My brother's name is Mason Wynn.

Before I was ten, I used to call him by his name directly.

At that time, my mom had just married his dad, and he didn't like having a new little brother suddenly, and I thought having an older brother was quite a hassle.

He couldn't stand me, and I never gave him a good look either.

Until the year I turned fifteen, the girl I had a crush on rejected me and went to confess to Mason Wynn.

In a fit of anger, I rushed into his room and gave him a hard punch.

Mason Wynn, being prideful, couldn't stand such an act, and directly pinned me on the bed to hit me.

He pressed my legs, locked both of my arms with one hand, flipped me over, and spanked me repeatedly.

I never thought he would bully me in such a humiliating way.

It made me cry from embarrassment.

Hearing my suppressed sobs, Mason Wynn turned me over, and I still remember the look on his face.

He pinched my face, and I could feel the tears in my eyes sliding onto the back of his hand.

He wiped my tears and asked from above, "Tyler, will you behave yourself?"

Revenge can wait ten years for a gentleman.

I sobbed and replied, "I'll behave, please stop hitting me."

"Call me brother."

With a hoarse voice, I called, "Brother."

The sunlight was too glaring, and I seemed to catch sight of a faint smile lifting the corners of his mouth. Looking closely, that obscure smile was gone.

From then on, whenever we met, he would make me call him brother.

Not only that, even though my classroom was on the other side of the campus from his, he would take the long way to pick me up after school.

As time went by, everyone knew I had a brother.

However, Mason Wynn was quite controlling and didn't like me talking too much with girls; he would get angry if he saw it.

"Haven't I told you, the prettier the girls, the more deceptive they are. You wouldn't want to be deceived, would you?"

Frightened, I repeatedly said, "I don't want to."

Mason Wynn would gently pat my head and praise, "Tyler is such a good kid. But since you've done something wrong, today's punishment can't be skipped."

At some point, my brother set up rules for me: to make friends, I needed his approval, and I had to report to him when going out.

If I violated them, I would be punished.

At first, it was just spanking, then making me learn to bend backward, and later it even became squatting like a horse stance, claiming it was to train my leg muscles to gain strength.

If I couldn't persist, I had to start over.

After each punishment, I would be exhausted, thinking it would be better just to get spanked.

But it seemed ever since Mason Wynn turned eighteen, he rarely spanked me anymore.

I think maybe my brother got tired of that way of punishment.

My close relationship with Mason Wynn only began to change the day he went to college.

Just thinking that I wouldn't have Mason Wynn to pick me up from school and buy me gifts in the future made me feel a sudden sadness, and I ended up hugging him and crying.

Who would have thought I would be so reluctant to let him go?

Or maybe I was just reluctant to lose my walking ATM.

In any case, I was really heartbroken, my heart aching.

My mom and his dad laughed at me, "Your brother is just going to college, not leaving home forever."

Mason Wynn gently patted my back, saying, "Make sure to call your brother every day, okay?"

I nodded tearfully.

He pinched my reddened face again and sighed helplessly, "Tyler, you need to hurry up and turn eighteen."

After Mason Wynn started college, he began his own business with Dad's support, while still attending classes every day.

Still, he would always find time to call me, asking about my studies, inquiring about who I had been hanging out with lately.

Until I also got into the same university as Mason Wynn.

By then, Mason Wynn already had his own company and wasn't often around at school.

And I was only two months away from turning eighteen.

Time really flies when you think about it.

My phone vibrated in my hand, and when I looked down, I saw the caller ID.

It was Mason Wynn.

A day and a night had passed since Mason Wynn told me to "behave."

I answered the call, and Mason Wynn's voice, tinged with a hint of alcohol, came through: "Tyler Wynn, where are you now? Why is no one home?"

At just twenty years old, Mason Wynn already had the imposing presence of a leader.

When I first started college, Mason Wynn rented me an apartment outside, saying that living with roommates might affect my studies, so he let me live with him.

When Mason Wynn wasn't busy, he spent most of his time at home.

When he got busy, I was left alone there.

In his drunken state, Mason Wynn's emotions were more expressive, and he was quite insistent about my situation: "Come back home, don't stay out overnight. How many times have I told you?"

I had been staying at Ethan Wilde's place these two days. After saying goodbye to Ethan, I headed home.

"Tyler Wynn, don't you think it's weird how you and your brother are?"

I was puzzled: "What's weird about it?"

"He's so strict with you, if you didn't say he's your brother, I'd think you were dating."

I chuckled and patted Ethan's shoulder: "You're overthinking it. My brother is just worried about me, that's all. Besides, how could it be possible between two men..."

As I was leaving, Ethan Wilde watched me with an inexplicable look in his eyes.