Chapter 5
A night wind suddenly rose, and the bare branches of the trees tapped against the window, making a faint clattering sound.
Inside the bedroom, the light spilled onto the soft, long-pile carpet, casting a pale, gentle glow.
Shen Xiuze held a small cub, his back straight. The muscles in his arms bulged, stretching the shirt he wore and revealing a powerful silhouette.
He walked without stopping to the side of the bed prepared for Shen Tiantian and placed the little one, who was sleeping soundly while hugging a small pillow, into the quilt.
Shen Tiantian automatically found the softest and most comfortable spot in the quilt, turned on his side, and buried half of his little head in the covers, leaving only his small, fair nose exposed to breathe.
He let out little snores, sleeping not much differently from a little piglet.
Shen Xiuze stood by the bed, his eyes lowered, quietly watching this cheap, half-brother of his.
His finger suddenly twitched.
Shen Xiuze touched the tip of his finger to the little one’s soft, fair cheek. It was like poking a piece of jelly—slippery, soft, and warm.
In his dream, Shen Tiantian felt a small cat scratching his face. He let out a tiny sneeze and buried his head deeper into the quilt, this time burying even his nose.
Shen Xiuze swiftly withdrew his hand before Shen Tiantian sneezed, as if he had done something he felt guilty about, and rubbed his fingers together forcefully.
He turned and left without hesitation. When he reached the door, he paused again.
A barely audible sigh escaped his chest. Shen Xiuze turned back, walked to the bed, and pulled the quilt down to expose the little one’s nose.
He’d better not suffocate himself in his sleep.
After doing all this, Shen Xiuze left a small, beige night light on for Shen Tiantian before closing the door and leaving.
When he returned to his own bedroom door, Shen Xiuze was not surprised to see his other brother leaning against the door, waiting for him.
“Well now, big brother is back. Finished your good deed of carrying the little brat back to his room?”
If Shen Jinfeng didn’t speak, with his tall and slender figure, he had a certain graceful beauty, like a gentleman.
But the moment he opened his mouth, sarcastic remarks shot out like sharp swords, aimed equally at everyone.
“Are you trying to win a reputation for being a caring brother in front of Dad?”
Shen Xiuze, a man of few words, looked up and gave him a cold glance, scoffing.
“What’s it to you? Are you that bored?”
After saying that, Shen Xiuze paid no more attention to Shen Jinfeng, pushed open his bedroom door, and strode inside.
Before the door closed, Shen Jinfeng’s slow, drawling voice drifted in:
“By the way, the staff for the variety show will be here tomorrow morning. Big brother should pay attention to his image.”
Shen Xiuze didn’t stop walking, shutting Shen Jinfeng’s noisy voice completely outside the door.
Shen Tiantian had a very satisfying sleep.
Ever since his mother passed away and he started living at his aunt’s house, Shen Tiantian had never slept so soundly.
His cousin wouldn’t toss and turn and practice boxing in bed, thumping Tiantian until he pouted in anger, staying puffed up all night, only to have dark circles under his eyes the next day.
With a small yawn, Shen Tiantian stuck his little bottom out and climbed down from the bed.
The children’s bed had guardrails and was quite high, but it was no match for Tiantian.
He placed his small pillow on the floor, tested the distance with his little foot a couple of times until he reached the soft pillow, and then stepped down onto it.
A noisy clamor came from outside the bedroom. Shen Tiantian trotted over on his short little legs, pressed himself against the door, and curiously eavesdropped.
“…We need to install our live-streaming equipment in the hallway. Otherwise, relying solely on the cameraman’s position, we won’t be able to capture everyone at all times.”
The bad second brother’s unhurried voice sounded:
“Then don’t capture them.”
The assistant director in charge of coordination was so worried that he was losing hair, but facing this second young master of the Shen family, his assertive demeanor instantly wilted.
“At least let us put one up. The other families have five or six installed!”
Shen Jinfeng had never expected that simply recording a live variety show would involve so many trivial matters from the assistant director, annoying him first thing in the morning.
Frowning, Shen Jinfeng was about to say something when he looked down and saw the door to the next bedroom being quietly pushed open.
A messy, fluffy head peeked out from the doorway, its two dark, bright eyes darting around, hiding and peeking.
Seeing Shen Tiantian’s sneaky little appearance, Shen Jinfeng almost laughed out of anger.
“What are you looking at, little thing?”
The assistant director’s gaze followed. Hearing Shen Jinfeng’s slightly cold tone, he whispered in his ear:
“Second Young Master Shen, the live broadcast just started.”
Shen Jinfeng’s glare, as sharp as frost, shot towards the assistant director.
“It started? Who ordered the broadcast to start?”
Shen Jinfeng’s tone was light and slow, but the live broadcast staff present felt the pressure. They didn’t dare to make a sound, all secretly looking at the assistant director.
The assistant director was also complaining bitterly in his heart.
The other four families had started their live streams early in the morning. Only the last-announced Shen family’s stream had yet to begin.
Last night, after receiving Shen Jinfeng’s confirmation that he would participate in the variety show, the production team was overjoyed and released the promotional post on Weibo overnight.
Although the promotional posts for the other groups had been released long ago, the netizens were surprisingly not surprised by the last-minute addition of a new family.
This was the top-tier wealthy Shen family!
What had the production team done to deserve this, to actually manage to bring this great Buddha over!
Although the show also featured the family of a film empress and a newly risen top celebrity, they still paled in comparison to the Shen family.
In just one night, the news of the Shen family’s participation in the live variety show had shot to the top of the trending topics.
In the end, it was the top celebrity’s die-hard fans who had to work hard, crunching numbers, to push their idol’s topic to the forefront.
But the real gossip-loving netizens didn’t care about that.
They hadn’t forgotten the trending topic about the conflict between the two brothers, Shen Jinfeng and Shen Xiuze, a while back.
Some even speculated that the Shen family’s agreement to record the variety show was a result of the two brothers’ fight for control of the company, and the production team had just gotten lucky.
Otherwise, why would such a wealthy family deign to appear on a variety show?
Or perhaps the Shen family’s image had suffered recently, and they planned to use the variety show to salvage it?
[I’ll bet a thousand, the two brothers will definitely fight on this show! Then we’ll have some real drama to watch!]
Opinions were divided. Netizens waited eagerly in the live stream chat, urging the broadcast to start.
But the Shen family was a last-minute addition, and the live-streaming equipment was not yet fully installed. Plus, with Shen Jinfeng watching over them, the assistant director didn’t dare to cause trouble, which was why the stream hadn’t started.
The netizens were getting impatient, discussing it on Weibo and other entertainment apps, almost starting conspiracy theories again.
[Could it be that the Shen family is pulling some kind of power play, and the production team can’t proceed with filming?]
[What’s there to be afraid of starting? I’m a subscriber, let me watch!]
The assistant director received a message from the director and knew he couldn’t delay any longer. Although the equipment wasn’t fully set up, he had the cameraman start the live stream.
Facing Shen Jinfeng’s glare, the assistant director dodged the issue, stepped to the side, and moved out of the live broadcast’s range.
In the live stream chat, many comments were already scrolling by.
[Here we go, here we go!]
[Is that the Shen family’s second son, Shen Jinfeng? Holy crap, why didn’t anyone tell me he looked like this before!]
[He’s exactly my type! I saw the trending news before and thought Shen Jinfeng was some pot-bellied guy over thirty!]
[Although I don’t know why the two brothers were fighting before, I don’t think it was Second Young Master Shen’s fault!]
[Hold on, sister. Let’s see what the eldest young master of the Shen family looks like before we jump to conclusions!]
The comments scrolled by, but Shen Jinfeng couldn’t see them. He just glanced lightly at the assistant director who had retreated behind the camera, then withdrew his gaze.
“You’re awake?”
Shen Jinfeng spoke, and the cameraman naturally aimed the live camera at the small figure hiding behind the door.
Shen Tiantian slowly poked his entire little head out from the doorway, tilted it, his watery eyes shimmering with a crystalline light, and asked in confusion:
“Who are they?”
Why are they in Tiantian’s house so early in the morning?
Shen Jinfeng hadn’t expected the production team to arrive so early either.
Although his relationship with Shen Tiantian had been strained since yesterday’s conflict, he didn’t want Shen Tiantian to be suddenly exposed to the camera.
Shen Jinfeng walked over, frowned, and gently moved the cameraman’s hand holding the camera, avoiding Shen Tiantian’s position.
[Huh???]
[What was that flash? Was that a child at the door just now?]
[What?! Could it be Shen Jinfeng’s son!]
[I just checked, Shen Jinfeng only turned eighteen this year. There’s no way his son is already this big, right?]
The cameraman raised his eyebrows and stole a glance at Shen Jinfeng. Not daring to resist, he could only obediently film the empty hallway.
Shen Tiantian was very interested in this big, black machine. With his messy, just-woken-up hair, he walked over in a daze, stood on his tiptoes, and looked up at it.
“What’s this?”
Shen Jinfeng saw that he was still in his fluffy pajamas, his face unwashed, with a red mark on his left cheek from sleeping on it.
Shen Jinfeng couldn’t help but sigh softly. He squatted down and explained:
“This is a camera. We’re going to be filming a variety show in our house for the next few months, but it won’t affect our daily lives.”
Perhaps because Shen Tiantian was young, Shen Jinfeng was unusually considerate for once:
“If you don’t like it, I’ll talk to Dad, and we’ll make sure you’re not filmed.”
Shen Tiantian was still staring at the big machine, his small mouth slightly open. He blinked a few times, his eyes shining brightly.
“A camera? Am I going to be on TV?”
Shen Jinfeng saw that Shen Tiantian wasn’t too averse to it. On the contrary, his starry eyes lit up, coated with a shallow light that was almost blinding.
“Yes, but this is an online show, so it probably won’t be on satellite TV.”
Shen Tiantian didn’t understand these things. He only knew that he was going to be on TV. With his round eyes shining, he trotted on his short little legs and circled in front of the cameraman filming the hallway several times.
“So cool!”
He’s going to be on TV!
Shen Tiantian clenched his little fists and stomped his little foot excitedly.
He completely forgot that the person standing in front of him was the bad brother he disliked. Tiantian tugged on his pant leg and kept asking:
“Big brother, am I too short? Can the uncle film me?”
Finally, Shen Tiantian came up with a great idea. His little eyes sparkled as he said:
“Big brother, when we’re filming for TV, can you hold me up?”
Shen Jinfeng: “…”
In your dreams!
Translator’s Notes
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Crunching numbers: Refers to the organized activities of fan groups to boost their idol’s online presence, such as increasing social media engagement, voting in polls, and manipulating trending topics.
