Chapter 17
Sitting in his baby chair, Shen Tiantian held his special “meal-eating” spoon, refusing the fork his brother offered him.
Shen Jinfeng stood to the side, watching the little brat poke the small cake with his spoon, poke, poke, poke, until it was in tiny pieces.
After the cake was dismembered, its shape was a tragic sight.
Shen Tiantian scooped it up with his spoon and swallowed it in one bite.
It was the first time Shen Jinfeng had seen someone eat cake this way. It was truly an eye-opener. He couldn’t help but cover his forehead and sigh.
After poking the small cake into numerous pieces, Shen Tiantian ate most of it, and the rest was taken away by Auntie Mu.
He had consumed too much sugar for the day; he had already exceeded his limit.
Auntie Mu even said:
“Since you had a small cake today, there will be no red bean milk pudding after dinner.”
Shen Tiantian was holding his small spoon, happily licking the remaining cream off it. Hearing this, he was incredulous, his little face snapping up.
“No more?”
His chubby little body instantly slumped against the back of the baby chair, his little feet hanging limply. The entire cub seemed to have lost his soul.
Shen Jinfeng pressed his lips together in amusement, trying not to laugh out loud. Plus, the little one held grudges, so he quickly slipped upstairs and fled.
Dinner.
Shen Tiantian didn’t come to the dining room right away. Instead, he sat on the carpet in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass window in the living room, cupping his little face and staring blankly at the fine, continuous rain outside.
“Sigh.”
He let out a heavy sigh. The thought of his lost red bean milk pudding tonight made him incredibly sad.
Of course, this was the bad-guy brother’s fault.
Shen Tiantian bared his teeth at the glass window, which reflected his image. He mimicked Shen Xiuze’s expression, trying to let out a heavy, cold snort from his chest.
To express his dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately, after trying for a long time, baring his teeth and grimacing until his whole face was scrunched up like a steamed bun, he still couldn’t master it.
Shen Tiantian had no choice but to pat the dust off his pants and run back to eat dinner.
Because of the small cake, his dinner portion was also halved.
Shen Tiantian unhappily gobbled down his dinner, ignoring his second brother who had sidled up next to him, and pattered off to his bedroom on his short little legs.
Flopping onto his small sofa, Shen Tiantian dialed Shen Yuanchuan’s number.
The butler had helped save this number in Shen Tiantian’s children’s watch yesterday.
As soon as the call connected, Shen Yuanchuan knew without asking that the little one was about to tattle again.
“Go on, which brother made you angry today?”
Shen Tiantian pouted his little lips, feeling that his daddy didn’t understand him at all!
“It’s second brother. Today… today he said he bought a small cake for a wittle fwiend…”
He mumbled on and on, but the central idea was just one thing:
“Second brother is really bad. Daddy, don’t give the company to him.”
Shen Yuanchuan looked at the documents in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and shook his head in amusement.
He knew it.
He didn’t even have to guess what this little cub was thinking; he could figure out what he was up to with his toes.
“Then if not to second brother, how about to your big brother?”
Shen Tiantian felt like the sky was falling.
He covered his little head, thought and thought, and finally squeezed out a sentence:
“Big brother… big brother is not okay either.”
Shen Xiuze had given Shen Tiantian a tube of ointment this morning, so Shen Tiantian was too embarrassed to speak ill of him. He hummed softly and said to his daddy:
“I’m smart, very stwong. I’ll earn lots and lots of money in the future.”
Shen Yuanchuan remained skeptical of this statement.
“It’s getting late. Don’t you have to record the show tomorrow? Hurry up and go to sleep. Daddy is working overtime today. Be good at home and listen to Auntie Mu and your brothers.”
Shen Yuanchuan was very busy and hung up the phone after saying this.
Shen Tiantian looked at the dark screen of his children’s watch and sighed unhappily, cupping his face.
He poked at his little genius watch, scrolled for a while, and found Shen Xiuze’s number.
The butler uncle had also helped save it, along with Shen Jinfeng’s number.
When the call connected, Shen Xiuze’s clear and cold voice came through the phone watch, slightly distorted.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Shen Tiantian’s soft and sweet voice sounded, and through the watch, it even had a slight nasal tone:
“It’s me.”
Shen Xiuze let out a very soft laugh on the other end, then quickly returned to his expressionless state. He flipped through the project report in his hand and asked:
“Tiantian? Why are you calling me?”
Their relationship didn’t seem to be at the point where he could call and act spoiled, did it?
Shen Tiantian’s distinct black-and-white, lively eyes darted around. He pressed his lips together and smiled for a moment, then secretly inquired:
“Big brother, why aren’t you back either?”
Shen Xiuze had no intention of fooling the child. He didn’t make up a random reason just because Shen Tiantian was young, but answered seriously:
“I’m looking at the project summary. This project is about to wrap up, so I’ve been busy compiling and summarizing these past two days.”
Hearing these words, Shen Tiantian felt as if his brain was tied in knots, and his eyes instantly spun into countless circles.
“Oh, then… then you’re very busy.”
Shen Xiuze seemed to laugh again, hummed in acknowledgment, and instructed:
“Remember to apply the ointment to your nose. I’ll be back very late tonight.”
Shen Tiantian hummed in acknowledgment and hung up the phone. He rolled over, sat up from the small sofa, and ran to his cabinet to find his books.
Finding the kindergarten literacy book he had brought back, Shen Tiantian turned on his small desk lamp, took a deep breath, and sat down at his desk.
Okay, he had to work hard too!
Tonight, he would learn a hundred characters and catch up to his brother!
By tomorrow, Daddy would definitely regret choosing his big brother to inherit the company.
The bright light of the small desk lamp shone on the cub’s round, chubby, baby-fat cheeks, making his silhouette appear even rounder.
Shen Tiantian’s face was full of concentration. He sucked in a breath, and his little tummy contracted.
He turned a page of the book, looked at the little person in the picture, and his mind couldn’t help but start to agonize again.
What should he wear for the recording tomorrow?
No one had seen his black and white jacket today. Maybe he should wear it again tomorrow?
With this thought, Shen Tiantian quickly jumped down from his chair and ran to find Auntie Mu-Mu.
“Auntie Mu-Mu, where are my clothes?”
Auntie Mu was just about to look for Shen Tiantian. Her expression was kind as she said:
“The one you just took off? It’s already been washed.”
Shen Tiantian was instantly anxious. He hurriedly ran to the balcony to see if his washed clothes were dry.
Fortunately, the washing machine and dryer at home were an all-in-one unit, so the washed clothes were already dry. Shen Tiantian hugged his clothes, which smelled of laundry detergent, and ran back to his bedroom happily.
He hung the clothes in the most conspicuous place in his wardrobe. Shen Tiantian looked at the full wardrobe of clothes that the butler had prepared for him and went through them one by one.
After rummaging in the wardrobe for a long time, Shen Tiantian completely forgot about learning characters and started to excitedly put together outfits again.
He filled his bed and carpet with the jackets and pants he had matched, some even with little shoes of a similar color.
When Shen Jinfeng came in, he was greeted by the sight of a room full of clothes.
His eyelid twitched violently, and he couldn’t help but ask:
“What are you doing?”
Shen Tiantian poked his head out from a pile of clothes in the wardrobe. A hat was perched crookedly on his head. He looked up at Shen Jinfeng, who had just entered.
“I’m picking out clothes.”
Shen Tiantian struggled to pull himself out of the wardrobe. He was exhausted and flopped onto the carpet, panting.
Shen Jinfeng felt like there was nowhere to step. He couldn’t even go over to pull the little one up.
From across the room, he pressed his forehead with a headache.
In that moment, Shen Jinfeng seemed to understand the feeling of helplessness that people online talked about when their kids were acting up.
“How are you going to sleep with such a mess in here?”
After he spoke, he didn’t hear a reply from Shen Tiantian for a long time.
Shen Jinfeng looked down again and found that the little brat had already fallen asleep on the carpet, using one of his clothes as a pillow.
“I…”
Shen Jinfeng looked at the room full of clothes and his little brother who had fallen asleep at the drop of a hat. For a moment, he almost cursed.
When Shen Xiuze returned, it was already close to midnight.
He entered the house, his coat still covered in a layer of misty rain. He hung his clothes up in the entryway and, before he could step into the living room, he saw Shen Jinfeng, who had been waiting for a long time.
“Why are you still up?”
Shen Jinfeng laughed at his words. His eyes were actually a bit like Shen Tiantian’s, similar to round cat’s eyes, but longer and narrower, with beautiful silkworm-like eye bags underneath.
When he smiled, it was easy for people to feel the warmth of a gentle breeze.
But Shen Xiuze knew his little brother too well. When he smiled like that, it meant something was up.
Sure enough, Shen Xiuze was led by Shen Jinfeng to Shen Tiantian’s bedroom.
Opening the door and seeing the room full of clothes, Shen Xiuze almost couldn’t catch his breath.
“What do you mean by this?”
Shen Xiuze had a bad feeling.
Shen Jinfeng had already placed the little cub on the bed. Seeing him sleeping soundly like a little pig, he couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
“Of course, I came to find big brother to help clean up the room. It’s so late, we can’t possibly wake up the aunties to clean, can we?”
Shen Xiuze’s brow twitched.
By the time the two brothers finished cleaning up, it was almost two in the morning.
The consequence of staying up late was that Shen Xiuze felt a throbbing pain in his head.
He looked at Shen Tiantian, who was sleeping with his bottom in the air, wearing his fluffy pajamas, a piece of the quilt rolled up on his little tummy, and sighed heavily.
“Don’t sigh. With this little tyke around, there will be plenty of times you’ll be cleaning up after him.”
Shen Jinfeng thought of their irresponsible father who practically lived at the company, and for some reason, a wave of frustration welled up in his chest.
He sneered but didn’t say anything else.
Shen Xiuze was also silent for a moment. He looked down at his little brother who was sleeping soundly with his little fists clenched. He unceremoniously reached out and pinched his little tummy.
It was soft and warm, a bit like the steamed buns he had eaten in the morning.
But it felt even better, soft and springy.
Now Shen Xiuze was satisfied.
Ignoring Shen Jinfeng’s gaze, Shen Xiuze suppressed the slight upward curve of his lips and turned to leave.
I wanna pinch that little tummy too 🤏🥹