After returning, he called Zhang Shun into his room to discuss it. Shen Minyan felt that offering Su Siwen and Qin Kun one million wasn’t some kind of condescending charity, but rather the most practical help he could give based on the difficulties they were currently facing. Everything else was insubstantial; saying thank you wasn’t as good as just giving money.
However, Qin Kun and Su Siwen didn’t see it that way. They had found Youyou’s biological family so that the child could grow up healthy, be well-protected, and not have to endure any hardships. Looking at Shen Minyan, who seemed genuinely sincere today, Su Siwen thought, oh well. Could you really expect a chairman with assets worth hundreds of billions to empathize with ordinary people like them?
What rich people wanted was efficiency. If money could solve a problem, they wouldn’t drag their feet. When Shen Minyan entered, Su Youli was lying by the kitchen counter, watching Kunkun make fresh juice. The little guy, dressed in a vest and overalls, had his fair, tender little arms resting on the counter. His big, bright eyes watched the blender work, and he mimicked its sound, going “wooo wooo.”
Lunch was cooked by Qin Kun, with Zhang Shun and Shen Lin helping as sous-chefs. The little guy stood to the side, cheering them on. Yes, to reassure Uncle Qin and Uncle Su, Shen Lin had decided to start learning cooking, beginning with the simplest task: washing vegetables. Second Young Master Shen played truant and got into fights. His hands were used for gaming and hitting people, but never for washing vegetables.
Luckily, his IQ wasn’t bad. Under Zhang Shun’s guidance, he quickly got the hang of washing vegetables and even received praise from Uncle Qin: “The vegetables are very clean.”
Shen Lin’s eyes lit up, a fighting spirit igniting within him. Uncle Qin, just watch my performance. Once Youyou comes back to Beicheng with us, I’ll definitely take good care of him.
Zhang Shun: “…” My dear young master, taking care of a child and washing vegetables are completely different things, okay?
Shen Minyan noticed the little guy seemed even more afraid of him than the previous two days. The stern Chairman Shen tried to become a bit gentler. He attempted to curl his lips into a smile and even placed food in the little guy’s bowl with his chopsticks. The little guy blinked, his little brows furrowing. He seemed to struggle with it for a moment, and then didn’t eat it.
He was on a hunger strike right now, how could he eat? But today’s dinner had his favorite pan-fried chicken chop, and sweet and sour beef short ribs – all his absolute favorites. The corners of the little guy’s mouth glistened; he was almost drooling.
“Youyou, how about letting uncle put on your bib?”
Su Siwen handed the bib to Shen Minyan, wanting him to experience what it was like to take care of Youyou. The little guy sat in the handmade high chair his dads had made for him, pouting as he looked at the bib in Shen Minyan’s hand. The bib was white, with his beloved Stitch on it. When it was around his neck, Su Youli could see Stitch’s two big ears whenever he looked down.
Caught off guard, Shen Minyan found a piece of soft, small fabric thrust into his hands. It was ring-shaped with two small snaps in the middle to fasten it. After confirming the little guy wasn’t going to cry or make a fuss, Shen Minyan, looking slightly awkward, held both sides of the bib, walked behind the little guy, placed it around his neck, and gently fastened the snaps.
This was his first time being this close to his youngest son; it would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous. Su Youli stared at the Stitch bib for a while. During the meal, it was the fierce-looking Uncle Shen who kept putting food in his bowl. The little guy suddenly felt terribly wronged. Little Dad and Kunkun were ignoring him. They weren’t putting food in his bowl, and they’d even let Uncle Shen put on his bib.
His chubby little fist banged on the small table. Su Youli grumbled and fussed, demanding to get down, saying he didn’t want to eat anymore. Su Siwen sighed, and Qin Kun also felt helpless against him. The atmosphere at the dining table was strange. Shen Lin finished half a bowl of rice, then picked up the little guy and said he would take him to walk Yuanzi.
Yuanzi whimpered, as if to say, I’m a country dog, do I need walking? After the children left, Shen Minyan stated the time he wanted to take Youyou away. He had to leave in two days at the latest. Su Siwen and Qin Kun remained silent. Shen Minyan didn’t say anything else but had Zhang Shun bring out the things he had prepared early this morning and place them before them.
Inside the document bag was Shen Minyan’s first proper gift to the little guy – shares in the Shen Group. Before he came of age, it would be five percent. After adulthood, it would increase to ten percent, the same as his two older brothers. This gift was originally supposed to be given after Su Youli returned to Beicheng, completed various tests at several institutions, and was formally acknowledged by the Shen family.
Shen Minyan did this entirely to reassure Qin Kun and Su Siwen. Although he wasn’t a good father, he would never be stingy when it came to giving his sons assets. Qin Kun and Su Siwen’s first reaction upon seeing the documents was shock. The Shen Group was ranked globally. Never mind five percent, even one percent would be enough to buy the entire city of Yunshui.
What more reassurance could they need? The two fathers knew that the wealth and status ordinary people spent their whole lives pursuing were things they could never give Youyou. But Shen Minyan could. Although Shen Minyan was indeed quite aloof, his generosity towards Youyou was real.
Su Siwen put down the document bag and said, “Okay.” He would personally see Youyou into the car when the time came.
Shen Minyan breathed a sigh of relief, but the little guy’s attitude was giving him a real headache.
Qin Kun added, “Youyou is young, but he’s very smart. He found out last night that you wanted to take him away, and today he started a hunger strike just like Chengzi.”
“It’s okay. Youyou is very good. He won’t make a huge fuss.”
So that was it. Shen Minyan suddenly understood. No wonder the little guy hadn’t eaten anything when he’d put food in his bowl earlier. On Yunshui Street, Shen Lin held Youyou’s hand as they sat on a bench by the roadside. Summer in the southern city was muggy and hot. After walking for a while, the little guy’s face was covered in sweat. His soft hair, damp with perspiration, stuck to his forehead. His cheeks were flushed, making him look even cuter.
“Youyou, how about big brother tells you a secret?” Shen Lin sat beside him, peeling open a small popsicle for him.
The popsicle melted on the tongue, rich and creamy.
Su Youli licked the popsicle, mumbled a response, then nodded. “What secret?”
“I’m actually your real big brother.” The teenager whispered softly in his ear.
Su Youli looked at him strangely. “I know!”
Kunkun had told him last night.
Shen Lin got excited and pinched his cheek, asking, “Then would you be willing to come home with your brother?”
Last night’s unpleasant memories came flooding back. This was Youyou’s home. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to be apart from his dads. Su Youli, who had only taken one lick of his popsicle, immediately burst into loud wails, tears falling to the ground in big drops. No! He didn’t want to leave his dads! Holding the soft, limp little toddler, only one thought ran through Shen Lin’s mind – he was doomed, he’d made Youyou cry.
“Okay, okay, we won’t go back, we won’t. Please stop crying.”
How could he not cry? Youyou was so upset.
“Your popsicle is melting, little one.”
Su Youli took a lick between sobs, then another sob, another lick, until he’d finished the small popsicle.
Shen Lin: “…”
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