Chapter 25.4
Editor: Princess
Father Yu’s passing had been so sudden. The company was full of leeches and opportunists, all eager to tear it apart. The more shares Yu Qing held, the stronger his position would be within the Yu Group.
“No.”Yu Qing however shook his head. “I will always take care of you. But these shares were yours to begin with. I’m just returning them to their rightful owner.”
Yu Pei still didn’t look at him. He didn’t say a word.
Yu Qing let out a sigh, stood up, and pulled him into a loose embrace. He ruffled Yu Pei’s hair gently and said, “No matter what Mom says, you are my real little brother. And because you’re my little brother, you should hold onto these shares. Because I know—no matter what happens, you will always stand by my side. Right?”
Yu Pei’s eyes welled up with tears. His fingers curled into Yu Qing’s shirt as he choked out, “But… but Mom said…”
“Mom is sick.” Yu Qing said softly. “You can’t believe what she says.”
Then, he handed Yu Pei another document. It was a paternity test report.
“You see? You are my real little brother.” Yu Qing said.
Yu Pei grabbed the document, barely able to read through his teary eyes. But when he reached the final result—
[Relationship: Full Siblings.]
His world suddenly felt a little less uncertain.
Yu Qing bent down slightly, placed a pen in his hand, and pushed the share transfer agreement toward him gently. His voice was calm and steady. “Can Ah Pei sign it now?”
Yu Pei didn’t respond right away. He stared at the document for a long time, his fingers trembling slightly. After a few seconds, he finally lowered his head and signed his name at the bottom silently.
As the last stroke of his signature fell into place, he let go of the pen as if all his strength had drained away. He looked at the signed document with a complicated expression—there was sadness, reluctance, and grief, but also… a sense of relief.
“Alright, let’s eat.” Yu Qing patted his shoulder. “You need to take your afternoon nap soon.”
“Mm…” Yu Pei responded softly.
After finishing his lunch, when he was about to head upstairs for his nap, Yu Qing suddenly stopped him and handed him a bank card.
Yu Pei looked at the card in confusion. “Big brother, this is…?”
“It’s your dividends, and can also be said to be your pocket money.” Yu Qing explained with a smile. “Ah Pei, you’re almost eighteen. You should have your own little savings account.”
“But…” Yu Pei hesitated for a moment before saying quietly, “I don’t have anything I want to buy.”
Yu Qing always gave him plenty of spending money. And living in the Yu Residence, he never had to worry about food, clothing, or supplies. Even his art materials—paper, paint, brushes—were all replenished every season by the staff. So, he genuinely didn’t need money.
Of course, that was just his perspective.
Because most boys his age never seemed to have enough. Whether it was spending on games, sneakers, or even gifts for their girlfriends, they always found ways to burn through cash. Poor people had their ways of being poor and rich people had their ways of being poor. Gu Zheng, for example, constantly complained about being broke.
So Yu Qing was a little surprised. He asked him, “Nothing at all? Gu Zheng already bought himself a sports car just for fun. He even posts pictures of watches on his social media. Don’t you want anything? You used to buy new paint supplies all the time.”
That was in the past.
Yu Pei answered silently in his heart.
He hadn’t touched his paints in a long time, so why would he need new ones?
Still, after a moment of hesitation, he took the card. Then, looking up at Yu Qing, he asked, “Big brother, can I use this money to buy flower seeds?”
“Of course.” Yu Qing was a little surprised. Then he said immediately, “Ah Pei wants to grow flowers?”
“Mm.” Yu Pei nodded.
Yu Qing nodded: “That’s a great idea. Taking care of flowers can be relaxing. Do you know what kind of flowers you want to plant?”
“Not yet.” Yu Pei told him. “I haven’t decided.”
“Then take your time, and if you need help, you can always ask me or Uncle Zhuang if I’m not around.” Yu Qing told him.
“Big brother.” Yu Pei suddenly called out.
Yu Qing asked him. “What’s wrong?”
“…nothing. Good afternoon, big brother.” Yu Pei lowered his head, then picked up his bag and went upstairs.
Yu Qing responded: “Good afternoon.”
**
Back in his room, Yu Pei held the bank card. He turned it over a few times in his hands before placing it in the drawer of his bedside table quietly.
Then, he picked up his phone and opened Luo Changzhou’s QQ space.
Luo Changzhou had a lot of flowers at home, and one of them stood out to him—its deep green leaves framed clusters of bright red flowers, each with a tiny white center. The buds drooped slightly, resembling little red lanterns. They were both cute and delicate.
But he had never seen this type of flower before, and so wanted to ask Luo Changzhou what its name was. He wanted to grow it.
So he looked for the post where Luo Changzhou had mentioned it and sent him a message.
[Changzhou, are you taking a nap?]
[Not yet. What’s up?]
[I wanted to ask… What’s the name of this flower? (Image)]
[Oh, this one? It’s called Tagimoucia.]
Tagimoucia? Yu Pei blinked. That sounded, foreign.
A moment later, Luo Changzhou sent another message.
[It’s Fiji’s national flower. Why do you ask?]
Yu Pei responded: [I want to grow flowers, and this is the type I want, that’s why i asked, but since it’s a national flower, is it available for sale?]
[Of course, it’s available. Otherwise, how would I have it? But you don’t have to buy it, I’ll give you mine.]
[Really?] Yu Pei was happy but also hesitated. [But if you give it to me, won’t you be left without one?]
[It’s fine. After it blooms, you can give me some of its seeds.]
[En en! Oh, does this flower have a meaning?]
[It has. It means: Tears bring new beginnings.]
New beginnings…
Yu Pei stared at the meaning of the flowers that Luo Changzhou sent him on his screen blankly, then slowly leaned back against his pillows and closed his eyes.
He drifted off to sleep.
—
The school’s lunch break wasn’t very long. So when Yu Pei woke up in the afternoon and went to class, the redness around his eyes still hadn’t completely faded. He had tried using a cold towel to reduce the swelling, but the traces of crying were still visible.
When Luo Changzhou saw him, his gaze lingered on his eyes for a while before he finally looked away.
Yu Pei placed a hand over his chest, trying to calm his still-racing heartbeat. He thought that was the end of it.
But then, out of nowhere, Luo Changzhou muttered, “The sunlight is really harsh today.”
“Hm?” Yu Pei was caught off guard by the random comment.
“Look.” Luo Changzhou tilted his head slightly and pointed to his own eyes. “It’s so bright, my eyes turned red.”
Yu Pei looked closely.
Sure enough—Luo Changzhou’s eyes were a little red. His deep blue irises were slightly moist, and his pupils had contracted into fine pinpricks—clearly from staring at the sun too long.
“Changzhou…” Yu Pei murmured his name softly.
He didn’t quite understand the emotion surging through his chest, but he needed to look at Luo Changzhou. Only then did he feel… grounded.
Luo Changzhou gave him a small smile. Then, rubbing his eyes slightly, he said, “Let’s go inside. The sunlight is too strong.”