Chapter 18
The rain that had been falling all day gradually stopped in the early morning. The sky was still overcast, and with the curtains drawn, not a sliver of morning light could enter the room.
Shen Tiantian woke up from a long sleep, unable to tell if it was day or night. He sat on the bed for a long time, dazedly hugging his small pillow.
It wasn’t until Auntie Mu’s knock sounded on the door:
“Tiantian, the people from the production team are here. Are you awake?”
Shen Tiantian immediately woke up. He jolted out of bed and ran to the wardrobe to find the clothes he had put away yesterday.
Both Shen Xiuze and Shen Jinfeng had a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder, especially Shen Xiuze.
He had arranged the clothes in Shen Tiantian’s wardrobe from large to small, from dark to light, in a neat and orderly fashion.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think these clothes were about to participate in a military parade.
Shen Tiantian stared at his completely transformed wardrobe, his little brain tied in knots.
How did his clothes get so neat and tidy overnight?
A little question mark hung over Shen Tiantian’s head for a long time.
Shen Tiantian couldn’t stand his wardrobe looking so strange. He reached out and rummaged through his clothes a few times, then squeezed in and pushed them around.
Finally, he jumped out of the wardrobe. Looking at the now messy wardrobe, Shen Tiantian finally felt comfortable.
This was the wardrobe he was familiar with.
Shen Tiantian found his black and white jacket in a pile of dark clothes, chose a dark blue sweater with a small bear printed on the chest for his inner layer, and paired them with jeans and small shoes.
After changing his clothes, Shen Tiantian stood on his tiptoes in front of the mirror for a long time and nodded in satisfaction.
He looked good today too.
Shen Tiantian happily ran to open the door. Before he could even cross the threshold, he was met with the cameraman’s lens.
The big, bright smile on his face instantly vanished and was replaced by a shy and obedient one. His bouncing little steps slowed down, and the little cub’s entire being spelled out the word “quiet.”
Shen Jinfeng stood behind the camera, watching this little brat put on an act, and couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement.
Shen Tiantian ignored his second brother’s strange look, raised his small hand, and greeted the audience in front of the camera.
“Hello, everyone. There was no live stream yesterday~ We can stream for a long time today!”
The comments in the live stream chat flashed by:
[Aww! It’s Tiantian!]
[So energetic! He’s bouncing around to meet us first thing in the morning.]
[I’ve noticed, Tiantian has a huge idol’s burden, hahaha!]
The live broadcast’s perspective was originally supposed to follow Shen Jinfeng, but Shen Tiantian, without a hint of politeness, tugged on the cameraman’s clothes, telling him to follow.
“Let’s go, uncle. We’re going downstairs to eat.”
The cameraman and the assistant director both glanced at Shen Jinfeng. Seeing no change in his expression, they abandoned him without hesitation.
“Alright, we’ll follow Tiantian.”
Shen Jinfeng had a video conference this morning. Watching the little one happily trotting around in front of the camera, he just let out a soft hmph and turned back to his room.
This time, Shen Tiantian didn’t take the elevator. He still remembered that the netizens wanted to see the villa. His short little legs churned at high speed as he was the first to arrive at the top of the stairs.
“This is the staircase. It’s very, very high, but I can take two steps at a time!”
As Shen Tiantian spoke, he turned around, stuck his bottom out, and began to walk down the stairs backward.
He could indeed cross two steps at a time.
But watching his clumsy, slow, little turtle-like movements, it felt like it would take him until tomorrow to get down these three floors.
The comment section had completely erupted in laughter.
[So entertaining first thing in the morning!]
[Walking down the stairs backward, just to prove his short little legs are capable, right? Haha.]
Before he had even finished one flight of stairs, Shen Xiuze’s voice came from above.
It was indifferent, mixed with a chill like the autumn rain. One could recognize his unique tone without even trying.
“Why aren’t you taking the elevator?”
Shen Xiuze was already tall, and he was standing on the steps, which forced Shen Tiantian to crane his little head, tilting it way back to look at him.
“The stairs are fast too. I’m almost done.”
Shen Tiantian clenched his little fists. Even though he was struggling to get down half a flight of stairs, he was still unwilling to turn back and take the elevator.
A stubborn little cub by nature.
Shen Tiantian buried his head and continued to huff and puff his way down. Just as he finished two more steps, Shen Xiuze had already arrived beside him with his long legs.
Shen Tiantian stood on the landing at the turn of the stairs, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He saw the dark circles under Shen Xiuze’s eyes and said, puzzled:
“Big brother, your eyes are dark underneath.”
Shen Xiuze’s face currently had a look of exhaustion and fatigue, filled with gloominess, his eyelids drooping listlessly.
“It’s fine. I didn’t sleep well.”
He had spent the whole night organizing the wardrobe and had only slept for four or five hours. It would be strange if he had slept well.
The camera happened to give Shen Xiuze a close-up.
Many netizens were captivated by his unique aura today, and the speed of the comments increased.
[Big brother looks so cozy at home today, ahhh!]
[I like this gloomy, damp, male ghost style. It has a crazy vibe! I feel like he would imprison me, hehe~]
Shen Xiuze saw the comments rapidly scrolling across the tablet held by a staff member. He lifted his eyelids, seemed to want to say something, but after his lips moved twice, he ultimately remained silent.
“I’ll take you down. Breakfast is getting cold.”
Shen Tiantian was sweating from walking down the stairs, so naturally, he didn’t refuse.
He was held in Shen Xiuze’s arms, his cute little face tilted up. His considerate words were like golden honey from a honey pot, flowing sweetly and softly into one’s heart.
“Is big brother tired? I’ll wipe your sweat for you.”
Shen Tiantian reached out his small hand, patted the non-existent sweat on Shen Xiuze’s forehead, and even pulled out a strand of his hair, causing him to guiltily withdraw his little hand.
“It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt. Cub will blow on it for you.”
He hurriedly blew on Shen Xiuze’s head a few times. Shen Xiuze’s freshly combed hair instantly stood on end.
Shen Xiuze’s expression was blank. With half of his hair in a messy chicken’s nest, he reached out and held down Shen Tiantian’s restless little head.
“I’m not in pain. Stop blowing.”
The autumn wind was already cold. With him blowing, it felt like his whole head was radiating cold air.
Shen Xiuze placed the now even more well-behaved little cub into the baby chair in the dining room, ran a hand through his hair to smooth it back, revealing his clear forehead.
“Hurry up and eat,” Shen Xiuze said with a somewhat helpless smile.
Shen Tiantian tucked his little hands into his sleeves, pressed his lips together, and giggled, his little face full of shyness.
“Okay, big brother should eat too.”
Having done something wrong, Shen Tiantian decided not to pursue the matter of his father saying he would give the company to his big brother yesterday.
Shen Xiuze himself didn’t know that the little one had unilaterally forgiven him. He pressed his temples, which were aching from staying up late, and ate very little for breakfast.
Tiantian, on the other hand, had such a good attitude that it seemed like the whole world was bright and sunny. He swung his short little legs and ate with big mouthfuls.
Today’s breakfast was small wontons, along with a few pork ribs and Chinese-style pastries.
Shen Tiantian held his exclusive little spoon and was extremely focused on his meal, stuffing his cheeks until they were puffed out like a little hamster’s.
There was a lot of soup today, but he used his spoon very steadily and didn’t spill a single drop.
After finishing the meal, the bib on his chest was still clean.
Shen Xiuze propped up his chin and looked up at Shen Tiantian eating. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction in his heart.
He hadn’t eaten much himself, but he felt as if both his stomach and his heart were full, very content.
The corners of Shen Xiuze’s lips unconsciously lifted a little. He glanced at the time and stood up.
“I’m going to the company. Auntie Mu, please tell Uncle Zhao that I’ll be back for lunch.”
Auntie Mu knew that Shen Xiuze had always been so distant and polite. She nodded with an “okay” and watched him walk away.
Shen Xiuze’s driver had already brought the car out from the garage and was waiting for him at the villa entrance.
When Shen Xiuze arrived at the entrance, he happened to see a taxi pull up in front of him.
A little boy about the same age as Shen Tiantian jumped out of the car.
The little boy was wearing a black denim jacket, his hair was styled voluminously, and he had a round figure and a round face.
He was good-looking, but Shen Xiuze inexplicably disliked his eyes.
They were murky and materialistic, not at all clean and pure like a child’s should be, and they were filled with an unconcealable ambition.
It was very incongruous and also very annoying.
Shen Xiuze frowned, lowered his eyes to hide his gaze, and indifferently walked towards his car.
Ye Jiabao naturally saw Shen Xiuze as well.
In the Shen family, the person Ye Jiabao feared the most was Shen Yuanchuan, and the second was this big brother.
He always had that lofty, indifferent expression, noble and proud. When he lowered or raised his eyes, it seemed he never even saw Ye Jiabao.
In the past, Ye Jiabao had been provoked by Shen Xiuze’s gaze more than once.
When he was in middle school, he felt that Shen Xiuze looked down on him. In a fit of anger, he had thrown a plate and started a fight with Shen Xiuze.
But Shen Xiuze didn’t seem to deign to fight with him. After dodging a few times, his eyes were filled with disdain.
His face was written all over with the word “trash.”
Ye Jiabao was even angrier, but he had been disciplined by Shen Xiuze before, locked in a small dark room to reflect for three days, so he didn’t dare to offend him and could only swallow his anger.
Even until his death, Ye Jiabao had never forgotten Shen Xiuze’s gaze.
Now, meeting him by chance, Ye Jiabao’s expression couldn’t help but twist for a moment. Then, as if he had thought of something, he smiled again.
“Are you Tiantian’s big brother?”
Hearing the child’s voice, Shen Xiuze gave a cold hum and turned to get into his car to leave.
But Ye Jiabao’s voice continued:
“Tiantian mentioned you to me on the phone before. He said your face is always grumpy and that you’re not easy to get along with at all.”
After stirring up some trouble, Ye Jiabao’s little face feigned conflict.
“But I think you’re quite nice. Could it be that Tiantian has some misunderstanding about you?”
Shen Xiuze’s foot, which was about to step forward, paused. He turned back to look at Ye Jiabao, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up, full of mockery.
“Is that so?”
Leaving behind a cryptic remark, Shen Xiuze turned, got into the car, and left.
Ye Jiabao stood at the villa entrance, his brows furrowed tightly, wondering what Shen Xiuze had meant just now.
Was he also dissatisfied with Shen Tiantian?
Ye Jiabao couldn’t figure it out and could only temporarily suppress his doubts and go into the villa to find Shen Tiantian first.
But he had forgotten that he was no longer the little son of the Shen family who had taken Shen Tiantian’s identity in his previous life and could not come and go as he pleased.
The villa’s security guard stopped him at the gate and only let him in after calling Shen Tiantian.
Ye Jiabao felt inexplicably aggrieved. He looked at the villa he had lived in for more than ten years in his previous life, took several deep breaths, and adjusted his state of mind.
It’s okay. He would definitely live a better life in this lifetime!
This clown cousin should go touch grass smh