forced to sink

Zhao Li woke up in the front yard, the rocking chair tied to the beam of the balcony door swayed in sync with his movements, and then became stable again.He adjusted his posture and leaned back on the rocking chair. This was bought by Shao Zuo for his sons when he was still very young. It can be said that it is the children's favorite place to play on weekdays.

However, one only needs to glance at the dawn to be sure that he is currently in a dream, because the garden he looks at is still the same as before—the plants are overflowing and full of vitality, unlike today's reality, which has long been moved to a flat grassy open space .

The person who likes flowers and plants is gone, so what's the point of keeping a garden?

Zhao Li didn't know whether this dream was good or bad, all he could do was wait until the boy he knew called him with a soft and childish voice.

"Brother Li." The boy suddenly appeared beside the rocking chair, his little face was full of vigor, "You are sleeping here again, you will definitely catch a cold."

"No." Zhao Li smiled, stretched out his hand and pinched the boy's cheek, "Besides, if I really catch a cold, you will take care of me." Only the pink cheeks that existed in childhood made Chao Li love her, and her smile became even brighter .

"You are the big brother, you should take care of me, right?" The young man pouted, and was distracted by Zhao Li's pretty smile for a moment. Normally, he would not let others touch his face like this.

"Well, I will definitely." Zhao Li let go of him, and said softly, "I will take care of you no matter what time and circumstance you are in."

"Really?"

"You are my brother, of course I will always love and take care of you." He promised firmly.

The young man lowered his head, and his tone suddenly became strange: "Then, Brother Li won't abandon me, will he?"

Zhao Li was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then a very bitter smile appeared, he knew what it meant, he had witnessed the nightmare in front of him for more than three years, so he knew very well what would happen next.

"Since you said you would love me forever, why did you kill me?" The boy's face was only blurred, and he threw himself at Zhao Li, his hands were covered with blood.

It was dark red and bloody, and pinched Zhao Li's neck forcefully.

"I hate you! Chao Li!" The weeping child's voice first turned into a youth's voice, and then slowly drifted away.

Zhao Li suddenly opened his eyes, this time he was finally sober.

"...Hmm." He stared blankly at the ceiling, the severe stinging pain in his face and abdomen reminded himself that this was already a fact of the real world.

But that dream was so real - Zhao Li even had the illusion that his neck was really broken.

Pressing on his stomach with one hand, he turned over from the bed and sat up, and there seemed to be a bloody taste in his mouth.

Maybe his stomach was accidentally kicked... He sighed, picked up the painkillers that were always thrown on the small table by the bed, swallowed a few, and noticed when the medicine slid down his dry and sore throat time.

It was past one o'clock in the afternoon, and the scorching sun was ignoring the effect of the curtains and pouring down the entire room.

Zhao Li remembered that he should go to Lu Chenyun to pick up Shao Yue this morning, and it must be too late now.

Shao Yue only mentioned Lu Chenyun's name to himself once, when he first went to pick up someone, he always stopped near the destination to drop off his younger brother, and went to the same place to pick up people the next day.At that time, it was not clear what Shaoyue meant when he told him the words Lu Chenyun, but after thinking about it, maybe he was spying on how he would react?

Chao Li doesn't really care who Shaoyue chooses to hang out with. These are just personal freedoms. As long as Shaoyue promises not to let his father know and worry, it's fine.

When Lu Chenyun asked what kind of relationship he had with Shao Yue, Zhao Li really didn't know how to answer.

Now they have such a bad relationship that they are not even brothers.

"I'm really sorry to have an incompetent brother like me." He wanted to confess, but he couldn't think of any other way to make it up.

Zhao Li showed a self-deprecating smile, and his neat short hair could not conceal the extremely painful expression at the moment.Perhaps, when a person is alone, the more he wants to pretend to be strong, the easier it is to reveal his real vulnerability.

He went into the bathroom and took a long shower. The burning sensation brought by the hot water flowing through the wound made even his body, which was often in pain, a little uncomfortable.How come the older you get, the lower your body load?With one hand propped on the white tiles, Zhao Li thought in a daze.

He didn't pay attention to the pale face in the mirror that was no different from the white tiles behind it at the moment.

After washing the mess, Chao Li wiped his hair while picking up the phone to call Shao Zuo.The pointer moved towards two o'clock in the afternoon, which happened to be the end of the company's lunch break. He wanted to apologize to his father. Even if the boss was his own, it would be a very bad behavior for him to be absent without asking for leave.

"Xiao Li, are you okay?" Shao Zuo asked when he picked up the phone, his energetic voice could not be recognized as a 50-year-old middle-aged man.

"I'm fine." Zhao Li said guiltily, "Sorry, Dad, I accidentally overslept..."

He wanted to explain why he didn't go to the company on time, and he didn't find anyone to ask for leave for him until now, but he was interrupted by Shao Zuo's hearty laughter.

"It's okay, I turned off the alarm clock."

"What?" He thought the useless alarm clock was broken, "Why?"

"Son, I really don't know where you went to fight with whom last night, but didn't you look in the mirror first when you got up?" Shao Zuo said with a smile and a little helplessness.

After a pause, Zhao Li walked back to the bathroom, only to see his handsome face with obvious scars at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

"I see it now." He grabbed the phone and replied muffled.

It's fine for Shao Yue to make it like this, but Shao Zuo, who treats him like his own son, finds out, isn't this intentional to make his father worry?It's really unfilial... Zhao Li cursed secretly in his heart.

"I saw that you were injured and slept very restlessly, so I will automatically give you a day off."

"Thank you, Dad, but you can still wake me up."

When Shao Zuo heard this, his originally relaxed tone suddenly became serious, and he said: "Xiao Li, you don't know yourself too well. If you are really healthy, you will definitely get up on time even if you don't have an alarm clock."

Zhao Li sighed, it was true.

"Forcing yourself is not an option. Take a good rest today." Shao Zuo reminded.

A warm current relieved his tense emotions, and Shao Zuo's sincere care made him respect his father more than anyone else since he was a child, even if it was just a title in name.

It is also true that he felt sorry for Shao Zuo and his real son more consciously.

Before Zhao Li answered, he heard another question from his father.

"I don't want to ask, but did your injury come from a fight or did you... go to that kind of place again?" Shao Zuo asked cautiously, but he could still hear the slight rejection in the second half.

"Dad, I promised you that I would never fight again." Zhao Li tried to keep his tone as sincere as possible.

"Oh, that's good, I'm just curious about who can hurt you like this." He probably couldn't even dream that this "who" is the truth of the other son, "Xiao Li, if you still want to play boxing, Just go to the official arena, okay? I’m not letting you go, it’s just that the illegal place is too dangerous, and you may die.”

Chao Li smiled and said nothing, Shao Zuo didn't know that he was always haunting the underground fighting arena just because he was trying to seek the stimulation close to the edge of death.It doesn't matter if it's rebellious, or he didn't know how to cherish and restrain himself at that time, but he never regretted the time of boxing.

Only there can make him feel at ease, he doesn't have to think about anything, he just needs to work harder than anyone else, the more famous he is there, the more he can forget what that person said.

"Brother Li, I like you so much." The man's voice was very gentle, "I love you, will you be with me?"

This is wrong, it shouldn't be, how can there be such emotions between men?What's more, they are still brothers, even if they are not biological, they can't change everything.

So he ran away, so he created tragedy, and in the end he had to pay back.

"Xiao Li?"

Chao Li pulled back his scattered consciousness, "I won't go back, Dad, I'm serious."

"What about formal occasions? I know you play well, if you want──"

"Dad." Chao Li interjected, "I should have left the age of playing around long ago, and the current lifestyle suits me very well."

Shao Zuo was silent for a few seconds, as if trying to figure out a more appropriate explanation, he said, "Xiao Li, you still care about what happened back then." This is an affirmative sentence.

Yes, of course I mind, how could he not care?But the problem is that Shao Zuo has no idea what the truth is.

"Dad..." deliberately protracted the sound, indicating that he didn't want to talk about these old things again.

"Okay son, I just wanted to say it wasn't your fault."

Zhao Li bit his lower lip, and the two fell into silence. He could hear the slight sound of flipping through documents from the opposite side.

"Dad, you go ahead."

"Will you go out?"

"Maybe just walk, definitely not to fight." Zhao Li threw down the towel, feeling a little tired.

"...I see, you should rest well."

The father and son ended their brief conversation.

"Aha, it's enjoyable!" He boldly drank the special spirit that the bartender made for him in one breath, Guan Yan looked happy, and he elbowed Lu Chenyun next to him and said: "This bar is really opened right, The people you invited were also very nice.”

The bartender in front of him smiled at him.

"Yeah..." Lu Chenyun was lazily perfunctory, and Lu Chenyun, who was also sitting at the bar, had an attitude that had nothing to do with him.

"Don't be so negative, okay? But I just haven't waited for the toy you picked... What number do you rank Chao Li?"

"Who would really count how many people I've slept with!" Lu Chenyun's handsome and gentle face was filled with impatience, and he stretched out his hand to push away Guan Yan who was too close to him, "Drink your wine quietly!"

Damn it, he specially arranged a conspiracy—no, it was a strategy, and he didn't even have a chance to use it.That man named Chao Li is really inexplicable, obviously for more than three months, without exception, he always picks up Shaoyue on time, why didn't he come after arousing his interest?

"Is my intention obvious?" Lu Chenyun murmured to himself, "No, he doesn't seem to be the type who would be afraid of it..."

Judging from their brief conversation at the time, Zhao Li's attitude clearly treated him as air, so how could he be afraid of him?There must be some other reason.

"I think you should be the one to be afraid of." Guan Yan said while ordering another wine tasting. Anyway, it was the boss's treat.

It's still early now, and the night owls who would patronize the bar are usually still sleeping soundly. Excluding them, there was only one Lu Chenyun's most capable bartender, so they didn't care about the volume of their conversation.

"How to say?"

"Like I said, Zhao Li is the champion of underground fighting for seven consecutive years." Guan Yan snorted, "I go to every match he plays, do you know what the people there call him?"

Lu Chenyun remained silent, he was not too curious about these small details.

"They all call him Emperor Chao. Li Wang, and they have repeatedly offered a huge reward to the master who can defeat him. If you really want to mess with him, I'm afraid I will have to collect your body for you. Consider changing someone."

Lu Chenyun frowned, thinking about the emperor.King Li?If you really have the arrogant temper of a king, why don't you fight back when you are humiliated by your younger brother in the street?Don't say that Zhao Li is a brother-in-law, then he will die laughing. Looking back at the atmosphere so oppressive and heavy at that time, there must be other factors.

──Could it be because of Shao Zuo?Or is it related to that rumor?

"I want him, I just want Zhao Li."

"Why do you?" After taking the newly mixed wine, Guan Yan was puzzled, "According to your conditions, you can have any type of person you want, and you can even play as many as you want at the same time. Why bother to pick and choose? Object?"

"I don't know, he has a scent that attracts me."

A provocative smell that wants people to dig out what secrets are hidden behind him, and wait for others to expose it?

"If you like muscles, pick a professional wrestler, at least you can still fight."

He would give Lu Chenyun the information about Chao Li, just because he didn't want to fail in basic morality, but if he continues to be righteous, he may kill a friend because of this, he still has to be persuaded.

"Even if I can't win, I still have my own way to beat him."

When Guan Yan heard this, he tapped his fingers on the table, "I'm serious, don't use your dirty tricks on Zhao Li, you will definitely die a miserable death."

Lu Chenyun retorted: "What kind of dirty trick, is that called fun?"

"How can it be fun to satisfy yourself? I heard that Shao Zuo is a gentle and methodical man. I believe that the essence of Zhao Li he educated will not be too far behind, but he used to give me the feeling that he was still a beast in a cage. , it will explode sooner or later.”

"Didn't you say he hasn't punched for a long time? Maybe he's worse than me now."

Guan Yan shook his head and sighed: "You haven't seen him in a game. Some things are instincts, and nothing can be erased. I don't want to be called to the scene of a murder one day to pick up pieces of you."

"Hey, stop fucking cursing me, I can do my own thing." In other words, he has always known how to find the weakness of others.

"Chao Li." Suddenly, Guan Yan's text was wrong, and his eyes passed Lu Chenyun to the store entrance.

"How is he?"

Guan Yan looked astonished, and stretched out his hand to change the direction of the swivel chair under Lu Chenyun's buttocks, so that the other party could see the man standing at the door looking around.

With a chic and handsome appearance, who else is there but Zhao Li?Just when Lu Chenyun was surprised, the former happened to meet his eyes - Zhao Li looked confused, his eyes stayed on Lu Chenyun's face for a second, and then glanced at Guan Yan behind him.

"... Shaoyue is not with you?" Zhao Li walked towards the two with a slender figure across the threshold.

Shao Yue would hang out in all kinds of bars when he had nothing to do, but he didn't turn on his mobile phone today. Fortunately, there were not many shops open for business at this time, so he would randomly enter the shop to find someone.

"He left early in the morning." Without knowing it, Lu Chenyun was still in the midst of such a small shock in the world, "You──"

After getting the answer, Zhao Li originally wanted to turn around and leave, but suddenly there was an unfamiliar temperature on his face, and Lu Chenyun was stroking the wound that he had already put on a bandage with one hand.

"How did you get hurt like this? It's such a waste of your face!" Lu Chenyun shouted.

This made Guan Yan roll his eyes behind him, what a guy from the Appearance Association.

The injury on Zhao Li's face was actually not too serious, but the bandage that was deliberately trying to cover the bruised and purple affected area was still too conspicuous.

"I fell." Without thinking, Zhao Li frowned, and answered while pushing away the other's hand, wondering what Lu Chenyun meant by waste?

And Lu Chenyun actually didn't want to break through this exaggerated excuse that he knew was a lie. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he suddenly noticed a punch blowing from behind, with a challenging murderous aura-of course it was not aimed at him.

In the blink of an eye, Guan Yan, who seemed to be trying to attack Chao Li, was restrained by his backhand, and was immediately pressed to the ground, and several chairs also collided and fell to the ground, but Lu Chenyun's naked eyes had no time to clearly see their movements at the moment of fighting .

Chao Li knelt down, one of his knees pressed firmly on Guan Yan's back, one hand clasped the back of his neck, and the other hand folded over the opponent's wrist, with a relaxed and indifferent expression.

"Ah, it's so good, it's better to fall." Guan Yan, who was forced to lie on the ground, complained a little, but his tone revealed a hint of joy on the contrary.

Being able to fight against King Li was his previous dream... Although the whole process only lasts for a second, it's sad.

"...Guan Yan." Let go of the man, and when Chao Li got up, he pulled him up, "Is that the name? Long time no see."

Now it's not just Lu Chenyun who is dumbfounded, even Guan Yan asked with a question mark on his face: "You know me?"

"I will never forget the people I've met. You seem to come to my game every year. There was a halftime break, and someone called your name." Besides, Guan Yan's sunny appearance is itself very eye-catching , It is also difficult to forget.

"Your memory is really good!" Guan Yan praised, and what made him even more happy was that the legendary King Li remembered it. What an honor, even if someone said that Chao Li was suspected of killing someone, his admiration would not be diminished.

"It's okay, are you still punching?" Judging from the skill just now, Guan Yan's strength should not be bad, Zhao Li asked and gave a smile.

Lu Chenyun couldn't believe the scene he was witnessing at this moment. He thought that a man like Zhao Li should have a personality of neither crying nor laughing, cold and taciturn, and not like to talk to strangers, just like when he was facing him.Could it be that it was only because Shao Yue was nearby?Could this be the cause of Chao Li's extreme depression?

He naturally thought of the causal relationship, after all, Zhao Li's expression has changed too much now, just the bewildered expression from the moment he entered the door, and the refreshing and gentle smile just now are enough to explain the problem.

"Not often, since you disappeared, there aren't many people left there—maybe it's not interesting because you don't have a bet." Guan Yan first observed Zhao Li carefully, and then said: "You seem to be a little different from before. "

"What's the difference?"

"You used to compare..." Guan Yan scratched the back of his head, unable to think of how to describe it more appropriately.

"Cruel?" Zhao Li's smile deepened, "It's like a beast? It's scary? You want to say that."

Guan Yan wondered if Chao Li had eavesdropped on the previous conversation with Lu Chenyun, and he nodded in embarrassment.

"I've heard a lot of similar things... But I think that as long as it is a person, it will change."

Indeed, at this moment, Zhao Li is indifferent and has the calmness that a mature man should have. Although the arrogance of the past is still lurking in his body, he restrains it properly and hides it skillfully, because he has to do so.

Lu Chenyun remained silent, standing on the spot and looking at Chao Li, feeling a sense of unhappiness slowly accumulating in his heart.

He hated Zhao Li smiling at other men, especially when he was so charming and... seductive?Yes, that seductive smile should belong to him, no, it must belong to him.

Heart churned, Lu Chenyun still didn't understand that this kind of mentality of wanting to monopolize someone should not be the mood he would have for playthings.

"Come on, let's have something to drink." Pushing the wine list to interrupt their conversation, Lu Chenyun smiled, "I treat you."

Anyway, sooner or later, he will find a way to allow himself to force Chao Li to submit to his knees. As long as he has enough patience, there is no one that he, Lu Chenyun, cannot get.

Chao Li declined: "Thank you, but I shouldn't drink."

"Shouldn't it, or can't?" When Lu Chenyun asked this, Guan Yan, who was sitting next to him and had a pure personality, couldn't understand the difference between the two.

If the answer is no, Lu Chenyun will naturally come up with an extra good plan to help his plan succeed.

"I think so." Zhao Li said ambiguously, "I have to drive later, I shouldn't drink, and besides, I haven't found Shaoyue yet."

"Why are you looking for him? How old is Shaoyue? When you want to go back, don't you just go back?"

"He's still young, and I'm worried he's normal."

Strictly speaking, Shaoyue is 26 years old this year, but how old is he compared to Chaoli?But the nature of being an older brother makes it impossible for Zhao Li to just leave his younger brother alone.

Lu Chenyun had no choice but to suggest: "How about this, you give me your number, and if he comes to my place and notify you later, then you can go to other places to find someone first without wasting time."

Zhao Li thought for a while, wrote down his mobile phone number at the bottom of the business card and gave it to the other party, and after Lu Chenyun took it, he said, "Then please pay attention, I'm leaving first."

Before leaving, Zhao Li didn't even forget to remind the people who ordered a lot of wine because they didn't want to interrupt: "Guan Yan, don't drink too much wine, it's not good for boxing practitioners."

After speaking, Zhao Li turned and left.

The person who was named and cared put down his glass and said to Lu Chenyun who was entering the number into his mobile phone: "He is so nice, how about you stop spanking him?"

"Hmph, I just bought you with such a few nice words? Then you'd better pay the bill later." Lu Chenyun sneered, with a proud and disdainful expression on his face.

"What does this have to do with bribery? You shouldn't be messing around like this in the first place, not to mention, I have always been one of King Li's admirers." Guan Yan has always been the standard type of uttering truth after drinking.

Lu Chenyun's face became more gloomy, "Why? So you are also interested in him?"

"Hey, I said Young Master Lu, haven't you noticed that your emotions are not normal? I have known you for so long, and I haven't seen when you care about the target like this. You know that you give me the feeling that... you are Jealous."

When Lu Chenyun heard the words, the embarrassment of being punctured caused him to slap his palm on the table, and still said an old saying: "It's so noisy! Drink your wine!"

Guan Yan shrugged his shoulders and decided not to intervene in the problems between them. He didn't want to get involved in such a dangerous thing.

Zhao Li drove around the city for a whole afternoon, but he still couldn't find Shaoyue. In the end, he had no choice but to return home to prepare dinner.Anyway, I feel sorry for my father for not going to work in the company today. I can't even do such a simple job well, can I?

Unexpectedly, after he got home, he found that Shao Yue had also come back a long time ago, and even relaxed watching TV programs in the living room, with an attitude of not paying attention to him at all.Zhao Li was stunned for a moment, but he didn't ask where the other party went. For him, it was enough to confirm that his brother was fine.

However, when he was about to start processing the ingredients, he received a text message from Lu Chenyun.

"Has anyone been found?"

"Just a few minutes ago...Thank you, I'm sorry to bother you." Zhao Li wanted to respond briefly to Lu Chenyun at first, but after thinking about it, he decided to add a few more words to avoid being rude, after all, the other party's initiative to help is considered a favor.

"No trouble, I didn't find the person, but you can still repay me by having a meal with me." It was a very cheeky statement.

"Let's talk about it another day. I have an appointment today." Frowning, Zhao Li gave him a polite refusal.

"Dating? Girlfriend or boyfriend?"

The corners of Zhao Li's eyes twitched, wondering why Lu Chenyun asked so many questions, he decisively threw his phone on the table without replying, and turned to deal with the ingredients.

Turning off the boring program, Shaoyue got up from the sofa, and on the way back to his room, he heard the text message sound from Zhaoli's mobile phone. He was silent for a few seconds, and then saw the back of the other party who was busy with dinner, and left Go forward and open the message without authorization.

"It can't be a shemale, right? Hey, you're quite flirtatious too."

"Why don't you answer me? I really guessed it?"

"Hey, are you angry?"

"At most, when we make an appointment, I'll treat you."

Shaoyue recognized at a glance that a series of identical numbers came from Lu Chenyun, and he continued to read the content without any ups and downs.

When did they swap numbers?In the past few months, he had never seen the always proud Lu Chenyun speak to someone in such a brazen tone, and he was just trying to beg for a date.

Shao Yue originally wanted to take the opportunity to get angry at Zhao Li again, but after thinking about it, he suddenly showed a sneer, and he quietly put the phone back on the table.

After dinner, Shao Zuo went to the study to deal with the work he brought back. Of course, Zhao Li was the one who was in charge of cleaning the dishes. While washing, he remembered the meeting with Guan Yan in the afternoon.He is also a person who likes to fight, which reminds him of the past. Sometimes, he still wants to be the free self of the past, but his age has long allowed him to be self-willed.

Especially after the tragedy happened, it should not be allowed. There, it has long been the heart of their brothers. That incident was a great pain for Shaoyue. How could he selfishly recall that time?

Suddenly there was a sound of opening the door, Zhao Li hastily put down the half-washed dishes, and called out to Shao Yue who was about to go out: "It's so late, where do you want to go?"

"Where I'm going is none of your business." Shao Yue didn't even look at him, his tone was cold.

"...Maybe it has nothing to do with me, but I don't want Dad to worry about you." As if something was stuck deep in his throat, Zhao Li's voice was extremely low, "Shao Yue, don't always be angry."

"Yeah, yeah, it's really nice to say, isn't what you are best at being a father's good son?" Shaoyue's tone became sharper, "Do you think, what qualifications do you have to show off the big brother's airs and order?" I?"

Zhao Li stood behind his younger brother in a daze, not knowing what to say.

"Zhao Li, let me tell you, you are not worthy."

The door slammed shut, and Shao Yue disappeared before his eyes.

Zhao Li smiled wryly, feeling that he was really a failure. He was repeatedly denied the meaning of life in front of his younger brother. Could it be that he didn't work hard enough?Year after year, the situation is only getting worse, or is it like Shaoyo said, there has never been a better way of compensation than death?

Zhao Li understands that the feeling like his heart is being torn apart is the pain he can't get rid of, but he doesn't deserve it.