The back seat fell silent. Unable to hear anything, Shen Yu grew unbearably restless and stealthily craned his neck to look back.
Meeting Cheng Jun's kind gaze as he endured the pain, the little coward quietly drew his neck back, his fingers tracing helplessly over the seat.
Worried that Cheng Jun would suffer lasting damage as Shen Yu had said, Shen Xubai immediately contacted the Shen Family's private hospital and went straight to the emergency treatment room.
Learning that there was a crack in Cheng Jun's shinbone, Shen Yu froze on the spot, at a loss. Even Shen Xubai clenched his fists.
Cheng Jun was only twelve, yet he had endured a fractured shinbone until now. It was impossible to imagine what would happen if it went untreated any longer.
Thinking of Cheng Yong's crazed demands for money, Shen Yu couldn't help shuddering.
The Cheng Jun in the book hadn't had the means to get his leg treated. He had even had to drag his injured leg around to earn money.
Confronting the sinister side of human nature for the first time, Shen Yu felt as though his body had been flooded with cold water: no matter how poor he had been before, he had always been cheerful and had never experienced oppression like this.
Watching Cheng Jin lean alone against the treatment room doorway, Shen Yu slowly moved over beside him and gently laid a hand on him.
The boy's body trembled slightly, but in the end, he didn't turn around, paying no attention to the person behind him.
"Kid... Little Jin." Shen Yu spoke awkwardly. The treatment room lights kept flashing, and words seemed especially pale and powerless at that moment.
"Your brother will be fine. The doctor is really good." Shen Yu's leg ached from standing too long, but he still braced one hand against the wall and explained haltingly, "Big Brother... is really good too."
At the mention of Shen Xubai, Shen Yu's voice grew guiltily quieter. After all, Shen Xubai was the biological eldest brother of the person before him, not of an impostor like himself.
"I know." After a long while, Cheng Jin relaxed his tightly pressed lips, his voice returning to the gentleness of their first meeting. "Thank you."
"N-no need." Shen Yu shook his head like a rattle drum. Looking at Cheng Jin's well-behaved appearance, he patted the boy with an aching heart. "I should thank you."
Watching the two boys awkwardly comfort each other, Shen Xubai felt the weight in his heart slowly ease.
Although the test results weren't out yet, he already had a rough guess.
Besides, Shen Xubai looked gently at the two boys pressed against the door. Given Shen Yu's special circumstances, he believed Cheng Jin was mentally prepared too.
The treatment wouldn't be over anytime soon. The assistant delivered lunch and hurried away, leaving only the three brothers in the waiting room.
Cheng Jin didn't stand on ceremony. Once he received his food, he buried his head and ate heartily, except that a few extra pieces of meat would occasionally appear in his bowl.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Cheng Jin saw someone who thought he was sneaking food over unnoticed; whenever Cheng Jin lowered his head to eat, Shen Yu would furtively put some chicken in his bowl, then pretend nothing had happened and go on eating.
His mouth grew increasingly bitter, and Cheng Jin suddenly felt that even the translucent grains of rice could scrape his throat.
Ever since childhood, he had played the role of the good child, because Cheng Jun considered looking after his younger brother his responsibility, and Cheng Jin didn't dare get hurt.
Living in such a terrible environment, the only thing Cheng Jin did was give his brother all the emotional support he could.
If he were alone, Cheng Jin wouldn't care whether he lived or died. But he was Cheng Jun's hope in life, and Cheng Jun was also the shackle keeping him from turning to crime.
"Eat properly." Shen Xubai lowered his eyes to the two boys who weren't eating properly, gave each of them a chicken drumstick, then urged his younger brothers to drink their soup. "You'll only have the strength to wait if you're full."
Hearing this, Shen Yu immediately shoveled rice into his mouth, unaware that a grain had stuck to the corner of his lips. He even grinned foolishly at Shen Xubai. "Thanks, Big Brother."
Looking at the extra drumstick in his bowl, Cheng Jin stiffened uncomfortably, then said "Thank you" as well.
Shen Xubai pressed his lips together without immediately correcting Cheng Jin. Before the results were clear, he didn't want to jump to conclusions.
After all, Shen Xubai glanced at Shen Yu. The little guy was right sometimes and wrong at others, and he had previously thought there was only one kid.
Perhaps mealtime had flown by. Three hours later, the treatment room opened, and as soon as Shen Yu entered, he saw Cheng Jun with his right leg suspended.
"Young master." The attending physician turned and looked at Shen Yu with some surprise. "Are you here for a follow-up on your leg?"
"N-no, I'm fine!"
Looking at the masked attending physician, Shen Yu instinctively trembled, and even his lower leg began to tingle painfully.
"Uncle Han." Shen Xubai calmly nodded to Han Rong in greeting, then settled Shen Yu before answering unhurriedly, "We're here to see Little Yu's friend."
"A friend, hm?" Han Rong's gaze lingered on Cheng Jin for a moment before he nodded kindly. "He's fine. The fracture in his shinbone isn't serious. It hasn't reached the point of shattering."
"You brought him in promptly. He'll need plenty of nourishment afterward."
"Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Han." Hearing that Cheng Jun was fine, Shen Xubai breathed a sigh of relief. If Cheng Jun really had suffered lasting damage, he would have stabbed Cheng Yong a couple of times.
"Uncle Han, please give Little Yu a follow-up examination too." Looking at Shen Yu shrinking off to one side, Shen Xubai shook his head in dismay.
One left foot, one right foot-now they made a pair.
"Children's bones are fragile. He still needs more time to recover." Han Rong rubbed Shen Yu's head like an elder. "Since Little Yu isn't going to school, it won't interfere with anything."
Listening to the conversation between the doctor and his eldest brother, Shen Yu felt dazed. A lot of things seemed wrong.
He was already twelve, and he wasn't going to school?
How could there be two biological kids?
Why had both younger brothers gone missing?
"Can he be discharged now? Or does he have to stay for observation?" Seeing Cheng Jun pinch the bedsheet uncomfortably, Shen Xubai turned to ask Han Rong, who was preparing to dispense the medicine.
"If the home environment is good, of course he can go back." Seeing that Cheng Jun's clothes had been washed until they faded, Doctor Han thoughtfully suggested, "The hospital will also take good care of every patient."
"Then let's move him back." Hearing that he could go back, Shen Xubai made the decision without hesitation.
"Certainly." At his words, Han Rong's gaze deepened. He turned to Shen Yu, who was swinging his leg in a daze. "That way, the young master will have some company too."
Seeing that no one responded, Han Rong gave a polite smile and left, making sure to arrange for a nurse to deliver the medicine to the ward in person.
Seeing Shen Xubai and Cheng Jin sitting on either side of the hospital bed, Shen Yu immediately hopped over to its foot. Finding himself too far away, he crawled upward along the edge of the quilt.
Cheng Jun: ...
"Hello, little brother. I'm Shen Yu." Although there was now another biological kid, Shen Yu didn't stand on ceremony and immediately greeted him enthusiastically.
Looking at the pampered Shen Yu, Cheng Jun quietly moved aside to make room. Seeing the boy's hurt expression, he immediately reassured him. "Hello, my name is Cheng Jun."
Compared with his younger brother Cheng Jin's "frailty," the older brother, Cheng Jun, was gentler, though somewhat stiff around strangers.
"Don't be scared, little brother. I'm just like you." Oblivious to the brothers' distance, the clueless Shen Yu could hardly wait to crawl under the quilt. "A match made in heaven."
[Hehehe, a left leg and a right leg both out of commission. Our family will have two fleas now.]