He Qianmin immediately looked at Jiang Chen, Shen Xu and Huo Bo were also a little surprised. But when they saw the pure delight and anticipation on Jiang Chenâs face, they also laughed.
âItâs really a happy event!â Shen Xu threw his hands up and cheered happily: âJiangziâs younger sibling is also my younger sibling! Iâm going to have a younger sister!â
âHow do you know itâs a girl?â Huo Bo raised his eyebrows.
âOf course itâs a younger sister. Both Jiangzi and I want a younger sister.â Shen Xu turned his head and asked Jiang Chen, âRight?â
Huo Bo put his hands on Shen Xuâs head and turned his head around, a smile also appearing on his face: âUncle and Auntie, congratulations.â
Yang Si and Jiang Zhuo thanked him with smiles on their faces, and Jiang Chen also came back to himself. He walked up to Yang Si and knelt down, carefully looking at her belly, âMom? You are already three months pregnant?â
âThatâs right.â Jiang Zhuo smiled proudly: âYour Mom told me that you want a younger brother or sister, so your Dad, I worked hard, and here they came.â
âWhat are you talking about in front of so many children!â Yang Si pushed Jiang Zhuo. Seeing Jiang Chenâs carefulness, her heart softened, and she grabbed his hand and said, âWant to say hello to your younger brother or sister?â
Jiang Chenâs hand was pulled by Yang Si and placed on her belly. A three-month-old baby could not be felt from the outside, but for some reason, he seemed to feel the heartbeat coming from within, a fluttering that was clear and intimate. As if to tell him that this unborn child also liked him very much.
Seeing Jiang Chenâs tender gaze, He Qianmin silently lowered his eyes. He clearly knew that he shouldnât, but for some reason, there was a burst of sourness spreading from his heart, not to say that he was sad, but just disappointed and stunned, as if he originally could have had such an expression aimed at him.
Jiang Zhuo asked with a smile: âDo you want a younger brother or a younger sister?â
Jiang Chen gently withdrew his hand and helped Yang Si to sit down on the sofa, âEither is fine, I like younger brothers and younger sisters.â
âDidnât I say so.â Yang Si rolled her eyes at Jiang Zhuo and said, âMy son is not like you.â
Shen Xu pulled He Qianmin to sit down next to Jiang Chen, and asked curiously, âDo you want a girl or a boy, Uncle Jiang?â
âSame as you.â Yang Si smiled, and looked at Jiang Chen tenderly: âHe said that having another son would not be better than Chen Chen, so itâs better to let our daughter have an excellent brother to protect her.â
âUncle Jiang is right.â Shen Xu said longingly, âIf itâs a younger sister, not only Jiangzi, but Huo Bo and I plus He Xiaomin, she will have four older brothers to protect her. We can all protect her.â
Yang Si chided: âThen if according to what you say, I dare not let her follow you boys, because she would really grow up lawless.â
âHow would that be?â Shen Xu leaned over with a grin: âPutting us aside, itâs impossible for Jiangzi to let his sister not learn well. You can see just by how he has taken care of He Xiaomin. No matter how difficult a person is, in front of him, they would become as docile as a kitten.â
Yang Si looked at He Qianmin in surprise. He Qianmin smiled shyly and did not defend himself.
âNonsense.â Yang Si quite liked this shy and well-behaved boy, and couldnât help but speak for him: âI know Qian Min is a good boy at first glance.â
âYou actually think heâs a good boyâŠ..â While no one was paying attention, He Qianmin elbowed Shen Xu hard, and Shen Xu let out an ouch. When everyone looked over, he immediately complained: âHe hit me! Just now! â
Huo Bo, who saw everything, curled his lips upwards: âYou deserved it.â
Acting very sweet and obedient, He Qianmin picked up the photo on the small table next to him and asked, âIs this when Brother Shen Xu and Brother Huo Bo were young?â
Yang Si saw this photo and laughed: âThatâs right, the three of them were only in the first grade at that time, and they got in a fight with some boys in the neighborhood next door. Xiao Xu and Chen Chen came back crying, and Xiao Bo comforted the two of them despite sporting bruises himself, saying that he would avenge them. Chen Chenâs dad and I thought it was very funny, so we took a picture of them.â
He Qianminâs eyes swept over Shen Xu, who was crying with his mouth wide open, and Huo Bo, who had a fierce expression on his face in the photo, to Jiang Chen, who was trying his best to hold back his tears and grievance, and couldnât help laughing out loud.
Yang Si took the photo, thumb rubbing the young faces of the three of them in the photo, and said nostalgically: âThere are still many photos of their childhood at home, Iâll go look for them.â
Not long after, Yang Si came out with several photo albums. She and Jiang Zhuo looked through one together, and the four boys gathered together to look through another. When they saw interesting photos, they would take them out and talk about the story behind it and the whole room was filled with laughter.
After looking through all the albums, Yang Si looked at Jiang Chen, Shen Xu and Huo Bo with a smile on her face, and said: âYou grew up together, and in the eyes of Auntie, you are no different from blood brothers. Xiao Bo is already eighteen years old, and soon, Chen Chen and Xiao Xu will also be adults. Auntie hopes that in the future, no matter how far the three of you travel or how far apart you are, you can support each other and be good friends and brothers for life.â
Huo Bo nodded solemnly: âWe are brothers for life.â
Jiang Chen reached around Shen Xu and rubbed He Qianminâs head, smiling at him: âAnd Qian Min, the three of you will always be my best friends and best brothers.â
âDonât worry, Auntie, the three of us are going to start the coolest technology company in the world together. We wonât be able to leave very far. We will be together forever. We will even be buried together when we die. When the time comes, Qian Min will also live in the same grave with us. The four of us can even play mahjong in the afterlife!â
Jiang Zhuo laughed loudly and Huo Bo slapped Shen Xu on the head. Amidst the noise of Shen Xu jumping up and declaring war on Huo Bo, He Qianmin also laughed.
He once felt disappointed that he could not accompany Jiang Chen throughout his childhood like Shen Xu and Huo Bo, but now he felt how lucky he was. Although his blood-related brother was as good as his enemy, there was a person who was not his real brother but was more like a real brother to him. Even if there was no blood relationship, Jiang Chen still regarded him as his true younger brother.
Yang Si closed the photo album, smiled and sighed: âIf I can watch you all fight like this for a lifetime, I will be very satisfied.â
âThatâs for sure.â Shen Xu leaned over with a smile and said, âWhen you and Uncle are a hundred years old, we will still fight in front of you. The only difference is that our old arms and legs will not be as nimble as they are now.â
âOh, that cheeky mouth of yours.â Yang Si shook her head, but she couldnât help laughing. She looked at Shen Xu and Huo Bo with smiling eyes, unconsciously putting one hand on her lower abdomen, and said, âAunties must thank you both for Jiang Chen. If it werenât for good friends like you, he might not be so happy, and he might encounter more difficulties. Especially Xiao Bo. If it werenât for you, the kidnapping a while agoâŠ..Chen Chen might really have met with danger, Auntie must thank you so much.â
Jiang Chen gently embraced Yang Si, and said softly, âMomâŠ..â
Yang Si wiped the corners of her eyes and said with a smile: âI wasnât so sentimental when I was pregnant with you, and I donât know whatâs wrong this time, Xiao Bo, Auntie didnât scare you, did I?â
Huo Bo: âNo, but Jiang Chen and I are friends, thatâs what I should do, so Auntie, you donât have to thank me.â
Jiang Zhuo said with a smile: âThe children are very close. There is no need to say thank you. Every time they come over to eat, you just cook a few more of their favorite dishes. Is what Uncle said right?â
Shen Xu clenched his fists and punched his palm: âUncle understands us men!â
Huo Bo also smiled: âRight.â
Yang Si looked at them with gentle eyes and was about to speak when He Qianminâs voice cut in: âWhat kidnapping a while ago?â
Suddenly, everyone in the living room fell silent. Shen Xu coughed lowly, nudged Jiang Chen, and said in a low voice, âNo way, you havenât told your little brother?â
Jiang Chen pursed his lips, he indeed didnât tell He Qianmin about this matter. It was only one night in between when he learned of He Qianjianâs plan until he was kidnapped. Other than those involved in his plan he simply didnât have the time to tell anyone else. And the appearance of Shi Fengyue later disrupted his plan and occupied most of his attention, making him focus most of his thoughts on Shi Fengyue, and then the Yang family came to make troubleâŠ..
So many things happened in that short week that Jiang Chen completely forgot to tell He Qianmin about it. After the incident, when he was considering whether to talk about it with He Qianmin, he thought that if he couldnât tell He Qianmin the complete truth, it was better not to tell him about it for the time being. After all, this matter involved the people under He Qianjianâs command. Since they were both members of the He family, it was hard to guarantee that He Qianmin wouldnât notice something.
If the snake in the grass was startled, it might bring harm to him instead. It was better to wait until all the truth was revealed, and then let He Qianmin know these things.
Jiang Chen never expected that He Qianmin would learn about it at this time. Just as he was pondering for a moment, deciding about what to tell him and what to hide.
Shen Xu had already explained the ins and outs of Jiang Chenâs kidnapping clearly with expressive gestures from his hands. In addition, his expressions and emotions were also all online. The way he recounted the whole thing was very thrilling, full of ups and downs, twists and turns, causing He Qianminâs expression to become more and more ugly the more he heard.
At the end, he interrupted Shen Xu and said, âRepeat what you said just now.â
Shen Xu looked puzzled, but he repeated: âIf the police hadnât been dispatched quickly enough, Jiangzi wouldnât have escaped so easilyâŠ..â
âNot this part, but the previous part.â
Shen Xu recalled, and said hesitatingly: ââŠ..Yang Tianci had a premeditated plan, otherwise why would he find the abandoned container area in Xing City?â
He Qianmin frowned a little bit, feeling something flashing through his thoughts, but he couldnât grasp it at the moment.
Seeing that he was thinking seriously, Shen Xu asked curiously, âWhat are you thinking about?â
He Qianmin said thoughtfully, âIâve heard of that warehouse.â
âAnd here I thought you thought of something.â Shen Xu clicked his tongue and said, âIâve heard of that warehouse too, there are few people and the place is remote, itâs a perfect place for murder and arsonâââ
âWhat did you just say?â He Qianmin raised his eyes suddenly: âSay it again?â
Shen Xu looked puzzled: âWhat did I say again? There are few people and the place is remote, the perfect place for murder and arson?â
He Qianmin repeated in a low voice: âThere are few people and the place is remoteâŠ..â He must have heard this sentence somewhere.
But where?
âWhatâs wrong with your little brother?â Shen Xu looked at Jiang Chen: âHe wouldnât happen to be stimulated by your kidnapping, no way, right? Itâs already been more than two months, and you are perfectly fine, he is that easilyâŠ..â
He Qianmin frowned as he recalled, and his hands resting on his knees curled up unconsciously. Just when he was about to get a clue, Shen Xuâs words came into his ears again, and his hands clenched into fists instantly. His voice suddenly came quick and urgent: âWhen was my brother kidnapped?â
Shen Xu was still recalling, but Huo Bo had already answered: âJuly 12th.â
He Qianmin was stunned. The conversation he heard outside He Qianjianâs door that day echoed in his ears, his fisted knuckles turned white, and his nails pricked his palms painfully, but the pain still couldnât compare to the waves of icy chill in his heart.