When Lu Shenxing came back from his business trip more than half a month later, he discovered that the twins were a little unusual and the house was exceptionally quiet.
The butler reported truthfully, "The youngest went to the racecourse. The eldest had a fever and is sleeping in his room."
"A fever? Has he seen the doctor?" Lu Shenxing took off his shoes.
The butler said, "Yes, he also took some medicine."
Lu Shenxing put on his slippers and strode up to the third floor. Shi Changan was the target of his task. Sometimes he felt that Shi Changan was also that person, but when he tested it, nothing felt right.
Just when he was mentally prepared to accept that there was no such person in this world, Shi Changan came out again, and that familiar feeling completely overturned what he thought to be true.
Over and over again, Lu Shenxing was already uncertain, he thought if he followed his heart and the answer should appear.
There was no sound in the room. Lu Shenxing walked to the bed and saw that the quilt was pulled tightly around someone. If the boy inside wasn't suffocated yet, he looked like he was about to be.
He pulled the quilt away, the boy with his eyes closed had an abnormal blush, his eyebrows were furrowed, and his breathing was uneven.
"Changan."
"Dad?" Shi Changan opened his eyes, which had also reddened.
Lu Shenxing put a thermometer in Shi Changan's ear, then passed his arms under the boys legs and shoulders, picked him up from the bed, and walked out quickly.
The butler downstairs took a look and hurriedly stepped forward, "Young Master."
"Go and prepare the car." Lu Shenxing took the overcoat the butler handed over, wrapped Shi Changan in it and let him lie on his chest.
The faint smell of tobacco lingered at the end of his nose Shi Changan's dry lips pressed together lightly. His hot cheeks were pressed against Lu Shenxing's chest, his eyelids were heavy and his thoughts were muddled.
Lu Shenxing fiddled with the black hair of the boy in his arms. He lowered his eyes and looked at the soft hair passing his fingertips, thoughtfully.
The butler watched the car leave. He sighed. People are biased. For so many years, the young master had always been partial to his youngest, but he loved his eldest very much.
Just now, the young master was holding the eldest little master, his face filled with worry, he thought he was hallucinating.
On weekends, there were a lot of people in the hospital. Lu Shenxing watched as the nurse rolled up Shi Changan's sweater sleeves, tied his wrist with a rubber band and tapped on the back of his hand, causing the cyan blood vessels to protrude.
"Relax, little guy, you'll be fine in a while." The nurse took a cotton swab dipped in iodophor and disinfected the back of Shi Changan's hand.
When the needle approached the back of Shi Changan's hand, Lu Shenxing's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably, and his eyelids suddenly jumped, "Wait!"
The nurse's hand shook at the sound of his voice and she couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Sir, why are you more scared than your child? At this time, the job of parents is to comfort and encourage their children."
Shi Changan turned to look at the tall man with a serious face, "Don't be afraid, Dad."
"..." Lu Shenxing's mouth twitched. He tilted his head and asked after a minute or two, "Have you finished fighting?"
Shi Changan pursed his lips, holding a trace of smile, "Yeah."
When the nurse was leaving, she glanced at the handsome man. She smiled and said, "Your child is very strong."
The implication was that he was not.
Lu Shenxing moved the chair and sat down. He didn't speak, so Shi Changan also didn't speak. The ward was quiet for a while.
"Have your hair dyed any other colors?" Lu Shenxing asked abruptly, "like brown?"
Shi Changan's eyes surged with strong fluctuations, and he said, "Yes."
"When?" Lu Shenxing's voice lowered, he wanted to determine whether it was before or after he came to this world.
"A lot of times, I can't remember." Shi Changan observed the strange look on his face, "The last few times were during winter vacation."
Lu Shenxing spent a moment staring at Shi Changan, his eyes changing from complicated to clear.
"Do you like to hear stories? Dad knows a story, do you want to hear it?"
"Dad, I'm a little sleepy." Shi Changan yawned, "Can you tell me next time?"
"...okay." Lu Shenxing couldn't laugh or cry, all the emotions that had just been brewing just disappeared.
After getting the answer he wanted, Shi Changan fell asleep in peace, as if someone was holding his hand, the temperature was familiar and comfortable.
Shi Changle came back tired from playing outside, and was startled when he heard the butler's words, "What happened to my brother?"
Sickness can kill people. His impression of the hospital was all under the shadow of his childhood. He was ignorant back then, and wasn't afraid.
"He has a fever. The Young Master is watching him in the hospital." The butler brought him some juice.
Shi Changle had a moment of silence. Was his health bad again? He shuddered, this time he shouldn't be the same as when he was a kid...
That night, Shi Changle didn't sleep well, he rolled around on the bed until he rolled onto the ground.
Lu Shenxing slept particularly well, and Shi Changan also slept for a long time under the effect of the medicine.
Since that day, the butler has felt that the Young Master and the two twins had become very strange. He wasn't they're but he felt that something was going to happen. He wasn't one to gossip but he was also cautious.
Not long after, Shi Yiwei brought over Liu Daliang to play, and the butler ordered the servants to prepare. The sun was shining and the wind was breezy, and they gathered for a barbecue.
Lu Shenxing sprinkled cumin powder on the lamb and grilled it on the rack.
"Hey, Daliang, what did mum tell you? Don't take things from your cousin Changle!" Shi Yiwei stopped Liu Daliang, who was holding onto Shi Changle's favorite car model.
"I know, you don't have to lecture!" Liu Daliang reluctantly returned Shi Changle's car back. He really didn't understand why his mother liked this little kid so much. He approached the other kid who was sitting alone and saw what was in his hand. He wowed.
"Changan, is this grasshopper made for me?"
"No." Shi Changan slowly weaved a straw rope with flexible fingers.
Liu Daliang muttered, "Stingy!" After a while, he said again, "Changan, your fingers are so beautiful, they are longer than my girlfriend's."
Shi Changan said, "Go find Changle to play with."
"He's no fun, he's just a little brat. My mother will beat me up if I don't provide enough money. I'm heading off." Liu Daliang touched Shi Changan's face and ran away.
In the corner that no one saw, Shi Changan looked ugly. He pulled out a tissue from his pocket and wiped his face vigorously.
The smell of meat filled the air and the fat oozed out, sending up plumes of smoke.
"That Changle child has been taken care of by us over the past few years, but he is still a young." Shi Yiwei showed affection in her eyes, "Why don't you spoil him?"
What about Changan? Lu Shenxing looked at Shi Changan, who was facing away from him. Shi Yiwei seemed to see something, "A'ze, don't be confused."
"If he hadn't taken hematopoietic stem cells from Changle back then, Changan wouldn't have lived until now." Shi Yiwei turned the ham sausage over, "What he owes, he must give up."
Lu Shenxing's eyes fell into shadows. Shi Changle was very good, he admitted that, but his shortcomings were equally prominent.
He didn't know how to share with others, he was greedy, but not willing to pay.
The preference of the original Shi Ze, the pampering of relatives, Shi Changan's indebtedness and obedience, the praise of teachers, and the admiration of classmates gave Shi Changle too much superiority.
Any one would become selfish after that degree of pampering, then they would grow up sick.
"Back then Changle really liked his elder brother, crying to save him." Shi Yiwei gathered her wine-red shawl, her tone was a little bit mean, "Although he was only born a few minutes earlier, Changan is his elder brother after all. Let me just say this, he will never be able to repay his younger brother."
In Lu Shenxing's gloomy eyes, Shi Yiwei was still there and said, "When I came, I noticed Changle was unhappy. His brother isn't with him and you, A'ze, what's the matter with you? Why aren't you coaxing Changle."
The whole world should revolve around Shi Changle, right?
Lu Shenxing got up and left, his three views would become skewed if he didn't walk.
"What are you making?"
A voice above his head sounded, Shi Changan smiled shyly and said, "A grasshopper, do you like it, Dad?"
"I like it." Lu Shenxing stretched out his finger and scratched the tip of his nose lightly. "Is it for Dad?"
Shi Changan was taken aback, and fumbled the next step.
The butler hurried over and said that the youngest was sneezing, it might be a cold.
Why did he sneeze for me? Lu Shenxing said with a cold face, "Uncle Zhang, you have been in the Shi house for many years, and even if I don't tell you some things, you can still understand what's going on."
The housekeeper swallowed, "Yes, I understand."
Seeing the butler walking away, Shi Changan controlled his expression and asked in a casual tone, "Dad won't you go and see?"
"You don't like dad being with you?" Lu Shenxing raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
Shi Changan remained silent, bowed his head and continued to weave grasshoppers.
"Changle needs to grow up by himself." Lu Shenxing said meaningfully, "you don't have to follow him."
It is said that children are ignorant. In fact, children sometimes understand better than adults. In their world black is black, and white is white, there isn't any gray.
Shi Changle occupied a very important position in Shi Changan's life. In the orphanage they were dependent on each other, and after being taken back by the original Shi Ze, they went from quarreling to unilateral tolerance. Not only were they fighting for favor, there was also that surgery.
Whether Shi Changle or Shi Changan, they both had a knot in their heart.
Lu Shenxing stared at the child beside him. If he wanted to change Shi Changan's destiny, he might have to find a way to figure out his mind.
When Shi Yiwei took Liu Daliang away, she took away a tea set that Lu Shenxing had bought a few days ago, and didn't forget to remind Lu Shenxing.
"A'ze, stay with Changle more, buy him whatever he wants."
Lu Shenxing closed his eyes and suppressed the urge to get angry.
One day Shi Changan and Shi Changle went home from school. Lu Shenxing couldn't accompany them as something had come up, so he asked them to wait for the driver by the roadside.
After he left, Shi Changle complained about the large number of test papers. Shi Changan took half of the green tea and drank it down. A light caught in the corner of his eye and he froze as a van on the opposite side drove towards them.
Amid the blaring of harsh horns, Shi Changan pushed Shi Changle before he was swept away.