Chapter 9

You You’s crying was suppressed, not a full-blown wail.  

But the more tender the sobs, the more genuine they seemed.  

Lu Fei stood frozen.  

He had just taken his medication, his mind foggy and sluggish.  

Ever since being diagnosed with this condition, he had relied on something akin to an emotional stabilizer to get by. When life was calm and uneventful, it was manageable. But the moment online harassment triggered him, he had to take the medication immediately—otherwise, he feared he might lose control of his temper and do something irreversible.  

Even though his senses were nearly numb at this point, he suddenly felt a strange quietness settle over him. His heartbeat slowed, and the world seemed to shrink until only this little girl’s voice remained.  

Her baby voice repeated sorrowfully:  

“Big Brother isn’t unloved.”  

“You You will always love Big Brother.”  

Love?  

Such a foreign word.  

In Lu Fei’s memory, the only time he had ever heard the word “love” directed at him was when he was very, very young—when his mother, Shi Ning, had said it to him.  

Back then, Shi Ning hadn’t left yet. She was a gentle, young mother who would take him to kindergarten every day.  

Before he got out of the car, she would kiss his forehead tenderly, wave at him with a smile, and say, “Go on, Xiao Fei. Mom will pick you up at four-thirty.”  

That memory was so distant now, almost blurred beyond recognition.  

For the ten years after he turned eight, he had spent most of his time alone.  

He had a home, but even as a child, he knew that his shattered family no longer resembled one—at best, it was just a house where people lived.  

Later, he found a dream.  

Those two glittering words had given him fleeting happiness.  

But perhaps fate had decreed that he wasn’t worthy of anything good.  

Even if he obtained something, it would eventually be taken from him.  

Under the influence of the medication, Lu Fei’s mind conjured an image of falling from a great height—  

For a moment, it almost felt like relief.  

Of course, what lingered more was regret for his short, unremarkable life.  

But the next second, a sharp pain shot through his thigh—someone had bitten him, hard.  

He snapped out of his daze and looked down at the little girl, her face streaked with tears.  

“You—you little brat, why’d you bite me?”  

You You blinked up at him, sniffling pitifully. “You wouldn’t answer You You! You You thought you’d gone dumb!”  

“……”  

Lu Fei walked calmly to the living room sofa and sat down.  

Whether it was the medication’s calming effect or this strange little girl’s influence, he actually felt his emotions settle slightly.  

Because, well… it wasn’t like he had anything left to lose anyway.  

His phone had been blowing up with calls from company executives and his manager. Lu Fei, fed up, simply turned it off.  

Sang Wei, suspecting that A Jiu was with Lu Fei, bombarded A Jiu with pages of WeChat messages.  

The gist was: If the rumors were false, they needed to issue a lawyer’s statement immediately to clarify. If they were true, then they had to apologize and minimize the damage by any means necessary.  

A Jiu didn’t know how to respond.  

By evening, Sang Wei stormed over in person—  

A Jiu couldn’t stop him. Sang Wei marched straight up to Lu Fei. “At least go to the company and explain yourself! The higher-ups are furious—they’re dead set on terminating your contract and demanding 200 million in penalties for breach. Before signing, we went over the fact that any past incidents that could become scandals had to be disclosed. You never mentioned being the school bully at Sixth High!”  

Sang Wei’s emotions were complicated.

As a top-tier agent, he had high hopes for Lu Fei. He had witnessed firsthand Lu Fei’s singing and dancing skills, creative talent, and rapidly improving acting abilities—he was simply born for this career.

Lu Fei was definitely not the kind of pretty-faced idol who relied solely on looks, as his haters claimed. With twenty years of experience in the industry, he believed Lu Fei had the potential to become a superstar across Asia.

But Lu Fei’s personality was indeed a problem—quirky, socially awkward, and now uncooperative with work.

Lu Fei’s attitude was firmer than ever: “Then let’s terminate the contract. I’ll sue over the penalty. If the court rules that I have to pay, then I’ll pay. As for the school bullying allegations, I never did it. I’ll clarify it myself—no need for the company to interfere.”

You You was very pleased with her brother’s stance. Clenching her tiny fists, she chimed in with her sweet, childish voice, “Yeah! Brother can clarify it himself! Terminate the contract if we have to!”

She still remembered in that dream, when her second brother’s reputation collapsed and he was relentlessly attacked, the agency he had worked with for years abandoned him without hesitation, offering no help at all.

The little one, who had somehow picked up the phrase, indignantly declared, “Capitalists have no conscience at all!”

“…” Only then did Sang Wei notice the exquisitely adorable little girl and was momentarily stunned. “And this is…?”

A Jiu quietly explained in a hushed voice.

Lu Fei’s father’s illegitimate daughter?

Sang Wei was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected half-siblings to get along so well.

And this little girl… she was unbelievably cute. Wasn’t she perfect for child stardom??

The instincts of a top agent kicked in, and he was about to strike up a conversation with You You when Lu Yan politely pulled him aside.

Lu Yan took out a bottle of medicine and quietly explained a few things to him.

The medicine had been found by You You under the covers in the master bedroom.

“Lithium carbonate tablets…”

Sang Wei’s heart sank as fragmented memories flooded his mind.

So Lu Fei’s recent erratic behavior was because of this…

With years of experience, Sang Wei had seen once-beloved superstars fall from grace overnight due to this illness.

He immediately realized that nothing was more important now than letting Lu Fei rest and recover in peace.

He stood up to leave, nobly promising to do his best to advocate for Lu Fei in front of the company’s higher-ups.

However, the next day, A Jiu still received regretful news from Sang Wei.

The company expressed deep sympathy for his condition, but not a single cent of the penalty would be waived.

A Jiu was completely overwhelmed: “T-two hundred million… Even selling Fei Ge wouldn’t cover that much.”

Surprisingly, Lu Fei seemed unusually relaxed.

Having decided to temporarily ignore these troubles, he just wanted to laze around, play games, and enjoy a few days of ordinary young adulthood.

But to You You, her second brother’s reaction seemed like he had been driven to madness by the two hundred million debt and had completely given up.

You You was worried.

Brother Lu Yan owed eight million, and Brother Lu Fei owed two hundred million.

Good grief, was there anyone in the world poorer than their family?

You You was so distressed she couldn’t even bring herself to watch Peppa Pig, but she still mustered up her spirits to encourage Lu Fei: “Don’t be sad, brother! You You will find a way to take care of you.”

Lu Fei, who was deeply engrossed in his game, burst out laughing. “You? Take care of me?”

You You nodded vigorously, her expression utterly serious.

Lu Fei couldn’t help but tease her: “Give it up. You look like you don’t even have a kindergarten diploma—can’t carry a load or lift a weight, and I bet you can only count up to ten. Support me? How? By collecting garbage?”

“Why pick on You You? She’s just trying to be nice.”

A Jiu couldn’t stand him bullying the little one and took You You downstairs to play.

But You You couldn’t shake off her tiny anxiety about urgently needing to make money.

Swinging on the seat, kicking her little feet, she muttered to herself, “You You is so smart, there’s no way she can’t earn money. Before, it was always the brothers who bought gifts for You You. Now it’s You You’s turn to support them!”

A Jiu cheerfully humored the little dumpling, but inside, he was quite troubled.

Fei Ge terminating his contract meant he was out of a job too.

When he graduated, he’d just been curious about trying out being a celebrity assistant. He never expected to form a revolutionary friendship with Fei Ge. If Fei Ge wasn’t in this line of work anymore, he didn’t want to keep running around in the wind and rain either.

But after two years since graduation, he still didn’t know what he was good at…

All he could do was open Boss Zhipin and mass-apply for jobs first.

As A Jiu sat there worrying over his tricky employment situation, You You suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Excited, she jumped off the swing and grabbed his arm—

“Brother A Jiu, come with You You quick!”

“??? What for, sweetie?”

“To collect garbage!!!”

“…………”

Over the next two hours, A Jiu’s worldview was constantly being refreshed. He watched everything unfold before his eyes but couldn’t stop it, and gradually, a sense of utterly shameless excitement welled up inside him.

In the end, You You in her little white dress, her tiny pigtails now undone, her milky little face smudged with dirt.

Her mini figure dragged an enormous sack behind her, filled with all sorts of mineral water, beverage, and soda bottles collected door-to-door.

And behind her, A Jiu, inexplicably brainwashed into being the laborer, was forced to pull two handcarts piled high with newspapers, discarded books, and cardboard from delivery boxes…

You You tugged her big sack of treasures along and knocked on the door with her tiny fists.

“Open up, open up! Second Brother, open up! You You is back with the garbage!”