Chapter 23: Sigh! Brother & Capitalism

By the time Zephi met with Madam Esera, it was already deep into the night.

Madam Esera did not look pleased. The sitting room was still being cleaned by servants. Reclining against her chair, scented candles burning on the table before her, she let someone behind her gently massage her face.

Zephi’s gray eyes took in everything at a glance. He could easily guess that not long ago, Le Mans and Madam Esera had likely engaged in an argument fiercer than treaty negotiations. He did not rush to speak. Even with his schedule pressed tight, he understood that haste only ruined things.

Not long after, the candles were extinguished. The aromatherapist pushed the cart away, and the servants gradually restored the room to order.

Only then did Esera open her beautiful green eyes and look toward Zephi, her voice carrying the authority typical of a noblewoman in office.

“How was it handled?”

“According to the original plan, it failed.” Zephi’s smile was faint, his chin lowered slightly, silver-gray hair gleaming beneath the lights. “But according to the new plan, I would call it a success.”

“And who changed your mind?”

Suspicion sharpened Esera’s tone.

“Le Mans.” Zephi sighed softly, gloved fingers tapping the table. “When I had them take him away, I realized his emotions were far more intense than expected. It seems his relationship with Miss Lin is much closer than we assumed.”

Esera’s brow shifted slightly. “So your decision is?”

“Better to go with the flow.” Zephi paused. “The more we threaten them and forcibly separate them, the easier it is for them to form an alliance. But if we allow them to date instead, things become much easier.”

“I understand the logic that the more you oppose children, the more rebellious they become,” Esera replied. “But what if their feelings deepen further after getting together?”

After a brief pause, she added, “Especially after reading Lin Zhiyan’s records. She seems stubborn to the bone. I doubt she’d obediently agree to withdraw or transfer.”

“But Le Mans would, wouldn’t he?”

Zephi smiled faintly.

“Solente recently established cooperation with the Royal Idel Academy. We might as well have Le Mans join their program and transfer there temporarily. First, Idel Academy is located in District Four—travel alone between there and Central District takes one or two days. Second, you can use this opportunity to restrict his spending and teach him how to live independently.”

He continued calmly, “That way, not only will distance separate him from Lin Zhiyan, but he’ll also be too busy with academics and daily life to focus on romance.”

The smile on his face deepened slightly.

“A person exhausted by constant rushing around won’t think about buying roses.”

“Your plans are always thorough.” Esera lowered her eyes, then added, “But you didn’t see Le Mans earlier. He looked almost deranged. His eyes were frighteningly bright. He swore he would never separate from her. I fear that if we retreat one step, he’ll push two steps forward. He won’t go to District Four.”

“He will.”

Zephi looked directly at Esera, certainty clear in his gaze.

“But those words shouldn’t come from us.”

Esera’s brows twitched. She returned his gaze. “And the condition?”

“A royal internship opportunity.” Zephi said softly. “She promised they would break up peacefully before the semester ends.”

“…Fine.” Esera let out a cold snort. “I’ll help connect you with the Royal Internal Affairs Minister. But there will only be one chance. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

Zephi smiled lightly.

“To ensure the plan succeeds completely, I’ll have Li Siheng accompany Le Mans to Idel.”

“What?” Esera finally looked surprised. “For Le Mans, you’re willing to go this far?”

Then she added, “You’ve always valued Siheng’s future. This arrangement may not be appropriate.”

“They’ve always been close since childhood. Without Le Mans, Siheng likely wouldn’t be happy alone at the academy either.” Hearing the suspicion hidden in her words, Zephi lowered his head respectfully. “Having them together means they can look after each other. Siheng can also keep an eye on Le Mans.”

Esera thought for a few seconds before smiling at him.

“You’ve worked hard. If there’s anything you need from me, just say it. I’ve watched the three of you grow up, after all. No need to stand on ceremony.”

“You flatter me, Madam.” Zephi returned the smile. “I’ve already received so much care from you growing up. How could I ask for more?”

Though the two still had endless polite formalities they could exchange, once the plan was settled, every additional sentence became meaningless.

Soon after, Zephi bid farewell to Madam Esera. He walked elegantly through the corridor. As he descended the stairs, muffled screams and furious shouting echoed faintly from one of the rooms.

He had no patience to distinguish the details, but he knew clearly enough that Le Mans’ breakdown would continue for a long time.

Le Mans was difficult to define. Calling him clever felt wrong, considering how often Li Siheng led him around by the nose. Yet calling him foolish was equally inaccurate, because he always knew how to deal with his parents.

After thinking about it, the truth was probably simple: he was spoiled. Even if he leapt from a cliff, someone would always rush to spread soft cushions below to catch him.

And what Zephi could do was profit more from those cushions.

By the time he returned home—

Dew clung to Zephi’s brows and hair, making him appear lightly frosted with snow. Walking once more through the endless luxurious hallways, the scenery seemed both changed and unchanged. It felt as though he would spend his entire life walking through magnificent buildings, smiling while sharing flesh and bone with others.

But once inside the house—

His pace quickened.

His gray hair flew behind him as he strode forward, stripping off his coat while walking.

A servant opened the door. Light from the corridor spilled into the room, illuminating Zephi’s gray hair with a soft sheen.

Li Siheng sat quietly in the darkness, nearly merged into the shadows themselves.

Zephi let out a cold laugh and strode into the room, throwing a punch immediately.

His strike came fast enough that Li Siheng barely reacted—

But the next second—

Zephi took a punch to the jaw himself, yet simultaneously drove a kick hard into Li Siheng’s stomach. Li Siheng coughed several times before crashing to the floor.

Zephi bent down, grabbed his collar, and hissed:

“Do you have any idea how many plans you ruined with that uncontrollable mouth of yours?”

Li Siheng suddenly lifted his head and looked at him.

Blood stained his lips and teeth stark white beneath the crimson. He laughed hoarsely.

“I love secretly ruining things. Is this your first time noticing?”

His voice dripped with malice.

“This time, the cost of cleaning up my mess was just too high, wasn’t it? That’s why you’re so furious.”

“A commoner gives you the illusion you can rebel against me?” Zephi’s eyes burned with mockery. “Your only value is obedience. Without my mother, you wouldn’t even have had the chance to be born.”

“You think I’m still stupid enough to believe that nonsense like my mother does?” Li Siheng laughed again, venomous. “Raising puppet after puppet that only obeys your commands, then using your own body to give birth to another puppet, only to tell both puppets: ‘Be grateful you can spend your entire lives enslaved by me!’”

“So you’ve finally said what you really think.” Zephi sneered. “But so what? Your mother can only rely on mine for her entire life. She’ll spend forever feeling guilty and grateful for the sacrifices my mother made. She’s such useless trash she even needed my mother to arrange her marriage.”

“Exactly.” Li Siheng shot back with equal viciousness. “Then dare to tell the whole world your mother enjoys sacrificing everything just to emotionally blackmail everyone around her. Dare to let them know the wife of Solente’s CEO—the woman now working in the think tank—is someone willing to break laws and destroy her own body just to carry her younger sister’s child.”

The brothers attacked each other with the cruelest words possible, tearing apart each other’s mothers and origins. Any trace of morality or ethics vanished entirely before these brothers, who had never possessed much sense of normalcy to begin with.

They nearly came to blows again before a servant’s announcement interrupted them, finally ending the argument.

Zephi and Li Siheng quickly straightened their clothes, not even bothering with medical treatment before hurrying toward the family conference room.

The massive doors engraved with the Solente family crest—a pair of twin roses—slowly opened.

Heavy, oppressive air seeped outward through the gap.

The first thing visible inside were two women leaning against each other.

Their gray-white hair and pale skin made them resemble cold-blooded sculptures. One wore an icy expression while the other quietly sobbed against her shoulder.

Zephi’s mother spoke first, her voice colder than her expression.

“Why suddenly transfer Siheng out of the United Military-Political Academy? His projects, internships, competitions—are they all supposed to be abandoned? Why make such drastic changes?”

Li Siheng’s mother clung to her arm, voice choked with tears.

“Sister, what am I supposed to do? I’m terrified of what will happen if Siheng’s father asks questions. He keeps messaging me—how should I reply? What will happen to Siheng?”

Zephi looked at them both.

“Information regarding several courses has leaked. We’re still uncertain how much impact it’ll have, but I believe removing Li Siheng from the situation immediately is necessary. Otherwise the consequences may spread further.”

Especially since Li Siheng’s father was a senior official in the Ministry of Education.

“How could this happen?” the woman asked anxiously. “Wasn’t it said this arrangement was tacitly approved? Why would information leak? Will transferring schools really help? What if it’s exposed afterward…”

Li Siheng closed his eyes.

Every single time he saw his mother, she was always like this—panicked, helpless, leaning against her elder sister.

These twisted sisters had given birth to equally twisted brothers.

At that moment, his stomach burned violently.

His mind finally returned from its detached numbness, and abruptly he spoke:

“I’m not leaving.”

Li Siheng continued:

“I’m staying here.”

A sharp pain throbbed through Zephi’s temples.

He took a deep breath, but the pain spread rapidly until he clenched his fists in anger.

Outside, dawn slowly stretched across the sky. Birds chirped endlessly from the branches as the sun climbed higher and higher.

Eventually, afternoon arrived.

Groups of students gathered around the academy plaza at the Ringstar United Military-Political Academy.

Lin Zhiyan sat near the Humanities Division garden under crushing exhaustion. After the life-threatening chaos of last night and an entire morning of classes, the moment she relaxed, it felt like all the strength had drained from her body.

Her mind blank, she mechanically stuffed bread into her mouth.

Just as she finished the last bite and could no longer avoid thinking, a fluttering skirt appeared before her.

Looking up, she saw Aiwen.

Aiwen hugged several books to her chest, eyes swollen red as if she had just arrived at school. Her lips parted several times, but no words came out.

Watching her struggle was exhausting, so Lin Zhiyan patted the empty seat beside her.

“Sit first.”

Aiwen refused, shaking her head as tears welled up again.

Lin Zhiyan genuinely had a headache now.

Honestly speaking, she still hadn’t figured out how to handle Le Mans and Li Siheng. If Aiwen started crying too, she truly couldn’t manage anymore.

So she reached out, grabbed Aiwen’s hand, and said:

“Crying is useless.”

Aiwen bit her lip, though several tears still escaped.

“But solving the problem is useful.”

After a brief pause, Lin Zhiyan looked at her again.

“So why not help me figure out how to fix everything together?”

She meant it sincerely.

No matter what, they were going to reach this point eventually. Better to build goodwill now than waste time blaming her. It might prove useful later.

Hearing that, Aiwen finally sat beside her—

Only to burst into loud sobbing.

Lin Zhiyan felt despair.

All she could do was pat Aiwen’s shoulder while opening her terminal. Earlier today she had received Zephi’s friend request, though he hadn’t said a single word. She’d been suspicious ever since that some new task would suddenly drop onto her head.

Sure enough, the moment she opened it, Zephi’s message appeared.

[Zephi: 【Location】]
[Zephi: Arrive here before 3 PM.]
[Zephi: Convince Le Mans to agree to transfer schools.]

[Zephi: You only have half an hour. Everything’s already scheduled.]

Lin Zhiyan: “……?”

Bro, does she look like a negotiator?!

And only half an hour? Even Hitler needed three and a half hours for speeches!

[yzy: The time’s too short.]
[yzy: And I have class this afternoon. I need to be back at school before four.]

Damn it. The class was Jiang Yi’s.

There was no way she could skip class the very first time after becoming his teaching assistant.

[Zephi: Figure it out yourself. Actually, you don’t only need to convince Le Mans. You also need to convince Li Siheng.]
[Zephi: Li Siheng will come see you in thirty minutes.]
[Zephi: Don’t play tricks. I staggered their schedules so they won’t meet you together, but they’ll still leave together eventually.]

Lin Zhiyan: “……???”

No, wait, big brother?!

Lin Zhiyan yelped aloud.

She grabbed Aiwen by the shoulders.

“Wait a second, I have something urgent.”

Turning away immediately, she began frantically calling Zephi.

Every call was rejected.

When she tried messaging him again, she only received a notification saying she had been blocked.

Seriously?

He just dumped this entire disaster on her?

What kind of capitalist family was this—did they expect her to handcraft a nuclear bomb too?!

Lin Zhiyan’s mind went blank. She checked the time rapidly.

One thirty.

Damn it. Even the commute would take an hour.

Turning around, she saw tears still hanging from Aiwen’s lashes.

And suddenly—

like seeing salvation—

Lin Zhiyan realized exactly why connections always mattered.

“Aiwen.”

She gently wiped away Aiwen’s tears and spoke softly.

“I forgive you.”

Aiwen choked back sobs.

“But I feel so guilty. I just… I really wanted to become your only friend. I always thought you were amazing, and I always thought we were truly close friends. Everyone around me always wants something from me, they all—”

“Aiwen!”

Lin Zhiyan interrupted loudly.

“We are best friends.”

Then she added:

“But I need to go somewhere right now. Could you ask your driver to take me? We can talk slowly on the way.”

Her brain spun wildly.

She needed to figure out how to use Aiwen at exactly the right moment.

First, she had to convince them quickly—and make sure they never ran into each other.

Second, she needed to prepare for Jiang Yi’s class.

Third, she still had to deal with helping Lu Weixi cover attendance somehow.

“Of course. But what’s wrong with you?” Aiwen touched her forehead carefully. “Your forehead’s burning. Your face is really red too.”

Nothing much.

Just that her brain was about to crash completely.

Lin Zhiyan smiled calmly.

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