Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 631 - 620: Brotherhood (Part 3)

"Hey, Qiangzi, stop lying there, get up and eat."

Tang Xiaoquan found a square stool and placed it by the bed, then laid out the dishes one by one. After everything was ready, he saw Wang Qiang still lying motionless on the bed. He could only nudge him and urge, "Hey, Qiangzi, get up. These dishes were specially prepared for us brothers by Wei Yang. Get moving, it'd be a pity to let them go cold."

Perhaps being poked and prodded wasn't too comfortable, Wang Qiang instinctively turned over. Watching his sudden back, Tang Xiaoquan shook his head helplessly. Since gentle persuasion wasn't working, he'd have to try a firmer approach.

"Get up, you rascal!" With the weight of his words, Tang Xiaoquan forcefully pulled Wang Qiang up. The latter, once pulled up, was limp all over, like a skeleton that had lost its soul. If Tang Xiaoquan hadn't reacted quickly, rushing forward to steady him with both hands, his action might have once again ended in failure with Wang Qiang's free fall.

Who knew this Qiangzi would actually weigh quite a bit? Sitting on the bedside, Tang Xiaoquan took a couple of deep breaths. He glanced sideways at the dazed Wang Qiang beside him. Seeing the latter's dejected look, a inexplicable bitterness welled up in Tang Xiaoquan's heart.

He silently picked up a bottle of Jiannanchun, opened the sealed box, unscrewed the cap, and filled the shot glasses on the stool with white liquor.

Just as he was about to push one of the glasses over to Wang Qiang, the latter unexpectedly reached out and grabbed the glass, downing it in one gulp.

Wang Qiang finally moved, which made Tang Xiaoquan feel slightly relieved. He quickly refilled the empty glass with white liquor and raised his glass to clink with the other. Unexpectedly, before he could act, Wang Qiang snatched up the glass again, tilting his head back and finishing it in one go.

My God, this speed is really...

"Qiangzi, there's plenty of liquor, let's have some hot dishes to warm the stomach first!"

"Bang!" The glass was heavily slammed in front of Tang Xiaoquan. Wang Qiang's meaning was clear: Stop the damn nonsense and pour me more liquor.

To this, Tang Xiaoquan had nothing more to say. He could only obediently fill Wang Qiang's glass with liquor. And like this, after Wang Qiang downed about two liang consecutively, he finally stopped.

He slowly put down the glass, then stared at Tang Xiaoquan for a long time. Without any further actions, the piercing gaze unnerved Tang Xiaoquan, making him anxious: "Well~ Qiangzi, are… are you okay?"

Tang Xiaoquan worried if he'd drunk too much, causing any adverse effect. He quickly waved his hand in front of him, but before he could withdraw his hand, Wang Qiang unexpectedly burst into laughter.

"Hehe, haha, hahahaha!"

From a smile to laughter, Wang Qiang's laughter became more and more terrifying, more and more manic. Just when you suspected he might have really gone mad, he suddenly stopped laughing, returning to his initial dazed state.

Tang Xiaoquan knew Wang Qiang's current behavior was definitely influenced by the alcohol. He cautiously approached and said, "Qiangzi, are you alright? If you have anything on your mind, just say it, don't keep it bottled up inside, or laughing like earlier is fine too."

Wang Qiang indeed felt troubled, and the alcohol was finally allowing him to slowly release his repressed emotions.

He grabbed Tang Xiaoquan's shoulder, pointing at his own nose with the other hand in mockery: "Haha, Quanzi, do you know, Yang Xue said I'm not a man, but what a man! Yes, she was right, I'm damn well not a man, I'm a fucking bastard, trash! She was insulted by that bastard Liu Yunpeng like that, and I just, haha, simply stood there like an idiot beside her. Tell me, am I still human, do I damn well deserve to be human? I just watched my own woman get insulted like that… I'm fucking not human, I'm not human!"

Wang Qiang's shouts grew more and more agitated, until he simply began slapping his own face.

Facing such an out-of-control situation, Tang Xiaoquan was a bit dumbfounded. He never expected his brother to be so emotional. In his anxiety, he restrained the latter from continuing to self-harm, persistently persuading: "Don't be like this, Qiangzi, it's not your fault! It's not your fault at all!"

Wang Qiang forcibly broke free from the other's restraint, then picked up the glass from the table and once again drank it down:

"You don't know shit, do you understand how it feels to be accused of not being a man by your own woman? Do you understand the helplessness I felt in front of Liu Yunpeng? You damn well understand nothing!"

Wang Qiang's words deeply pricked at Tang Xiaoquan's nerves. He silently downed his first glass of white liquor, then feeling quite uncomfortable, drank two or three more, just like the other.

Seeing Tang Xiaoquan downing liquor, Wang Qiang was not to be outdone and drank several glasses too.

"Qiangzi, brother, I know you're really troubled right now, but there are some things I must tell you, who the hell is a man if you're not?!" Under the influence of alcohol, Tang Xiaoquan's words became slightly coarse:

"Don't blame your brother for the harsh words, what does that Yang Xue know? Does she know what a real man is? At that time, was acting out what made you a man? Immature! That's not being a man at all, that's childish impulsiveness!! Doesn't she realize where we were at the time? That was Liu Fugui's territory. If you dared touch his son on his turf, what would happen to you then?"

Seeing Wang Qiang not responding, Tang Xiaoquan continued, emboldened by the alcohol: "Brother, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart, Yang Xue really isn't suitable for you. Don't mind me being annoying; I'm being sincere. You see, we've known each other for about ten years, right? I know the kind of woman you like too well. We both just want something ordinary: a simple relationship. Although it's a damn apocalypse now, I believe all this will eventually pass, and then we'll find a virtuous wife to spend the rest of our lives with, have a big healthy son, and live out our days peacefully. But look at Yang Xue, she's nothing but lazy and materialistic, a gold digger that you can't handle. If you continue with her, you'll just end up getting more hurt."

Wang Qiang had been pondering what Tang Xiaoquan was saying for a while now, and indeed felt that his and Yang Xue's personalities were too different. Their opinions and attitudes towards life never aligned.

Upon introspection, Wang Qiang realized his feelings for Yang Xue were not born out of genuine love, but rather due to the gossip and meddling of others, creating an illusion of "I love her" over time.

But now, calming down, Wang Qiang found himself wanting to escape. Yet, constrained by his so-called standard of a good man, he couldn't be the one to propose a breakup first with Yang Xue.

Not knowing what to do, Wang Qiang simply poured himself another drink, continuing to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Seeing Wang Qiang still not speaking, Tang Xiaoquan lost interest in continuing the conversation and ended the topic saying: "Alright, Qiangzi, I've said all that needed to be said, you're a grown man, decide for yourself what to do. I'm not here to lecture you, I'm just here to drink with you, and we won't leave until we're drunk!" (To be continued. If you like this story, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)