The butler took a handkerchief from his pocket, squatted down, and called out in a pained voice, “Young Master.”

Fang Ji did not take the butler’s handkerchief.

He stared blankly at the floor in front of him, saying nothing and not moving.

The butler squatted beside the young master for a while before he couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master, do you want to go up and lift the white cloth to take a look? If you don’t dare, I can do it.”

Fang Ji finally spoke, his voice choked with sobs, “You… you’re not allowed to move.”

The butler silently suppressed the urge to stand up and sighed, “Alright.”

The butler patiently squatted by the door with Fang Ji, waiting for the young master’s next move, whenever that might be.

After half an hour, the young master was still squatting at the door, sobbing softly, showing no intention of getting up.

He couldn’t help but speak again, “Young Master…”

Fang Ji’s sobs turned into a loud wail, “I told you not to move!”

The butler, at a loss for words, was extremely helpless. “But if we don’t lift this white cloth, how can we bring the Eldest Young Master home?”

Fang Ji’s crying subsided a little.

He stared blankly at the white cloth in front of him for a while, then finally lowered his head and said softly, “You’re right.”

It took Fang Ji ten minutes to barely regain some of his strength.

He struggled to get up from the floor, his steps unsteady, and stumbled to the body.

He grabbed a corner of the white cloth, his hand trembling slightly, his eyes filled with struggle and hesitation.

But perhaps it was the butler’s words, “If we don’t lift it, how can we bring the Eldest Young Master home?” that moved him. Fang Ji gritted his teeth, and finally, with a flick of his arm, he pulled off the white cloth.

The familiar face was peaceful and serene, with eyes closed. His head was slightly turned to the side, as if he were just asleep on the mortuary slab.

On his earlobes were the pale green earrings Fang Ji had put on him yesterday. The necklace on his neck rested squarely between his two collarbones.

When these accessories were chosen, they were specifically matched to his brother’s temperament.

On his brother, the person and the jewelry should have been in perfect harmony, each complementing the other.

But at this moment, the jewelry Fang Ji had personally chosen for his brother seemed slightly jarring to the eye, not quite matching the person.

The body seemed to have been tidied up already, not as terrifying as Fang Ji had imagined in his mind over the past half hour.

His brother looked no different from when he was alive, aside from being a little paler. His long, curly, dark hair was spread evenly on both sides of his body, dyeing the pale mortuary slab with his brother’s unique black.

But Fang Ji’s emotions still collapsed.

His brother did look as quiet and beautiful as when he was alive, but this beauty was like that of a dead animal specimen, exuding a coldness from every part.

This feeling… this feeling was completely different from his brother’s feeling!

His brother, when he was alive, was very gentle.

Just by sitting beside him without saying a word, he could feel the warmth of the world, as if the entire world was opening its arms to him, smiling at him.

At that time, his brother didn’t need to speak for him to feel his brother’s infinite tolerance and infinite love.

But now?

Those glowing, warm “little sprites” that used to dance around his brother were all gone!

They disappeared without a trace, leaving only a cold, breathless, silent brother.

Now, standing beside his brother, all he could feel, besides the cold, was pain and devastation.

But these… these could never be things brought by his brother!

Fang Ji supported himself on the mortuary slab and wailed, large teardrops falling onto his brother’s cheeks.

This time, the tears were hotter than any tears he had shed before.

He wanted to reach out and hug his brother.

But his hands were trembling, filled with fear, afraid that after touching his brother, all the memories of his brother in his mind would be replaced by this cold version of him.

But as he looked down at his brother, the thought that the person lying here was his brother suppressed all fear with grief.

…He wanted to hug his brother.

He wanted to hug his brother!

Fang Ji bent down, bit by bit, and wrapped his arms around his brother’s shoulders, gently burying his head in the crook of his brother’s neck.

He didn’t know if it was a psychological effect or reality.

Only after touching him did Fang Ji realize that his brother’s body was not as stiff as he had imagined, nor did it have the unpleasant smell of a decaying corpse.

On the contrary, the faint scent of the white musk perfume his brother usually liked lingered at the tip of his nose.

Fang Ji couldn’t help but bury his head deeper.

He buried his head in his brother’s neck, crying softly, desperately calling out in a small voice, “Brother… Brother… you promised me you would come back, brother…”

The thought that his brother would never open his eyes again, never wake up again, never smile at him again, made his tears unstoppable, gushing out in streams.

Fang Chengyu’s shoulder and clothes were instantly soaked.

He was like a dazed and frantic little deer, holding his brother tightly, rubbing his cheek against his brother’s, small, broken sounds continuously escaping his throat.

“Brother… sob… Brother… why, why did you suddenly leave Xiao Ji… sob… Brother…”

But, there was no response.

Only silence embraced him.

The butler had been waiting by the side all along.

As time grew later, a hospital staff member came over and asked softly, very concernedly, if they needed help buying some food.

The butler found this a bit hard to understand, but remembering the two meals the young master had missed, he still asked the staff member to help prepare some food.

Dr. Liu, on the other hand, seemed to have quite an appetite and chose to go out with the staff member, planning to have a hot meal on the street before coming back.

The butler saw that the clock had turned past midnight and finally couldn’t help but walk up and gently remind the young master.

But the young master seemed to not hear him at all, giving no response, just clinging to his older brother’s body, crying and calling out softly.

The butler had no choice but to continue waiting with him.

And so they waited until the latter half of the night. During this time, the on-duty doctor from the hospital brought food. The butler went up and called for the young master to come out and have a few bites, but the young master ignored him and wouldn’t eat, so he had to leave it.

At 3:00 AM, Fang Dad landed in T City.

At 3:15 AM, Fang Mom landed in T City.

At 3:30 AM, 4:00 AM…

The Fang family’s parents, older brother, and older sister had all landed and gathered at the hospital morgue.

Fang Lian scanned the situation in the morgue, walked up quickly, and asked the butler in a low voice, “How long has Xiao Ji been crying here?”

The butler sighed softly and said, “The young master has been crying since he arrived this afternoon. He’s only this quiet now because he’s cried himself out and has no more energy.”

Fang Lian nodded, calmly told the butler to go find a hotel nearby to rest, and then took turns with his parents and sister to go up and mourn by the body.

After finishing the process, Fang Lian, as the highest scorer of the past month, stepped forward as the representative and gently placed his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder.

He bent down and asked softly, “Xiao Ji, are you tired? Why don’t you go back and rest first?”

Fang Ji hadn’t eaten a bite of food or had a drop of water since after breakfast. He had also been through a whole day of intense emotional turmoil and had cried for so long that all his strength was gone.

But he still held his brother tightly, unwilling to let go.

He said in a hoarse voice, “No, I want to stay here with my brother.”

Fang Lian said calmly, “But even if you stay here, big brother won’t wake up again.”

Fang Ji suddenly turned his head and glared at him. He didn’t have much strength, but it was still a glare. He raised his voice and repeated, “I want to stay here with my brother!”

Fang Lian: “…”

Fang Lian hesitated for a moment, said nothing, gently stroked Xiao Ji’s head, then quietly stepped back and gave a look to his parents and sister. The four of them went out together.

They found a corner where they were sure Xiao Ji wouldn’t hear, and the four of them stood in a circle, starting a four-person meeting in low voices.

The older brother spoke first, “Xiao Ji has been crying here for seven or eight hours. If he keeps crying, his eyes will go blind.”

The older sister was worried, “Xiao Ji hasn’t had lunch or dinner today, right?”

The mother added, “It’s already so late in the morning, Xiao Ji should be having breakfast!”

The father was concerned, “Is this body clean? Does Xiao Ji need to be disinfected all over before going home?”

The older brother changed the subject, “Speaking of which, I secretly touched it just now. I couldn’t feel a heartbeat or pulse on the body, but it hasn’t stiffened, hasn’t decayed, and there are no liver spots. The technique is superb, just not realistic enough.”

The older sister breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good. I was really worried it was a real body.”

The mother was concerned, “Teacher Chengyu hasn’t eaten for a whole day either, right? If he gets any hungrier, won’t he starve into a real corpse?”

The father said in a low voice, “Don’t worry, he won’t starve into a corpse. I learned a few tricks from the previous client and brought some chocolate. As long as we have a chance to draw Xiao Ji away, I can give him a lifeline.”

The older brother returned to the topic, pondering, “The problem now is how to pull Xiao Ji away?”

The older sister suggested, “Add some sleeping pills to water and give it to him.”

The mother rejected the suggestion, “Xiao Ji hasn’t eaten all day. His stomach is too empty, it’s not suitable.”

The father suggested, “Then let’s make some congee and add the sleeping pills to the congee.”

The four of them quickly exchanged opinions and reached a consensus in 1 minute and 48 seconds.

To be safe and secure, they prepared both congee and water, and the dosage of the medicine was not too high.

The task of coaxing Xiao Ji to drink the congee and water was given to the mother.

Fang Ji was unwilling at first.

But his mother used the reason, “If Chengyu saw you like this, not eating or drinking for him, he wouldn’t be able to rest in peace in heaven,” and instantly convinced Xiao Ji, feeding him both food and drink.

The only thing that gave them a headache was that Xiao Ji insisted on having the congee and water right beside his brother, unwilling to leave for a single step.

The Fang parents, brother, and sister: “…”

Lin Chen: “…”

But being willing to eat was a good start.

The Fang parents, brother, and sister waited patiently by the side.

Fang Ji’s consciousness was already on the verge of collapsing, and he had no guard up against his family.

He lay beside his brother’s head, his consciousness gradually blurring.

In his haze, he seemed to see the clumsy and careful way his brother first learned to put jewelry on him;

He seemed to see his brother smiling as he put on the hand-knitted colorful bell hat for him on New Year’s Eve;

He seemed to see his brother knocking on his bedroom door in the morning, standing in the light, gently and patiently coaxing him to get up.

He rubbed his head against his brother’s side, his eyelids growing heavy, his eyelashes gently brushing against his brother’s neck.

In the last moment before his consciousness completely faded, he murmured lowly and unconsciously, “Brother… Xiao Ji didn’t not come back to brother, don’t be angry, don’t leave Xiao Ji, okay…”