At that moment, Shen Yan’s chest was filled with a mix of emotions. They had missed the most difficult stage of raising a child, the mischievous, troublesome years, and had gained such a well-behaved, sensible little brother without ever experiencing the hardships of childcare. Shen Yan sighed, unable to find words.
The sigh caught Su Youli, who was busy eating, off guard. The little one was holding his spoon, with bits of egg still at the corner of his mouth. “Da-ge, what’s wrong?”
Shen Yan offered a smile. “Nothing. And it’s not ‘da-ge,’ it’s ‘eld-er broth-er.'”
“Elder brother!” Su Youli quickly corrected his pronunciation after being guided.
After the little one finished his meal, a servant came to clear the dishes. She was an unfamiliar auntie. The little one was no longer as relaxed as when he was alone with Shen Yan. His little feet tensed up, his eyes fixed intently on the back of the auntie’s head. In his life, apart from Grandma Yang, there had hardly ever been any female figures. The little one felt uncomfortable and looked pitifully at Shen Yan.
Shen Yan picked him up, patting his head. “Youyou, don’t be scared. This is Auntie Jiang.”
Hearing her name, Auntie Jiang stopped. She couldn’t help but feel fond of the young master’s innocent, adorable appearance. “Little young master.”
Su Youli clutched Shen Yan’s clothes and greeted her softly, “Auntie Jiang, hello.”
After dinner, Shen Yan accompanied the little one for a walk around the house, then they played with the toy car for a while. The little one kept glancing toward the stairs. He parked the toy car there, his short, small hands gripping the steering wheel.
“I miss Second Brother,” he announced loudly.
Shen Yan tapped his nose playfully, pretending to pout. “I’ve been with you all this time. Why don’t you say you miss me?”
Su Youli smiled shyly and reached out, asking to be held. Shen Yan’s outfit fascinated the little one, and with Shen Yan’s good looks, the slightly appearance-conscious toddler wasn’t too shy around him.
“Want Second Brother,” the little one repeated in Shen Yan’s arms.
Shen Yan wasn’t sure if Shen Lin had finished his homework yet. Their father had been personally supervising him. Thinking about Shen Lin’s abysmal grades, he’d surely be getting a lecture from their father, maybe even crying while doing his homework; their father wasn’t exactly the patient type. Holding the tiny Su Youli, Shen Yan was worried that if he took him to find Shen Lin, the little one might witness their father yelling at him again.
He carried Su Youli back to the living room, turned on the TV, and played cartoons to distract him while texting Shen Lin to ask if he was done. Five minutes later, Shen Lin replied.
Shen Yan put his phone away and patted the little one’s head. “Let’s go find Second Brother.”
The cartoon was at an exciting part, but the little one didn’t hesitate. He scrambled off the sofa, reaching the stairs before his elder brother, and started climbing. Shen Yan watched as he stuck his little bottom out, huffing and puffing his way up.
Is he this attached to Shen Lin? What spell did that kid cast on Youyou, making him abandon his cartoon?
Remembering the instructions in the ‘Parenting Manual,’ Shen Yan didn’t offer help when the little one struggled to lift his short legs up each step. The manual said: Su Youli is an independent child who enjoys experiencing the world with his senses and limbs. Please let him walk, run, and jump on his own. Do not disturb his concentration when he is focused on a task. By the time the little one reached the eighth step, Shen Yan noticed his face was flushed red and felt a bit reluctant.
“How about Elder Brother carries you the rest of the way?”
Su Youli’s little chest was heaving as he shook his head. “Kunkun says Youyou must climb twenty stairs every day.”
This was an assignment Kunkun had given him. He had to complete it. The steps in the Su family’s small house weren’t as high as the villa’s. The little one could easily finish his daily task back then.
But now… Su Youli wiped the sweat from his forehead. These stairs seemed a bit big, a bit hard to climb. However, Su Youli had been taught by his fathers since he was little: never give up easily. Persevere. Just push a little more. Finally, Su Youli sat on the twentieth step, his face flushed, smiling happily, showing his small, neat white teeth. He looked down, Elder Brother was still below him!
The view from the second-floor landing was quite beautiful, too. The three-year-old’s heart was racing with excitement. He had kept his promise to his fathers. Shen Dad’s stairs were big, but Youyou still climbed them.
“Youyou is amazing!” Shen Yan bounded up a few steps and looked down. “But Second Brother is in the study on the third floor. How about Elder Brother carries you up?”
Su Youli nodded. He was already very, very tired, so he reached out for Shen Yan to hold him. The Shen villa was huge. By the time Shen Yan carried Su Youli to the third floor, it was already past nine in the evening. Shen Yan tilted his head to look at the little one in his arms and noticed that the child, who usually had a fixed sleep schedule, showed no sign of sleepiness at all at this hour. In fact, his eyes were bright, his little hands clasped together. He looked exactly like a younger brother eager to play games with his brother.
He must have napped too long in the afternoon. Shen Yan firmly believed that the ‘Parenting Manual’ would not be wrong. Knock knock. The study door opened quickly. Shen Lin looked utterly drained from homework, his earlier spark completely gone. But when he saw Su Youli, his face lit up.
He took the little one in his arms and touched his forehead to the little guy’s. “Did Youyou miss Second Brother?”
Su Youli nodded vigorously, giving a firm “Mm!”
Shen Lin felt a warmth in his heart. He carried Su Youli out of the study. He couldn’t stand another minute in that place. Shen Yan glanced at their father’s desk, which Shen Lin had completely wrecked, and felt a headache coming on. The little one forgot all about his elder brother now that he had his second brother, looking perfectly content in Shen Lin’s arms.
Shen Lin was feeling pretty great at that moment. That afternoon, he had said he wanted to nap with Youyou, but his brother had mentioned he probably hadn’t done his homework for the past few days. Shen Minyan had immediately shot him a glare and dragged him by the collar to the third-floor study. Shen Lin hadn’t spent that much time alone with Shen Minyan in a long time. Doing homework with him there was like sitting on pins and needles.
He never liked studying anyway. He only put in some effort at the end of each semester so that he wouldn’t upset Chu Ying when he went to see her. Anyway, those three hours in the study with Shen Minyan were miserable for Shen Lin. Why did his brother get to soothe Youyou to sleep while he was stuck here doing homework?
But now, things were better. Youyou still missed him, didn’t he? His brother said the little one had asked where Second Brother was as soon as he woke up, asking many, many times over three hours. He had even abandoned his beloved cartoons to come find him. Shen Lin carried the little one to his room, stuffed a toy into his arms, and rolled up his sleeves, ready to play.
“Brother, I want to call my daddies.”
The little one’s soft voice burst the beautiful bubble Shen Lin had been imagining.
So he hadn’t been missing him at all; he was just after his phone, wanting to call his two fathers.
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