2000.
Zhou Yuehan completely cut ties with his foster father. His eldest brother was sent to prison, and his younger sister committed suicide after being humiliated by the blond punk. On this day of family reunion, all his loved ones left him. So when his underlings betrayed him, Zhou Yuehan didn’t even find it strange. When he woke up again, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
“Second Brother, hurry up and show me the New Year’s money you gave me. Come on, Big Brother already gave me my red envelope first!”
A little Fatty, who didn’t even reach his shoulder, suddenly jumped up and hugged his neck, nearly choking him.
Second Brother?
He had never known he had a younger brother. He only had one sister and one brother—but his sister had died by suicide last year, and his eldest brother had been thrown into prison and lost contact.
Years of rough living had made Zhou Yuehan suspicious and wary of everything around him.
His eyes swept over the room: a spacious space with a desk, bookshelf, computer, and various trophies on the shelf—trophies for sprint champion, swimming first place...
In one photo, he was wearing a tracksuit, standing with a group of strangers.
Zhou Yuehan frowned. He only remembered being betrayed by his men, surrounded by a group of enemies along with a few of his brothers. If things had gone as expected, he should have been dead—and died a miserable death.
How had he woken up in a strange place?
“Second Brother, why aren’t you talking to me?” The little Fatty muttered unhappily. Didn’t someone once say they’d earn a lot of money to spoil their little brother? All lies, boohoo.
Little Four tagged along behind Zhou Yuehan with hopeful eyes. When Zhou Yuehan took a few steps and saw himself in the mirror on the wall, he froze in place.
Was that him?
Where was his red spiky hair? Where was the scar on his face, the mark of a man? Where were the tattoos of the green dragon on his left arm and the white tiger on his right?
How was all of it gone?
The person in the mirror had dark skin, but a clean, close-cropped hairstyle, a handsome, strong face. It was still his face, but his skin had never been this good, his hair never this short. His prized tattoos and scars were missing too. The usual fierceness in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by brightness and vigor.
Zhou Yuehan turned his head to look at the little guy trailing after him like a tail, calling him Second Brother. His voice carried a strange edge. “Kid, what’s your name? Who sent you here?”
Little Four tilted his head, walked closer, and tried to stretch his hand up to his Second Brother’s forehead. Zhou Yuehan frowned and dodged. “Second Brother, are you still feverish? What do you mean ‘kid’? I’m Little Four, your most, most, most, most beloved little brother.”
Younger brother?
He didn’t have any younger brother. This kid must have mistaken him for someone else—didn’t even recognize his own biological brother.
Or maybe—this was just a dream?
Even if it were a dream, he should be dreaming about his sister and eldest brother. How could he randomly dream about a younger brother?
Zhou Yuehan felt everything around him was too strange. He stood up and walked downstairs.
“Xiao Han, you’re up? What’s wrong, still feeling unwell? Come over, let Mom take a look.”
A woman sitting on the sofa spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
The moment he saw her face, his expression changed. “What are you doing here?”
His foster mother—hadn’t she died long ago?
How was she still alive? Thinking of this woman, Zhou Yuehan’s face turned extremely ugly. After she married his foster father, she caused endless trouble and made their lives unbearable. He had grown to hate the way she looked at them with disdain and disgust, as if they were piles of dog shit—one glance was too much. At first, he had hoped things would be different with this foster mother, but her arrival only made their lives more miserable.
His eldest brother had ended up in prison because of her death too.
If it weren’t for her, none of the later events would have happened.
His voice was cold and shocked, which made the man reading a newspaper nearby look over. The man frowned at his younger brother, hearing the disrespect and rudeness toward their mother in Zhou Yuehan’s tone.
Almost immediately, Zhou Zedong looked at his brother with a furrowed brow.
His younger brother had always been solicitous toward their mother; he never looked at her like that.
Little Four broke the strange tension between them. He ran over, grabbed his eldest brother’s hand, and chattered, “Big Brother, Mom, listen to me! Second Brother asked who I am. Don’t you guys think he’s lost his mind? He even forgot his own little brother!”
Zhou Yuehan had been sick with a cold for a few days—probably because of the temperature difference after winning first place in the swimming competition.
When Zhou Yuehan saw the young man on the sofa clearly, his pupils constricted. It was his eldest brother, the one who had been thrown into prison and lost. Now his brother was much taller than in his memory, with fair skin and a handsome face—but instead of the gloominess Zhou Yuehan remembered, his expression was calm and deep, carrying disapproval of how Zhou Yuehan had just spoken.
His eldest brother had hated that woman the most. How could he be glaring at him for being rude to her?
Before Zhou Yuehan could process this, a delicate-looking girl ran down from the second floor, skipping. “Second Brother, you’re awake! Good timing—the whole family’s waiting for you to eat.”
“Go call Dad to dinner,” Si Nian said to the chattering Little Four.
“Shitou and the others should be here too.”
Zhou Yuehan hadn’t even recovered his composure when he saw his foster father—who was supposed to have cut ties with him long ago—walk in from outside. He was wearing a white shirt, his face cold and stern, looking more mature than before but lacking the old indifference, softened by a touch of warmth.
Zhou Yuehan almost thought he was seeing things. He had never imagined the word “gentle” could ever be used to describe this unapproachable foster father.
The little guy who had called him Second Brother grabbed his hand. In the past, Zhou Yuehan had always feared this father and never dared to be so close to him. But now, the boy was tugging on his hand, calling him “Dad.” Only then did Zhou Yuehan notice that this kid actually looked a lot like his foster father.
Was he really his foster father’s biological son?
Before he could react, he heard another commotion from outside. “Second Brother! Are you better? I came to see you!”
A strange young man rushed in, wearing a jersey, with fair skin, thin but handsome and lively. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Zhou Yuehan. He walked over and casually threw an arm around his shoulder like they were good brothers.
Ever since Zhou Yuehan had started his own gang, no one had dared to put an arm around him like that.
Who was this guy—half a head shorter, delicate as a girl?
Then Shitou walked in too, with a sunny, honest face, also in a jersey. “Second Brother, you’re awake! Even though you weren’t there today, we still won the game. I bet those brats won’t dare to fight us for the court anymore.”
Shitou, who had become sullen and quiet after their sister died, was now incredibly cheerful and bright, flashing a smile with white teeth that was almost dazzling.
Behind him stood a man wearing glasses, very refined, with a slight resemblance to his eldest brother. He walked in, glanced at Zhou Yuehan, gave a slight nod, and then walked over to his brother, respectfully calling out, "Big brother, I'm here."
Zhou Zedong withdrew his gaze from his younger brother and gave a slight nod.
Zhou Yuehan looked at the full crowd of people; even a man who had seen all sorts of grand occasions was filled with shock.
How could he have such a strange dream?
And have so many brothers all of a sudden?
Where did all these people come from?
"Alright, stop messing around. Go wash your hands and eat, celebrating the Second Child winning the swimming competition and getting an invitation to the national youth team."
Si Nian stood up. As soon as she spoke, everyone fell silent and obediently lined up to wash their hands. Even Da Huang followed behind them, wagging his tail.
Zhou Yuehan remembered that Da Huang had been poisoned to death.
During the time when his younger sister passed away, their family fell apart.
With no one around the house, someone poisoned Da Huang.
His foster father was busy with work and only found Da Huang dead when he came home.
But now Da Huang was still following them, looking very old—no longer as strong and mighty as before, yet still in good condition.
Not like the dirty, ragged mess from before.
Could it be that in this dream, no one had died, and this was the beautiful life he had imagined?
Zhou Yuehan’s eyes warmed. The family he had lost, the friends he could never see again, were all right there beside him. His cold, dark world seemed to grow bright and warm in that moment.
Everyone sat down to eat. The Second Child, usually the most eager to start eating, was unusually quiet today, which made Si Nian glance at him a few times. "Xiao Han, have you still not fully recovered? Why aren’t you saying anything today?"
Zhou Yuehan had always hated Si Nian, but now, meeting her caring and gentle gaze, he somehow couldn’t feel repulsed.
He didn’t know what was wrong, so he just lowered his head and said, "No, I just feel a bit dizzy."
"Second Brother, when did you become so fragile? When I get sick, I just recover on my own. You’ve been lying down for days," Jiang Jiu said proudly. As he spoke, he piled all kinds of fatty meat high into Zhou Yuehan’s bowl, adding, "Eat more, eat more and you’ll get better."
Zhou Yuehan stared blankly. He had brothers around him, quite a few, but no one had ever dared to treat him so casually, let alone put food in his bowl.
Shitou was eating with grease dripping from his mouth, afraid that he might snatch it away. "If you’re not eating, I’ll finish it all."
Zhou Zedong glanced at his younger brother. "Still feverish?"
"No... it’s just that this feels too unreal."
Little Four’s aggrieved voice chimed in, "Mom, Second Brother promised to give me a New Year’s red envelope, but now he won’t."
Yao Yao said, "Second Brother, don’t be too sad. Even though the love letter my classmate wrote was for Big Brother, not for you, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Why pine for one flower alone?"