The back mountain was barren, with only a dense array of tombstones standing in this desolate area, a deathly silence spreading. Yan Chi remained silent for a long time. He picked a flower and silently placed it before the tombstone.
The tombstone of Shen Chang Le's parents was in the very center. When Yan Chi reached this spot, he only had a few white chrysanthemums left. He slowly placed the chrysanthemums before the joint grave. "Sorry, I'll bring you more next time."
Shen Mingsu swept away the fallen leaves in front of the tombstone. His tone was smiling, his attitude casual. "How about it, little sister? My boyfriend is great, isn't he? He's the first person to give you flowers."
Hearing his undisguised boastful tone, Yan Chi felt a wave of helplessness. He turned to look at the photo on the tombstone.
Shen Chang Le's parents were both very good-looking. His father had delicate features, wore black-rimmed glasses, and exuded the scholarly air of a learned man.
Chang Le's mother possessed exquisite beauty. Her beautiful dark green eyes held a lazy smile as she looked at the man beside her, a half-smile playing on her lips. Through her eyes, one could almost sense her tender affection for her lover, and... a subtle, almost imperceptible, desire to control.
Yan Chi gazed at the smile on Chang Le's mother's lips. "Your sister... looks a lot like you."
"Of course, she's my own sister." Shen Mingsu smiled. "She's just a bit too love-struck; she gave me so much trouble when she was alive."
Yan Chi frowned and gently slapped his hand. "Why are you saying all this now?"
Shen Mingsu glanced meaningfully at his sister's portrait. "Just telling the truth. It's a pity you never got to see her in person, otherwise you probably would have had a heart attack from her. That girl wasn't exactly an obedient student."
Yan Chi sensed the headache he felt for his sister, and remembering Chang Le's identity as a player, "You...you didn't break them up back then, did you?"
To his surprise, Shen Mingsu seemed to find it hilarious. "How could I dare? My sister is no pushover."
Since she's Shen Mingsu's sister, her level must be high; she's probably a super S-rank boss.
Yan Chi was still puzzled. "If she's so strong, why was she..."
Shen Mingsu didn't answer. He walked straight to the grave and, to Yan Chi's astonishment, kicked it twice. "Shen Ruoqin, get up and greet someone! How can you be so rude?"
Yan Chi stared in disbelief. Coming to his senses, he quickly grabbed Shen Mingsu's hand and dragged him aside. "Are you crazy?!"
A faint noise came from inside the grave, like someone turning over and crawling out. Yan Chi froze for a moment, then stiffly turned his head as if rusted.
The soil on the grave was pushed aside, and a face covered in dust, just seen on the tombstone, crawled out. Shen Ruoqin dusted herself off and waved enthusiastically to Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu. "Hello, brother! Hello, brother-in-law!"
A...a zombie?
Yan Chi's vision blurred; the thought of a living person crawling out of a grave was still too terrifying for him. He grabbed Shen Mingsu's arm, using immense willpower to prevent himself from turning tail and running away.
"Y-hello." Yan Chi forced a smile and greeted Shen Ruoqin, then gritted his teeth and asked Shen Mingsu, "What happened?! Why didn't you tell me your sister was still alive?!"
Shen Mingsu gave him a reassuring hug. "She's alive for now, don't be afraid. Of course, if you're really scared, I can let her lie back down; it's not a big deal."
Yan Chi: "..."
Shen Ruoqin had a faint smile on her lips, her gaze shifting between Shen Mingsu and Yan Chi. "Yes, brother-in-law, don't be afraid. I'm not a ghost. My hands are warm, feel them?"
Shen Ruoqin stepped forward, reaching out to touch Yan Chi's hand, but Shen Mingsu's eyes turned cold, and he grabbed her wrist first. "Sister, don't touch my people, okay?"
Although his tone was normal and gentle, Yan Chi inexplicably detected a hint of threat in it. But looking at the smiles on the siblings' faces, Yan Chi thought he was overthinking it; their relationship seemed quite good.
Shen Ruoqin's smile remained unchanged. "Of course, brother. I'll be very obedient."
Shen Mingsu released her wrist. This time, Shen Ruoqin didn't rush closer to Yan Chi; the two maintained a distance.
"Brother-in-law, are you taking care of Chang Le?" Shen Ruoqin suddenly asked. "I smell Chang Le's scent on you."
Yan Chi glanced at Shen Mingsu and nodded. "Yes, he lives with us."
"That's really bothering you." Shen Ruoqin's eyes were full of trouble. "If you think he's in the way, just throw him out. He's a big kid now anyway."
Yan Chi quickly said, "It's okay, Chang Le is very well-behaved."
He paused. "Then... since you're still alive, do you want to go back and see Chang Le? He misses you all."
Shen Ruoqin smiled and shook her head. "Brother-in-law, your memory isn't very good. Didn't I already say I'm dead? How can a dead mother see Chang Le?"
Yan Chi looked at the living person in front of him, his brows furrowing slightly. "But you now..."
"Just now." Shen Ruoqin gazed at Yan Chi, then turned to look at the grave. "I only came out to see you briefly. Once you leave, I will naturally return to my grave."
Yan Chi was utterly bewildered. What did she mean by "only alive for now"? Was there a time limit to being alive?
Perhaps Yan Chi's obvious confusion prompted Shen Ruoqin to smile and explain, "You should know that my brother and I have the ability to manipulate time, so I knew you'd be back today. My brother only has me as family, so he definitely won't be able to see our parents. Therefore, I came to do it for him."
"The me you see now actually belongs to the past. My body has already decayed. Crawling out of the ground would definitely scare you," Shen Ruoqin joked. "If you get too scared, my brother might dig me out of my grave and beat me up."
Shen Mingsu snorted. "Good to know."
Shen Ruoqin looked as if she had expected this. "So, I made sure I looked presentable before coming to see you."
Looking at the radiant Shen Ruoqin, Yan Chi suddenly thought that Chang Le's personality was nothing like his mother's; perhaps it came from his father.
Yan Chi opened his mouth, "What about Chang Le's father?"
"He's already just bones." Shen Ruoqin rolled up her sleeves, "Brother-in-law, do you want to see? Wait a minute, I'll dig him out for you."
Yan Chi: "!!!"
"Wait!" Yan Chi was terrified and immediately waved his hand to stop Shen Ruoqin, "No need, I won't look! Let him stay in the grave, don't disturb him, he's already at peace."
Shen Ruoqin looked regretful, "Alright."
Shen Ruoqin was a very talkative person. She maintained a basic distance from Yan Chi while still managing to keep the conversation flowing, preventing the atmosphere from getting awkward. "My brother wasn't a good brother. He just took me everywhere to fight, and if he couldn't beat them, he'd use me as a weapon and run away."
Yan Chi's gaze slowly shifted to Shen Mingsu, and he nodded in agreement, "He really wasn't a good brother."
Shen Mingsu: "..."
"But I don't blame him. Our parents died early, so he raised me single-handedly."
“Although he can’t cook, has no patience, a bad temper, and won’t let me touch his things—he gets angry if I do…” Shen Ruoqin listed Shen Mingsu’s many shortcomings, finally adding with a smile, “But I know he’s a good older brother.”
Yan Chi: “…”
He was momentarily unsure whether Shen Ruoqin was genuinely praising Shen Mingsu or insulting him.
Shen Mingsu coughed, his gaze threatening Shen Ruoqin to stop, but Shen Ruoqin ignored him and continued chatting with Yan Chi. Soon, their conversation shifted from Shen Mingsu to Shen Chang Le.
“Chang Le misses his younger brother?” Shen Ruoqin was silent for a moment after hearing the reason Yan Chi had come to see her.
Yan Chi looked around at the surrounding tombstones. "Where's his brother? I don't think I saw a tombstone for the child on my way here."
Shen Mingsu raised his chin. "Buried with them."
It's normal for a baby a few months old to be buried with its parents. Yan Chi nodded, his eyes filled with sorrow as he looked at Shen Ruoqin. He hadn't mentioned their deaths, afraid of touching on Shen Ruoqin's painful memories.
Shen Ruoqin frowned slightly. "Since Chang Le misses his brother, why don't you... take him back?"
Yan Chi, Shen Mingsu: "..."
What was she saying? For a moment, they couldn't understand her.
Shen Ruoqin went back into the grave, rummaged around for a bit, and pulled out a dirty swaddled baby. She blew on it to brush off the dust and asked Yan Chi, "Do you want it? It can still be used after washing."
Want what?
Yan Chi stared blankly, "Huh?"
Shen Ruoqin held the "child?" in front of them. Yan Chi, suppressing his fear, glanced into the red swaddling clothes. Unlike the rotting scene he had imagined, the infant in the swaddling clothes had its eyes peacefully closed.
Although it was also covered in dirt and grime, delicate features were visible, but... it wasn't breathing.
Yan Chi moved closer to Shen Mingsu's back and whispered, "Is this child alive or dead?"
Shen Mingsu was also unsure, looking directly at Shen Ruoqin. "What exactly happened?"
"Chang Le wanted a little brother, so I got him one." Shen Ruoqin showed the baby to Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu. "How is it? His father and I made it ourselves. Doesn't it look realistic?"
Yan Chi: "..."
Shen Mingsu: "...You never told me your second child was fake."
"Really? I didn't tell you?" Shen Ruoqin was surprised. She recalled, "Didn't you notice that my belly wasn't even big before the second child was born?"
"I thought only Chang Le was foolish enough not to tell the difference. How could you, brother, also..." Shen Ruoqin didn't finish her sentence, but a smile played on her lips as she looked Shen Mingsu up and down, letting out a soft chuckle.
Shen Mingsu: "..."
This made him look like a joke, especially in front of Yan Chi. Shen Mingsu tried to save face, "This child cries and fusses sometimes, and his scent is exactly the same as theirs. It's normal for him to have mistaken you for someone else; don't blame me."
Yan Chi suppressed a laugh, "Yeah, it's not your fault."
Shen Ruoqin lifted the child by the legs and took him out of the swaddling clothes. The child looked exactly like a normal baby, tiny and fair-skinned.
"Just take him home and wash him." Shen Ruoqin tossed the child to Yan Chi, who nervously hugged him, "Then how do I..."
"Just feed him a drop of blood." Shen Ruoqin explained the child's instructions, "His battery life is pretty good; one drop of blood lasts a week. When he's about to die, he'll cry continuously, and you just need to feed him another drop, otherwise he'll keep crying until the battery runs out."
Yan Chi twitched his lips, "...This child is pretty high-tech."
"Of course." Shen Ruoqin said proudly, "He can still grow up! Do you two want a child? This one is for you."
Shen Mingsu immediately refused, "No, we're perfectly happy with just the two of us. Let Chang Le raise this child."
Shen Ruoqin had already seen through him, and nodded with a smile, "I understand you. I'm a possessive person too."
Shen Mingsu: "..."
After completing the child handover ceremony, Shen Ruoqin was about to return to the grave. Before being buried, she waved warmly to Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu, "Come visit often, but I won't be able to come out of the grave to greet you next time."
Shen Ruoqin took... She placed a chrysanthemum before the tombstone. "Thank you, brother-in-law. I like it very much. I'll take this one with me."
Yan Chi: "...Okay."
After Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu left, Shen Ruoqin watched their retreating figures, her fingers gently twirling the chrysanthemum's stem. Hearing footsteps, she turned to look at the approaching person. "Danxi, long time no see."
Ming Danxi looked at her dirty dress and took a step back, distancing herself slightly. "How did you get so dirty?"
Shen Ruoqin: "Nonsense, you'd be dirty even if you crawled out of the ground."
"I'm not like you. There will never be such a possibility." Ming Danxi's light gray eyes gazed at her old friend. "When can we meet again?"
"Soon, I think."
Shen Ruoqin took the flower and walked to the grave. Under Ming Danxi's disdainful gaze, she crawled back into the grave, where the deep white bones were faintly visible. Ming Danxi turned to leave, but Shen Ruoqin called after her.
"Danxi, help me seal the hole in the grave with some soil. The winter wind is cold."
"..."
Ming Danxi took a deep breath, but finally turned back and resignedly helped seal the hole in the grave.
...
When Yan Chi appeared on campus carrying a naked child, he was predictably surrounded by students again. To avoid further misunderstandings, Yan Chi patiently explained to each student that this wasn't his and Shen Mingsu's child.
However, news of Yan Chi bringing home another child still reached Yan Qingyuan's ears.
After Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu returned home, Shen Chang Le was still upstairs. Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu began examining the baby. Yan Chi asked, "Your blood or mine?"
“Use mine.” Shen Mingsu, wanting to be pampered by Yan Chi, took out a small knife, made a small cut on his fingertip, and dripped blood into the child's mouth.
Under Yan Chi's expectant gaze, the little guy slowly opened his dark green eyes. He glanced at Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu, then lowered his eyes again.
Yan Chi excitedly grabbed Shen Mingsu's phone. “It’s on! It looks exactly like a real human baby, so realistic!”
The baby raised his eyes, his voice childish, “What do you mean it’s on? I’m not a robot.”
Yan Chi was surprised: “…You can talk?!”
“You can too, can’t you? What’s so special about that?” The baby looked listless; though only a few months old, he inexplicably possessed a world-weary weariness.
Shen Mingsu was very dissatisfied with his attitude and pinched his face with one hand. "Speak properly, can't you?"
The baby glanced at him. "Are you going to send me back?"
"Can't I just strangle you?"
"..."
The baby became obedient, calling Shen Mingsu "Uncle" and Yan Chi "Auntie." "Okay, actually I'm a good baby, but I'm a little dirty now, so can you give me a bath?"
Shen Mingsu sneered: "So capable, go wash yourself."
The baby: "...I can't walk yet, and I can't swim, I'll drown."
The little guy was filthy, so without him saying anything, Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu would naturally clean him up before they sent him to Shen Chang Le.
This kid knew when to stop. During the bath, he was afraid Shen Mingsu would hold him underwater and drown him, so he didn't say a word, looking quite like a well-behaved boy.
Yan Qingyuan arrived just then. He frowned, glanced around the empty house, and finally followed the sound of water to the bathroom, where he saw Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu bathing a fair-skinned baby.
Shen Mingsu was supporting the baby's head to prevent him from choking on water, while Yan Chi was washing his hair and lathering him with soap.
"What's going on with this child?"
Yan Qingyuan's sudden question startled the busy couple.
Yan Chi, having explained so much to the students, directly denied it, "Don't misunderstand, this isn't our child."
"Hmm, I can tell." Yan Qingyuan looked at the baby in the bathtub, remained silent for a moment, then looked at Yan Chi carefully bathing the child and suddenly said, "If you like children, you can adopt one yourself. You don't always have to adopt other people's."
Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu: "..."
This sentence left them both speechless.
In Yan Qingyuan's eyes, Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu seemed like unfortunate souls who couldn't have their own children and were forced to raise other people's kids, a fact evident from the two children they had already taken in.
"Dad... this is a fake doll, Chang Le's younger brother. Chang Le was very sad after Chu Xi left, so we found his brother." Yan Chi was both amused and exasperated. "Don't overthink it. Shen Mingsu and I aren't planning on having children right now."
"A fake doll... Chang Le's younger brother?" Yan Qingyuan looked puzzled. "Do you know what you're talking about, Xiao Chi?"
This was indeed absurd, so Yan Chi had to explain the whole story from beginning to end. "...That's how it is, Dad."
After hearing his explanation, Yan Qingyuan turned to look at Shen Mingsu. "Your sister... is quite wise."
The child was clamoring for a younger brother, so they gave him a fake doll as a brother.
Shen Mingsu said modestly, "It's alright, it's alright."
After confirming that Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu hadn't gone looking for babies, Yan Qingyuan left with peace of mind. Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu exchanged a glance, both smiling.
"I'm really curious what kind of image we have in your father's eyes," Shen Mingsu said, lifting the baby from the bathtub and drying him off.
Yan Chi found some clothes Chu Xi had left behind and dressed him. "Probably a miserable couple who can't have a child themselves, so they can only find solace in picking up other people's babies."
They both smiled after saying this.
While changing the baby's clothes, the little guy started nitpicking again, complaining that pink was too delicate, then disliking gray for being too dark. Finally, Shen Mingsu pulled out a lace dress. "Then wear this."
The baby: "Then give me the gray one."
After successfully changing his clothes, Yan Chi carried him upstairs to find Shen Chang Le. He knocked on the closed door. "Chang Le, we have a gift for you."
After waiting a while, Shen Chang Le opened the door. He still had that calm and unsmiling expression, but his eyes were slightly red. He was about to speak when his gaze fell on the baby in Yan Chi's arms, and his expression went blank for a moment.
“We brought your little brother back for you.” Yan Chi handed the infant to Shen Chang Le. “Now you can take care of him.”
The little guy was exceptionally well-behaved after being placed in Shen Chang Le’s arms. He nestled against Shen Chang Le’s cheek and kissed him, then pretended to be a baby who couldn’t speak, babbling incoherently.
Yan Chi was utterly astonished. He had actually witnessed a perfect transformation in a baby only a few months old.
Shen Chang Le looked at his little brother in disbelief. “He…he wasn’t he already…”
He had clearly seen her brother being thrown to the ground, lifeless, and buried next to their mother at the funeral.
Everything that was happening now felt unreal to Shen Chang Le.
Yan Chi gave Shen Mingsu a wink, signaling him to explain the situation. Shen Mingsu reluctantly agreed, saying, "Chang Le, there's something we need to tell you. Be prepared."
Shen Chang Le hugged his younger brother tightly. "Okay."
Shen Mingsu took a deep breath and blurted out, "Your mother never had a second child, and you didn't have a younger brother. Your brother was always a fake."
Shen Chang Le: "...Uncle, are you kidding?"
Shen Mingsu continued, "No, I'm not kidding. Think back, did your mother ever have a big belly?"
Shen Chang Le fell into deep thought. It seemed… he really had never seen his mother pregnant. It was only one day that his mother suddenly gave him his younger brother, asking him to take good care of him.
Afterwards, he was overjoyed at having a younger brother, completely unaware of the anomaly. Now, after Shen Mingsu's reminder, all those illogical things suddenly made sense.
Yan Chi tentatively asked, "Chang Le, you…"
"It's alright, Teacher Chi." Shen Chang Le recovered quickly, his expression normal, readily accepting the fact. "A fake brother is still a brother, I don't mind."
Yan Chi: "…"
This child was just like his real mother at this moment; one had to be constantly wary of his surprising words.
Yan Chi opened his mouth, "…Okay then."
Of course, Shen Chang Le kept his word. Since his younger brother, Shen Changyao, returned, he had spent every day with the little guy.
During their short two-day holiday, the two were inseparable. Shen Chang Le would make him milk and tell him stories, handling everything by himself without needing Yan Chi or Shen Mingsu's help. He even slept with Shen Changyao in his arms at night.
On Sunday night, as Yan Chi drifted off to sleep, he thought of Shen Changyao. "Changyao will be in your care tomorrow."
Shen Mingsu hugged him tightly. "Yeah, don't worry."
The next morning, after Yan Chi and Shen Chang Le left home after breakfast, Shen Mingsu leisurely watered the plants. Then, he suddenly remembered something was missing.
—Shen Chang Le hadn't entrusted Shen Changyao to him at all!
Shen Mingsu rushed to Shen Chang Le's room, pulled back the covers, glanced under the bed, then drew back the curtains and searched everywhere, but couldn't find the baby.
Shen Mingsu frowned, suddenly remembering that Shen Chang Le had unusually worn a backpack to school earlier that day.
This is bad…
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