Chapter 2: The Real Heir in a Fake Young Master Heartthrob Novel

Jiujiu flapped around all day and was very tired, closing his eyes against his father’s side, feeling a bit regretful in his heart.

When his father first taught him to fly with spiritual power, he was thinking about the fruit his father had cultivated for a thousand years.

As he daydreamed, he fell asleep, and when he woke up, he was already on a jade stone bed.

“What are you eating? I can find something for you.”

Shen Yijing noticed he wanted to sleep and hurriedly poked him gently with his finger.

He knew what it felt like to be hungry and felt very uncomfortable, fearing that such a big little yellow chick would starve to death.

The little chick had no defenses at all, even pretending he couldn’t hear, and changed positions so that when his father poked him, it would accurately scratch his itch.

After realizing his father wasn’t poking him anymore, Jiujiu disdainfully pushed his father away with his little claw.

At this stage, it was already good that his father could eat, and he himself was just a bit prone to snacking.

He was unlikely to starve to death, and perhaps he wouldn’t be as plump as he was now.

However, this didn’t matter too much; Jiujiu had great confidence in his father, believing that one day he would be able to grow round again.

During dinner, Shen Yijing only picked a little bit of vegetables and, after putting down his chopsticks, went to wash the dishes.

He didn’t dare turn on the lights at night because his mother often told him that electricity was expensive. Using the light from the street lamps outside, he took out the little fat chick.

Seeing Jiujiu motionless, Shen Yijing instinctively reached out to poke him.

With his wings and head drooping weakly, after a long time without moving, Shen Yijing’s pupils suddenly shrank, and tears began to well up in his eyes.

Is he dead? The little yellow chick promised to always be with him!

After being poked, Jiujiu woke up, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw his father with red eyes.

Flapping his little wings, he instantly jumped up, his feathers fluffed up like a hen eager to protect her chick.

“Dad, did they bully you? I’ll peck them to death.”

Saying this, Jiujiu fluffed the feathers on his other wing, but before he could flap away, he was already held in his father’s arms.

Unable to pull himself away, Jiujiu could only lean over and use his wings to wipe his father’s tears, his blue eyes also glistening with moisture.

“Dad…”

Previously, Jiujiu was just a little fat chick who only knew how to eat, but now he inexplicably felt a bit regretful about why he had been so lazy and unhelpful, wanting to help but feeling powerless.

Shen Yijing didn’t refute this title anymore; just a moment ago, he thought the little yellow chick was gone, and the relief of having him back overshadowed everything.

He reached out with his other hand to pat the little yellow chick’s head and softly promised:

“I will work hard to be a good dad.”

Although he was still small now, he would eventually grow up.

Jiujiu rubbed against his father with all his might, squinting his eyes with a face full of smiles.

The next morning, after getting up, Shen Yijing went to the kitchen and saw only a small bowl of porridge on the table.

After realizing that his parents were not home, he took the bowl back to his room and brought out the little yellow chick.

“Let’s eat together.”

Jiujiu stared at the small bowl of porridge, then glanced at his father, knowing that if he didn’t eat, his father wouldn’t be at ease. He leaned over and picked up two grains of rice.

After swallowing, he patted his belly with his wings, tilting his head to look at Shen Yijing and said:

“Look, I’m full.”

After saying this, the little fat chick turned his head to the other side, the corners of his eyes already a bit moist.

After eating, Shen Yijing went out again. He would be starting school in the second half of this year; his mother had told him long ago that it was because of compulsory education that he would go.

Aside from the textbooks provided by the school, he shouldn’t think about anything else, and after school, he had to come home to help.

Before this, he had asked an older brother from the neighbor’s house, who said that besides those, there were other things he needed to buy.

For example, notebooks, pencils, and exercise books. He wanted to study hard, so he had to prepare these things.

Shen Yijing didn’t want to stay in this small alley for his whole life. Although he was small, he was already very clear that studying was the only way to escape his current situation.

Today, while picking up bottles, Shen Yijing put Jiujiu in his pocket. After walking a few steps, he opened the pocket and, feeling uneasy, reminded him:

“If you feel stuffy, remember to tell me.”

“Okay~”

Jiujiu stayed in his father’s clothing pocket, completely unable to see the light, and when he got tired, he just sat down.

Shen Yijing sold those plastic bottles to a familiar uncle. The weather was quite hot now, and if he was lucky, he could pick up five or six yuan in a day.

He hid all of it in his room, and only when he occasionally saw the little fat chick swallowing at something would he painfully take some out to buy something.

Having a little bird as company, although daily life had become much more troublesome, he was always on edge, fearing that his parents would find out about Jiujiu’s existence.

But Shen Yijing was very satisfied; he finally had a friend, a little one that belonged only to him.

As the hot summer passed and school approached, Shen Yijing could hear his mother making noise at home every day.

“What school? If you ask me, it would be better to go to the factory early; at least you can earn some money.”

Shen Yijing used to be very afraid of his mother getting angry, but now he just took all this as background noise.

No matter what his mother said, he was determined to go to school; he didn’t want to miss the opportunity for compulsory education provided by the state.

After school started, Shen’s father took him to register, and when they got home, Shen Yijing wanted to take out the money he had saved to organize it.

He had asked an older neighbor brother, who said he needed notebooks, pencils, and erasers. If he saved a bit, it should be enough for this semester.

All the way, Shen Yijing was very happy, bouncing along and shaking the little fat chick in his pocket into a daze, with its feathers all in a mess.

Upon opening the door to his bedroom at home, Shen Yijing searched around but couldn’t find the old wooden box.

Instinctively, he ran outside and saw scattered wooden planks on the ground on the other side.

The color looked familiar, and there was also an old lock he had picked up, tossed aside.

Without needing to ask, Shen Yijing already knew who had done it.

Returning to his room, he stared at the spot where the box had been, and the tears he had been holding back finally burst forth.

Large drops flowed out, and the overwhelming sense of discomfort and grievance was unstoppable; just wiping with the back of his hand, more tears streamed down.

The little fat bird, Jiujiu, flew out of his pocket and landed on Shen Yijing’s shoulder, extending its wings to try to wipe his tears.

Not only did Shen Yijing treasure that little box, but even Jiujiu did; every morning, it would stand on top of it for a while after waking up.

When helping his dad wipe his tears, it would instinctively glance in that direction. Upon realizing it was gone, it felt both the need to comfort its dad and an uncontrollable anger.

After a long time, Shen Yijing’s mood finally calmed down, and he looked at the little fat bird with his swollen eyes.

If he had known his mother would take it away, he might as well have bought something for his little one.

During dinner, when Mama Shen saw Shen Yijing’s appearance, she slammed her bowl hard on the table.

“Who are you showing that face to? I only took a little something from you! Was that thing really yours? You should first calculate how much you’ve spent on food and clothing from childhood to now! Figure that out before you cry about your money!”

Shen Yijing lowered his head and silently ate, not saying a word. Only when his mother picked up the bowl again did he gently sniffle.

After washing the dishes and returning to his room, Shen Yijing lay down on his bed.

Jiujiu ran over to him and nudged his dad’s head with its wings. Although it couldn’t move him, it successfully drew Shen Yijing’s attention to itself.

“Dad, it’s okay, Jiujiu is here.”

Saying this, in the next moment, the little fat bird grabbed one of its feathers with its beak, pulled it out with force, and held it in its claws, placing it in Shen Yijing’s hand.

Jiujiu’s feathers were quite sparse, looking like just a few strands, yet it was particularly vain.

Whenever Shen Yijing’s parents were not home, it would rush to the mirror, tidy itself up with its wings, then twist and turn to admire its round body.

Pulling out a feather was painful, but Jiujiu felt quite proud. Under its dad’s surprised gaze, it took the initiative to explain:

“Dad, if you sell Jiujiu’s feathers, this one is worth gold!”

Jiujiu was a phoenix chick, and its feathers were extremely precious; in the cultivation world, they would be priceless phoenix feathers.

Unfortunately, this was an ordinary modern world, where only golden feathers held some value.

After realizing this, Jiujiu felt a bit pained; if its dad had taken it to the cultivation world to play and had sold the feather then, it would definitely be worth much more now.

Shen Yijing’s first reaction was heartache; after spending a few months together, he knew his little one was quite delicate.

Rolling around in his pocket, it would tearfully tell him that its feathers were being pressed and hurt.

Coming back to his senses, he found it hard to believe.

“Gold?”

How could its fluffy, soft feathers turn into gold? Shen Yijing glanced at the feather in his palm, and it surprisingly felt much harder in an instant.

“Go for it, Dad! Dad, make a little nest for Jiujiu with gold in the future.”

The little fat bird, flapping its claws, thought about the future and felt that the spot where it had just pulled a feather wasn’t so painful after all.

Shen Yijing tightly grasped the feather in his palm and nodded vigorously.

“Okay.”

Because Shen Yijing was too young, he didn’t go to a formal gold shop but found a small workshop where the prices were reasonable, selling the feather for nearly six thousand yuan.

Having collected plastic bottles for a long time and only saving a few hundred yuan, it was the first time Shen Yijing had so much money, and he felt a bit dazed as he tucked it into his pocket.

On the way back, Jiujiu, curled up in his dad’s pocket, was suddenly awakened by a delicious smell, poking its head out to stare at a sweet potato stall.

“Dad, Jiujiu wants to eat that.”

Previously, Shen Yijing would have felt heartbroken; a sweet potato would cost around six or seven yuan, which required him to collect plastic bottles for a long time.

But today, without hesitation, he asked the vendor to pick a sweet one and found a secluded spot to sit down with Jiujiu.

The little fat bird gestured with its wings for Dad to split the sweet potato. After breaking it in half, it nestled into the slightly smaller half to eat.

After creating a small hole, it stuffed its whole head inside to peck at it.