Chapter 30: Elder Sister's Bloodline Suppression

Shen Yi, Sang Chuan, and Song Shiye were the first to return to the courtyard.

After dropping off the firewood, they noticed none of the elders were in the yard. They asked the filming crew, who said the elders were off dealing with some private matters and hadn't returned yet.

Song Shiye was a bit worried and wanted to go look for his grandma, but upon hearing she had gone with Hu Zhi, he was instantly reassured.

Song Shiye had a packed schedule. The day before the recording started, he had no time to check out Sang Ning's family livestream, and he hadn't logged onto Weibo prior to the recording either, so he was completely unaware of the Sang Family's recent drama.

Out of affection and admiration for Sang Ning, he naturally trusted Hu Zhi without question.

After all, anyone who could raise such an outstanding daughter must also be reliable.

With the elders absent and Sang Ning not yet back, Sang Chuan suggested going to the riverside to spear some fish.

Song Shiye, just a little over half a year older than Sang Chuan, found it easy to bond with someone of a similar age. The moment Sang Chuan suggested it, Song Shiye was the first to leap onboard.

Shen Yi, being a quiet and reserved type, would join in if it were something like fishing peacefully by the river, but spearing fish? Forget it. A guy in his twenties didn't need to join seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys in making a commotion.

He declined decisively, reclining on a rocking chair in the courtyard, pulling his baseball cap low over his face to enjoy the calm countryside evening breeze.

But that serene moment didn't last even a second—suddenly, the cap over his face was snatched away. Song Shiye's grinning face loomed large in front of him.

"Brother Yi, you're free now anyway. Just come play with us, pleeease?"

Song Shiye swayed his head and pulled a cutesy act, his sparkling puppy-dog eyes making it near impossible to say no.

Shen Yi sighed helplessly, covering Song Shiye's eyes with one hand while snatching the cap back with the other.

"Nope. I'm not interested in playing."

He put the cap back on, only for another figure to dash up and steal it again.

This time, Sang Chuan spun the cap around on his finger, smirking roguishly at Shen Yi.

"Yiyi, more hands make lighter work, and more people mean better fish! As the captain of our firewood squad, how can you skip out on our fish-spearing mission?"

[Shen Yi: I despise brothers who don't respect personal boundaries.]

[Song Shiye and Sang Chuan are so outrageous. Shen Yi already said he doesn't want to go—could you stop forcing him?]

[Comment above clearly isn't from a Yi fan. Our Shen Yi is a textbook Taurus—reserved and passive. If you don't make the first move, you'll never get a story from him. There's zero sign of him being offended here—don't stir drama on purpose.]

[LOL, this is such classic introverted flirting. From his micro-expressions, I think he actually indulges his two younger brothers quite a lot.]

[Coconuts here apologizing on behalf of our silly little baby. Xiao Ye is just this kind of super-forward social maniac. He only acts this way because he likes Shen Yi.]

Shen Yi completely gave up trying to retrieve his cap. If his two younger brothers liked it so much, they could just keep it. He lay back onto the rocking chair again.

Sang Chuan put Shen Yi's cap on his own head, throwing Song Shiye a flirtatious wink. Song Shiye winked back in kind.

The two partners in crime grinned in shared mischief, then bent down in unison and hooked Shen Yi under each arm. Together, they hoisted him right off the ground.

Shen Yi's pupils dilated in shock, the cracks in his usually calm demeanor growing ever larger as his composure completely evaporated. Just like that, he hung in midair as his two younger brothers rapidly carried him out of the courtyard.

[OMG, I'm dying of laughter! What even are Song Shiye and Sang Chuan—Wolong and Feng Chu incarnate?]

[Shen Yi: My dear brothers, let me just say—thank you!]

[But seriously, Sang Chuan's looks are no joke either. Standing next to Shen Yi and Song Shiye, he holds his own no problem.]

[I mean, just look at Sang Ning's god-tier beauty. No way could Sang Chuan end up being the odd one out.]

[Sang Chuan's totally my type. If Brother Shi Ye is the good little pup, Sang Chuan is the rebellious bad-boy wolf.]

[Nah, not a wild wolf—he's more like a sunny, cheerful big wolf-boy.]

[Big wolf-boy my ass. LOL, 666—I'm losing it over here!]

Set down by the riverside, Shen Yi surrendered to his fate. Young people truly had boundless energy for horsing around.

If he didn't join them in messing around, he'd end up being the one messed with.

Sang Chuan found three sturdy tree branches and handed two of them to Shen Yi and Song Shiye.

Standing by the river, he assumed a wide stance, leaning slightly forward with one foot in front of the other. Raising his branch high, he demonstrated the technique to Shen Yi and Song Shiye.

"Remember that famous picture of Runtu spearing the weasel? Just like that—hold the branch up, angle it a little off-center, then—quick, accurate, decisive—stab it into the water."

"Look, one river fish caught just like that."

In mere seconds, Sang Chuan raised his branch again with an actual fish skewered on it.

Shen Yi and Song Shiye stared, eyes wide. Was it really that easy to spear fish…?

[Holy crap—how is this even real? I'm questioning my entire life right now.]

[Come on now, it's no surprise! From the moment Sang Ning breezed through racing circuits, it's clear her whole family is built different.]

Sang Chuan tilted his chin up proudly, encouraging Shen Yi and Song Shiye.

"Yiyi, Xiaoye, go on—give it a shot. Be brave and spear some fish!"

Shen Yi and Song Shiye moved in perfect tandem, spreading their legs into wide stances and leaning forward decisively, although perhaps a bit too much.

They raised their branches, lined up their targets, and shifted slightly off-center. Then, in unison, they stabbed forcefully into the water.

Splash—

Two bodies hit the water simultaneously, sending waves flying into Sang Chuan's face. Wiping the water from his face, he shouted at the pair floundering in the river, "I said spear fish, not pole vault!"

"Sorry, force of habit." Song Shiye popped his head up from the water and climbed back onto the shore.

Shen Yi surfaced right after him, also scrambling up the riverbank.

[I swear, when the two of them fell into the river like parabola arcs, I was laughing so hard I almost fainted.]

[Shen Yi, do you even remember your dignified top-celebrity persona? Does nothing in this show matter to you anymore?]

[This is a massive persona breakdown—turns out our precious Shen Yi is just a goofy bean in private.]

[Seriously, this little firewood squad is ridiculous. Any two randomly paired together, and it's like Wolong and Feng Chu—absolute chaos.]

"What are you guys doing?"

A sultry, sophisticated voice drifted over from the riverbank. The three boys looked up in unison to see Sang Ning walking toward them from the distance.

As she got closer, they noticed the items in her hands and at her waist, and by the time she reached the riverbank, it was clear.

"Damn, Ningsang, did you raid the entire village?" Sang Chuan snapped into a fake-serious expression and questioned her in a faux-Colonel tone.

Sang Ning hefted the pheasant in her hand and swung it towards his face. "Keep spouting your nonsense, and I'll send you straight home to see cherry blossoms!"

Sang Chuan immediately slapped his own cheeks, apologizing with exaggerated flair, "Sorry, sorry, Sis, my bad!"

[I'm dying—Sang Ning is hilarious. Sang Chuan's mouth sure gets him into trouble. Totally deserved that smack.]

[Looks like only Sang Ning can tame this little wild wolf. She's definitely an expert wolf whisperer.]

[This is peak older-sister suppression by bloodline.]