After I Took In a Dark-Skinned, Mute Little Brother

. As a townie content to coast through life, Chen Xu checks every box: no parents, living in a rented room, staying up late and sleeping in, no ambitions, tattoos covering his shoulders, and always eager to join the fun.

Under the blazing August sun, a noisy fight breaks out at the mouth of an alley. Chen Xu comes out of the recycling center and stuffs the 180 yuan he got for selling the busted TV from home into his pocket.

He squats in a shady spot. A show is right there for the taking. Might as well watch.

Several people are ganging up on one person. The one getting beaten makes no sound, only opening his mouth to chase after them and bite. Every bite lands.

Turns out he's mute.

Chen Xu watches until one of the thugs tries to kick him from behind. “Hey!” Chen Xu crushes out his cigarette, gets up, and launches a flying kick.

Heroically saving the day. What a slick move.

The kick goes wide.

Battered and bruised, Chen Xu awkwardly drags the unharmed mute away. (Scratch that.)

Battered and bruised, Chen Xu is hauled back to his own ramshackle home by the mute, who has broken through the crowd.

The mute has a wild, nest-like tangle of hair. His face is so black it looks like he's rolled around in a coal pile, but his eyes are bright.

Chen Xu coldly locks the door and shuts him out. “Goodbye.”

When he opens the door again, a handsome young man with a buzz cut is standing outside. Cool brows, thin lips, sun-kissed skin, defined abs, and a strong waist. Looks like he can work.

He holds up a notebook. Written on it is:

“Hello, bro. My name is Zhou Jianshan.”

Leaning against the doorframe, Chen Xu decides to take on the responsibility of being an older brother.

He'll make something of himself and help his little brother build a good life.

Until one day, when he tries to pin the other man down on the bed, but in the ensuing struggle, the other man twists him around by the waist.

The moment Chen Xu's waist goes numb, Zhou Jianshan presses a knee between his legs.

The world spins. Chen Xu, unable to move, is swiftly flipped over.

Chen Xu takes second place in the two-person freestyle wrestling championship.

The chandelier sways, the legs of the rickety bed creak, and Chen Xu stammers, unable to get out a single complete sentence.

For a moment, it's hard to tell who's really mute.

Little scene: Chen Xu lies on the bed, damp strands of hair clinging to his cheek. A blush spreads from behind his ears down his neck.

A black bird with outstretched wings is tattooed across his back. Before long, one of its wings begins to flutter.

Chen Xu silently lights a cigarette.

His feelings are complicated. On the one hand, he feels humiliated. This is so damn far from what he expected, and it really pisses him off.

On the other hand... Damn.

It's not like he didn't enjoy it at all.

* All talk and no action is just bluster; all action and no talk is the real deal. Our Zhou is a capable young man in every way. Let's give him a round of applause.

* Everyday life among ordinary townfolk. Things are rough at first, but life gets better later on. A slice-of-life story.

* This is an age-gap romance with the younger man on top.

--- Divider. Below is a preview of a new story: an honest guy gets bullied ---

Xu Zhouyi is a genuinely nice guy. He can't argue, can't get angry, and has muddled through life in a spineless way until the age of twenty-six. There aren't many things he hates. First, going to work. Second, his childhood friend, who swindled him out of all his savings.

Third, rich people.

Especially his rich-kid boss, who has a smooth-sailing life with not a single thing to worry about, yet spends all day gloomy and sour-faced, making things difficult for everyone.

“Do it over.” “Start again.” “Redo it.”

He writes his boss's name in his notebook: Zhang Ce. Then he crosses it out in red and scribbles viciously: Zhang Ce, go be reborn.

The mild-mannered, honest Xu Zhouyi is being followed.

There are twenty-one bus stops from his office to his rented apartment, and three transfers by subway. Starting one day, an extra set of footsteps follows him home after overtime.

Tap, tap, steady and unhurried, day after day, like a ghost that never leaves his side.

Xu Zhouyi can't stand it, but he doesn't call the police.

The suffocating debt leaves him no choice.

Until one day, he's pinned in a pitch-black stairwell.

His usually neat shirt is now a mess, his tie hangs loose against his collarbone, and a cold hand slides down his neck, caresses his vulnerable throat, and slowly strokes every inch of his skin.

Xu Zhouyi trembles with regret and fear. Spineless as ever, he has pushed himself into the abyss once again.

His deer-like eyes are filled with glimmers of terror. “Please, don't do this,” he begs softly and pitifully.

“I won't tell anyone, I promise. Please.”

The stalker is Zhang Ce, his unsmiling, icy boss. They'd just seen each other at the office that very day.

Now, for once, a smile appears on Zhang Ce's face.

But it holds no warmth. Only possession, oppression, and a cruel sense of fun.

The pretty, dull-witted honest man looks as pitiful as a lamb, his eyes red, his trembling palms pushing Zhang Ce away.

“But I will,” Zhang Ce says, lowering his eyes. “So you'd better not make a sound.”

Theme: Even a crooked stone can stand firm in wind and rain.