Fu Si Heng was a man of his word.
After promising Tao Zhi, he pushed off whatever he could on Friday evenings. His assistant no longer scheduled any social engagements for him on Fridays either. If anyone asked, Fu Si Heng simply said he had to pick up the little one from his family.
Fu Si Heng? He had a little one at home?
Was it Fu Zheng?
What a terrifying description. Fu Zheng, that little devil of chaos, had been witnessed by basically everyone in S City’s elite circles.
Moreover, hadn’t everyone said the Fu brothers had a bad relationship?
This left people utterly baffled.
But since the words came straight from Fu Si Heng’s mouth, even if it was hard to believe, they all accepted it. The rumor that had circulated for over a decade about the Fu brothers’ poor relationship collapsed on its own and transformed into tales of brotherly harmony—
This rumor eventually reached Fu Si Heng’s ears somehow.
Fu Si Heng nearly gagged in disgust. He made a point to clarify that it wasn’t Fu Zheng; there was another little brother at home. Only then did everyone suddenly understand.
Only Wei Yu, who knew the real story, rolled his eyes.
What little brother?
More like a child bride.
He was done.
The second year of high school was the most crucial one. Fu Si Heng picked Tao Zhi up and dropped him off every week. He even hired a tutor for him and kept a close eye on his studies.
Fu Si Heng was very satisfied with this.
Tao Zhi’s grades were excellent, and if he got into a good university, Fu Si Heng would be even happier than him. It wouldn’t betray the trust Tao Zhi’s parents had placed in him with their child.
Tao Zhi was equally satisfied.
Studying was the most important thing for him at this stage, and he was deeply grateful for the educational resources Fu Si Heng provided.
The only one dissatisfied was Fu Zheng.
Back in first year, Fu Zheng still had time to sneak Tao Zhi away and take him out to play.
Now, there was none of that.
He barely got to see Tao Zhi at all—only on statutory holidays, when Fu Si Heng returned home, would Tao Zhi come back to the manor with him.
And even then, it was always with Fu Si Heng.
This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays were connected, so after school let out, Fu Si Heng first took Tao Zhi back to his hometown to celebrate with his parents and sister.
After a few days at home, Fu Si Heng brought Tao Zhi back to the old estate.
After months apart, Fu Zheng finally saw Tao Zhi again.
He had missed him terribly.
As soon as they got out of the car, Fu Zheng immediately pulled Tao Zhi away. “Come on, come on. I’ll show you something cool.”
“Hey—” Tao Zhi instinctively turned to look at Fu Si Heng first.
He didn’t see him.
Because Fu Zheng had covered his eyes and was hurriedly dragging him toward the villa.
Super bossy.
Tao Zhi: “…”
–
The “cool thing” Fu Zheng mentioned was the medal he had won for first place in an overseas mountain bike off-road race during summer vacation.
He had originally planned to compete in a motorcycle off-road race.
But he had been with Xu Yujia at the time, and she wouldn’t let him ride motorcycles, so he settled for mountain biking instead.
Fu Zheng boasted about how awesome he was, his tone brimming with pride as he showed the medal to Tao Zhi.
“I was gonna take you with me, but you insisted on going home.” As he spoke, Fu Zheng started grumbling again.
He had won the medal over the summer, but Tao Zhi had gone home instead of joining him. By the time he got back, Fu Si Heng wouldn’t let him go see Tao Zhi, so only now could he tell him about it.
“I hadn’t been home for a whole semester. I missed my parents,” Tao Zhi said. “Next time, next time you have a race, I’ll definitely come watch, okay?”
“Fine,” Fu Zheng reluctantly agreed.
Then, he realized Tao Zhi hadn’t responded to his earlier statement. After holding back for a bit, he couldn’t resist asking, “I’m pretty awesome, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Tao Zhi nodded three times in a row very cooperatively. “Fu Zheng, you’re super awesome, but—”
As he spoke, Tao Zhi seemed to realize something, and his expression turned worried. His gaze involuntarily shifted to Fu Zheng’s currently intact legs.
“Is your leg okay?”
Fu Zheng was a seventeen-year-old high school boy dedicated to extreme sports but always getting injured.
Fu Zheng: “…”
“What are you talking about?” Fu Zheng was extremely displeased with Tao Zhi’s reaction.
“How could I possibly break my leg?”
How could he not?
It happened all the time.
Just from the times Tao Zhi had gone to the hospital with Fu Si Heng, there were plenty…
Tao Zhi’s concern only grew, his eyes repeatedly flicking to Fu Zheng’s legs.
