Niannian was still a bit weak.
She didn't run or jump in the garden for long before she was out of breath from exhaustion.
Shen Weixun carried her back into the house, covered her with a small quilt, and met those bright, shining eyes.
"Still so energetic?"
Shen Weixun rubbed his forehead.
The little one was physically weak, but her spirit was unflagging.
It was already afternoon after all this playing, yet her eyes still sparkled with vitality.
"I'm not tired, and I'm not sleepy either... Brother, I want you to tell me a story."
Niannian looked extremely obedient at the moment, just staring at him longingly.
Telling stories was something he was quite familiar with.
When the little one was on the mountain, he would tell her a bedtime story every night.
"What story do you want to hear?"
"I want to hear your story, Brother."
Niannian's tone was cautious, with a hint of hesitation.
When she met that bad uncle just now, she instinctively sensed that Shen Weixun's state was extremely off.
It was as if he was completely enveloped in darkness.
The brutality in his eyes was about to burst out.
This was a third brother she had never seen before, and it made her feel heart - ache.
Master always said that Third Brother shouldn't keep things bottled up. Keeping some things inside for too long would harm both the body and the heart.
She didn't understand what that meant at that time.
In her impression, Fourth Brother was the taciturn one, while Third Brother was lively and cheerful, always willing to play with her.
How could such a sunny Third Brother be bottling things up?
She witnessed it today.
She realized that she still didn't know much about this brother who was closest to her.
Niannian wanted to know why Shen Weixun was like this.
She even wanted to console Third Brother.
Even though she wasn't very good at expressing herself yet.
But she was also afraid of touching on things that Shen Weixun didn't want to talk about.
Shen Weixun knew the little one very well and almost instantly understood what she meant.
But he wasn't angry; he still had a smile on his face.
He reserved all his good - temperedness for Niannian. For her, he had no bottom - line.
"You little rascal. I wonder who you learned this from."
Shen Weixun tapped the little one's forehead.
Niannian stuck out her tongue and made a face, laughing foolishly.
"You can listen, but there are conditions."
"What conditions?"
"Um... Until I say you're completely recovered, don't act recklessly. Ask me before doing anything. Don't make your own decisions. If you want to use your merit power next time, you must get my permission first."
Shen Weixun cunningly put forward a bunch of conditions.
He didn't want Niannian to go through the danger of the past few days again.
Once was more than enough.
It was really scary.
Niannian twisted her fingers and hesitated for a moment.
After thinking it over, it seemed quite worth it to agree to these conditions in exchange for her brother's happiness.
Then she nodded.
"Okay! I agree!"
"What a good girl. Then your brother will start telling you a story now. Where should I begin?"
Shen Weixun said thoughtfully. It was the first time he was laying bare his entire past to someone else.
He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
From the moment he came into this world, he had wealth and family background that countless people envied.
When he was very young, he thought he was happy.
His father was kind and generous, and his mother was strict but warm.
He was also the proud son of heaven that everyone envied. It seemed as if he was born with knowledge. He learned everything quickly and understood everything at a glance.
He wasn't as childish as other kids.
He was like a little adult from a young age, and his growth was smooth sailing.
He enjoyed the glory, the protection of his family, the careful upbringing of his grandfather, and the respect of most people.
But all this perfection came to an abrupt end eight years ago.
He was only thirteen years old now.
Eight years ago, he was just five.
About the same age as Niannian now.
It was his birthday that day. His busy mother called him and said she would definitely come back to celebrate with him at night.
He never thought at that time that this would be his last conversation with his mother.
His mother didn't come back that night.
He fell asleep waiting at the dinner table but never saw his mother's figure.
The next day, he heard the tragic news that his mother had passed away.
They all said that his mother had died of sudden cardiac arrest because she was too over - worked.
His father and grandfather both told him that he would never have a mother again.
He didn't know how he watched his mother being put into the coffin, nor did he know how he got through the time of his mother's burial.
Looking back now, he was in a daze at that time. He could hardly hear or see anything.
He came to his senses when his father brought that woman home.
At that time, his mother had only been dead for a month.
Shen Weixun looked at his father in disbelief.
That familiar man suddenly seemed very strange.
He was holding a beautiful woman much younger than him and smilingly asked him to call that woman mom.
But his mother had only left a month ago!
He refused to listen and had a big fight with his father, then ran away from home.
Finally, his grandfather found him.
Grandfather was furious, but he couldn't drive that woman out of the house.
Because his father had secretly married this woman just a week after his mother's death.
His father was determined not to divorce and would never abandon that woman.
How ridiculous!
His father, who was usually kind to him and always obedient to his mother, found a new love just a week after his mother's death.
No, maybe it was even earlier.
Maybe this woman had already existed when his mother was still alive.
From that day on, he was completely disappointed in his father.
But at that time, he was still very young. Although he had resentment and hatred in his heart, he wasn't as full of hatred as he was now.
He only wanted to drive that woman out of his home.
And his grandfather told him to work hard, study harder, and do his best to get the position of the family head.
Only then would he have the right to expel that woman.
Fueled by this hatred, he threw himself more whole - heartedly into his studies.
After finishing the primary school textbooks, he moved on to junior high school ones, and then senior high school ones.
He was like a sponge, constantly absorbing all kinds of knowledge.
It was amazing. Every time he saw a problem or new knowledge, the answers and clear logic would emerge in his mind.
It was as if he had learned it all before and had mastered it thoroughly, so it was effortless for him to learn it again.
He was, of course, a well - deserved genius.
But there were always people who couldn't stand his success.
That woman probably knew from the first time she saw him that their relationship was bound to be hostile.
So she finally made her move.
She coaxed his father to go on a honeymoon trip.
Before they left, she took him back to their family villa from the ancestral mansion.
At that time, his grandfather was busy with a very important company project and couldn't spare the time.
There were only two maids in the family villa, and then there was only him.
At first, he just couldn't get the two maids to do what he asked.
These two maids ignored all his words.
They just delivered meals on time and didn't care about anything else.
At that time, he was only focused on his studies and didn't care about such small things.
Gradually, they thought he was easy to bully and became more and more unscrupulous.