Her Sucker of an Eldest Brother

After finishing her morning reading, Shen Banxia headed downstairs for breakfast, full of energy.

She wanted shrimp wontons, jade steamed dumplings, soup dumplings, sticky rice cakes with fried dough sticks, century egg and pork congee...

If it tasted good, she wanted it. Just thinking about it got her excited.

"Banxia, your eldest brother is back," Shen Shuyi called from the living room, beckoning to her daughter.

Shen Banxia looked up to find her eldest brother, Shen Lingyun, already on his feet, smiling at her.

"Hi, big brother!" Shen Banxia walked over and greeted him sweetly, studying the last of her brothers she had yet to meet.

He did look more mature and levelheaded than the others. What a shame, though-

[So he's my sucker of an eldest brother!]

[He has the best head for business in the Shen Family. Too bad he inherited his birth mother's hopeless romantic streak. His fiancée has him wrapped around her little finger.]

[In the end, someone else reaped all the rewards, while he was saddled with debt. When he went to confront them, they broke his arms and legs and dumped him by the roadside. He killed himself out of shame and rage. How tragic!]

"Lingyun, this is your biological sister, Banxia," Shen Shuyi introduced her.

Shen Lingyun stood frozen. He seemed to have just heard his seventh sister's thoughts, and he had no idea what was going on.

"Lingyun-" Shen Shuyi prompted with a smile.

"Little sister." Coming back to his senses, Shen Lingyun smiled and handed Shen Banxia a gift he had picked up at the airport duty-free shop at the last minute. "Welcome home."

Although his parents and younger brothers had already told him about this biological sister they had recently found, and he had prepared himself, Shen Lingyun was still a little surprised when he actually met her.

Perhaps because of Mingyue, he had imagined his biological sister would also be a pretty, petite, sweet girl. The reality was quite different.

"Thank you, big brother!" Shen Banxia accepted without standing on ceremony.

She couldn't accept Mingyue's gifts because they came with ulterior motives, but her eldest brother's gifts were different. The more, the better.

Shen Banxia unwrapped the gift. It was an 18-karat gold watch with a black leather strap, elegant and practical.

"Thank you, big brother. I love the watch."

The listless Xu Mingyue finally finished putting on her makeup and changing into her school uniform. She hurried downstairs just in time to see this scene.

The next second, she broke into a radiant smile and trotted toward Shen Lingyun.

"Big brother, you're back!"

"I got home very late last night, so I didn't wake anyone. Here's the gift I brought you!"

With that, Shen Lingyun handed Xu Mingyue another gift box.

"Thank you, big brother! You're the best to me. You bring me a gift every time you go on a business trip."

As Xu Mingyue spoke, she unwrapped her gift. It was the limited-edition bracelet she had mentioned to him last time, and she exclaimed excitedly,

"Big brother, I love it!"

Then Xu Mingyue rose onto her tiptoes and planted a loud kiss on her eldest brother's cheek.

Shen Shuyi frowned almost reflexively.

In the past, she wouldn't have seen anything wrong with it. Xu Mingyue had always liked acting cute.

Ever since confirming that she wasn't her biological daughter, though, Shen Shuyi had begun to find her affected behavior irritating.

People really did have double standards. When they liked someone, everything that person did was right. When they didn't, even breathing was wrong.

"Banxia, look how pretty the gift big brother gave me is!" Xu Mingyue turned to Shen Banxia and showed off her present.

Although Shen Banxia's watch was also a luxury item, it wasn't a limited edition. It only cost a few tens of thousands. Her bracelet, on the other hand, wasn't something money alone could necessarily buy.

"It's beautiful. It really suits you. Wearing it makes you look like a rich middle-aged lady!" Shen Banxia nodded and replied in all seriousness.

"Of course it does-" Xu Mingyue stopped halfway through, stunned. Why did Shen Banxia's words sound a little odd?

Shen Shuyi nearly laughed. The bracelet was indeed a limited edition, but it wasn't something a girl Xu Mingyue's age could pull off. Banxia wasn't wrong to say it made her look like a rich middle-aged lady.

"Let's eat. Mingyue, aren't you going to be late?"

"Oh no, I forgot again! Mom, I'm skipping breakfast. I'm going to be late for school.

"Bye, Mom! Bye, big brother! Bye, Banxia!" Xu Mingyue said as she headed out with her schoolbag on her back and her gift in hand.

After Xu Mingyue left, the living room fell quiet.

Just then, Xu Junshan came downstairs as well.

Halfway through breakfast, Xu Junshan asked his eldest son,

"Lingyun, how did the assessment of the LP project go?"

"No problems. We're just waiting for them to send over the cooperation agreement for review," Shen Lingyun replied, looking up.

[Of course there are no problems. Once LP is built, war will break out there.]

[LP will be seized by armed forces. After a few maneuvers, it'll become an overseas investment project belonging to Fu Ya's family, just under a different name. All profit, no investment.]

[Fu Ya put so much effort into tricking my eldest brother into investing there just so she could sit back and reap the rewards.]

Shen Lingyun stopped with his chopsticks in hand, stunned, and turned toward his seventh sister. Her head was lowered as she concentrated on picking up a jade shrimp dumpling.

Unable to get a grip on it, she had flushed with agitation, yet her focused expression clearly said that no one was to disturb her meal.

But he had definitely heard her remarks just now, and they concerned something serious.

"I've received some bad news on my end. Perhaps we should drop it. The situation there isn't very stable, after all.

"We don't want someone else snatching the rewards right after we've invested, leaving us with neither our people nor our money.

"I recently learned of an investment project with a steady annual return of around fifteen percent. It's very safe.

"I'm planning to move the funds earmarked for LP into this new investment project.

"Given the Shen Corporation's current size and development, we should prioritize stability," Xu Junshan suggested after taking a sip of coffee.

[Xu Junshan really knows how to spin a story. He's planning to move all the cash on the Shen Corporation's books into an overseas fund so he can transfer the assets and run!]

Shen Lingyun glanced at Shen Banxia again. This time, he was absolutely certain he wasn't hearing things.

He really could hear his seventh sister's thoughts. Judging by his parents' reactions, he seemed to be the only one who could.

The content was so shocking, and he couldn't immediately tell whether it was true, so he could only set it aside for now. Still, he was already on his guard.

"Dad, I've been following the LP project for a long time and have done thorough due diligence.

"The military has also promised to protect our investment project. There shouldn't be any problems.

"And once the investment in this new production line and its sales channels succeeds,

"the Shen Corporation's annual revenue and profits will increase by at least thirty percent. The outlook is extremely promising."

Shen Lingyun argued his case, unwilling to let all his recent hard work go to waste.

"War could break out there at any moment. Who would have time to worry about our investment project then?

"Shuyi, don't you think we should be prioritizing stability right now?" This time, Xu Junshan directed the question to Shen Shuyi.

"You both have a point!

"But I haven't looked into this project in detail, so I'm not in a position to judge.

"Now that Banxia is back, I'll have some free time once her schooling arrangements are settled.

"I'll take a look when I go back to work. There's no rush!"

Shen Shuyi took neither side and offered no firm conclusion, deftly deflecting the issue instead.