"Dad owns more than a dozen companies, with industrial chains spanning the country... mm, not bad. A top-tier male lead setup!"
"Mommy is the Lin Family's eldest daughter, with a major in art and a minor in management. Hehehe, a power couple!"
"A genius eldest brother, a scheming second brother... hahaha, I, Shen Xiaoyu, have hit the jackpot!"
Shen Yu lay in bed. Not even the cast on his lower leg could stop the boy's excitement. He wanted to leap up and spin in circles, and even his drooping cowlick had perked up.
"Isn't this exactly the happy, blissful life the male and female leads get after their happily-ever-after!"
Shen Yu had delicate features, and his big, round eyes sparkled with excitement. Even his slightly pale lips couldn't hide the boy's exuberance.
Hopping on one foot to the window, Shen Yu curiously poked his head out and eagerly examined the understated yet luxurious villa below him.
The high-ceilinged entrance hall, imposing front doors, and elegant courtyard railings all displayed the owners' grandeur, making Shen Yu draw his head back in discomfort.
In his original world, Shen Yu had been a poor little thing. He had lost both parents at five, and since his parents had also been orphans, he had depended entirely on help from his neighbors.
Fortunately, the villagers were simple and kind. Apart from a few children who looked down on him, the others were willing to help the boy with no family from time to time. And so Shen Yu had grown up on meals from a hundred households.
Fortunately, the boy was an optimistic little ray of sunshine. To become independent as soon as possible, Shen Yu had thrown himself into part-time work right after his college entrance exams, only to work himself straight into the grave.
"Ah!" Once his excitement passed, Shen Yu rubbed his face sadly. It wasn't as though he knew nothing about this world.
During summer break, Shen Yu had tutored during the day and worked at a restaurant at night. A woman had washed dishes alongside him in the kitchen, and to pass the time, she had played an audiobook aloud.
With an unremarkable baritone narrating a passionate, melodramatic plot, the woman had been utterly absorbed, while Shen Yu had cringed hard enough to curl his toes.
Pushing aside his jumbled thoughts, Shen Yu looked down at his heel, reddened from all his hopping, and flopped back onto the bed in misery.
"What was the plot again?" His mind blank, Shen Xiaoyu scratched his neck. His head was filled with nothing but the terror of being ruled by that baritone voice; he hadn't remembered a single keyword.
"Bang-bang-"
Shen Yu slapped the bed in misery, his scrunched-up face looking just like a giant "Jiong"!
This was like correctly predicting an exam question but forgetting the answer... he'd have been better off not predicting it at all!
Fortunately, Shen Yu was an indestructible little cockroach of optimism. If he couldn't remember the answer, he'd work hard to find it. Bracing himself against the wall, he slowly hopped out of the room.
The bright hallway was lined with wall lamps. As though worried the children in the house might be frightened, someone had even specially made them in the shape of cute cat heads.
"Young master? Your leg hasn't healed yet. Why have you come out? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
The barrage of concern left Shen Yu bewildered. At a loss, the young boy raised his head and looked at the unfamiliar yet kindly middle-aged man before him. The fingers braced against the wall couldn't help curling slightly.
"The room... was a little stuffy. I came out to have a look." Shen Yu tentatively hopped forward twice, only to be scooped up by the broad-shouldered butler the next second and carried toward the sofa.
Like a little piglet caught for slaughter, Shen Yu went rigid, unsure where to put his slightly raised arms.
Truthfully, this was the first time in Shen Yu's life that anyone had picked him up.
Seeing his young master curl into a ball with practiced ease, the butler immediately draped a blanket over him affectionately.
The Shen Family had enjoyed uninterrupted success, but something had gone wrong with their youngest. Thinking of Shen Yu's somewhat withdrawn disposition, the butler quietly sighed.
His employers' affairs weren't his to meddle in. All he could concern himself with was doing his own job well and taking care of Shen Yu, who disliked interacting with others.
"Be good, young master. The doctor said your stitches can come out in half a month. Madam has had a mobility chair prepared." Once he was sure Shen Yu was seated securely, the butler took half a step back to prepare some fruit.
He called it a mobility chair, but it was really just an ordinary electric wheelchair. Worried about hurting the withdrawn, fragile young master, the butler had carefully chosen a different term.
Shen Yu hugged a cushion. After making sure the blanket wrapped him up snugly, he innocently puffed out his cheeks, and his brain, wiped clean after his college entrance exams, began to storm.
How could he, Shen Yu, an utterly ordinary, impoverished young boy, hide himself perfectly within a top-tier wealthy family?
Good heavens! Could the butler be one of those legendary sticklers for detail who would recognize him the next second and start exorcising him and throwing him out?
As he thought about it, Shen Yu widened his eyes warily again. His round-eyed gaze resembled that of a kitten newly brought home, and even the butler, who had served in the household for years, couldn't help softening.
"How are you feeling, young master? The doctor recommended walking around more and getting some fresh air." Accustomed to Shen Yu's lack of responses, the butler could keep the house from feeling empty all by himself.
Surgery? What surgery!
Shen Yu tilted his head. The formerly hazy plot was on the verge of surfacing, and he pieced together scattered fragments of the Shen family's storyline.
Each generation had its own grudges and entanglements. As the Shen parents entered middle age, quite a few outstanding rising stars poured into the business world.
As foils, the Shen Family successively produced an eldest brother who was highly capable yet forced to become cannon fodder, a second brother who played a supporting role to the protagonist, and a fake young master who was sickly from birth and withdrawn.
Wait? A fake young master!
Like a dying invalid suddenly jolting upright, Shen Yu hadn't even settled into his idle, do-nothing life as a slacker aristocrat before he realized he'd entered a hell-mode scenario. His head instantly drooped, with nothing left to live for.
"Young master?" Seeing the boy wilt, the butler hurriedly put down the knife in his hand. Before he could contact Shen Yu's parents, the rumble of a motorcycle outside the entrance interrupted him.
Shen Xingshuo parked his motorcycle at the entrance with a flourish. Ignoring the two people watching him expectantly from the living room, he headed toward his room.
The ignored Shen Yu: trembling in progress...
Meeting Shen Yu's innocent gaze, the butler took a deep breath and steeled himself to face the challenge. "Second young master, you..."
"Getting my ID!"
Though his tone was poor, Shen Xingshuo still stiffly answered the butler's question.
"What ID?" The butler's heart sank as he watched Shen Xingshuo rummage through cupboards and drawers in alarm. "Are you running away from home, second young master?"
Shen Xingshuo's brows and eyes twitched violently twice. Was there something toxic about the Shen Family's location? The younger one's illness hadn't been cured, and now the older one had gone stir-crazy too?
Glancing at the trembling younger one, Shen Xingshuo spoke through gritted teeth. "Uncle Liu, can't you wish something good for me!"
The butler gave a guilty chuckle, then wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead and continued probing. "So, second young master, are you planning to... establish your own household?"
[Hahaha, Uncle Liu is hilarious. Why doesn't he say my second brother is eloping with someone!]
Before Shen Xingshuo could answer, goofy laughter full of spectator delight reached his ears, its tone making no attempt to hide its mockery.
Second Young Master Shen glanced at the invisible presence that was Shen Yu in bewilderment, then looked at Uncle Liu's worried face and instinctively slapped himself.
[Oho! No wonder he's a supporting character. This second brother looks like a complete idiot.]
This time, Shen Xingshuo heard it clearly. The gloating tone practically made him laugh with anger. Apart from the old butler, Uncle Liu, the only person at home was his little sucker of a brother, Shen Yu.
Passing Uncle Liu, who was still immersed in the runaway storyline, Shen Xingshuo looked at Shen Yu, who was pretending not to exist and struggling to hold back his laughter. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he approached this habitually silent younger brother.
[What? Why are you looking at me! I didn't say anything. Or did Uncle Liu hit a sore spot, and now you're so embarrassed you're angry and want to take it out on me?]
Shen Yu's frightened little thoughts were written all over his face. He started shaking when Shen Xingshuo was still two meters away, looking exactly like a bullied little wretch.
[Rain's gonna fall, and my brother's gonna beat me! Help, I'm being assaulted!]