Kapitel 7: 7 - Little Brother Visits

Ren and Fang walked around the estate slowly after breakfast, with plenty of breaks (under Dr. Gordon's strict instructions). It took them nearly two hours and they had a nice picnic in the garden for their mid-morning meal. Ren paid a lot of attention to Fang's meals - he fully intended to make the boy reasonably healthy before letting him go.

"It's a very big house," Fang commented, when they finally returned to Fang's room. He was supposed to take a short nap before lunch.

Ren shrugged carelessly.

"Don't you feel lonely by yourself?" Fang asked.

Ren smiled slightly. "Sometimes," he answered honestly.

"So...why did you buy such a big mansion?" Fang asked curiously.

"I didn't," Ren replied. "It was part of the inheritance I mentioned earlier. I used most of the money to set up Sirocco, and kept the house to live in... it's a nice house anyway, and the servants were already trained."

"Were your biological parents some bigshots?"

Ren laughed. "Something like that."

Fang stared at the floor. "Do you...do you... maybe sometimes...do you wish you could have met them?"

Ren sighed. "I don't think there's any child in the world that doesn't want to know who their parents are." He patted the boy's head comfortingly. "I'm sure you, too, would want to know."

Fang shook his head first, then nodded miserably. "I just want to know why they abandoned me. If they didn't want me...they could have aborted me in the womb, couldn't they? What's the point of having a baby and then throwing it away?"

Ren looked at him silently for a while. "I can ask someone to investigate if you'd like to know," he said quietly.

Fang blinked. "Why?" he asked bluntly. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Ren rested his chin on his palm and narrowed his gold eyes as he regarded the teenager steadily. "Why?" he murmured. "I wonder why."

They stared at each other.

"I just want you to be healthy and happy and grow up well," Ren said finally. "Do I really need a reason?" He smiled a little. "Perhaps, to me, it seems that you're destined to be a great man, and I want to be friends with you early on and reap benefits later?"

Fang laughed bitterly. "From what angle do I look like I'm destined for greatness? I'm afraid you'll be extremely disappointed, Master Ren."

Ren shrugged. "My instincts are usually right," he said.

Fang fell silent.

Ren stood up and ruffled his hair again. "Rest for a bit. I'll see you at lunch."

Fang stared after him with shadowed eyes.

A short while later, Dr. Gordon marched into Ren's study, flushed with anger.

"What the hell did you say to the boy to upset him?" he demanded angrily.

Ren looked up from the files he was reading. It was a preliminary investigation report on Fang, actually.

"He's upset?" he asked. "Why?"

Dr. Gordon huffed, exasperated. "That's what I'm asking you!"

"Isn't it good, though?" Ren asked. "He has a lot of pent up negative email, doesn't he? Won't it be good for him to release some?"

"Let his body recover a little before that!" Dr. Gordon snapped.

Ren leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He asked me some questions earlier and he probably didn't like some of the answers I gave," he said and quickly narrated the gist of their conversation. "Does that mean he's feeling a little safe here to show his negative feelings?"

"Either that, or he's testing you," Dr. Gordon said, shaking his head. "He's right to be cautious. A random rich guy suddenly decided to save him on a whim. He's obviously at a loss."

"So what do I do?" Ren asked helplessly. "I don't want to lie to him."

"He's a smart child. It's possible he feels you're treating him as a substitute for your younger brother," Dr. Gordon said, frowning. "Or maybe he thinks you want something else from him." He stared at Ren. "Why are you helping him, though?"

Ren chuckled. "I really don't have a good answer for that, my dear doctor. I just feel an urge to keep him safe, to protect him."

"You're really not using him as Wade's substitute?" Dr. Gordon asked. "If you are, please stop now, before you make things worse."

Ren rubbed his temples. "From what angle does Fang seem the least bit similar to Wade?" he asked. "He resembles me more than Wade, if anything."

"Ah, so you're projecting," Dr. Gordon said.

Ren made a little noise of frustration. "I'm not your patient at the moment, Doctor," he said. "Please look after the one you're supposed to."

Lunch was a subdued affair. Ren didn't have much of an appetite himself, and Dr. Gordon kept throwing him accusatory glances. Fang ate quietly with his head bowed and obediently went to rest when Dr. Gordon urged him to.

Around tea time, four students and the class teacher turned up to visit Fang. Wade was one of the visiting students, to everyone's surprise. Dr. Gordon pursed his lips - they had informed Wade and requested him to visit when Ren had been seriously injured two months ago, but the boy had refused, saying his parents didn't allow him to visit anyone...and yet, he'd always found it rather convenient to meet Ren at expensive restaurants or shopping centres in the last few years.

Ren's staff didn't have a very high opinion of this pampered little brother. Still, they had learnt in the last five years how much Ren cherished the boy, so no one interfered.

Steward Paul gave the visitors a warm welcome and led them to Fang's room, while Jules wheeled in a huge trolley of tea and snacks.

"Is Big Brother all right?" Wade asked loudly, just before entering Fang's room. "Why did he bring Fang home instead of taking him to a hospital? Doesn't he dislike strangers in his space?"

"Don't you think it's rather rude to call Young Master Fang a stranger when he saved your brother's life?" Dr. Gordon asked archly. "Also, why are you here? Didn't your parents forbid you from visiting Master Ren?"

Wade's pretty face flushed. "I can meet my Big Brother when I want!"

"How strange," Dr. Gordon said. "Isn't this your first visit here? Didn't you say you weren't allowed to visit recently when Master Ren was lying in a coma for several days?"

Wade's classmates looked at him strangely. Wade had always been considered a kind and helpful boy by his peers and seniors, so they were shocked to hear that he didn't visit his injured brother earlier and that his parents didn't let the brothers meet.

Wade's eyes flashed. "We came to see our classmate today," he said, pushing the door open.

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