“You don't? What do you eat, spring rolls? Or Tangyuan? No problem, I can make it.” s.h.i.+ Jin pulled hard, exerting his energy, but at the moment, his physical condition was too poor to make Li Jiuzheng budge. In the end, he gave up and hugged his brother's arm. He turned his head towards Lian Jun. “Jun-shao, I want to take Fifth Brother back with us for the Spring Festival, but I can't move him. Please help me drag him back.”

Li Jiuzheng's frown deepened, and he pulled his arm away.

Lian Jun's face darkened. He ignored Li Jiuzheng, looked s.h.i.+ Jin's rather sorry figure up and down, and motioned for Gua One to stop pus.h.i.+ng the wheelchair. He gathered the blanket from his knees, placed his feet on the ground, and actually stood up. Slowly, he walked forward two steps, until he was at arm's length. Then, Lian Jun reached out and pulled the teenager into his arms.

s.h.i.+ Jin: “!!!”

“I'll deal with you later, just you wait.” Lian Jun's expression was brooding, though one had to look hard to notice. He laid s.h.i.+ Jin's head on his shoulder and used his other hand to bundle him up in the blanket, then wrapped him tightly in his arms. Lian Jun sent Li Jiuzheng an icy look and walked with s.h.i.+ Jin to the wheelchair.

Gua Two and the others had surrounded the area without anyone noticing. Now they rushed forward and secured Li Jiuzheng.

s.h.i.+ Jin let himself be led forward, still in Lian Jun's embrace, breathing in his light scent. He was completely dumbfounded.

“Lian Jun is walking! He's walking!” He screamed in his mind.

Xiao Si was also going crazy:

s.h.i.+ Jin: “…”

He clung to Lian Jun's clothes and ground out, “Xiao Si, what did you just say?”

The system started then played possum. As s.h.i.+ Jin was finally safe, it withdrew all the buffs, including the ones s.h.i.+elding him from pain and helping him to move. It was time for him to rest.

The next second, s.h.i.+ Jin closed his eyes and crumpled in Lian Jun's arms. He didn't have time to even open his mouth.

Lian Jun staggered under the weight of the young man's suddenly limp body and hurriedly stabilized himself. He glanced down to find that s.h.i.+ Jin fainted, and his lips tightened. He walked forward and carefully placed him in the vacant wheelchair.

Gua One quickly stepped closer to help him. After they settled s.h.i.+ Jin up, he noticed the sweat on Lian Jun's forehead, face pale from pain. “Jun-shao, you…” He began, worried.

“It's nothing. Push the wheelchair,” Lian Jun interrupted him. His voice sounded as usual. However, his body was slightly bent. He was able to stay upright only because he supported himself on the wheelchair armrest. He touched s.h.i.+ Jin's face then looked over his shoulder at Li Jiuzheng and commanded, “Bring him back. Inform s.h.i.+ Weichong that both his brothers have been found and tell him to go to Chengdu Military Hospital if he wants to find me.”

Gua Two acknowledged the order. He took out a gun and pointed it at Li Jiuzheng's back. “After you, Dr. Li.”

Li Jiuzheng glanced at him, then his eyes moved to s.h.i.+ Jin, unconscious in the wheelchair, and Lian Jun, whose condition was obviously not good and still worsening. Composing himself, he obediently walked in the direction indicated by Gua Two.

s.h.i.+ Jin woke up, once again, to the smell of antiseptics. He opened his eyes and looked around—oh, this time, there were four people at his bedside. He promptly turned his head away, trying to faint again.

“Are you awake?” Lian Jun's voice sounded, quiet and cold.

Sure enough, here we go.

s.h.i.+ Jin sighed and turned back. He looked at Lian Jun, who sat the closest to him, and squeezed out a flattering smile: “Jun-shao, you look really handsome when you walk. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs—your figure is great. It's just that you're too thin and kinda bony to hug, you have to eat more…”

Lian Jun, expressionless, reached out and pinched his mouth. “You can talk so much, it seems you're already fine,” he sneered.

s.h.i.+ Jin felt cold sweat on his back. He closed his eyes and began to cough as if he was suffocating, trying to show exactly just how bad was he feeling. His acting was very exaggerated.

Uncle Long, who was standing by, couldn't stand it any longer. He pushed Lian Jun's hand away and examined s.h.i.+ Jin's condition. Then, he fed him water, admonis.h.i.+ng him, “Don't toss about anymore, or you'll tear your wound open.”

s.h.i.+ Jin promptly became well-behaved. He took a sip of water, and his dry, itchy throat immediately felt much better. He looked at the two people standing further away and called out, “Big Brother, Fifth Brother…”

“Rest for now, we'll talk later,” s.h.i.+ Weichong said soothingly. He elbowed Li Jiuzheng, next to him, who was silent.

Li Jiuzheng glanced at s.h.i.+ Jin and said stiffly, “Sorry.”

s.h.i.+ Weichong looked at him in dissatisfaction.

The other man turned his head to avoid his eyes, looking like he didn't want to talk any more.

s.h.i.+ Weichong frowned and started to speak but held his words back. He looked at s.h.i.+ Jin with an ‘I'll give you an account later' expression and dragged Li Jiuzheng out of the ward.

s.h.i.+ Jin watched the whole thing with wide eyes.

Lian Jun reached the end of his patience. He pinched the teenager's cheek and pulled him towards himself.

s.h.i.+ Jin was forced to turn his gaze back on Lian Jun. At his unsightly expression, he forgot about his brothers at once and attempted to explain himself: “I didn't disobey your order, I was simply worried about you. That day, I was just going to take a look around the neighborhood without getting involved. However, when I got there, I saw you were in danger and moved without thinking. I didn't expect the sniper to target me. I called you right after getting shot, but I was muddled from pain and unfortunately dialed a wrong number…”

Lian Jun took his hand back but didn't speak, and his face still looked dark.

“I'm sorry. I'll take up any punishment you think suitable.” s.h.i.+ Jin lowered his head. He looked pale and weak and quite pitiful.

Lian Jun wanted to give him a dressing-down but couldn't bear to, so he only looked at the younger man with a deep frown. Finally, he forced out, “When you do something wrong, you apologize very quickly, yet every time, you turn around and do the same thing again. s.h.i.+ Jin, do you want me to lock you up?”

s.h.i.+ Jin cleared his throat awkwardly. “Not every time…”

“Want me to jog your memory?” Lian Jun retorted.

What to do, my golden thigh is angry and seems to have lost his rationality.

s.h.i.+ Jin shut his mouth and pulled his hand from under the quilt to grab Lian Jun's, ready to fawn over him.

Lian Jun's hand was on the armrest of the wheelchair, not far from the edge of the bed. However, s.h.i.+ Jin had difficulty reaching it—he was too hungry to muster up any strength.

Lian Jun sat motionless, watching. When s.h.i.+ Jin's hand was shaking and about to drop, he finally took it, squeezing hard. “No next time.”

s.h.i.+ Jin nodded, putting an obedient expression on his face, but his hand was most certainly not obedient. Ah, enough! He wriggled his body closer, set Lian Jun's hand down, and gently pinched his leg. He asked with concern, “Do your legs hurt?”

Lian Jun stiffened, and his expression that had barely eased turned dark again. He picked up s.h.i.+ Jin's hand and stuffed it back under the quilt. “Continue to rest. You have to be under observation for a while longer before you can eat, so bear with it,” he said.

Eh? His mood was better, how did it suddenly become worse again?

Upset, s.h.i.+ Jin called out, “Jun-shao, I…”

Lian Jun pinched his mouth closed once more, looking at him expressionlessly. “s.h.i.+ Jin, if you can't give me a response, don't concern yourself with me—it's not fair.” Retracting his hand, he motioned for Uncle Long to keep an eye on the patient, then turned his wheelchair and left.

s.h.i.+ Jin couldn't understand his words. Perplexed, he looked up at Uncle Long, his eyes sending out a distress call.

Uncle Long patted his forehead and said, "Don't ask, just shut up and sleep."

“But…”

Uncle Long took out his phone, put in a pair of earphones, and started listening to music.

s.h.i.+ Jin: “…”

“Xiao Si, I think there's a secret between Uncle Long and Lian Jun, but they don't want to for me to know.” His first informant refused to cooperate, so he had no choice but to fall back on the second, that is, his system.

Xiao Si played him a lullaby in his mind.

s.h.i.+ Jin became speechless from indignation. Still angry, he really fell asleep.

Next time, s.h.i.+ Jin found that the person sitting beside the bed was s.h.i.+ Weichong.

His brother helped him fix the bedding. He poured a gla.s.s of water, put in a straw and moved it close to his mouth, saying gently, “Drink some water first.”

s.h.i.+ Jin took a sip then looked around. “There's n.o.body else here?”

“They're busy with something else,” s.h.i.+ Weichong replied. He put up the bed table, picked up the food thermos on the bedside cabinet, and took out a bowl of porridge and a few side dishes. “Eat a bit to pad your stomach. Tell me if you want to go to the bathroom, I'll help you.”

s.h.i.+ Jin was injured, but it was just a shoulder wound. Earlier, he had no strength because of fever. Now that the temperature had subsided and he'd had a good night's sleep, he regained most of his energy. “It's fine. I'm not seriously hurt, I can go by myself.”

s.h.i.+ Weichong pursed his lips but said nothing. He helped him set the table and sat down beside the bed, saying, “Eat. Then, let's have a talk.”

s.h.i.+ Jin sighed inwardly when he saw his expression. Knowing this conversation was impossible to avoid, he resignedly picked up a spoon.

After eating his fill, the teenager's complexion stopped being so pale. s.h.i.+ Weichong's face also looked a little better.

s.h.i.+ Weichong got up and helped s.h.i.+ Jin clear the table, then settled him back on the bed. After wrestling with something inwardly, he said, “Lian Jun told me how you got injured. You're too reckless, Xiao Jin.”

s.h.i.+ Jin acknowledged his mistakes: “I'm sorry, I worried you.”

“No, you don't have to apologize to me.” s.h.i.+ Weichong helped him tuck in the quilt. After a moment of silence, he continued, “I've already talked to Jiuzheng, he promised not to find trouble with you anymore. It's my negligence, I haven't paid much attention to him lately. I didn't realize his mother's death had driven him to a dead end. And you… I'm not a good brother, Xiao Jin. It's me who should apologize to you.”

s.h.i.+ Jin frowned and called out, “Big brother.”

“I don't deserve to be your big brother.” s.h.i.+ Weichong looked down, a weary expression on his face. “You probably don't know… Though s.h.i.+ Xingrui abandoned our mothers, he also gave them a large sum of money, to raise us and to compensate them.”

Shocked, s.h.i.+ Jin subconsciously sat up straight.

“It wasn't just money—all of our mothers and families benefited from s.h.i.+ Xingrui's resources to some degree. He invested in us like he invested in the business, and he wasn't at all stingy… But that changed after you were born. When they discovered that s.h.i.+ Xingrui had a tendency to tip all the resources to you, our mothers held a meeting in secret. At the behest of our respective mothers, we learned to ‘cherish' our youngest brother. s.h.i.+ Xingrui began to allocate resources to our mothers based on how close you were to us… It was a deal, a deal based on tacit understanding. I, Yujing, and Zhouzhong knew, but Aoting and Jiuzheng didn't.”

s.h.i.+ Jin stared at him in bewilderment. He never expected the secret behind everyone's behavior was something like this.

s.h.i.+ Weichong looked into his eyes intently as if to see a reflection of his own despicable and hypocritical self in them. His tone became somewhat turmoiled. “At first, we were children and simply did what our mothers told us to. When we grew older, everyone gained their own ideas and pursuits, and they wanted to change this sick situation, but I stopped them.”

s.h.i.+ Jin asked, “Why?”

“Because, to retaliate against s.h.i.+ Xingrui, I needed to be on good terms with him… In my selfishness, my self-interest, I tied everyone up to my revenge. We treated you as a tool for approaching s.h.i.+ Xingrui and continued to play ‘good brothers.'”

As he spoke, s.h.i.+ Weichong's expression grew gloomy. He said, with a hint of self-derision, “We all could've been free a long time ago. The older s.h.i.+ Xingrui got, the less ambitious he was. He practically stopped concerning himself with anything besides you, even his company. We grew up and acquired enough strength to stand on our own, not needing to fear or rely on s.h.i.+ Xingrui's power any longer. We could've easily broken away from living under his shadow, but I forced them to continue this play. There was no way this would end well. I bear most of the blame for Jiuzheng getting out of control. I'm overjoyed s.h.i.+ Xingrui died before I made my move, otherwise, everyone would've been dragged into an even worse nightmare.”

s.h.i.+ Jin's heart skipped a beat. “What were you going to do if s.h.i.+ Xingrui hadn't died?” He asked.

s.h.i.+ Weichong looked him in the eye and enunciated: “Take away everything he had, trample him down into the dust, and destroy what he cherished most so that he would live in pain for the rest of his life.”

‘What he cherished most'… Wasn't that the original ‘s.h.i.+ Jin?'

s.h.i.+ Jin leaned back on the bed, staring at his brother in a daze. This was the first time he had a moment of such clear realization—in front of him sat a murderer. Even if only a potential one.

The man upon whom ‘s.h.i.+ Jin' looked upon as his big brother had in fact never regarded ‘him' as a younger brother. s.h.i.+ Jin had thought s.h.i.+ Weichong simply disliked his youngest sibling, but apparently, it was nothing more than his wishful thinking.

“It's true that s.h.i.+ Qingrui did not treat you well and abandoned your mothers, so I can understand you want to take revenge on him, but the original… But what did I do wrong?” He asked, no longer acting, but genuinely sympathizing with ‘s.h.i.+ Jin,' feeling that all this was just too unfair to ‘him.'

The only thing the original ‘s.h.i.+ Jin' did was to be born, and it wasn't of his own will. The worst crime ‘he' committed in his short life was to contact s.h.i.+ Xingrui's old subordinates to make trouble for s.h.i.+ Weichong.

‘He' was not yet twenty years old when ‘he' died. For the first seventeen years, ‘he' lived under the strict supervision of his father and didn't do anything naughty. That year, ‘he' lost his father, his face, his freedom, and made the cruel discovery his happy life until now was all a carefully crafted illusion. Barely an adult, ‘he' lost even his life.

Though ‘he' might've been spoiled, ignorant, and inconsiderate of his older brothers, and had some other faults, was this something that required he pay with his life? While ‘he' wasn't outstanding, ‘he' wasn't an awful younger brother either.

Faced with s.h.i.+ Jin's question, s.h.i.+ Weichong fell silent again. Then he reached out to touch his cheek, and answered, “You didn't do anything wrong, it was me who was wrong. I don't deserve to be your big brother.”

s.h.i.+ Jin avoided his hand—according to what he just said, everything had been self-serving and calculated, enough to completely subvert his understanding of the situation. He'd a.s.sumed the original ‘s.h.i.+ Jin's' ident.i.ty, and could not accept s.h.i.+ Weichong's concern right now.

s.h.i.+ Weichong's eyes dimmed, his hand slowly clenched and returned to his side. He got up and said, “Take a rest… I'll have a talk with Jiuzheng, he won't bother you again. If you choose not to recognize me as your brother any longer, I'll respect your decision… I'm sorry, Xiao Jin.” He stopped in place for a moment but didn't get a response from s.h.i.+ Jin, so he picked up the coat on the chair, turned and left.

s.h.i.+ Jin stared at the door in a complicated mood. It took him a while to recover, then he angrily kicked the chair and wrapped himself in the quilt, covering his face.

Xiao Si called out, anxiously,

“I'm all right.” s.h.i.+ Jin answered, his voice m.u.f.fled. “In the end, I'm nothing more than an outsider who barged in and blunders around. This is a family dispute. I don't have any right to judge… Xiao Si, perhaps too many things changed because of my intrusion. Was I too concerned with the progress bar?"

Xiao Si objected. Seeing him this downcast, it couldn't help but blame itself.

s.h.i.+ Jin shook his head in silence and closed his eyes. He recalled everything he had experienced since his transmigration and let out a deep sigh.

Before long, Gua Two pushed the door and came in, replacing s.h.i.+ Weichong as s.h.i.+ Jin's watcher.

s.h.i.+ Jin chatted with him for a moment and found out they were in Chengdu Military Hospital. The others had not come to see him until now because they were taking care of Lian Jun, who had also fallen ill.

s.h.i.+ Jin's brows knitted, and he sat up, intending to get out of bed. “How is he?” He asked, anxious. “I'll go and see him.”

“Don't, Jun-shao is already asleep. It's just a cold and not enough rest. A drip and some sleep, and he'll be fine.” Gua Two pushed him down, giving him a light slap on the forehead. “Just obediently stay in bed and heal. The year only just began, don't you think we've had enough excitement already? Get better quickly, or Jun-shao will be beside himself with worry.”

s.h.i.+ Jin laid down on the bed, filled with deep remorse for his mistakes. His face scrunched up. “I'm sorry, I won't be so impulsive in the future.”

Gua Two didn't have the heart to scold him again. He consoled him instead: “Actually, it's fine, don't think too much. If not for you, some of us would've gotten hurt. Although Gua One parked the car so it'd block most of the snipers' shots, there were enemies on the street. As long as they opened fire, we would never be able to avoid all the bullets.”

“You don't have to comfort me.” s.h.i.+ Jin let out a sigh. He stared at the depressingly white ceiling and asked out of blue, “Gua Two, am I allowing my emotions to affect my judgment?”

Helpless, Gua Two pulled the quilt to cover the teenager's face. “I said, stop thinking too much, you're all good… Get well soon. Then, we'll go and dig crabs on the island.”

s.h.i.+ Jin thought he was being ridiculed. He pouted, flipped him off under the quilt, and closed his eyes.

After that conversation, s.h.i.+ Jin never saw s.h.i.+ Weichong again.

According to Gua One, s.h.i.+ Weichong was still in the hospital, and every day, he would go to the doctor responsible for s.h.i.+ Jin to ask about his physical condition; Li Jiuzheng stayed here too. However, they never came to visit him again.

s.h.i.+ Jin thought about all the twists and turns of the plot, looked at the progress bar that had dropped to 500, and didn't try to find them.

The next day, Lian Jun felt a bit better, so he came to the ward to accompany s.h.i.+ Jin. His complexion was good, but his face looked almost gaunt again. s.h.i.+ Jin was heartbroken; all his effort to put flesh on Lian Jun's body was for naught.

Afraid that the extended stay in the hospital would adversely affect Lian Jun's health, s.h.i.+ Jin actively cooperated with his treatment. Within a week, he was back on his feet, jumping around, and clamoring to be discharged.

Lian Jun forced him to stay in the hospital for seven days,only letting him be discharged after making sure there were no problems. Then, he was worried that s.h.i.+ Jin's freshly healed wound wouldn't stand the flight, so he gave up returning by plane and got an RV, prepared to drive back to B City.

The morning of departure, s.h.i.+ Jin bought a pile of dumplings, spring rolls, and other festive food, and sent it all to Li Jiuzheng's private hospital. This was keeping his earlier promise.

In the afternoon, they boarded the RV at the hospital entrance. Idle, s.h.i.+ Jin looked out of the window. From the corner of his eye, he saw s.h.i.+ Weichong and Li Jiuzheng standing side by side in front of the fruit shop across the street, watching.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. Finally, he waved at them, mouthed ‘Goodbye,' and drew the curtain.

Really, he should've remembered he wasn't the original ‘s.h.i.+ Jin'—why should he make a fuss about whether these brothers were putting on an act? He struggled along in this world, and all he asked for was to live well and eliminate the progress bars. Now that he determined the five brothers were unlikely to be the murderers of the original ‘s.h.i.+ Jin,' he didn't need to care what their real feelings were. Though his hard-won survival factors were gone, they weren't much anyway, and he had his golden thigh standing beside him.

With this in mind, his sight s.h.i.+fted to Lian Jun, who sat opposite him reading. He reached out and pressed the book down, taking out a tablet. “Jun-shao, let's play a round. If I win, help me check something, okay?”

Lian Jun glanced at the hand preventing him from reading, his gaze paused on the needle marks on its back. He lowered the book and looked at s.h.i.+ Jin. “And if you lose?”

s.h.i.+ Jin grinned, a little wickedly. “Then I'll give you a ma.s.sage every day. I'm telling you, I'm a master ma.s.seur, ordinary people can't enjoy my skills!”

The real “master ma.s.seur,” Xiao Si:

Lian Jun eyed s.h.i.+ Jin. Then, to the teenager's surprise, really set down the book and said, “Fine.”

Smug, s.h.i.+ Jin took out a second tablet, courteously opened the mahjong app, and stuffed it into Lian Jun's hands.

Translator's Notes: Spring rolls [春捲] – a large variety of filled, rolled appetizers or dim sum found in Asian cuisine. The kind of wrapper, fillings, and cooking technique used, as well as the name, vary considerably within this large area, depending on the region's culture. In Chinese cuisine, spring rolls are savory rolls with cabbage and other vegetable fillings inside a thinly wrapped cylindrical pastry. They are usually eaten during the Spring Festival in mainland China, hence the name. (Wiki)Tangyuan [湯圓, lit. ‘soup ball'] – a Chinese dessert made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form b.a.l.l.s and then either cooked and served in boiling water with fermented glutinous rice, or sweet syrup (sweet ginger syrup, for example), or deep fried. Tangyuan can be either small or large, and filled or unfilled. (Wiki)

Translator: Eques

Editor: Bet

Eques:

When I read DPB for the first time, right up until this chapter I thought the original ‘s.h.i.+ Jin' had misunderstood his brothers. Now that the transmigrated s.h.i.+ Jin was getting close to them, all the misunderstandings would be resolved and they would be one big happy family. You thought so too, right?

Nooope, the author won't make things so easy. Both s.h.i.+ Jin and us, the readers, will have to go through more hards.h.i.+ps before the happy end. But you know what? That makes it much more satisfying than if they reconciled now, in such an easy way.