Li Shuyun was helped out by the staff.

He had sprained his left ankle, and it had been carefully treated by the on-site medical personnel at the landing zone. Now, he was leaning on a staff member’s shoulder, standing on his right leg, and hopping with difficulty toward the exit.

Li Yunhui shot a fiery “See?” at the butler, then strode forward and stopped in front of Li Shuyun, his face expressionless.

When Li Shuyun saw him, he froze, his expression panicked and lost. He called out softly, “Brother… w-what are you doing here?”

Today, Li Yunhui did not smile at this “Brother.”

He lowered his eyes, looking directly into his brother’s, his voice so cold it could have been dropping ice chips. “Li. Shu. Yun. So you knew you couldn’t face me today?”

His gaze moved down, landing on his brother’s swollen ankle.

His anger blazed, and his voice rose with it. “Is this the result you wanted? Do you have any idea what would have happened to you if that mistake just now hadn’t occurred right before landing, but in mid-air?!”

The overly harsh words landed heavily. Li Shuyun’s eyebrows trembled slightly, and his hands unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes. He tried to explain, “Brother, I… when I landed just now, I just…”

“Just?” Li Yunhui narrowed his eyes, his voice low. “What, trying to make excuses?”

Li Shuyun’s words came to an abrupt halt. He pressed his lips together tightly and lowered his head.

But Li Yunhui’s anger did not diminish because of this.

Was Li Shuyun not seriously reflecting at all? Did he think this sprain was just an accident and was still thinking about how to get away from him and continue sneaking out to play?!

Li Yunhui found it difficult to distinguish whether his anger stemmed from his brother’s “disobedience” and deceit, or from his own self-blame and fear.

He only knew that he had to make his brother feel the pain, understand the consequences and risks of his actions, and make sure he never dared to do the same thing again!

Just as he raised his palm high, a strong hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Li Yunhui looked back to see it was the butler.

He glared angrily. “You still want to protect him at a time like this?”

The butler held his wrist tightly, but his gaze was on Li Shuyun. His tone was flat and cold as he said, “Young Master, you were indeed a bit out of line this time.”

Then, he turned back to him and said, “However, Eldest Young Master, family matters should be handled at home.”

The butler gestured for him to look around.

Only then did Li Yunhui realize that a circle of people, at least twenty or thirty, had vaguely gathered around them.

They were all, intentionally or not, paying attention to the commotion. Some impolite people were secretly taking out their phones, planning to record a video to share as a joke with others.

Li Yunhui certainly didn’t want to become someone else’s laughingstock.

He reluctantly suppressed his anger and said, “Let’s get in the car first.”

Li Shuyun’s ankle was injured, and he couldn’t walk on his own.

Li Yunhui intended to put his brother’s arm over his shoulder, to support him or simply carry him out. But to his surprise, the moment he showed this intention, Li Shuyun immediately flinched like a startled animal and tried to pull his hand back.

Li Yunhui couldn’t believe it; he found it somewhat ridiculous.

Yes, his tone just now had been a bit harsh. But wasn’t it his brother’s fault for sneaking out to do extreme sports behind his back in the first place?!

And what was the meaning of Shuyun’s trembling shoulders now? He was his brother! He wouldn’t hurt him, so what was he so afraid of?!

The butler’s brow furrowed tightly. For a moment, he couldn’t determine whether the eldest young master or the young master was the bigger problem. He sighed, stepped forward, took Li Shuyun’s wrist from Li Yunhui’s hand, and said, “Let me.”

And so, they returned to the car.

The moment the car door closed, Li Yunhui’s anger finally became uncontrollable. He grabbed Li Shuyun’s hand and said expressionlessly, “Open it.”

Li Shuyun looked at the butler for help, his voice trembling softly, looking very pitiful. “Uncle Zhao…”

But the butler turned a deaf ear, focused on driving, and ignored his plea. Li Shuyun’s gaze slowly became dejected and dim. Faced with his brother’s coercion, he tremblingly and slowly opened his palm a little, turned his head away, and pressed his lips tightly together.

Li Yunhui brought his five fingers together, raised his hand high with a blank expression, and struck down hard!

Smack!

Smack!

Smack!

The once soft, pinkish palm was instantly beaten red.

As the third strike fell, a low, pained whimper escaped Li Shuyun’s throat. “Ooh…”

Li Yunhui’s own palm tingled, the same pain landing on his own hand.

But he cared nothing for this pain; the only thing he cared about was whether his brother had remembered this pain!

However, his brother did feel the pain.

Strands of brown hair fell low on his forehead. His brother’s beautiful eyes were brimming with tears, but he was trying very hard not to let them fall. His brother had soft features to begin with, and now with tears in his eyes, it was as if he himself had done something wrong and bullied him.

Li Yunhui remained expressionless, his voice hard as he asked, “Do you know what you did wrong?”

Li Shuyun kept his head down, looking hurt. His voice trembled, very soft and low. “But, brother… why can’t I?… You’ve clearly… you’ve been playing all along too…”

Li Yunhui felt as if he had been stabbed in the back, and the words caught in his throat.

…How was he supposed to answer? Say that he was different from him, that he was more experienced and physically stronger?

Li Yunhui felt cornered. After three seconds of silence, he snorted coldly, his tone icy and hard. “Then think about it until you know!”

He threw Li Shuyun’s hand aside and turned to look out the window. His lips were pressed tightly together, and he said no more, as if his anger was still burning.

…He wasn’t wrong. He had to stop his brother. He absolutely could not let Shuyun play any more dangerous extreme sports! He was doing the right thing!

The time in the car passed in quiet, oppressive silence.

Back at home, the butler first called for a doctor to properly treat Li Shuyun’s sprained ankle. During this time, he tried to question Li Shuyun about his specific activities over the past few weeks, but without success.

Ever since getting out of the car, Li Shuyun hadn’t lifted his lowered head. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and no matter how the butler asked, threatened, or coaxed, he remained silent.

Li Yunhui sat on the side for a while, but he soon became extremely agitated by the oppressive and uncomfortable atmosphere.

Li Yunhui: “…I have something to do, I’ll get to it.”

He couldn’t sit there any longer and simply went back to his bedroom.

He didn’t know what he did in his bedroom all afternoon. He sat by the window, and time seemed to speed up. In the blink of an eye, it was dinnertime.

Thinking of dinner… Li Yunhui: “…”

Li Yunhui couldn’t suppress the memory of the first time his brother brought him a meal.

What was his brother like back then? He was smiling. When he saw him, his eyes would curve into crescents, and his whole being radiated a happy smile.

But what about his brother today? …Silent, dejected, already injured yet stubbornly refusing to admit his mistake, even trying to make excuses and turn the problem back on him.

As Li Yunhui thought, his mind became a tangled mess again.

After sitting idly all afternoon, he finally wanted to get up and move. He stood up and headed for the dining room, only to see the table full of food, but the bowls and chopsticks untouched.

Li Yunhui frowned, found the busy butler in the small garden behind the house, and asked him, “Where’s Shuyun? Why didn’t he go to eat?”

The butler stopped what he was doing, turned his head, and said calmly, “The young master went back to his bedroom and refuses to come out. He’s probably trying the hunger strike tactic. You, Eldest Young Master, should be quite familiar with this trick.”

Li Yunhui: “…”

Li Yunhui was extremely annoyed. “If he doesn’t eat, you’re just going to let him not eat? Where’s that persistence you used to annoy me with? Now is the time to use it!”

The butler snorted. “What’s the point of trying an action that has been proven to be completely ineffective through repeated attempts? It’s better to just let the young master go hungry. Let him cry and fuss as he pleases. When he’s hungry enough, he’ll naturally come out to eat.”

Something sounded wrong to Li Yunhui. “Wait. This is clearly his problem. What’s with the passive-aggressive tone toward me?”

The butler sneered. “Is the young master’s problem not also your problem? Who was it that first took the young master to do extreme sports? Who was it that first taught the young master to skip class, lie, and sneak out? Do I need to name names, Eldest Young Master?”

Li Yunhui: “…”

Li Yunhui grabbed his hair in frustration. “Fine, fine, I admit it was my fault in the beginning, okay? But that’s not important right now. What’s important is how to make Shuyun realize his mistake and completely quit extreme sports!”

The butler looked up at him. “And how do you propose to do that?”

Li Yunhui: “If I had an idea, would I be coming to you now? Aren’t you very familiar with this job?”

The butler said without expression, “Mr. Li and I have been trying for so many years. Have we ever succeeded?”

Li Yunhui: “…”

The butler sneered again. “Besides, with a bad example like you always by the young master’s side… and you’re his older brother. Under these circumstances, how do you expect me to change the young master?”

Li Yunhui: “…”

Li Yunhui’s expression froze.

Li Yunhui: “Bad… example…?”

The butler had been wanting to say this for a long time. His gaze was sharp, and his glare made Li Yunhui uncomfortable from head to toe.

The butler: “After the young master came home, look at what you’ve done. You got kicked out of the house, belittled and mocked his father in front of him, tempted him to sneak out, introduced him to all sorts of extreme sports…”

The butler mocked, “Eldest Young Master, tell me, with you as his brotherly role model right here, even if I did have a way to make the young master quit extreme sports, wouldn’t he just go right back to it the moment he sees you?”

Li Yunhui staggered back two steps.

The flames of anger were stuck halfway in his chest, unable to burn or be extinguished. He was furious at the butler’s mocking tone, yet his blood ran cold at the butler’s repeated accusations of being a “bad example.”

He… was actually Shuyun’s bad example…

…Was he?