”Hello, brother!”

　　”Why don’t you say anything?”

　　Putting the clothes down, Shen Chu patted his belly.

　　In foreign countries, his uncle was good in every way, except that he always stared at him while he was eating, as if he was afraid that he would be hungry…

　　So Shen Chu’s body has become slimmer, but his belly is still soft, and he has never seen the abdominal muscles he wants! Occasionally, if he eats more, he can still rise like dough… It’s really not manly at all!

　　Look at Xie Shiming again——

　　The other person was leaning against the bathroom door with his arms folded. Because of this action, one could actually see the firm muscular lines on his arms.

　　He also has broad shoulders and long legs, the proportions are perfect and just right.

　　Shen Chu looked at them with envy, and said with a slightly sour tone –

　　”Xie Shiming, you have a nice and smooth body.”

　　“…”

　　Xie Shiming came over and pinched Shen Chu’s face helplessly: “Don’t call me brother?”

　　”I’m not happy now, won’t shout.”

　　Shen Chu shook his face: “And you were born only half an hour earlier than me!”

　　”Who kept chasing me and calling me brother when we were little?”

　　Shen Chu opened his eyes wide: “When did I keep chasing you?”

　　”oh……”

　　Shen Chu: “…”

　　Why are you stretching out your voice?

　　Let’s go and take a bath!

　　Shen Chu turned around and went into the bathroom holding his pajamas.

　　“Don’t soak for too long.”

　　”I know!”

　　The bathroom door was closed, so I couldn’t hear much movement.

　　But if you listen carefully, you can still hear some rustling sounds.

　　It looks like some small animal is making a nest.

　　I don’t know what Shen Chu is doing in there, it’s not quiet at all.

　　Finally, the sound of water was heard.

　　Rustle, rustle.

　　Xie Shiming walked to the bed and sat down, unable to help but smile.

　　He had previously found a group of little yellow ducks that Shen Chu played with when he was a child, but I don’t know if he saw it.

　　Have you ever played with those little ducks while taking a bath?

　　Or are you fiddling with it while complaining about him?

　　He remembered that Shen Chu liked those little yellow ducks very much.

　　But he didn’t take it away at the time, saying that he would keep it to accompany him when he took a bath.

　　So Xie Shiming has kept it until now.

　　Every time I see those little ducks while taking a bath, I think of their childhood.

　　Thinking about how they had taken a bath together more than once when they were young…

　　”cough.”

　　I don’t know what Xie Shiming was thinking about, but he felt inexplicably unnatural.

　　Unlike before, this time Shen Chu came back and didn’t leave.

　　So Xie Shiming’s feelings were also a little different.

　　But I can’t tell exactly what the difference is.

　　All I know is that he always glanced at Shen Chu from time to time, as if he was afraid that he would suddenly disappear.

　　…

　　“Click.”

　　The bathroom door opened and Shen Chu came out wiping his hair.

　　”I’m done, you go ahead and wash up.”

　　Xie Shiming raised his head and frowned: “Why don’t you blow dry your hair before coming out?”

　　Shen Chu yawned: “I’m too sleepy to blow.”

　　”I just want to go to bed now.”

　　As he spoke, he walked around Xie Shiming and climbed onto the bed, throwing the towel he used to wipe his hair on the table and cabinet next to him.

　　But just as he was about to lie down on the bed, Xie Shiming grabbed his wrist.

　　”Wait a minute.”

　　”Um?”

　　Xie Shiming stood up: “Lie down first, I’ll get the hair dryer.”

　　”I’ll blow, you lie down.”

　　After saying that, Xie Shiming turned around and went to the bathroom.

　　He just picked up the hair dryer and turned around when he paused.

　　I saw a circle of little yellow ducks neatly arranged around the bathtub, with their heads facing inwards.

　　Xie Shiming couldn’t help but laugh.

　　When I came out, I saw Shen Chu lying on the bed, looking over here with his head raised——

　　”Did you see that? Let the little yellow duck take a bath with you later!”

　　“I see—”

　　”You’re welcome.”

　　Xie Shiming: “…”

　　The hair dryer hummed as Shen Chu lay on the bed, drowsy.

　　He could feel Xie Shiming’s fingers moving through his hair, gently, and carefully so that his ears wouldn’t be blown.

　　This is something that would never have happened before.

　　Now it happened…

　　The more I think about it, the more I can’t help but sigh, and it’s a bit unbelievable.

　　Shen Chu couldn’t help but open his eyes.

　　”What’s wrong?”

　　As soon as he opened his eyes, he was discovered.

　　Shen Chu was lying on the bed, looking up at Xie Shiming. When the sound of the hair dryer stopped considerately, he couldn’t help but murmur, “If you are good to each other, will you be so gentle to everyone?”

　　”Only me…”

　　This statement was too ambiguous, and Xie Shiming couldn’t help but be stunned.

　　Although he knew that Shen Chu definitely had no other intentions.

　　But……

　　The first half of this sentence sounds quite subtle.

　　Xie Shiming came back to his senses and was about to speak again, but when he looked down, he found that Shen Chu had fallen asleep…

　　His cheeks were pressed against the bed, making his mouth appear slightly pouty. Perhaps it was because he had just taken a shower, his face was still moist, and his eyelashes were long. The warm yellow light from the bedside table was reflected, casting a shadow on his face.

　　Xie Shiming looked at it for a while before realizing that he had been observing very carefully.

　　He quickly put away the hair dryer and stood up.

　　But then he discovered that Shen Chu’s quilt had not been covered properly, with a section of his fair waist exposed, and the hem of his pajamas was too loose and was curling up.

　　“…”

　　He sighed silently and quickly covered him with the quilt again.

　　By the time I finished the work quietly, more than an hour had passed…

　　Xie Shiming lay on the bed with the night light on and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

　　——Suddenly I felt that this thing in bed was tiring and annoying, but it also felt…not so bad.

　　Just as he was thinking about it, the person next to him suddenly turned over and faced him.

　　Xie Shiming also turned his head and looked at the person lying next to him in the light of the night light.

　　Afterwards, he couldn’t help but reach out and poke Shen Chu’s face.

　　You’re finally back, baby.

　　…

　　Shen Chu’s life in China has settled down.

　　He had no adaptation period at all, which caused Xiang Xinghe to call him and said that it was okay for him to return home later.

　　Tsk, this is really not the time for his uncle to kick him back home early.

　　But I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, thanks to the many familiar people in China.

　　Not only the Shen family, there are also several people in the class that he has known since childhood –

　　For example, Shu Tongtong is now the class monitor.

　　She is also the manager of the basketball team.

　　On the first day Shen Chu went to school, Shu Tongtong came to him before school was over.

　　Of course, it wasn’t like Qi Yuansi did, jokingly asking him to join the cheerleading team, but she wanted to ask him for help.

　　”I can’t control your Xie Shiming. He said before that he might not be able to participate in the basketball game against Yubei in two months. It’s really scary, okay? No matter how you put it, it’s unacceptable. Although reporting in advance can allow everyone to be prepared, it won’t work without him!”

　　Shu Tongtong got angry when she talked about this.

　　Still, she kept nagging at Shen Chu in front of Xie Shiming.

　　”So you should join the basketball team too. I don’t believe he can still be like this if you are on the team!”

　　“…”

　　So Shen Chu has been following Xie Shiming to the basketball court these two days.

　　His main task was to watch Xie Shiming, and his secondary task was to pick up the ball…

　　Qi Yuansi even dared to laugh at him and called him a little follower.

　　…Be careful that the followers may take away the main force of your team.

　　He has an important responsibility, okay?

　　Then he turned around and talked to Shu Tongtong, and Shu Tongtong directly taught Qi Yuansi a lesson.

　　”Okay, tomorrow, Saturday, we’re going to play a friendly match at Hongda. Shen Chu, you have to keep an eye on Xie Shiming. If he doesn’t win, it’s his!”

　　Without waiting for Shen Chu to speak, Qi Yuansi spoke again: “After all, you are his exclusive ‘basketball babe’, the only one on our team. If Old Xie still loses the game, it will be unacceptable.”

　　Shen Chu: “…”

　　Basketball what?!

　　Believe it or not, I’ll beat you first!

　　Shen Chu was so angry that he rolled up his sleeves, and Qi Yuansi turned and ran.

　　Then he was caught by Xie Shiming and was beaten again…

　　”Hey, but to be honest, this game is not easy to play.”

　　Qi Yuansi sighed and said, “Also, Shen Chu, did I forget to tell you that Xie Junze is on the Yubei basketball team?”

　　”Do you still remember this person? He stayed in your house when he was a child. I still remember the trouble he caused back then.”

　　It’s sad to talk about it.

　　When he was a child, he played with Xie Junze for a while.

　　But later his dog tooth was lost, and Qi Yuansi gradually became estranged from Xie Junze. After that incident, he never saw Xie Junze again in kindergarten until he played a game with Yubei, and then he found out that Xie Junze was actually in Yubei High School.

　　”Xie Junze is not a big deal, but the key point is Jian Zizhuo. That guy has recovered from his injury and will probably be able to play this time.”

　　”Jian Zizhuo? Is his last name Jian?”

　　Shen Chu was more concerned about the latter name, which sounded familiar.

　　As for Xie Junze…

　　When he first heard Qi Yuansi mention it, he was indeed a little surprised, but he didn’t want to pay too much attention to it.

　　What happened to Xie Junze now has nothing to do with him.

　　Anyway, what happened in the past is long gone, so let’s just treat each other as strangers.

　　After all, even Xie Shiming never mentioned this person, so he probably didn’t care much about him.

　　”Yeah, there’s really no need to worry too much. If that guy didn’t have Jian Zizhuo’s protection, he probably wouldn’t be able to survive in Yubei.”

　　Qi Yuansi clicked his tongue and said, “But the Jian Zizhuo you asked about is one of the Jian family’s illegitimate children. He was taken back with his brother when he was young, ranking third. The Jian family also has a youngest child, Jian Yan, the little prodigy who skipped a grade to go to school. He was born to the original wife later.”

　　That is to say, the mistress that Jian Xing’s mother hated back then gave birth to a second child.

　　It’s no wonder that the other party has always disagreed with Brother Jian Xing and his uncle. After all, the mistress’s offensive was too fierce, and besides, this second son was about the same age as him and Xie Shiming. It would be strange if Brother Jian Xing’s mother didn’t have a sense of crisis.

　　But whether it is because of a sense of crisis, or because of the so-called “competitiveness”, or something else, I^[1]she have to have another child…

　　Is the purpose of children’s existence just to win favor and consolidate status?

　　Jian Xing’s younger brother…

　　”Jian Yan…”

　　Shen Chu sighed in his heart and held his chin up: “The two of them, I mean Jian Zizhuo and Jian Yan, are they on good terms?”

　　The age difference between the two should not be too big.

　　Back then, fearing that the illegitimate child who was only a few years younger than Brother Jian Xing, would come into the family, Brother Jian Xing’s mother never agreed with Brother Jian Xing and his uncle, and even set up a scheme to make the two misunderstand each other for many years… Later, because Brother Jian Xing was unwilling to follow the overly arranged life, and the other party had another child, under the blessing of various factors, she actually found ways to get pregnant with Jian Yan, the youngest son again…

　　This really makes me wonder what to say.

　　It’s really a mess to determine who is right and who is wrong.

　　However, his uncle must know more about Brother Jian Xing’s family affairs. Shen Chu didn’t dare to ask too much, so he knew very little.