The college entrance exam he clung to like a lifeline— in Pei Shen’s eyes, was nothing more than a worthless trifle.

How laughable.

Qi Sen mocked himself bitterly.

He didn’t like Pei Shen, and he couldn’t accept having such a younger brother.

In Can-Can’s world, they were a close and loving family.

But in his eyes, Pei Shen was just another passerby in the endless sea of people— someone he barely brushed shoulders with.

These past two days, he kept hearing Can-Can happily chirp “Third Brother, Third Brother” all day long. Every time she mentioned Pei Shen with that bright, joyful look, it left a bitter taste in Qi Sen’s heart.

“Can-Can,” Qi Sen asked one evening, “were you really that close with your Third Brother before?”

“Of course!” Can-Can nodded cheerfully, her voice full of pride. “Third Brother used to tell Can-Can stories every day!”

Qi Sen pressed his lips together, hesitating.

“Then… what about Second Brother?”

The smile on Can-Can’s face slowly faded.

She lowered her head, poking at the rice in her bowl with her spoon.

“Second Brother lived a life of luxury up in the Ninth Heaven. He never came home to see Can-Can.”

Qi Sen quietly put down his chopsticks.

A mocking smile twisted his lips.

But that smile quickly stiffened, flattening into a hard, straight line.

So that was what he had been in his past life— someone who abandoned family for comfort and luxury.

No wonder he was being punished this time around— forced to suffer in such a wretched home.

Qi Sen laughed bitterly, then said nothing more.

—

Huffing and puffing, Can-Can carried a thermal lunchbox and knocked hard on Pei Shen’s door.

Inside, Pei Shen sat at his desk, irritatedly staring at the cold takeout on his table.

He had gotten so absorbed in a chemistry problem that he completely lost track of time— and now the food was stone cold.

“Third Brother! Can-Can brought you yummy rice!” came the crisp little voice outside the door.

Pei Shen frowned.

“What are you doing here?”

Outside, Can-Can held up the lunchbox with both hands, her voice sweet and clear:

“I was scared Third Brother would starve! This is ham fried rice Second Brother made! It’ll help you grow taller!”

Pei Shen, who had just been worrying about food, didn’t overthink it. He took the box and set it on his desk.

Can-Can happily toddled in after him, climbing onto a chair and sitting down obediently.

“You’re not going home?” Pei Shen asked.

Can-Can shook her head.

“Second Brother said to spend more time with Third Brother.”

Pei Shen frowned. He slowed down his speech, correcting her seriously:

“I’m not your Third Brother. I’m not Qi Sen’s little brother either. Got it?”

Can-Can let out a soft “oh,” her whole mood sinking by about eight degrees.

Pei Shen felt annoyed again.

He was terrible at dealing with little kids. Say one wrong word, and they’d cry buckets. Way too much hassle.

Pei Shen simply dumped the food into his own big bowl, handed the empty lunchbox back to her, and said bluntly:

“Go home.”

Can-Can nodded obediently.

At the doorway, she took one step, then turned back, one step, then turned again— reluctantly inching away.

“Third Brother, if you ever get scared sleeping alone, you can come find Can-Can. Can-Can will protect you!”

Pei Shen stood silently at the door.

“If you meet bad guys, you can come find Can-Can too! Can-Can can build a castle like Elsa to keep you safe inside!”

Still silent, but his face twitched with growing impatience.

“Third Brother! You have to believe Can-Can! Can-Can really knows magic!”

Pei Shen finally couldn’t take it anymore. He snapped, half perfunctory:

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Hurry up and go find your brother.”

Although his tone wasn’t exactly gentle, Can-Can beamed happily.

She grabbed the stair railing and bounced downward, step by step.

Second Brother said he would wait for her at the stairwell landing~

But when Can-Can turned the corner, she didn’t see Qi Sen.

Instead—

She saw a furious middle-aged man standing by a door, beside him, the same mean woman she had seen at Qi Sen’s old house.

The woman pointed at Can-Can and said loudly:

“It’s that kid!”

The man stormed forward.

His hand almost touched Can-Can’s arm— when Qi Sen burst out of the building like a gust of wind, his voice cold and cutting:

“Touch her, and I’ll make you regret it.”

The chill in his voice seemed to seep straight from hell, so cold it made people shudder.

The man froze for two seconds, then withdrew his hand awkwardly.

He snorted:

“If your aunt hadn’t seen you living here, your mom and I would’ve thought you were dead.”

Qi Sen clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging into his palms until it hurt, forcing himself to stay calm.

When he opened his eyes again, he turned to Can-Can, his gaze soft and warm.

“Don’t be scared, Can-Can. Go back upstairs to your Third Brother.”

“Wow,” the woman sneered. “What a good little brother you’re playing at.”

Qi Sen’s brows furrowed in disgust.

“Shut up,” he said coldly.

—

Can-Can didn’t move.

She just stood there blankly, staring at Qi Sen trapped between the two bad adults. Her eyes turned even redder.

She was still just a little kid after all. No matter how brave she talked before, when real danger came, she froze, helpless and terrified.

No wonder Daddy always teased her for being “fake fierce.”

“Second Brother…” her little voice trembled.

The woman laughed darkly.

“You can stay out if you want. But after raising you all these years, you owe us something.”

She sneered:

“A few days ago, your little stray brat blabbed nonsense in front of Supervisor Liu. Now I might lose my job! As long as you go clear things up with him, we’ll forget this whole thing.”

At the mention of work, the man’s face darkened even more.

He lunged forward and kicked Qi Sen hard in the knee, sending him collapsing to the ground, clutching his leg.

Can-Can froze.

Qi Sen forced out a smile:

“Can-Can, go to your Third Brother. I’m fine.”

Tears streamed down Can-Can’s cheeks.

“Second Brother,” she choked out.

After that, she couldn’t hear anything anymore.

Her mind kept replaying the image of Qi Sen getting hit, over and over.

Her crying grew louder and louder, alarming all the neighbors upstairs and downstairs.

One by one, doors creaked open to see what was going on.

The man and woman panicked and fled the scene.

Pei Shen, hearing Can-Can’s loud sobs, shoved his bowl aside without even swallowing his food and raced downstairs, thinking Qi Sen must have bullied her somehow.

He was ready to step in and repay the favor of that meal— but when he arrived, he only saw Can-Can clinging desperately to Qi Sen’s leg, crying and asking between hiccups:

“Does it hurt?”