Chapter 6: Two brothers, one love.

“Not me.” Shen Mingxuan shouted eagerly. “I am too young to get married. I have a lifelong contract with Li Shuange’r that was made on my third birthday. Marriage to another woman would be a breach of contract punishable by her whip…. or worse, keeping me in a cage like a canary.”

His brothers were lost for words. Li Shuange’r was Mingxuan’s personal bully. Why their brother followed her around like a lost puppy was a mystery.

Shen Ruiming shook his head, stood up and left. His departure summed up his stance. At the age of twenty-one, he was very headstrong. The only thing that interested him was playing games, because he had a gaming system. Marriage was not for him. At least, not now.

Shen Kaiwen scoffed. At the age of twenty-four, he recalled too clearly the events of their childhood. Running and hiding as their uncle Han Ce destroyed the Shen family with his super scheming system. The Bureau had pretended to help them on the surface, but their efforts were as useless as a toothless baby biting on a frozen carrot stick. The thought of marrying a woman from the family of the Bureau president was abhorring.

He downed the wine in glass at once. “I don’t agree with this marriage alliance. How can you expect us to marry from the family of our enemy? I support making peace, but I disagree with this form of alliance. Count me out.” He walked away, clenching his fists and jaw.

Shen Weijun sighed and turned to Weifeng. They were only a year apart in age. He was twenty-eight and Weifeng was twenty-seven. From the moment he took the mantle as the leader of the independent system hosts, they had basically synced, living as a single entity in an effort to confuse their enemies.

After many attempts on his life, he had pretended to have plastic surgery, and all his old pictures had been erased online. Even physical copies in school had been stolen. Not many changes had been made to his face, some things were simply adjusted to help him look more like Weifeng.

With the similarity in their physical structures, they could confuse people easily. And with the help of the mask, he could walk around in public with ease as Weifeng while his brother temporarily played the role of One city’s master once in a while.

The arrangement had always worked perfectly…. until they both fell in love with the same woman.

It was why; beneath the camaraderie there was tension between them.

Weifeng laughed dryly. “Let me guess, I am the unlucky winner of this lottery. Tai Liwu must be rubbing off on me.”

Weijun rolled his eyes. “We get a choice on who the bride is. I think Zhang Alix is the perfect one. I would marry her myself if I could, because this concerns the interests of all system hosts and humans at large. But, as the leader of the independent hosts, I cannot marry the daughter of the president of the Bureau because some people might see it as betrayal.”

“That and you are worried about giving them access to you.” Weifeng replied. “Or is this because of Manman? By sending me to that chopping block disguised as a marriage, you can be free to marry her.”

Weijun did not respond immediately.

The subject of Feng Manman between the two brothers was a touchy one. Weijun had met her first, when she was on the set of a movie, butchering the role of an emperor’s sixth consort. She was a dreadful actress; her lines delivered with the stiffness of a wooden puppet.

She barely mattered back then, not until she awakened a beauty system. Overnight, she changed, becoming a beauty that could make gods weep. She was so radiant, it seemed like her face had been carved by divine hands. Her smile could make flowers bloom.

This beauty covered for her terrible acting. It earned her a reputation as the world’s most beautiful vase. Her fame rivaled that of her colleagues who could actually act. Her endorsements doubled, making her a powerhouse in her field. Wealthy men sought to conquer her, but she was unconquerable.

She shocked the whole world when she took a break from acting and joined the system wars, fighting on the side of the independent hosts. Secretly at first, but not for long. Weifeng had stepped in to protect her and train her. When he was not available, Weijun took up the role.

Soon, they found themselves entranced, not by her beauty but her courage and magnetic presence. Weijun admired her fire, her desire to protect the less privileged. As it turned out, away from the screen, Manman was a great actress. She was the perfect grifter and spy.

Weifeng cherished her gentleness. How she had a big heart and kind words for everyone.

To even the competition, they told her their secret. One city’s master was two men–brothers that looked alike. And they told her of their feelings. From then on, she lingered between them, indecisive, weaving a fragile love triangle of longing and secret rivalry.

Five years had passed, the war had spurned on, but her choice never came. A year and three months ago, when rumors of peace and ceasefire started, she left without warning. She vanished, leaving only silence and a note that said she wanted to search her soul.

Neither brother had let go. Each carried her memory like a torch, awaiting her return. In secret, they searched for her, but her shadow had not been seen in any of the corners they checked.

Now, with talk of the marriage alliance and her name, tension hummed beneath the bond the brothers shared. Every word was a reason for suspicion, as was every glance.

Weijun cleared his throat. “This is not about Manman, it is about….”

Weifeng cut in, “I am your shadow and your mirror. Haven’t you ever considered that someday, I would like to live freely without being bound to you or your choices?”

Weijun flinched.

“The only words you ever say are this or that is for the greater good.” Weifeng raised his voice. “For whom? A marriage with the daughter of our enemy is not for my good. And I am tired of sacrificing myself and my dreams for other system hosts. They get to live as they want while I stay prisoner to their desires.” He raised his voice.

Weijun remained silent.

“And I know what you are thinking.” Weifeng stood up and looked down at his brother. “We have the same face. I say the vows and get straddled with a wife I don’t want while you use our likeness to go in and out of the enemy’s lair as you please, pretending to be me. Am I right?”

Weijun nodded. “Taking down the enemy from the inside.”

“Then you do it.” Weifeng snapped. “We have the same face anyway and everyone knows what I look like.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Weijun stood up as well and tried to touch Weifeng’s shoulder. His brother stepped back. None the less, Weijun said what he had to. “If we don’t fight for our independence, we will become government puppets. Someone has to stand up and make sure it does not happen.

Our likeness has always been our greatest weapon. You will marry and I will poke around secretly for blackmail material on Tai Alix and the bureau higher ups. After we accomplish this mission, I will not ask you for any favors. One year, that is all I am asking for. I will not look for Manman during that time. After one year, you can get a divorce and we can compete again.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep