The Aloof Junior Brother I Was Supposed To Be Is Actually A Hopeless Romantic! - Chapter 5

The pitiful sight of the little boy caused Chen Ji’s paternal instincts to explode.

“Of course you can. Come here,” Chen Ji said.

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhimu’s clear eyes lit up, and he walked happily toward Chen Ji. He had only taken two steps when Qiu Lingzhou, his expression darkening, grabbed the back of the boy’s collar. He yanked him back and said with disgust, “Get lost.”

Feng Zhimu’s eyes reddened again as they filled with tears. He looked at Chen Ji piteously. “Big Senior Brother.”

“Qiu Lingzhou, let go!”

At the sound of such a stern tone, Qiu Lingzhou knew Chen Ji was truly angry and released his grip. Chen Ji climbed out of bed and slapped Qiu Lingzhou’s arm. The sound was so loud that Qiu Lingzhou immediately felt aggrieved. With red eyes and a slight pout, he stared at Chen Ji as if he were on the verge of tears.

Under that gaze, Chen Ji instantly felt a pang of guilt.

“Do you finally understand that being treated cruelly feels bad?” Chen Ji asked. “Mumu is still small. Don’t you think it hurts when you yank his collar like that? You are not allowed to do that again, do you hear me?”

“Senior Brother, you are fickle,” Qiu Lingzhou muttered.

“You have abandoned your old love for the new,” Liu Jingyun added.

“You grow tired of the old and take pleasure in the new.”

“You are inconsistent.”

“You change your mind like the shifting wind.”

In a rare display of synchronization, Qiu Lingzhou and Liu Jingyun used one idiom after another to complain about Chen Ji’s doting treatment of Feng Zhimu. Chen Ji was so stunned by their criticism that he could not find his voice for a long while.

He admitted that he was currently a bit biased toward Feng Zhimu. However, he wondered if these two problem children had any right to complain about him being partial.

“If you two were willing to be kind to Mumu, I would not have to favor him so much,” Chen Ji said. “Look at you. Mumu just arrived at Emerald Bamboo Peak today, yet you are already ostracizing him. You tore down a house and fought right in front of him. You were disrespectful to Senior Brother Cichao. You are not teaching him anything good, only bad habits. Is this how you treat a Junior Brother?”

Liu Jingyun sat up slowly. “If we are good to him, will A-Ji love him less?”

“If the two of you fulfill your duties as senior brothers, I will naturally treat everyone equally.”

Liu Jingyun said nothing. He simply picked Feng Zhimu up, placed him on the innermost side of the bed, and said expressionlessly, “Go to sleep.”

He then looked at the boy and continued, “In the future, Second Senior Brother will handle the house-wrecking and the fighting. You can join Second Senior Brother in being disrespectful to Jiang Cichao.”

“What kind of nonsense are you teaching him!” Chen Ji rushed over to correct Liu Jingyun’s terrible influence.

As soon as he reached the bedside, Qiu Lingzhou followed behind him and pressed him down onto the mattress. “Senior Brother, let us all rest together.”

“You!”

“Time for sleep, time for sleep,” Qiu Lingzhou said as he blew out the candle.

The room instantly fell into darkness. Three grown youths and one small child were now squeezed onto the small bed.

“Big Senior Brother, I am still a little scared,” Feng Zhimu whispered.

“Sleep,” Liu Jingyun commanded.

The moment Liu Jingyun spoke, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over Feng Zhimu. He could not resist the urge and slowly closed his eyes, falling into a deep dream.

Chen Ji knew Liu Jingyun had used a spell to make Feng Zhimu sleep. Without the sound of the boy’s voice, the room became deathly quiet, save for the sound of the night wind rustling the bamboo leaves outside.

In the silence of the night, the body heat of the two people beside him made Chen Ji feel slightly uneasy. Like bamboo stalks, these boys had suddenly shot up in height over the years. Their bodies had become sturdy, and the childishness of a few years ago had faded, replaced by an elegant and extraordinary presence.

When they were younger, they used to sleep in the same bed with Chen Ji just like this. To them, Chen Ji truly felt as if he had raised two sons. But now, his unfilial sons had reached their rebellious phase and had started to ignore his words. They frequently provoked him until he was speechless with rage.

Thinking of this, Chen Ji spoke softly, his voice trailing off. “I have not grown tired of the old. Both of you are grown now and should be independent. Zhimu just joined the peak, and the kindness I show him is exactly like what I showed you when you first arrived. I am not being partial.”

“A-Ji, a person should finish what they start,” Liu Jingyun said. His voice was right by Chen Ji’s ear, and his breath made Chen Ji’s ear itch. “Since you were good to me from the beginning, you must continue to be good to me in the future.”

The bed was small, and the four of them were cramped.

Qiu Lingzhou rarely agreed with Liu Jingyun, but he added, “Senior Brother, Azhou thinks the same way.”

“When have I ever been bad to you?” Chen Ji argued. “If you two would cause less trouble, would I be so harsh? If I stayed silent while you caused mischief, that would be truly bad for you!”

“Does A-Ji care about me?” Liu Jingyun asked.

“Of course I care!” Chen Ji said righteously.

“In that case, A-Ji, your heart must never change.” Liu Jingyun’s voice was soft and flat, devoid of any obvious emotion. After speaking, he reached out and pulled Chen Ji toward him like a pampered cat.

Chen Ji let out a yawn. “I can keep my heart unchanged, but you two must also be obedient. It is late now, so let us stop talking. I am sleepy. Go to sleep.”

Soon, Chen Ji’s breathing became steady as he fell fast asleep.

Liu Jingyun pulled the man closer and said, “Qiu Dog, get lost.”

“You are the one who should get lost, Liu Dog.”

The two of them glared at each other in the darkness. Had it not been for the fact that Chen Ji was already asleep, they would have traded several more blows. Ultimately, they chose a verbal battle. After whispering insults back and forth, neither willing to back down, they finally surrendered to sleep.

However, their competition meant that Chen Ji did not sleep well all night. He dreamed he was being crushed by two great mountains. When he woke up, he found it difficult to breathe. Opening his eyes, he discovered that both problem children were clutching him tightly. Given their level of clinginess, Chen Ji felt that the effort he had spent on them over the past few years had not been in vain.

He struggled to squeeze out from between them and went into the courtyard to draw water from the well. As the icy water splashed onto his face, the last remnants of sleep disappeared.

Liu Jingyun and Qiu Lingzhou also woke up and walked out one after the other. Under the brilliant morning sun, they stretched lazily.

Chen Ji stepped in front of them and said, “Go brush your teeth and wash your faces. We are going down the mountain in a moment.”

“Senior Brother, what are we doing down the mountain?”

“We are going to earn money to buy wood to build your houses, of course! Liu Erha, if you knock down the rebuilt house again, you are dead meat!” Chen Ji laid down the law in advance.

Liu Jingyun showed no fear. Instead, he asked, “Can we build Qiu Dog’s house on the back of the mountain?” He added, “I do not go there to practice my sword.”

The back of the mountain was hundreds of meters away from the main courtyard. Qiu Lingzhou knew exactly what Liu Jingyun was plotting.

“Since Liu Dog loves practicing his sword so much, why not build your own house on the back of the mountain?” Qiu Lingzhou suggested with a smile. “There are not many buildings there, so there is no need to worry about you tearing them down while you train.”

Liu Jingyun did not say a word. He pressed two fingers together and pointed, sending a streak of sword energy straight toward Qiu Lingzhou. Qiu Lingzhou dodged it with ease and flashed a triumphant smile at Liu Jingyun.

However, a loud cracking and crashing sound erupted behind him. Chen Ji looked over in a panic only to see that a corner of the roof on the bedroom assigned to Feng Zhimu had been sliced off.

Chen Ji was so angry that he slapped both of them on their backs. “Can’t you two stay still for even one morning? Arguing? Fighting? If you don’t earn enough money to buy wood and fix the houses today, don’t even think about coming back!”

Unfilial sons! Truly unfilial!