[Oh, there's gossip about my third brother too? Hehe.]
After enjoying the gossip about her eldest brother, Tang Shiba moved on to her third brother. She laughed so hard she nearly rolled around on the bed.
Now it was Tang Lin's turn to feel awkward.
Oh God, please don't expose anything embarrassing.
Tang Xuan stopped covering his face and sat up straight to enjoy the gossip.
Tang Xiao had already eaten a piece each of cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew.
Tang Xueqing happily unwrapped her presents by herself, occasionally asking the distracted others a question, only to receive perfunctory answers.
Tang Xueqing didn't mind. Her face glowed with delight, and the thought of Tang Shiba's envious, jealous gaze made her feel especially pleased.
[Tang Lin really was a clever little rascal. When he broke Dad's antique as a kid, he bought some 520 glue and stuck it back together. Haha, Dad still hasn't noticed? Oh my God, that was a Ming dynasty antique Dad paid three hundred million for at auction! It was his favorite!]
What?!
Three hundred million?!
From the Ming dynasty?
Tang Lin lowered his head, not daring to look at Mrs. Tang.
Inside, he wailed, Why does Tang Shiba know about this?!!!
You wasteful little brat! Tang Mom angrily jabbed him.
[Haha, there's more. He damaged an antique painting Dad collected too. He actually used kitchen seasonings to paint an identical patch over it? Pfft... Dad's looked at it countless times and still hasn't noticed.]
*!!!*
An antique painting? The one they'd all seen?
Tang Lin damaged it and patched it with seasonings?
Oh God! When they were kids, Dad scolded them just for touching it.
And Tang Lin actually damaged it?
He was done for!
The eldest and second brothers glanced at their younger brother. There was no saving him. He was in for a good hard slap!
They wouldn't be satisfied unless he got a beating.
Tang Lin's heart raced. It's over. It's all over. My own little sister has my heart in a vise. How am I supposed to keep living here?
[Also, Tang Lin swapped out the antique coin our eldest brother collected for a fake and took it to... Pfft, I'm dying... He actually took it to...]
Tang Xuan glared hard at Tang Lin.
The antique coin! His antique coin had fallen victim too.
He'd saved up for ages to get it. Its market value was over ten million now!
What on earth had he used it for?
Too guilty to look at his eldest brother, Tang Lin lowered his head even further.
Tang Xueqing asked in confusion, "Tang Lin, do you have a headache?"
"Mm!" His voice was equally muffled.
Tang Xueqing pretended to be very worried. "Should I get you some medicine?"
"No need. It'll pass in a little while."
"All right. You have to take good care of yourself when I'm not around, okay?"
Warmth filled Tang Lin's heart. "Thank you, Xueqing."
Tang Mom clicked her tongue. Her adopted daughter only had to pay lip service each time, and everyone in the family adored her. How had she never noticed before?
What about the coin? Where on earth did it go?
The eldest brother roared inwardly.
[Our third brother traded the antique coin for ice cream!]
What?! An antique coin worth over ten million, traded for an ice cream?
Tang Lin, go to hell!
[Haha, he got scammed. The girl he had a crush on saw him playing with it and knew it was valuable, so she bought him an ice cream and traded it for the coin. Wow, our third brother really is a wasteful brat.]
Exactly! A wasteful brat!
Tang Xuan clenched his fists again.
Great. Now this wasteful brat has squandered my things too.
Just you wait. I'll settle this score with you, bit by bit!
Tang Lin glanced at his two older brothers and saw no change in their expressions.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
If they could hear her too, he'd be finished.
[My second brother?]
No, don't call on me!
Tang Xiao screamed inwardly. Don't call on me, don't call on me! I'm not listening! I'm not listening!
Tang Lin sat up straight, ready to enjoy the gossip.
Tang Xiao's gaze darted about. I haven't done anything bad. I'm a good person!
[My second brother is actually a scumbag? He used his position to sleep with a new artist at his company? Her name is... What? It's actually her!]
He used his position to sleep with someone?
A new artist?
Tang Mom wanted to slap her second son across the face twice. Was that something any decent person would do?
What has he turned a perfectly good company into?!
Tang Xuan and Tang Lin secretly gave him a thumbs-up too. Well done. You really know how to have fun.
Tang Xiao roared inwardly, It was just this one woman! I wasn't sleeping around, okay?
I'm not a scumbag.
[She seems to really like my second brother, and they nearly got together. If Tang Xueqing hadn't interfered and gotten her killed, he wouldn't have taken the blame and gone to prison. Was it guilt? Or atonement?]
What?!
She likes me? That woman who's always so timid around me likes me?
Tang Xueqing will get her killed? How is that possible?
And I'll go to prison...
Tang Xiao had taken in too much information to process it all at once.
Although he didn't entirely believe it, he was beginning to waver.
Tang Mom lowered her head, her emotions churning.
So my second son will go to prison...
Because of this female artist.
She'd better not let me find her. If I do, I'll have them married on the spot.
I can't let Tang Xueqing run around ruining her life and hurting my son too.
Tang Lin and Tang Xuan were also harboring doubts now.
Was everything Tang Shiba said true or false?
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Tang Dad was home.
Tang Mom excitedly went to greet him.
"Honey, why are you home so early today?"
"Mm, I wanted to come home and see the boys."
See the boys?
If he knew what those three wasteful brats had done, he'd probably want to beat them instead.
Tang Dad looked at everyone in the living room, a little surprised. "Oh, you're all here. It's rare to see everyone sitting together. Where's Shiba?"
"Still sleeping. Come over and have some melon."
"Of course. She's exhausted. Let her get some proper sleep. Nobody wake her."
Yes, she'd better keep sleeping. Don't get up.
They weren't all that eager to see her either.
The second brother immediately took out his phone and sent his assistant a message. "Move the press conference to noon tomorrow."
He had a bad feeling. Somehow, he felt Tang Shiba wouldn't make it to today's press conference.
Because she was still sleeping.
After sending the message, Tang Xiao told Tang Xueqing, "The press conference has been postponed. We'll go tomorrow."
"Oh, all right." Tang Xueqing was a little disappointed.
Still, she'd received so many presents that she had to take them out and show them off.
She stood up with a smile. "Mom, Dad, boys, my best friend asked me to hang out. I'll be back in time for dinner."
"Go ahead."
This time, everyone agreed without hesitation.
Tang Xueqing was a little disappointed. She'd thought her older brothers would come with her too.
After Tang Xueqing left, Tang Mom hurriedly pulled Mr. Tang into the study.
Tang Lin ran to his eldest brother's room to borrow his computer, and Tang Xuan followed.
He needed to find his antique coin.
Once everyone had left, only the second brother remained in the living room.
*???*
Where did everyone go?
Curious, Tang Xiao got up and followed them too.
Tang Lin had run to his eldest brother's room to look for love letters. When he saw Tang Xuan come in, he made a show of turning on the computer.
Tang Xuan gave him a puzzled look, then blocked his view and secretly opened his safe.
Inside were all sorts of things Tang Xuan had collected.
He had much the same hobby as Mr. Tang: collecting old things.
Seeing the antique coin lying quietly inside, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He'd never even taken it out. How could Tang Lin possibly have swapped it?
Tang Xuan reached for it, but his hand suddenly froze.
The feel? The weight? The size?
Something seemed off.
Panic gripped him. He hurriedly took out the coin and turned on his phone's flashlight.
One look nearly gave him a heart attack from sheer anger.
"Tang Lin!!!"
Before you continue