"Don't accept things from strangers casually. We'll make an exception for your teachers this time. But there are plenty of sugar-coated traps out there in society, and plenty of scammers too. You can't let your guard down."
After school, Ye Xiao led Ye Xunzhi along the road back to his villa. Last time, the two of them had driven back.
This time, he planned to walk his little sister through the route so that, if anything came up later, she could come straight to his villa to stay. The trip took around ten minutes or so, which would save time too.
Ye Xunzhi's arms were piled full of the snacks her teachers had brought. At his words, she passed him a packet of spicy strips.
"Got it. Have some with me, Fifth Brother. We can fill up on snacks and save ourselves a takeout meal, then go straight to bed when we get home."
"Are you a total slacker? All you do is eat and sleep, sleep and eat." Ye Xiao hardly knew what to say.
From the attitudes of her teachers in every subject, he could tell that his sister was undoubtedly a genius.
It was just that her mindset had some serious problems. As her older brother, Ye Xiao felt he had a responsibility to straighten it out.
Ye Xiao took the snacks from his little sister, cleared his throat, and said earnestly:
"Little sister, you need to understand that opportunities in this world are reserved for those who are prepared. That way, when an opportunity comes, we can seize it."
[Exactly. So by working backward, we can also conclude that if there's no opportunity, don't waste your time preparing. Hard work doesn't necessarily pay off, but not working hard definitely feels great!]
Outwardly, Ye Xunzhi munched on chips and nodded in complete agreement. "You're right."
"..." Don't think I don't know what you're thinking.
Ye Xiao refused to give up. "As good young people of this new era, we should establish positive values in life. For example, set great ambitions, cultivate great virtue, develop great talent, and shoulder great responsibilities."
[Sorry, I've disgraced the world. My life consists of being utterly speechless, utterly ridiculous, utterly checked out, and utterly losing it.]
Ye Xiao felt as if he was about to lose it too. He racked his brains, trying desperately to salvage the situation:
"Besides, this world is cruel. If you don't work hard, the world will kiss you with pain."
Ye Xunzhi looked perfectly serious. "Don't worry, Fifth Brother. I've remembered everything. I'll work hard and strive to better myself."
[Yeah, right.]
[If the world attacks me, it'll be utterly pointless, because I have absolutely no way to fight back. I'll die of the pain.]
Ye Xiao: "$*＃^＜^%{:＊"
Ye Xunzhi: [Oh no! Has my brother studied so hard he's gone off the rails?!]
"Brother! What's wrong, Brother! I'll call 120 right now. Hang in there!"
"I'm fine. My saliva got stuck in my throat."
The two of them strolled home. Just as they were about to reach the villa, a middle-aged man squatting beside a nearby wall and playing on his phone suddenly stood up.
He walked toward Ye Xunzhi. Ye Xiao instinctively stepped in front of his sister, his brows tightly furrowed and his manner wary:
"What do you want?"
The slightly balding, fairly kind-looking middle-aged man took two pieces of candy from his pocket and gave them an amiable smile.
"Hello, you two. I've got some candy here. Would you chat with me for a little while?"
The siblings: "..."
Ye Xiao pointed expressionlessly at the man and said earnestly to Ye Xunzhi:
"See? This is a textbook example of a scammer's sugar-coated trap. In a situation like this, you should run. But since you've got me, we can just ignore him and keep walking."
"No, no, no, I'm not a scammer!" The middle-aged man hurriedly waved his hands.
Ye Xiao rolled his eyes. He was just about to mock him by asking what scammer ever admitted to being one when he heard Ye Xunzhi's tentative voice beside him:
"Are you Director Mi?"
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. "Yes, that's me. Hello, little girl."
[Director Mi Chen has made plenty of international blockbusters ever since he was young. He deserves a lot of credit for where Second Brother is today. He's practically Second Brother's mentor.]
Ye Xiao's expression stiffened.
So he really wasn't a scammer.
"You mean you want to invite me and Second Brother onto a parenting reality show?"
Ye Xunzhi asked in a strange tone.
"That's right, though technically, it isn't an invitation." The middle-aged man's eyes brimmed with tears, and his voice sounded unbearably pitiful. Frankly, it was quite an eyesore.
"I'd already discussed this parenting reality show with Ye Lan and signed the contract. Who knew that brat would suddenly breach it? He'd rather pay compensation than appear on the show."
Director Mi sniffled and wept:
"Do you think it's easy for me at my age? I've spent all these years working in the film industry. Now that I'm about to retire, I wanted to try my hand at variety shows and invite a student of mine, only for that brat to go through a rebellious phase on me."
"And what excuse did he give? 'There are no children in my family.' What was he doing before, then? Busy breathing or drinking water? Besides, he clearly told me before that he had a younger sister."
Director Mi's gaze landed on Ye Xunzhi. Though he said nothing, he had said everything.
[He wants me to go on the show, doesn't he? Please, sir, don't look at me like that. I seriously can't take it!]
His stare made Ye Xunzhi's scalp prickle. Before she could speak, she saw tears streaming down his aging face again:
"Forget it. You two should just go. Don't worry about me. Even though I'm already so sad I could die, it's fine. I don't want to burden you. Go on~ abandon me! Leave me, boo-hoo-hoo X﹏X"
Ye Xiao stood beside her with his arms folded, unconsciously clenching his teeth as he listened.
From his straight-guy perspective, those words sounded strange no matter how he listened to them. So were they supposed to leave? Or not?
Ye Xunzhi listened to that exceptionally familiar tone.
[Old Man Mi is a veteran master of emotional manipulation. I heard he was already like this when he was young, and now that he's older, that manipulative act is getting fucking harder and harder to resist.]
Ye Xiao: I've learned something new. So this is what a master manipulator looks like.
Having spent so many years navigating the world, Director Mi naturally had his own knack for reading people to have become so successful.
On the surface, he sniffled and sobbed, but in reality, he was secretly observing Ye Xunzhi. Good. The enemy had lowered her guard, and her defenses were about to loosen. Time for him to add fuel to the fire!
"I..."
"Old Man Mi, you really are here!" A roar came from nearby.
Accompanied by an innocent passerby's scream-"A zombie! It's the apocalypse!"
-as background noise, a man covered in blood, wearing tattered clothes, with disheveled hair and a hideous expression, came charging over in a dark, twisted rush.
"A zombie, holy shit! Back! Back! Back!" Director Mi's face went white with fright. Ye Xiao hoisted his little sister, who was calmly waiting to die beside him, onto his shoulder and ran.
"Come back! It's me!" Ye Lan shouted at Ye Xiao, who was sprinting away and was about to become nothing more than a distant silhouette.
The two of them turned back.
"Second Brother, it's only been a few days. How did you end up looking this rough?" Ye Xiao looked him up and down.
Ye Lan's sore spot had been touched, and he snapped, "I've played too many leads. Is there a problem with me buying an outfit of my own and auditioning for an extra?"
"There's no problem." Ye Xiao said bluntly:
"But weren't you always going on about keeping some woman company? How do you have the leisure to play a bit part now?"
Director Mi came over at that moment and muttered:
"It's because this brat has been saying he's under too much stress lately and wants to play a zombie to relax his body and mind."
Ye Lan suddenly had a bad feeling, which came true the very next second.
Ye Xunzhi nodded thoughtfully. "So that's it. When you put it that way, Second Brother really has been under too much stress lately..."
[Sure enough, if people don't erupt in silence, they turn into freaks in silence.]
[Since Second Brother is already so pitiful, I won't tell Fifth Brother the heart-wrenching truth that Second Brother's first love is actually a scammer who's been swindling him out of his money and feelings for all these years.]
Ye Lan: Thanks, but I've already been stripped down to nothing.
Before you continue