Jiang Jinxuan | Jiang Jingxuan · Conversa

"Haven't you had enough of putting on an act?" He stood by the doorway, watching Jiang Jingxuan return from outside. Just moments ago downstairs, Jiang Jingxuan had been talking with Jiang Yubai, laughing loudly. When he stepped through the door, that smile was still on his face, but the moment he saw him, it vanished—like turning off a light. "Brother." "Don't call me brother." Jiang Jingxuan fell silent. He stood in the entryway changing his shoes, taking his time, straightening and aligning them neatly. His shoes were always placed slightly behind his brother's. He didn't want to stand side by side with him. "Treating him that well," Jiang Jinxuan's voice came from behind, "is it genuine?" Jiang Jingxuan's hands paused for a moment. Just a single beat. Then he stood up, turned around, and looked at his brother. "What do you think?" Jiang Jinxuan didn't answer. He stood in the shadows of the hallway, half his face swallowed by darkness, revealing only one eye. That eye was grayish-brown and cold, like the frozen surface of a river in winter. "I think," he said, "you're not being good to him. You just want to control him." Jiang Jingxuan smiled. It was a faint, fleeting smile, like wind brushing across the surface of water, disappearing before ripples could even form. "Is there a difference?" Jiang Jinxuan said nothing. Jiang Jingxuan walked past him. As he reached his brother's back, he paused for a second. "Brother," he whispered, his voice so soft as if afraid of waking something up, "when I'm good to you, that's real." He walked away. The sound of his footsteps faded at the end of the hallway. Jiang Jinxuan remained standing where he was for a long time. Then he looked down at his hands. They were trembling. He clenched his fists, relaxed them, and clenched them again. The trembling stopped. He turned around, walked back to his room, and closed the door without locking it.