Chapter 5: If You Have a Mouth, Then Speak to Me
This villa had four floors in total. The parents lived on the third floor, while the Su brothers lived on the second. Ji Suize’s room was diagonally across from Niannian’s.
When they arrived, the door was tightly shut. Aunt Chen was trying to knock, saying every so often, "Third Young Master, you haven't eaten since noon. If you keep skipping meals, your stomach won't be able to take it. If you don't want to come downstairs, shall I bring a tray up for you?"
Her only response was silence. Long accustomed to being ignored by Ji Suize, Aunt Chen tirelessly knocked a few more times.
"Aunt Chen, let me try."
Seeing Su Yanheng, Aunt Chen felt a sense of relief and stepped aside to give him her spot. She reached out to take Niannian to lighten Su Yanheng’s load, but he subtly maneuvered away.
"It’s alright, I’ll just hold him," Su Yanheng said. He raised his hand, knocked firmly, and spoke with authority, "Ji Suize, come out."
In the beginning, Su Yanheng had been gentle with his third brother. When the soft approach failed, he tried the hard way, only to discover that his brother was immune to both the carrot and the stick. No matter what attitude you took with him, he responded with total indifference.
Over time, Su Yanheng realized that being soft was completely useless with Ji Suize, being a bit forceful actually worked occasionally.
Wanting to project an image of brotherly authority in front of Niannian, Su Yanheng realized his tone had been a bit too harsh. He quickly softened his voice: "Ji Suize, we’re all waiting for you to eat."
The response remained silence.
Su Yanheng decided to try the "appeal to emotion and reason" route, but no matter how many nice things he said, the door didn't budge an inch, and not a single sound came from Ji Suize.
If this hadn't been his own flesh and blood, Su Yanheng wouldn't have bothered with the kid’s survival. He had never coaxed anyone so patiently in his life, yet the brat wasn't giving him any face.
Normally, he would have just let the silence slide, but Su Younian was right there, staring at him with those wide, round eyes. He couldn't let his dignity and authority as the eldest brother crumble.
Steelng himself, Su Yanheng pounded on the door again. "Ji Suize, if you don't open up right now, I’m having someone break the door down."
Niannian had only received a brief introduction to the family, but seeing this in person made him realize just how difficult this third brother was. He could also see how much indulgence and patience his eldest brother had for him.
Back then, if he had dared to ignore a single word from his mother, the best-case scenario would be a torrent of verbal abuse, the worst would be a heavy palm landing on his head.
Niannian suddenly felt a pang of envy toward his third brother. Although the two older brothers weren't always focused on him, they didn't treat him with cruelty either.
Niannian’s envy didn't last long, as he saw Su Yanheng’s calm composure vanish. His chest was heaving with anger. He handed Niannian over to Aunt Chen, who was waiting nearby, and pressed his ear against the door to listen for any movement inside.
The family respected the children's privacy and didn't restrict their freedom. When Ji Suize had asked to change to a smart lock, the parents had agreed without a second thought. It was only after it was installed that they realized how serious the consequences were.
Su Yanheng’s deepest worry wasn't that Ji Suize would starve, if the boy was hungry, he’d find food, but rather that he would do something dangerous again.
Once Ji Suize focused on something, he ignored everything around him. Once, a gust of wind had blown papers toward an open flame. Ji Suize was so focused on his experiment that he didn't notice the fire starting. It wasn't until the smoke alarm went off that the butler rushed in with staff to break down the door, stopping the fire just in time to save a perfectly calm Ji Suize.
After that, the parents changed the lock back to a standard one, but Ji Suize had secretly reinstalled the smart lock.
This lock could only be opened with a physical key or a passcode. Ji Suize had the key, and only he knew the code. If he wanted to, he could hide in that room forever.
Furthermore, Ji Suize hated being monitored. His parents had wanted to install cameras for his safety, but he had vehemently refused. Left with no choice, they removed all dangerous items from his room and ordered the servants to check on him every hour he was home.
"If you don't want to eat with us, I won't force you. Tell Aunt Wang when you're hungry. Just give me a response now, and I’ll leave immediately," Su Yanheng said, suppressing his anger and offering one last out.
Shortly after he finished speaking, the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor came from inside. Su Yanheng’s heart leaped into his throat. He pressed his ear closer.
On the other side of the door, something struck the wood. The sound vibrated through the thick door, sharp enough to make his eardrums ring.
This was likely Ji Suize's response. As usual, when he didn't want to talk, he would knock on something nearby to answer. Su Yanheng had asked for one response, Ji Suize "gave him face" by providing two.
Su Yanheng relaxed. "Then I’ll take Niannian to dinner first. If you’re hungry, tell Aunt Chen or call me."
The door was struck again, Ji Suize’s unique way of acknowledging him.
As Niannian was pulled back into Su Yanheng’s arms, his eyes remained fixed on the door. Thinking the toddler was just curious, Su Yanheng explained, "Your third brother is just a strange kid. He doesn't even talk to Mom. You'll get used to it."
Niannian grabbed Su Yanheng’s collar and pointed at the door. "Look."
Su Yanheng asked, "Look at what?"
Niannian: "Look at Third Brother."
Su Yanheng: "He doesn't want to eat with us. You saw it, he won't even open the door."
Having been forced into independence early in his past life, Niannian had developed a keen sense of danger. Once, when his mother had locked him in the house, he had heard faint, strange noises through the thin walls of their old apartment.
Next door lived an elderly woman and her three-year-old grandson. Every day at that time, the woman would lock the doors and windows to run to the market, returning quickly without incident.
That day, she had left at the usual time, but a sound started that Niannian had never heard before.
He had climbed onto the windowsill only to find that the grandmother had forgotten to close a window. The grandson was hanging from the anti-theft bars, his neck stuck between the rails, his body dangling in mid-air.
He must have just fallen, his face hadn't turned purple yet, but the bars were choking him, preventing him from making a sound. In his desperation, he could only frantically beat his small hands against the metal.
Niannian had rushed to call the police and then found the numbers for nearby restaurant owners in the directory, telling them to come and hold the boy up. The police and firefighters arrived just in time to prevent a tragedy.
After that, Niannian was praised by the neighbors, and the title of "Little Genius" spread throughout the neighborhood, but he never received a single word of praise from his parents.
Niannian’s perception of danger was extremely sharp, especially regarding sound.
Now that Su Yanheng had stopped talking and the hallway was quiet, he caught an unusual sound from inside the room. He sensed that the person inside was in danger.
Niannian tugged anxiously at Su Yanheng’s collar. "Big brother, look!"
Su Yanheng instinctively tried to soothe him. "Okay, okay, we'll look, we're looking."
But he didn't know how to open the door. Should he kick it down? Nothing major seemed to be happening, if he broke the door down for no reason, his third brother would surely be furious.
"240415," Niannian blurted out a string of numbers.
Su Yanheng froze. "What does that mean?"
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