Chapter 104 The Brother-Showing-Off Maniac
Lin Qingyan was used to it and didn’t think there was anything wrong with the room, except that it was a bit small.
“YanYan, is this you when you were little?” An Yu picked up a photo frame on the desk. Inside was an old photograph. He shamelessly said, “YanYan was just as handsome as Second Brother when he was little.”
“Second Brother? Are you Pigsy? Let me see!” An Jing quickly walked in, snatched the photo frame from An Yu’s hand, and then the parents also came in. Everyone crowded together to admire the youthful beauty of childhood YanYan.
The small room was full of people. Mr. Gu, unable to squeeze in, could only stand stiffly at the door.
Song Shuman: “Our son was really handsome when he was little.”
An Lingkang: “He certainly inherited my excellent genes.”
An Jing: “The best-looking person in our family is YanYan.”
An Yu: “Then I’ll reluctantly accept second place.”
Gu Fei: “…”
His gaze turned to the young man beside him. Perhaps embarrassed by all the praise, the boy looked well-behaved, his eyelashes drooping slightly, his small ear tips faintly flushed.
Gu Fei thought—no matter how handsome he is, he’s mine.
The boy in the picture was probably seven or eight years old, somewhat thin, wearing ill-fitting clothes, his hands nervously clutching the hem of his shirt, his expression shy and uneasy.
Although the picture wasn’t very clear, the boy had rosy lips and white teeth, big eyes, and was very pretty and cute.
Cute, but also heartbreaking.
Even his clothes were too small, exposing his wrists and ankles. The gesture of clutching the hem of his shirt showed nervousness and a hint of self-deprecation, unlike the Lin Qingyan who now shone brightly on stage.
The only consolation was that even though their son/brother grew up in such an environment, he still grew into a well-behaved, sensible, and outstanding young man. He shone on stage, confident and composed.
The room was too small, making it inconvenient for so many people. The An family went outside to wait, leaving only Gu Fei to help Lin Qingyan pack his things.
Gu Fei found a familiar-looking ornament on the desk: a rabbit carving about the size of a child’s palm, exquisitely carved, holding a carrot, very cute.
He stared at the carving in a daze.
“It’s cute, right?” Lin Qingyan walked over and poked the rabbit’s head with his index finger. “This carving mysteriously appeared in my schoolbag when I was eight years old. I don’t know where it came from, but I really like it.”
“Mm, it’s cute.” A faint smile appeared on the man’s lips. He placed the carving in the young man’s palm. “It must have been given to YanYan by someone very important.”
Lin Qingyan smiled, “Maybe an angel.”
The living room outside was messy, so the four members of the An family stood in the hallway outside. Song Shuman still held the photo in her hand, gently stroking the child in the picture, her eyes a little red.
An Jing tapped on his phone screen, a smile on his face. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was chatting with some female star. An Yu curiously peeked over to take a look, only to discover that his older brother was editing a Weibo post.
“Wow, Big Brother, you’re going to show off your brother to the entire internet! Sigh… why didn’t I become a star, then I could show off too.”
“Hey, Big Brother, wait a minute, I suddenly remembered that I’m also your brother! Why don’t you show off me as well?!”
“Get out of here! You’re lucky if you don’t cause trouble and embarrass me!” An Jing slapped An Yu on the back of the head, continuing to edit his Weibo post, then clicked send.
At 3:09 PM on Saturday, after many millions of fans eagerly waited, An Jing, who hadn’t posted on Weibo for several days, finally updated his feed. Many fans rushed in as soon as it was updated.
However, this was an unexpected post.
@An Jing: My brother who’s been this handsome since he was little.
There were two accompanying pictures: the first was the childhood photo of Lin QingYan, only his upper body, up to the chest; the second was a picture saved from fans, a stage photo of Lin QingYan in “The Whale That Became an Island.”
There had been much discussion online, with many netizens curious whether Lin QingYan had returned to the An family. This Weibo post was the best answer; An Jing personally confirmed that Lin QingYan was his younger brother.
“Oh my god, am I seeing this right? It’s Lin QingYan!!”
“Ahhhhh I thought my husband was posting a selfie, but congratulations to my husband on finding his younger brother! Handsome! Both brothers are handsome! Little brother-in-law was so cute when he was little!”
“Upstairs, because of your sentence, An Jing held me and coaxed me for half an hour.”
“An Jing personally admitted that his younger brother is Lin QingYan! YanYan finally returned to his family!! Wuwuwu I want to cry…”
“Speaking of which, YanYan was so cute when he was little, and even more handsome when he grew up wuwuwu, I got a little fairy! YanYan’s biggest regret should be that he can’t kiss his own face!!”
“Hahaha, laugh to death, An Jing, you’re actually a brother-showing-off maniac!!”
“Brother, did you forget An Yu by the Great Ming Lake !!”
“This is the real high-value brothers. An Nanyi, what isn’t yours will eventually return!!”
An Jing’s influence was already very large. Coupled with the high level of attention from netizens, there was a flood of likes, comments, and reposts. This Weibo post quickly topped the trending list.
The top trending topics were:
#MyBrotherWhoHasAlwaysBeenThisHandsome
#LinQingYanReturnsToTheAnFamily
#AnJingIsABrotherShowingOffManiac
#LinQingYansChildhoodPhotosExposed
#LinQingYanWasTooHandsomeAsAKid
After posting, the person involved locked their phone screen and put it in their pocket, regardless of the storm they’d stirred online.
Alright, he was going to be a brother-showing-off maniac from today on.
Inside the room, Lin Qingyan, unaware of this, continued packing. There wasn’t much to take, and he was soon finished.
Gu Fei found a palm-sized notebook at the bottom of a cardboard box in the corner, filled with books. It must have been there a long time; the cover was damaged, and the paper was yellowed.
He flipped open a page and discovered it was a diary. The handwriting was childish, with some unfamiliar words replaced by pinyin, but it was written earnestly, meticulously, each word recording the emotions of young Lin Qingyan at the time:
June 19, 2005, Tuesday, Cloudy
Dad drank again today. I’m scared of Dad when he’s drunk. He hit me again today, and my nose bled, but it doesn’t hurt.
July 8, 2005, Saturday, Sunny
I didn’t have school today. I went out and picked up scraps and exchanged them for a dollar. I bought my favorite plum candy. I secretly hid the candy under the bed so my brother wouldn’t find it. I was very happy today.
The man’s fingers tightened slightly around the diary.
August 2, 2005, Sunday, Sunny
Today, Mom took me to a very beautiful, beautiful big house, like a castle in a fairy tale. I helped Mom clean the castle. In the garden, I saw the prince of the castle. He was a very handsome older brother, but he looked a little fierce, and I didn’t dare go talk to him.
August 4, 2005, Tuesday, Sunny
The older brother is really handsome. I squatted behind the flowers and secretly watched him. He found me, but he didn’t yell at me. I mustered my courage and walked up to him and gave him a plum candy, my favorite. The older brother accepted it and thanked me. Happy!
“Ge Fei, I’m done packing.” Lin Qingyan walked to Gu Fei’s side, curiously looking at the small notebook in his hand, feeling strangely familiar. “What are you looking at?”
His thoughts returned. Gu Fei closed the diary, concealing all his emotions in the depths of his eyes. He calmly handed the notebook to the young man, his voice softening slightly, “This is your diary from when you were little. Don’t you remember?”
“Really?” Lin Qingyan looked carefully at the small notebook in his hand and flipped through it.
After seeing the contents, he immediately closed it. He smiled awkwardly, “It really is my diary from when I was little. I have a vague memory. I didn’t even know where I put it, and you found it.”
Pausing, he cautiously asked, “Ge Fei, did you read the contents?”
“I skimmed it.” Gu Fei lowered his head slightly, looking at the young man’s anxious peach blossom eyes, his magnetic voice teasing, “What? Did YanYan write something shameful in it?”
Lin Qingyan subconsciously stepped back, anxiously explaining, “No, it’s just some daily trivialities. I wrote it when I was eight; I don’t even remember much of it.”
“Let’s go; don’t keep my parents waiting.”
Gu Fei: “Okay.”
He carried the packed belongings, following behind the young man. As they passed the living room, he pursed his lips uncomfortably and quickened his pace.
Lin Qingyan locked the door and put the key back under the doormat. As they were about to leave, they encountered Lin Jianxiang, Lin Qingyan’s adoptive father, returning from outside.
The drunkard was drunk, reeking of alcohol, staggering over, pointing at Lin Qingyan and cursing.
“You little brat, you still know how to come back! You went to a rich family and… you don’t know who raised you, you ungrateful thing!”
He raised the empty wine bottle in his hand, intending to hit Lin Qingyan on the head. Of course, he didn’t succeed. As soon as he moved, Gu Fei, who was still carrying the boxes, kicked him hard in the abdomen.
With a cry of “Ouch,” he fell to the ground. An Jing then delivered a follow-up kick, and An Yu followed up with two more kicks, cursing as he did so, “You dog thing, you dared to abuse my brother! I’ll beat you until you don’t even recognize your mother!”
Lin Jianxiang was too drunk to tell the difference between east and west, powerless to resist, only groaning in pain.
“Second Brother, let’s go.”
Lin Qingyan stepped forward to stop An Yu.