In his dream, Su Youli saw a flash of white light. Then, an incredibly cute, pure white lamb with swinging horns appeared before him. The little lamb took his hand, lifted him up, and helped him find his brother’s medicine. The little one’s tightly knitted brows finally relaxed. An hour later, the little one slowly opened his eyes. In a daze, he saw the white lamb.
“…Little Lamb,” Su Youli said, reaching out a small hand.
Tang Dou smiled. “Youyou, it’s me. Brother Xiao Tang.”
Su Youli had missed Brother Xiao Tang so much. He affectionately nuzzled against him, then puffed out his little chest and told him about the brave thing he had done today.
“Youyou helped Brother. Otherwise, he would have died from the pain~”
Tang Dou wiped his face clean, gave him a thumbs-up, and gently touched the little footprint sticker on his cheek with his fingertip. “Our Youyou is so smart and so brave. You’re the absolute, most, most, most amazing little kid in the whole world.”
Su Youli lifted his head, the corners of his mouth turning up. That afternoon, Su Youli didn’t go outside again. He was completely worn out. He curled up quietly on the sofa, watching cartoons. Su Yuanzi, who had been cooped up all morning, lay obediently at his feet, letting the little one step on his back with his little feet.
Dinner was very hearty. To make it up to Su Youli, Shen Yan had specially asked the chef to prepare many sweet dishes. Tang Dou picked up a piece of pan-seared mini steak and placed it on the little one’s plate, patiently teaching him to pick it up with his chopsticks. Su Youli could pick up large pieces of food like this. After two failed attempts, the little one finally managed to lift the steak steadily with his chopsticks.
“Brother Xiao Tang!”
Tang Dou raised his phone. Click. He captured the historic moment.
“Awesome! Our Youyou is so amazing! You’re getting better and better with chopsticks.”
Su Youli didn’t dare move his hands. He stretched his neck to reach the steak and took a big, om-nom bite. The steak was tender and juicy. Qin Kun used to love making this dish for him, too. After finishing one small piece of steak, the difficulty increased. Su Youli looked at the broccoli on his plate with concern. The stems were short and small, hard to pick up. But Su Youli wasn’t a baby who gave up easily when faced with difficulty.
He was a very capable baby. Under everyone’s watch, the little one scrunched up his face, his small hands manipulating the chopsticks with difficulty. This time, he failed more often. The broccoli was soft after being cooked, and the little one broke several pieces. Everyone held their breath. Even Shen Minyan drew in a breath. Two minutes later, Su Youli raised his short training chopsticks, a triumphant smile on his face.
His little cheeks puffed out. “Ta-da—”
Thunderous applause erupted. Everyone showered him with praise.
Shen Lin’s expression was exaggerated. “Youyou even managed to pick up such difficult-to-pick-up broccoli! That’s amazing!”
Shen Yan gave a thumbs-up. Shen Minyan applauded with a smile. Tang Dou’s eyes curved into crescents as he smiled and placed another piece of broccoli on the little one’s plate. After dinner, Tang Dou took Su Youli back to his room for a bath. Meanwhile, the three Shen men were left alone in the living room. Shen Yan had been hugely popular since his debut. Today’s live broadcast had lasted only half an hour but had already generated over a dozen trending topics.
After the live broadcast ended, the production team uploaded their interview video on the official account. In the video, the two brothers looked somewhat alike. Fans watching the stream commented that Su Youli was the most beautiful child they had ever seen. The top comments were from Shen Yan’s fans, doing their usual promotional posts.
This was Shen Yan’s first time on a variety show, and that alone generated buzz, not to mention that he was bringing an incredibly cute little brother along. Shen Lin didn’t understand. Since the comments were so positive, why did his father look like he wanted to eat someone? Shen Minyan couldn’t stand Shen Lin’s slacker attitude. He shot him a cold glare.
Shen Lin lifted his chin. “I haven’t skipped any classes lately!”
Shen Minyan sneered. “People online have already started spreading rumors that Youyou is your brother’s illegitimate child.”
Shen Lin’s mouth fell open. “Huh?”
What is that nonsense?
Shen Minyan unlocked his phone and tossed it over. The headlines, designed to grab attention, invaded their view: “Best Actor Shen Yan Secretly Fathers Child, Brings Son on Show Pretending He’s His Brother.”
Not only that, but the gossip accounts had also listed multiple pieces of “evidence.”
“According to an insider, the Shen family’s youngest son was stolen three years ago. This news even made the newspapers. Paparazzi said the child had already died. Everyone remembers how big that scandal was, right? If the child hadn’t died, the Shen family would have come out to deny it.”
“And this three-year-old child named Su Youli doesn’t have the surname Shen, which suggests he might be taking his mother’s surname…”
“There has always been discord within the Shen family, with members fighting tooth and nail over the vast family fortune. If he truly were a little brother with inheritance rights, Shen Yan wouldn’t treat Su Youli so well. Don’t tell me Shen Yan is actually a good big brother who doesn’t fight or snatch, and has no interest in the family fortune…”
The marketing accounts used aggressive language and even included several photos of Shen Yan cheerfully holding Su Youli’s hand while walking in the garden. The Shen family had good genes. The two brothers really did look alike standing together. Shen Lin narrowed his eyes and silently mourned for his brother.
Brother, get ready to face the old man’s fury!
After a long day of work, Chairman Shen returned home to learn that his innocent, adorable little son had suddenly become his little grandson. Who wouldn’t be angry? Online, the situation had also become a heated debate. Numerous marketing accounts, eager to ride the wave of popularity, reposted and wrote their own articles.
In an instant, the trending topic of “Shen Yan secret father underage” was pushed to number one on the trending topics list. The marketing accounts worked quickly. Deduced from Su Youli’s age; Shen Yan was twenty this year, Su Youli was three and a half, which meant Shen Yan would have been just over sixteen when…
This was no joke. Shen Yan had just won Best Actor at the beginning of the year and had no shortage of rivals. As soon as this happened, many rival fans created alternate accounts to buy bots, and some even used their main accounts to curse Shen Yan for moral corruption.
[Pfft, who actually likes this kind of person? Help.]
[Fans always say SY is the aloof, elegant, and noble eldest young master of the domestic entertainment industry. Looks like he’s been exposed now, huh?]
[Sometimes people really shouldn’t get too full of themselves. He thinks he’s invincible just because he won a Best Actor award. He even dares to bring his illegitimate child into the industry. Does he think everyone else is stupid?]
[There’s this satisfying feeling when someone you dislike finally gets caught. Who else feels me? When everyone was praising how great his acting was, I just didn’t get it.]
…
With fame comes controversy. Shen Yan started his career late and wasn’t from a formal acting background. His Best Actor win was full of contention. The role he played—the fallen crown prince Yin Yun—was a character of noble status, pampered and raised in luxury, arrogant and ignorant of the world’s hardships.
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