Chu Yao saw the indifference in Qiao Luo's eyes and seemed to want to reach out and grab something, but Qiao Luo unexpectedly took a step back and left without the slightest reluctance.
"Brother Yao, why are you being so polite to them?"
When they saw Chu Yao get hit, the others stayed silent. Only after the two had left did they start egging one another on, watching Chu Yao's expression for cues.
"He doesn't respect any of us. He's slapping us all in the face."
"Enough." Chu Yao looked at the friends who had supposedly traveled all this way to hang out with him, frowning impatiently. "Have fun yourselves. I'll pay."
"That's no fun." Hearing that Chu Yao would pay, their clamoring gradually quieted, though someone still failed to take the hint. "We're going somewhere else after this..."
"Wang Zhijie, don't push your luck." Chu Yao's mind was in turmoil. He cut him off irritably, grabbed his clothes, and left in impatience.
Meanwhile, Shen Xingshuo had already taken Shen Yu into a car and remained silent the whole way. In the front passenger seat, Qiao Luo kept turning around, looking worriedly at Shen Yu, who had no idea what was going on.
The taxi driver noticed the strange atmosphere, particularly the tall boy's grim expression and the intimidating air he carried at such a young age. He immediately sped up to deliver these imposing passengers back.
Only after sitting on the living room sofa did Shen Yu belatedly realize that his second brother was angry. He silently straightened his little body and looked to Qiao Luo for help.
Qiao Luo guiltily averted his eyes. It would be rather hypocritical of him to stop someone else's older brother from disciplining his younger brother. Besides, Shen Xingshuo was angry. If they did not sort this out properly and it caused conflict later, they would be in trouble.
"Shen Yu." Shen Xingshuo ran his thumb around the rim of his cup. After a long silence, he called his younger brother's full name in a low voice.
Shen Yu shuddered, immediately feeling a little hurt and at a loss. Apart from when he had first arrived home, this was the first time Shen Xingshuo had called him by his full name since the brothers had made up.
Even when Shen Xingshuo usually gave him obnoxious nicknames, Shen Yu had never been this worried or afraid.
"Second Brother." Clutching the hem of his clothes, Shen Yu timidly edged over to Shen Xingshuo. When Shen Xingshuo did not respond, he tentatively took hold of his brother's hem. "I was wrong."
"What did you do wrong?" Shen Xingshuo sighed, but his expression did not soften. His slightly raised brows and eyes held a sharpness that made him look just like Shen Xubai directing affairs at the company.
Shen Yu's lips turned down. His head had already been swimming at the bar, and now, questioned by his second brother with that cold expression, he somehow started feeling hurt.
Back when he had no family, Shen Xiaoyu would grit his teeth and get through it even when customers lost their temper at him. But now, Shen Xingshuo had only asked one question in return, and the little fellow felt so aggrieved that tears kept falling.
"I don't know." Shen Xingshuo sniffled, tears streaming down his face, his mind knowing only to repeat those words. "I was wrong, I was wrong..."
"Enough." Shen Xingshuo had not expected his little brother to cry like this after just a few words. Usually, he practically wanted to fight him, yet at a time like this, he could not bear even the slightest hurt.
"Crying already? You'll be starting middle school when term begins. Won't people laugh at you?" Shen Xingshuo half held Shen Yu, who could not stop crying, and was briefly at a loss over what to do.
"Isn't our Shen Xiaoyu going to fight monsters? What Ultraman goes off with snot dangling from his nose?" Shen Xingshuo's way of comforting him was always unusual, yet somehow it hit Shen Yu's funny bone.
A bubble came out of his nose. Shen Yu laughed and cried at once, then finally buried his face in the sofa in embarrassment, pretending nothing had happened.
Seeing that Shen Yu had stopped crying, Shen Xingshuo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt as though he had fought a battle, collapsing onto the sofa out of breath, his head growing dizzy too.
He had clearly meant to discipline his disobedient younger brother for going along to a bar. How had he ended up comforting him before he had even said anything harsh?
As Qiao Luo watched the brothers interact, a faint envy showed in his eyes. He also wanted an older brother who indulged him in everything, but as an only child, that wish was rather unlikely to come true.
After finally settling his emotions, Shen Yu slowly lifted his head from the gap in the sofa, only to meet Shen Xingshuo's amused gaze. He sniffled again in embarrassment.
"Come sit here." Shen Xingshuo helplessly patted the spot beside him, signaling for the furtive little fellow to come over.
He loved making trouble, and he cried too. Shen Xingshuo had truly lost to Shen Xiaoyu.
Seeing that his second brother no longer looked angry, Shen Yu, who had finished venting his feelings, cautiously sat down beside Shen Xingshuo with his little nose still bright red.
"I'm not trying to snap at you, but you need to know what you did wrong." Shen Xingshuo sighed. Thinking of how exasperated his eldest brother was when dealing with him, he suddenly understood why everyone praised him for being mature beyond his years.
Of course he was mature beyond his years. He aged a year every day!
"I know." Clearheaded after crying, Shen Yu obediently nodded and admitted his mistake. "I shouldn't have gone to the bar with Chu Yao. It's chaotic there, and children can easily get abducted."
The little brat beside him had said everything he was going to say. Annoyed, Shen Xingshuo pinched Shen Yu's cheek. "If you knew, why did you still go?"
"I wanted to talk him out of it, but he's a little bit stupid!" Thinking of Chu Yao's exasperating friends, Shen Yu puffed out his cheeks. "He won't listen at all. He's just a free ATM."
Hearing Shen Yu's description, Qiao Luo's lips curved up beside them. He was more than an ATM; he was practically a mobile payment service, available whenever called.
"Don't go by yourself next time." Shen Xingshuo understood Chu Yao's personality well enough and thoroughly agreed with Shen Yu's words, but that was no excuse for disobedience. "And you wouldn't even answer my calls."
"I had my earphones in." Only then did Shen Yu notice the nearly ten missed calls, and he immediately felt even guiltier. "From now on, I'll make sure I can always be reached on my watch, and I'll tell you wherever I go."
"If I don't listen, I'll let... let Second Brother punish me."
Seeing his little brother looking up at him with those big eyes, guilty and pitiful, Shen Xingshuo shrugged helplessly. "You've said everything, good and bad. Your brain's working pretty fast now."
"Hehehe." Shen Yu hugged his second brother's arm and acted cute, thinking they had finally put this mess behind them. He had not expected Shen Xingshuo's next words to pierce his little heart.
"Eldest Brother booked you a flight for tomorrow. You leave in the morning."
"What?" Shen Yu abruptly sat upright, looking at Shen Xingshuo in disbelief as though trying to find some sign that he was joking. "Why is Eldest Brother making me go back now? Didn't he say I could have fun?"
"What do you think?" Shen Xingshuo tossed his phone to Shen Yu. The time of their call was plainly visible. Clearly, Shen Xingshuo had called their eldest brother earlier to help find him.
"All right." After all, he had caused this mess himself. Shen Yu sighed dejectedly, and his little mouth began chattering. "You reap what you sow."
The troublemaking Shen Xiaoyu fell asleep with his second brother beside him. Shen Xingshuo somehow managed, with some excuse, to see Shen Yu all the way onto the plane before leaving.
He still ran into someone he knew on the way back. Shen Yu lay over his tray table, watching Chu Yao gaze despondently out the window. Even by takeoff, no one had come to see him off.
He did not know what Qiao Luo and Chu Yao had talked about last night. Chu Yao lowered his head and rested for a while, then saw Shen Yu behind him, forced a smile, and mouthed, "Sorry."
Shen Yu's lips turned down. What a strange person.