Shen Jinyan was instantly mortified. There were two things in his life that had embarrassed him the most.
One was being unable to beat Liang Xin, then getting pinned to a bed for a shot in the backside.
The other was this very moment, hopping around in front of his seventh sister like a clown.
"He's not possessed. He's afraid of needles," Shen Shenxing said, gleefully kicking him while he was down.
He had been the one who came to the hospital for a checkup, but afterward, they ran into Liang Xin, who said their second brother still hadn't received the vaccine he was supposed to get last month.
Naturally, Shen Shenxing had marched his second brother over to get vaccinated without another word, which led to the scene before them. He didn't even want to admit that the humiliating Shen Jinyan was his twin brother.
"Who said I'm afraid of needles? Seventh Sister, don't listen to your third brother's nonsense!"
Shen Jinyan jumped off the bed and held his head high, desperately trying to reclaim what little dignity he had, even though his hands and legs were shaking as if he had Parkinson's.
"Second Brother is a grown man. How could he possibly be afraid of needles? He's not a three-year-old." Shen Banxia smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Exactly! Seventh Sister understands me best!" Shen Jinyan replied, instantly beaming.
"Then come over here and get your shot!" Shen Shenxing urged, rubbing it in.
"I'm not afraid of needles. I just... don't want this nurse giving me the shot!" Shen Jinyan made one last desperate attempt to save himself.
The nurse glanced at the Shen Family's second young master and replied with a faint smile,
"I understand. Please wait a moment, Second Young Master Shen!"
The nurse left the private room. Two minutes later, Liang Xin arrived. Her beautiful eyes fixed coldly on Shen Jinyan in the corner as she asked without a trace of warmth,
"Are you coming over yourself, or should I come to you?"
"Stay right there!" Shen Jinyan shouted in agitation. Then he turned to Shen Shenxing, his face ashen, and instructed him, "Third Brother, take Seventh Sister outside. What's so interesting about watching someone get a shot?"
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was delivering his last words.
"All this fuss over a shot! Don't tell anyone you're part of the Shen Family!" Still embarrassed by him, Shen Shenxing covered Shen Banxia's eyes and led her away from the private room's doorway.
Shen Banxia tugged at her third brother's large hand. She hadn't seen enough yet!
"Why are you here? Are you feeling unwell?" Just after leading his seventh sister away from the room, Shen Shenxing suddenly realized something. He looked down and anxiously examined Shen Banxia as he questioned her.
"I'm fine. Fifth Brother wasn't feeling well, so Fourth Brother brought him to the hospital for a checkup," Shen Banxia explained.
She still wanted to run back and watch Doctor Liang give her second brother his shot, but she couldn't wrestle free of her third brother's grip.
The next second, a scream came from the private room, followed by her second brother's crazed, hysterical shout,
"Liang Xin, I'm going to kill you!"
Then everything fell completely silent. As for what Doctor Liang had done to silence him, Shen Banxia had no idea. She didn't have X-ray vision.
"Is Second Brother going to be okay?" Shen Banxia asked a little nervously.
"What could possibly happen to him? He squeals like a pig being slaughtered every time he gets a shot," Shen Shenxing said irritably.
Turning his head, he saw his fifth brother standing at the doorway of the next room, looking bewildered, and asked,
"Fifth Brother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine. Fourth Brother was making a fuss. He said I looked pale and insisted I come to the hospital for a checkup," Shen Zhishan explained.
To think his seventh sister's words that morning had actually come true-
Even if Fifth Brother didn't accompany Third Brother, he would soon end up joining him at the hospital anyway.
In the end, after making fools of themselves one after another, the Shen Family's four brothers and their sister finally left the hospital without serious incident and headed home.
To keep their mother from worrying, they staggered their return instead of arriving home together.
That evening, Xu Junshan returned. When he saw his third son sitting safe and sound in the living room, disappointment flashed through his eyes.
But he quickly regained his composure and asked as though nothing had happened,
"The weather's so nice today. Why didn't you go out for a walk instead of staying cooped up at home? Young people should get more exercise!"
No sooner had Xu Junshan finished speaking than Shen Shenxing lunged at him, hugged him, and said emotionally,
"Dad, when I went out this morning, the brakes failed, and I crashed straight into a wall. I almost never got to see you again! Boo-hoo, I was scared to death."
Xu Junshan went rigid, even forgetting to react.
The other brothers and Shen Banxia in the living room froze on the spot, dumbstruck.
They had never known Shen Shenxing was such a good actor!
[So Third Brother is the one in the Shen Family with real acting talent! What a waste that he didn't become an actor!]
[Fourth Brother really should learn from Third Brother what seamless, utterly natural acting looks like!]
[He might even have won the Academy Award for Best Actor by now.]
Shen Shenxing looked smug, while Shen Ruogu was utterly exasperated.
"How could the brakes have failed? Are you hurt?" Xu Junshan finally recovered and asked, feigning surprise.
"Luckily, Grandpa and Grandma were watching over me. I only got a bump on my forehead! I was so close-so close to never seeing you again, Dad!" Shen Shenxing choked out, then threw his arms around his father again.
He was thankful he hadn't gone out the night before. The culprit had calculated everything in advance: by the time he was halfway through his drive, most of the brake fluid would have leaked out, and only then would the brakes fail completely, making it less likely to arouse suspicion.
And given his usual driving habits, once he reached the main road, he would instinctively start speeding.
If he discovered his brakes had failed while racing along at high speed, no one would have been able to save him.
Because he had heard his seventh sister's thoughts the night before, he hadn't gone out until early that morning. By then, all the brake fluid had leaked out, and the brakes failed immediately. He noticed just after starting the car, before he had picked up speed, allowing him to escape disaster.
And the person behind all of this was his own father. How could he not be emotional?
Held in that crushing embrace, Xu Junshan nearly lost his breath before finally managing to push his third son away.
"As long as you're all right. Be more careful when you drive from now on!"
Though deeply disappointed, Xu Junshan still offered his son an insincere reminder.
"From now on, I'll never speed or drift again! I'll never go over twenty kilometers an hour!" Shen Shenxing vowed solemnly.
[Now Xu Junshan is going to sulk. If his third son stops speeding, how is he supposed to stage an accidental car crash?]
[Never over twenty kilometers an hour? If Third Brother can really drive his sports car at bicycle speed and stick to it, I'll be impressed!]
Shen Shenxing felt sheepish after hearing his seventh sister's snarky thoughts. Couldn't he use a little hyperbole once in a while?
And after hearing his third son's words, Xu Junshan did indeed feel frustrated. But what was done was done, and he could only think of another way.
Still disappointed, he turned and saw his fifth son, who was equally safe and sound, and blurted out,
"Zhishan, didn't you go to the laboratory today?"
"I did. I came back after organizing the data. What's wrong, Dad?" Shen Zhishan replied.
"Nothing, nothing. I was just checking on you.
"Don't focus solely on your experiments. Make sure you get some rest and drink plenty of hot water!
"Carry on chatting. I'm a little tired, so I'll go upstairs and change." With that, Xu Junshan turned and headed toward the elevator.
[He certainly needs to drink plenty of hot water, or Xu Junshan's people will have poisoned it for nothing!]
[Poor Fifth Brother is so touched he's almost crying, yet he has no idea Xu Junshan isn't concerned about him at all. He wants him dead.]
[Still, you can't blame Fifth Brother for being slow on the uptake. Who would imagine their own father would try to kill them?]
As Shen Zhishan watched his father walk away, he couldn't conceal the disappointment and sorrow in his eyes.
Before this, he had still held on to a sliver of hope, believing that even a vicious tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. No matter how wicked his father was, surely he wouldn't harm his own children.
Now, he had seen with his own eyes the disappointment that flashed through his father's gaze upon seeing him. He had heard those words, including the pointed reminder to drink plenty of hot water.
He felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone.
Then he heard his seventh sister's snarky thoughts, and his feelings grew even more complicated-
His seventh sister certainly knew how to rub salt in a wound!
Before you continue