Mooches a Meal at Luo Feng's

The door opened.

"Oh, it's Shi Fen. If you're coming over to hang out, just come, why bring gifts? You're too polite."

The person who opened the door was Luo Feng's father, Luo Hongguo. Seeing it was Shi Fen, he couldn't help but politely invite him inside.

"Hello, Uncle. I made a little money from forging recently, so I bought some more economics materials for Luo Hua. He has an extremely high talent in this field; it shouldn't be wasted," Shi Fen said very politely.

"I really admire Old Shi. Not only is he capable himself, but he's also raised two such impressive sons."

Luo Hongguo felt quite envious of the Shi family next door. Although Shi Fen still lived here, the other three members of his family had already moved elsewhere. Because Shi Fen was approaching the college entrance exam and their new family business was doing well, the others had moved out to leave Shi Fen to study in peace.

They let Shi Fen live alone so he could focus on his studies and prepare for the exam.

Envy aside, Luo Hongguo felt his own two sons weren't far behind.

Luo Hongguo pointed toward the bedroom door and smiled, "Luo Feng and Luo Hua are both in the bedroom; go ahead and head in. By the way, you haven't eaten yet, right? Stay and eat with us tonight."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned toward the kitchen and called out, "Wife, Shi Fen is staying for dinner, make a couple extra dishes."

Shi Fen was used to coming over for meals, so he smiled and said to Luo Hongguo, who was heading to the kitchen, "Alright, I haven't eaten yet, so I'll be bothering you two again."

Gong Xinlan, who was busy cooking, heard the commotion and hurried out to take a look. Seeing Shi Fen, she smiled and said, "Shi Fen, you're in luck. I made a big pot of braised pork tonight. I'll have to whip up a few more dishes; what I have now won't be enough for you boys. Hahaha."

She turned back to the kitchen and began working alongside Luo Hongguo.

Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan were deeply grateful to Shi Fen.

Shi Fen didn't have many friends, but as it happened, both of their children, Luo Feng and Luo Hua, were his close friends.

Shi Fen was quite cold toward strangers, but he treated his friends and family exceptionally well.

It wasn't until later that their family realized just how "terrifying" the boy who used to play with Luo Feng in diapers really was.

Shi Fen's intelligence was heaven-defying.

Even at a very young age, he could solve advanced math problems that they couldn't even recognize the symbols for.

They knew very well that if they hadn't grown up together, it would have been unlikely for their children to befriend someone like him. Most geniuses of that caliber were aloof and unsociable, making them difficult to befriend.

As an adult, Shi Fen was indeed like that—very cold to outsiders and completely uninterested in interacting with them. But he was a completely different person when it came to his family and friends.

In truth, they didn't know that this was a deliberate act by Shi Fen. He had designed this aloof persona specifically to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Shi Fen was very good to Luo Feng and Luo Hua.

Whenever he had free time, he loved helping Luo Feng solve difficult math problems and tutoring him.

He did the same for Luo Hua.

It was only after Luo Hua's accident, which left him paralyzed and unable to attend school, that the tutoring gradually shifted into guidance.

During the time of Luo Hua's accident, the Shi family not only put in a lot of effort but also lent them a significant amount of money for the emergency. Shi Fen, in particular, helped Luo Hua emerge from his psychological shadow and start searching for things he was passionate about.

Later, when Luo Hua began to show a talent for economics, Shi Fen immediately brought over a pile of relevant books for him to study. Luo Hua found them fascinating, and his life gradually gained a new purpose.

This completely eased the worried hearts of the couple.

Shi Fen didn't just bring books; he essentially became a private tutor for Luo Hua. Whenever Luo Hua had a question, Shi Fen could answer it almost without thinking, often providing examples to help him understand the underlying principles.

The couple had overheard Shi Fen's lessons, but they couldn't understand a word of it. Yet, seeing the look of sudden realization on Luo Hua's face, they knew that Shi Fen was truly "clever as a demon."

They couldn't fathom the depth of Shi Fen's knowledge.

But they could see his character.

When Luo Hua achieved some success, Shi Fen secretly lent him 30,000 yuan to practice trading in the stock market. When the couple found out, they were truly shocked; 30,000 yuan was not a small sum for either of their families.

Fearing the money might have been stolen and could cause conflict between the families, they didn't even ask Luo Hua and rushed to the Shi family to ask Old Shi. They didn't know until they asked, and the answer shocked them.

That was when they learned that more than half of the Shi family's money was in Shi Fen's hands!

Relying on the economic knowledge he had picked up while teaching Luo Hua, Shi Fen had multiplied their family savings many times over in the stock market.

Now, Shi Fen was the one earning the most in the Shi family.

He was the pillar of the household!

That 30,000 was only a tiny fraction of Shi Fen's own private treasury.

Who wouldn't be stunned by something like that?

After returning home, Luo Hongguo immediately went to find Luo Hua, wanting to clarify the matter and pay Shi Fen back as soon as possible.

But after asking Luo Hua, Luo Hongguo was completely dumbfounded.

Luo Hua had long since repaid that 30,000 yuan, and there were still 70,000 or 80,000 sitting in his account. The money in Luo Hua's account was more than the combined savings of the couple.

Luo Hua had originally planned to round it up to 100,000 before having his brother withdraw the cash to surprise his parents. Being found out accidentally left him feeling a bit disappointed.

While Luo Hua felt dejected, Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan felt like cursing. What kind of situation was this? Their disabled younger son, who never stepped foot outside, was earning more in a year than both of them combined.

Who could accept that?

The atmosphere in the Luo household that night was very strange.

However, after that, Luo Hua stopped hiding things and gave a lot of money to his parents to improve their living conditions. They renovated the house and added a small partition in the living room. The couple no longer had to sleep on the sofa at night, their work pressure lessened, and their lives, much like the Shi family's, became increasingly prosperous.

After experiencing so much, what reason would Luo Hongguo and his wife have not to like Shi Fen?

Furthermore, Shi Fen was a godson they had long ago accepted into their family.

With their godson frequently coming over to share meals, they couldn't have been happier!

Shi Fen was somewhat afraid of the "Butterfly Effect," so he rarely interfered with anything involving Luo Feng himself, fearing he might influence him too much.

However, he was much bolder when it came to the people around Luo Feng.

Only by personally interacting with Luo Hua, being there in the moment, and experiencing it firsthand, could one truly understand how difficult Luo Hua's life was and how melancholy he felt.

In the book.

Luo Hua was merely a character shaped by text.

In Shi Fen's life.

Luo Hua was a real, tangible family member! Not a biological brother, but closer than one!

How could a big brother bear to watch his younger brother suffer?

Therefore, he took extra care of Luo Hua.

He and Luo Feng were good brothers, and his bond with Luo Hua was also excellent; ever since Luo Hua was born, he had treated him like his own younger brother.

In some respects, Shi Fen was even more affectionate toward Luo Hua than he was toward Luo Feng.

Seeing his godparents disappear into the kitchen, Shi Fen took a few steps into the bedroom.

"Luo Hua, these are the books I picked out for you; they can help you refine your economic theories." With a smile, Shi Fen handed the large stack of packages to Luo Feng, who had stood up to welcome him.

Shi Fen took out his phone and sent a quick text to his parents, letting them know he would be eating at the Luo residence tonight.

Luo Hua stopped staring at his computer screen and, seeing Shi Fen finish his text, immediately said to him with affection, "Brother, thank you."

Shi Fen gave Luo Hua a faint smile, glanced at the computer screen he had been watching, and remarked in surprise, "You're doing quite well; this stock pick is excellent!"

Luo Hua chuckled, looking proud. "Naturally, it can't be bad if you taught me. I've been tracking this stock for many days, and I might be able to reel it in tonight. Haha, you chat with my brother first; I need to keep a close eye on this tonight. I can't let the big fish get away."

As for Luo Feng, he placed the packages on his desk, tore them open in a flash, packed all the trash into a bag, and temporarily stacked all the books on his desk.

Seeing that his younger brother wasn't asking Shi Fen about economic questions he couldn't understand, Luo Feng couldn't help but feel happy. He laughed, "Oh, Shi Fen, you came at the perfect time. Help me look at this problem; I've been studying it for ages, but I just can't seem to figure out the final part."

Shi Fen took one look at the problem, and several ways to solve it immediately popped into his mind. He chuckled softly and chose the problem-solving approach best suited for Luo Feng, then began to explain it aloud.

Luo Feng listened carefully, nodding repeatedly. The previously incomplete train of thought suddenly became clear with Shi Fen's help.

That night, Shi Fen was very happy and had a great appetite, eating several large bowls of rice.

Luo Hua didn't come to the table to eat so he could keep watching the stock, so Luo Feng brought him a plate. Luo Hua was so focused on the computer screen that he didn't even know what he had eaten after he finished.

After the meal, when Luo Hua saw his brother come over to clear his plate, he asked weakly.

"Brother, what did I eat tonight? I wasn't paying attention earlier. Can you get me some more? I'm not full."

Luo Feng: "..."

Late at night, Shi Fen lay in bed.

He hadn't enjoyed the "pleasure of sleep" for a long time, and tonight he decided to get some good rest and stop thinking about the trials.

Shi Fen slowly closed his eyes, gradually relaxing his body and emptying his consciousness, eventually drifting into a deep sleep.