Chapter 34

Ruan Miao's winter break officially began, and his teachers, true to form, assigned a mountain of homework. He printed out a thick stack of papers, ready to dive in. But his brothers and sister insisted he relax for a few days first, suppressing his eager attempts to start working.

"Other parents worry their kids don't study enough, but you all..." Ruan Miao muttered, feeling he had recovered enough and didn't need to be treated so delicately.

He Shangye sat on the sofa watching financial news, the TV showing a serious middle-aged man analyzing stock trends that Ruan Miao didn't understand. Forced to accompany He Shangye, he sat on the sofa with various imported fruits on the table in front of him.

Hearing his complaint, He Shangye didn't respond verbally. He just looked at the table, signaling for Ruan Miao to eat everything, as Su Wen had advised that more fruit was good for his health.

"I'm full," Ruan Miao said, pointing to his mouth expressionlessly. "From morning to night, I haven't stopped eating."

He Shangye finally looked away from the TV, thought for a moment, and shook his head, "Fruit doesn't fill you up."

After his illness, Ruan Miao had lost weight, seemingly shedding all the good food he had eaten in the past few months. He Shanglu had been very dissatisfied, complaining that his cheeks no longer had the same pinchable feel.

Ruan Miao felt like the family treated him like a pet, always concerned about his condition.

"Why aren't you happy?" He Shangye asked, turning to him. Accustomed to giving orders, he had no experience with comforting a younger sibling. Despite his intentions to be a good brother, he simply didn't know how, resorting to showering Ruan Miao with what he thought were good things.

"I don't understand financial news," Ruan Miao said, feeling exasperated. Since his illness, He Shangye had insisted on watching TV with him, a behavior he found strange. Couldn't he watch TV alone? If he wanted company, why not ask He Shanglu?

He Shangye calmly replied, "Learning about finance early is beneficial for you."

Ruan Miao thought to himself that, as a future employee, he didn't need to learn financial knowledge like a CEO dealing with millions. Silently, he stared at the TV, his mind wandering.

His phone rang. Seeing it was Fang Zhi, who had disappeared for a while helping with New Year's preparations at home, Ruan Miao quickly answered. Fang Zhi had sent dozens of messages asking about his condition and congratulating him on his exam results, even asking for his address to send some local specialties.

After replying, Ruan Miao was about to put his phone away when another message came in from Jian Fanyu.

"I've organized some real exam questions. Do you want them?"

Since Ruan Miao fell ill, Jian Fanyu had been sending him messages almost every day. Sometimes he would check on Ruan Miao's health, sometimes he would explain mistakes on his exam papers, and occasionally he would share snippets of his own life. Ruan Miao gradually got used to this light yet consistent mode of communication. He believed that Jian Fanyu was simply lonely, without friends at school or elsewhere, which was why he reached out to Ruan Miao.

Ruan Miao was more than willing to help Jian overcome his emotional barriers.

After replying to Jian Fanyu with a message of thanks, Ruan Miao looked up to see He Shangye watching him thoughtfully. He asked, "What's up?"

"Is it that kid from the Jian family?" He Shangye could guess without even looking.

Ruan Miao was a bit surprised, "How did you know?"

He Shangye chuckled softly, "When you text that guy, you always look particularly serious. Even the way you hold your phone is different."

Ruan Miao hadn't realized this about himself. Scratching his face, he thought for a moment and then explained, "Maybe it's because I hold Jian in high regard. In my mind, he's an unreachable idol."

"You admire him?" He Shangye's face showed no emotion, but he was deducing from Ruan Miao's words.

"Sort of. It's not exactly admiration. It's more that I see him as someone I could never be," Ruan Miao sighed. "He's good-looking, talented, and, well… he has a good personality."

He Shangye couldn't help but show a look of disbelief. From his brief encounter with Jian Fanyu, he couldn't imagine anyone describing him as having a good personality.

"You have… an interesting perspective," He Shangye could only say.

Ruan Miao knew Jian Fanyu wasn't easy to get along with, but he couldn't help but have a favorable impression of him. Perhaps it was because he had read the original story, so he always felt that Jian Fanyu had his reasons for everything he did, a filter that obscured his vision.

This was the most genuine form of love from a reader to a protagonist.

Of course, He Shangye couldn't understand Ruan Miao's thoughts. He didn't like Jian Fanyu, finding him inscrutable and unsettling. Most importantly, He Shangye felt they had overlapping roles; similar personalities tend to repel each other.

"He's not a good person. You should avoid him," He Shangye commanded habitually. "Don't let yourself get taken advantage of."

He Shanglu ran downstairs, carrying a game console, and plopped down next to Ruan Miao. Despite his end-of-term exam results being predictably poor, he didn't seem worried at all and continued playing his game as usual.

Ruan Miao, being a typical boy, naturally loved games. Watching He Shanglu play, he joined in. The two brothers huddled together, appearing very close.

"Aaaah, I'm going to die… move faster!" Ruan Miao was frustrated, "Second Brother, your skills are terrible!"

He Shanglu, irritated by the pestering, rolled his eyes, "Would you shut up? If you weren't yapping, I wouldn't have messed up!"

"It's clearly because you suck!" Ruan Miao retorted.

The two brothers, who were getting along well just moments ago, suddenly started bickering. He Shangye watched the whole thing calmly. It was his first time witnessing such sibling rivalry and affection. As he was pondering, the two rushed over to him, complaining and demanding justice.

He Shangye, sitting coolly on the sofa, listened to both brothers argue for fairness. Seeing they were about to start fighting, he shot them a cold look, and Ruan Miao immediately settled down.

As usual, He Shangye punished both equally, confiscating the game console without mercy.

"If you have so much free time, come watch TV with me."

Thus, He Shanglu also had to sit through the financial news, looking even more lost than Ruan Miao. He didn't understand anything about finance. Soon after, He Shangzhi came downstairs and was also made to join them, creating a scene where the four siblings sat in front of the TV, making the atmosphere feel like a serious academic discussion. The household staff instinctively kept their distance.

Only the housekeeper stood nearby, looking pleased. Finally, the eldest son had the demeanor of the head of the family.

He Shangye noticed his three younger siblings seemed distracted. After some thought, he said, "If you really don't want to watch this, I can change the channel."

He then spent some time with the remote before finding SpongeBob SquarePants.

"Aren't kids supposed to watch this?"

Ruan Miao: "…"

He Shanglu: "…"

He Shangzhi: "…"

He Shangye, having been raised with elite education to become a successor, never had a normal childhood like other kids his age. So, he had no idea what kind of cartoons were appropriate for which age group. He instinctively thought his younger siblings, especially the youngest, Miao Miao, should watch children's shows.

Ruan Miao watched the yellow sponge on TV with a blank expression, then looked at He Shanglu's equally despondent face. He Shangzhi, however, seemed to adapt well, not showing any particular emotion.

Jian Fanyu messaged him, asking why he hadn't replied for a while. Ruan Miao, feeling drained, told him, "Big Brother is making me watch SpongeBob SquarePants."

After a while, Jian Fanyu responded with a simple, "?"

Ruan Miao sighed deeply. He Shangye turned to him and asked, "Don't you like it?"

Actually, He Shangye found it quite entertaining; the yellow sponge running around was amusing. But if Miao Miao didn't like it, he would change the channel.

Remembering that good brothers should be considerate, as Su Wen had advised, He Shangye switched to a channel showing a popular web series. Ruan Miao perked up, excited to watch TV for the first time since coming to this world. He was curious about current popular celebrities.

Since they started mid-episode, the siblings initially had trouble following along. But soon, they got into the drama, with Ruan Miao quickly getting absorbed in the storyline.

The show started off normal, but soon the main characters began passionately kissing, the camera zooming in for a close-up.

Ruan Miao thought, "Oh my~"

He Shanglu exclaimed, "Wow!"

He Shangye's expression darkened as he swiftly changed the channel, muttering coldly, "Kids shouldn't be watching this."

"Why not?" protested He Shanglu. "I'm an adult now!"

He Shangye glanced at him sideways and said icily, "Miao Miao is still a minor. He shouldn't be exposed to this kind of trash."

"Isn't that right?"

Ruan Miao wanted to say he enjoyed it and didn't feel like a kid at all. But instead, he nodded solemnly, not daring to admit his genuine interest.

He Shangye, believing that modern TV corrupted youth, resolved that future investments in the entertainment industry would require stricter script supervision. He changed the channel back to SpongeBob SquarePants.

Ruan Miao: "..."

He Shanglu: "..."

He Shangzhi remained indifferent as always.

He Shangye: 

SpongeBob is better. Kids should watch this.