When Shao Yuye was nine years old, his birthday wish was for his mother to come and take him away.
It was the same at ten, eleven, and twelve.
Back then, he was still young, and all he could think was, if only Shao Hongyuan hadn’t cheated.
At least then, he would still have a complete family.
A father, a mother, himself, and his little sister.
A family of four, living in harmony.
If only Shao Hongyuan hadn’t cheated… if only Shao Hongyuan hadn’t been such scum…
If only his parents hadn’t divorced…
If only… his mother could come back and take him away!
But he soon realized, there are no ‘ifs’ in this world.
His mother had taken only his little sister.
Which meant, he was the one she abandoned.
And who would, after all those years, go looking for trash they themselves had thrown away?
Once he came to terms with that, Shao Yuye let it go.
…In truth, he had already become different from the children in normal families at the age of nine.
And later, he became the ‘orphan whose parents died’ on his résumé.
Fans felt heartbroken reading this, but Shao Yuye himself acted like nothing was wrong.
Everyone thought he was more fragile than he really was.
He didn’t need a father. He didn’t need a mother.
All he needed was his little sister.
His innocent little sister.
The one who had screamed and cried that she didn’t want to be separated from her brother, even as their mother dragged her far, far away.
Countless emotions surged in his chest. Shao Yuye clenched his jaw, breathing rapidly, his pupils flashing with deep anger.
He had thought he’d grown numb over the years, that he’d trained himself not to react anymore to that word.
But the moment his sister said ‘Mom,’ he couldn’t stop his mind from conjuring up Shen Mingzhen’s face.
Back then, their mother had really been gentle.
She used to personally drop him off and pick him up from school every day. No matter what he did, she’d praise him and say he was amazing.
When she smiled, her eyes curved beautifully. Sometimes, she’d even act coy and say, “My darling son doesn’t love me anymore. He doesn’t want to be close to me.”
He’d complain about how annoying she was, but his body would still instinctively lean in and kiss her on the cheek.
—“Alright, alright.
—“Your son loves you.”
The more Shao Yuye remembered, the more he couldn’t control his trembling body.
Everything in front of him seemed to go dark, as if countless hands were reaching out from every direction to drag him into a bottomless abyss.
—It must be because I wasn’t good enough that Mom didn’t want me.
That thought had haunted him for many years.
Until a warm embrace pulled him back.
Shao Yuye froze. The light returned to his vision, and his gaze slowly focused. He saw the girl in front of him.
Shen Wanwan was gently holding him, her soft hand lightly patting his tense back.
She didn’t say a word, and yet all the deep resentment and bitterness in his heart were soothed, quieted bit by bit by her tender gestures.
He bit his lip and tried to make his voice sound calm: “I don’t want to see her.”
Shen Wanwan’s tone was neutral: “Up to you.”
Shao Yuye’s throat bobbed. There was still something stuck there, something he wanted to say but didn’t know how.
Shen Wanwan motioned for him to leave.
It was about time for them to head back.
Shao Yuye’s steps unconsciously slowed.
He walked behind Shen Wanwan, silently watching her back.
For a moment, he wanted to ask her to stay.
Because behind the joy of something lost being found again… was fear and unease.
More painful than loss is regaining something, only to lose it again.
But Shao Yuye quickly forced those thoughts away.
He didn’t want to be a burden to his sister.
He had just finished convincing himself of that when Shen Wanwan suddenly opened the door to his nanny van.
Brother Li, who was waiting inside, greeted him with a smile: “Ah Ye!”
Then his gaze shifted upward, and met Shen Wanwan’s cold, aloof face.
Brother Li faltered.
To be honest… he was a little afraid of Shen Wanwan.
Even though Shen Wanwan was a full twelve years younger than him,
Her confident and assertive aura always carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.
It made people instinctively want to do as she said.
When Shao Yuye saw her getting into the car, he was momentarily stunned.
“What are you doing?”
Her own car was still waiting over there.
Shen Wanwan asked him back, “Aren’t we going home?”
Brother Li immediately perked up. He knew this drill. He had driven her before, and eagerly volunteered, “Same address as last time?”
Shen Wanwan gave him a cool sideways glance. “You don’t even know where your own artist lives?”
Brother Li: “……”
Huh?
—Your own artist?
Who?
Ah Ye?!!
Wait a minute, Shen Wanwan is going home with Shao Yuye?????
Even though the two were biological siblings and Brother Li wasn’t the least bit worried anything ambiguous would happen between them, still…
Shen Wanwan is going home with Shao Yuye!!!
He stared at Shao Yuye in shock.
Shao Yuye was already smiling, the corners of his mouth lifting. He was clearly delighted inside, but still put on a proud act:
“There are no housekeepers at my place. I can’t pamper you like some heiress. And I don’t plan on hiring one either. If you’re coming back with me, you better be mentally prepared…”
Shen Wanwan remained calm and indifferent:
“Then learn. What’s there to be proud of?
“If you don’t even know how to do housework, how can you be my brother?”
Brother Li went silent.
No wonder she was a rich young lady. Her train of thought really was different.
Isn’t a little sister supposed to be her older brother’s little sweetheart?
But Shao Yuye also didn’t seem to think the way most people did.
His eyes suddenly lit up, as if he’d just had a great epiphany. He slapped his thigh. “Right! Why didn’t I think of that!”
He was going to cook for his little sister!
Shen Wanwan smiled in satisfaction.
“Brother is the best.”
Those four words made Shao Yuye feel refreshed from head to toe, from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes.
He was going to study all eight major cuisines tonight!
Tomorrow, he’d prepare a full Manchu Han Imperial Feast for his sister!
Watching all of this unfold, Brother Li could only sigh helplessly.
—Seriously, Ah Ye, I suspect you’ve been ripped of at a karaoke bar. I have evidence.
The car soon arrived at the parking lot of Shao Yuye’s residence.
Brother Li looked around to make sure no paparazzi were tailing them before letting the two out of the car.
But Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye were both completely relaxed. One lazy and carefree, the other utterly unconcerned.
Only Brother Li remained anxious the whole time, nervously safeguarding their journey, and in the end, he even got mocked by Shao Yuye for it.
Working-class Brother Li felt utterly drained.
Shao Yuye’s apartment wasn’t as spacious as Shao Hongyuan’s, but it was fully and completely his.
He didn’t have to worry about running into an annoying stepmother or stepsister at home.
All the windows were one-way glass. He could see out, but people outside couldn’t see in.
That provided a great deal of privacy.
No one usually lived in the apartment, but a cleaning lady came by regularly, so it was kept spotless.
Shao Yuye enthusiastically led her to a room.
Even though he had always lived here alone, he had specifically left a room for his sister when he bought the place.
He opened the door.
The room had a warm, romantic princess theme. It was clearly designed and decorated with great care, he had put his heart into it. On the wall was even a childhood photo of the two of them.
Shao Yuye looked a bit awkward, and also a little nervous. “Do you like it?”
{I love it!!}
—{I really, really love it!!!!}
On Shen Wanwan’s shoulder, 001 was practically losing its mind.
—{I want a brother like this too!}
Shen Wanwan hadn’t expected that her brother had already prepared everything for her.
She looked at the photo of the two of them—
Her thoughts instantly drifted back to the year she wore a little crown, held a diamond scepter, and lived carefree.
She blinked lightly.
“Thank you, Brother.”
He missed her even more than she’d imagined.
It was already late at night.
When Shen Wanwan came out of the bathroom after her shower, Shao Yuye was studying recipes.
Tomorrow morning, he was going to cook for the first time, to show off his amazing skills to his little sister.
After returning to her room, Shen Wanwan sent a message to Shen Mingzhen.
“Mom, I’m at Brother’s place. I found him.”
Two minutes later, Shen Mingzhen’s video call came through.
Her voice carried a sense of confusion.
“Wanwan, what do you mean by Brother?”
Shen Wanwan reminded her, “Shao Yuye.”
Shen Mingzhen still sounded puzzled:
“Shao Yuye… that name sounds familiar? Is he that partner of yours on the show?
“I remember he was a really cute young guy.
“You’re at Shao Yuye’s house right now? Send Mommy the address. It’s not safe for a girl to be at a guy’s place this late at night. I’ll have someone pick you up…”
001 gently reminded Shen Wanwan beside her:
{Your mother’s memories have also been erased by the plot… so she doesn’t remember your brother at all. You need to awaken her memories as much as possible!}
This was more or less what Shen Wanwan had anticipated.
Shen Mingzhen had completely forgotten Shao Yuye’s existence.
Even though she had been watching Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye complete missions on the show together, she didn’t recognize him as her own son at all.
As they continued talking, Shen Mingzhen suddenly noticed a family photo on the wall behind Shen Wanwan.
“Hey, the little girl in that photo looks like you when you were young…
“Back then, your eyes were so big and round, absolutely adorable…”
Shen Wanwan said, “That is me.”
Shen Mingzhen was surprised: “Huh?”
Shen Wanwan turned her phone’s camera toward the photo.
She spoke slowly and clearly: “The one next to me is Brother.”
But Shen Mingzhen thought she was joking: “You’re my only daughter, where would a brother come from…”
Just as the words left her mouth, a sudden sharp pain stabbed through Shen Mingzhen’s head.
She froze.
In the distant haze of memory, it was as if a childish boy’s voice was calling her: “Mom—”
Shen Wanwan sent her the results of the kinship test.
“See for yourself.”
On the other end, Shen Mingzhen stared at the report as if struck by lightning.
Something deep in her mind seemed on the verge of breaking through.
But when she tried to grasp it, she found nothing.
Without realizing it, two silent tears slowly slid down her cheeks.
She touched her face in surprise.
“Why… why am I crying?”