LMMY chapter 91

“Have a seat.” Sheng Min closed the door and turned around to see that Sheng Hui had already sprawled out on the couch.

The hallway lights were dim, and Sheng Min hadn’t noticed until now that Sheng Hui had a wound on his cheekbones, and his eye sockets were faintly bruised.

“Did you get into a fight?” Sheng Min asked reflexively.

“What’s it to you?” Sheng Hui, as usual, showed no courtesy. He bit out the words as if the fight was with Sheng Min, “Stop pretending like you care about me!”

Sheng Min frowned at the angry expression on his face. He didn’t understand where this rage came from, especially when he had never been close to this brother of his.

When Sheng Hui was born, Sheng Min had just started kindergarten. In his hazy memory, Wang Shuying showed a type of affection to this baby that Sheng Min had never experienced. She would carry him around all day, giving instructions to Sheng Min to mix formula and rock the cradle.

She forced her eldest son to take care of the younger one but was also wary of him. The moment Sheng Min got too close, she would immediately order him to keep his distance, like a lioness guarding her cub.

At the time, however, Sheng Zhe was still around, giving Sheng Min some breathing room. Being young and unaware of how to read people’s moods, Sheng Min didn’t find it too difficult.

There were even a few times when Wang Shuying went out, and Sheng Zhe took him and Sheng Hui to the nearby park. On the lawn, under the sun, Sheng Hui, still babbling, ran to call him ‘Ge.’ He thought having a younger brother wasn’t such a bad thing.

He was happy to take care of him, as it was only natural, since he was the older brother.

But soon after, when Sheng Min was chosen to be a child star, Sheng Zhe was diagnosed with an illness and passed away not long after. With all these changes in his life, Sheng Min, lost in confusion, found that his brother had grown a pair of eyes filled with resentment, just like their mother’s.

….

“You’re not talking,” Sheng Hui’s impatient voice pulled Sheng Min out of his thoughts.

“I don’t have anything to say.” Sheng Min continued toweling his half-dry hair. “You’ve come all this way—what do you want to tell me? You didn’t even let Mom know. She’s very worried about you.”

“Her?” Sheng Hui scoffed with a disdainful look, glancing at Sheng Min with a hint of mockery.

If it were in the past, Sheng Min might have tried to persuade him, but now, he really wasn’t in the mood.

“Get to the point,” he said tiredly. “Say what you need to, and I’ll take you to the airport afterward.”

“You think you can just dismiss me like that?” Sheng Hui shot to his feet. “If you don’t give me money today, I’m not leaving!”

The mention of money made Sheng Min’s headache worse. Compared to Wang Shuying, Sheng Hui had only asked for money from him a few times. Many times, he didn’t need to show up; he just hid behind Wang Shuying.

He was like the barnacle, the crab with sharp claws in the seashell, the one who benefited from the parasitic relationship. Only when his needs weren’t met did his ugly side appear.

The light in the living room shone brightly on Sheng Hui’s angry face. He had dyed his hair a dirty orange, which made his skin look even darker.

They really didn’t resemble each other at all. Looking at how Sheng Hui’s face increasingly resembled Wang Shuying’s, Sheng Min couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness. Was this the reason why he could never receive favoritism?

In fact, he no longer felt so sad about such things. His heart just felt stifled. He walked over to the table, drank some water, and swallowed two Paroxetine pills. He hadn’t had dinner yet, and the pills made him feel nauseous. He tried to calm down and turned back to softly say, “I don’t remember you leaving any money here for safekeeping?”

“Fuck you.” Sheng Hui cursed angrily, pointing at Sheng Min’s nose. “Are you looking for trouble? Didn’t Wang Shuying tell you I’m buying a house?!”

“She did,” Sheng Min replied. “She said you needed to train… is it really for training?”

Sheng Hui didn’t answer, glaring at him through gritted teeth, as if his eyeballs might pop out.

Sheng Min lowered his eyes and took another sip of water without looking at him. “I also said, if it’s really for training, I can help you rent a place. I’ve even bought you a car, and the family home isn’t that far—”

“Are you trying to kill me?!” Sheng Hui interrupted, his tone both furious and defiant. “You’re loaded, and yet buying me a house is such a big deal?”

His unreasonable attitude reminded Sheng Min of how he had been as a child, aggressively snatching toys from other kids in the yard. It was hard to suppress a sigh. “You’re almost twenty, not two. Dad’s gone, and I have no problem taking care of you, but you’re already an adult…”

“Cut the crap! You just can’t stand me being better off than you. Just because you won’t buy me a house, Xu Yi won’t even talk to me anymore,” Sheng Hui shouted.

“Who’s Xu Yi?” Sheng Min frowned, suddenly recalling that when Wang Shuying first mentioned buying a house for Sheng Hui, she had said something about him being in a relationship.

“Your girlfriend?”

“That bitch.” Sheng Hui gritted his teeth. “She’s just disgusted by me not having money. She dares to dump me?!”

“Where did you learn to talk like this Sheng Hui?” Sheng Min couldn’t take the foul language anymore.

“It’s the truth! I’m not making this up. What’s so great about her new guy anyway? Just because his family has some money and they got him a crappy little apartment near the school, she suddenly thinks she’s too good for me? Wait until I teach her a lesson—”

“Sheng Hui!” Sheng Min interrupted sharply. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but you can’t talk about a girl like this behind her back. Not everyone will love you unconditionally and put up with you like Mom does. If she’s not with you, maybe it’s simply because she doesn’t like you. You should have already gotten used to the idea that there are things in this world you can’t have.”

“Stop defending that b*tch! She’s just a gold digger! What do you know? Aren’t you just a smiling face on TV?”

Sheng Hui refused to listen to a single word. No matter how serious Sheng Min’s tone, it only added fuel to the fire. Sheng Hui’s anger surged, almost bursting out of him. “It’s all your fault!” He stomped his foot, losing all reason, like a primitive person without intelligence. “It’s all because of you! You ruined everything for me. You buy a house for yourself but not for me. If you’d bought me a house, she wouldn’t have broken up with me! Why do you have what I don’t?!”

“Because every penny I use is earned by myself, and every penny you use is from me.” Sheng Min looked at him, exhausted. “I could buy it for you. But can you guarantee this will be the last time? That after this, you won’t ask me for a single penny again? That Mom won’t come asking me for money anymore?”

“I can!” Sheng Hui’s veins bulged on his forehead as he gritted his teeth.

“Alright.” Sheng Min smiled faintly and nodded. “Words alone mean nothing. Write a formal agreement.”

As he spoke, he turned to get a pen and paper. Seeing that Sheng Min was serious, Sheng Hui panicked and immediately shouted, “No. I’ll ask you for money if I want! You should give it to me. You owe me.”

With that, he lunged forward, trying to snatch the pen and paper from Sheng Min’s hands.

“What do I owe you?” Sheng Min, though slender, was half a head taller than Sheng Hui, leaving him with no advantage. Sheng Min calmly questioned him. “I’m only three years older than you. I’ve raised you into adulthood. What else do I owe you?”

“Of course, you owe me!” Sheng Hui couldn’t win the tug-of-war, nor could he come up with a retort. Cornered, he shouted recklessly, “If Dad hadn’t picked you up, you’d have frozen to death in the streets! You owe our whole family—of course, you owe me too!”

In that moment, it was as if the world had paused for a second. Sheng Min didn’t even immediately register what Sheng Hui had just said. His ears buzzed, his eardrums ached, and his mind went blank.

It felt like a stretched-out slow-motion scene. He saw Sheng Hui suddenly cover his mouth, panic-stricken, retreating several steps backward.

So, when a person is truly terrified, they do react in such a theatrical way. Sheng Min thought absentmindedly.

In his frantic retreat, Sheng Hui bumped into the decorative cabinet by the dining table, shattering ceramic ornaments with a loud crash.

How could it be like this? So, this is how it was.

Among the crisp sound of breaking porcelain, Sheng Min thought with an eerie calmness. Yet, his strength suddenly gave out, and the pen and paper fell to the ground.

He looked at Sheng Hui and said softly, “Say that again.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Realizing the gravity of his mistake, Sheng Hui shook his head repeatedly, stammering, “I… I…”

Unable to make sense of his own words, he avoided Sheng Min’s attempt to grab his arm, pulled open the door, and bolted. He was in such a hurry that he tripped on the rug by the door, but he didn’t stop, scrambling up and disappearing without a trace.

“Ge!”

Yang Xu, who had been waiting outside, heard the commotion inside and grew anxious. Just as he was about to barge in, he saw Sheng Hui rush out. Hurrying over to check, he saw Sheng Min standing pale amidst the shattered ceramic pieces. His head grew hot, and he chased after Sheng Hui: “Stop right there!”

The whole building echoed with the sound of their footsteps pounding down the halls.

Sheng Min felt drained. He slowly crouched down, resting his head on his knees. His mind was a kaleidoscope of memories—cold floors, endless scolding, red paint splattered by debt collectors on their door… and Sheng Zhe’s hesitant expression on his deathbed.

“Xiao Min,” he had said.

But what had he said after that? Sheng Min couldn’t recall no matter how hard he tried.

Yang Xu eventually returned, looking dejected.

“Where is he?” Sheng Min asked.

“I couldn’t catch him. Do you want me to—”

“No need.” Sheng Min shook his head. “Don’t bother.”

“Ge.” Yang Xu hesitated, carefully asking, “Are you okay? Did he bully you again?”

“No.” Sheng Min swallowed hard. “Pour me a glass of water please.”

“Oh, right, okay.” Yang Xu hurriedly fetched him a glass of warm water.

Sheng Min held onto the sofa to stand up, drank the water, and stared at the cup in a daze. “Is Sheng Hui gone?”

Yang Xu looked at him, astonished, his expression almost tearful. “Ge, what are you saying? Don’t scare me. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, you just said he’s gone, didn’t you? I forgot.”

Sheng Min’s hair was still wet, and water dripped onto his eyelashes, making it seem like he was crying. But his voice was steady, albeit weak. “It’s fine, Yang Xu. I’m fine… Go get someone to clean this up and calculate how much was broken. Pay the damages… Go ahead. I’ll stay here. I’m not going anywhere.”

He repeated it twice before Yang Xu reluctantly left, glancing back every few steps.

Sheng Min looked at the mess on the floor, which oddly overlapped with the memory of Wang Shuying and Sheng Hui barging into his home on his birthday, smashing his cake.

He absentmindedly wiped away the hair falling into his eyes, pulled out his phone, and scrolled past Li Xuan’s name. He paused briefly but eventually dialed a different number.

“Hello, Director… Will tomorrow’s filming proceed as scheduled?” Sheng Min’s gaze landed on a strand of dull orange hair on the ground. “Alright… There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”