Chapter 23: Win Over the Third Brother First

Chen Liyang was originally supposed to cook dinner, but when Zhou Chengdong saw him jumping back as hot oil splattered while stir-frying, he snatched the spatula right out of his hand. “You assist. I’ll cook.”

This time, Chen Liyang didn’t refuse. He had bought a lavish spread of groceries today, but his culinary skills were average at best. If the food turned out terrible, it would be a complete waste.

In the kitchen, Chen Liyang washed and chopped while Zhou Chengdong handled the cooking. Though father and son barely spoke, the atmosphere was remarkably harmonious.

As he cooked, Zhou Chengdong watched Chen Liyang meticulously slicing meat, feeling a sense of grounded dependability from him for the very first time.

Dinner turned out to be a sumptuous feast, with every dish prepared by Zhou Chengdong.

At home, he was usually the one who cooked the most, making him the best chef in the family.

Looking at the dishes on the table, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, Zhou Chengnan and his brothers were practically drooling.

“Don’t just stand there staring. Go wash your hands, we’re eating in a minute,” Chen Liyang said, bringing the final dish to the table.

Except for the eldest, the rest had eaten plenty of snacks earlier and weren’t particularly hungry, but seeing the delicious spread before them, they couldn’t resist.

The boys took their little sister to the bathroom to wash up, while Zhou Chengdong brought out the served bowls of rice.

Chen Liyang picked up a piece of beer duck^[1] and tasted it. It was indeed far better than anything he could make.

He was never stingy with praise; good food deserved compliments. Giving Zhou Chengdong a thumbs-up, he said, “Chengdong, great cooking! You’re way better at this than your dad.”

Zhou Chengdong shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth with slight awkwardness, making no response.

But Zhou Chengxi’s next words shattered the cozy atmosphere, rendering it instantly awkward and tense: “If you hadn’t constantly exploited us and forced us to fend for ourselves, my brother wouldn’t have developed such great cooking skills.”

The sarcasm was glaring. Chen Liyang offered a strained smile; the kid certainly knew how to ruin a mood.

It seemed that if he wanted these kids to accept him without resentment, he would have to win over the third brother first.

Otherwise, with him whispering poison into their ears every single day, who knew when they would finally forgive him?

Sure enough, his words turned the slightly shy Zhou Chengdong solemn and gloomy again.

The rest of the sumptuous dinner passed in total silence.

A fair amount of food was left over by the end. Chen Liyang covered the plates with plastic wrap before putting them into the refrigerator.

In his past life, he had been born into an ordinary family, and that was how his mother had always handled leftovers.

Now that he was a father himself, he was even less inclined to indulge in wasteful habits.

“Alright, I’ll clear the dishes. You guys go do your homework, then shower and get to sleep.” Chen Liyang took the chopsticks from Zhou Chengnan’s hand, then naturally gathered up the bowls and cutlery to wash in the kitchen.

“If he wants to clean up, let him,” Zhou Chengxi said. “Second Brother has final exams coming up soon. You’re the best student in our family, so don’t let household chores get in the way of your studies.”

Right as Zhou Chengxi finished speaking, Zhou Chengdong added, “Third Brother is right. You’re the only one in our family with a real chance of getting into a top high school. We’ll handle the chores from now on. You just need to focus on studying.”

Zhou Chengnan flashed a self-deprecating smile. “What’s the use of being good at school? Kids from rich and powerful families are born at the finish line. Kids like us, with no parents or connections, will just get pushed aside by people with connections when looking for a job.”

“I won’t allow you to be so negative,” Zhou Chengdong said in a low, firm voice. “In the face of absolute strength, connections mean nothing.”

In that moment, he radiated the true presence of an older brother.

Only then did Zhou Chengnan’s expression soften back to normal. “I know, Brother. I’ll study hard.”

That night, Chen Liyang woke up drenched in sweat. There was no air conditioner in the house, only electric fans.

Temperatures had been around thirty-five or thirty-six degrees Celsius these past couple of days, so even with the fan blowing, it was still stiflingly hot.

Getting out of bed, he wanted to check if the kids were also too hot to sleep.

The eldest son’s door wasn’t fully closed, left standing half-open. Stepping lightly to the doorway, Chen Liyang looked inside by the moonlight streaming through the window and saw the eldest son sitting on the edge of Wanning’s bed, fanning her with a palm-leaf fan.

From inside the room, Zhou Chengnan’s voice sounded now and then: “Big Brother, you have class tomorrow. If you don’t sleep now, you won’t be able to get up tomorrow.”

“It’s fine. I’ll fan Wanning a bit longer. She can’t stand the heat, and her hair is completely soaked,” Zhou Chengdong replied softly.

Then came another sigh from Zhou Chengnan. “This electric fan broke at the worst possible time. I feel like I’m turning into a dried mummy.”

Only then did Chen Liyang realize the electric fan in their room was broken. No wonder Zhou Chengdong was up in the middle of the night fanning Wanning. He truly was an irreproachable big brother.

Immediately, he returned to his room, picked up his own electric fan, and carried it over to the boys’ room.

Hearing the noise, both boys turned to look at the same time.

Chen Liyang pulled the lamp cord, instantly lighting up the dark room.

Squinting against the glare, the two waited until their eyes adjusted before seeing Chen Liyang step into their room.

In his arms, he was holding a standing fan.

He had bought this standing fan just this year, and its airflow was far stronger than their old one.

But why wasn’t he sleeping in the middle of the night, lugging an electric fan into their room?

While they were still thoroughly bewildered, Chen Liyang plugged the fan into the power strip.

He set it to maximum speed and turned on the oscillation feature.

That way, everyone in the room could catch the breeze. Zhou Chengnan instantly felt like he had been brought back to life.

Still, they couldn’t make heads or tails of his baffling behavior.

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Chen Liyang smiled and explained, “I just stepped out to use the bathroom and happened to hear that your fan broke. It’s so hot tonight, how can you manage without a fan? You have school tomorrow!”

“If you give us your fan, what about you?” Zhou Chengdong asked.

“I’m an adult. How could I let you kids suffer while I enjoy the comfort? Hurry up and get to sleep. With the fan running, Wanning won’t be so hot.”

With that, he left the room.

He left the two brothers, Zhou Chengdong and Zhou Chengnan, staring at each other in silence. The old Chen Liyang had been selfish and cold-blooded.

Now, he wanted nothing more than to give them the very best of everything.

After leaving the older brothers’ room, Chen Liyang headed over to the third and fourth brothers’ room. The electric fan in their room rattled noisily as it blew, but both of them were sleeping soundly, clearly long accustomed to the noise.

Standing by the bed, Chen Liyang pulled the blanket over their stomachs^[2] before returning to his own room.

Little did he know that the moment he stepped out, Zhou Chengxi opened his eyes and stared after his retreating back.

In the past, Mom used to come into their room at night to check if their blankets were covering them properly.

He never expected that after so many years, Chen Liyang would one day do the exact same thing, just like a proper father caring for his children.