He hadn't really wanted to answer, but seeing Xiao Zhu's confused expression, he realized the awkwardness of the moment.
This call came at just the right moment to ease the tension.
Jian Suiying stood up, picked up the phone, and walked into the inner room before pressing the call button.
"Hello."
"Hello, Jian Suiying, it's Li Xuan."
"I know." Jian Suiying closed the door, leaned against it, and said indifferently, "Happy New Year."
Li Xuan didn't appreciate her insincere pleasantries and cut straight to the point. "I want to talk to you about my brother."
"Too bad. The last thing I want to discuss in this life is brothers—yours or mine. I'm not interested."
Li Xuan exhaled a long breath and slowly sank into a chair. "Let's discuss this in person." "I don't have time. Whatever you need to say or ask, we'll handle it over the phone."
Unable to contain his anger, Li Xuan sneered, "You don't have to manage the company now. You should be the busiest person around. Don't you even have time for a cup of tea?"
Jian Suiying scoffed. "I certainly have time for tea. I just don't have time for you Li people."
Jian Suiying couldn't help but laugh.
A child? He too had once seen Li Yu as little more than a half-grown boy, treating him as an innocent and aloof youth
. In the end, he'd truly lost both his wife and his army, sacrificing himself for a teenager's growth.
Jian Suiying froze for a moment before retorting, "You said he said..."
let himself be tainted by the slightest hint of scandal?
Li Xuan lost his composure and roared, "Shut your mouth!"
Jian Suiying fought back the bitter ache rising in her throat, her voice hoarse: "So that's what he told you? That I provoked him
and then rejected him?"
He didn't say anything, but you know what? When he mentioned he likes men, you were the first person who came to mind.
He truly regretted it. If only he'd noticed sooner, maybe he could have pulled his brother out of this quagmire.
Jian Suiying hung up the phone and slowly slid down the wall to sit.
The room was dark, unlit, and silent—so quiet she could hear only her own breath and heartbeat. Jian Suiying clutched the phone, its lingering heat from the long call burning her palm.
What was Li Yu trying to do?
What kind of charade was this?
That idiot Li Xuan must think his brother is as pure as a white rabbit, unable to see that the one he shielded and protected was nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing.
He had no right to judge others—he was just as much of an idiot for falling into Li Yu's trap.
Jian Suiying felt a throbbing pain in his temples, an agony that made him intensely irritable. If only there were a potion he could drink to forget Li Yu
, he'd down it in one gulp, poison or not.
He sat there motionless for an unknown length of time before a soft knock sounded on the door behind him.
Though the movement was quiet, Jian Suiying, lost in his own world, still jumped.
"What is it?"
Xiao Zhu hesitated. "Young Master Jian? Still on the phone?" "Ah, I'm done."
Jian Suiying roughly wiped his face, stood up, and opened the door. The light flooding in made him instinctively close his
his eyes.
Xiao Zhu spoke softly: " "Young Master Jian, I made a late-night snack. Eat something and then go to sleep."
Jian Suiying patted his back. "Alright, let's go. And from now on, don't call me Young Master Jian. It sounds too formal." Xiao Zhu smiled shyly. "Then what should I call you? Brother Jian?"
"No." The mere sound of those two syllables made his temples throb. "Don't call me Brother Jian... Call me Suiying."
Xiao Zhu hesitated. "Is... is that okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Jian Suiying scooped a glutinous rice ball into his mouth with a spoon. "Go ahead."
A beautiful smile spread across Xiao Zhu's face. "Sui... Ying."
Jian Suiying lifted his eyes. Seeing Zhu’s gentle, harmless expression, his heart gradually calmed.
Perhaps he'd been wrong from the start — he shouldn't have pursued love at all. A gentle, considerate lover was what he like him.