Chapter 802 - Drop All Pretense
Jin Liwei didn"t reply right away. It gave Lu Zihao some time to calm his initial shock.
"It"s fine. He knows that I call my sister Evelinka and that she sometimes calls me Big Brother Nikolai. We already made up the story that Evelinka and Nikolai are our online names in a computer game we played before. Him calling me Nikolai doesn"t mean that he knows the truth."
After telling himself this, he calmed down and returned to his seat on the couch. As for Jin Liwei referring to him as brother-in-law, he didn"t think too much about it. He already expected that Jin Liwei would stop calling him Fifth Brother after their confrontation in his sister"s piano room.
Without their so-called brotherhood, the only remaining bond connecting them now was through his sister. Therefore, it wasn"t surprising that Jin Liwei would now address him as Brother-in-law instead of Fifth Brother.
Despite the remnant"s fierce protests, this was the result that he wanted when he tried to mess with Jin Liwei"s head by hinting that he and his sister had a big secret that the man couldn"t handle.
No, that was wrong.
To be honest, he didn"t intend to drop a hint about the big secret to Jin Liwei at all. The confrontation"s effects on the remnant were just too extreme that his triggered emotions made him momentarily lose control of his good sense. This was also one of the reasons why he felt so p.i.s.sed off at the remnant and why he didn"t want to see or talk to Jin Liwei at the moment.
But even before the confrontation, he was already feeling tired trying to maintain the close brotherhood with Jin Liwei and the others. Although he had grown to like the four men enough to consider them as friends while pretending to be Lu Zihao, the original close bond of brotherhood between them didn"t really have anything to do with him. The current friends.h.i.+p he felt with them wasn"t deep enough to warrant continuing to pretend to still be the same Fifth Brother who was close to them.
"Bacon, everything you"ll hear in this conversation is cla.s.sified information," Jin Liwei said, interrupting Lu Zihao"s thoughts. "Protect our call with the highest level of security."
"Bacon understands, Father," the black cat AI replied in a solemn tone.
Lu Zihao narrowed his eyes after hearing Jin Liwei"s instruction but he remained silent, waiting for the other man to initiate the conversation instead.
"Brother-in-law Nikolai, I know that you don"t want to see my face or talk to me at this time. The truth is that I don"t want to see your face or talk to you at this time either."
No surprise there. Lu Zihao curled his lip but mentally agreed that the feeling was mutual.
Silence.
"I know that you"re not my Fifth Brother Lu Zihao," Jin Liwei said in a voice so low that it was almost a whisper. "You are Nikolai, my wife Evelina"s big brother."
Lu Zihao"s eyes contracted. His jaw tightened and so did his entire body. "My sister told you the truth?"
"Not the whole truth. Only about her experience." Jin Liwei stopped talking and was quiet for almost a full minute before he spoke again. "Nikolai, my wife and I, we need to meet you in person. Let"s sit down and talk. Only the three of us. I want to know the whole truth."
"No." Lu Zihao"s response was instant and his tone final.
"Evelina wants to tell me the whole truth but she wants to get your blessings first."
"I said no."
Jin Liwei sighed. "Sooner or later, I"ll still end up knowing everything."
"Don"t you know that curiosity killed the cat?" Lu Zihao"s tone became casual, almost lighthearted, but Jin Liwei detected the dangerous undertone in his words.
"Fortunately, I"m not a cat. I"m your sister"s husband and the father of her children. I deserve to know the truth."
Lu Zihao threw his head back and laughed, the sound utterly demonic. "Deserve, eh? Listen to me, Third Brother."
"Don"t call me that," Jin Liwei said in a harsh tone.
"Heh~" Lu Zihao chuckled. "Fine. Since you are now dropping all pretense, then so will I. Indeed, I"m not your fifth brother. But make no mistake, Jin Liwei. I am now Lu Zihao whether you like it or not. Don"t try to box me in with your attachment to your old fifth brother. I am not him. I"ll live how I want to live from now on."
"Isn"t that what you"ve been doing all along? We"ve never tried to box you in even when you returned looking and acting like a completely different person which I now know is the case. We let you do what you want because all we want is to see you healthy."
Lu Zihao became silent once again.
"Just please, I beg you," Jin Liwei whispered, his voice strained. "Take care of Fifth Brother"s body."
The remnant surged violently inside Lu Zihao, causing him to almost double over. A great pain pressed on his chest, as if something was trying to claw out in desperation. He gritted his teeth as his whole body became drenched in sweat in just seconds. Fortunately, the conversation he was having with Jin Liwei was only a voice call and not on video.
"Think about everything I said to you tonight," Jin Liwei said, sounding exhausted and sad at the same time. "Evelina and I still want to talk to you in person. Rest a.s.sured that I love your sister with my life and will do everything to protect her, including the secret you two have been keeping. We want to resolve this with you before our wedding."
Lu Zihao still didn"t reply. All his energy was being used to suppress the remnant going berserk inside him.
"Father, what about Bacon"s salary?" the black cat interrupted.
"Bacon, your mother hasn"t finished your configurations yet," Jin Liwei told his son.
While the father and son were talking, Lu Zihao was frozen on the couch like a statue as he fought a fierce battle within him.