The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

Xie Sizhi was still unaware that his rather painful experience of youth had already been discovered by the youngest brother in the family.

He only felt that the occasional strange glances Li Heng cast his way made him seem as if he had encountered some misfortune, so pitiful that it drew sympathy.

But it might just be an illusion.

Considering they were going to the farm today, he specifically changed into an outfit resembling a Western cowboy, even accessorizing with a striking red neckerchief.

He believed that he looked at least 1.5 times as handsome as usual, so from that perspective, it wasn’t surprising that his brother noticed him frequently.

“Come on, you really don’t suit this style of Second Brother’s. You’re too short,” he said after a moment’s thought, imparting his wisdom. “Your aura isn’t strong enough either.”

Li Heng was a bit confused but instinctively replied, “But I’ve grown a few centimeters!”

“Still short,” Xie Sizhi smiled as he pressed down on the young man’s head, forcing him against his chest while waving his hands, “I’m this much taller than you.”

“……”

Li Heng rejected this unfair comparison and bumped his head against Xie Sizhi to escape the grasp.

“You’re not as tall as Eldest Brother or Third Brother either.” He edged closer to Xie Duzhi, eyes wary, “Mom said you always wear shoes that add height whenever you go out with everyone.”

Xie Duzhi casually pressed down on the messy hair that had been ruffled, nodding to express his stance.

“So what if I do?” Xie Sizhi huffed, unwilling to let it go, “As long as I’m taller than you.”

“Aren’t you just a coward for being tall?” Li Heng grasped this point, completely unafraid, “I wouldn’t be like Second Brother who likes…”

“Who likes whom?” Grandma Xie, wearing a bright red dress that made her look younger, turned around keenly.

“I like the fruit trees by the farm!” Xie Sizhi quickly answered, his voice loud and clear. “Don’t you think they taste sweeter than the ones sold in the market, even if they bear fewer fruits?”

He swiftly covered Li Heng’s mouth, muffling his protests and struggles. 

“Who told you that?” After brushing off the elder’s question, Xie Sizhi lowered his voice and demanded, “Spill it, or I’ll tickle you!”

“Xie Heng, don’t think that Third Brother can protect you!” 

He openly threatened him, even including his full name. “If you can, stick with him all the time; otherwise—”

Li Heng was indeed ticklish.

He quickly shot a glance at Xie Duzhi, who seemed to be indifferent, and upon realizing there was no intention to stop him, he cowardly chose to confess.

“It’s…”

He opened his mouth but before he could reveal anything, Xie Sizhi covered his mouth again.

“I’ll message you.” he man glanced at the driver’s seat several times, clearly wary, “No leaving me on read!”

“You’re the one who’s been leaving me on read!” Li Heng couldn’t help but mumble, but he still obediently took out his phone.

No matter the content of the messages, he always aimed to be the last to reply in the chat, even if it was just a simple “ok” or a meaningless emoji—if he didn’t, he felt there would be an awkwardness of leaving the other person hanging.

Xie Sizhi had already sent several messages, fingers tapping rapidly on the screen, the chat window indicating he was still typing.

If he had been in front of a keyboard, Li Heng imagined that from the aura Xie Sizhi exuded, the sound would be quite intense, akin to the gunfire of a Gatling gun in a shooting game.

He even sent messages like “I’ll take you out in three days” and “Inner Izu Group,” his reactions mirroring a little mouse that had its tail stepped on, glancing at him with narrowed eyes between typing.

It was only after waiting for him to send his barrage of messages, filled with exclamation and question marks, that Li Heng finally replied:

【It’s Third Brother.】

Then the young man saw Xie Sizhi quickly respond with a long string of period characters, creating an irregular ellipsis.

He had forgotten to charge his phone last night and it was down to about a third of the battery. He still needed to video call home and take photos—keeping in mind the need to conserve power, he was about to switch his phone to low power mode and turn off mobile data when he found himself added to a new group.

The group had no name, with the left side filled with photos of Little Mouse, a solid color cover, and a selfie of Xie Sizhi wearing sunglasses.

Xie Sizhi was bombarding Xie Duzhi with @ messages.

“Third Brother, check the messages.” He urged while tagging him, his expression oddly calm.

What if they get into a fight after getting off the car? I should help Third Brother a bit more.

With this peculiar concern in mind, Li Heng thought.

After all, it was he who had exposed Xie Duzhi.

Xie Duzhi’s response was equally concise.

“Eldest Brother knows too.” Including punctuation, that was six words total.

Then Xie Shenzhi was added to the group chat.

Very busy but also paying attention to the messages, Xie Shenzhi slowly typed a question mark and was soon bombarded with questions from his twin brothers like a storm.

If Grandma Xie hadn’t been driving in front, with her elder authority suppressing the situation, Li Heng thought Xie Shenzhi might have directly called Xie Shenzhi in his anguish while scolding them.

Xie Duzhi didn’t even glance at the messages behind him and simply exited the temporary group.

“Instead of worrying about how we found out, you should be more concerned about whether we will tell Dad and Mom.” He seemed to be stating an obvious fact.

Xie Sizhi, however, heard a naked threat from this.

To be honest, he was a bit afraid to imagine what it would be like if his parents—especially his mother—found out about his extremely failed crush.

It felt like he’d never be able to hold his head high again.

Far away in the country, Xie Shenzhi didn’t need to worry too much; if he were going to spill the beans, he would have done it long ago. What Xie Sizhi felt he should really worry about was the seemingly harmless yet unpredictable Xie Duzhi.

Also, though he was easy to coax and could agree to keep it a secret, he was also exceptionally easy to extract information from.

In the spirit of “the fewer people who know, the less face I lose,” Xie Sizhi decisively chose to play the pity card.

“I’m already this pitiful and unfortunate,” he pretended to sigh heavily. “After being brothers for so many years, you’re supposed to comfort me, yet you still want to tell Mom and Dad.”

“I’m such a failure, living life without meaning.” 

To avoid arousing suspicion or letting the elder sense anything, he also added an ambiguous postscript, “Not only is my taste bad, but the investment I finally decided to make has also gone terribly wrong.”

Of course, this was just to prevent the elders from guessing and linking it to his romantic life. In reality, despite his unwillingness to dwell on or even recall his rather failed crush, he didn’t feel there was anything wrong with his judgment of character.

Because the person he had fallen for was very gentle and straightforward.

After being forced to learn about that matter, the other person had actually sent him a message, first expressing gratitude for his concern and affection, then apologizing for being unable to reciprocate.

She made it clear that her love for her boyfriend was indeed being eroded for various reasons, that she had entertained thoughts of breaking up, and had decided to observe things a bit longer. But regardless of whether they broke up in the end, she wouldn’t hastily start a new relationship in the short term, sincerely wishing him to find someone better.

Xie Sizhi had never deleted her contact information; the chat history was still accessible indefinitely.

Even after changing many phones, he could still find the conversation by simply searching her name, which contained messages from several years ago, taking up more than a full screen.

He suddenly felt genuinely sad, sighing again.

“I really feel a bit of failure,” he emphasized.

“Isn’t it just an investment…?” Grandma Xie thought he was overreacting, “How much you lost, Grandma will make up for it, so Dad doesn’t get to see you later and start lecturing.”

Her second grandson was used to making a fuss and was somewhat confident, so the old lady didn’t think deeply about it. “If your taste is bad, just practice more; not many people have good judgment right from the start; you can’t always profit from everything.”

She had intended to say “no one” to make it more motivational, but given there was a grandson who seemed to profit from everything, she had to rephrase it tactfully.

“It’s not about the money,” Xie Sizhi felt more upset at being comforted, “Grandma, you don’t understand; this is an internal failure and self-doubt.”

If money could buy his love, he would have jumped at the chance to become a father long ago.

Grandma Xie suddenly didn’t want to deal with him.

“Oh, then you figure it out yourself,” she said coldly, turning to smile warmly at Li Heng, “Sweet grandson, is your pocket money enough?”

“Enough, enough.” Li Heng hurriedly emphasized twice, fearing that a few extra zeros might suddenly appear in his balance.

After finishing the exams, he had been trying hard to spend money—this included but was not limited to donations, buying things for family, online shopping for various materials and necessities for the head nurse, and spending money to boost Gu’s popularity for his audition’s preview video link.

But not only had his balance not decreased, it had actually gone up a little due to the red envelope gifts from the recent graduation banquet and various gifts.

“That’s not enough to share with Grandma.” Grandma Xie turned her head with a hint of disappointment. “Your father never used to give you any pocket money; he insisted on the ‘tough love’ approach for boys. Your second brother would come over every summer break, crying to me about how poor he was.”

“He just spends too much.”

Xie Duzhi murmured softly, so only he and the boy beside him could hear, “Dad’s not stingy.”

“That was all a long time ago, Grandma.” Xie Sizhi said, awkwardly trying to change the subject, afraid she might unwittingly remind him of his recent heartbreak, which was still fresh. “I’ve been financially independent for years now.”

Grandma Xie was silent for a long time.

When the car stopped at the farm at the base of the mountain, she suddenly sighed softly, “Time goes by so fast.”

It seemed only yesterday her son and daughter-in-law were courting, and her grandsons were still babies.

“Time slips away and never returns; all that remains are memories~” Xie Sizhi echoed her sentiment, singing a line from an old song familiar to her generation, showing no trace of his earlier sadness.

“If you keep being cheeky, I’ll leave you here to keep your grandpa company.” Grandma Xie glared at him.

The sudden melancholy had indeed faded. Standing at the mountain’s base, the snow on the ridges looked even clearer. Li Heng instinctively pulled out his phone, taking several photos before selecting the best ones to send to Mrs. Xie.

He informed her they had arrived at the family farm.

The air was fresh and slightly damp, with a hint of grassy fragrance. Although it was already summer, the grass was a soft, pale green, looking more vibrant and lively than lush.

“We didn’t want to hire too many workers, so we don’t raise that many animals.” Grandma Xie took them on a tour to inventory the farm’s assets.

Xie Sizhi had visited long ago and even livestreamed himself milking a cow, but she was introducing the place to his two brothers, who had never been here before. “We used to mainly raise dairy cows and sheep.”

“We got the horse last year when your grandpa and I went traveling; we saw other farms had some, so we picked one from the racetrack.”

The sheep pen was at the outer part of the farm. Today, there didn’t seem to be any hired workers to shear the wool, so a dozen sheep roamed under the watchful eyes of two imposing shepherd dogs, occasionally letting out bleats.

This was Li Heng’s first time seeing live sheep.

In markets, he’d only ever seen mountain goats—thin, with small beards and straight horns. He wanted to get closer to take pictures, maybe even record a short video.

Falling a short distance behind the others, he quietly met the gaze of the two shepherd dogs, who weren’t barking. He was torn between wanting to move closer and feeling slightly hesitant.

The two shepherd dogs were in the sheep pen, wearing collars but no leashes.

“We actually get our milk from other farms… it’s easier than transporting it from here. We usually use the milk here to make cheese.” Grandma Xie, about to lead them to the cow shed, noticed one fewer head following her.

“Ah Wu and Ah Wang are very friendly and love people!” she quickly said, waving at the dogs and calling their names.

The dogs responded with cheerful barks.

They didn’t bark at the same time; the larger one barked first, and the smaller one followed, creating a rhythm like a harmony.

“But these sheep have quite a temper,” she added, looping her arm through the boy’s, coaxing him gently. “Come on, let’s go in and take a look.”

“Just don’t touch the sheep; they can get riled up. One worker got rammed once, and we had to pay for the emotional damage.”

Li Heng hesitated only briefly before nodding and following her inside, adjusting his phone’s camera to capture the sheep along with the grassy background and the faint outline of the mountain, completely forgetting his earlier worry about the shepherd dogs.

“Ah Wu, Ah Wang, come here!” Grandma Xie clapped her hands. “Your grandpa brought them here as puppies; they’ve grown up on the farm and are very smart.”

The two large dogs ran toward them, tails wagging. They screeched to a halt right in front of them, tongues out, then sat down, looking both imposing and adorable.

Li Heng instinctively glanced back at Xie Duzhi, who was a short distance away, before meeting the gaze of the big dog with its head tilted, as if studying him up close.

“…Woof woof?” He blinked and tried imitating a bark, unconsciously using the same approach he’d used with his cat, Xiaozhi.

He and Xiaozhi had started their “communication” with mutual meows, even though neither could understand the other. This little gesture had eased their initial distance, creating a subtle trust between them.

The shepherd dog barked back, its tail sweeping the ground enthusiastically.

Feeling they’d now officially “met,” he finally relaxed.

Just as he was about to take a few more photos of the dogs, they suddenly pounced on him. Taken off guard, he lost his balance and fell onto the grass, his phone flying a short distance away.

Two warm, wet tongues licked his face, one on each side. From this angle, he could see the dogs’ high, vigorously wagging tails, nearly like little fans.

He tried to sit up, but was immediately pinned back down by a playful paw, while the shepherd dogs sniffed his clothes eagerly, occasionally letting out little “awoos.”

Resigned, he looked around for help and noticed Xie Sizhi nearby, laughing as he took photos of him, even clicking his tongue in amusement.

For those photos alone, Li Heng decided to temporarily retract any sympathy or kindness he might have felt toward him.

Not only was he laughing, but he even held back Xie Duzhi from coming over to help.

Grandma Xie, however, chuckled. “Ah Wu and Ah Wang like you. They’re getting to know you, and once they’re familiar, they won’t pounce on you anymore.”

“Isn’t that right?” she asked.

The shepherd dogs responded with short, excited barks, sounding almost like they were agreeing with her.

Xie Sizhi, not satisfied with just taking photos, even started a group video call.

“Mom, look who’s on the ground!” He raised his phone a bit higher to make sure his mom could see his upper body, as well as the full scene behind him.

Mrs. Xie, who was wearing a face mask, instinctively accepted the call, worried they might be in some emergency.

She hadn’t expected to see her second son flashing a peace sign at the camera with an utterly carefree smile, and her youngest son caught in a mix of sitting and lying down, surrounded by the two enthusiastic shepherd dogs, looking a bit embarrassed.

She turned the phone screen away and, when she reappeared, had already removed the face mask.

She’d taken the moment to have a quick laugh herself, so by the time she faced Xie Sizhi, her expression and tone were relatively composed.

“Are you just going to watch your brother struggle without helping?”

“Not only that, I even held back our little brother.” Xie Sizhi raised his brows mischievously, feeling safe enough to be cheeky. “Mom, isn’t it funny?”

“…It’s not about whether it’s funny, but that you didn’t help and are laughing at him.” Mrs. Xie urged him to go help.

“It’s normal for kids to play and mess with each other a little.” Grandma Xie stepped in to mediate. “Little Sizhi is just letting you know they’re all healthy and active, so you can rest easy.”

That was fair, but Mrs. Xie worried that he might take things too far and give his younger brother unpleasant memories of his summer visit.

“He’s just being a bit mean,” she couldn’t help but comment. “Mom, you always take his side.”

While the adults chatted, Li Heng had quietly climbed back up from the grass. A little annoyed, he vigorously rubbed one of the big dogs’ ears.

The shepherd dog didn’t resist at all, even pushing its head closer so he could rub a bit more, leaving him feeling a bit too guilty to stay mad at them.

He wasn’t really mad at the two dogs, more surprised. And rather than anger at them, it was annoyance toward Xie Sizhi.

Ah Wu—or maybe it was Ah Wang—had already nudged his phone back with a paw.

Since it had fallen on the grass, which was slightly damp, the phone was only a bit dirty, with a few light scratches on the screen protector, but otherwise unharmed.

“Can you go pounce on him?” he whispered to the shepherd dogs, pointing stealthily at Xie Sizhi’s back and miming a pouncing motion.

Even if they didn’t understand his words, Ah Wu and Ah Wang somehow got the message. Tails wagging, they quickly ran to stand behind Xie Sizhi, then leaped up, pinning him down.

Li Heng hadn’t expected payback to be so easy.

Falling down, the thought that flashed through Xie Sizhi’s mind was, “Good thing my nose is all natural.” If one of his friends with a surgically enhanced nose were in his position, their implant might have been knocked askew.

The idea alone made him want to laugh.

Before he could react, Li Heng ran over, picked up his fallen phone, and adjusted the camera angle.

“Good afternoon, Mom,” he said, calculating the time difference in his head. “We’re at Grandma’s farm right now, and behind me is my second brother—”

Saying that, he raised the phone higher like Xie Sizhi had done, making sure Mrs. Xie could see the full scene.

Xie Duzhi quietly took the phone, adjusting the angle as he took over the camerawork.

He kept a neutral expression, though his eyes held a hint of amusement, partly because of how ridiculous his brother looked, but mostly because of how endearingly disheveled the younger boy appeared.

Grass clung to his hair, his shirt bore several paw prints, and, though messy, he looked rather endearingly bewildered.

Seeing the dirt on her second son’s nose, Mrs. Xie didn’t hold back and laughed freely. “Serves you right, for laughing at him.”

Grandma Xie was laughing as well and even gave Li Heng a thumbs-up. “Come back and visit next time during the holidays. The dogs can take you out herding.”

After her laughter subsided, Mrs. Xie straightened her expression and pursed her lips. “Oh, sweetheart, I just remembered there’s something I forgot to tell you yesterday.”