Little broke brat!
Deeply wounded, Shen Yu's little face filled with shock. He flailed his arms and legs as he climbed out of his second brother's arms, then clutched his chest in anguish.
Although he had been an ordinary poor person before, being singled out by his second brother as a little broke brat now wounded Shen Yu, poverty personified. His fingers trembled, and he couldn't speak.
[You're the spendthrift here.]
[If I didn't know our Shen Family went under because people smeared you in the entertainment industry, I would've thought you were so great.]
[Calling me a little broke brat! I... you... okay, you got that right. I don't have a single cent on me.]
Remembering that he was penniless, the already heartbroken Shen Yu withdrew even further into himself.
The boy faced the wall with nothing left to live for, resting his head against it without speaking, his entire body radiating a prickly "hurry up and comfort me" air.
Learning that the Shen Family would go bankrupt because of Second Shen, the others all rolled their eyes at Shen Xingshuo.
Only when he heard Shen Yu lamenting his poverty did Shen Xubai, who had been reviewing the details of the company's operations, shake his head and reach out to turn the wilted little fellow around.
"Your allowance has already been sent. You haven't checked your phone, have you?" Seeing Shen Yu's cheeks puffed out in anger, Shen Xubai gave them a poke, finally understanding why his second brother liked teasing their little brother.
"Little Jun and Little Jin have theirs too. We treat everyone equally." Shen Xubai turned toward Shen Xingshuo-the culprit behind their bankruptcy-and gently added.
"If it's not enough, we'll deduct it from your second brother's allowance."
Caught in the crossfire, Shen Xingshuo was dumbfounded, unable to understand how he had ended up being the one to suffer.
Unfortunately, the reckless biker boy who acted like he could take on heaven and earth outside was still a coward at home who didn't dare defy his eldest brother. At those words, he could only swallow his misery in grievance.
It was fine. He was a bona fide college student. Surely he could support himself?
He would go sign a contract tomorrow. Then all his little brothers would be chasing him for autographs!
Shen Yu merrily ran to get his phone. Seeing that his eldest brother had transferred him 100,000 in several installments, he grinned so widely he couldn't close his mouth.
Hehe, he'd never even come across a number this big in math problems!
The two brothers' rooms had similar layouts, and even their gifts had been prepared in duplicate. Shen Xingshuo and Shen Yu chattered away, offering plenty of "constructive suggestions," only for the twins to gently turn them down.
Disappointed, the two took the opportunity to push open the door to Shen Yu's room, which he hadn't stayed in for a long time, and were stunned by the gifts filling it.
"I get some too!" Shen Yu's mouth fell open in delight. He had thought the gifts were to welcome his little brothers home, never expecting a share for himself.
"Now you know why we didn't tell you!" Shen Xingshuo, whose allowance was under threat, huffed softly. "It's because you get the same treatment, kid."
"You're the best, Second Brother." Shen Yu happily bobbed his head, snuggling up to his second brother and acting cute to please him. A couple of sentences had Shen Xingshuo beaming.
The three brothers were close in age, so everything had been prepared together. On top of that, the old Shen Yu had been withdrawn and had never added anything he liked, leaving the rooms practically identical.
After looking over the room he would be living in, Shen Jun watched the happy, harmonious family, then tilted his head up toward Shen Xubai, the most dependable one, and asked tentatively.
"Eldest Brother... when can I start studying?"
Shen Jun hadn't continued school after third grade. Although he sometimes looked through his little brother's books, the exhaustion of his days had long since worn down the boy's energy.
"If you want to, I'll contact a tutor as soon as possible." Shen Xubai worked hard to suppress his excitement at being called brother. He had intended to help the little fellow settle into his surroundings first, but seeing the longing in Shen Jun's eyes, he decisively abandoned his plan.
"A tutor?" Shen Jun had thought he would study on his own. The mention of a tutor suddenly made him nervous. "I don't have much of a foundation..."
"If you already knew everything, what would you need a teacher for?"
His heart aching at his son's lack of confidence, Shen Changgeng took the opportunity to pick Shen Jun up, his voice faintly sour. "Let's go look at the study. You can learn whatever you want!"
Hmph. Little Jin had called Mom, and Little Jun had called Eldest Brother. So he was the only decorative fixture in this family!
"Okay." Unaccustomed to it, Shen Jun stiffened, pretending he hadn't noticed what was on Shen Changgeng's mind. Seeing that his little brother was already sitting at the desk, he couldn't resist asking another question. "Will we have the same teacher?"
"What would you like, Little Jun?" Considering Shen Jun's lack of confidence after dropping out, Shen Xubai furtively pointed at Shen Yu, who was wandering around. "Little Yu is at the same level as you."
Seeing Shen Jun raise his eyebrows in surprise, Shen Xubai patiently explained, "Little Yu hasn't been well, so he's never gone to school."
Although he hadn't followed the standard course of study, his school registration wasn't a problem. He could go straight into middle school if he wanted.
"I'll join them too." Seeing that his brother would be studying with Shen Yu, Shen Jin's sensitive little radar immediately went off. "I heard schools outside teach English."
"That works too. You can all study together. If you can keep up, you might even be in the same grade when school starts." Shen Xubai gained a fresh understanding of just how attached Shen Jin was to his brother, shaking his head with a smile at his words.
Of the three children, only Shen Jin had attended school normally. Shen Jun had stopped halfway, while Shen Yu... although a tutor had been teaching him all along, the Shen Family never pressured him, so they didn't know how much the little fellow had learned.
Thinking of how clueless his little brother looked, Shen Xubai found it hard to convince himself that the boy was a little genius.
Shen Yu bounced back after wandering around the study for fun. Hearing that the three of them would study together, he instantly puffed out his chest in pride and announced gleefully, "I know this stuff. I'll tutor my little brothers."
He had completed six years of secondary school, after all. Handling elementary school material would be a piece of cake.
Shen Xubai pressed his lips together, trying to find some hint that the little fellow was joking. Unfortunately, Shen Yu's gaze was resolute, as though he intended to stand firm at his post.
Just as Shen Xubai was considering how to turn him down tactfully without hurting his little brother's feelings, Shen Jin silently handed Shen Yu the English classic beside him, his eyes filled with eager anticipation.
Shen Yu held his head high and his chest out, happily taking the thick English book, only to discover that his years of learning had amounted to nothing.
He understood the words, but not the sentences; he understood them separately, but not strung together.
Thinking back on his school years, he seemed to have learned mute English. Other than answering written questions, he had even relied on blind guesses for listening tests.
Seeing Shen Yu grow more distraught the longer he read, showing faint signs of questioning his life, Shen Xubai hurriedly took the book and comforted him. "You're still young, Little Yu. It's normal not to understand."
Worried that his words weren't convincing enough, Shen Xubai added, "Once you're in high school, you'll naturally understand it."
Shen Yu: Eldest Brother, to be honest, I still didn't understand it after finishing high school.
The wounded Shen Yu gave up on tutoring as hoped, and Shen Jin also breathed a sigh of relief. But seeing how hard the little boy had been hit, he began to reflect on whether he had gone too far.
"The three of you can study together." Shen Xubai made the final decision, not forgetting to remind the scheming Shen Jin, "Little Jin is very smart. He could even teach his two older brothers."
Shen Jin nodded solemnly. Of course he would help his brother... and his bonus brother.
Shen Xingshuo stared incredulously at the two delighted brothers, then glanced at his miserable little brother, finally finding some comfort.
After all, there was still a normal person in the family who didn't like studying.
"Hardship is temporary. Study hard, and once you're in college like me, you'll have it easy." Shen Xingshuo offered a convincing imitation of comfort, his eyes full of schadenfreude.
Shen Yu looked pitifully at his smug second brother. He had originally endured long enough to reach that stage himself, only to find himself back at square one overnight. He looked thoroughly resentful.
"Hmph, hardship isn't temporary-it's constant!"