So, I suggested that he tell Xue Yin he already has a fiancée and then ask if he has any girl he likes. The elder brother thought this plan was good and implemented it. A few days later, he returned dejected, saying Xue Yin had pressed him to reveal which family his fiancée was from. Unable to lie, the elder brother stammered and couldn’t continue. Xue Yin saw through this and didn’t expose him, but was clearly unhappy.
I then suggested the elder brother take Xue Yin to a courtesan house to see if he truly didn’t like women. After some internal struggle, the elder brother agreed, thinking he was helping Xue Yin return to the right path.
A few days later, the elder brother returned looking gray and dejected. He had indeed taken Xue Yin to the courtesan house, but from the moment they arrived, Xue Yin’s expression was poor. When several beautiful women entered, he erupted, shouting at the elder brother, “Xiao Wang, I never thought you were this kind of person!” After that, he angrily left, treating the elder brother as a stranger.
The elder brother was heartbroken. This rare friendship had ended inexplicably, and instead of blaming me for the bad idea, he locked himself in his room, sighing and looking miserable all day.
The elder brother had always been cheerful and optimistic, making his current situation unprecedented and drawing the family’s attention.
Unable to bear it, Mother knocked on the door, asking him to come out and talk. In his agitation, the elder brother grabbed some clothes and returned to his official residence.
The younger sister remarked, “Big brother must be heartbroken.”
I understood the weight of the situation and pulled Mother aside to ask her thoughts on “broken sleeves.”
Mother put her hands on her hips, eyes wide. “Wouldn’t that mean no descendants?! Are there really men who like men?”
“There are,” the younger sister interjected. “Good men either end up with women or with men. No wonder I still haven’t gotten married.”
I quietly asked Mother, “What if big brother…”
Mother clenched her teeth: “A Yao, you’re not suggesting your big brother likes a man?!”
“Of course not! Just hypothetically, if…”
“No ifs!” Mother was resolute. “If that were true, I’d jump into a well!”
