Chapter 20: Has Eldest Brother Turned Traitor?

He had promised himself he wouldn’t forgive him no matter what he did, but after learning he had misunderstood him, he felt deeply uneasy.

He hated this feeling of losing control, yet his body betrayed him as he walked over anyway.

Chen Liyang noticed the third brother seemed to be in a low mood and asked with concern, “Chengxi, what’s wrong?”

Remembering he had gotten back late today, he immediately felt a pang of guilt. “You must all be starving. I’m sorry Dad came back late, but I bought groceries at the supermarket. I’ll cook for you right away.”

“I won’t interrupt your touching father-son moment. I’ll head back first. Give me a call if you need anything.” They had already exchanged numbers back at the hospital.

“Alright, ride slow on your way back, and stay safe!” Chen Liyang nodded.

After watching the man leave, he suddenly remembered something important. “Oh no, Wanning is still at Aunt Zhao’s place. I need to go bring her back right now.”

As he spoke, he was about to head over to Aunt Zhao’s, but Zhou Chengdong stopped him in an unnatural tone. “Little Sister is already back. Aunt Zhao brought her over.”

“It’s my fault. When I came out of the supermarket, I wanted to come home and cook something nice for you, but I got hit by an electric scooter. That’s why I got delayed. I just worry Aunt Zhao thinks I was deliberately staying out to slack off.”

The moment Chen Liyang finished speaking, Zhou Chengdong blurted out, “It obviously wasn’t your fault! Why are you taking the blame on yourself?”

The second the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Why on earth was he standing up for him?

Chen Liyang, however, was overjoyed to hear it. Was Eldest Brother showing concern for him?

He immediately patted Zhou Chengdong on the shoulder. “Good lad, knowing how to care about your dad now. Getting hit wasn’t in vain after all.”

The moment Zhou Chengdong felt Chen Liyang’s palm, his body instantly tensed up.

“Don’t misunderstand, I wasn’t caring about you. I was just speaking objectively,” he said stiffly.

Knowing the boy was just being stubborn and awkward, Chen Liyang didn’t tease him any further, as pushing it would only backfire.

Remembering Zhou Chengxi’s unusual expression earlier, he turned his concerned gaze toward the third brother. This child was the most guarded and scheming among all the brothers.

He couldn’t let him bottle up his thoughts; leaving them unaddressed would be dangerous.

“Chengxi, did someone bully you at school?”

Through the text of the novel, he knew these children were not only abused by their stepfather at home, but were also looked down upon and frequently bullied by classmates at school.

“No!” Zhou Chengxi denied it instantly.

Facing Chen Liyang’s concerned gaze, he felt extremely awkward. The man was injured himself, yet he still had the heart to worry about him.

Chen Liyang knew how deep this boy’s mind ran and that getting him to tell the truth would be harder than reaching the heavens, so he spoke earnestly: “I’m your father. If anything happens, you must tell me. I’ll stick up for you!”

“I said no! Why are you nagging so much?” Zhou Chengxi looked flustered and exasperated, though it was merely a cover for his inner guilt.

“Alright, alright, no it is. Eldest, Second, quickly carry the things inside. I bought you fruits and snacks, grab whatever you want to eat!” Chen Liyang changed the subject.

Watching from a distance, Zhou Chengbei’s eyes lit up the moment he heard snacks had been bought for them. “You bought us snacks?”

It had been a very long time since he last had snacks. The last time was when Aunt Zhao secretly gave the five siblings a banana and a pack of biscuits each.

Yet Chen Liyang, as their father in name, had never bought them a single snack.

Instead, he would exploit the government subsidy money meant for them and use it to buy things for his own nephew and niece.

Chen Liyang smiled and nodded. “Yes, they’re all for you. I went to the company this afternoon, got my back pay, and even made them pay work-injury compensation.

The money on me is enough to cover our family’s expenses for several months, so eat to your hearts’ content.”

Hearing his words, Zhou Chengxi could already piece together what had happened.

To get his unpaid wages back, he had entrusted their little sister to Aunt Zhao’s care. After getting the money, he went to the supermarket, only to get hit by an electric scooter on his way out, which was why he returned late.

Yet without knowing the truth, Zhou Chengxi had slapped him with the accusation of selling his daughter.

In the living room, Chen Liyang set all the snacks on the coffee table, letting them grab whatever they liked.

He then picked up a carton of pure milk and a bunch of bananas to head next door to Aunt Zhao’s house.

“This is for Aunt Zhao. I know she’s been secretly giving you food all these years and often looks after Wanning. By all rights and reason, we ought to thank her properly.

I plan to cook a table full of delicious food at home this Saturday when there’s no school and invite her whole family over. What do you think? Or would it be better to eat out?” Holding the items in hand, Chen Liyang looked at the four children.

Some things only felt like a family affair when everyone took part, which would also give them a sense of belonging.

This was the first time Chen Liyang had ever asked for their opinion, and it was about inviting Aunt Zhao’s family for a meal, something they had never even dared to imagine before.

It had only been two days, yet his transformation was immense.

If not for the fact that ghosts didn’t exist in this world, they would truly suspect Chen Liyang had been possessed.

Under Chen Liyang’s warm gaze, Zhou Chengdong spoke up first. “Eating out is expensive and unhealthy. It’s better to eat at home. Cooking ourselves gives peace of mind, and it’s less formal.”

“Great minds think alike. It’s not that I’m reluctant to treat them outside, but knowing Aunt Zhao’s personality, if we invited her to a restaurant, she probably wouldn’t agree.

But at home it’s different. I’ll make extra food, so even if she doesn’t want to come, seeing all those dishes going to waste will force her to come over.” Chen Liyang smiled.

With the plan settled, Chen Liyang limped toward Aunt Zhao’s house.

Though his leg wasn’t fractured, he couldn’t put too much weight on it because he had been beaten up by the male lead earlier.

Now with stitches added into the mix, it was undoubtedly making matters worse.

He was fine when walking empty-handed, but carrying things while walking made it feel as though his wound was tearing open, making every step a struggle.

Seeing that Chen Liyang was injured and having trouble walking, Zhou Chengdong stepped forward quickly and took the milk and bananas from his hands.

“Let me carry those. Don’t drop them on the ground and let them go to waste!” His voice was flat, even carrying a hint of coldness.

But the fact that he had stepped forward to help carry the things showed Chen Liyang that he was genuinely showing concern. He was just too stubborn to admit it.

He was at that rebellious age, after all, with a touch of tsundere^[1] about him. Chen Liyang smiled, thanked him, and kept walking.

If he had turned around to look at that moment, he would have seen that Zhou Chengdong’s dark face was blushing red.

“Second Brother, did Big Brother switch sides?” Zhou Chengxi asked the person beside him as he watched the two walk away.

Zhou Chengnan knew his younger brother was deep and sensitive. It had taken so much for their family to finally lead a normal life, and he didn’t want to break the peace just yet, so he said, “Didn’t you hear Big Brother? He’s just afraid that guy will drop the stuff and ruin it.”