Remember who you belong to (Between a rock and a hard place 1)

Chapter 2

Jiang Cheng was holding a crying and sniffling Wei Ying in his arms. The boy's head was hidden in his chest so he could afford a triumphal smile. Once again, he had gotten Wei Ying just where he had wanted to without the boy suspecting anything, much less being manipulated into situations when he would need to depend on Jiang Cheng.

It had now been two years from the day Wei Ying had gotten to live with them. He was no longer a scared and dependent child, he had gotten much stronger and more independent and Jiang Cheng had to always find more and more elaborate plans to have his older brother come crying to him, searching for comfort. Jiang Cheng loved being depended on.

Devising and executing plans in which Wei Ying would not suspect having his misfortune brought out on him by Jiang Cheng proved to be both hard and tiring so lately, he had to resolve to having Wei Ying punished by his mother. It was easy really, Yu Ziyuan positively hated the boy and would jump at any given opportunity to punish him harshly, be it by kneeling down or by beating or scolding him.

And each and every time, Wei Ying would endure anything she threw his way with a smile and polite pleas for forgiveness. It would be only when he would be alone with Jiang Cheng that he would finally break down and let himself cry his heart out. Jiang Cheng loved those moments the most, it was like a candy he could not get enough of.

So he went to his mother quite often to complain about Wei Ying's bad behaviour – which was mostly Jiang Cheng's own doing really – and having the boy punished by her. Sometimes, she would even let him watch and he would thrive in the knowledge that Wei Ying would be shooting desperate glances in his direction, too afraid to actually reveal anything.

Jiang Cheng had found out that the longer he denied Wei Ying the comfort, the most desperately the boy would cling to him when he finally allowed him to. It was fun watching him make puppy eyes in Jiang Cheng's direction for hours before Jiang Cheng would comply with the silent wish and excuse himself from any company he was just spending his time in to go somewhere private and join Wei Ying.

Today's situation had once again been instrumented by Jiang Cheng. He had known that his mother had forbidden Wei Ying from calling him and his sister his siblings, having to refer to them as martial brother and sister. He had used this opportunity to go tell her, not really telling on Wei Ying outright but more like pretending to let it slip unconsciously, that the boy had broken this rule.

His mother's reaction had been just as he hoped; she had beaten Wei Ying with a cane on his back. While he was now rubbing it, he could feel the wounds under the robes. The skin on Wei Ying's back was not smooth anymore, there were little hills and valley and he was now tracing each of them with delight.

Though, he was doing so carefully, secretly enjoying how the boy in his arms flinched every now and then and gave out muffled cries of pain. He would have liked to offer treating Wei Ying's wounds so he could have a closer look at them, but he refrained from that, at least for now.

Since the boy had not told him what kind of punishment he had gotten and was trying to hide his pain, Jiang Cheng decided that it was perhaps still a little too soon, he needed to build up even more trust between them. Then, Wei Ying would finally be at his complete mercy and he would have the perfect opportunity to take revenge for every little thing that Wei Ying had done during those years, for every time he had taken away Jiang Fengmian's attention for example.

In truth, he wanted to tear the robes apart and have a look at the surely angry red wounds. He wondered how many hits Wei Ying had gotten this time, he could really use that for future reference. But still, he refrained from that as well, it would really not do if the boy suspected anything at all. He need him to always come find Jiang Cheng, no matter what.

Unfortunately, the crying stropped too soon for Jiang Cheng's taste. There was nothing to do about it, at least not yet, he would have his own fun soon, he was sure of that.

"Jiang Cheng," started Wei Ying tentatively and with great sadness hidden in his voice, "do you think Madame Yu hates me?"

"Hmm," Jiang Cheng only gave a non-committal hum of confirmation. He did not want to ruin the surprise later on when he would convince Wei Ying that everyone beside himself hated him and that he was not safe with anyone aside for Jiang Cheng. "I am not sure, but do not worry, even if she does, or anyone else for that matter, you can always come to me. I will always like you."

Jiang Cheng's heart roared in satisfaction when he felt Wei Ying snuggling closer to him. The boy gave out a little strangled sound which Jiang Cheng interpreted as gratitude or at least something close to that.

"Jiang Cheng..." started Wei Ying again and Jiang Cheng frowned angrily, happy that the other had his head still pressed into his chest so he could not see it. He did not like being called like this, he wanted something more intimate, something which would mark him as someone close to Wei Ying. And he wanted to be called like that exclusively, only him, never anyone else and never in front of others.

"Big Brother," he reprimanded the boy and was minutely startled by his own tone and the fact that Wei Ying stiffed in his arms. He did not want to sound this annoyed, he still had to be careful and tie Wei Ying to himself more closely so he would never go seek comfort or help in another. He continued more gently and patiently, secretly gritting his teeth, this was getting tiring. "I want you to call me Little Brother, always..."

"But Madame Yu..." tried to interrupt Wei Ying but Jiang Cheng would not let him.

"...always when it is just the two of us. If mother, father or sister do not like you being their family, then let them, they do not deserve you. I want us to become even closer, always together."

"Always together," echoed the boy after him and Jiang Cheng smiled, a dark and not amused one. He was so close to having Wei Ying only to himself now, he could already feel it.