The Path to Another World

"Weren't you making a fortune up north? How are you doing now? I'm fine. Don't you know I'm an unkillable cockroach? How could such a small thing defeat me!" Ye Fan also cared a lot about this brother.

"I'm fine, I knew you could do it. You've never failed since you were a kid. Come back quickly! I'm waiting for you outside your shop! If you don't come back soon, I'm going to break down the door." Tian Jun said suddenly, as if he wanted to give Ye Fan a big surprise.

"What? When did you get here? What are you doing here at this time?" Tian Jun's words surprised Ye Fan, and he sobered up instantly.

"Of course I came to see you, have you forgotten? We're brothers." Tian Jun was very satisfied with Ye Fan's reaction and chuckled.

"Okay, wait a few minutes!" Yes, how could I let myself sink like this? I still have my parents, and my closest brothers. The word "brothers" instantly brought tears to Ye Fan's eyes. Thinking of his loved ones who had always been watching over him, he threw down his beer and sprinted towards his shop. In the blink of an eye, he was ten meters away—a speed that even Usain Bolt would envy. He had been trained by his grandfather since childhood. Despite his refined appearance, glasses, and somewhat frail physique, his martial arts skills were considerable. Ye Fan hadn't initially doubted his grandfather's abilities, but when his grandfather haphazardly arranged tables and chairs in the room and asked Ye Fan to splash him with a basin of water, the result blew Ye Fan's mind. Several basins of water were splashed, yet not even a drop of water got on his grandfather's clothes, and his grandfather remained completely unfazed, not even knocking over a single item in the room. From that moment on, Ye Fan was completely captivated and became fascinated by kung fu.

He sped along, covering the two or three miles in just three to five minutes, and saw a black SUV parked outside his shop in the distance. A tall, slender person in a leather jacket with long, flowing hair was leaning against the car, idly smoking and surveying the surroundings. Ye Fan, who had been about to rush over, suddenly slammed on the brakes, looking at the figure with some confusion. From behind, apart from being tall, she looked like a woman. He couldn't help but mutter, "Is this guy trying to fool me?" Better safe than sorry, he pulled out his phone and dialed, his eyes fixed on the figure that appeared to be a beautiful woman's back. "Little Hand, where are you? I'm here. You're not going to deceive my feelings, are you..." He quickly cut himself off, because he saw the woman waving her phone at him. A familiar voice came through: "What's wrong? You don't recognize your brother after all these years?" Ye Fan then recognized his good brother from the front. He could still vaguely see some of the features from back then. Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he rushed forward and gave him a bear hug, his voice choked with emotion and on the verge of tears: "Good brother!"

After many years apart, the two embraced tightly for several minutes. In his excitement, Ye Fan slapped Tian Jun's back forcefully until Tian Jun winced in pain before letting go. Tian Jun rubbed his back laboriously, saying, "After all these years, your grip is still as strong as ever! You almost killed me!" Only then did Ye Fan have time to observe his childhood friend closely. Tall and slender, with long, flowing hair, fair skin, and a beautiful face that would make even women envious. If it weren't for his prominent Adam's apple and flat chest, anyone would mistake him for a beauty. Looking at his childhood friend, who had changed so much and looked increasingly like a woman, Ye Fan couldn't help but tease, "Hey, Little Hand, people say girls change a lot as they grow up, becoming more and more beautiful. How did you, a grown man, become so beautiful? People who don't know you might think you came from Thailand! If you were a woman, that would be perfect for me!"

"You wish! I'm telling you, Taoist priest, if you don't let me in, I'm going to throw this in the trash!" Tian Jun chuckled, waving a wallet in his hand. "Go ahead and throw it away! What's it to me! It's not mine anyway..." Ye Fan suddenly felt the wallet looked familiar. Wasn't his own wallet the same style? Wasn't it also black? He then realized Tian Jun's professional specialty. His face changed, and he quickly reached into his pocket, only to find it empty. He couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, "You're really something else. When are you going to change this habit? Every time I've seen you since I was a child, you've always managed to take something from me. This is all my money and life savings! Hurry up and come in. Can't you see that crowd watching? They're waiting to see a live broadcast of the 'Live Palace.' It'll probably be on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. I don't want to be a celebrity!"

Only then did he open his shop and invite Tian Jun inside. Looking at Lin's messy shop, with goods scattered everywhere, beer bottles, cigarette butts, and fast food boxes strewn about, it was practically a garbage dump. A damp and musty smell permeated the entire room, causing Tian Jun to cover his nose involuntarily. Ye Fan felt embarrassed, as he hadn't cleaned the house since Lin Xue left. He tidied up the mess himself, inviting Tian Jun to sit down. He went to get a bottle of water but found the refrigerator empty except for instant noodles and beer, even the thermos was empty.

Seeing Ye Fan's embarrassment, Tian Jun found a slightly cleaner stool and sat down. He looked around the small room, quietly watching Ye Fan bustling about by himself, saying nothing. He knew that anything he said now would only hurt Ye Fan's already wounded heart. This was the unspoken understanding between men. Only after Ye Fan had tidied the room to a point where he could walk around a bit did he hand him a glass of water, smiling apologetically, "I'm sorry, it's been so many years since we last met, and this is our first meeting, yet I'm offering you only water."

"It's nothing, we're practically family, why bother with all this formality? Looks like this whole thing has really hit you hard! Forget about it, at least you and she aren't married yet. It's good that you've seen your true colors and broken up, maybe it's not such a bad thing! As for the other money you owe, that's not a problem either. I've saved up some money over the years, it'll be enough to pay you back that little bit." Tian Jun said understandingly with a smile, pulling out stacks of RMB from his briefcase, about 100,000 yuan, and pushing them towards Ye Fan.

"No, how can I use your money! I can use it for a few more years at most," Ye Fan replied firmly, because he still had his pride.

"What do you mean 'yours' and 'mine'? Don't forget, we were born brothers. Besides our wives, what else is there to divide between us? How many years do you have left to waste? With us brothers working together, what can't we accomplish? Show us your old spirit." Tian Jun shoved the money into Lin Fan's arms. "If all else fails, I'm going to do some business soon, and you'll be my assistant. Consider this your salary."

;