The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

One time, they stayed in the arcade until the mall closed. 

As they headed downstairs, Li Heng had his left arm around a giant pink bunny plushie, while his right arm was holding a trendy shark pillow. Xie Duzhi and Xie Sizhi also helped carry some smaller prizes they had won.

The bunny was a prize for scoring perfectly in a basketball game, and the shark pillow was the grand prize in a shooting game that Xie Sizhi had won. When Li Heng received these prizes, the mall was packed, and his winnings attracted envious glances from many kids—and even some adults.

If there were still many people around, he might have felt a little embarrassed bringing all those prizes into the elevator.

“Alright, tell me, do you like Sharky or Bunny better?” Xie Sizhi asked with a mischievous grin, seizing the quiet moment to pose this question.

“Second Brother thinks the shark is more bold and cool, what about you?”

“Both the shark and the bunny are adorable,” Li Heng replied with a sigh.

After a brief pause, he added, “But if I had to choose, I think I like the bunny more.”

“…Why?” Xie Sizhi sounded incredulous, feeling slightly slighted. “What’s wrong with the shark? I even picked the best-looking one for you.”

“I’ve never been to an aquarium before,” Li Heng said. “When I watched nature documentaries with others, I was startled by a sudden close-up of a shark’s teeth.”

Around his family, he no longer avoided talking about his past.

“But I once had a pet rabbit.”

“Well, we could get a rabbit at home now,” Xie Sizhi said, eager to make up for his misstep. “ my greenhouse would be perfect for growing grass to feed it; you could have as many as you want.”

Li Heng imagined his garden, with its rare flowers and plants, being gnawed on by a rabbit. The thought made him smile, though a bit reluctantly. “Second Brother, let me finish the story first.”

It was nearly winter when he had the rabbit.

One day, the head caretaker had taken a group of the older, well-behaved kids to a family friend’s house to help with some crafts. On the way back, they happened to pass a street vendor with a ring toss game. The vendor’s stand had everything from stuffed animals to glass ornaments to live animals like turtles and rabbits.

Though he could resist stopping, he couldn’t help glancing back. Other kids weren’t so restrained and pleaded with the caretaker to play for a chance at the little bunnies.

The caretaker, loaded down with kids hanging on her legs and arms, eventually gave in and bought 30 rings for 15 yuan. She divided them, giving each child a few rings to try their luck.

“Did you win the rabbit?” Xie Sizhi asked, intrigued.

“Almost.” Li Heng vaguely remembered, “I think I nearly got it but missed when the ring bounced off.”

“The rabbit was bought or given as a consolation prize,” Xie Duzhi speculated.

“Half right,” Li Heng said, remembering with both amusement and slight frustration. “Another kid had bought tons of rings but still couldn’t win anything, so the parent accused the vendor of rigging the game and demanded a refund.”

The rings were quite large, but aiming for animals and plushies took skill or luck. The glass trinkets in the front row were easier to win.

“The caretaker stepped in to mediate, and the vendor asked me to demonstrate, to prove the game wasn’t rigged. Even though I didn’t win the rabbit, I did win a glass dog and a little angel for the others.”

Xie Sizhi chuckled, unable to hold back.

Xie Duzhi’s gaze softened slightly, though he kept a straight face.

“I see! The rabbit was the vendor’s thank-you gift for helping out,” Xie Sizhi said, giving him a thumbs-up. He was clearly tempted to ruffle his little brother’s hair. “Our little guy is impressive!”

Before he could reach out, Xie Duzhi subtly shifted to block his arm.

Xie Sizhi didn’t notice.

“All of us wanted the little rabbit, not the big plush tiger,” Li Heng said, resisting an urge to scratch his nose, as his hands were full and might accidentally swat Xie Duzhi with the shark’s tail.

“Let’s get a rabbit then,” Xie Sizhi said, his resolve to like rabbits wavering. “Rabbits are adorable.”

Our little brother is adorable!

“…But Second Brother, the rabbit we had back then got eaten,” Li Heng said, hesitantly.

The rabbit, a fluffy white one with red eyes, had grown fast. At first, they fed it wild grass and vegetable scraps, but by the time New Year came, it was nearly the size of a small dog—a not-so-clean lump of “snow.”

The rabbit’s droppings were tough to clean and left a strong odor, which might give visitors a bad impression, so the caretaker decided to butcher it, stewing it with carrots and serving it at the New Year’s feast.

“No worries—anyone who dares touch your pet rabbit, I’ll deal with personally,” Xie Sizhi said, heart melting at the thought of his little brother’s disappointment. “Out with the old, in with the new. Don’t feel bad, alright?”

Li Heng felt a bit awkward explaining that although he had been sad at the rabbit’s fate, the warm rabbit stew—and the earmuffs the caretaker later made from its fur—had eventually won him over.

Those earmuffs had been with him all through middle school until they no longer fit, and the caretaker had taken them back to transform into a single fingerless glove.

In the end, his conscience couldn’t let his occasionally careless, yet tender-hearted, brother keep misunderstanding.

“Second Brother, I wanted to say that the rabbit stew was delicious,” Li Heng said.

“No worries. I understand. Second Brother once had a pet parrot too… Waaait, what?”

“If I remember correctly, the parrot was actually Uncle Fu’s,” Xie Duzhi remarked at the perfect moment, completely dismantling Xie Sizhi’s story. “You wanted to take care of it, but you got so caught up in a game with your friends that you forgot to feed it or check the cage. The parrot managed to open the cage door by itself and flew away.”

Uncle Fu had grumbled about it for ages, even getting several other parrots from friends. But none were as clever or chatty as the original, and eventually, he gave up and moved on to other hobbies.

“Third Brother, don’t slander me!” Xie Sizhi snapped, revealing his true colors as he tried to launch a sneak attack. “That bird was just too pampered. I noticed it was so chubby it could barely fly, so I was kindly helping it get some exercise.”

The parrot debate continued all the way home to the Xie family house. Li Heng tried several times to mediate, hoping to ease the tension, but Xie Sizhi dismissed each attempt.

He insisted, “When it comes to my reputation, I refuse to yield, and I reject all forms of reconciliation.”

But in the end, Xie Duzhi didn’t give in either.

Sitting in the back seat with his eyes half-closed in what appeared to be exhaustion, he gazed out from under his lashes. It was unclear whether he was zoning out or truly listening to every word of Xie Sizhi’s empty arguments, occasionally interjecting with an indifferent, “So?” or “And then?”

Li Heng thought he even heard his second brother grinding his teeth.

Unable to resist, he gently nudged Xie Duzhi with his elbow, hoping to make eye contact and silently plead for a small show of kindness to appease Xie Sizhi.

“Third Brother—” he mouthed, feeling a bit anxious.

He was mainly worried his sensitive, competitive second brother would notice, though a few other reasons lingered, unspoken.

He caught a brief, teasing smile from Xie Duzhi. When he looked again, the smile had vanished as if it had never been there.

Then Xie Duzhi mimicked his silent plea, mouthing, “Alright.”

The two shared a covert understanding, forming a secret alliance right under the nose of the other party.

The feeling of having a secret—one forged so boldly right under Xie Sizhi’s nose—sent Li Heng’s heart racing. Or perhaps it was that fleeting smile he thought he had seen.

When Xie Duzhi smiled, it was captivating, as though winter had suddenly leaped into spring, glaciers melting into streams flowing toward a warm, radiant light.

“Maybe I remembered wrong,” he said slowly, unhurried. “It really had nothing to do with you.”

Satisfied, Xie Sizhi leaned back with a triumphant grin.

Li Heng quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Sizhi, savoring the memory of his “victory,” felt equally pleased.

Aside from the long-lost parrot, the hour-long debate had concluded with no harm done to anyone.

Li Heng unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to his brother, who was once again full of pride. At that moment, he couldn’t help but think of his second brother as a peacock from a fable—proud, vain, and strangely easy to please. All you had to do was admire his feathers and agree with him.

If his second brother was a peacock, then what animal could describe his third brother?

He found himself lost in thought, pondering the question without reaching a clear answer.

It felt as though there were several possible answers, but none fit just right.

This musing about “what animal Xie Duzhi might resemble” stayed with him until he stepped into the house, brushing off Uncle Fu’s reminders to come home earlier next time, only to find his parents and eldest brother waiting on the couch, looking prepared for a family meeting.

The unpleasant memory of his graduation party suddenly resurfaced.

He recalled that he should apologize, as he had indeed acted rather impulsively.

But before he could say a word, Mrs. Xie, her face somber, began to speak, delivering news that was far from good.

Just now we received a call from your grandfather’s side.”