Chapter 8

Early in the morning, Yu Huan pushed open his window to face a world transformed into a silver-white wonderland. The air he breathed was crisp and cold.

 

The residential building across the street remained eerily silent, with no one opening a window for ventilation.

 

In the distance, a dark mass was advancing.

 

As the group drew closer, Yu Huan’s calm expression shattered.

 

He Chen had somehow appeared behind him, draping a blanket over Yu Huan’s shoulders before raising an eyebrow at the approaching figures. “They found us so quickly?”

 

Yu Huan tried to shrug off the blanket, but He Chen held him in place.

 

A smile played on He Chen’s lips, but his eyes remained cold and dark. “Keep it on. It’s cold outside.”

 

He was telling Yu Huan that if he kept the blanket on, he would let him go.

 

Yu Huan slowly lowered his hands.

 

“Good boy. Let’s go see what they want.”

 

He Chen firmly gripped Yu Huan’s shoulder and led him downstairs. After waiting at the door for a moment, Yu Qing’s people arrived.

 

“Yu Huan, come home with me,” Yu Qing said, extending his hand.

 

Today’s snowstorm seemed particularly fierce, making it almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open.

 

Yu Huan loved the word “home,” but he also feared it.

 

Abandoned at the age of four, he had spent his life chasing the dream of a home, only to have it shattered time and again.

 

“What are you waiting for? You’re not still going to believe He Chen’s lies, are you?”

 

Seeing Yu Huan’s delay, Yu Qing’s expression darkened.

 

He was just that foolish, repeatedly deceived by the same person.

 

Yu Huan averted his gaze, only to suddenly spot the dark muzzle of a gun.

 

Bang!

 

A muffled sound echoed as the world spun, and everything froze.

 

“Brother!”

 

“Yu Huan!”

 

“Zhou Hua, what are you doing?!”

 

Within moments, a cacophony of voices erupted.

 

Yu Huan finally reacted, extending his hand with a sob in his voice. “I want to go home…”

 

---

 

What was home?

 

At sixteen, Yu Huan sat on the second floor of the orphanage, lost in endless fantasies.

 

He’d heard from the other children that if he were taken home, he’d have loving parents who would give him anything he wanted. He’d eat delicious meals every day and sleep in a soft, fragrant bed.

 

Yu Huan longed to be taken home.

 

But at sixteen, with aphasia and lasting effects from a high fever, no one would take him.

 

Then He Chen entered his life, asking, “Would you like to come home with me?”

 

To Yu Huan, He Chen was the one who had pulled him out of darkness. He Chen had treated his aphasia, taught him to read and write, and was a being even brighter than God.

 

In his sophomore year of high school, his dream shattered for the first time.

 

He Chen had turned him into a normal person, satisfying his own sense of accomplishment, and then He Chen no longer wanted him.

 

After two years, Yu Huan finally emerged from the shadow of He Chen.

 

He no longer worshipped He Chen as a god, and He Chen was no longer the sole dream of his life.

 

But He Chen began to grow jealous, to rage. He could abandon Yu Huan, but he couldn’t bear to see Yu Huan living happily without him.

 

By this time, however, Yu Huan had tasted the beauty of the world and refused to return to He Chen’s cage. This ultimately led to the tragic events of the summer after his junior year of high school.

 

The month of darkness that followed left him with Cotard’s syndrome, commonly known as Walking Corpse Syndrome. It took four years of treatment before he was roughly recovered.

 

What is home?

 

At 26, Yu Huan, having regained hope for life, stepped onto a college campus.

 

He thought home should be a warm place, where two people support and understand each other, where even in silence, one never feels lonely.

 

Yu Huan wanted a home.

 

But having suffered from aphasia and Cotard’s syndrome, he was separated from normal people by an unbridgeable chasm. Even standing in a crowd, he always felt profoundly lonely.

 

Then He Chen reappeared in his life.

 

Four years later, He Chen had shed his impulsive madness, becoming far more adept at psychological manipulation.

 

He made Yu Huan feel less alone, allowing him to experience the joy of being understood.

 

Yu Huan once again fell into He Chen’s trap.

 

He Chen was utterly devoted to his goals and desires, relishing challenges and excitement. Once he achieved his aim, his interest vanished, completely disregarding the emotional devastation he left behind.

 

He forced Yu Huan to listen to a long-forgotten story:

 

When He Chen’s parents were nearing thirty and still childless, they reluctantly adopted a child from an orphanage, naming him He Huan. The following year, however, they had their own son, whom they named He Chen.

 

Initially, the family’s wealth meant they could easily afford to raise another child. But fate intervened. Father He’s business went awry, forcing them to move away and leave He Huan behind.

 

When He Huan was found, he was barely clinging to life. Unable to contact the He family, the authorities had no choice but to return him to the orphanage.

 

Later, He Chen was hospitalized for a mental illness. Father He couldn’t bear the thought of his only son’s condition becoming public knowledge, so he followed the doctor’s advice and sought a companion for him.

 

When He Chen entered the orphanage, his eyes immediately landed on He Huan on the second floor.

 

He still remembered He Huan. As a child, He Huan had been slow-witted. Whenever He Chen made a mistake, all he had to do was cry to He Huan, who would take the blame without hesitation.

 

At that moment, something long dormant within him stirred, and his blood surged with excitement.

 

He walked over and asked, “Will you come home with me?”

 

At that moment, Yu Huan finally remembered the memory he had forgotten due to his high fever.

 

When he was first brought to the orphanage, he constantly longed to escape and find his parents. The Mother Superior was deeply annoyed by him.

 

Then, perhaps just a few days later, He Chen appeared at the orphanage gates.

 

Little Yu Huan stumbled over to him, asking if his parents had come to take him home.

 

He Chen smiled sweetly. “Big brother, give me your hand. I’ll write a character for you.”

 

Yu Huan was too preoccupied with his parents to notice what He Chen wrote in his palm.

 

He Chen, still unhurried, asked, “Big brother, do you know what this character means?”

 

“What does it mean?”

 

“It’s the character for ‘burden.’ Because you’re a burden, your parents abandoned you.”

 

Yu Huan’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Xiao Chen, what are you saying?”

 

“I’m saying your parents don’t want you anymore. You’ve been abandoned. They won’t come back for you.” He Chen’s words were cruel, yet his smile remained sweet.

 

“You’re lying! That’s impossible! My parents would never abandon me!”

 

Unable to accept this truth, young Yu Huan grabbed He Chen’s hand and shouted, his voice trembling with desperation.

 

He Chen’s eyes reddened, and tears immediately began to fall in large drops. “Brother, you hurt me!”

 

“No… I…” Yu Huan stammered, desperately trying to explain, when a furious shout erupted from behind him, freezing him in place.

 

Mother Superior pulled Yu Huan’s hand away, her face contorted with anger. “He Huan! I took you in out of pity, and yet you dare to bully the other children! If you don’t want to stay here, get out! I won’t tolerate your kind!”

 

“It’s not like that… I didn’t…”

 

“Don’t you dare argue! I saw it with my own eyes! Get out now!”

 

Because of this incident, Mother Superior completely turned against him, and the other children at the orphanage followed suit, ostracizing and isolating him.

 

Having remained silent for so long, Yu Huan developed aphasia. Later, it was the bullying of the other children that led to a high fever, causing his memory to deteriorate.

 

His entire life had been ruined by He Chen.

 

Yu Huan wept, but He Chen only smiled.

 

Yu Huan still remembered He Chen’s words from that time: “In this world, I love Brother most of all. Seeing you in pain always makes my blood boil. Only then do I feel truly alive, a feeling no one else can give me.”

 

Who cares about such an honor?

 

Because of He Chen’s affection, Yu Huan was forced to endure torment after torment. His mental world was built up time and again, only to be shattered again and again—a pain more agonizing than death itself!

 

---

 

Third Affiliated Hospital, VIP ward.

 

He Chen stood before the bed, his face grim. His eyes were bloodshot, ringed with dark circles.

 

He had been too careless, assuming that everyone Yu Qing brought was trustworthy. He never expected Zhou Hua to be among them.

 

Zhou Hua…

 

A dark glint flashed in He Chen’s eyes at the name.

 

If it weren’t for him, his brother wouldn’t have grown distant, nor would the Yu Family have seized the opportunity to take him away.

 

He had merely collected what was owed, yet Zhou Hua dared to return!

 

Suppressing the rage boiling within him, He Chen whispered softly, his head resting on Yu Huan’s hand: “Brother, please come back. I’ll never deceive you again…”

 

Before he could finish, he felt Yu Huan’s fingers twitch.

 

He Chen quickly raised his head and saw Yu Huan’s eyelashes flutter, like a butterfly about to take flight…

 

Once… twice…

 

The butterfly spread its wings, revealing a pair of eyes as clear as glass.

 

“Who… are you?”