“Don’t run anymore. Come here and eat.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Ci ran over obediently. He was picked up and placed on the chair, where he sat down properly before having his bib tied around his neck. Clutching his little spoon in his hand, he began eating obediently.
As always, the dishes were exquisitely prepared. Even the fish had been carefully checked and all the bones removed. Jiang Ci was eating happily, completely absorbed in his meal, when he suddenly choked.
He coughed violently.
Lu Shiying’s brows immediately drew together. “What happened?”
“A bone………………it’s stuck……”
Jiang Ci clutched at his throat, his small face turning bright red as he coughed twice more.
Lu Shiying’s heart lurched.
He immediately stood up and rushed over. He gently pried Jiang Ci’s mouth open and leaned closer to examine it.
Sure enough, a very fine fish bone was lodged against the side of his tonsil. The oral mucosa around it had already been pricked red, though fortunately there was no bleeding.
His voice was low and steady. “Don’t move.”
Jiang Ci was very obedient. He really did not move an inch.
Lu Shiying fetched a clean pair of medical tweezers. His hand remained perfectly steady as he carefully grasped the tiny bone and gently pulled it out.
A coldness unlike anything that had ever appeared in the young man’s eyes surged beneath his gaze.
He cast a slanting glance toward the downstairs area.
Chen Sao’s heart tightened.
She immediately turned around and went across to the other building to summon the chef who had been on duty.
There were quite a few servants working throughout the villa. The chef responsible for dinner was a man in his thirties. By the time he was brought inside, his face had already gone completely pale.
With a loud thump, he dropped to his knees and began explaining incoherently.
“The fish had already been cleaned…… I, I checked it repeatedly. I never thought…….
I never thought there could still be such a fine bone left…….
Lu Shiying’s voice was as indifferent as a thin layer of ice.
“Pack your things and leave.”
“Young Master, Young Master, please, give me another chance. I swear this mistake will never happen again………..”
Old Zhang’s expression remained stern as he pulled the chef away. As he did so, he added coldly, “A monthly salary of sixty thousand isn’t being paid so you can make mistakes like this.”
Jiang Ci was leaning over the second floor railing, peering downstairs through the gaps.
The area below had suddenly become lively.
The chef kept begging for mercy, repeatedly saying that he wanted another chance and that he did not want to lose his job but the two bodyguards had already grabbed him from either side, their expressions completely impassive as they dragged him toward the door.
Here, with Lu Shiying, mistakes were met with zero tolerance.
The little boy could not quite understand what the adults were saying. He only knew that everyone’s expressions had suddenly become extremely serious.
That boy stood there, an air of arrogance and indifference seeming to emanate from his very bones. His eyes appeared as though they were shrouded in mist, making it impossible for anyone to see through what he was thinking.
Very soon, everyone involved had been dismissed.
Lu Shiying raised his head.
By coincidence, he met a pair of round, curious eyes.
Jiang Ci was lying over the railing, looking down at him from above.
Only then did the young man realize that the instinctive tension and anger he had just displayed had all come from a single identity.
The identity of being an “older brother.”
Jiang Ci widened his round eyes curiously.
His little head was busily thinking about whether making a mistake meant that you would be thrown out of the house and forced to sleep on the streets.
It was already past nine in the evening yet Lu Shiying was still sitting beneath the light, flipping through his books and studying. His notebook was densely filled with neat, beautiful handwriting.
He had already made plans for the next four years.
He intended to obtain his graduate degree within those four years, complete his coursework ahead of schedule and take over the company as soon as possible. At the same time, he planned to pursue a doctorate while managing the business.
Competitiveness ran deep in his bones.
Jiang Ci had been taken by the servants to have his bath. When he came out, he was wearing a loose set of pajamas covered in little cat patterns, the soft fabric hanging loosely over his small body.
His hair had been completely dried, leaving it fluffy and soft. His whole body carried a sweet, fragrant scent.
He walked over in his slippers, the little shoes making soft pat pat sounds against the floor.
Then he climbed onto Lu Shiying’s leg and sprawled across it.
That sweet, fragrant scent immediately filled Lu Shiying’s arms.
It smelled very pleasant.
Lu Shiying lowered his head and looked at him.
Those little hands were small and white, resting against his knees like two tiny paws. His eyes were round and enormous, sparkling brightly beneath the light.
No wonder Mother always said that Xiao Ci was a beautiful little treasure.
A child this beautiful was someone Lu Shiying had never seen before either.
“Gege, play hide and seek with me, okay?”
Lu Shiying turned another page of his book without even looking up.
“I have to do my homework.”
Jiang Ci’s little mouth immediately drooped.
His two short legs rubbed restlessly against the spot beneath him before he spoke again.
“Then bring Xiao Mi back. Let it sleep with me tonight.”
This time, Lu Shiying finally lifted his eyes.
His tone remained completely calm.
“Absolutely not.”
There was no possibility of letting the cat sleep on the bed.
Not in this lifetime.
Jiang Ci lowered his head.
He stayed quiet for several seconds before slowly taking two little hops across the floor with his bare feet, like a deflated balloon that had completely lost its air.
He gradually shuffled over to the wardrobe and pulled open the door. His small body curled up inside and he hugged a little plush teddy bear by one corner of the wardrobe, burying his face against the back of the teddy bear’s head.
In a tiny, muffled voice, he murmured, “Daddy, Mommy……. Xiao Ci misses you…….”
Those four words were as light as a feather yet they landed directly on the most tender part of Lu Shiying’s heart.
He closed his book and turned his head.
The wardrobe door was only half open. The dim, yellowish wall lamp illuminated only a small patch of light inside, while the child remained curled up in the innermost corner.
A tiny little white figure sat there quietly.
He neither cried nor made a fuss. He only hugged the teddy bear tightly, resting his chin against the bear’s head. His eyes were red around the rims yet not a single tear had fallen.
Jiang Ci remembered that his mother had told him that at home, he was allowed to cry but outside, he had to hold it in a little and be a good boy. Only then would everyone like him.
Lu Shiying’s chest tightened.
He stood up and walked over to the wardrobe. Then he crouched down and gently held out both hands.
“Come out. Big Brother will play with you.”
Jiang Ci suddenly lifted his head.
His eyes lit up at once.
Lu Shiying had originally thought that after playing for half an hour or so, the child would surely start calling it quits from exhaustion.
Who could have known that once this game of hide and seek began, there would be no stopping it?
The Lu family estate had three floors in the main house alone. There were also the side rooms, the greenhouse, the gym, the garage and a row of small detached houses at the back of the estate that were hardly ever occupied.
Behind every door, beneath every table and around every turn of the staircase was a natural hiding place.
Jiang Ci was like an energetic little rabbit, running everywhere and squeezing himself into every possible corner.
Every time Lu Shiying managed to pull him out from some hidden spot, the child would giggle brightly, twist around and immediately run away again. In the blink of an eye, he would disappear behind another door.
Two in the morning.
Lu Shiying was leaning against the back of the sofa in the living room on the first floor, pinching the bridge of his nose.
At this moment, he was extremely regretful.
He should have dragged the child out of bed that afternoon and made him practice his numbers instead of letting him sleep all the way until evening.
And now look at what had happened.
He had not written a single word of his homework yet he had spent several hours wandering around the entire estate with a little human spinning top.
Silence.
At this moment, Jiang Ci was crouching behind the door of the side room on the right. He had dragged a short chair over to block himself from view, covering his mouth with both hands as he secretly giggled.
He had been waiting for quite a while yet there was still no movement outside.
He thought happily to himself, Brother is so silly. I’m hiding in such an obvious place. How come he still can’t find me?
After waiting a little longer, he cautiously poked half of his head out.
The living room was empty.
There was no one there.
He carefully slipped out, only to discover that Lu Shiying was actually curled up in the single armchair behind the sofa. The screen of his phone was lit up, densely packed with study materials.
Lu Shiying’s hand trembled and the phone nearly slipped from his grasp.
He immediately pretended to be surprised.
“Xiao Ci? Where did you hide? I’ve looked around several times but I still couldn’t find you.”
Jiang Ci placed both hands against his knees and tilted his little face upward.
His eyes blinked once, then twice, his voice soft and obedient.
“Brother, are you tired from playing? If you’re tired, just tell Xiao Ci. Xiao Ci will go to sleep.”
Lu Shiying lowered his head and looked at him.
This child was completely different from all the children Lu Shiying had ever seen before.
Those other children would scream in supermarkets, throw tantrums in restaurants and roll around on the floor in front of the toy shelves but Jiang Ci was different.
He was a whole size smaller than other children his age yet he was more sensible and well behaved than many older children.
So sensible that it made people feel a little sorry for him.
Jiang Ci pressed his little face against Lu Shiying’s chest and whispered in a tiny voice, “I miss Daddy.”
Lu Shiying raised a hand and gently rubbed the back of his head.
Last month, he had looked through the Jiang family’s information. The couple had a very good relationship, so good that it had practically become a celebrated love story within their social circle.
They had been married for so many years yet whenever Jiang’s father had to travel for business, he would still take his wife with him.
The two of them would sit side by side in the business world, one negotiating contracts while the other managed the finances. Anyone who saw them together would say that they were perfectly matched.
During the day, Jiang Ci would talk about Mommy.
At night, he would talk about Daddy.
His little heart was filled with memories of that warm and loving home.
Lu Shiying lowered his eyes, suddenly thinking of himself.
He could no longer even remember when the last time had been that he sat at the same table and ate a meal with his parents.
The Lu family was in the technology business. They dealt in electronic products and technological equipment and developed AI intelligence, with their business operations covering the entire country.
His parents spent almost the entire year flying all over the world.
When holidays and festivals came around, what they sent back home were gifts.
Not themselves.
He reached out and gently pinched Jiang Ci’s cheek.
“Big Brother can be Daddy too.”
From now on, they would be each other’s companions.
He would watch this little one slowly grow up.
“Then can I sleep with you?” Jiang Ci blinked and stared at him.
“No.”
Lu Shiying did not like having other people beside him when he slept.
On the third day after Jiang Ci had been brought home, the child began sleepwalking.
At night, he would always climb out of bed and wander unsteadily toward the door. Chen Sao, the nanny who watched over the villa, had been kept busy by this again and again. She did not dare wake him up rashly.
Every time she waited until he woke up on his own before carrying him back to bed and early the next morning, she would tell Lu Shiying about what had happened.
Chen Sao explained, “He may be lacking a sense of security. His parents have been away from him for so long and separating him into his own bed too early could make a child feel frightened as well.”
Lu Shiying had always been unaccustomed to sleeping with anyone else.
But when he thought about how Jiang Ci had only just lost his parents and would inevitably miss them often, he felt that if this was not handled properly, it might lead to psychological problems.
On the evening of the fourth day, Jiang Ci was still lying on the bedroom floor, playing with his toys, when two light knocks sounded from the doorway.
The little one raised his head.
He watched as Lu Shiying walked in through the door.
The young man opened his arms toward him.
“Come here. From now on, you’ll sleep with me.”
Jiang Ci’s eyes immediately lit up.
He instantly abandoned his toys and ran over, throwing his arms around Lu Shiying’s knees.
“Really? Uncle Zhang said you like sleeping alone.”
Lu Shiying lowered his eyes to look at him, his voice becoming a little softer.
“Do you want to sleep with Big Brother?”
Jiang Ci nodded vigorously.
That night, Lu Shiying carried Jiang Ci, together with his stuffed toy, into the master bedroom.
Old Zhang and Chen Sao stood downstairs, looking up toward the second floor. Almost at the same time, expressions of relief and comfort appeared on their faces.
Old Zhang murmured in a low voice, “The Young Master hasn’t spoken to anyone like this in a long time. No wonder the Old Master wanted to bring a little child home to keep him company.”
Chen Sao let out a soft sigh. “I suppose it can be considered two children who have both been starved of love finding their way to each other.”
Jiang Ci sat on the bed, his eyes moving from side to side as he slowly familiarized himself with his new surroundings.
The master bedroom was very spacious. The balcony faced directly toward the moonlight and with an orientation like this, the room should have been bright, open and filled with natural light.
But the interior was completely the opposite.
The black wallpaper made the entire room feel heavy and oppressive. The thick automatic curtains, gathered at both sides of the windows, blocked out almost everything, making even the air itself seem thin and stifling.
Lu Shiying said to him, “Sorry. I like dark environments. The style of the master bedroom is rather gloomy. Can you get used to staying here?”
Jiang Ci blinked his two enormous eyes and looked around the room.
After taking everything in, he nodded without saying anything and obediently crawled beneath the covers, leaving only half of his little face exposed.
“Xiao Ci can sleep anywhere.”
“Such a good boy.”
Lu Shiying stood up and left the bedside, walking over to the desk and sitting down.
The desk lamp cast a warm glow over the room.
He opened his test papers and textbooks. His slender fingers held a pen as he worked through one difficult problem after another, writing steadily in his notebook.
He had loved studying since he was very young.
He was proficient in everything from music and chess to calligraphy and painting. He had an exceptional memory and could remember whatever information he read after only seeing it once. Wherever he went, he could almost always be found reading some kind of book.
Jiang Ci lay at the head of the bed and watched him for a while.
His little mind was already a complete mess.
No matter how hard he thought about it, he simply could not understand why his big brother read books every single day.
Whenever Jiang Ci opened his own textbook to learn characters, he would always feel sleepy and drowsy.
He did not want to go to school either.
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator would like to formally submit a coffee request.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Even He, an outsider, couldn’t stand itChapter 2 · DaddyChapter 3 · Thank you for the gift!Chapter 4 · Do You want to sleep with your brother?Chapter 5 · Smart BabyChapter 6 · Life in a Wealthy FamilyChapter 7 · Genius BrotherChapter 8 · Brother’s giftChapter 9 · Xiao Ci was injured.Chapter 10 · ThoughtfulChapter 11 · Treat as treasureChapter 12 · Only recognized oneChapter 13 · Lu family coupleChapter 14 · A closed heartChapter 15 · Understanding my brotherChapter 16 · Reluctant to hitChapter 17 · UneasyChapter 18 · PossessiveChapter 19 · Teenage RebelChapter 20 Part 1 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 2 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 3 · The car accidentChapter 21 · My heart is racingChapter 22 · Physiological Knowledge