Lima syndrome

Ji Seung-hoon's name almost occupied the entire phone screen, and Bai Zhiyan clicked on the message he sent with surprise.

"Ji Yan, I heard today that Bai Zhengren has resolved the crisis in Rijiang. This operation failed, so we can only wait for the next time."

"Thank you for your hard work, Seung-hoon. I was not able to help you this time. I hope I can be of use next time."

"Don't worry, kid, you've already helped a lot. We still have a long way to go. n_n"

At night, the servants of the Bai family had all gone home from get off work, and in the empty hall, only Bai Zhiyan's cell phone kept ringing with notification sounds.

After a simple dinner, he discussed the next plan with Chi Seung-hoon.

This incident was an uprising by workers at a construction company under the Iljiang Group. They accused their supervisor of withholding wages and embezzling public funds. The matter had been forcibly suppressed, but thanks to the persistent and in-depth investigations by Ji Seung-hoon and a group of police officers, those exploited workers finally plucked up the courage to stand up and report it.

Faced with such a situation, Bai Zhengren used his usual swift and decisive methods, easily allocated huge amounts of funds to fire all the perpetrators, and easily resolved the crisis.

As for those who were dissatisfied with this way of handling the matter, Bai Jitai also took action quietly in the dark, forcing them to submit and agree through various threats and inducements. In the end, the whole matter was settled with such a simple and crude operation, and ultimately failed to make any splash.

"We were too impatient this time and our plans were not thorough enough, but it also caused them a lot of trouble, so it wasn't completely in vain."

"You've been great, Seung-hoon. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything."

"Of course, hahaha, we are partners, I will definitely remember to find you if I need anything. ^_^"

After finishing the chat, Bai Zhiyan smiled, put down his phone and held it against his chest, and the fatigue of the day was filled with warmth in his heart.

What happened during the day seemed like a dream. He seemed to be trapped in a fog and couldn't find the exit. He struggled forward but was pulled back by an unknown force.

His original revenge plan was shattered by their uncontrollable actions. He finally realized that people's emotions were difficult to manipulate. The more he wanted to get things back on track, the more people used their emotional courage to drag him into the pitch-black abyss.

It was too tiring, too hard. Bai Zhiyan never imagined that his lifelong acting skills and false disguises would lead him into a vicious circle from which it would be difficult to escape.

Now that Che Jingcan and Xu Shiyuan's feelings for him have deteriorated, perhaps the only thing to be thankful for is that he may not be framed and beaten like in his previous life.

After relaxing, the low fever made Bai Zhiyan's head more and more dizzy. He didn't have the energy to think about what to do next. Now, a good night's sleep was the greatest luxury for him.

The silence of the night is like an endless black net, gently covering the earth and concealing all the noise and disturbance. In the dead of night when thousands of people are sleeping, a person comes quietly.

When Bai Jitai entered the house, the first thing he saw was Bai Zhiyan sleeping quietly on the sofa.

Normally, Bai Zhiyan is always like a hedgehog covered with thorns. His sharp thorns will stand up as soon as someone approaches him. But he is also stubborn. Even if he can't get anything good from him, he will not stop until he is covered in blood.

Now he was lying obediently on the sofa, his little round head buried deeply in the soft pillow, his face filled with comfort and contentment, his breathing steady and powerful, as if all his uneasiness had been relieved in the tranquility of the night.

This was the first time Bai Jitai saw him so calm and peaceful. He had noticed before that they had similar features, but his face was always filled with hostility and he seldom relaxed. Perhaps he would be as defenseless as him even in his sleep?

Bai Jitai found it ridiculous just thinking about such a scene. If he really slept here with an innocent look on his face like he does now, he would have died long ago.

Just thinking about this, he couldn't help but reach out and want to strangle him. What expression would he have if he was suddenly awakened by the feeling of suffocation? Would he be terrified? Or would he curse at him after seeing his face?

Bai Jitai suddenly became curious about his reaction. He wanted to tear Bai Zhiyan's peaceful face apart with his own hands and let his emotions be controlled by his actions.

"Ding--"

Just at this moment of thinking, the mobile phone on Bai Zhiyan's chest suddenly beeped.

Bai Jitai hadn't taken his hand back yet. He suddenly turned his head to look at his mobile phone. Just as he was about to shift his target to pick up his mobile phone, he felt a warm touch on his palm.

Bai Zhiyan's face suddenly touched his palm.

The hall was silent, and Bai Zhiyan's cell phone went dark.

"Bai Zhiyan, are you awake?"

He was pretending to be asleep. This was the only answer he could think of. Normally, Bai Zhiyan avoided him like the plague. Even when they had to meet, his face was full of contempt and disdain. He had never approached him so defenselessly like he did now.

But there was no answer except the sound of his even breathing.

Bai Jitai thought that maybe he was the one dreaming now.

"Are you pretending to sleep?"

He asked again without giving up, but there was still silence. Until he was about to withdraw his hand with a sneer, he heard Bai Zhiyan's almost inaudible murmur.

"elder brother……"

Bai Jitai's body stiffened, and his mind began to flash back to the way he had called him brother with various cold or humiliating expressions. This was the first time he had called him in such a calm, gentle and even nostalgic tone.

Obviously, she was against him every time they met, but she called him in this tone in her dream. He began to recall the scene not long ago when he asked Bai Zhiyan what he dreamed about him. He still looked angry at that time and said that he dreamed that he would die a miserable death.

But now it doesn’t seem like a dream of “dying a miserable death”.

He did not move his hand that he had originally wanted to withdraw. He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to find a clue on Bai Zhiyan's face, but the other party still did not change. The moonlight shining on his face made him look like the pure Son of God.

Bai Jitai laughed sarcastically, "Do you know what you are doing?"

He wasn't sure whether Bai Zhiyan could hear him, but he couldn't help but ask him.

But Bai Zhiyan didn't respond anymore. Bai Jitai actually waited quietly for him to speak again. It was not until he buried his face in the pillow and stopped moving that Bai Jitai finally withdrew his hand.

He looked at his hand, which still had the residual warmth of Bai Zhiyan, and wondered if he would feel ashamed to death if he knew what happened tonight.

When he was about to get up and leave, Bai Zhiyan's mumbling voice sounded again. He was very interested in it and bent down to listen to what he was going to say that he would not say normally.

"elder brother……"

"Brother is here." Bai Jitai responded playfully.

"I'm so tired, Seung-hoon..."

When he heard it clearly, his body stiffened, his hands stopped moving, and his face suddenly changed to become extremely gloomy.

In the dark and silent night, a dazzling light suddenly flashed, and this light just happened to be reflected on Bai Jitai's cold and cruel face, adding a bit of eerie and terrifying atmosphere. The tenderness that just surged in his heart also disappeared in this instant without leaving any trace.

Bai Jitai's eyes were as sharp as torches, staring at Bai Zhiyan's face who was still sleeping soundly. Half of Bai Zhiyan's cheek was buried in the pillow, revealing his slender and fragile neck, like a lamb to be slaughtered.

Another flash of lightning passed by, and in the brief light, Bai Jitai clearly saw his red and swollen lips.

After hearing his whispers, Bai Jitai was so furious that he wanted to tear the man in front of him into pieces right now. He laughed at himself for giving up on waking him up, and even felt pity for him for a moment.

He took a few deep breaths, and after regaining some consciousness, he retracted the urge to strangle him.

In fact, he had thought countless times about what it would be like if he had a younger brother or sister. He would definitely give them the best things in the world, but what he always wanted was his mother's biological child, not a bastard like Bai Zhiyan who came from nowhere.

What's more, for a moment just now he almost treated him as his own brother.

It's really low-class and ugly.

So he could only pretend that nothing had happened, and it was enough that only he knew about the ridiculous scene just now.

"Bai Zhiyan, you are really capable."

Bai Jitai gritted his teeth and spat out the last sentence. He turned around and went upstairs without hesitation, but he had an extra bottle of wine in his hand before entering the room.

He now suddenly understood why Xu Shiyuan was so persistent in getting on Bai Zhiyan. He really knew how to make a person go crazy easily.

It was raining heavily late at night. When Che Jingcan returned home, there was not a dry place on his body. He took a shower in a daze and opened the door, just in time to meet his mother who was sitting in a daze at the dining table.

It was rare for him to see his mother leave the room, so he walked anxiously to the woman.

"Mother……"

Hearing the somewhat aggrieved tone of her child, the woman quickly noticed that he was different from usual.

"Xiaocan, what's wrong with you? Why is your hand injured?"

"I……"

Che Jingcan didn't know how to start talking about his own affairs, but he still wanted to vent all the bad emotions in his heart. Looking at his mother's worried and concerned eyes, he finally told her everything that happened during the day.

"But there's nothing wrong with what the kid said."

Che Jingcan stared at the woman with wide eyes in disbelief, "Mom, how can you say that to me?"

"A relationship can only be successful if two people like each other—" She paused here, and her tone became stiff when she spoke again.

"You think that you are condescending and that wanting to be with him is a gift to him, but the most important premise for two people to be together is equality. Besides, what did you say to him that clearly indicated that you like him very much?"

"But I really like him--" Che Jingcan was eager to tell his mother his love.

"There's no but. If you were to say this to that child, I don't think he would feel that you liked him at all. He might just think that you were acting on impulse."

The woman's gentle voice stopped, Che Jingcan lowered his head and said nothing. He remembered what Bai Zhiyan had said to him before.

He felt that he always pestered him because he had never met anyone as stubborn as him, and he was unwilling to be fought back, resisted and hurt by him, so he stubbornly wanted to get back at him.

But no, he now clearly understands his feelings. There is nothing impurity in his feelings. He really likes him.

"But I said something harsh to him today, how can I get along with him anymore..."

After all, he still couldn't save face. The woman looked at the dejected head in front of her and rubbed it with a smile.

"There is no winning or losing or saving face in relationships. You've already said that the kid doesn't like you. If you give up on trying to keep him now because of your lofty words, then sooner or later you'll see him fall in love with someone else."

Che Jingcan understood the meaning of his mother's words, but he had just told Bai Zhiyan not to regret it, but now he was the one who regretted it, which was too embarrassing.

"I don't want him to like anyone else," he muttered.

The woman thought for a moment, then held his face in her hands, allowing his eyes, which were identical to hers, to look at her.

"Then do something that can make him happy, let him see your good qualities, and let him know clearly how much you like him."

"So what should I do now..."

"Let's start by apologizing. Didn't you say a lot of things that didn't mean what you said? Maybe those words hurt him unintentionally. You should apologize to him sincerely."

Che Jingcan looked embarrassed after hearing this. He had already made his only apology to Bai Zhiyan not long ago. He didn't expect that he would have to bow to him again after such a short time.

"I understand mom, thank you."

It seems that what his father said was right. He said that he would suffer sooner or later, and now he is really suffering.

Xu Shiyuan, who returned home from work late at night, shuddered as he changed his wet clothes. He still didn't have floor heating at home, and coming home after being caught in the rain felt like falling into an ice cellar.

After quickly washing up, he wrapped himself in the thickest quilt in the house, took out the materials for the subject he would be taking the exam for tomorrow and began to review.

It's just that his efficiency in solving the questions today was very slow, and his accuracy rate was reduced by half. He was so upset that he couldn't continue, so he simply threw the book aside and lay on the bedding on the floor to memorize some formulas he had learned.

"I didn't tell Li Enna anything."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Teacher Xu."

"Teacher Xu..."

Xu Shiyuan couldn't concentrate at all. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw Bai Zhiyan smiling and calling him teacher with his bitten little mouth opening and closing.

He was upset by this name. It was originally a joke he made to tease Bai Zhiyan, but now it made him unable to sleep. He was really shooting himself in the foot.

Feeling irritated, he sat up and took a big gulp of cold water, trying to suppress the anger in his heart.

It was fake, everything Bai Zhiyan said and did to him was fake. Xu Shiyuan kept reminding himself in his heart not to be deceived by the innocent appearance he showed. He could be kissing someone in one second, and caressing his wound with concern in the next second.

But it was clearly him who started to bother me in the beginning, so why could he just walk away and throw himself into Che Jingcan's arms without any guilt when he got tired of me?

He would never allow and would never let this happen. Just because Che Jingcan, that naive waste, couldn't get him, doesn't mean that he, who has a similar experience, will be ruled out.

"Bai Zhiyan, don't think you can get rid of me so easily."

So this night was another sleepless night for no one except Bai Zhiyan.