Chapter 5: Let’s See What He’s Up To

“Big Brother, Second Brother, you’re back!” Just then, the third and fourth brothers walked out of their room.

The third brother was holding the pants his younger brother had just changed out of, about to go wash them.

There were no spare pants at home. If he didn’t wash them today, there wouldn’t be a clean pair to wear tomorrow.

Zhou Chengdong glanced indifferently at Chen Liyang before giving a barely perceptible nod. “Did you make dinner? If not, I’ll do it.”

“He said no cooking tonight!” Zhou Chengxi said with a furrowed brow.

Who “he” referred to was obvious.

Going to sleep on an empty stomach was something the five siblings had long gotten used to.

Besides, after getting bullied outside, it wouldn’t be Chen Liyang if he didn’t take his anger out on them.

Looking at the five siblings treating him like thin air, Chen Liyang felt a bit helpless. “Didn’t I say we’re eating out tonight?”

As soon as those words came out, the four kids all stared at him in unison, looking doubtful.

Facing five future villainous big shots all at once, even though they were still just children right now, Chen Liyang still felt immense pressure.

Their aura was no joke. Especially the eldest, Zhou Chengdong. The moment he appeared, his presence was overwhelmingly powerful.

According to the plot of the book, he was already secretly working part-time at a boxing gym right now, and his daily job was to serve as a human punching bag.

Even though no one at the boxing gym bothered to teach him properly, he had still managed to learn a great deal of boxing techniques relying solely on his natural talent for martial arts.

Later, to get his younger sister cured and turned back into a normal person, he went to the underground circuit to fight in illegal matches.

Only after brushing with death several times did he finally manage to save up enough money.

Overjoyed, he had planned to take his sister to the hospital for an exam, but somehow the original host found out about the money. On the way to the hospital, the original host swindled it all away, thoroughly destroying the last shred of kindness remaining in the eldest brother’s heart.

From then on, the eldest brother completely went down a dark path. In a mercenary world so ruthless it swallowed people whole, he carved out a bloody path for himself and built his own mercenary army.

Right now, he knew how to lay low, so at the boxing gym he was still just an ordinary tool used by others as a human punching bag.

“How could someone like you take us out to eat?” Zhou Chengxi scoffed, his pride written all over his face.

The eldest brother was just as skeptical. Zhou Chengdong let go of his sister’s hand and shielded his younger siblings behind him, asking Chen Liyang in a hostile tone, “What kind of trick are you playing this time?”

If he believed a single word of the nonsense about taking them out to eat, it would be an insult to his intelligence.

“What tricks could I possibly play? I just want to take you out to eat. Aren’t you all hungry?” Chen Liyang said in a soft voice, laced with a touch of helplessness.

His own stomach had long been rumbling like a symphony.

Seeing that Chen Liyang’s gaze was calm and open, not looking like he was making fun of them, Zhou Chengdong couldn’t help turning to the third brother. “You got home earlier than us. Did something happen while we weren’t here?”

Before Zhou Chengxi could speak, Zhou Chengbei’s voice rang out, recounting everything that had just happened in detail.

Especially when he mentioned Chen Liyang calling himself Dad and even patting the third brother’s head.

The eldest and second brothers subconsciously exchanged a glance. As the saying goes, when things deviate from the norm, something sinister is afoot^[1]. Naturally, they were not naive enough to think he had suddenly repented.

For the moment, though, they couldn’t figure out what he was up to.

Seeing them looking at him with searching gazes, Chen Liyang was simply too hungry to care.

He immediately walked toward them and focused his gaze on the little girl, who had remained expressionless all along. Bending down, he offered a gentle smile. “Wanning, are you hungry? How about Dad takes you out to eat?”

With that, without waiting for Zhou Wanning to respond, he gently took her hand and walked outside.

As the family favorite, if she went out, the rest of the kids would naturally follow.

“Big Brother!” Seeing his sister being led away, the third brother immediately grew anxious.

The eldest brother kept his cool. He said softly, “We’ll follow them and see what he’s up to.”

Hearing the movement behind him, Chen Liyang found it completely within his expectations.

They didn’t trust him, so they naturally wouldn’t let him lead their sister out of their sight.

If not for their fear that he might suddenly snap and hurt their sister again, they would have snatched Wanning back long ago instead of trailing behind him like attack dogs.

Either way, getting them to step out the door with him was a successful first step.

What gave him a headache, however, was that the little girl beside him was like a puppet doll.

She had no reaction whatsoever when he took her hand. He seriously suspected that even if a total stranger took her hand, she would follow along without resistance.

The book had mentioned that due to living long-term in a violent and oppressive environment, the little girl had developed emotional defects and locked herself away in her inner world.

As for how she gradually became an eloquent, top-tier lawyer who won countless lawsuits in the future, the novel hadn’t described it in detail.

Having never interacted with children before, let alone kids with psychological trauma, Chen Liyang involuntarily tightened his grip on Zhou Wanning’s hand.

The road ahead was long and arduous!

Stepping out of the living room led right into the courtyard.

Two sweet osmanthus trees were planted in the yard. Since it wasn’t blooming season yet, only lush green leaves were visible.

Along both sides of the yard were some vegetables, grown from seeds the children had begged from the neighbors.

However, due to their lack of experience, the vegetable leaves were riddled with holes chewed by bugs.

Miscellaneous clutter was piled around, but what Chen Liyang found most unbearable was the strange odor.

It was the height of summer, and with a trash dump nearby, the smell drifted right over.

Most of the people living here simply had no better choices.

Seeing the unfazed expressions of the brothers, it was obvious they were already accustomed to the stench.

What worried them more right now was what Chen Liyang was up to. He was acting far too out of character today.

They walked out of the yard in silence. The neighbor’s black dog started barking wildly the moment it saw Chen Liyang.

In the past, Chen Liyang would have picked up a stone and hurled it at the dog long ago.

Because of this dog, he had argued with the neighbors countless times, even threatening that if they didn’t keep the dog tied up and let it out to scare people again, he would chop it up and eat its meat.

Knowing he was a total lunatic, the neighbors didn’t dare risk their dog’s safety and usually kept it chained up in the yard.

The only reason they had let it out today was because they had seen Chen Liyang being carried back half-dead after a severe beating.

With injuries that severe, he shouldn’t have been able to get out of bed for at least two weeks, which was why they had finally taken the chain off.

Who could have guessed that after just a single day, Chen Liyang was already up and walking?

Aunt Zhao, who was in the middle of making dinner, hurried out into the yard when she heard the barking, only to come face-to-face with the battered and bruised Chen Liyang.

Terrified that he might beat her dog to death in a fit of rage, Aunt Zhao quickly called out the dog’s name and ordered it to stop barking.

Hearing its owner’s voice, Qiuqiu finally quieted down and stood obediently by her side.

As for why the dog harbored such deep hostility toward Chen Liyang, it was all thanks to his terrible temper. Whenever he was in a foul mood, even stray dogs by the roadside would get kicked a couple of times.