The two of them walked into the bathroom, staring at each other. In the end, it was Liang Zhou who spoke first: "I can manage by myself."
Yu Shulin shook his head seriously. "No, you have a cracked rib. You need to be careful. I'll help wash your back."
"I can wash myself," he said, his face darkening.
Yu Shulin continued shaking his head.
"Then let Uncle He help me," Liang Zhou compromised slightly.
Yu Shulin looked puzzled. "What's the difference between me helping you and Uncle He helping you? Besides, Uncle He is getting on in years, and his back isn't good. He shouldn't overexert himself."
"Then He Long."
"He's already gone home. It wouldn't be right to call him back now, would it?" Yes, that's right, He Long didn't live with them. "Besides, we're both guys. It's no big deal for me to wash your back."
"..." His little brother made a very good point. He had no retort.
Liang Zhou turned around and began unbuttoning his shirt. After finishing the buttons, he raised his arms, ready to pull the shirt off, when a pair of smaller hands pressed down on his arms. Then those hands reached to the front and pushed his shirt down from his shoulders.
"Brother, don't move your arms. Be careful not to strain the injury."
"..." The other's warm breath brushed against his back, feeling a bit strange... goosebumps were about to rise.
—No, must maintain the dignity of an elder brother.
After the shirt was off, it was time for the pants.
Liang Zhou kept a stern face, turning slightly to hide his stiffness, then began expressionlessly unbuckling his belt, unbuttoning, unzipping, pulling them down, off, off... He grabbed the hand on his waist, turned around, and glared at Yu Shulin. "What are you doing?"
Yu Shulin looked up at him, blinking his eyes, appearing utterly innocent. "Helping you take off your pants." As he spoke, he even had the audacity to reach out and pinch Liang Zhou's ear. "Brother, why are your ears turning red? Are you shy?"
Liang Zhou's body jolted. He took a step forward to escape Yu Shulin's clutches, swiftly kicked off his trousers, stepped into the bathtub, and sat down.
"Alright, I'm done undressing. You can go out now."
Yu Shulin's gaze swept over his underwear and asked, "Brother, don't you take off your underwear when you bathe?"
"I'll take it off after you leave."
"But I still need to wash your back."
"..." Facing the wall, Liang Zhou stiffly removed his underwear and said coldly, "Weren't you going to wash my back? Hurry up and do it, then get out."
Yu Shulin rolled up his sleeves, smiling obediently and thoughtfully. "But after washing, I still need to help dry you off, brother."
"..." Damn it! His little brother had been getting bolder lately. Needed a spanking!
After a rushed bath, Liang Zhou didn't give Yu Shulin any further chance to help. Wrapping himself in a large bath towel, he dried off haphazardly and looked at the other. "I'm dry. I need to rest. You should go back to your room and sleep too."
Yu Shulin silently met his gaze, then finally smiled, stepped forward, and hugged him. "Goodnight, brother."
Liang Zhou was taken aback for a moment. He raised his hand to pat Yu Shulin's head, his tense body relaxing as he said gently, "...Goodnight."
The door closed. He changed into a bathrobe, turned off the light, climbed into bed, and lay down. The skin on his back, where the other had washed him, still seemed to retain the faint, ticklish sensation of fingers gliding over it. He closed his eyes and raised a hand to touch his own ear.
Alright, even though his little brother had been acting a bit rebellious lately, overall... he was still very well-behaved, sensible, considerate, and lovable.
...He needed to be a magnanimous and tolerant older brother.
The monthly exam rankings were finally posted. Yu Shulin placed second in his grade and first in his class. Because of this, Li Tao had a sour expression for several days, but at least he stopped making sarcastic remarks towards Yu Shulin. Wang Zhi was so delighted it was as if he himself had gotten first in the class, beaming all day long. Yang Sese was also very happy for Yu Shulin. Having the class's top student sitting next to her was a huge benefit for her studies. Every time she encountered a problem she didn't understand, Yu Shulin would patiently and meticulously explain it to her. It couldn't be better.
Regarding his classmates' suddenly enthusiastic attitude, Yu Shulin accepted it with a smile, then politely returned an equal measure of goodwill. Seeing that he hadn't become arrogant after getting first place and that his attitude remained as gentle as ever, everyone's impression of him improved even more.
From then on, Yu Shulin finally achieved his wish of integrating into this class community.
"Shulin, the parent-teacher meeting is next week. Will your dad or your mom come? Ah, Li Zihao has it best. Both his parents are busy, so they said his grandma will come to the meeting," Wang Zhi asked gossipily, holding his homework notebook.
The smile on Yu Shulin's face faded slightly. He finally shook his head and answered, "Haven't decided yet. I haven't told my family about the parent-teacher meeting."
"You did so well, it won't matter who comes," Yang Sese chimed in softly, her face full of worry. "I'm the one who's in trouble. My ranking slipped out of the top ten. My mom is going to nag me again."
"Don't be discouraged. Wasn't that just a slip-up? Don't worry, your mom will understand," Wang Zhi comforted her.
"I hope so."
Yu Shulin listened to their chatter with a smile, clicking his ballpoint pen, not speaking.
After school on Friday, Yu Shulin returned home, put his backpack in his room, then slipped into the kitchen and asked in a lowered voice, "Aunt Liu, where's my brother?"
"Ah! You scared me! Young Master Shulin, how come you walk without making a sound?" Aunt Liu jumped, dropping the tomato she had just picked up. She patted her chest and replied, "The young master went to the company after lunch. He just called to say he won't be home for dinner, so we shouldn't wait for him."
"Oh." He nodded, his voice returning to normal as he continued asking, "What about Uncle He? I didn't see him."
"He went to buy soy sauce for me. Are you hungry? Would you like some fruit to tide you over?"
He quickly waved his hand and retreated from the kitchen.
Upstairs, he took out the homework he needed to finish. Remembering Liang Zhou's injury, he frowned and pulled out his phone.
"If you eat out, don't drink any alcohol. Don't overwork yourself. Come home early."
After sending the text, he took out his English homework and began writing vocabulary from memory. He had only finished two words when his phone vibrated. He took it out and pressed the button. It was indeed a reply from Liang Zhou—just two words: "Got it."
Tossing the phone aside, he stared blankly at the parent-teacher meeting invitation form on the desk for a while, rubbed his face, and buried his head back in his homework.
Zhang Qian had just finished ordering when he turned around and saw Liang Zhou on his phone. He complained, "Hey, hey, it's rare for us brothers to get together. How come you're holed up playing with your phone? Confiscated, confiscated."
Liang Zhou shot him a glance, pocketed his phone, and coldly dropped a line: "No ordering alcohol."
"A gathering without alcohol, are you kidding me?" Zhang Qian exclaimed in disbelief.
"I'm the boss. Any objections?"
"...Beast." Zhang Qian fumed. He'd go write his resignation letter at the company tomorrow!
Ling Chun raised an eyebrow at him. "Why didn't you bring little Yu along? This restaurant is quite good. That kid looks a bit skinny; he should be brought out to eat more good stuff to build himself up."
"He still has homework to do. No time to come out," Liang Zhou answered with a frown, but he took note of Ling Chun's words. Shulin really was too thin. Recently, he'd been shooting up in height, looking even more painfully slender.
"Tomorrow's the weekend. Homework isn't that urgent. Health is most important. Tell little Yu not to overwork himself." Remembering his own miserable high school years, Ling Chun shook his head.
Zhao Zhi nodded in agreement upon hearing this. As the oldest among them, he had married early and already had a nine-year-old child, so he had some experience raising kids. "Right, health is the most important. Also, children are especially prone to calcium deficiency during growth spurts. Lack of calcium can cause bone pain. Make sure to supplement his diet regularly, and you can even buy calcium tablets for him to take daily."
"Bone pain?" Liang Zhou's frown deepened, thinking of Yu Shulin's skinny legs, his concern growing.
Zhang Qian scratched his head in confusion, asking, "Bone pain? I don't remember ever having that."
Ling Chun turned to him with a smile, sat up straight, and looking down from his height, said, "With your height, did you even need bone pain? You probably just shot up without any trouble."
Zhang Qian snapped a pair of chopsticks in two with a "crack," glaring at him angrily. "Oh, you're so tall! Better watch out for breaking a leg while walking or straining your back in a strong wind! Nothing good ever comes from people who are too tall!"
Zhao Zhi and Liang Zhou both turned to look at him at the same time—they were both very tall.
"...Damn it, there's no place in this world for short people."
