AERHABDAW 36

Chapter 36: Brotherly War

That night, on the top floor of the city lord’s palace.

Fu Xingchen leaned lazily against the railing, his long, strong arms draped over it, his gaze scanning the royal city he had built with one hand, aimless in the dimming night, like a wolf king observing prey from the shadows.

The serene and heavy atmosphere was broken by the slow, deliberate sound of footsteps.

Fu Xingchen didn’t show any sign of annoyance. As the footsteps drew closer, he lowered his eyes slightly, curling his lips, his gaze even colder than before.

Fu Xingyan crushed a sugar cube in his mouth, flicked the small stick off the rooftop, and finally stopped behind Fu Xingchen, leaving a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

As soon as he finished work, he had been summoned right outside the research institute. He had assumed it was to discuss the leaders’ regular meeting, but arranging to meet on the rooftop clearly meant it wasn’t anything official.

Upon further thought, he seemed to understand why Fu Xingchen, sacrificing his own time with Shao Leyan, would go out of his way to call him here.

The answer was obvious.

“You don’t need to attend this regular meeting. Stay in the underground city,” Fu Xingchen said.

Fu Xingyan had intended to preemptively speak first, but these words completely threw off his imagined scenes of jealousy and romance, making them feel naive and shallow.

His chest tightened, his mind short-circuited, and he blurted, “Why?”

Only then did Fu Xingchen straighten, turning to face his blood relative who seemed molded from the same cast yet bound to him by deeper ties. His cheeks were tense, lips pressed tight, expression calm, with a rigidity that bordered on severe.

“Do I need to say more?”

Fu Xingyan shook his head, confused.

He had always assumed his brother wanted to confront him over Shao Leyan, to warn him not to entertain improper thoughts.

After all, the words he had spoken to Shao Leyan at the dinner table, and his deliberate interruptions of their tender moments, could never escape Fu Xingchen’s awareness.

He had been ready for reprimands, scolding, or even a fight—anything.

He had been eager for Fu Xingchen to realize that it wasn’t fair for him alone to be happy.

From Mu Jiaojiao to Shao Leyan, any emotional entanglements weren’t just between two people—they were a tug-of-war involving three.

After anticipating it for so long, it turned out to be nothing more than a minor detail about attending a leaders’ meeting?

Fu Xingyan wasn’t ready to give up.

“Of course, if you don’t explain, how am I supposed to know the reason?”

“I don’t want you interfering with me and Leyan,” Fu Xingchen said impatiently, tapping his jaw. His voice dropped noticeably. “At this leaders’ meeting, I will publicly present my wife in front of everyone. A little brother’s presence isn’t needed here—just the two of us, as husband and wife, is enough.”

The more Fu Xingyan listened, the calmer his expression appeared on the outside, though only he knew his heart was racing, threatening to leap from his chest.

The last time he felt such excitement was when he had learned of Shao Leyan’s unique abilities.

His once dull, stagnant life had been stirred into turbulent waves by her arrival.

After the gray, drizzly days, a single rainbow appeared in the clear sky.

Fu Xingchen waited, his sharp gaze practically boring a hole into Fu Xingyan’s face. Yet Fu Xingyan remained silent, dazed, which only made him more impatient.

He assumed Fu Xingyan simply disagreed with his decision.

It also indirectly confirmed that Fu Xingyan harbored some special feelings for Shao Leyan—far beyond a simple researcher-experiment subject relationship.

But he had finally found his fated love, the one he would cherish for life, and not even his younger brother could come between them.

With a cold face, he approached Fu Xingyan, stopping only when his hand could reach and grab the other’s collar.

Fu Xingyan simply stared at him, showing no sign of doubt.

Whether he truly didn’t understand or was pretending not to, even a nod would have sufficed.

“What?” Fu Xingchen scoffed. “Don’t you realize your attention toward your sister-in-law has gone beyond what’s appropriate? My wife is mine to care for, and we have no conflicts that need your mediation!”

Fu Xingyan stared at his brother’s tense face, gripping his fists and grinding his teeth to suppress his anger.

Yet, inexplicably, a thrill surged through him, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

Yes. This was exactly the kind of life he wanted—intense and full of conflict.

Fu Xingyan’s lips went pale, corners curling slightly, his voice wavering with excitement.

“A leaders’ meeting isn’t your wedding. With Shao Leyan there, are you sure you can fully deal with that old fox Mu Sheng?”

Fu Xingchen’s face darkened. Before he could respond, Fu Xingyan continued his barrage.

“And Mu Jiaojiao—surely you understand her intentions, and you once had feelings for her. Seeing you with a new love, with her heiress temper, do you think she’ll show any kindness to Leyan?”

“My relationship with Jiaojiao has never been anything serious, you know that. Your feelings for her, your gestures toward her—I never stopped you.”

Fu Xingyan paused, tilting his head slightly, leaving only Fu Xingchen’s chiseled profile in view.

“I was only interested in her because you couldn’t have her, not genuine affection,” Fu Xingchen said.

“So now, because I deeply love Leyan, you’ve shifted your attention to her?”

Fu Xingyan let out a sudden laugh, either amused by Fu Xingchen’s words or because a happy thought had struck him.

“Of course not. She’s different from everyone else—no one compares to her.”

Under the darkening night, the two brothers faced off, sounding like a melodramatic tale of siblings in love with the same woman.

But for Shao Leyan, who happened to be eavesdropping around the corner, the meaning was entirely different.

She had only come to deliver a message at the request of a junior assistant, yet ended up overhearing the brothers’ quarrel—and even gossip involving the world’s leading heroine, Mu Jiaojiao.

She didn’t care who Fu Xingchen had liked before; after all, she was merely a vine clinging to a great tree, with no say over where its branches stretched.

Besides, even if she did care, Mu Jiaojiao wasn’t someone a newcomer like her could provoke—best to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Yet she didn’t understand why Fu Xingyan was fixated on Mu Jiaojiao, as if he wouldn’t relent until Fu Xingchen admitted any past entanglement with her.

Shao Leyan was getting annoyed, but the two brothers showed no sign of stopping. Their endless, repetitive words were so tedious that she almost fell asleep listening.