pei Qing’s remark had been unexpected, perhaps implying something about Mo Yin’s feelings towards Pei Mingshu.

Mo Yin held the card and the scarf, lost in thought.

After the New Year, Pei Mingshu immediately flew abroad, leaving Mo Yin to realize that, despite being less favored, Pei Qing was still very affectionate towards Pei Qing. Conversely, Pei Qing seemed somewhat impatient.

Pei Qing suggested that Pei Qing intern at the company for a couple of days after the New Year, but Pei Qing flatly refused and left the dining room. Mo Yin, holding his bowl, hesitated and looked at Pei Qing.

Pei Qing smiled faintly, showing no signs of anger. “Let’s eat.”

People had many facets.

Some people appeared ruthless when chasing profits, disregarding others’ lives, but when faced with their family, they were tolerant and accommodating, appearing just like any ordinary father.

Others might appear cold on the surface, but their hearts hid a volcano waiting to erupt.

The Pei mansion had an internal elevator, spanning five floors. Pei Qing lived on the second floor, Pei Mingshu on the third, Pei Qing on the top floor, and the fourth floor was said to be where Pei’s wife used to recuperate from her illness. Mo Yin lived on the ground floor, and he had never been upstairs before. Today, he pushed the wheelchair into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

The mansion was designed in pure Western style, with the space becoming smaller as one ascended. It felt like the crown of a crown. When the elevator door opened, the view felt much narrower than downstairs, resembling an attic.

The wall spanned with wood, exhibited a triangular downward trend, with an arched glass window situated at the center of the triangle. The tail end of the triangle is connected to a small door. Pei Qing was sitting on the platform extending from the window, one long leg stretched straight while the other dangled freely below the window. In his hand was a silver harmonica.

Hearing the sound of the elevator opening, Pei Qing furrowed his brows and turned back, then withdrew his gaze upon seeing Mo Yin.

Since New Year’s Eve, Mo Yin hadn’t exchanged a single word with Pei Qing. Their relationship seemed to have reverted to its initial state of being unrelated to each other.

Mo Yin pushed the wheelchair to the window.

Pei Qing enjoyed standing by the window and looking out.

When Mo Yin reached the window, he found that, from the high floors, the Pei mansion seemed boundless, dwarfing even the mountains in the distance.

“Why don’t you want to go to the company?” Mo Yin whispered.

Pei Qing remained silent for a long time. He didn’t answer but picked up the harmonica and played a tune.

The harmonica’s sound was average, and the scratches on its surface indicated it was quite old.

“Are you afraid you won’t do well?” Mo Yin asked.

Pei Qing shot him a cold sideways glance.

“Of course, I can do well.”

“In that case, why not go?”

“It’s none of your concern.”

Mo Yin fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said to Pei Qing, “Can I try playing the harmonica?”

The harmonica was warm to the touch, probably from being held by Pei Qing for a long time. Mo Yin asked for paper from Pei Qing, who gave him a cold sideways glance and reached to take the harmonica back from Mo Yin. Mo Yin held onto it tightly and whispered, “Forget it.”

A melodious tune began to play, and Mo Yin played “Friendship Will Last Forever” on the harmonica, a tune that exuded timeless and classic beauty with a hint of melancholy.

At first, he wasn’t very skilled, but he gradually got into the rhythm. Pei Qing listened as Mo Yin played, his gaze fixed firmly on Mo Yin’s face. After finishing, Mo Yin’s face was slightly flushed, with a hint of a smile. “How was that?”

“Average.”

Mo Yin’s expression was somewhat awkward as Pei Qing took the harmonica from him and brushed it with his sleeve. Then, Pei Qing began to play the harmonica himself.

The tune he played was unfamiliar to Mo Yin, seeming to be played according to his own whim. It sounded like a bird flying freely in the sky, lonely yet free.

The sound of the harmonica echoed in the small space, evoking a nostalgic atmosphere.

After finishing playing, Pei Qing asked Mo Yin, “Do you like the Pei mansion?”

Their eyes met, and Pei Qing’s eyes were like a mirror, reflecting Mo Yin’s expression while seemingly judging him at the same time.

This was a crucial moment for both of them, which Mo Yin keenly perceived.

His heart stirred slightly, then he blinked calmly and replied, “I don’t like it.”

Pei Qing’s eyes flickered.

“If you don’t like it, why did you come?”

Mo Yin forced a bitter smile. “Because I didn’t have a choice.”

Yes.

Because there was no choice.

Neither of them had a choice.

Pei Qing fell silent, looking down at the harmonica in his hand.

“After graduating from university, I’ll leave,” Mo Yin said.

Pei Qing looked at him, his expression was somewhat difficult to read.

“By then, I should be capable of living on my own,” Mo Yin said earnestly. “We can’t get what we want without doing anything. Everything depends on ourselves, as you said.”

Pei Qing’s lips moved slightly. He then turned to look out the window before turning back to Mo Yin. “Was it Pei Jingyou who sent you to persuade me?”

Mo Yin’s face darkened. “Why do you always like to say such inexplicable things?”

With that, he pushed the wheelchair. “Forget it, I don’t want to talk to you anymore, and you don’t want to talk to me anyway.”

The wheelchair turned, but its path was obstructed by protruding feet. Mo Yin turned around, and Pei Qing looked down at him from a higher vantage point. “I’m interning at the company. What if you encounter another unexpected situation at school?”

Mo Yin’s face instantly flushed.

“It won’t happen. Everything has been fixed.”

“What if it does?”

“…I’ll ask someone for help.”

The more Mo Yin spoke, the lower his head drooped, and he tucked his chin into his chest. Pei Qing moved his foot, pulling him and the wheelchair closer, his gaze fixed on Mo Yin’s smooth forehead. “Why didn’t you ask for help that day?”

Mo Yin remained silent with his head down.

Pei Qing’s foot hooked onto the wheelchair, indicating that if he didn’t answer, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave.

Mo Yin, with a helpless tone, murmured, “I don’t know.”

Pei Qing fell silent too. After a while, he tapped Mo Yin’s face with a harmonica. The harmonica’s casing had become somewhat cold. Mo Yin looked up, and Pei Qing was still staring at him.

Their eyes met, and there seemed to be a growing sense of something unusual between them.

Mo Yin was the first to avert his gaze, his face slightly red.

“I’ll go down.”

He moved the wheelchair, releasing the long legs that had been hooked onto it.

As Mo Yin pushed the wheelchair forward, he felt a gaze firmly fixed on him from behind. Entering the elevator, he turned the wheelchair around.

Pei Qing leaned against the windowsill, his gaze steadfastly fixed on Mo Yin’s direction. Even after Mo Yin noticed, Pei Qing’s gaze remained unwavering, as if grasping onto Mo Yin like a tangible substance.

As the elevator doors closed, the stiff expression on Mo Yin’s face slowly returned to normal. He lowered his head to avoid the surveillance cameras, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

—

After Pei Mingshu returned to the country, he found that Pei Qing was already interning at the company. He didn’t react much but rather asked Mo Yin if it would be inconvenient for him to be alone at school.

Mo Yin: “I can handle being alone.”

“You’re really obedient.”

Pei Mingshu ruffled Mo Yin’s hair, and Mo Yin didn’t avoid it, but said, “Can you stop calling me ‘obedient’?”

Pei Mingshu smiled, “Why?”

Mo Yin didn’t answer, he just looked at him with a flicker in his eyes.

Pei Mingshu didn’t probe further, lowering his hand and saying softly, “It seems like this is the first time you’ve actively made a request to me.”

Mo Yin looked up at him, and Pei Mingshu smiled again, ruffling his hair. “I promise you.”

“Thank you.”

Pei Mingshu smiled, “So, can you promise me a request as well?”

“What?”

Pei Mingshu thought for a moment and said, “Let’s leave it for a couple of days. I’ll ask you for it in two days.”

The “couple of days” Pei Mingshu mentioned happened to be in early spring.

April 8th was Pei Mingshu’s birthday, and coincidentally, it was also Pei Qing’s birthday.

That day, the Pei family held a grand party. Due to recent negative publicity, the company’s stock plummeted, but with Pei Mingshu’s joining, the company gradually regained its reputation, and coupled with the upcoming event, almost all the prominent figures in the city attended.

Pei Mingshu was the center of attention, hosting the banquet below, while Pei Jingyou humbly played the supporting role. A group of old friends praised him for his good luck in having such a talented son.

“Shall we go down?” Mo Yin looked down at the courtyard, illuminated by dazzling lights.

Pei Qing, dressed in formal attire, lazily leaned against the window, “Why the rush?”

Mo Yin stayed by his side, just as Pei Qing accompanied him home. They remained silent, yet seemed to share an unspoken understanding.

This time belonged exclusively to them.

When Pei Mingshu came up, the elevator doors opened, but neither Pei Qing nor Mo Yin turned back. They both looked out the window together. Pei Qing sat by the window, slightly higher than Mo Yin’s position, while Mo Yin leaned towards Pei Qing.

“Are you both hiding here?”

Both Pei Qing and Mo Yin turned around simultaneously.

This scene seemed to have happened several times before, and Pei Mingshu couldn’t help but smile. Yet amidst his smile, he felt a faint sense of strangeness.

Pei Qing jumped down from the windowsill without a word and pushed Mo Yin’s wheelchair.

Pei Mingshu looked at Mo Yin, who seemed slightly embarrassed but didn’t refuse. Pei Mingshu noticed that Mo Yin’s discomfort wasn’t because Pei Qing was pushing his wheelchair, but because of something else that he couldn’t discern.

On such a public occasion, Mo Yin originally didn’t want to attend. Pei Mingshu agreed, but later, Pei Qing came to find Mo Yin. “Why aren’t you going? Are you scared?”

In the elevator, Pei Mingshu stood to one side while Pei Qing pushed Mo Yin’s wheelchair. The three descended quietly. When the elevator doors opened, Pei Qing pushed Mo Yin out first, followed by Pei Mingshu. He couldn’t help but wonder when the relationship between the two had become so good.

Pei Mingshu didn’t have any particular feelings about it, but he hadn’t expected Pei Qing and Mo Yin to get along so well.

Both of them had cold personalities, but they seemed to get along well when they were together.

Pei Qing cut the cake, and Pei Mingshu stood on the left side, applauding gently. Pei Jingyou laughed heartily with his arm around Pei Qing’s shoulder, while Mo Yin silently watched the scene from behind the three.

After the banquet, Mo Yin privately gave Pei Qing a gift—a new harmonica, wrapped in a light blue velvet bag, with a shiny surface.

“Happy birthday.”

Pei Qing held the harmonica in his hand, lightly caressing it with his palm.

“Xiao Yin.”

Hearing the voice behind him, Pei Qing put the harmonica back in the bag and tied it up.

Pei Mingshu had a bit to drink at the banquet and looked spirited. “Whispering secrets?”

“No,” Mo Yin quickly denied.

Pei Qing glanced at him, noticing Mo Yin’s slightly red ears.

“Are you done?” Pei Mingshu asked Pei Qing. “It’s my turn now.”

The teasing tone made Pei Qing grip the bag containing the harmonica tighter and silently turn away.

Pei Mingshu was accustomed to Pei Qing’s temper and just smiled lightly, not minding. He went behind Mo Yin, pushing his wheelchair. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see the flowers.”

The weather had warmed up, and the gardeners had painstakingly nurtured a patch of lilies, which were slowly blooming. Pei Mingshu had heard from the servants that Mo Yin liked them, so he brought Mo Yin to see them in the evening. “The fragrance of these flowers is even stronger at night.”

Mo Yin nodded. “Yes, it’s very fragrant.”

Pei Mingshu held onto his wheelchair, smiling. “Were you giving Pei Qing a birthday gift just now?”

Mo Yin softly replied, “Hmm.”

“What about mine?”

Mo Yin lowered his head and whispered, “You don’t lack anything. I don’t know what to give you.”

Pei Mingshu chuckled. “Then just wish me a ‘happy birthday’.”

Mo Yin fell silent for a while as if finding it difficult to say those words. Patiently, Pei Ming Shu waited, and after a long time, he heard a very soft “Happy Birthday.”

Pei Mingshu said, “It seems like you’re much more relaxed with Pei Qing than you are with me. Did I make you nervous somewhere?”

“…No.”

Mo Yin found it difficult to deny.

His shoulder was lightly tapped, and Mo Yin heard Pei Mingshu say, “Xiao Yin, do you remember the last time I asked you to promise me something?”

“I remember.”

Pei Mingshu moved from behind the wheelchair to face Mo Yin, squatting down. “I want you to really become part of our family.”

Mo Yin’s expression seemed to waver.

“It’s not about naturalization,” Pei Mingshu said gently. “I want you to consider this place as your second home and us as your family.”

It had been half a year since Mo Yin had arrived at the Pei household.

During this time, Mo Yin received meticulous care, the servants of the Pei family were very kind to him, and although Pei Jing You didn’t have much contact with him, he was also friendly. As for Pei Qing, not to mention, they spent the most time together, and there was even a hint of ambiguity between them. As for Pei Mingshu in front of him, he was the kindest to him…

The extensive renovations to the Pei residence, personally designed by his mother, were enough to show how sincerely Pei Mingshu wanted Mo Yin to join this family.

Perhaps from that moment on, Pei Mingshu had made up his mind to keep Mo Yin in the Pei family.

The two brothers were indeed quite different.

Pei Qing was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Despite his aloof demeanor, his defenses crumbled easily, and it was easy to get close to him. Mo Yin could now gradually understand Pei Qing’s emotions.

Pei Mingshu, on the other hand, was warm on the outside but cold on the inside. He could treat people well enough to elevate them, but this was only out of his own volition. He arranged and controlled everything around him, but he himself was difficult to be influenced by external forces. It was hard to truly break through his defenses.

Mo Yin gripped the wheelchair tightly, his expression seeming to falter.

Pei Mingshu said gently, “If you’re willing, you can call me ‘big brother’.”

Since he had identified these two protagonists, Mo Yin had been thinking about how to bring down the two brothers.

In this world, he lacked the overpowering psychic abilities, had no power or influence, and even lacked a healthy body. It was like a fool’s dream to try to overthrow a giant like Youcheng.

We must find a way to incite these two powerful forces to fight each other, leading them to self-destruct.

However, Pei Qing is not close to Pei Mingshu, and Pei Mingshu also does not care about Pei Qing. There is no substantial conflict between them, and it seems unlikely that they would reach the point of mutual destruction over inheritance disputes.

How can two brothers with such shallow conflicts be provoked into fighting?

— We still have to thank Pei Qing for the inspiration.

These people, these individuals in their small world, harbor complex feelings of love, hate, and resentment.

But he is different.

He is a powerful natural being who has evolved by eliminating weak elements.

He can manipulate and control these useless things to achieve his goals, pursuing the purest pleasure of destruction.

This is his greatest advantage in this world.

Pei Mingshu noticed a hint of complexity in Mo Yin’s eyes, as if he were hiding a secret yet about to reveal it. He turned his face away from his gaze, his expression stubborn and pitiful in Pei Mingshu’s eyes. His eyes shimmered slightly. “No, I refuse.”