Wen Shaozhuo finally succeeded in persuading his brother.

Brother A’Heng was not in good spirits, so Wen Shaozhuo took the initiative to help pack his backpack. His movements were a bit clumsy, not as efficient as his brother’s usual packing. It took some time before he managed to get everything back into the bag and slung it over his own shoulder.

Suppressing the fear and nervousness in his heart, he earnestly thanked and said goodbye to the store manager and staff, then led Brother A’Heng out of the strawberry hot pot restaurant.

The early April night was still chilly. Wen Shaozhuo nervously buttoned the top button of his brother’s coat, terrified that the wind would make his brother’s fever worse while under his care. But the wind still managed to disturb Brother A’Heng. It blew him a little more awake.

His brother blinked slowly, then laughed belatedly, his cheeks flushed red: “Ah, to think I’m being taken care of by A’Shao today.”

They were at a crossroad now. Wen Shaozhuo nervously pulled his brother closer to him, not daring to let his fever-dazed, almost drunk-like brother cross the road alone. He held his brother’s hand and instructed softly: “Brother A’Heng, stay close to me. Just bear with it a little longer, we’ll be home soon.”

Brother A’Heng was very quiet when sick, obediently letting himself be led, replying: “Okay. Following A’Shao.”

It was the first time Wen Shaozhuo had seen Brother A’Heng like this. He hadn’t lived with Brother A’Heng for long and always felt that his brother was omnipotent and indestructible, incredibly capable! But he hadn’t expected that Brother A’Heng could also get sick. That Brother A’Heng would also need his care. That… he wasn’t completely unable to help Brother A’Heng.

Wen Shaozhuo felt this thought might be a bit too narcissistic. But after he earnestly led his brother through the streets and alleys, vigilantly watching out for vehicles all the way, and safely brought his fever-confused brother home, measured his temperature, fed him fever-reducing medicine, applied a wet towel to his forehead, and laboriously got Brother A’Heng into bed… Wen Shaozhuo’s mood involuntarily relaxed and he felt slightly relieved.

Look. Brother wasn’t as uncomfortable as before. His credit!

However, this self-congratulatory surprise lasted less than three seconds. …Come to think of it, if he hadn’t been so incompetent, why would Brother A’Heng have needed to work so tirelessly without rest, to the point of working himself into a fever? Before he finished those three drawings, Brother A’Heng didn’t even dare to ask for leave for being sick!

Brother A’Heng would lose one hundred yuan for taking a day off. If he wanted Brother A’Heng to rest well at home tomorrow and the day after, his brother’s salary would be deducted by a whole three hundred yuan! Three hundred! That was three hundred! One-tenth of Brother A’Heng’s salary! The reason of finishing the paintings had already offset today’s leave. If Brother A’Heng wasn’t willing to take leave to rest tomorrow and the day after, what reason should he use to persuade his brother?

…How much were his three paintings actually worth? Would the three of them add up to one hundred yuan?

Wen Siheng slept until noon the next day. When he groggily opened his eyes, Wen Shaozhuo, sporting heavy dark circles, was sitting by his bed. Seeing him wake up, Wen Shaozhuo joyfully squatted by the bedside and called softly: “Brother A’Heng, you’re awake!”

Not giving him a chance to speak, Wen Shaozhuo said with a tight voice and rapid speed: “Brother A’Heng, I checked everything last night. The internet says it’s best to rest for three to five days for a fever to recover strength better and avoid a relapse.”

“So Brother A’Heng, rest easy these few days, don’t worry about the salary. I… I have mastered the method of drawing quickly. As long as someone commissions me, I can definitely draw the drafts as quickly as possible!”

Wen Shaozhuo’s string of words came out fast and urgent, stuttering in strange places, like a student trying to recite a text perfectly but forgetting words due to nervousness.

Wen Siheng: “Um…”

Wen Siheng blinked slowly and smiled: “Ah, brother knows A’Shao has no problem. But what is A’Shao nervous about?”

Wen Shaozhuo stared at him nervously and earnestly: “Brother A’Heng is not allowed to go to work today!”

Brother A’Heng had just woken up and still had a low fever. His spirit hadn’t fully recovered, but his complexion was much better than last night. He tried to prop himself up sideways, and Wen Shaozhuo immediately stepped forward to support him and help him sit up.

Hearing this, Brother A’Heng showed a trace of hesitation: “Not go to work? But working a day is one hundred yuan!”

Wen Shaozhuo got anxious: “One hundred yuan! A’Shao… A’Shao will draw more pictures to make up for this money, okay? Brother, your fever hasn’t gone down yet, just rest for two days!”

Wen Shaozhuo thought Brother A’Heng would be hard to persuade, just like yesterday afternoon. But unexpectedly, Brother A’Heng blinked in surprise and suddenly laughed. The noon sun was just right, and Brother A’Heng’s cheeks were slightly red. This smile was like the best-looking apple in the world; Wen Shaozhuo felt joy just looking at it.

Brother A’Heng smiled: “Alright then, brother won’t make A’Shao worry on purpose. If A’Shao doesn’t want brother to work, then brother will take leave today. Why, does A’Shao think brother wouldn’t be happy to rest? A’Shao finished all three drafts yesterday!”

Wen Shaozhuo was a little confused by the logic in Brother A’Heng’s words.

But then he saw Brother A’Heng think of something and suddenly become much more energetic, saying to him: “By the way, A’Shao, haven’t you experienced the feeling of receiving a commission fee yet? Come, come, hurry and send the drafts to brother. I’ll pass them to the boss. If it goes well, A’Shao will soon get his first commission fee!”

Even with a fever, Brother A’Heng was so inspiring when he perked up. Wen Shaozhuo nervously and apprehensively sent the drafts to Brother A’Heng. He watched as Brother A’Heng operated his phone for a moment, then quickly said to him with joy: “The boss is online! Look, A’Shao, the boss seems very satisfied… The boss confirmed receipt! And it’s a super rave review!”

It all happened too fast and too smoothly. So when Brother A’Heng excitedly pulled him to sit by the bedside and shoved the phone in front of his eyes to let him witness this scene, Wen Shaozhuo didn’t really react.

A completely unfamiliar app interface. Wen Shaozhuo looked blankly at the screen, seeing the other party in the chat window excitedly sending lines of text, mostly meaningless content like “Ahhhhh,” joyful kissing and hugging emojis, and exclamation marks extending three or four lines after “Come again next time.”

Wen Shaozhuo was slow to accept this emotion. The boss… was he happy because he received his drafts? But his drawings clearly weren’t outstanding. To save time last night, he only simply presented the image according to the boss’s requirements… Was this… enough to satisfy someone?

Brother A’Heng looked much happier than him. Before he could fully process the emotions bursting from the chat box, Brother A’Heng forcibly grabbed his attention and showed him more things.

He soon learned that the platform where he took orders was called “Mian Hua Shi” (Face Painter). The artist ID for taking orders was also chosen by his brother, named “Shao Heng.” A good name, just like him standing side by side with Brother A’Heng!

He also saw the amount in his account…

How… how much?!

Wen Shaozhuo’s eyes suddenly widened to the extreme, and he forgot all about the emotions in the chat window.

…Six… a whole six hundred?!

It was enough money for Brother A’Heng to rest for a whole six days!!

Wen Shaozhuo covered his mouth in disbelief; he could hardly believe his conversion. He asked fearfully: “Six… six hundred?! Brother, did… did the boss send the wrong amount? Did he add an extra zero at the end?”

Brother A’Heng was immediately dissatisfied: “What wrong amount? Hanging A’Shao’s drawings at this price is already selling them short! Wrong amount my foot!”

His brother proudly opened the showcase to show him: “Look, A’Shao, this price of two hundred is just a trial opening price! After A’Shao takes five or six orders without problems, this price should go up. Hmm… let me think, raise it to three hundred first?”

Once Brother A’Heng got excited, he forgot he was still running a fever. Without even putting on his pajama jacket, he gestured wildly to him, planning a beautiful future of taking commissions. Brother A’Heng’s face was rosy, making it hard to tell for a moment whether it was from high spirits or the fever.

Wen Shaozhuo felt like he had never seen so much money in his life. Or rather… in the past, he never possessed the confidence to “let his brother rest for a whole six days without working.”

More than ten hours ago, he and his brother were too anxious to sleep because taking a day off would mean losing one hundred yuan. But just over ten hours later… of which he only used three hours to quickly draw these three pictures, and Brother A’Heng used only a few minutes to send them to the boss… his account balance suddenly changed from zero to six hundred.

This six hundred yuan could give his brother the confidence to take six days off. It could also cover nearly ten days of their rent. And it could cover their food expenses for more than half a month.

Wen Shaozhuo sat dazedly by his brother’s bed. For a moment, he suddenly felt that this life didn’t seem so terrible. He seemed… to also possess some ability to survive. His life, his world, finally seemed to belong a little bit to himself. He seemed to finally have a tiny bit of control over them.

Three drawings for six hundred. If he drew another twelve, he could earn three thousand yuan! If a boss commissioned him for fifteen drawings every month, wouldn’t he… be completely able to support himself and his brother, living outside forever and ever?!

…

Cheng Huanzhen hadn’t gone out to find his Little Uncle for a full half month. In fact, he had even dealt with fewer affairs at the old mansion and the company during this half month.

Since half a month ago, he had noticed something was wrong with him. Or more accurately, it started from the night his father reminded him to go to the bathroom and solve it himself. Since that day, whenever he thought about going to find his Little Uncle, he needed to go and relieve himself first. After relieving himself, once he wanted to prepare to go find his Little Uncle again, he would need to relieve himself again.

Day after day, round after round, Cheng Huanzhen felt like he was locked in this room by some strange curse. He tried to break the curse and escape again and again, only to fail miserably each time. He didn’t want his Little Uncle to see him in such a wretched state, yet he missed his Little Uncle so much that his dreams were full of him.

Cheng Zhaorui naturally noticed his son’s abnormality these days. He was scratching his head trying to figure out what was going on with his son recently. For over twenty years, his son had been like a block of wood. Let alone dating, he probably hadn’t even spoken more than a few sentences to girls! How did this recent romance take off like a rocket… even he, a father who lived at home every day, hadn’t noticed when his son started dating!

This feeling of anxious curiosity was like a feather tickling his armpit anytime and anywhere. It tickled him so much he couldn’t eat well or sleep well. He didn’t even bother attending an out-of-province variety show he had been looking forward to. He willfully pushed aside his work and squatted at home every day, trying every means to secretly inquire about his son’s situation.

Cheng Zhaorui: “Look at how nice the sun is today, how blue the sky is. Speaking of which, I heard there’s a girl who’s been very close to you recently? Who is she?”

Cheng Zhaorui: “How old is she? Where is she from? What does she do? How did you meet? How long have you known her? Oh, don’t be nervous, I just saw the weather was so nice and asked in passing, no other meaning…”

Cheng Huanzhen glanced at his father in confusion and naturally skipped over this pile of baffling questions. He ate dinner absentmindedly, distressingly pondering whether he should see a doctor, otherwise this would seriously affect his schedule to find his Little Uncle!

Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated. It was the manager of the strawberry hot pot restaurant.

Store Manager: [Boss, Xiao Heng had a fever today and was just taken home by his younger brother.]

Store Manager: [I see that the kid has it tough, I want to give him two extra days off, do you think that’s okay?]