Chapter 1316: Zirui's Fatal Flaw

"What kind of brother, not close at all..." Zihan drew circles on the ground with a tree branch, feeling very aggrieved.

The fragrance grew richer, and he regretted it.

He regretted being so firm just now, firm in placing himself in opposition to everyone else.

The result didn't change the process, and now that everyone was enjoying the fruits of victory, he felt too embarrassed to shamelessly join in!

"Zihan, open your mouth."

He opened his mouth subconsciously, and immediately, a small egg was stuffed inside.

His big brother stood before him, asking with a smile, "Is it good?"

"Mm, it's good!"

He also smiled, his smile bright and sunny.

"Hahahaha..."

Everyone laughed, without any malice.

But Zirui's smile was very faint, and even carried a trace of contempt.

"Going back on your word makes it hard to convince others," Zirui said.

Zihan didn't care: "Sheng Zirui, you must be jealous that Big Brother is good to me, you narrow-minded person."

Sheng Zirui was even more disdainful, retorting: "Do you think everyone is like you? A little bit of petty favor is enough to buy you off. Have you forgotten everything you said before?"

"Sheng Zirui, is that really necessary?"

Zihan's little face flushed red: "I just regretted it, so what? I dare to admit it, do you dare to admit that you're jealous of me?"

"What a joke, what do I have to be jealous of? What merit do you have that is worth me being jealous of?"

The twins started arguing, and the remaining children began to find it amusing, watching the spectacle; no one tried to persuade them, and some even fanned the flames.

Later, they realized something was wrong—this was a real argument!

Then they started trying to persuade them separately.

The twins wouldn't listen to anyone's persuasion, each stating their own logic, and the sound of the argument grew louder and more intense...

Shi Youxuan stood under a tree not far away, watching all of this quietly.

The weather was very hot, but her heart was very cold.

A chill was rising from the bottom of her heart!

Zirui was being raised as the Sheng Family Heir, and before today, everyone thought there was no problem.

But now, Shi Youxuan felt there was a problem, a very big problem.

Before the twins had finished arguing, Shi Youxuan went back.

The children were too focused and didn't even notice their mother had been there.

"Hanyu, come out for a moment."

Sheng Hanyu was in his room having a video conference; usually, in such situations, his wife wouldn't disturb him.

Interrupting his meeting meant there must be something very important.

"Meeting adjourned."

After saying this, he closed his laptop, not caring what kind of expressions the dozens of executives on the other side had.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you noticed anything wrong with Zirui lately?"

"No, what did he do?"

Her husband was completely confused; he truly hadn't noticed.

The children in the family were usually managed by Shi Youxuan, and only when a major problem arose would Sheng Hanyu intervene.

Shi Youxuan told her husband exactly what she had seen by the river just now.

After listening, he was silent, not speaking for a long while.

That's right, this problem was very serious.

In fact, before this, the couple had also noticed Zirui's indifference, but they had still held onto a bit of wishful thinking.

They hoped that the indifference at this time was just temporary, a characteristic of his age stage, and that it would naturally improve as he grew up.

After all, there were previous examples to look at.

Sheng Hanyu and Shi Ran were both people with cold temperaments who weren't outwardly enthusiastic toward others.

The couple had initially thought Zirui's personality was the same as his father's and sister's!

Looking at it now, it wasn't; it was different.

Sheng Hanyu and Shi Ran were cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and they still cared about their family.

But Zirui wasn't; he was just indifferent!

Shi Youxuan reflected on herself: "It's all my fault, really, this matter is all my fault, blaming me for caring too little about Zirui."

Among the Sheng Family boys, the one who caused the least worry was Sheng Zirui.

From the time this child was small until now, he had almost never made her worry.

Originally, she had even felt a bit smug, thinking Zirui was the most sensible, but looking at it now, that wasn't the case; he was the one with the biggest problem.

He was still young, and since they had discovered it early, there was still time to change him.

The couple decided that starting from now, they would immediately turn his personality around; it was a matter of urgency.

No sooner had they made the decision than the children returned.

Gu Zhihao came out to greet them, smiling happily: "You're back right on time, it's just time for dinner."

"I'm not eating, I'm going to take a shower."

"I'm going to take a shower too."

"I'm going too."

The Gu Family built a pool five meters long and three meters wide behind the courtyard; in the height of summer, they would start filling it in the early morning, and by afternoon, the half-filled pool would be warmed by the sun, allowing the whole family to bathe in it.

Country children all like to bathe in the big river during the summer, but the environment of the big river is complicated and very unsafe.

For the sake of the children's safety, Gu Zhihao built this pool in the backyard at home.

At night, the bathwater can even be used for irrigation—three birds with one stone!

"I'm going too!"

Gu Meiyin followed, running toward the back, but was grabbed in time by Shi Yuke, who scolded: "What 'you'? They are all boys; is it appropriate for a girl like you to follow boys to take a bath?"

"It's not a painting; if it were a painting, it would be hanging on the wall."

"You..."

While Shi Yuke was stunned, she ran off.

"Come back, Gu Meiyin, you get back here!"

She had a terrible headache over this daughter.

"Forget it, forget it."

Her husband put his arm around her shoulder and advised: "Don't be angry; the boys all have a sense of propriety, and they all wear swimming trunks when they go to the pond."

It would have been better if he hadn't explained; with this explanation, Shi Yuke was even more furious!

The anger that hadn't been vented earlier was now all unleashed on her husband: "You only know how to spoil her; this child has been spoiled rotten by you. A girl doesn't have the appearance of a girl, and she spends all day running wild everywhere with the boys like a tomboy..."

Gu Zhihao apologized with a very good temper: "Don't be angry, wife; it's all my fault. I will criticize her!"

Criticize, my foot.

Who in the whole village doesn't know that Gu Zhihao is the most protective of his own? No matter what his children are like, they are all good; they have no flaws, only merits.

If it weren't for him being so protective, Gu Meiyin couldn't have become so lawless by now!

Her willfulness before the age of three was because of the poor foundation laid at the Ji Family, but her growth after the age of three was inseparable from Gu Zhihao's continued indulgence.

Shi Yuke complained to her husband for a moment, then vented to Shi Youxuan: "You say Gu Meiyin is spoiled by him; she is clearly a girl, yet she is naughtier than the boys. If Gu Meiyin didn't look like me, I would have suspected that it was all an illusion back then—that the children weren't swapped, that Yulong is my biological son, and Gu Meiyin is not."

Shi Youxuan sighed: "Every family has children who cause trouble. Don't push all the blame onto your brother-in-law; he is good enough to you. You should also reflect on yourself; you are a woman, isn't it your job to manage your daughter?"

Shi Yuke said one sentence that left no room for rebuttal: "I don't dare to manage her; I'm afraid my own values are skewed and the child will follow in my old footsteps."

Shi Youxuan:...

She had nothing to say.

That's right, her sister was right!

Sheng Zirui ran out from the backyard, and his father blocked his path.

Sheng Hanyu was holding a basin of pears just picked from the tree; they were of various sizes and all washed clean, with water droplets still dripping from them.

"Go and distribute these to everyone."

"Okay."