Chapter 27 Clan Head

"Tian, are you okay?"

The young star downed his drink and slammed the cup onto the table, startling the escort for the day. She took the empty cup and scurried off, leaving the manager and singer alone. "I'm fine."

With how he'd been acting today thus far, he was obviously 𝙣𝙤𝙩 fine. Meilin pursed her lips, refraining from criticizing him on his well-being. Ever since work started today, Li Tian had been in a horrible mood. Strangely enough, he was extremely motivated in his work, doing better than usual, but even the staff handling him could feel a moody aura the singer emitted. This wasn't good for his public image at all.

"While you 𝘢𝘳𝘦 doing work better than usual today, you are obviously NOT fine. You've drunk five cups of cocoa already," she eyed the stain forming at the side of his lips. "Did you buy a bad meal for dinner last night?"

𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵...

The young man grit his teeth thinking of the consecutive unexpected scenes he saw last night. Everything made him so conflicted he hardly slept comfortably at all from thinking about it.

At first, seeing a middle-aged man daring to nearly hit his younger brother almost fueled his anger to the brim that he nearly barged out into the open to stop him. It took nearly everything he had just to maintain the promise to keep hidden.

Although the hit didn't connect with Rai's body this time, the boy's occasional shift of pain during dinner together was clear to him that he had been hit before, and not lightly either. Li Tian's family was fucked up, but not abusing children fucked up.

However, when he saw the Southern young man appear from behind the door so leisurely afterward, he felt his nerve struck and that was it. Nothing else mattered.

Even the abuse almost about to occur towards his little brother somehow vanished from his thoughts. After all, it only ALMOST occurred. Li Tian had a one-track mind and his head was suddenly crowded with intense thoughts that everything else was washed away.

Plans were made that night to relax after a day of work; workouts, games, and call home. None of them happened.

All due to seeing the man whom he swore to take revenge against.

Yet his brain was overwhelming him with thoughts conflicting his rationale on the matter, putting his mental capacity on overdrive. On one hand, his desire for revenge was clouding both his mind and judgment, on the other end, his integrity regarding Rai's care was clasping at straws.

He hadn't known the kid as long as he had the man who had battered and humiliated him. As cruel as it may have sounded, after seeing the man who did him dirty, the man who tarnished Grandmama's family name, he felt no space in his heart to care for anything else.

Being with the young Rai was a short relief and kept his mind off things, but he was suddenly reminded of the reason he was so keen on coming North. Was it not to enact his justice upon the person who wronged him? The person who pushed aside the woman he cared about?

Li Tian's knuckles turned white from the force in his grip.

"Tian!"

His head snapped up at his manager.

"You didn't answer my question."

Out of touch with current reality, his lips opened and closed from his disorientation. "What was the question again?"

Meilin sighed at this problematic cousin of hers. He had always been the moody fellow, making it not unusual for sudden periods of gloominess, but they were trying to break the North here. This wasn't the South where he could just do whatever he wanted and get away with it.

She had yet to have a handle on the PR management in the North, thus anything consequential he did, wouldn't pass through her eyes first. That was a disaster just waiting to happen. With his recent turbulent emotions, it was probably a good idea to head to the Li North Headquarters and dip her claws in soon.

"Your body is definitely not working in cohesion with your mind," she lamented and internally made her decision. Spoiling him wasn't the best choice for an already spoilt brat, but she also needed to get things done for the unforeseeable future and deemed it necessary. "I have some sudden business to take care of so take the rest of the day, and tomorrow off."

Li Tian raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. It was a welcome event but still unusual for him to be let off the hook like that.

"Just make sure you get yourself together and DON'T get into trouble," his manager warned him.

"Yeah," the young star clenched his palms again and again. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺...

.....

𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵...

The small boy sighed while laying flat on his bed, staring straight at his ceiling. He had spent most of the day working on the physical exercises he was taught yesterday.

Thinking back to the scene from last night; calling out to Big Brother Lang without getting a response, and the intense expression the big brother had on at the time had scared Rai from reaching out to him any further. There was a tension in the air he could feel that he, as a ten-year-old boy, wasn't experienced enough to fathom yet.

Not soon after, Big Brother Lang left him without a word, which shouldn't have been strange, but it somehow felt... different.

Rai touched his head unconsciously, ruffling his cleanly combed hair into a fluffy mess. The bangs that usually hid his eyes were pushed back, revealing the cloudy grayish-blue eyes hiding behind them. He could see ahead of him clearly now.

"Ah..." he gasped lightly at the sudden revelation. Biting his lower lip frustratedly, he turned to the side and curled up into a ball. "That's right... Big Brother Lang didn't rub my head when he left..."

Even though the big brother was a quiet person, from the beginning he had always shown his affection towards the boy through his expressions or skin contact, especially on Rai's head.

Although it took him a while to realize it, the unexpected lack of affection in the form of head rubs caused the boy to feel an acute sense of insecurity.

"Did I do something wrong...?" he thought back on what happened. "Or was it..."

He remembered the strange man that came out from the guest lounge with his father. He had somehow been saved from a bout of physical abuse by this person, but what stuck to him the most was still the words that were whispered into his ear.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵...

𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥...

The boy furrowed his eyebrows. The words 'Clan Head' had a bitter meaning to him. It was the title of the person that could do whatever he wanted and get away with it; just like his father, a man who commanded respect.

Did he love his father?

He shook his head at the question. Love wasn't something he was old enough to fully understand. As the person who made him, wasn't it a given to love him? He couldn't comprehend there being a choice in the matter, so of course, he loved him.

His father nor his siblings wanted him to be Clan Head, thus as a filial son and brother, why fight for it? He wasn't exactly inclined to the title either, making it a win-win.

𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗽.

His cellphone vibrated.

𝘏𝘮𝘮?

Who could have messaged him? He never really received text messages before.

He checked it curiously and his eyes opened wide in delight, instantly replying said message.

𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴: I'm coming over.

𝗥𝗮𝗶: Really!? That's great! What time will you come? :D

𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴: Five minutes.

𝘍-𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴!? Rai quickly checked his watch. Dinner time was over so they shouldn't have to worry about any obstacles hopefully.

𝗥𝗮𝗶: Come through the back okay!

𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴: Ok.

Flustered by his first time texting with a friend, Rai put the phone down with elation. He concluded to himself that instead of thinking too much, he should focus more on the time he was able to spend with his teacher while he still could.

Whatever his worries were before, he quickly forgot about them and made his way towards the kitchen, where the backdoor was. He was having someone over again!

.....

"B-big Brother Lang, am I doing it right?" he let out a deep breath, holding in his tightened tummy and keeping his crossed arms and legs in place. Somehow he felt uncomfortable and was unsure of his posture.

"Mmm..." the older brother answered him distractedly. Although his eyes were on the training boy, his mind was elsewhere, and his expression made it quite obvious.

"Okay..."

𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭.

Rai had noticed it the moment Big Brother Lang had shown up. At his arrival, the big brother's smile didn't reach his eyes, and as they walked back to Rai's room, his eyes darted around the place, as if trying to be vigilant of something.

His attitude was completely different from the first time he had come over, where he seemed wholly indifferent to his surroundings. Not even being in a big mansion phased him. Now somehow everything was grabbing his attention, yet Rai's words had become a fleeting sound traveling past him.

Even when he didn't respond before, Rai could feel the big brother listening to him, albeit silently. But now, he had a lingering sense of being neglected. Big Brother Lang answered him when spoken to, but it felt misplaced.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮... 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱?

The words he heard last night suddenly rang again in his mind like a chant.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵...

𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥...

𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥...

As his mind wandered, Rai's heart skipped a beat at a thought that appeared in his head.

𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨?

Something like last night would never have to happen again, and he could get Big Brother Lang out of every situation.

He would be able to be useful finally.

He wondered what situation exactly his was teacher in. A genius both in mind and body, supposedly poor and yet somehow in the North for five whole months...

𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦??

His still immature mind made outrageous conclusions on his beloved teacher's situation.

𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬? With Big Brother Lang's personality, it didn't feel like he had a choice if he wanted an answer, thus he calmed his nerves subtly for his subsequent actions.

"Big Brother Lang, are you troubled by something...?" Rai asked carefully.

The older brother's glazed eyes refocused and stared at the sweaty figure looking at him with earnesty. His thoughts were expertly hidden making the boy more nervous than before.

After a pause that seemed like forever, the older figure pursed his lips and let out in a soft voice, "Nothing for you to worry about."

𝘈𝘩...

The words were simple and most likely inevitable, but it made Rai's chest hurt.

What was this?

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭... He felt an indescribable amount of pain, anguish, incompetence... and heartache...

He wasn't worthy of worrying about his admired Big Brother Lang's circumstances.

Yes... How could he be?

Who was he, but a mere boy Big Brother Lang took in as a student on a whim after he had repeatedly begged him before being accepted.

Rai was nothing. He had a family while not being apart of it, a home without really living in it, and a father that didn't see him as his child. A single taste of affection felt from a mere stranger like Big Brother Lang caused him to latch onto it like a leech, using the conception of learning from him as a mere excuse to continuously immerse himself in the affection he longed for.

To the big brother, he must think that this unknown Zhou descendant was just a stranger with no worth, the obligation to teach him only being because he was begged to. Even as the son of Zhou Liuxian, he actually had no backing to speak of.

Rai felt it like a wave crashing into a dam made of cotton. Useless. He felt useless.

Tears threatened to well up but he held back forcefully, ironically the hair untouched by the big brother could be used to hide his eyes perfectly. His lower lip was bitten so hard it became red and swollen, with just a little more pressure needed for it to burst.

Again, the words he couldn't seem to forget rang in his head like a constantly beating drum.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵...

𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥...

𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥...

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥...

.....