”Hey, Xiaoyi, it’s not nice to say that to the baby.”

　　Su Luoyue said something neither lightly nor heavily. It was not that she was partial to anyone nor did she have the heart to say anything to anyone, but she seemed to not know how to start the conversation. She glanced at Shen Yi, then at Shen Chu, with a helpless look on her face.

　　Shen Yi also glanced at Su Luoyue, then turned his head away, snorted almost imperceptibly, and curled his lips.

　　Shen Chu could clearly feel Su Luoyue sighing.

　　He knew why.

　　Although Xie Shiming had only been brought back to the Shen family for a short time, in comparison, Shen Yi and the others, including Shen Shuo and Shen Sui, did not spend much time together with Su Luoyue and Shen Mingzhou, because his three brothers were taken to the old house to be raised not long after they were born.

　　Shen Mingzhou is the second child, and he has an older brother, Shen Bochuan.

　　In fact, the Shen family would never fall into the hands of Shen Mingzhou. Shen Bochuan was the one who had been trained to be the head of the family. But fate was so helpless. Shen Bochuan died unexpectedly at the age of 27, and Shen Mingzhou had to take the responsibility of the Shen family.

　　But before that, Shen Mingzhou was almost in a “free-range” state, with no burden on him. He married Su Luoyue, who was not a good match for him. Since he had an eldest son, their father Shen Songguo didn’t say much.

　　But after Shen Bochuan left, Shen Songguo became increasingly dissatisfied with Shen Mingzhou’s marriage to Su Luoyue.

　　But the matter was done, and Shen Mingzhou and Su Luoyue had a good relationship, so Shen Songguo could only accept it. Then the old man set his sights on the next generation, saying that if Su Luoyue gave birth to a child, he would be the one to raise it personally.

　　So when Shen Shuo was born, he was taken to the old house.

　　After Shen Yi and Shen Sui were born, they were also taken to the old house.

　　Su Luoyue was also a bit angry, and because she was looked down upon, she was even more unwilling to give up her job. Of course, the main reason was that the couple could not persuade Shen Songguo, so over the years, they did not have much time to spend with their three children. It was not until Su Luoyue became pregnant again that she finally could not bear it and sent the child over.

　　Resting the body is indeed one reason.

　　But the most fundamental reason is that she could not bear to have her children sent to the old house again.

　　So Shen Chu is the only child who has been raised personally by Su Luoyue and Shen Mingzhou for 5 years.

　　The mother and son have such a good relationship because of this reason.

　　Thinking of this, Shen Chu sighed secretly, but in fact, he had robbed Xie Shiming of the favor that he should have enjoyed.

　　Not long after Xie Shiming was brought back, Shen Shuo, Shen Yi and Shen Sui were also released from the old house. This was because Shen Songguo had been getting less and less energetic in recent years, and his first wife had passed away, and his eldest grandson Shen Shuo had grown to 14 years old, so they were not keeping him under control so tightly, which allowed the family of four to truly “reunite”.

　　All in all, although Shen Yi and Su Luoyue participated in the variety show together during this period, they had only been together for about two months, and they were probably still feeling awkward with each other at this moment.

　　Shen Chu couldn’t help but sigh again. He cared so much about the comparison between himself and the four brothers before because of how much Su Luoyue and Shen Mingzhou doted on him. The better the two treated him, the more unwilling he was to be inferior to Xie Shiming and the others.

　　In fact, it is not quite accurate to say that I am unwilling, it is more difficult to accept it.

　　I don’t want to seem “out of place”.

　　But in the end, we end up neglecting the most important thing.

　　In the past, Shen Chu would not have paid attention to such words. After knowing that he was not the biological son of the Shen family, he became more restrained in all aspects. Although he competed secretly, he would not provoke Xie Shiming and others if possible.

　　Unless he can’t help it… Of course, it’s okay for the others, but he probably can’t help it for Xie Shiming.

　　Probably because Xie Shiming was the same age as him, he could not tolerate the fact that Xie Shiming was so much better than him, and the comparison made him seem so out of place, even a little unbearable.

　　But facing the 10-year-old Shen Yi, Shen Chu’s dark eyes widened and he didn’t want to endure it any longer. He put his fat hands on his waist and shouted back: “Of course I know how to say thank you. I am much more polite than you!”

　　After saying that, Shen Chu rushed to Xie Shiming, held Xie Shiming’s hands, and continued to shout loudly: “Thank you, brother!”

　　The three words were shouted out with great force.

　　Anyway, he won’t be like in his past life this time, so he won’t continue to swallow his anger!

　　I don’t know what’s wrong with Shen Yi and the others. He has been cautious enough, but they act like they can’t stand me. They always say something sarcastic to him whenever they get the chance, and they have to make him mad. It’s so infuriating!

　　This time, he’s going to get angry back too!

　　Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, Shen Yi’s face changed. He was furious. No one knew what he said had offended him, but he was about to reach out and grab someone: “Little Fatty, who are you calling rude? You’re so bold!”

　　”You didn’t even call anyone when I came back!”

　　Shen Chu thought, what the hell, you just know how to bully him!

　　”Ah, someone is hitting someone!”

　　Shen Chu didn’t know what was wrong with him at this moment. He hid behind Xie Shiming at a speed that was inconsistent with his size, and hugged Xie Shiming with both hands: “Brother, help me!”

　　Shen Yi sighed.

　　What is that? It sounds so sweet, so disgusting!

　　”Come here —”

　　”What are you doing?”

　　At this time, two more people came in from downstairs. Shen Yi looked down and immediately called out politely, “Big Brother.”

　　Shen Chu shrank his neck instantly.

　　The people who came were Shen Shuo and a middle-aged woman with short, capable hair.

　　The two of them must have met by coincidence when they came here. They entered the door together and didn’t seem to be very familiar with each other. Shen Chu turned his eyes and remembered that the other party was Su Luoyue’s agent, He Lin.

　　”Sister Lin.”

　　Su Luoyue also greeted him.

　　He Lin came here to discuss work with Su Luoyue. The variety show schedule has ended, but the show is still on the air and it is a time when traffic is high, so the next work arrangements need to be carefully considered.

　　As someone who will be participating in the program with Su Luoyue, Shen Yi also wants to go and listen.

　　Shen Chu stuck out his tongue at Shen Yi.

　　Let’s go.

　　But Su Luoyue was stopped by Zhu Fangzhen, who still spoke hesitantly and brought up the previous topic.

　　However, after being accidentally interrupted by Shen Chu, bringing up the same topic again now seemed a little weak. After all, he was a little overwhelmed. Shen Chu wanted to try again, but then he heard Shen Shuo open his mouth –

　　”Let your son go to school with Shi Ming?”

　　”Yes… yes, Master.”

　　Zhu Fangzhen pulled Xie Junze who had been beside her all the time and forced a smile: “After all, Xiaoze and Shi Ming are brothers. If he can go to the same kindergarten as Shi Ming and accompany him——”

　　”As for the term ‘brother’, Shen Chu is more suitable than your son.”

　　Shen Shuo has a slender figure. At the age of 14, he is already very tall. Apart from a pair of eyes inherited from Su Luoyue, he actually looks more like Shen Mingzhou, except that he is more serious and his eyes appear particularly sharp and cold.

　　”This……”

　　Zhu Fangzhen’s face looked a little ugly, and her smile became more forced: “I only mentioned this because I saw that Shi Ming still cared about his adoptive father. He is a good child and still remembers the kindness of my elder brother.”

　　This brings Xie Wenshan out.

　　Shen Chu was still behind Xie Shiming and could clearly feel Xie Shiming’s small body tense up.

　　Zhu Fangzhen’s intention was almost to say that for Xie Wenshan’s sake, she had to treat the mother and son well. After all, Xie Shiming didn’t even want to change his last name, and her son Xie Junze was Xie Wenshan’s nephew.

　　How shameless!

　　Shen Chu cursed inwardly, thinking that Xie Shiming was not incapable of speaking, but it was difficult for him to speak. What could he say at this moment? Would he accuse Zhu Fangzhen? I’m afraid Zhu Fangzhen would have many reasons to refute him.

　　What’s more, Zhu Fangzhen really grasped the key point – as long as Xie Shiming still missed Xie Wenshan, she could make a fuss about it, and even if Xie Shiming had some reaction at his age, they were now a vulnerable group and could be easily dealt with.

　　So, it’s really hard to deal with someone who is shameless.

　　But Shen Chu glanced at Shen Shuo and thought that if he didn’t continue, he would be sorry for Shen Shuo for saying this. So Shen Chu leaned close to Xie Shiming again, secretly pinched himself, his eyes turned red, and then looked at Su Luoyue, pitifully speaking: “Mom, he is going to kindergarten with his brother, not me?”

　　As he said this, he pointed at Xie Junze.

　　Then he looked at Xie Shiming again, his face wrinkled, looking even more aggrieved: “Mom, didn’t you say that brother should be brought back, and he and I are good brothers, and we should love each other well? Why is there someone else?”

　　As Shen Chu spoke, he really started to drop gold beans, and delivered another critical hit –

　　”Mom, please don’t leave me…”

　　Su Luoyue was heartbroken after hearing this. She quickly hugged Shen Chu and Xie Shiming and held the two children together: “No, of course Bao Bao and Mingming are good brothers. Of course, you two should go to kindergarten together.”

　　”Mom didn’t lie to you. Mingming will be in your class. When school starts, he will go to and from school with you.”

　　”Really?” Tears still hung on the chubby Shen Chu’s face.

　　Su Luoyue nodded quickly: “Really, really.”

　　That’s not all. Shen Chu looked at Xie Shiming next to him and asked, “Brother, you want to go to school with me, right? Not him, right? You will choose me, right? Brother?”

　　Xie Shiming was tense the whole time. At this moment, Shen Chu’s chubby face was almost in front of him, like a glutinous rice dumpling, with round eyes and tears on his cheeks. He looked pitiful, but why did he look like he was doing something bad?

　　Shen Chu moved forward again, as if he would take the initiative to get affectionate with Xie Shiming if Xie Shiming didn’t say anything.

　　In fact, Shen Chu is very beautiful.

　　He finally found a way to control Xie Shiming!

　　Ha ha!

　　Poor Xie Shiming was a little confused and could only nod helplessly: “I…”

　　”I don’t even want to go to school with him!”

　　”Xie Shiming is a disaster star, huh—”

　　A sharp voice sounded nearby.

　　Zhu Fangzhen’s face suddenly changed as she covered Xie Junze’s mouth: “What nonsense are you talking about!”

　　Then, without waiting for Su Luoyue and the others to say anything, she hurriedly pinched Xie Junze’s arm and pressed his head, forcing him to bow his head and apologize. Zhu Fangzhen also bowed and apologized, looking very terrified: “The child is ignorant and talks nonsense. Madam, please don’t take it seriously. I will definitely teach him a lesson later and make him stop talking nonsense!”

　　This made Su Luoyue speechless.

　　However, Su Luoyue did not give any response.

　　Shen Shuo glanced at the mother and son and said, “In that case, you can go to work in the annex building.”

　　”What?” Zhu Fangzhen didn’t understand what this meant.

　　”It’s just a greeting.”

　　Shen Shuo continued: “Since he is Shi Ming’s former relative, it is only right that he be taken care of.”

　　This means that Xie Junze can go to Nanhong Kindergarten.

　　Zhu Fangzhen immediately showed a hint of joy on her face, but before she could completely hang up, she heard Shen Shuo continue to speak –

　　”But you have to respect the child’s wishes. Besides, Nanhong Kindergarten’s tuition is not low. You will have to pick up and drop off the child yourself in the future, and you also have to earn money. So you can go work in the annex building. There is less work, so you can have more time to take care of the child.”

　　Zhu Fangzhen opened her mouth, but no words came out.

　　If I go to the annex building, will there be a chance to come to the main building?

　　There is little work there, but many of the people working there are even temporary workers.

　　She lives in a single room here with her son. Can she get such good treatment if she moves to the annex building next door?

　　What’s more… before, Zhu Fangzhen had been thinking in her mind – let her son benefit from Xie Shiming, not only can he go to the Nanhong Kindergarten, but he can also go to and from school with Xie Shiming. In this way, she wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time and effort, and maybe even get money, after all, the Shen family has plenty of money.

　　But now…is she losing the watermelon or picking up sesame seeds^[1]means to prioritize small matters over more important ones, often to the detriment of the larger picture. It’s a way of saying that someone is focused on trivial details while neglecting … Continue reading?

　　I could also get close to Xie Shiming and build a good relationship with him here, and I could also get in touch with the host family. But now, not only did I have to spend time and effort to send my son to school, but I also had to bear all the expenses for his schooling. She even had to leave the main building, and it would be difficult for me to find a reason to come back in the future. I suddenly became a “marginal person”.

　　But what can Zhu Fangzhen say?

　　Reject?

　　She knew that if she said anything else, she would be ungrateful. Moreover, facing Shen Shuo, she didn’t know why, so she didn’t dare to say anything else. So she could only swallow her words.

　　Not only that, but I also have to express my gratitude…

　　Shen Chu was watching from the side and there was only one word to describe his feelings – awesome!

　　Yeah, I won’t have to see this mother and son anymore, haha.

　　The matter was resolved. Su Luoyue was going to take Shen Yi and He Lin to the reception room to talk, so she rubbed Shen Chu’s little head and said, “Okay, stop crying. Go back to your room with Mingming and read.”

　　Shen Chu shook her head: “Mom, I want to watch cartoons.”

　　”What?”

　　”What did you say you wanted to watch? A cartoon?!”

　　Su Luoyue was surprised, Shen Yi was even shocked to the point of widening his eyes, and even Shen Shuo stopped walking and looked towards Shen Chu. Xie Shiming did the same, turning his head to glance at Shen Chu, but probably because of what he had been through, he seemed relatively calm compared to the others.

　　Shen Chu: “…”

　　What? Why do they all look shocked? It’s normal for a person of this age to actively watch cartoons. Why does he seem to be saying something wrong? Is this reaction really correct?