Junior Brother Has No Idea - Chapter 5

“You’re saying…”

Xie Yong raised a hand. As the “Protagonist Shou” with the highest beauty rating in this world, his attractiveness wasn’t limited to his face; his hands were slender, symmetrical, and possessed a skin texture as fine and warm as white jade. He studied his hand, marveling: “After I slapped Xie Jiusi, his favorability jumped by fifty?”

The light sphere stretched out its round arms, jumping up to touch Xie Yong’s hand. “Hubby, that wasn’t a slap it was a reward! Seriously, that kid got off way too easy!”

It began muttering to itself: “When my hubby slaps someone, the fragrance drifts over first, then the palm follows. The moment that scent fills the nose, the sting on the cheek isn’t pain it’s pleasure. Fifty points for one hit? Xie Jiusi is almost certainly a masochist.”

Xie Yong: “…”

Although he didn’t quite understand the sphere’s jargon, he got the feeling it wasn’t saying anything polite.

He licked his lips, looking somewhat eager to try again. “So… the next time I see him, should I hit him a few more times?”

“No, no, no, no, no!”

The sphere immediately stopped him. It felt like Xie Jiusi was emotionally unstable; if Xie Yong actually pushed the guy too far, a single retaliatory shove would be enough to put Xie Yong out of commission for weeks.

Still, today was a major victory. Xie Wuyin’s favorability was maxed out, and they’d made progress with Xie Jiusi. It seemed this newbie task wasn’t that hard after all.

The sphere rubbed its “chin” with its round hand. Technically, it didn’t even have a chin—Xie Yong had molded it into a gingerbread man shape so it just rubbed the general area where a chin should be.

Xie Yong mimicked the gesture, rubbing his own chin. One person and one gingerbread man sat in solemn silence, both contemplating how to get Xie Jiusi’s favorability up to fifty.

“Yong-er.”

The sudden knock and voice interrupted their thoughts. The sphere scrambled off the table, grabbing Xie Yong’s clothes and climbing upward, desperate to hide in his collar.

Of course, the person outside chose that exact moment to say, “I’m coming in.”

With a creak, the door opened. A tall figure carrying a wooden bucket appeared. Startled by the sound, the sphere lost its grip and fell to the floor. Being elastic, it actually bounced and spun in a few circles.

Xie Wuyin walked in with a bucket of medicinal soup. The sphere was dizzy from the fall; just as it tried to stand up, Xie Yong’s foot nudged it under the daybed.

Xie Yong sat up straight, surprised. “Eldest Brother, why are you here?”

Xie Wuyin placed the bucket before the cot, rolled up his sleeves, and reached out to hold Xie Yong’s calf. “I asked Uncle Jing. He said your leg injury could benefit from a medicinal soak; it will make you more comfortable.”

Without further ado, he removed Xie Yong’s socks, rolled up his pant legs, and pressed the boy’s feet into the bucket. The steam from the hot soup rose instantly. The water reached Xie Yong’s calves, and since it was slightly scalding, he let out a soft gasp.

“Bear with it for a moment,” Xie Wuyin said. He infused his hands with spiritual energy, gently massaging Xie Yong’s legs beneath the water.

The sharp pain at the fracture site was gradually replaced by a swelling sensation of warmth. Xie Yong covered his mouth and leaned back on the cot, his eyes tearing up from the comfort. His mother wasn’t in the estate, and no one usually looked after him when he was hurt. From the moment his leg was crushed by the beam until now, he had never received this kind of care.

Under the bed, there was no movement for a long time, only the faint splashing of water. The sphere cautiously poked its head out to see what was happening. Just as it emerged, the Task Book emitted a sharp, piercing alarm in its mind.

[Notification: ??? (Character Not Yet Met) Favorability -100.] [Alert: Character favorability has reached the minimum threshold.]

Huh? What?! Excuse me?!

The sphere froze, its mind reeling from the sound. Who can tell me who this ‘???’ God is? Dropping 100 favorability points right out of the gate without even a reason? Is there no justice in this world?!

In the room, Xie Wuyin used his spiritual energy to keep the soup at a steady, hot temperature. Xie Yong’s usually bloodless face was flushed with pink; his features were relaxed as he whispered his thanks.

“Thank you, Eldest Brother.”

“You’re welcome.” Xie Wuyin knelt before him, pressing on the injured area. The bone had healed, but the pressure still caused a twinge of pain, making Xie Yong’s calf tense up.

“In the future,” Xie Wuyin said, “you must not sabotage yourself like this.”

Even now, he still believed that Xie Yong’s recent string of accidents was a self-orchestrated play for sympathy.

Xie Yong didn’t know how to explain the “otherworldly visitors,” but he wasn’t the type to suffer in silence. He immediately retorted, “Does Eldest Brother really think I’m that foolish?”

Xie Wuyin looked up at him, silent for a moment before saying, “That day, when you were hit by the beam, I took several cousins to inspect the ruins. We found that the beam had been sabotaged by external force.”

“And you concluded it was me?” Xie Yong sat up abruptly, agitated. “Why would I do something so dangerous?!”

“Precisely because it was dangerous,” Xie Wuyin said, looking away. “If someone truly wanted to kill you, how could they perfectly time it so that the beam fell exactly when you passed, injuring you but ensuring it wasn’t fatal?”

The beam had fallen with uncanny precision, breaking Xie Yong’s leg and causing no other external injuries. Yet, the sabotage was clearly intentional. Xie Yong had a history of doing such things, even if he was younger then. Furthermore, this was the Xie Estate, who would dare to use magic to drop a roof on the Clan Head’s second son in broad daylight?

“Yong-er,” Xie Wuyin said seriously, “Father is busy with clan affairs. His neglect isn’t intentional. You don’t need to take it out on Jiusi. Harmony between brothers—”

He didn’t get to finish. Xie Yong yanked his leg out of the water and kicked the bucket over, then delivered a sharp kick to Xie Wuyin’s shoulder.

He had rarely bothered to explain himself, yet when he did, Xie Wuyin not only doubted him but started lecturing him.

“I gave you a proper explanation and you don’t believe me? Get out.”

The brown medicinal soup flooded the floor. Most of it flowed under the bed, where the sphere was hopping around frantically to stay dry, screaming in its heart: Hubby! Don’t throw a tantrum now! Just endure it a little the mission is more important!

The sphere expected a drop in favorability, but to its shock, Xie Wuyin’s rating stayed at 99, immovable. Wuyin silently picked up the wooden bucket. The mess on the floor was difficult to clean, so he performed a Flame Seal, instantly evaporating the moisture.

Hiding under the bed, the sphere was nearly steamed alive. It scrambled, bounced, and tumbled out the other side to escape.

Fortunately, Xie Wuyin’s attention was entirely on Xie Yong. After tidying the floor, he stood up. “I will come again tomorrow.”

Xie Yong refused to give him a good look, turning his back to him. “No need.”

Hubby! The sphere, hiding under the table, was in tears. Now is not the time to be stubborn!

Xie Wuyin stood by the cot for a while, holding the empty bucket in silence before leaving and quietly closing the door behind him.

The moment he was gone, the sphere crawled out and lunged at Xie Yong. “Yong-yong! I almost got steamed like a dumpling!”

Xie Yong grabbed its arms to check for damage, pinching its feet. “Are you hurt?”

The sphere shook its head like a rattle. It couldn’t wait to share its discovery: the mysterious “???” who hadn’t even appeared yet but had already docked 100 points.

“I have a feeling this won’t be an easy character to deal with,” the sphere worried.

“Ignore that for now,” Xie Yong said, lowering his eyes. “What is Xie Wuyin’s favorability now?”

The sphere: “Hehehe, I thought you didn’t care? That’s the mission target, Hubby! You flip out and kick him, and you’re asking about points?”

Xie Yong pulled his feet back onto the bed and lay on his side, refusing to look at it. From his body language, the sphere could sense a hint of guilt.

“Luckily, the points didn’t drop at all,” the sphere said. “Otherwise, you’d be the one crying!”

Hearing that the favorability was safe, Xie Yong’s guilt vanished. He resumed his aloof, indifferent posture. “If they drop, I’ll just find a way to add them back.”

The sphere let out a dry laugh. “That’s not what you were thinking a second ago.”

Xie Yong went silent, looking down to toy with the jade ring on his thumb.

Looking at him, Xie Yong was practically a walking jewelry display hairpins, tassels, and amulets jingled with every move. His robes were simple in cut but made of the finest bamboo-green silk with intricate dark embroidery. He even had a gold-threaded emerald drop-bead earring. He didn’t look like the “unloved, bullied, shadow-crawler” the Task Book described. If he were truly bullied, could he be this arrogant in front of Xie Jiusi?

The character of “Xie Yong” had completely diverged from the original setting. No wonder the System was desperate to “fix” the plot.

The sphere began rubbing its chin again, flipping through the Task Book for more info. Unfortunately, since the main story hadn’t officially started, most of it was locked.

Sigh… I wonder when this plot will end. Will I ever get home? I really want some super-spicy snail noodles with a fried egg right now…

The sphere rubbed its eyes. On the cot, Xie Yong yawned and announced he was sleepy. He stepped onto the floor barefoot, heading toward the bed.

From its position on the cot, the sphere could see Xie Yong’s bare feet. It glanced away and gave a small cough. You only realize how little you know when you need to use it… but man, those are some nice ankles and white feet.

Suddenly, the Task Book started spamming notifications.

[Notification: ??? (Character Not Yet Met) Favorability +1.] [Notification: ??? (Character Not Yet Met) Favorability +1.] [Notification: ??? (Character Not Yet Met) Favorability +1.] [Notification: ??? (Character Not Yet Met) Favorability +1.]

Huh? What?! Excuse me?!

The sphere looked left and right, confirming only it and Xie Yong were in the room. Yet the points for “???” kept climbing.

No, no, no! Book-Uncle! Stop adding points, I’m scared!

Creeped out by the phantom points, the sphere jumped off the cot and scrambled on its uneven legs to follow Xie Yong onto the bed. This body was so inconvenient ugly, crippled, and smelling like medicine. It worried about being snatched up by some unsuspecting person and refined into a pill. Its future looked bleak!

It hopped onto the bed and lay dejectedly on Xie Yong’s pillow, pulling a strand of his hair over itself as a blanket, just like yesterday.

Life is cold, but at least Hubby’s hair is fragrant and the pillow is warm.

However, unlike last night when he was asleep, the conscious Xie Yong primly gathered his ink-black hair away to prevent the sphere from touching it, tossing a silk handkerchief over the gingerbread man instead.

[Notification: ??? (Character Not Yet Met) Favorability +1.]