Fang Lian’s ambition was once again ignited by Fang Chengyu’s silent encouragement.

He would not admit defeat, he would not accept it!

So what if his mother’s words were good?

He hadn’t acted yet. He had plenty of time and opportunity to redraft his speech!

Fang Lian acted on his thoughts immediately.

He listened carefully to his mother’s lines.

His younger sister then snatched Xiao Ji’s arm. He listened for a couple of sentences, and after confirming that his sister’s score was definitely not as good as his mother’s, he blocked out all external influences.

He focused on using his mother’s lines as a reference and a goal, redrafting his speech in his mind.

After an unknown amount of time, his sister finally finished presenting her gifts.

But Fang Lian’s draft was not yet complete.

Fang Lian was a patient person. He generously decided to give the third gift-giving spot to his father.

His father bravely stepped up.

His performance was barely passable, not even as good as his sister’s.

Fang Lian sneered and revved up his engine, continuing to work on the rest of his draft.

Finally, his father had finished presenting his gifts.

Fang Lian went over the draft in his mind a few times, his confidence rekindled!

Fang Lian tried to calm himself down, took a big step forward, and walked up to Fang Ji.

He had already thought of a very good opening for himself.

He would start by talking about holding Xiao Ji as a child, then about how Xiao Ji used to want to drag him to kindergarten every day…

Using shared memories from the past as a springboard, he would move him with emotion!

He could definitely do it!

However, just as Fang Lian was about to speak.

Fang Ji, who had been in a daze, suddenly’s eyes turned red, and crystal-clear tears burst out of his eyes without warning.

Fang Lian’s voice abruptly got stuck in his throat.

…What was happening?

Did he say something?

Did he do something?

Why… why did Xiao Ji suddenly start crying??

Fang Lian’s mind went completely blank, his lines forgotten. He fumbled to wipe away Xiao Ji’s tears, flustered and helpless.

Fang Lian: “Xiao Ji? Why did you suddenly start crying? Did I do something wrong just now? Don’t cry, don’t cry… hey, why are you crying even harder!”

Fang Lian clumsily hugged Xiao Ji, using his priceless sleeve to wipe his younger brother’s tears. As he tried every which way to stop his brother’s tears, his brother, for some reason, started crying even louder!

His parents and sister hurriedly surrounded them.

One after another, they also asked and soothed, just as flustered and bewildered.

But it was no use; Xiao Ji was still crying.

Fang Lian was standing right in front of Fang Ji at this moment, holding him in his arms.

So he saw Xiao Ji’s lips, downturned at the corners in a pout of grievance as he cried. He saw the complex gaze that was fixed on him behind the misty tears.

Fang Lian suddenly felt his heart being hammered heavily.

It hurt, it was unbearable, and it left him at a loss.

Xiao Ji’s bells and jewelry made soft noises as he trembled continuously.

These sounds, which had originally sounded lifeless and annoying to Fang Lian, now seemed to have been imbued with their owner’s emotions. The dull and suppressed jingles now sounded as if they were crying too.

Fang Ji suddenly spoke.

The moment his sobbing voice came out, all the concerns and questions from his parents and siblings consciously stopped.

Fang Ji cried and asked them, “Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister, who told you… sniff… that birthdays… that birthdays are for celebrating, for giving gifts, for giving blessings?”

The hearts of his parents and siblings instantly stopped beating.

Fortunately, Fang Ji wasn’t really asking them. He answered himself, “It was brother, wasn’t it? Sniff, sniff, I knew it. Just by… just by yourselves, you would never have known what I want or what I like!”

As Fang Ji spoke, he broke into a loud wail, “If brother hadn’t come home, would you… would you have never known to celebrate my birthday, never known that I want to talk to you every day? Would you… waaah! Mom, Dad, Brothers, and Sister, you’re all so mean!”

The seventy-five million seemed to have been exposed, yet it also seemed not to have been. The hearts of his parents and siblings hesitantly resumed beating.

But only their hearts had returned to normal.

Fang Lian’s mind was a blank slate. His usual calmness, efficiency, and rationality were nowhere to be seen.

Xiao Ji’s abundant and tumultuous feelings of grievance were like a great mountain, crashing into his heart, making his eyes blur and his mind reel.

All the various lines and scripts he had memorized these past few days were shattered into pieces at this moment.

Everything the fifteen-million-yuan teacher had taught him in private lessons also vanished at this moment.

He fumbled with both hands to wipe away Xiao Ji’s tears, stammering, “I’m sorry, Xiao Ji, I’m sorry. I know now, brother will remember from now on! In the future… every year, brother will come and spend your birthday and the Spring Festival with you, okay? Don’t cry, Xiao Ji, don’t cry…”

Fang Ji continued to wail, “I can’t believe a word you say, second brother! When I was little, you said you would play with me, but you haven’t played with me once! When I was little, you said you would take me traveling, but you haven’t taken me once! You… you… waaah!!”

Fang Lian became anxious. “I’m telling the truth this time! If you don’t believe me, we… we can sign a contract! If I don’t keep my promise, Xiao Ji, you… you call the shots!”

The moment the word “contract” was mentioned, Fang Ji’s wailing abruptly stopped.

Fang Lian’s words continued, spoken in a rush, “The past is the past, and now is now! In the past, Xiao Ji didn’t say anything, so how would I know that Xiao Ji cared so much about these things? We’ve all lived like this. If Xiao Ji has special needs, you… you have to tell me! Of course, now that I know, I will fulfill Xiao Ji’s wishes. Xiao Ji, you… you have to believe me!”

Fang Ji stared blankly at his second brother, his wailing subsiding.

He hiccuped intermittently, as if his entire crying system was trying to process his second brother’s words.

As his crying weakened, he could finally hear the voices of his parents and sister.

Sister: “…I also lived like this…”
Dad: “…I also lived like this…”
Mom: “…I also lived like this…”

Fang Ji: “…”
Lin Chen: “…”

Lin Chen listened to these terrible lines, facepalmed, turned around, and went outside the palace for some fresh air.

He waited outside the palace gate, chatting with the housekeeper and bodyguards for a while.

After about half an hour, a jingling and clattering sound, accompanied by the sound of running, quickly approached from behind.

Fang Chengyu stopped his conversation at the sound and turned around with a smile.

Fang Chengyu: “Xiao…”

Before the word “Ji” could leave his lips, the sound of bells was already at his ear, and a figure with flying hair and bells rushed into his arms.

Fang Ji’s emotions had completely recovered by this time.

His eyes were red, but a big smile was on his face.

Fang Ji called out to him very happily, “Brother!”

Fang Chengyu helplessly caught him. “Mom, Dad, and our siblings are all watching. Is it really fair to them for Xiao Ji to come to me like this?”

Fang Ji snorted lightly, wrapping his arms around his brother’s neck, looking pleased for some reason. “I don’t care. If it weren’t for you, brother, how could my birthday even have a place in their work-filled minds? This hug should be for you.”

He raised a big smile. “Xiao Ji loves this birthday gift from you, brother. Thank you, brother!”

Fang Chengyu smiled and looked up, his eyes curving friendly at the four family members behind him, whose expressions had instantly gone wooden.

Fang Ji did not know the story unfolding behind him.

He happily took his brother’s hand and skipped towards the car they had taken up the mountain.

Along the way, Fang Ji very happily told his brother about his experience and feelings, chattering away, extremely cheerful.

The housekeeper sat in their front passenger seat.

He noticed in the rearview mirror that the eldest young master seemed quieter than during the day, looking tired and weary.

The housekeeper frowned slightly and couldn’t help but interrupt Fang Ji at an opportune moment.

The housekeeper said with a smile, “Little young master, let the eldest young master get some sleep in the car. It’s too late today, the eldest young master’s body can’t take staying up so late.”

Fang Ji: “!”

Fang Ji was abruptly pulled from his excitement and quickly took off his bells.

Fang Ji: “Brother, sleep, sleep. Xiao Ji will talk to you tomorrow!”

In Fang Ji’s original plan, he had intended to first take his brother out to play on his birthday.

But his plans were disrupted by his parents and siblings, and everything was ruined.

His brother’s heart was not good, and returning home at two or three in the morning was too taxing for his brother, who never stayed up late.

So Fang Ji revised his plan. He decided to let his brother sleep in in the morning, and he would take his parents and siblings out to play. At noon, he would bring his brother along for a rare full family outing!

…

That night, Fang Lian stayed at home and suffered from insomnia again.

Lying in bed, whether his eyes were open or closed, all he could think about was the sight of Xiao Ji suddenly bursting into tears in front of him today.

Xiao Ji had said he had always wanted them to celebrate his birthday.

Xiao Ji had said he had always wanted to maintain frequent communication with them, just like now.

Xiao Ji had said that he had been working towards this goal for so many years, but no one had ever been willing to pay him any mind.

Xiao Ji had said he thought he was worth less than those tens of millions, those hundreds of millions, just a lucky pet kept at home.

Fang Lian thought left and right.

But he wasn’t thinking about the things Xiao Ji had said while crying, nor about this month’s score and ranking.

Instead, he was thinking about the intense grievance, sadness, and blame in Xiao Ji’s words, and the feeling of what seemed like coquettishness and attachment when he held him in his arms and soothed him, “Don’t cry.”

…Did their past way of life and interaction really make Xiao Ji so uncomfortable, so sad?

Did their current mode of interaction really make Xiao Ji so happy, so fond of it?

Fang Lian thought blankly.

In the past, he would have only thought that the reason Xiao Ji was so clingy was because he hadn’t taken over the family business yet, hadn’t found something to strive for in his life.

He thought that in a few years, when Xiao Ji was willing to take over the family business or found a career he wanted, the situation would naturally change.

But he had never expected that Xiao Ji would be so truly hurt and disappointed by such things, and even remember these emotions so clearly for so many years.

Even now that he had found his beloved “jewelry music” career, Xiao Ji still seemed to care so much about “companionship”!

Fang Lian lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

He frowned deeply, thinking about everything that had happened tonight.

He felt as if he had grasped something.

But what was it?

Where exactly was it hidden in his mind?

…Don’t know. Don’t know. Can’t find it. Can’t sleep