MSCRB Chapter 5

Hearing this, Lin Shi was so embarrassed that he quickly let go with both hands. He hadn’t expected that after falling asleep, he would hold the person all night. Recalling how he had forced the other to drink milk before bed last night, then looking at the watery clarity in the other’s eyes, clearly, the other had been awake for a while.

Thinking of his character, the original body wouldn’t have held someone sleeping in his arms, yet he had held on all night without letting go. Lin Shi’s little heart trembled. Afraid of receiving a character-break notification, he quickly tried to remedy the situation:

“Hurry up and go. So clumsy, you can’t even wake me up.”

Qin Xing’s little face scrunched up. Facing Lin Shi’s harsh words, he felt terrible inside. Pursing his lips, he obediently climbed out of bed and ran toward the bathroom. He had been so happy when he woke up in big brother’s arms! The memories in his mind told him that big brother would give him milk, dry his hair, say goodnight, secretly kiss him, and it was all true. As long as he obediently listened, the other would treat him well.

But now, why did everything change just like that? Unhappy.

“Xiao Si, do you think this little villain seems a bit different from yesterday?”

[Master, I wanted to say that last night too.]
004 lay on Lin Shi’s pillow, swishing its tail, answering leisurely.

004: Master really is Master, so smart.

Getting 004’s confirmation, Lin Shi was in a good mood. Qin Xing’s attitude toward him just now was clearly not as afraid as yesterday. Only that aggrieved little look was exactly the same as yesterday. Everything was developing in a positive direction. He just needed to subtly change the other’s fixed impression of him. This way, he could avoid the risk of breaking character. Qin Xing came back from the bathroom, head down, walked to the bed, and picked up his little pillow, preparing to take it back to the attic. Seeing this, Lin Shi directly stopped Qin Xing’s movement, snatching Qin Xing’s little pillow into his own hands, and putting it back beside his own pillow.

“Did I say you could go back to the attic to sleep?”

“Big brother, I…”

Qin Xing, who had been looking down, hadn’t expected to hear such words. He abruptly raised his head, a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes. Big brother meant… he could still sleep in this soft bed? Lin Shi deliberately said it with a straight face, but didn’t expect the other’s reaction to be different from what he imagined. He pressed on:

“Without my permission, you can only stay in my room.”

At the end, afraid the words were too harsh, he added:

“Hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your face. Come downstairs with me for breakfast.”

As soon as the words fell, Lin Shi felt a blur before his eyes, and there was a person in his arms. Looking down at the little villain who had voluntarily hugged him, Lin Shi recalled what he had just said; there was nothing wrong with it!

“Big brother, I’ll obediently listen to you.”

The little villain hugged Lin Shi, his small arms tightly wrapped around Lin Shi’s waist, burying his face in Lin Shi’s chest, ashamed of having misunderstood Lin Shi’s intentions, once again pledging his loyalty. If big brother treated him this well from now on, he would obediently listen.

“If you don’t obediently listen to me, I’ll hit you!”

Lin Shi said fiercely, but the force of his hand rubbing Qin Xing’s hair was extremely gentle.

“Mm, I’ll be very good.”

Qin Xing said in a muffled voice. But thinking of the other self’s guess that the big brother who was good to him now might at any time turn back into the person who bullied him, he couldn’t bear to let go. In just one night, the little villain had actually learned to act spoiled with him! Really just a child forgets: the pain once fed. Was he really not going to worry about breaking character anymore?

After breakfast, Lin Shi pulled Qin Xing out the door. He directly had the family driver drop them off at the entrance of a large shopping mall, then told the driver not to wait for them and to go back.

“Big brother, where are we going?”

Qin Xing looked at the people coming and going, nervously holding Lin Shi’s hand, closely following Lin Shi’s side. He didn’t know why big brother had thought of taking him out. Normally, apart from kindergarten, he was ordered to stay at home; he had practically never been shopping. Now, seeing the occasional glances from passersby, he just wanted to hide. Lin Shi bent down and pinched Qin Xing’s cheek, the only place on his body that seemed to have a bit of flesh:

“Taking you shopping. If you like something, tell me, and I’ll buy it for you as a reward for being obedient.”

Based on the original body’s memories, Lin Shi concluded that the person before him had no chance to go shopping, so he thought he’d take the other out to buy some things the other liked.

“I only want big brother, I don’t want anything else.”

Qin Xing hugged Lin Shi’s leg, saying what was in his heart. He didn’t want to spend big brother’s money. Mom said that everything he ate, wore, and used now belonged to Daddy Shen. He couldn’t spend any more of his brother’s money. So sweet-talking! Lin Shi discovered that ever since the little villain stopped being afraid of him, the other’s courage was growing. Lin Shi said nothing, scooped the person up, bounced him in his arms, and strode into the mall.

The two’s outstanding appearances and the affectionate dialogue from time to time made the mothers strolling in the mall turn their heads, wearing smiles like old mothers. Especially toward Qin Xing, who was hugging Lin Shi, hearing the other sensibly refuse to let Lin Shi spend money on him, they wished they could group up and steal the cub. In contrast, the little brats at home were simply here to collect debts, always asking for this and that, and if you don’t buy it, it means Mom doesn’t love me.

Qin Xing tugged at Lin Shi’s clothes, watching Lin Shi carefully pick out a toothbrush cup for him. He pursed his lips, about to refuse, but big brother seemed to have anticipated his refusal, blocking his words with one sentence.

“Buying a toothbrush cup to put in my room, so you don’t have to run back to your attic in the morning.”

Lin Shi finally chose a relief ceramic cup with a yellow star pattern, along with a matching towel and toothbrush.

“What flavor of toothpaste do you like? Strawberry, fresh orange, apple, grape?”

Lin Shi held a children’s toothpaste and asked Qin Xing beside him. This brand of children’s toothpaste was the same one the original body currently used; quality should be guaranteed. There were quite a few flavors, so he planned to ask Qin Xing. This was something used every day; better to buy the flavor the other liked.

“Mint.”

Qin Xing blurted out without thinking. A flicker of amusement flashed through Lin Shi’s eyes. His fair fingers curved and tapped Qin Xing’s nose:

“All the toothpaste here has a mint flavor. You want me to buy them all and take them home? Choose again.”

A blush flashed across Qin Xing’s cheeks: “Then I choose fresh orange.”

Big brother’s toothpaste was also this flavor.

“Okay, that one then.”

Lin Shi took the fresh orange toothpaste off the shelf, put it in the shopping basket, and led Qin Xing toward the shelf with slippers. Left hand holding a pair of slippers with a little yellow duck decoration, right hand holding a pair with a green dinosaur decoration, he waved them in the air and continued asking Qin Xing’s opinion.

“Which pair do you like?”

“Big brother, I already have slippers.” Qin Xing refused to choose.

“Your slippers don’t fit; obviously too big. Hurry and choose.”

He had noticed that when the other appeared before him last night wearing slippers, they seemed to be the original body’s old ones. No need to think to know it was the little villain’s mother’s doing. There was no shortage of such things at home.

“Big brother, I choose the green dinosaur.” Qin Xing felt sweet inside hearing Lin Shi’s words, so big brother had even noticed that.

“Okay, we’ll buy these then.”

Lin Shi had just put the green dinosaur slippers in the shopping cart when a phone ringtone came from Lin Shi’s pocket. Before Lin Shi could react to the fact that it was his phone ringing, Qin Xing was the first to respond, softly reminding:

“Big brother, your phone is ringing.”

Pulling out the phone, the display name ‘Er Mu Tou’ (Second Wooden Head) immediately caught Lin Shi’s interest. According to the original body’s memories, this ‘Er Mu Tou’ could be considered the original body’s lackey, though this lackey was a bit timid. Normally, the original body sought him out; he rarely initiated contact.

“Hello, what do you want? Speak fast, I’m busy here!”

“Chi-ge, I came out shopping with Curly, guess who I saw?”

“Who did you see?”

“Your stepmom.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, she’s not my stepmom. What’s going on? Stop wasting words; out with it.”

Song Xiulan?

The original body’s friends all knew he hated this woman who might become his stepmother. When they came over to play, they would join in bullying Qin Xing. This Er Mu Tou suddenly calling him was definitely not just about seeing the other.

“Good thing I was quick and took a picture. Sending it to you on WeChat.”

Hearing the tone, this was fishing for credit. Lin Shi immediately replied: “Hurry up.”

Switching the call to speaker, opening WeChat, he immediately saw Er Mu Tou’s message. Clicking in, the other had sent a photo. It was a side profile of the woman, Song Xiulan herself. Sitting across from her was a man in a suit wearing gold-rimmed glasses, dressed like a corporate elite. The two were in a coffee shop. The man was holding a document bag, in a posture of handing it over.

“Where are you guys now?”

Raising an eyebrow, the surroundings looked somewhat familiar but Lin Shi couldn’t place it. He asked directly.

“We’re at the Starbucks on the fourth floor of Wanjia Mall. Chi-ge, are you coming over? It’s fine, I’ll have Curly record with his phone. We’ll send it to you; it’s absolutely a surprise.”

“Record it clearly; don’t get caught. I’ll treat you later.”

Lin Shi hung up and looked down at Qin Xing, who was holding his finger. Wanjia Mall happened to be next door. He wanted to see for himself. Although his intuition said it wasn’t about catching an affair, the target was the person’s mother. Bringing the other along seemed inappropriate.

“Xiao Xing, I have something to take care of. How about you…”

Just thinking about how to arrange the child beside him, his hand was gripped tighter by the child.

“Is it about Mom? Big brother, I want to go too.”

Qin Xing didn’t want to be separated from the other, and from the conversation, it was about his mother. He liked shopping with the other, but from the conversation, the other was also planning to treat his friends to a meal. Facing Qin Xing’s expectant, cautious expression, Lin Shi almost nodded in agreement.

“No. Be a good boy and listen.”

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