“Cough, cough…”

Wen Siheng’s words were so dripping with sarcasm yet so utterly righteous that just listening to them made Wen Shaozhuo choke on his own saliva.

The tears that had been welling in his eyes were squeezed out by the coughing, slowly sliding down both sides of his cheeks. Yet, for once, Wen Shaozhuo did not feel distressed because of his tears. For the first time in his life, he quietly looked forward to hearing the man’s reaction.

Would he be angry?

He definitely would be, right.

Sure enough, in the next moment, he heard the man’s voice, stung by that line, flaring up in anger.

Wen Yifeng: “Wen Siheng, what do you mean by that? …Do you know how many people dream of having the kind of conditions our family has? Don’t fail to appreciate your blessings! …What child talks to their parents like this? If you have a problem, then get back to your orphanage and stay there!…”

Every word and sentence felt like something Wen Shaozhuo had heard countless times.

But these words, which had always felt unbearably suffocating and painful when directed at him, seemed to be nothing at all when they fell into his twin brother’s ears.

Wen Shaozhuo wasn’t sure, but if that weren’t the case, he simply couldn’t imagine how Wen Siheng could, at this moment, still respond so casually and so righteously:

“Respect the elderly and love the young! You’re not old yet, and I’m still young. Who talks to their child like this?”

Pff.

Someone seemed to have laughed.

Wen Shaozhuo listened blankly to that laugh, wondering who made it.

He froze for a long time, then suddenly realized that aside from himself, there was no one else in the room.

…So, it was him laughing?

…

Where some laugh, others burn with rage.

On GreenChat, Wen Yifeng angrily contacted “Wen Siheng”‘s superior.

Wen Yifeng:
[This is the level and quality of an employee worth 120 million yuan??]

Wen Yifeng:
[Running and jumping around the house in front of my child with no manners at all is one thing, but he even tried to point fingers at our course schedule just now!]

Wen Yifeng:
[From what I see, your employee isn’t here to work, he’s here to act spoiled. Can you even handle this order or not? If you can’t, refund the deposit and get lost!]

After he added fuel and vinegar and poured out everything that had happened today, Lin Chen—who had expected this—took his time sipping water to moisten his throat while typing his reply.

Lin Chen:
[Mr. Wen, please calm down. Just now, when our professional substitute actor opposed your course arrangement, was Young Master Wen nearby? Was he able to hear your conversation?]

Lin Chen:
[If so, then please rest assured, this was only a step our staff took to gain Young Master Wen’s trust. There was no intention of targeting you.]

Lin Chen:
[You understand Young Master Wen’s situation better than we do.]

Lin Chen:
[He is introverted and withdrawn. Ordinary methods can’t even get close to him, let alone gain his trust. Without his trust, our reform project cannot formally begin. So I must ask Mr. Wen to be a little patient. ^ ^]

Wen Yifeng’s raging anger was slightly cooled by these few seemingly reasonable lines.

He frowned tightly, staring at the text on GreenChat—reading “gain Wen Shaozhuo’s trust” here and “hard to approach” there—feeling more and more that Lin Chen’s explanation made sense.

But he still wasn’t feeling good about it, and asked rather suspiciously:

[You sure he’s not just indulging his own emotions and messing around?]

Lin Chen replied with full confidence:

[Please rest assured, Mr. Wen. Our “Professional True Young Master Substitute Actor” Studio, as the No.1 professional substitute-acting studio in the world, would never allow such a low-level problem!]

Lin Chen:
[However, we have indeed seen the occasional boss whose temper was really ignited because the substitute actor’s performance was a bit too realistic. That kind of situation isn’t common. But if you truly can’t accept it, if you’re really angry and want the substitute actor to switch to some slower but gentler methods… that’s not impossible either.]

Wen Yifeng: …

His anger was stuck halfway by that line “because the acting was too good to bear.”

If he let it out, he felt it would make him look like a fool who couldn’t tell acting from reality; if he swallowed it, he felt it was too suffocating to just let it go like this.

He took a deep breath.
Another deep breath.
A third deep breath…

Finally, he held his temper back and said coolly to Lin Chen:

[Since the script is like this, then continue. Don’t let me down.]

Lin Chen replied with a smile, successfully smoothing over the boss’s temper.

He looked out the window; the sky had already dimmed. In a little while, the etiquette teacher the Wen parents hired would arrive.

Lin Chen immediately returned to work mode, left his room, and knocked on Wen Shaozhuo’s door next door.

Some flustered sounds came from inside.

Wen Siheng called toward the room: “A’Shao, it’s me. I found something interesting in my room. Do you want to come see?”

The movement inside stopped, and a half-relieved voice drifted out faintly.

After two seconds of silence, the person inside spoke. The volume wasn’t loud, just enough to be heard:

“Thank you. I… won’t look.”

Wen Siheng let out an “oh”, not minding the rejection at all, and said evenly: “Oh, alright, that’s really a pity then. I just found a colorful beetle in my room…”

Curled in a corner of his bed, tightly hugging his blanket, Wen Shaozhuo stared nervously toward the door.

Ever since discovering he couldn’t lock his door, he had been in constant unease and panic, terrified someone would suddenly break in at any moment.

Like now.

He had refused Wen Siheng’s invitation, but as long as the other person wanted to, a hand on the doorknob and a slight twist would be enough to burst into his bedroom!

However, after Wen Shaozhuo waited anxiously for a long time—

The doorknob was never pressed down; only an unhurried voice continued patiently outside the door:
“…I fed it a leaf. It’s probably on the windowsill right now…”

No blaming him for not opening the door.

No urging him to respond.

And no sign of any intention to force his way inside to achieve his goal.

The other just talked to him of his own accord.

Wen Shaozhuo didn’t know why Wen Siheng came looking for him, or why—after being left outside the door—he still insisted on talking.

But his hands trembling under the blanket finally steadied slightly once he realized Wen Siheng had no intention of barging into his bedroom.

The tense muscles of his back also slowly relaxed little by little.

With half his face buried in the quilt, Wen Shaozhuo quietly thought: his twin brother… seems different from Dad and Mom.

He dropped his gaze sadly, burying his face completely into the blanket.

His twin brother seemed so outstanding. Then what about him?… He and his twin brother had the same face, and his conditions growing up were so much better. Yet the other was braver, more mature, stronger, more outgoing—better than him in every way. He…

Wen Siheng waited patiently outside the door.

If Wen Shaozhuo wouldn’t open or answer him, he just kept talking.

Wen Siheng: “…To be honest, it’s a bit embarrassing to say, but when I was in the orphanage I always wished I had a brother, so I’m really happy to see you. Don’t be scared by me, okay…”

Wen Siheng: “Right, A’Shao, do you like playing basketball? I found a nice court nearby. I can take you there later.”

He stood there for at least ten minutes.

His one-sided monologue lasted at least ten minutes as well.

During all that time, Wen Shaozhuo never answered.

Only now, when the question was finally thrown directly at him, did the young man inside, after two full minutes of silence, quietly reply:

“…Thanks, Siheng. But I don’t know how to play basketball. You should find other friends.”

Wen Siheng raised an eyebrow and declared firmly: “It’s fine, I can teach you! Back in the orphanage, I taught half of them how to play!”

Silence fell inside again.

Wen Siheng continued: “Oh right, A’Shao, do you like strawberry candy? I brought a handful when I left the orphanage. Have a taste?”

…Strawberry candy?

Wen Shaozhuo paused, dazedly remembering that a few years ago, someone had also wanted to give him strawberry candy like this.

It had been a very gentle older brother. The color of his emotions was very similar to Wen Siheng’s—both soft, blurry white. Unfortunately, that brother passed away very early. Back then, he’d been sad for a long time.

Wen Siheng: “I brought quite a lot of candy out. If you don’t help me eat them, I’ll never be able to finish them.”

After a long moment of silence, Wen Shaozhuo finally slid off the bed slowly and cautiously opened the door a crack.

His twin brother stood outside, eyes clear, smile clean—one look and it was obvious he was a very sunny person.

After greeting him very naturally with a “Good evening, A’Shao,” Wen Siheng opened his palm, revealing three identical strawberry candies.

He smiled at him with curved eyes: “Here, A’Shao, strawberry candy for you.”

The instant he opened the door, Wen Shaozhuo already somewhat regretted it.

He’d never really had any friends and didn’t know what he was supposed to do after opening the door.

He accepted the strawberry candy, showing a tiny, awkward smile, said “thank you”, and then stood there stiffly, not knowing what else to do.

Fortunately, Wen Siheng seemed to notice his discomfort and took the initiative to ask: “Do you want to show me your room?”

Wen Shaozhuo: “…”

He steeled himself and answered softly, “Okay.”

Wen Siheng walked into the room.

Wen Shaozhuo had no idea what he should do at this moment. Thankfully, Wen Siheng could move on his own. He looked left and right with curiosity, examining everything, but he didn’t casually touch anything.

That made Wen Shaozhuo feel a little more at ease.

Suddenly, Wen Siheng stopped by his desk, asking in surprise: “A’Shao, you can draw?”

He turned around excitedly, pointing at a bit of paint residue on the desk: “Back in the orphanage, I always thought people who could draw were amazing! A’Shao, A’Shao, can you show me your drawings?”

Wen Shaozhuo: “…”

Wen Shaozhuo lowered his head and said quietly: “The drawings… are gone.”

Wen Siheng tilted his head in confusion: “All gone?”

Wen Shaozhuo felt that maybe he shouldn’t say so much.

But remembering how the other had just spoken so firmly in front of Dad this afternoon, he couldn’t help thinking—maybe there was at least a tiny chance this person could understand a bit of his feelings?

After a brief silence, Wen Shaozhuo spoke in a low, hoarse voice: “Mm, yes. Dad and Mom never let me draw. They probably confiscated the sketchbooks…”