Ye Yunche was standing outside, frantic with impatience.
He planted his suitcase on the ground and stared at his brother, who had been blocking the car door for ages. Through the narrow gap where the door had been opened, all he could see was his brother’s shoulder and back. He had no idea what was happening inside.
Unable to hold back any longer, he demanded, “W-what have you been doing in there for so long? Does it really take that long to buckle a seat belt?”
Ye Yunjin slowly straightened his back and turned to face him.
His fingers gradually curled into fists, the joints giving off a faint series of clicks.
His gaze shifted darkly toward Ye Yunche.
Ye Yunche was still chattering away. “Feeling guilty, huh?”
The next second, a fist shot straight toward his face.
Ye Yunche reacted quickly. Like a well-trained cheetah, he instinctively sprang backward several steps and dodged the punch.
His voice rose several notches in shock. “Bro, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Ye Yunjin’s gaze was icy, and his voice came through clenched teeth, each word bitten off clearly. “I think you’re the one who’s lost your mind!”
Before he had even finished speaking, a second punch came flying.
This time, Ye Yunche didn’t manage to dodge. The fist landed squarely on his cheekbone.
He staggered backward two steps, covered his face with one hand, and sucked in a sharp breath.
Outside, the two brothers were locked in a fierce brawl, trading punches and kicks.
Meanwhile, Zhu Liuyue, sitting calmly in the passenger seat, pulled out her phone.
She opened WeChat with a swipe of her finger and began replying to Xiao Qitang’s messages.
They hadn’t originally had each other on WeChat. Xiao Qitang had insisted on adding her when they went to the market to buy clothes for children in the mountainous areas.
His reason had sounded fairly sincere.
“I picked out so many nice outfits for you. When you give them to the children, take some pictures of them wearing the clothes and send them to me, okay?”
The excuse hadn’t been particularly convincing, but she had added him anyway.
At that moment, new messages were popping up one after another in their chat.
A line of text appeared beside Xiao Qitang’s profile picture:
“Your flight gets back today, right? I’m already at the airport to pick you up. I’m holding a bouquet of flowers. Can you see me?”
Zhu Liuyue thought he was an idiot too.
Even through the car window, she could hear Ye Yunche cry out in pain.
She calmly typed, “Can’t see you. I’m already in the airport’s underground parking lot.”
Xiao Qitang instantly replied with a string of exclamation marks. His shock practically radiated through the screen.
“…!!! What? You’re already out? Zhao Xin gave me the wrong flight number. Wait there—I’m coming to the parking lot to find you.”
Another message immediately followed:
“Hold on, that doesn’t make sense. Why are you in the parking lot? And who else came to pick you up?”
Zhu Liuyue glanced out the window. Ye Yunche was currently bent over, dodging Ye Yunjin’s third punch.
His stance was a complete mess.
She looked away and calmly typed a single line:
“Ye Yunjin.”
Xiao Qitang replied almost at once.
“Wait for me! Don’t get in his car—get in mine! Oh, and I wrote you a new song. We can listen to it in the car.”
Before Zhu Liuyue could respond, another dull thud came from outside, followed by Ye Yunche’s anguished howl.
She sighed and put away her phone.
She decided to deal with the two brothers first.
The car window slowly lowered.
Zhu Liuyue turned her head, her gaze landing on the two brothers.
Her tone was mild, but carried a weight that could not be ignored.
“Stop fighting.”
Ye Yunjin heard her. The fist he had already thrown halted in midair.
He turned his face slightly. His amber eyes still held the icy, ferocious edge from moments before.
But the instant his gaze met hers, that chill melted away.
Unfortunately, Ye Yunche’s fist had already been pulled back and couldn’t stop in time. Carried by its momentum, it slammed heavily into Ye Yunjin’s cheek with a muffled thud.
Ye Yunjin’s head was knocked slightly to the side by the force. He couldn’t help sucking in a breath of pain.
He raised a hand and rubbed the cheekbone that had been struck. A faint flush quickly spread across his skin.
He frowned.
“Yunche, you—”
Before he could finish, he turned his head back. The amber eyes that had been so cold a moment ago suddenly filled with a dewy sheen.
The corners of his eyes drooped slightly as he looked at Zhu Liuyue with perfectly measured grievance.
Even his voice softened, carrying a hint of restraint and magnanimity.
“It’s all right. I’m his older brother, after all. It doesn’t matter if he hits me.”
Ye Yunche was utterly stunned, his mouth hanging slightly open.
“…”
No, wait.
Wasn’t that his move?
How had his brother learned it?
And the shamelessly innocent act of showing weakness—his brother had imitated it almost perfectly.
Zhu Liuyue let out a helpless sigh.
She simply pushed open the car door and got out, then walked around to the trunk and rummaged through it until she found the spare first-aid kit.
She beckoned to Ye Yunjin.
“Come here. I’ll put some medicine on it.”
As Ye Yunjin hurried over, Ye Yunche shouted from behind them, unwilling to be left out.
“I want some too!”
Zhu Liuyue shot him a sidelong glance and said disdainfully, “Be quiet.”
That one look shattered Ye Yunche’s heart. He stood where he was, wronged and sulky, his voice muffled.
“You’re playing favorites. You said you’d like me as much as you like my brother…”
The moment those words fell, the atmosphere seemed to freeze.
Ye Yunjin turned his head in confusion, his gaze moving back and forth between Zhu Liuyue and Ye Yunche.
There was bewilderment in his voice.
“…What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
Zhu Liuyue wore a troubled expression, the cotton swab in her hand stopping in midair.
Her eyes darted about. In the end, she simply kept quiet, lowered her head, and pretended to be concentrating on finding the cap for the bottle of iodine.
Ye Yunjin quickly came up with what he considered the most reasonable explanation.
His gaze turned cold once more as it settled on his little brother, who was still rubbing his hand with an aggrieved expression.
“So you impersonated me to get close to Liuyue, and now you’re asking for even more—expecting Liuyue to take responsibility for you? Aren’t you dreaming a little too big?”
When Ye Yunche heard that, he straightened his back instead.
The grievance vanished from his face, replaced by an open and unapologetic expression.
He even raised his voice as he proclaimed:
“Bro! I’m not here to break you two up. I’m here to join you!”
Ye Yunjin’s face turned livid with rage.
How could anyone have a younger brother this shameless?
At that moment, his urge to strangle him reached its peak.
“……”
