Brothers Conflict 20

Cheng Yu wanted to help Si Jiu up.

"I didn't..." mean to.

His hand never reached Si Jiu, because she was already scooped up by Cheng Ze, who had pushed the door open and entered.

Almost instantly, the previously restless and anxious young girl visibly quieted down.

Just moments ago, she would snap and bite at anyone who touched her, but now, in Cheng Ze's arms, she was as docile as a well-behaved doll.

Her face was merely pale, looking frail and sickly.

Cheng Ze stroked the young girl's back with one hand, his expression displeased. "What kind of scene are you making here?"

Cheng Yu looked on coldly at the sight, his tone harsh. "Didn't you see it all? This little ancestor is throwing a tantrum."

"Disobedient?" Cheng Ze lowered his gaze to study Si Jiu. "What did you promise me?"

Si Jiu lowered her long eyelashes, keeping silent.

"Someone, come and clean this place up," Cheng Ze said to Cheng Yu, before turning his gaze to Cheng Yuan. "Have Xiao Qian come to my room to see me."

With that, he carried Si Jiu away from the room.

The moment he turned around, Cheng Yuan looked toward Si Jiu. But he only saw her burying her face in Cheng Ze's chest, making her expression completely hidden from view.

Yet that posture of absolute, wholehearted reliance inexplicably grated on his nerves.

He exchanged a glance with Cheng Yu, and both quickly looked away.

The exact same thought echoed in both of their minds: Cheng Yinyin's degree of dependence on Cheng Ze far exceeded anything they had ever imagined.

...

Cheng Qian knocked on Cheng Ze's bedroom door, pushed it open, and stepped inside.

"What does Second Brother want to say to me?"

He saw Si Jiu lying quietly on the bed with her eyes closed. Cheng Ze was sitting on the edge of the mattress, having already removed the glasses from the bridge of his nose.

Without the lenses shielding them, his gaze was overly sharp, revealing a cutting edge completely at odds with his gentle appearance.

He raised an index finger to his lips, signaling Cheng Qian to keep his voice down with a look, and then stood up. "Come with me."

Cheng Qian clearly caught the frantic movement of Si Jiu's eyeballs beneath her eyelids; it was obvious she was merely feigning sleep.

He let out a scoff. Seeing Cheng Ze stand up and enter the adjoining small study, he purposely walked over to the bed, bent down, and whispered, "Little ungrateful wretch."

With that, he nonchalantly followed Cheng Ze into the study.

On the bed, Si Jiu slowly opened her eyes.

[Open the real-time surveillance feed. Also, have the ingredient analysis for the soup Cheng Ze makes Cheng Yinyin drink every day come back yet?]

The system replied: [It's just an ordinary nourishing soup, with no addictive substances present.

Cheng Yinyin's reaction is entirely driven by psychological factors.

At most, Cheng Ze has merely subjected her to subtle psychological conditioning during their daily interactions.]

In the surveillance screen, Cheng Ze and Cheng Qian stood facing each other, neither of their gazes carrying any warmth.

Usually, one cultivated the persona of a jade-like gentleman, while the other played the part of a pampered worldly aristocrat, but right now, the aggressiveness radiating from both of them was impossible to ignore.

"Do you realize your actions today crossed the line?"

"Second Brother's words are quite amusing. Crossed what line?

The line you drew?

By what right?

Cheng Yinyin is not some little pet you raised. Could it be that wherever she goes and whatever she eats must require your permission?

If we're talking about crossing the line... Second Brother is the one who crossed it."

"May I take this as a declaration of war against me?" Cheng Ze smiled faintly.

Cheng Qian spread his hands. "I have the utmost respect for you, Second Brother.

Still, I truly never expected that you could train Cheng Yinyin into such a state.

Does Big Brother know about this?"

"If you want to sow discord... you are more than welcome to go tell Big Brother."

To Cheng Qian, Cheng Ze's calmness simply reeked of unwarranted confidence.

"I know that you and Big Brother have been together since childhood, and your bond is deep.

In Second Brother's eyes, those of us who came later are probably barely better than strangers.

However, Second Brother, isn't treating us this way—me, Ah Yuan, and Xiao Qian—terribly unfair?"

He laughed with a touch of nervous instability. "Heh, heh, heh... Even an ant clings desperately to life. What is wrong with me fighting for my own future and survival?

Why must Second Brother put on such an offended air?

Are you feeling nervous?"

"Come to think of it, Big Brother called all of us back precisely for this purpose, didn't he?

Everyone simply relies on their own abilities.

Second Brother has no standing to lecture me from now on."

He had expected Cheng Ze to fly into a rage, but instead, the man simply smiled.

A smile that even held a hint of amusement.

"Xiao Qian, you're right.

Then let's each rely on our own abilities."

He patted Cheng Qian's shoulder, and the moment they brushed past each other, he lowered his voice to whisper in Cheng Qian's ear, "I'm just afraid that once Yinyin leaves me, she won't even be able to survive. What do you have left to compete with me?"