What in This World Is the Best Medicine?

Ye Qi'an: That cut too deep, Second Brother.

"Second Brother, I heard voices. Did you order takeout?" Hearing the door open, Ye Xunzhi shuffled over in her slippers, still half-asleep.

She froze for a moment at the sight of the "great beauty" at the door, then slowly widened her eyes.

Ye Qi'an watched her reaction calmly. Countless people had marveled at his face since he was little.

Isn't this my gorgeous Third Brother, whose one-word description is "poor," two-word description is "very poor," and three-word description is "really freaking poor"?!

Ye Qi'an: "?"

What were all those descriptions at the beginning???

Ye Lan nearly burst out laughing. His third brother really was poor.

Logically, someone his age with his medical skills should have accumulated a considerable fortune. No matter how you looked at it, the word "poor" shouldn't have had anything to do with him.

But this brat had been obsessed with research and medicine since childhood. Any piece of equipment or reagent a researcher used could burn through money.

And the old man wouldn't fund him, so of course he was poor.

Before Ye Qi'an came, the old man and their eldest brother had both given him advance warnings, complete with a full package of threats and intimidation.

So although he was shocked that he really could hear his little sister's thoughts, he didn't have many other ideas.

Before, he might have wanted to drag his little sister over to study her, but now he felt that if he dared, the old man wouldn't even need to act.

Their eldest and second brothers could have his corpse at the bottom of the Huangpu River the next day.

Ye Lan was so obviously holding back laughter that Ye Qi'an didn't need to think hard to know what was on his mind. He couldn't help retorting:

"Medical knowledge is priceless. None of this can be measured in money. Science is humanity's ultimate destination."

Ye Xunzhi automatically continued in her head: And mysticism is science's ultimate destination. What in this world is the best medicine? First, cash gifts; second, banknotes.

Ye Lan finally failed to hold it in and snorted with laughter. He smiled at his speechless third brother as though looking at his past self.

Even his third brother looked more pleasing to the eye now. He softened his voice. "So, Third Brother, what exactly are you here for?"

Ye Qi'an: "To take our little sister away."

Bang! The door slammed mercilessly shut.

Ye Lan turned around, cursing. "Human traffickers are so sophisticated these days. They even know to wear human-skin masks. Do they think I'd fall for that?"

Ye Xunzhi: "Second Brother, wasn't that Third Brother?"

Ye Lan kept a straight face. "Don't talk nonsense. That was a human trafficker. You have to keep your eyes peeled when you're out."

"Second Brother, the old man sent me to pick up our little sister!" Ye Qi'an's voice came through the door.

"..."

Ye Lan reluctantly let him in, resistance written all over him from the tips of his hair to his toes. At that moment, he finally understood how his fifth brother had felt when handing their little sister over to him.

This guy is so unreliable. Can he really handle this? He mentally pointed an accusing finger.

Ye Qi'an told Ye Xunzhi, "Pack your things. We're getting ready to leave."

Ye Xunzhi obediently nodded on the outside while sighing helplessly inside.

So this day has finally come. Going with Third Brother isn't going off to enjoy the good life. It's going off to endure trials.

Ye Lan watched Ye Xunzhi briskly pack bags of all sizes. She hadn't even packed this thoroughly when she'd gone with him to film the variety show.

He couldn't help saying, "Your third brother might look destitute, but he's not actually that badly off. You don't need to bring toothpaste and a toothbrush. He should have those at his place."

Just as Ye Qi'an was about to force himself to nod, Ye Xunzhi gave a considerate smile.

"No need. I don't want to cause Third Brother so much trouble. I'll just bring my own."

Ye Qi'an rubbed his fingertips together. This little sister seemed more sensible than he'd imagined. He had barely begun to feel a tiny bit touched before it was snuffed out in its cradle the next second.

Second Brother is still too optimistic. Hasn't he noticed how Third Brother is always especially eager to come home whenever he has time off?

Ye Lan: ?

He did know that, but wasn't it because his third brother missed the old man?

That's because he can't afford food and has no choice but to come home. At work, he survives entirely on his colleagues' handouts. He's so poor he's one step away from becoming a male escort.

If Third Brother ever doesn't come home during his time off, it'll definitely be because he can't even afford the fare. At times like that, he might randomly spawn under a pedestrian overpass or beside a school, putting on screen protectors or making jianbing.

But that rarely happens, because before his time off, Third Brother specifically makes time to put on screen protectors or make jianbing to earn his fare home, unless he really doesn't have the time.

Remembering the days she'd once spent running a street stall with her third brother, Ye Xunzhi let out a minor's sigh.

Who would've thought that Third Brother, so refined and noble in the public eye, secretly had a masterful knack for making jianbing?

My brothers are each more stubborn about admitting things than the last. Oh, there is an exception. When Third Brother really can't afford lab equipment, he gets especially good at sweet-talking, and he'll stop at nothing.

He squeezes money out of his brothers one by one. He doesn't even spare Fifth Brother's scholarship.

Forget it. Third Brother is already so poor, and he's worked so hard to hide it all these years. It hasn't been easy for him. I won't expose him.

For the first time in his life, Ye Qi'an felt suffocated. The last of his dignity had been swept away just like that.

He barely maintained his expression and closed his eyes, already prepared to accept his second brother's mockery.

After waiting a while without hearing any mockery, he looked up in confusion, only to see Ye Lan crouching beside Ye Xunzhi and transferring money.

"I'll send you thirty thousand for now. It doesn't matter if your third brother starves to death. The main thing is, don't let yourself go without. If it's not enough, just ask me for more."

Ye Qi'an: ???

What about me? What about me?

As though hearing his inner cries, Ye Lan glanced at him, then lowered his head and sent another transfer.

Ye Qi'an picked up his phone and checked. A transfer of one hundred yuan.

Ye Lan: "It's KFC's Crazy Thursday today. Go stuff yourself with some Colonel Sanders. Don't say your second brother doesn't love you."

"..."

Ye Lan said he didn't want to watch his little sister leave with another man, so he didn't go downstairs.

Ye Xunzhi dragged her suitcase behind her third brother, while Ye Qi'an helped carry a large travel bag.

When they reached the entrance to the residential complex, Ye Xunzhi looked around. "Third Brother, where's your car?"

Ye Qi'an pointed to a Harley shared bike beside them. "Here."

Ye Xunzhi sank into thought. So Third Brother had already sold his car for lab equipment this early on?

"Then let's get a ride."

"Sure." Ye Qi'an agreed with unexpected readiness and turned out his empty pockets.

"But I only have the hundred yuan Second Brother gave me. If we pay for a ride, I won't be able to eat. I haven't had lunch yet."

Ye Xunzhi: "So?"

It can't be what I'm imagining, can it?

A smile suddenly bloomed on Ye Qi'an's cool, ethereally handsome face as he shamelessly said:

"So, my little sister, the cutest in the whole world, I'm hungry. Could you transfer me some money? You're the best."