ASHES CH1: Birthday

When Luo Jun rushed over with his people, Luo Zhi was sitting on the roof of his car.

Luo Zhi lowered his eyes, absentmindedly holding his phone and playing a game.

His pure black trench coat was stained with dust, and a section of a thin, snow-white wrist was exposed beneath the cuff. The knuckles of his right hand were covered in purple bruises, and his long, slender fingers were stained with shocking streaks of dark red blood.

By the road not far away, a young man in a suit and leather shoes was being supported as he sat under a streetlight. His face was a bruised and battered mess, and there was a conspicuous wound on his forehead.

Hearing Luo Jun’s footsteps, the youth, covered in injuries, looked up, his eyes brightening: “Eldest—”

The youth seemed to have some reservations. He quickly glanced up at Luo Zhi and cautiously swallowed the address back down.

Luo Zhi’s fingertip lightly tapped the screen. Only after confirming the game was paused and saved did he lock the screen and put down the phone.

Luo Zhi raised his eyes, curving them slightly, and spoke affectionately: “Eldest Brother.”

Luo Jun walked straight past him, went under the streetlight, and leaned over to personally inspect the youth’s injuries.

Luo Jun asked in a faint voice, “What happened?”

His tone carried no emotion, yet it felt as if it were soaked in piercingly cold ice water. His dark, heavy eyes swept over the surroundings before finally landing on Luo Zhi, whose fingers still bore traces of blood.

The bodyguards around them kept their heads buried deep; not a single one dared to make the slightest sound.

…

In this kind of messy wealthy family affair, there was absolutely no room for them to interject.

Luo Jun was the eldest son of the Luo family and widely acknowledged in their circles as the most talented young man of his generation. Cold, reserved, and decisive in action, he was destined to be the head of the Luo family in the future.

The youth who got beaten was the adopted son of the Luo family, named Jian Huaiyi.

Compared to Luo Zhi, the pampered young master who idled his days away and was the biggest disappointment in the family, Jian Huaiyi was undoubtedly the other extreme: gentle to others, hardworking, low-key, and humble. In his early twenties, he had already become Luo Jun’s capable deputy in the business world.

Today was Jian Huaiyi’s twenty-third birthday, and the Luo family was hosting a grand birthday banquet.

At this time, everyone should have been in the luxurious banquet hall, exchanging toasts and lively greetings, celebrating the birthday of the young and promising Vice President Jian.

As for why Young Master Jian would come out with Luo Zhi—the scum the Luo family was most reluctant to mention—and why a conflict occurred, and why he was beaten like this by Luo Zhi… they didn’t really know either.

“Luo Zhi.”

Luo Jun wiped his hands and stood up straight: “Why?”

Luo Zhi leaned against the car. He had just opened his game again, his pale fingertips dancing nimbly across the screen, only having time to respond with a nasal hum: “Hmm?”

Taking a moment from his busy schedule to look up, Luo Zhi glanced at the battered Jian Huaiyi, seemingly just remembering the matter, and let out an “Oh”: “I hate him.”

Luo Jun locked his brows together without saying a word.

He rarely showed his joy or anger, but at this moment, even he was provoked to some displeasure by this almost absurd answer: “What do you mean?”

“I hate him. I get annoyed just seeing him.”

Luo Zhi swiped the screen, controlling a parkour character dodging and leaping across subway tracks, avoiding the sharp-toothed vicious dog lunging greedily from behind.

He turned on invincibility mode and stretched his bruised right hand: “Eldest Brother, let’s kick him out, shall we?”

Luo Jun’s aura sank.

“Don’t I still have a share of the family inheritance? Company shares or whatever, give it all to him.” Luo Zhi swiped on the screen a few times, making the character do a series of front flips. “Let him go far away, whether he wants to start his own business or whatever, just give my things back to me…”

The rest of his words were abruptly cut off.

Luo Jun’s expression was cold and severe. He looked down at him condescendingly, unvarnished disgust and contempt showing in his eyes.

Luo Zhi’s phone was ruthlessly smacked to the ground.

The character on the screen couldn’t dodge in time and heavily crashed into a roaring, oncoming subway train. A glaring “Game Over” screen popped up.

Luo Jun’s hand was heavy. That slap not only knocked his phone away but also split a highly conspicuous, bright red streak of blood at the corner of Luo Zhi’s mouth.

Luo Zhi was slapped so hard he fell back against the car body. His scattered bangs fell down, covering his eyes.

He tilted his head slightly and raised a hand to cover his left ear. It seemed he took a moment to recover before crouching down as if nothing had happened, groping around a couple of times, and picking up the dropped phone.

Jian Huaiyi, supported by others, struggled to get up and hurried over: “Eldest Brother, don’t hit him…”

“This is none of your business.” Luo Jun asked in a chilling voice, “Luo Zhi, do you have a heart?”

Squatting on the ground, Luo Zhi inspected his phone inside and out. Confirming it wasn’t broken, he turned off the screen and pocketed it.

“While you are out messing around, acting tough, causing trouble everywhere, and throwing your weight around as the young master of the Luo family, Huaiyi is doing the things you are supposed to be doing.”

“Huaiyi studied business for you, followed up on projects day and night for you, fulfilled your filial duties to Mother for you, and took care of your sister for you.”

“Huaiyi grew up in the Luo family and has long been a part of our family. Just because you minded, you made a fuss until the whole family had no peace, insisting he move out.”

“He has a good temper and is willing to yield to you without arguing, so he agreed.”

Luo Jun restrained his volume, suppressing the surging rage of an impending storm: “Last time, because you made a huge scene, Huaiyi changed his name and dropped the Luo surname. What else are you unsatisfied with this time? What else do you want him to give back to you?!”

Luo Jun was truly angry.

If Luo Zhi hadn’t acted so outrageously, Luo Jun wouldn’t have laid a hand on him or said these things.

Today was Jian Huaiyi’s birthday banquet, yet Luo Zhi had struck heavily without restraint and beaten him like this. If this got out, not only would the Luo family lose all face, but there would be no way to explain it to their parents.

Madam Luo had been stimulated by certain events back in the day and had been recuperating all these years.

It was precisely because they adopted Jian Huaiyi that Madam Luo was able to recover bit by bit from a fragile state of near-total physical and mental collapse. Over the years, she treated Jian Huaiyi like a precious treasure, terrified of him suffering even the slightest bump.

Once the news of Luo Zhi beating Jian Huaiyi got back, or if Madam Luo saw Jian Huaiyi’s injuries, there would inevitably be an earth-shattering uproar at home.

“Do you think we really care about your opinion?” Luo Jun looked down, scrutinizing him with a chilling tone, “Luo Zhi, let me tell you—”

“So that’s what you guys thought.”

Luo Zhi smiled: “Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Cut off mid-sentence, Luo Jun knitted his brows tightly and lowered his gaze.

Luo Zhi had picked up the bad habit of smoking from who-knows-where. He turned his face and clamped a cigarette between his lips, playing with a silver lighter in his hand.

He sat on the ground leaning against the car, completely uncaring that his expensive trench coat was getting tangled with the blood-stained dust on the ground. He still carried that disgusting, arrogant demeanor of a ruined second-generation heir.

The lighter clicked, and a flame danced up.

That tiny bit of warm, bright firelight illuminated half of his face.

Luo Zhi’s thick eyelashes cast a small shadow. His skin was a cool white, slightly different from normal people, which made the red and swollen wound at the corner of his mouth look even more glaring.

With the cigarette in his mouth, Luo Zhi tilted his head back, recalling for a moment the “whole family having no peace” that his eldest brother mentioned.

He actually really wanted to see what kind of scene that was.

Unfortunately, time was too tight that day. He only had time to throw Jian Huaiyi’s computer out before the head of the Luo family was drawn over by Madam Luo’s breakdown screams. Furious, he had people drag Luo Zhi out and throw him into the underground confinement room.

Luo Zhi felt a bit regretful.

Luo Jun had held nothing back with that slap. Luo Zhi’s mouth and throat were full of the taste of blood, which couldn’t be covered up even with the smoke. Instead, he choked and coughed twice.

“That bedroom is between yours and our sister’s bedroom. I thought even if I didn’t come home often, I still had a room in the house… I thought that was my room.”

Luo Zhi was a bit curious, tilting his head slightly: “If it wasn’t, you should have just reminded me earlier and told me to consciously go sleep in the guest room. That would have been fine.”

Luo Jun’s face hardened from his retort, his gaze so heavy it could practically drip water.

“Eldest Brother, I wanted to move out myself.”

Jian Huaiyi interjected softly from the side: “It was just to make work more convenient, it has absolutely nothing to do with Xiao Zhi…”

“Jian Huaiyi.” Luo Zhi took the cigarette out of his mouth, toying with it in his hand. “Did I or did I not say that if you dare call me Xiao Zhi again, I will ruin you?”

Jian Huaiyi cut off his words, lowering his head heavily with things on his mind.

Luo Zhi was just bracing against the ground to stand up when suddenly his arms were twisted by well-trained Luo family bodyguards, pressing him firmly to the ground without a word.

Luo Jun walked over.

The gaze with which he looked at this disappointing younger brother was finally completely devoid of warmth; even the disgust mixed with anger had faded away.

He looked at Luo Zhi as if looking at a pile of broken fallen leaves swept to the side of the road.

Luo Jun looked into Luo Zhi’s eyes and asked softly, “Luo Zhi, what exactly do you want?”

“You know perfectly well that letting Huaiyi live in that room was because Mother goes to cover him with a blanket at night.”

Luo Jun’s tone was flat: “Mother will break down if she doesn’t see him, and her illness will flare up. Do you know how much pain Mother is in when she has an episode? She doesn’t recognize anyone; only seeing Huaiyi can stabilize her.”

“You know perfectly well that forcing Huaiyi to change his name would make who-knows-how-many people gossip and point fingers at him behind his back.”

“You know how sad making such a scene today will make Mother and our sister.”

“You just couldn’t stand it, could you? You just have to see everyone in pain, everyone suffering.”

Luo Jun said, “You insist on destroying our family.”

Luo Jun reached out, picked up the cigarette Luo Zhi had dropped to the side, and crushed it out on the ground.

That speck of bright red firelight was completely extinguished, turning into light, grayish-white ash that scattered without a trace when the wind blew.

Luo Jun had no interest in wasting any more breath on him. He gestured for the bodyguards to let go, leaving Luo Zhi where he was.

He had his people help Jian Huaiyi into the car, first taking him to have the family doctor give his injuries a basic treatment.

After all, Jian Huaiyi still had to make an appearance at the birthday banquet to offer toasts. If he went looking so battered and covered in injuries, tomorrow a massive joke that would cost the Luo family all their face would spread.

Luo Zhi was tossed aside.

He sat slouched, leaning crookedly against the car, and suddenly spoke up with a smile: “Eldest Brother.”

Luo Jun wasn’t planning on paying him any attention. He was just about to turn around when countless dazzling fireworks suddenly burst overhead.

Midnight had arrived; those were the customary fireworks used to celebrate birthdays at the banquet. Every single one was beautiful, personally designed by Luo Cheng, a riot of brilliant, multicolored light that illuminated half the sky.

“I’m twenty-three years old,” Luo Zhi said. “You forgot to wish me a happy birthday.”

Luo Jun’s footsteps paused, but without saying a word, he turned and walked away, getting into the car waiting by the road.