Volume One, Chapter 11: The Fourth Brother's Favoritism

After leaving KFC, Huo Siyue was still buzzing with the excitement of victory, chatting nonstop all the way home—recounting how he once sneaked his parents’ liquor as a child and got scolded, and how he once dismantled his elder brother’s bicycle and couldn’t put it back together.

Jiang Yu listened quietly, occasionally responding with a word or two.

The warm sunlight bathed them gently, dispelling the chill that had accumulated over years in her past life. For the first time, she felt that youth could be so vivid and bright.

But just as they neared the gate of the compound, the good mood was shattered once again.

The three Jiang siblings stood there with dark faces, blocking their only path home.

“Jiang Yu!” The eldest brother, Jiang Zhenguo, was the first to confront them. Rubbing the red mark on his forehead where the door had hit him, his eyes were full of resentment. “So now you’ve climbed up to a higher branch, showing off your skills, and brought some wild savage to bully us, huh?!”

Huo Siyue was momentarily stunned.

A savage?

He, of all people?

He was the young master, the fourth brother, the handsome elder brother of his sister!

How dare this bunch of unrefined hillbillies call him a savage?

“You just can’t let go, huh!” Huo Siyue began rolling up his sleeves. “So now that you can’t compete materially, you’re trying to outshout us?”

The escalating noise quickly attracted family members coming and going in the compound, as well as neighbors chatting idly nearby. Even Sister Wang, who Jiang Yu had snapped at earlier, approached with hands in pockets, like a cat drawn by the scent of blood, ready for some entertainment.

The second brother, Jiang Chengzhi, noticing the growing crowd, only amplified his voice deliberately. His eyes flicked between Jiang Yu and Huo Siyue as he sneered, “I wondered why you insisted on following your mother’s remarriage. Turns out you’ve already hooked up with the young master of the Huo family! Such a young age and no ambition—what a disgrace to the Jiang family!”

“Exactly! No wonder you protect her so much—turns out she’s just like her mother, both loose and lowly!”

Jiang Yu’s expression darkened instantly, her fists clenched tightly.

They could say whatever they wanted about her, but to throw dirt on her mother, these scoundrels weren’t worthy!

Before she could reply, Huo Siyue stepped forward to block the Jiang siblings.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” He hated nothing more than insults of that nature.

He had lost his own mother early; even if this woman was a stepmother, she didn’t deserve such disrespect!

Jiang Zhenguo grabbed Jiang Yu’s wrist roughly, dragging her outward, his voice sharp and accusing: “You come home! You’re a Jiang family member—can’t you keep the family name clean? Come back and apologize properly! Only then can you return to the Jiang family!”

That hand—rough and brutal—overlapped memories of countless times it had snatched away her paycheck envelope, shoved her aside.

Jiang Yu’s heart instantly turned cold.

“Let her go!” Huo Siyue exploded, rushing forward and prying Jiang Zhenguo’s hand off. He shoved him hard backward and spread his arms wide to shield Jiang Yu firmly behind him.

“Aren’t you disgustingly filthy, all of you!”

He lifted his chin high, eyes full of contempt and disdain as he gestured toward the inquisitive neighbors. His voice rang out: “What are you staring at? Never seen beggars before? That’s what you are! Clinging to my sister all day, either begging for money or trying to scam!”

“You’re… slandering us!” Jiang Zhenguo stumbled from the shove, furious and enraged.

Jiang Yuehua sensed the situation worsening. Especially as the neighbors’ expressions shifted from mere curiosity to seeing them as clowns, she quickly hatched a plan.

Without looking at Jiang Yu, she suddenly bypassed the confrontation and ran into the compound, crying out in a pitiful and aggrieved voice:

“Mom! Aunt Lin Wenxiu! Please come out and see this!”

“My brothers only worry that sister is being bullied outside and want her to come home, but sister… sister has a new brother now and doesn’t want us anymore… sob sob… she even had the Huo family brother hit someone… Mom!”

Her shout successfully drew Lin Wenxiu out from the building.

Seeing the tense standoff at the gate, especially Jiang Yuehua, who was sobbing uncontrollably, Lin Wenxiu felt a pang of inner conflict.

Jiang Yuehua clung to her like a lifeline, crying her heart out: “Mom, please persuade sister! We really miss her… how could she treat us like this…”

Lin Wenxiu held her, momentarily at a loss, and looked pleadingly toward Jiang Yu: “Xiaoyu…”

Jiang Yu, watching Jiang Yuehua resort to her favorite ploy, felt a sneer rise in her heart.

Her dear little sister never stopped performing.

Ignoring Jiang Yuehua’s wails, Jiang Yu met her eldest brother Jiang Zhenguo’s resentful glare calmly and spoke:

“Big brother, are you telling me to go back because you’re out of money again? Or because second brother’s radio broke and he can’t fix it himself?”

She paused, eyes sweeping over the three brothers, her voice low but every word clear:

“Or is it that after I left, no one washes your clothes or cooks your meals, no one cleans up your messes, and life has become uncomfortable for you?”

“Or maybe there’s no money left at home, and you can’t even cook rice?”

The three brothers exchanged glances, stunned beyond belief that Jiang Yu had changed—from a quietly giving sister into someone so sharp-tongued!

The onlookers suddenly understood the truth.

It wasn’t that Jiang Yu was climbing to a higher branch—it was that these brothers treated her like a free housekeeper!

Jiang Zhenguo and Jiang Chengzhi’s faces stung from the verbal blows, but they had no retort.

Jiang Yuehua could only continue playing the victim, hoping to win their mother’s sympathy.

Unfortunately, hearing these words, Lin Wenxiu’s heart ached more for Jiang Yu.

At first, she had wanted to take care of Jiang Yuehua, but Yuehua was unwilling.

As a mother, she knew all too well her little schemes.

Though both daughters were her flesh and blood, Jiang Yu had suffered enough.

Now that she was with the Huo family, and Huo senior liked her, this good life must not be disturbed.

Lin Wenxiu sighed and gently pushed Jiang Yuehua away from her chest: “Yuhua, your sister has had a hard time too. Take your brothers and go home. Don’t bother us anymore.”

Jiang Yuehua couldn’t believe it.

“Mom… how can you be so heartless?”

Jiang Yu no longer looked at them. She tugged Lin Wenxiu’s sleeve and supported her as they walked home.

Glancing back at Huo Siyue, who was still grinding his teeth, her voice softened immediately, carrying a hint of affectionate dependence: “Brother Siyue, I’m hungry. Let’s go home.”

“Alright, home it is!” Huo Siyue, melted by being called “Brother Siyue” by her, relaxed completely. He didn’t even bother glaring at the Jiang siblings any longer. Holding Jiang Yu protectively, he strode into the compound with head held high.

Huo Siyue felt a surge of pride.

Called Brother Siyue?

Damn, how lucky was he!

Who else had a sister this happy?

…

Dinner that night was tinged with an unusual subtlety.

Huo Siyue, uncharacteristically attentive, ladled soup for Jiang Yu and served her dishes as if caring for his own father.

At the table, the last glossy chicken drumstick was placed in the center of the lazy Susan by Huo Jianjun.

Everyone instinctively looked at Huo Siyue.

In the Huo family, this youngest son was always the apple of everyone’s eye, and such delicacies were always his.

Even Huo Siyue himself habitually reached out his chopsticks.

But mid-air, his chopsticks curved gently and naturally picked up the drumstick, placing it firmly into Jiang Yu’s bowl.

“Eat, eat more. You’re too skinny.”

“People your age eat a lot and grow fast. Look at you.”

Jiang Yu looked up at his awkward yet proud profile, warmth flooding her heart. Smiling with eyes narrowed, she said sweetly and crisply, “Thank you, Brother Siyue.”

Her words unexpectedly pierced the hearts of the other two brothers.

Second brother Huo Mingyu paused mid-vegetable bite, pushed up his glasses, and a complex emotion flickered in his eyes behind the lenses.

Eldest brother Huo Chenyuan remained expressionless, but his hand holding the chopsticks tightened just slightly.

Huo Siyue felt completely at ease being called that.

He snorted smugly and reached into the dish again, picking up the chicken tail—often overlooked—and with an expression of “See how well I’m looking after you,” he carefully placed it into second brother Huo Mingyu’s bowl.

“Second brother, you eat too! This is nutritious!”

Huo Mingyu stared at the greasy chicken tail in his bowl, his gentle face cracking.

He gripped his chopsticks, a vein twitching at his temple, and through clenched teeth muttered:

“…Thank you very much.”

That damned little brother, who was usually the most rebellious, had been completely disarmed by a simple “good brother” call.

His betrayal was swift indeed!