Chapter 4

Yan Xiao was in an excellent mood.
She was convinced she’d already managed to rack up three waves of hatred points, all in one afternoon! At this rate, she’d fill that meter in no time and be home before she knew it.
Pleased with herself, she opened her little backpack and pulled out a marshmallow as a reward.
Peeling the wrapper, she nibbled at it slowly, swinging her short legs with glee.
Halfway through, she felt someone’s gaze on her.
She turned, and saw the boy sitting beside her, staring fixedly at the candy in her hand, licking his lips.
Yan Xiao: “…”
In a panic, she stuffed the rest into her mouth, chewed frantically, and swallowed.
When it was gone, she looked him dead in the eye. “I finished it!”
The boy’s eyes drifted toward her backpack.
Yan Xiao: “!!!”
Instant alarm. She yanked the bag behind her back and declared seriously, “There’s none left! I ate it all!”
The boy’s expression fell, disappointment clear on his face. Eventually, he sighed and looked away.
Even after his gaze left her, Yan Xiao didn’t relax.
That backpack was her lifeline.
She loved cotton candy, really, truly loved it. The Yan family could afford all the sweets in the world, but her parents and aunt had conspired against her. They said sugar would ruin her teeth and only allowed her one piece a day.
She’d protested, of course, loudly. It hadn’t worked.
Worse, they’d hidden the candy on top of the refrigerator and even installed a camera to catch her if she tried to sneak any.
In protest, she’d gone on a half-day hunger strike.
Eventually, her aunt had sat her down for “negotiations.”
Ten pieces a week. She could decide when to eat them. But if she finished them early, that was it, no more for the rest of the week.
Yan Xiao had always believed her aunt was her natural nemesis, born to defeat unruly children like her.
It wasn’t just discipline, it was psychological warfare disguised as “teaching self-control.”
And, unfortunately, it worked.
She’d agreed. Because if she refused, her aunt would just confiscate the extra pieces, and that would be a disaster.
Ten pieces it was.
She comforted herself by imagining the future, when she was older, independent, and could buy as much candy as she wanted. She’d eat them every day, as many as she pleased!
But for now, the cotton candy in her backpack was sacred.
She’d already sacrificed one piece for the sake of “villain-hate progress.”
If she gave up another…what meaning would life even have?
Just as Yan Xiao was quietly sliding her backpack from behind her to the front to protect her precious stash of candy, the studio door opened, and in walked Qiu Zhan with a few of his friends.
He was carrying an enamel fruit tray, and judging by how cramped the art studio was with little kids packed like sardines, he didn’t seem surprised.
He walked over to his younger brother and said in a low, gentle voice, “Qin Yan, take a break. Have some fruit.”
The brush in Qiu Yan’s hand stilled at once. Hearing his brother’s voice, he finally lifted his head. His gaze landed on the glossy, ruby-red cherries.
“Just flown in this morning,” Qiu Zhan said with a kind smile, his tone warm and coaxing. “I washed them for you myself. Eat some and rest a bit before you keep painting.”
Qiu Yan gave a serious little nod, setting down his brush.
Even with that perpetually blank expression, his fine features and solemn face were irresistibly charming. Yan Xiao couldn’t help glancing at him several more times, he was so cute it was almost unfair.
Qiu Zhan set the tray on the table, grabbed a damp towel, and began gently wiping his brother’s hands like a doting parent.
No one batted an eye. Everyone in Rong City knew that Qiu Zhan, the eldest son of the Qiu family, was the ultimate brother complex incarnate.
Yan Xiao had met him before, back when she still didn’t know her world was a novel. Back then, she’d thought Qiu Zhan was an amazing big brother and that Qiu Yan was lucky, born into wealth, a genius loved by both parents and adored by an older brother. The perfect winner in life.
But now…knowing what she knew, her perspective had changed.
Qiu Zhan hated his father, Qiu Chengyi.
In his mind, his father’s betrayal had destroyed their family. The affair, the mistress, and the illegitimate child who’d followed her into their home had been a wound carved deep into his heart.
As a child, his mother’s resentment toward his father had spilled over onto him. He’d been so small, terrified that she might start hating him, too, that he’d lose his only family.
So he’d learned to channel all that pain, all that confusion, into hatred for Qiu Li.
If there had been no Qiu Li, no mistress, their family would’ve stayed happy.
Then Qiu Yan was born.
And Qiu Zhan, desperate for something to love, poured every drop of feeling he had into his little brother.
To him, Qiu Yan wasn’t just family, he was salvation.
In truth, no matter how powerful the Qiu family was, one illegitimate child shouldn’t have been able to destroy generations of wealth and legacy. Not without help.
And that help came, ironically, from Qiu Zhan himself.
His rebellion against their father, which began in adolescence and only worsened with age, had left their relationship beyond repair.
And though he was the eldest, the heir, his endless defiance had created cracks that Qiu Li later exploited.
It wasn’t wrong to say that Qiu Li’s fall into darkness had Qiu Zhan’s fingerprints all over it.
And Qiu Zhan’s self-destructive “help” was what finally pushed the Qiu family to ruin.
At twelve, Qiu Zhan was six years older than Qiu Li. His features were sharp and handsome, but unlike Qiu Yan’s ethereal beauty, Qiu Zhan’s was touched with wildness, a dangerous mix of charm and recklessness.
If Qiu Yan was a pure-blooded artist, Qiu Zhan was the definition of an unrestrained young master.
And Qiu Li…
Yan Xiao bit her lip, recalling that cold, refined little face. A wolf, she decided. A silent, solitary wolf.
Comparing the three brothers in her mind, she couldn’t help but click her tongue. This whole melodrama actually makes perfect sense, she thought. A properly structured family tragedy, even.
In front of his little brother, Qiu Zhan was the picture of the perfect elder sibling. He glanced at Qiu Yan, who was quietly eating cherries, then at his painting. “What are you working on today?”
Qiu Yan lifted his gaze slightly. His voice was soft and clear. “Sunrise.”
Qiu Zhan looked at the abstract mess of overlapping paint strokes that looked nothing like a sunrise and smiled. “That’s amazing!”
He didn’t understand it, not one bit, but that didn’t matter. Whatever his brother painted was art. His brother was the best.
And once Qiu Zhan praised it, his friends all chimed in enthusiastically, piling on the compliments.
“Wow, Qin Yan’s gotten even more handsome, and his art, it’s so sophisticated! What a prodigy!”
“Totally! Even Teacher Zhen said he’s a rare genius!”
“Right? He’s definitely going to be an internationally famous artist one day, not like Qiu Li.”
The warmth vanished from Qiu Zhan’s face the instant that name was spoken.
He shot the speaker a sharp, warning glance. “Don’t you dare compare him to that bastard.”
The boy paled and backtracked immediately. “Right, right, my bad! I meant, Qin Yan’s like the clouds in the sky, and that guy’s just mud on the ground. Worlds apart!”
Qiu Zhan’s expression eased.
Through it all, Qiu Yan remained perfectly calm, as if he hadn’t heard a thing. He just quietly ate his cherries, serene and untouchable.
Watching him, Yan Xiao was struck by how truly unbothered geniuses were. If it had been her, she’d be fuming, but he just carried on as if nothing happened. That, she thought, was the difference between mortals and prodigies.
While Qiu Zhan was doting on his brother, he noticed the tiny girl sitting nearby, watching them with her chin in her hands and her mouth slightly open in wonder.
He chuckled.
He’d known there would be lots of kids here, so he’d brought extra fruit. Most of the children were already crowded together, munching happily. Only this little girl was still sitting alone, watching.
He knew who she was, Yan Xiao, the Yan family’s beloved daughter. He’d seen her before, and like everyone else, he found her adorable. The cutest little girl he’d ever met.
Even his brother, who never liked anyone, didn’t seem to mind playing with her. That alone made Qiu Zhan look at her more kindly.
Snatching another plate of cherries from his friend, he offered it to her with a smile. “Xiao-xiao, want some?”
Yan Xiao had been deep in thought, analyzing the tangled family dynamics of the three brothers, when a plate of gleaming red cherries suddenly appeared in front of her. She nearly jumped out of her skin. Looking up into Qiu Zhan’s easy smile, she instinctively waved her hands. “No, no, thank you! I don’t eat cherries!”
She wasn’t lying about being scared.
Qiu Zhan was the most volatile person in the entire book, brilliant, manipulative, and completely unhinged when it came to his brother. Even though she knew he wouldn’t hurt her now, she couldn’t stop her heart from pounding.
Especially since the tragedies that would later destroy both the Qiu and Yan families could all be traced back to him.
Qiu Zhan, thinking she was just shy, moved the plate a little closer.
Yan Xiao went pale. She waved her hands even faster, retreating so quickly that her small arms blurred, and forgot she was sitting on a tiny stool with no backrest.
The next second, she toppled backward.
Flat on the floor.
“Pfft, haha!”
“Ahahaha!”
Her sudden fall caught everyone off guard, and because she was so tiny, it looked ridiculously funny. The whole room erupted into laughter.
Even Qiu Zhan chuckled.
But Yan Xiao wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
She might look like a toddler, but she wasn’t one inside. This was mortifying. How was she ever supposed to show her face again?!
She buried her head in her arms, fists clenched, wishing she could disappear.
Qiu Zhan’s amusement faded. He hadn’t meant to make fun of her. Setting down the fruit tray, he came over to help her up.
She didn’t want to get up, too embarrassed, but he was strong, and there was no escaping. By the time he lifted her to her feet, her face was as red as the cherries, her head ducked low.
“Let me see,” he said, worried. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Yan Xiao didn’t want to, but she finally raised her head, and froze.
Qiu Li was standing in the doorway.
When did he get here?!
Oh no. He must’ve seen her fall.
Her pride! Her dignity! How was she ever going to look him in the eye again, let alone act superior and provoke him like before?!
Mortified beyond measure, she turned around and hid her face, back to the room.

Qiu Li hadn’t planned to enter. He’d been summoned downstairs, “There are guests, come say hello.” On his way back to his room, he’d passed the studio, intending only to glance inside, to see that girl, Yan Xiao, just once.
And what he saw made him stop cold.
Qiu Zhan, that jerk, was bullying her, backing her into a fall, then laughing along with the others.
His small fists tightened at his sides.
It must’ve been because she’d given him that candy. That’s why Qiu Zhan was picking on her now.
That was how he always was.
Whenever someone was kind to him, Qiu Zhan would make sure they regretted it.
Staring at the little girl’s bowed head, trembling in embarrassment, Qiu Li’s brow furrowed. His hands clenched tighter, his knuckles white.

Author’s Note:
Baby Qiu Li: Someone bullied Xiao-xiao. I’m angry. (╭╯^╰)╮
Xiao-xiao: I’m dead. I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead…