Shen Lin didn’t look at his father. Instead, he fixed his gaze on his eldest brother, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. The emotions he had been suppressing all surfaced the moment he saw Shen Yan; the hurt, the bitterness. “Ge.”
Shen Yan stood up, pulled him onto the sofa, and asked, “What did you do to upset Dad this time?”
This kid was just born rebellious, and no one knew where he got it from. Shen Lin was an obedient little brother in front of his elder brother, answering whatever he was asked.
“I just wanted to stay home and take care of Youyou, but he insists on sending me back to school.”
Not only that, but he had also hired some nanny who had studied abroad specifically to look after Youyou. He was Youyou’s real brother! Could some hired help take better care of him than he could?
“Is that all?”
Shen Yan poked his forehead. “At your age, instead of studying, you want to stay home and be a nanny for your little brother? Shen Lin, shake your head, see if there’s any water sloshing around in there!”
Shen Minyan had been completely silent since Shen Yan walked in. His knuckles were white as he gripped his teacup. The look in his eyes suggested that if Shen Lin dared to say another word about not wanting to study, he would smash that cup right on the boy’s head. Maybe a good, hard knock would finally knock some sense into him!
“Ge, why are you talking about me like that?” Shen Lin, acting as if nothing were wrong, snatched a strawberry from the table and popped it into his mouth while Shen Minyan wasn’t looking.
In the living room, the butler had already instructed the servants to clean up the floor. Shen Yan had always been well aware of Shen Lin’s dislike for studying. From the moment Shen Lin was born, everyone in the Shen and Chu families had doted on this young master. He could have anything he wanted, and no one in Beicheng dared to cross him.
As a result, Shen Lin had grown up arrogant and unruly. Back when he and their mother were still in the Shen household, it was manageable; they could still keep him in check. Over the past three years, Shen Lin had become increasingly reckless. At fourteen, because he loved playing video games, he insisted on dropping out to become a professional e-sports player.
At fifteen, thanks to his height advantage, he was selected for the school basketball team. Fired up, he declared he would drop out to study basketball abroad and become a professional player…
There were far too many similar incidents. At first, Shen Minyan thought, he’s a boy, going through puberty, getting wild ideas—let him be, no need to interfere. He never expected Shen Lin to actually be serious. When the boy dragged his suitcase out, claiming he was tired of life in China and planned to drop out to travel around the world…
The usually silent Chairman Shen grabbed the feather duster from the living room and gave Shen Lin’s backside a thorough thrashing. In the end, Shen Lin was forced to continue studying with great reluctance. Whenever he showed the slightest sign of wanting to give up on school, Shen Minyan would make him kneel and reflect on his behavior.
After kneeling so many times, Shen Lin got used to it. Sometimes, kneeling alone late at night in the vast living room, he would think, maybe this was just how his life would be—drifting aimlessly wasn’t so bad. His family was rich enough; even if he never worked a day in his life, he wouldn’t starve. When it came to the family fortune, his elder brother could handle it. He was just a good-for-nothing anyway.
“You think I want to lecture you? Do you know how many red lights I ran to get here?”
Shen Yan flicked his wide sleeve, the fabric slapping Shen Lin’s face like an actual hit. Shen Lin chewed the strawberry, swallowed, and remembered that his elder brother was somewhat of a public figure now.
He quickly asked, “Did anyone catch you running red lights?” He grabbed his phone, opened the social media app, and scrolled through the trending topics.
Luckily, he didn’t see any tags like #ShenYanRanRedLight.
Shen Minyan, hearing that his eldest son had run red lights to get home, said sternly, “How can you be so reckless too!”
As he finished speaking, everyone present noticed someone pushing the door open. The little one rested his head against Brother Xiao Tang’s neck. Although Tang Dou had comforted him for a while before coming in, the little guy was still a bit frightened. His small hands clung tightly to Tang Dou’s neck, his body trembling slightly. Shen Yan first noticed the young man with neatly cropped hair carrying a child inside.
Then Shen Lin, who had been sitting calmly beside him just a moment ago, dashed over, stood behind the young man, and called out in a sweet, affected voice, “Youyou.”
Only then did Shen Yan realize that the child in the young man’s arms was his little brother, Su Youli, who had just returned to the Shen family.
“Dad?” Shen Yan looked at Shen Minyan.
Shen Minyan nodded, confirming the child’s identity. Shen Yan noticed a warmth in his father’s eyes when looking at the little one that he hadn’t seen in a long time, a stark contrast to his stern demeanor just moments ago. The little one was still a bit scared, his small hands tightly clutching Tang Dou’s collar, his big eyes fixed on the floor.
Shen Lin reached out and said to Tang Dou, “Give Youyou to me.”
Tang Dou frowned but dared not defy the unreasonable second young master. But when he tried to hand the little one over, he realized he couldn’t pry the child off himself.
Afraid of hurting the little one by using force, Tang Dou could only offer Shen Lin an apologetic smile. “The little young master might be tired. It’s better if I hold him.”
Shen Lin was baffled. Before this man showed up, Youyou had been so clingy with him.
Feeling suddenly rejected, Shen Lin was frustrated. He held back, patted the little one’s head, and said, “Youyou, it’s me, your brother. Don’t you remember?”
Su Youli didn’t respond, only lifting his eyes to look at him briefly.
It was a familiar face, so the little one called out in his milky voice, “Gege.”
Shen Lin responded with a happy “Yes!” and waved at Shen Yan. “Ge, come over here quickly.”
Now there was another unfamiliar brother. Su Youli didn’t even lift his eyes this time, his head practically trying to burrow into Brother Xiao Tang’s clothes to hide. Shen Yan walked over. Under Zhang Shun’s introduction, he sized up Tang Dou. The young man with the neat short hair was dressed simply as well: a short-sleeved shirt, trousers, and easy-to-walk-in sneakers. He had known he would be taking care of a child starting today, so he dressed for convenience.
The man didn’t flinch under Shen Yan’s gaze. He patted the little one’s back rhythmically and said to Shen Yan, “Hello, my name is Tang Dou. I’m currently the little young master’s personal assistant.”
In other words, he was the little one’s dedicated male nanny. Seeing how dependent the little one was on Tang Dou, Shen Lin found it very strange. When he was trying to get close to the little one back on Yunshui Street, he had bought him snacks and toys for days, played with him for days, just to get the shy little guy to accept him.
“Did you say something bad about me to Youyou?” Shen Lin accused. *Why else would Youyou suddenly ignore me?*
Tang Dou smiled and didn’t respond. Noticing his dismissive attitude, Shen Lin was furious, but he bent down again, still trying to coax his little brother with a smile. Compared to the unreliable Shen Lin, the twenty-year-old Shen Yan, already capable of handling things on his own, was the one Tang Dou wanted to talk to. Because he at least seemed like a normal person.
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