Chapter 60: Eldest Brother

By the time she returned to the villa, the night had grown very deep. Shang Ying passed the facial recognition scan and was preparing to sneak back to her room stealthily without anyone noticing, only to find that when the front door opened, light spilled out right along with it, illuminating her completely with nowhere to hide.

…

‘Turning on the lights in the middle of the night without sleeping. If he wasn't catching a thief, he was catching a kid.’

Shang Ying froze on the spot, not daring to lift her head.

‘No way, someone is still awake this late... She hasn't been walking by the river, so how did her shoes get wet so fast?’

While her mind was busy trying to figure out what excuse to use to dodge Shang Heng's Buddha-like chanting and questioning, an unfamiliar voice sounded inside the room.

"Where did you go?"

It was a deep, magnetic voice. Very cold, very young, and definitely not Shang Heng's voice. Confused, she raised her head to look at the man sitting upright on the sofa.

Even though it was the middle of the night, he still wore a sharp, tailored suit with a laptop resting on his lap glowing with silver light. He had likely been handling work matters continuously, yet there was not a single trace of exhaustion on his body.

For no apparent reason, Shang Ying formed a rough guess about the identity of the man before her. She tentatively called out, "Eldest Brother..."

The man nodded slightly, his cold gaze sweeping over her. It wasn't hard to notice a trace of strictness and dissatisfaction mixed within. A minor returning home in the middle of the night was something strictly forbidden in any household with clear rules.

‘She guessed right.’

Shang Ying silently examined this man who had suddenly appeared. High nose bridge, clear and handsome eyebrows, exuding a subtle cold detachment. He was undoubtedly handsome, and he shared a striking resemblance with her.

No mistake. This was the eldest brother of the Shang family: Shang Yan, the CEO boss in the book who fell in love with the female lead Lin Yuan and ultimately ended up in a vegetative state.

Having not heard an explanation for a while, Shang Yan asked again with unyielding patience, "Why did you come back so late?"

‘Because I went gambling with your brother.’

Shang Ying thought this in her heart, but she didn't say it out loud.

"I went out riding a bicycle. The wind was strong at night, it was pretty fun."

The light clicking of the keyboard ceased. Those cold eyes seemed to ponder the truthfulness of her words. Stared at by such a dominant, pressuring gaze, Shang Ying felt somewhat uncomfortable.

After a long moment, Shang Yan spoke indifferently.

"Don't come back this late next time. It's dangerous."

He knew it was an excuse, but he didn't expose her. It was normal for kids to have their own secrets. He was merely an older brother and didn't need to pry into every detail of his sister's life.

"Oh."

Shang Ying didn't pay him much attention. After changing her shoes, she went up the spiral staircase. In all her time transmigrating into the book, this was her first time seeing this eldest brother return home. Catching her sneaking out late at night right upon returning. He truly was a dangerous figure.

‘However, what did he suddenly come back for?’ The older brothers of the Shang family had all set up their own households outside long ago, rarely returning to the estate, let alone coming over late at night.

Shang Yan quickly resolved her doubts.

"Dad went on an emergency business trip abroad to handle some matters. During this period, you will be handed over to me, so I will be staying at home."

Explaining the cause, process, and result clearly in a few words, Shang Yan truly lived up to being a CEO-level figure, not wasting a single word of nonsense.

He looked at the girl who had stopped on the stairs, his voice devoid of warmth..

"You are not allowed to return home late again, or family rules will be enforced."

Extremely strict, unlike Shang Heng's bluffing threats, Shang Yan gave out punishments directly, showing zero leniency just because Shang Ying was his sister.

Because of the ancestral family rules handed down since ancient times, the people of the Shang family were very old-fashioned. Shang Heng was like this, and as the eldest son, Shang Yan had this "tradition" carved into his very bones.

However, Shang Ying was different. Whether it was her past self or her current self, what she couldn't stand the most was this high-and-mighty scolding. Having grown used to sassing Shang Heng, facing Shang Yan now, that rebellious bone flared up almost instinctively.

"Order me around all you want, but I'm not your employee. Don't put on that bossy attitude in front of me."

?

The downstairs man paused ever so slightly while taking a sip of water. He didn't have a deep impression of this younger sister. Before Shang Heng left, he had only mentioned to him that this sister was short-tempered and needed to be properly managed.

Teenage girls in their teens having sharp edges to their personalities wasn't uncommon. Shang Yan had gone through that age himself, but the one in front of him... was likely not just a simple matter of having "a bit of a temper".

‘Consider it her rebellious phase, then.’

Looking up, Shang Yi stood on the stairs at some unknown moment, wearing dark blue pajamas. His figure was quiet as his gaze fell calmly upon Shang Ying below.

"Tired?"

The voice drifted over like a night breeze.

Shang Ying pouted and nodded. Her shoulders and waist indeed felt sore from sitting for so long, and late-night exhaustion washed over her layer by layer, overwhelming her senses.

She truly was exhausted.

And returning home only to get lectured by that "bossy" Shang Yan made her mood sour as well.

Shang Yi didn't wait for her answer. He simply stepped down two stairs and lightly squeezed her fingertips.

"Goodnight, Sister."

He looked well-behaved, his words containing only care. Younger brothers truly were so much better than older brothers as a species! Shang Ying patted his head, replied with a goodnight, and walked upstairs briskly.

When her figure disappeared at the landing, the warmth in Shang Yi's gaze vanished instantly, turning into a chilling coldness. He lowered his eyes to stare at the unfamiliar man downstairs, his tone carrying a dark warning.

"Don't make her unhappy."

With that, he withdrew his gaze and turned to leave, having zero intention of waiting for the man's reply.

…

Shang Yan's long fingers lightly closed his laptop. As the cold light faded from his sharp features, the living room fell dead silent, his brows knitting together ever so slightly.

‘It seems both of these kids are in their rebellious phase.’

Midterm exams arrived as scheduled.

Three whole days of exams allowed Shang Ying to catch up on sleep thoroughly.

Learning that she had slept through the entire exam period, Lin Qian speechlessly put her books back onto her desk.

"Do a bit better. Even if you don't rank higher, don't drop down either. Aren't you afraid of your dad coming back to discipline you?"

Having been deskmates with Shang Ying for a while, the two got along quite well, so she had heard a few complaints Shang Ying made about Shang Heng. From her analytical perspective, Shang Heng was entirely a responsible, good father, while Shang Ying was simply an unhelpable Adou.

She had seen people lacking ambition, but she had never seen anyone as devoid of ambition as Shang Ying. A complete anomaly among noble family scions.

"He won't be back anytime soon. Right now, my Eldest Brother is managing me."

"Your Eldest Brother?" Lin Qian sat back in her seat. "Shang Yan?"

"Yeah, that cold, heartless, old-fashioned blockhead."

"...So that's how you describe him."

Shang Ying stretched lazily and stood up from her seat, nonchalantly pushing Lin Qian toward the school supermarket to buy snacks. She had been too lazy to go out for lunch, so she was currently starving.

Before the two could walk very far, Lin Qian was called out to by her homeroom teacher, who asked her to take a trip to the office. Exchanging a puzzled glance, Lin Qian followed behind the homeroom teacher.

‘Tsk, could it be related to that earlier incident?’

Shang Ying knit her brows slightly. Feeling uneasy, she picked up her pace and followed right behind them.