Shen Yu explained until he was fuming, while everyone else watched the fun without caring how much trouble they stirred up. Even good-tempered Shen Yu grew unhappy and planted his hands on his hips with an angry huff.
"Our Little Yu is a little lucky charm. Who would dare upset our little lucky charm?"
Lin Yujing smiled and rubbed Shen Yu's head. With better meals over the past few days, the little fellow's big, round eyes looked even brighter.
"Hmph, Dad, my big brothers, and my little brothers all upset me." Spoiled by their affection, Shen Yu tilted his head up proudly. Seeing his two older brothers' solemn expressions, he immediately slipped in a demand. "Unless you buy me milk tea!"
He had been craving that stuff for ages. He had heard it even contained fruit and little desserts, and the expensive ones cost dozens of yuan!
"You little rascal." Shen Changgeng had almost thought his youngest son was genuinely throwing a tantrum. At those words, he shook his head in amusement. "We'll buy it! You greedy little boy."
With his dad's approval secured, Shen Yu happily bobbed his head. Sure enough, he had to fight for a good life himself.
Once they had soothed the ruffled Shen Yu, everyone finally got ready to go upstairs and show Shen Jun and Shen Jin their rooms.
Shen Jun pressed his lips together, his hand unconsciously tightening around the hem of his clothes. Although only his right leg was injured, he could not hop around the way Shen Yu did.
The boy felt a little down. Though he hid it well, the considerate Shen Xubai still noticed.
Picked up once again, the always-independent Shen Jun stiffened and instinctively began to struggle. "I... I can do it myself."
"Be good." Shen Xubai did not want to expose the boy's feigned composure. He patted Shen Jun's shoulder and "warned" him, "Keep moving and you'll fall."
Although he knew Shen Xubai was only trying to scare him, Shen Jun stopped struggling. When his lowered gaze accidentally met Shen Yu's, he immediately buried his head in his eldest brother's chest.
"Little Jun's embarrassed." Shen Yu very unkindly pointed this out about his younger brother, then smugly shared his experience. "Our eldest brother is super strong. He can carry you and run a thousand meters."
Shen Xubai stiffened slightly. With a brother who sang his praises like this, he did not know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
Seeing his little brother's eager expression, Shen Xingshuo raised his arm and swung Shen Yu up, not forgetting to complain, "You're so scrawny. Who knows where all your food goes?"
"It means I have a good digestive system!" Shen Yu kicked his short legs indignantly. Seeing Shen Jun being held comfortably while he himself was nearly upside down, he huffed angrily and tried to hit his second brother.
"Careful, you might never find a partner." Shen Xingshuo squeezed Shen Yu's arm, then showed off his own muscles, boasting casually, "Everyone likes someone like me."
"That means they have narrow tastes!" Shen Yu shook his head in dismay, then earnestly bluffed his second brother. "We're going into the entertainment industry. We need diverse beauty standards. You won't do like this, Second Brother."
Stunned by his little brother's tone of disappointed exasperation, Shen Xingshuo instinctively echoed, "Diverse beauty standards?"
"Right!" Seeing that he had bamboozled his second brother, Shen Yu bobbed his head smugly. "My little brothers and I are the mainstream beauty standard!"
"Heh, look at you getting so full of yourself." Shen Xingshuo, who had looked utterly bewildered a second earlier, instantly changed his expression. Without hesitation, he went for the smug Shen Yu and pinched the little fellow's cheeks out of shape.
"Second Bwother... let go!"
"Tch, you've drooled all over my hand." Shen Xingshuo disdainfully wiped his hand on Shen Yu, though his arm kept dutifully holding his scatterbrained little brother.
Shen Changgeng had given up on his two attention-seeking sons. Seeing Shen Jin standing close to his brother with no one carrying him, his heart softened too, and he hoisted the brother-clinging boy onto his shoulders.
"I, I'm not hurt." Shen Jin had no idea where to put his arms, and his big eyes, usually so sure of himself, were filled with helplessness.
"Does not being hurt mean you can't sit up there?" Shen Changgeng bounced the child on his shoulders, his eyes full of disapproval. "Your second brother's right. You're too thin."
"So carrying all three of our little brothers should be a piece of cake for you, right, Dad?" Shen Xingshuo led the way, not forgetting to glance at his dad and stir up trouble.
"You brat." Shen Changgeng rolled his eyes, showing none of a patriarch's dignity. "As if I didn't carry you on my shoulders enough when you were little. You were so naughty I wanted to tie you to a table leg with a rope."
Shen Xubai nodded as someone who had suffered deeply from it. They were close in age, and Shen Xingshuo had practically grown up wreaking havoc on him.
"Mom, Dad and my brother are ganging up on me." Shen Xingshuo protested, "They're taking advantage of being older than me and picking on me now."
Each of the three men carried one of the little ones, and the boys being carried looked more aggrieved than the last. Yet the older ones kept prattling on, and Shen Yu even got shaken by his indignant second brother.
Shen Yu: I just... really want to die.
Lin Yujing felt helpless. A whole family of attention seekers had come together. But the atmosphere was so harmonious that she reflexively took a photo and posted it on Moments.
Mm, we can skip the banquet, but their identities still need to be announced. At least those people with children at home need to know who they can provoke and who they mustn't.
Since they had known during the pregnancy that they were twins, the brothers' rooms were adjoining, while Shen Yu's room was across from them.
Unlike the creamy yellow wallpaper in Shen Yu's room, the brothers' rooms were sky blue and pale green respectively. Lin Yujing had been afraid the children might feel stifled.
She motioned for Shen Jin to push open the door. The first thing that came into view was a table piled high with gifts, their exquisite wrapping making them look as though they had been prepared long ago.
"Although you weren't home, Dad, Mom, and your older brothers prepared gifts for you every year." Lin Yujing stroked Shen Jin's head, gazing lovingly at the child she had not seen in over ten years.
"Thank you... Mom." Shen Jin could see the care that had gone into decorating the room. It even contained books he liked reading at school.
Looking at Lin Yujing's expectant yet apprehensive eyes, Shen Jin had uttered that unfamiliar form of address before he knew it.
"Yes, yes, good!" Lin Yujing pressed her lips together and tilted her head up, but tears still trickled from the corners of her eyes.
This was her child. How could she not be overwhelmed!
Over the past few days, she had been busy sorting out their parentage, arranging medical examinations, and investigating the truth. She had also worried that the two little fellows might feel resistant, so however overwhelmed she was, she had to remain composed.
Seeing his wife lose control of her emotions, Shen Changgeng had no choice but to signal his son with a look. After his eldest brother nudged him with an elbow, Shen Xingshuo immediately tugged at Shen Yu's cowlick, signaling the little scatterbrain to speak.
Shen Yu lived up to everyone's expectations. Staring at the table piled with gifts, he widened his eyes and posed a soul-searching question. "Why didn't anyone remind me to prepare gifts for my little brothers?"
They had wanted to divert attention from the problem, but instead hit Shen Yu where it hurt. The young boy looked at them in disbelief, his eyes full of anguish. "I've been left out!"
His attempt having backfired, Shen Xingshuo was bewildered. He had known his little brother's train of thought was unusual, but had not expected it to take another turn.
Meeting Shen Yu's accusing look, Shen Xingshuo bounced his fuming little brother and struck right at his sore spot. "You're just a broke little kid. What gifts could you prepare?"
At that thought, Shen Xingshuo could not resist mischievously pinching Shen Yu's indignant cheeks, his face full of smug delight.
You're always thinking about taking your big brother to wash dishes. Next time, I'll really make you wash dishes and see how you like it!