That number wasn't Ji Suize’s birthday, it was the date Old Master Ji had officially decided to groom Ji Suize as the family heir.
Niannian leaned half his body out of Su Yanheng's arms, reaching for the keypad. Su Yanheng snapped to his senses, caught his falling brother, and hurriedly punched in the numbers.
The chime of a successful unlock left him stunned. Aunt Chen’s panicked scream snapped him back to reality, and he looked into the room.
The curtains were drawn tight. The light from the hallway illuminated the floor near the door. On the floor by the bed lay a dark, blurred shape. Who else could it be but Ji Suize?
Even in his panic, Su Yanheng remembered to hand Niannian to the equally frantic Aunt Chen before rushing into the room. He carefully helped his brother up from the floor.
"Are you okay?" Su Yanheng felt Ji Suize’s forehead. The butler switched on the main lights, and the sudden brightness revealed the boy’s pale face.
The five-year-old was much smaller and thinner than other kids his age, but his delicate features held a level of maturity that didn't belong to his years. He blinked slowly, clutching his stomach, and spoke a rare, long sentence:
"It hurts here. Chronic issue. No need for the hospital. There’s medicine in the second drawer on the left. I didn't have the strength to reach it. Please get it for me. Two pills are enough. Thank you."
Though his voice was weak, he was clear-headed enough to make a diagnosis. It was obvious that if he had the strength, he would have handled it himself without needing Su Yanheng’s help.
Su Yanheng felt a mix of heartache and irritation. Hearing the child speak so maturely in such a high, tiny voice was both a headache and a tragedy.
If he hadn't seen Ji Suize being carried out of the delivery room himself, he would have suspected the boy was older than him. When Su Yanheng was five, he would have been crying for the butler if he so much as tripped, Ji Suize was calmly diagnosing his own illness and finding the solution
He really felt like calling Ji Suize "Big Brother" instead.
"You’re in this state, why didn't you call for help?"
Ji Suize pressed his lips together and remained silent. After taking the medicine, he reverted to his taciturn state.
He had called for help, but he hadn't spoken in so long and his body was so weak that his voice was too faint for those outside to hear.
He had forgotten to put his smartwatch back on after washing his hands, so he could only grab things near him to throw at the door, hoping Su Yanheng would understand.
Unfortunately, Su Yanheng hadn't. Just as his hope was fading, he heard a milky little voice outside anxiously reciting a familiar string of numbers. Then came the sound of the lock opening.
Ji Suize was placed on the bed, leaning against the headboard. His dark, deep eyes fixed intensely on the little bundle in Su Yanheng’s arms.
His most vivid impression of this brother, two years his junior, was that he was stupid.
To gain their parents' attention, the boy had constantly resorted to crying and tantrums. It had worked a few times at first, but any method loses its effectiveness if overused.
Suize didn't like dealing with stupid people, not because he looked down on them, but because talking to them felt meaningless. They wouldn't understand his thoughts, they found his actions strange, and they asked ridiculous questions. Over time, he simply couldn't be bothered to explain himself or speak at all.
This younger brother had always been terrified of him and disliked the other two older brothers, turning tail and running whenever he saw them. He hadn't expected Niannian to be the first to realize something was wrong, let alone crack his passcode.
The only explanation Suize could think of was that Su Younian must have secretly watched him enter it at some point.
Though he was grateful to Su Younian for saving his life, he decided that once he recovered, he would change the code. He didn't like people intruding into his private domain.
Su Yanheng wasn't satisfied and called the family doctor to give Ji Suize a full checkup.
With two children in the Su family getting injured back-to-back, the family doctor had been a frequent visitor lately. After checking Suize, he reached a relatively positive conclusion, prescribed a few more bottles of medicine to keep on hand, and left.
By the time the chaos settled, it was long past dinner time. While the food was being reheated, Su Yanheng sat on the edge of the bed holding Niannian and gave Ji Suize a light flick on the forehead.
"Do you see the consequences of locking your door now?"
Ji Suize nodded expressionlessly.
Su Yanheng: "So, are you going to keep locking it?"
Ji Suize nodded again.
Su Yanheng took a deep breath and flicked him again. "If Niannian hadn't been clever enough to notice something was wrong, were you planning to lie on the floor all night?"
Not at all intimidated by the potential consequences, Ji Suize pulled out his phone to type. Su Yanheng, still reeling from the scare, snatched the phone away and said sternly, "Don't type. If you have a mouth, then speak to me."
Ji Suize blinked, finally showing a hint of the grievance a child his age should feel. It vanished in a flash, too fast for Su Yanheng to notice.
He said dryly, "Aunt Chen checks on me every hour. If I didn't respond, you eventually would have realized something was wrong."
Su Yanheng wasn't moved by the explanation, instead, he was infuriated by the boy’s nonchalance.
He told himself to be calm.
He was the eldest brother. He needed to maintain his composure.
He was twenty-eight years old, a mature adult. He shouldn't pick a fight with a child!
The hell with that!
To the public, "Film Emperor Su" was humble and polite. In his younger years, he truly had been. But after suffering from insomnia for years, his temper had grown increasingly volatile, though he usually kept it private and never showed it to his young brothers.
Now, triggered by Ji Suize’s attitude, he completely abandoned his facade. He reached out with both hands, held Ji Suize’s head still, and said fiercely, "I’m having that damn lock removed tomorrow! If this ever happens again, I’m giving you a real thrashing!"
Ji Suize’s head wobbled back and forth in his brother’s grip, but his logic remained sharp: "That is domestic violence."
Su Yanheng choked on his words, then corrected himself: "Fine, then I’ll just spank you."
"..." Now it was Ji Suize’s turn to be speechless. His eyes widened in horror, seemingly unable to accept the idea of being spanked by his big brother.
Finally finding his weakness, Su Yanheng gave a cold smile. "If you don't want me to spank you, then don't try to stop me from taking that lock off."
Ji Suize’s lips twitched. Even his genius brain couldn't find a rebuttal. It was only natural for an older brother to discipline a younger one, and a spanking didn't quite count as "abuse" in a legal sense. Who knew what method his brother would use?
After thinking it over, Ji Suize decided to ignore Su Yanheng. He would just move to his grandfather’s house for a while tomorrow and come back after his big brother’s vacation ended.
Curled up in his eldest brother’s arms, Niannian watched the drama of the brothers bickering, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.
He wasn't laughing at his third brother for getting scolded. It was just that, having so many brothers for the first time and seeing them interact like this, he could feel that Su Yanheng wasn't truly furious. It was more about an older brother’s worry for his sibling. It felt warm and cozy, and he smiled despite himself.
Ji Suize stared at the deep dimple on the little toddler's left cheek. It was like a black hole, drawing his gaze in, making it impossible to look away.
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Ji Suize: I hate idiots.
Ji Suize later: Except for Niannian.
Niannian (with a serious face): I am not an idiot!
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