Sworn Brother

[A writing exercise, please be kind]

When Zhu Rao was twelve, he got caught up in his parents' criminal case and became the neighborhood's infamous "bad seed."

Everyone said he'd inherited the criminal gene, that black blood ran through his veins.

He'd planned to pay back the thousand yuan he owed his foster parents, then go die.

Instead, he met a laid-back man at a rundown internet cafe in the city village.

This man, Xiang Yunhai, was so poor he could barely scrape by,

but he'd give Zhu Rao the only bed in his shabby rental, which was less than fifty square meters;

he'd make him a warm glass of milk before bed every night;

he'd rack his brains to find him a school, and cheer him on from the parents' section at the sports meet;

he'd find a doctor to treat him and tell him again and again, "Stay alive"...

Later, Zhu Rao really did stay alive. He got better and no longer planned to die.

He planned to cling to Xiang Yunhai for the rest of his life.

Then Xiang Yunhai went from a dirt-poor gig worker in Ningcheng to a wealthy young master from a powerful family in the capital.

And he was going to marry a young lady from a family of equal standing.

Xiang Yunhai: "It's okay. I'll always be your big brother. That won't change."

Zhu Rao: "..."

To hell with being his brother.

In a fit of anger, Zhu Rao packed up a box of belongings, left Xiang Yunhai's mansion, and moved back into his school dorm.

He also beckoned over a junior who'd been pining for him for ages.

A few weeks later, Young Master Xiang, now a full-on stalker, was crouched outside the Capital Conservatory of Music.

He crushed the empty drink can in his hand to bits.

"What do you mean by this?" Xiang Yunhai cornered Zhu Rao in an alley.

"What, 'Big Brother'?" Zhu Rao smiled. "You can go find a rich heiress who's your equal, but I can't find a young college guy with eight-pack abs?"

"..."

Xiang Yunhai's suit was rumpled from their shoving match.

At that moment, only one thought filled his mind:

To hell with being brothers, to hell with restraint

"So what if he's got an eight-pack? Who says I don't?"

"What's so appealing about some green kid? A mature man knows how to treat you right."

*The male lead and his fiancée never actually became engaged. They ended the arrangement amicably, and the intended bride had someone else she liked. It was all a misunderstanding.

Theme: Love helps us grow into better versions of ourselves.