Chapter 63: Yes, My Husband Is Your Eldest Brother

The door clicked open, and Zhang Hesning came in carrying a cat.

"Got it! Come on, Xibao, let's go play at your place."

Seeing the photograph in Song Xi's hand, she asked in confusion, "Why do you have my family portrait?"

Song Xi's mind felt sluggish as she pointed to the man in the picture and asked, "Is this your eldest brother?"

"That's right." Zhang Hesning nodded.

"Does your eldest brother have another name?"

"Oh... he has another name, Jing Zhuo," Zhang Hesning said. "The *zhuo* as in the washing of branches, with the triple-dot water radical. People often mispronounce this character, so everyone just calls him by his childhood nickname, Zhang Henian."

His formal family name was Jing, following his mother's surname.
His childhood nickname used Zhang, following his father's surname.
This was because, shortly after Jing's mother became pregnant, she had taken the child and gone into hiding for five years.

Song Xi finally understood.
It was as if every single bizarre thing now had an explanation.
No wonder...
No wonder on the very first day they registered their marriage, he had taken the marriage certificate away.
No wonder that previously, when she took him to meet her best friend's parents, an accident had suddenly occurred midway.
No wonder... he had sent her parents off on a vacation abroad.

"Prejudices in people's hearts are like towering mountains."
"The person of him you've truly interacted with might not be very old, and he isn't fierce."
"Can we... not get a divorce?"

Every previous word echoed in her mind like ricocheting bullets striking right between Song Xi's brows.
So that was it.
So that was it.

Clutching the family portrait, Song Xi stood frozen in place like a fool.
"Xibao, what's wrong with you?"
Noticing something was amiss, Zhang Hesning crouched down to her level.
"Why are you staring so hard at my eldest brother?"
"Don't tell me you've fallen for him?"
"Cut it out, you're a married woman."

*Right, and my husband is your eldest brother.*

Staring fixedly at the man in the photo, Song Xi felt a stifled sense of being played for a fool. She put the photo back where it belonged and pulled Zhang Hesning up.
"Come on, let's go play at my place."
"Huh? We're not bringing Guai Guai?"
"Not yet, I'm bringing you first."

Dazed, Zhang Hesning was pulled along and shoved into a limited-edition orange sports car, prompting another exclamation from her.
"Oh my god, Xibao, this car of yours is so cool! Why didn't you show it to me earlier?!"
"Fasten your seatbelt, here we go."
Putting on her sunglasses, Song Xi slammed down on the accelerator with a roar.

The car zoomed out with a heavy hum.
By the time she clumsily parked the car in the garage, Zhang Hesning was still bewildered.
"Isn't that car next to us my brother's?"
"You guys are so meant to be, even your parking spots are right next to each other."

Song Xi flashed her a friendly smile. "The more destined part is yet to come."
She led Zhang Hesning straight up the elevator, entered the passcode, and stepped inside.

Jing Zhuo was reading a book in the study and, hearing the commotion outside, assumed Song Xi had returned. He walked out to greet her, wearing casual loungewear.
"Wife..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a cheerful voice rang out right in front of him:
"Hi there, I'm Xibao's bes..."

Zhang Hesning's voice abruptly cut off, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost.
"Bro—bro—bro..."

Jing Zhuo's pupils instantly contracted. He snatched an apple from the coffee table and shoved it straight into her mouth, cutting her off.
Trembling, Zhang Hesning glared at him, then pointed a trembling finger at Song Xi—her finger shaking so hard it looked like Parkinson's disease.
"You, you, you guys..."

Stepping forward, Song Xi shoved another apple into Zhang Hesning's mouth and introduced them with a smile.
"Hesning, this is my husband, Jing Zhuo."
"This is my best friend, Hesning."

Silence. A deathly silence filled the air.
"First time meeting each other, aren't you two happy?" Song Xi asked with feigned innocence.

*Crunch.*
Zhang Hesning took a bite of the apple, feeling her brain turn into mush.
"Should we... be happy?"

Her gaze drifted mournfully toward her eldest brother, then snapped back to Song Xi, as two warning glares simultaneously shot toward her.
Jing Zhuo: *If you dare say you know me, I'll skin you alive.*
Song Xi: *If you dare say you know him, I'll skin you alive.*

Swallowing hard, Zhang Hesning obediently clutched her apple and found a spot to sit down.
"You guys chat first, there's fresh orange juice in the kitchen, I'll go pour some for Hesning~"
With a sweet tilt of her head, Song Xi turned around and headed to the kitchen with a cup.

In the spacious living room, the brother and sister sat face to face, staring at each other with wide eyes.
Swallowing again, Zhang Hesning quietly whispered, "Eldest brother..."
"Shut up."
"How did you end up becoming Xibao's husband?"
"Don't speak."
"So that scumbag who tricked her into getting a marriage certificate was you?"

Jing the Drug Dealer, Marriage Fraudster, Secret Gay Man, Zhuo cast a gloomy glare at her. "Say one more word, and you'll be paying back your debts."
"..."
Having been financially funded for half a month, Zhang Hesning wisely clamped her mouth shut.

Taking advantage of the moment before Song Xi emerged, Jing Zhuo quickly said, "Mom and Dad are coming home in a month, and I'll introduce her to my parents then. Until then, keep your mouth shut and don't utter a single word, understand?"

Zhang Hesning looked at him as if he were a clown.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm."
*Eldest brother, you're overdoing the act.*
*Half an hour ago, our family portrait was already looked over completely.*

Just then, Song Xi came out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of juice, handing one to Zhang Hesning and the other to Jing Zhuo.
"Here, have some juice."

Zhang Hesning's was orange juice, while the drink in front of Jing Zhuo was a bright red strawberry juice.
With a sweet smile, Song Xi sat down beside him, her voice soft and gentle. "Husband, I made this strawberry juice specially for you. Have a taste, is it good?"

Zhang Hesning's eyes widened all over again.
*Oh my.*
Her eldest brother detested eating strawberries the most, and hated drinking strawberry juice even more.
She had once complained about this specifically to Song Xi as gossip!

Then, she watched with her own eyes as Jing Zhuo picked up the glass and drained the strawberry juice in one go, without even blinking an eye.
"Mhm, delicious."

Song Xi peeled a segment of an orange and held it up to his lips.
"Husband, have some orange."
Zhang Hesning: "!!!"
*He hates the pungent scent of oranges the most!*

The next second, Jing Zhuo obediently opened his mouth, bit into the orange segment, and swallowed it without changing his expression.
It was over.
The world had gone mad.

Over the next half-hour, Zhang Hesning watched with her own eyes as her brother ate his most hated potato chips, spicy strips, cherry tomatoes, and sparkling water.
Then she heard Song Xi say to her with a beaming smile, "Look, these are all my husband's absolute favorites. I treat him well, don't I?"

Zhang Hesning let out a hollow, forced laugh.
*Great, just wonderful.*
In her lifetime, she actually got to witness her brother suffer a succession of dumb blows.

Unable to endure until dinner time, Zhang Hesning fled hastily, claiming she needed to go back and walk her dog so she wouldn't disturb them.
Song Xi walked her downstairs, and the moment they stepped into the elevator, Zhang Hesning grabbed Song Xi's arm and shook it frantically.
"Holy crap!"
"Holy crap, holy crap!"
"Xibao, you actually slept with my eldest brother? No, wait, my eldest brother actually slept with you!"
What kind of chaotic incestuous relationship was this?!
The sky was falling!

Covering her mouth, Song Xi said sternly, "Keep it confidential. Your brother still doesn't know I've figured him out. You are not allowed to tell him, keep your lips sealed tight."
"Why?" Zhang Hesning didn't understand.

Taking a deep breath, Song Xi massaged her wrists.
"He's played tricks on me so many times, I have to play him back!"