Chapter 101: Conflict

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Conflict

Wei’s mother looked at him and let out a faint sigh. She wondered why she couldn’t have such an adorable daughter.

Wei Shu had already run over to Tuantuan to air his grievances. "See, I told you your mom was lying to you."

Tuantuan’s little mouth, which had just relaxed, pouted again. "You’re talking nonsense! Tuantuan still gets to eat cotton candy after washing up. Don’t be so over-berrying!"

"Over-berrying?" Wei Shu pointed a finger at himself in astonishment. "I’m overbearing?!"

Wei Qi stared at the back of Wei Shu’s head and nodded in agreement.

The adults paid close attention to Wei Shu’s reaction, wanting to test if he would change his behavior when angry if it involved Tuantuan. If they lost the gamble and he had an episode, they wouldn’t blame Deng Yuyuan and her daughter. But if they won, it meant there was still hope for Wei Shu.

Wei Shu’s breathing noticeably quickened. Deng Yuyuan could even hear the sound of his teeth grinding. His eyes reddened, and his small chest heaved violently with gasping breaths that sounded as if he were suffocating.

His tiny fists clenched tightly, and he began to punch himself in the head. His face turned a purplish hue from the lack of oxygen. Opening his mouth, his back trembled constantly, leaving only a muffled, repetitive whimper. "No... that’s not right... broken... it’s all broken..."

The nanny had already gone to the cabinet to fetch his medication. Wei’s mother stood up and rushed toward Wei Shu, while Mr. Wei hugged the frightened Wei Qi. Deng Yuyuan was the quickest to react; she scooped up Tuantuan and dragged her chair backward.

Tuantuan was still out of the loop, entirely unable to comprehend what Wei Shu’s sudden tantrum had to do with her. "Mommy, Wei Shu’s head hurts!"

"Wei Shu, stop hitting yourself! If your brain is broken, Tuantuan will go with you to fix it. The more you hit it, the more it hurts!" Tuantuan’s eyes bobbed up and down, following the cotton candy clenched in his little fist. She was on tenterhooks, terrified that the cotton candy would fall to the ground.

The Wei Family’s hearts skipped a beat. Wei Shu’s brain was his sore spot; whoever mentioned it would instantly set him off. They weren’t even sure if they could get him to take his medicine today. He was going to be incredibly difficult to coax now.

Unexpectedly, Wei Shu actually stopped hitting his head. With red, teary eyes, he interrogated Tuantuan, "You said you’d go fix it with me, but you don’t care about me as an older brother at all! You only take your mom’s side!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. His two fists were still suspended in mid-air, and even Deng Yuyuan became an eyesore to him. As for Tuantuan mentioning his brain—he knew his little sister meant it literally. She wasn’t malicious like those other people. He was the older brother, so naturally, he had to be tolerant of his silly little sister.

Deng Yuyuan poked Tuantuan’s back. Tuantuan awkwardly scratched her own small face. *Oh my, what familiar words. Tuantuan definitely hadn’t said them.*

Wei’s mother had already reached Wei Shu’s side. She gently removed the cotton candy from his grip, lowered his fists, and unfurled his fingers. Deep indentations were left on his palms. Fortunately, they trimmed the child’s nails frequently, so there was no blood.

Wei’s mother helped Wei Shu catch his breath. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time their child had passed out from sheer anger. The doctor had said that if the child’s emotional fluctuations were severe enough to cause fainting, he must be taken to the hospital immediately. If nothing was wrong, it was just a trip to sleep at the hospital; if something was wrong, it could save his life.

By now, Tuantuan had completely lost control of her eyes—they tracked the cotton candy in Wei’s mother’s hand like radar.

Wei Shu noticed Tuantuan’s erratic gaze drifting in mid-air and exploded with anger once again, puffing up like a toxic little pufferfish.

"Tuantuan, what are you looking at?" His voice carried a trace of breakdown and shattered defenses.

Tuantuan replied at lightning speed, "Tuantuan isn’t looking at the cotton candy."

Deng Yuyuan closed her eyes and thought, "Baby, Mommy will teach you how not to give yourself away next time."

"The cotton candy is more important than me! Boohoo!" Five-year-old Wei Shu couldn’t hold it together anymore. He wanted to hit himself, but Wei’s mother held him in a death grip.

This was a problem Tuantuan knew how to solve!

"It’s okay, Tuantuan will share her cotton candy with you." Tuantuan climbed down from Deng Yuyuan’s lap and held her cotton candy up to Wei Shu’s mouth. "Wei Shu, eat it! Tuantuan will give you half. That way, you’ll be the kid who gets to eat the most cotton candy here!"

"A-Are you really willing to part with it?" Wei Shu suddenly became bashful. "I don’t actually like eating cotton candy. You have it."

"Okay!" Tuantuan nodded. Entirely self-taught, she used both hands to compress the fluffy treat and stuffed it all into her mouth in one go.

"...I won’t go back on my word. You can eat it slowly," Wei Shu said helplessly. He was no longer angry. What was the point of being mad at a clueless little baby?

Alas, perhaps this was the kind of heavy responsibility a five-year-old older brother had to face.

"No, Tuantuan ate it fast because I still need to check if Wei Shu’s head is hurt," Tuantuan said, shaking her head as she licked her little hands clean.

The nanny placed Wei Shu’s pills on the dining table and brought over a wet towel to wipe Tuantuan’s hands.

"Alright then, go ahead and look," Wei’s mother said, releasing Wei Shu at just the right moment so the boy could squat down smoothly on the floor for Tuantuan’s inspection.

Tuantuan gingerly touched Wei Shu’s head. Looking helplessly at the adults, her two small hands twisted the hem of her shirt. "Tuantuan doesn’t know how to see if it’s hurt."

She turned back to Deng Yuyuan. "Mommy, help Tuantuan take a look."

Wei Shu frowned and was about to stand up when Tuantuan pressed down on his shoulders. "Wei Shu, don’t move around! Mommy needs to check!"

Deng Yuyuan raised an eyebrow. She strolled over leisurely and gently felt Wei Shu’s head, pausing mid-motion.

There was a large bump on each side. This kid really was ruthless to himself.

Tuantuan tilted her little face up and asked, "Mommy, is Wei Shu’s brain broken?"

Deng Yuyuan pondered for a moment and held up two fingers.

Tuantuan touched her own head. "Where is Wei Shu’s second head? Tuantuan doesn’t see it."

Deng Yuyuan explained tactfully, "Little Shu has two bumps on his head. They don’t feel too serious, but I figure they’ll hurt for a few days."

"Tuantuan, don’t drag Wei Shu running all over the place for the next few days," she added, instructing Tuantuan.

"I’m fine!" Wei Shu immediately retorted.

"Okay, Mommy," Tuantuan nodded obediently. Seeing her act like a perfect child who only listened to her mother, Wei Shu’s anger began to flare up again.

"Wei Shu, you have to be good too. Your head is hurt, and Tuantuan’s heart hurts for you too," Tuantuan said, her little face taut with seriousness. "Tuantuan won’t even dare to give you kisses anymore."

Those were truly grave consequences.

Wei Shu’s face, which had just warmed up, immediately drooped again.

Taking advantage of her son’s good mood, Wei’s mother checked him over once more and confirmed there were no major issues.

The grandparents asked the nanny to put the pills away. Since the child was fine, there was naturally no need for him to take his medication. Psychiatric drugs of this era were not as advanced as those in later years; while they would calm a person down, they would also leave them sluggish and groggy for quite some time.

Wei Shu chose to share his cotton candy with Tuantuan. Wei Qi, on the other hand, had long since devoured his own. Seeing that his younger brother’s anger had subsided, he sat back down in his seat at the dining table. He didn’t dare stare at his brother openly, but he kept sneaking peeks out of the corner of his eye.