Five years had passed.
Everyone knew that there were now five children in the Su family. The eldest was fifteen - year - old Su Hongyu, followed by thirteen - year - old Su Yuze, then ten - year - old Su Ziqi. The youngest used to be seven - year - old Su Meimei, but now it was five - year - old Su Rou.
Over the past five years, Su Rou had grown into a cute little lolita. She had a baby - like haircut with naturally curly hair. Her bangs neatly covered her eyebrows, revealing a pair of big eyes and a charming tear mole at the corner of her eye. Su Rou was extremely cute, the kind that made people want to pinch her cheeks. However, not everyone in the Su family liked cute little Su Rou. For example, Su Meimei!
Su Meimei was a typical proud princess and very beautiful. Her mother, Liu Rulan, was a beauty, so it was natural that her children were good - looking too. Su Meimei, who loved beauty, hated Su Rou because she thought Su Rou stole her spotlight. Her elder brothers seemed to like cute Su Rou very much, especially Su Yuze, who doted on Su Rou a great deal. One would never have thought that the usually cold - looking Su Yuze could be so gentle. Su Meimei also longed for Brother Ze's affection, but Su Yuze barely paid any attention to her. This made the proud Su Meimei feel frustrated, and naturally, she came to hate Su Rou.
One day, Su Rou was quietly playing with her doll in the living room when suddenly the front door was pushed open forcefully. Su Meimei walked in quickly. Wearing a little dress, she fanned her face with her small hand in an unladylike way and shouted, "I'm dying of heat! I'm dying of heat!"
Su Rou watched as Su Meimei rushed to the fridge to get a drink. She bit her lip, and a hint of timidity flashed in her big eyes. She packed up her doll and planned to take it back to her room. She knew that Su Meimei didn't like her.
After drinking the water and feeling more relaxed, Su Meimei finally noticed little Su Rou, the little nuisance who always got on her nerves. She curled her lips and looked around. There was no one in sight. The adults had gone to work, and the elder brothers had gone to school. As male heirs of the Su family, they had to learn a lot of things.
A sly smile curved Su Meimei's lips. Then she called out, "Su Rou."
Hearing her name, Su Rou reflexively turned around. Her big eyes looked at Su Meimei blankly. The doll in her arms made her look a bit dazed. Su Meimei's dislike for Su Rou grew stronger. She hated that Su Rou was cuter than her! Although she was truly annoyed by Su Rou, she still forced a smile on her face. She walked over, glanced at the doll in Su Rou's hand. It was very delicate. She remembered that it was a limited - edition doll specially bought for Su Rou by Brother Ze. A flash of jealousy crossed her eyes. "Give me this doll."
Hearing this, Su Rou immediately tightened her grip on the doll and said nothing. At such a young age, she didn't know how to hide her emotions. All her feelings were written on her face, and Su Meimei instantly understood her thoughts. "Stingy!"
"I'm not..." Su Rou defended herself aggrievedly. She could lend her doll to Su Meimei to play with, but she couldn't give it away.
"Anyway, Brother Ze has bought you so many. What's wrong with giving me one?" With that, Su Meimei stepped forward and reached out her hand to snatch the doll from Su Rou's arms.
Su Rou hugged the doll tightly. Tears welled up in her big eyes. "Sister Meimei, don't pull it. It will hurt." The innocent Su Rou was just pitying her doll.
"Humph, you idiot. How can a doll feel pain?" Su Meimei sneered and pulled even harder on one of the doll's arms. As their forces counteracted each other, the doll's arm couldn't bear the torture and was brutally torn off by Su Meimei. The doll was torn. Su Meimei was a bit stunned, but she quickly came to her senses. "It's broken! It serves you right for snatching it!"
"..." Su Rou picked up the broken arm of the doll. Tears rolled down from her big eyes. Her doll was broken!
"Stop crying!" After all, she was still a child. Seeing Su Rou crying, she panicked a bit. "Don't cry!" But the more fierce she was, the more tears Su Rou shed. Su Meimei was afraid that she would tell Grandpa about this, so she gritted her teeth and pinched Su Rou's thigh hard. "Su Rou, don't tell anyone about what happened today. Do you hear me?"
Su Rou looked at Su Meimei's pretty little face, nodded, and hugged the broken body of the doll as she scurried back to her room. But because Su Meimei had pinched her thigh, she stumbled after running a few steps and fell to the ground awkwardly. Su Meimei sneered. Su Rou didn't dare to look back. She immediately got up and scurried back to her room in small steps.
At night, when Su Yuze returned to his room, he saw a small figure lying on the bedside, struggling to piece something together. The movements were clumsy but also very cute. Su Yuze smiled. Over the past five years, he had grown much taller, and his face had matured a bit. The tear mole under his left eye made his face look softer, but those who knew him well knew that Su Yuze was anything but soft! "Little Rou'er." He called out.
Su Rou looked back at him and then turned back to continue piecing her doll together. It was her way of greeting.
Su Yuze frowned slightly and walked over. "What are you doing... Is it broken?"
"Yeah."
"Just forget about it if it's broken." That doll looked as if it had been deliberately torn.
"This was given to me by Brother Ze." Su Rou looked at Su Yuze with her big eyes and said seriously.
"Hehe... I'll give you a prettier one next time." Su Yuze stroked her fluffy head. "Okay, it's getting late. Let's take a bath for little Rou'er and then go to sleep, okay?"
Su Rou nestled in Su Yuze's arms. The little dimples on her cheeks appeared as she smiled. "Okay~" Although Su Rongqi had prepared a nanny for Su Rou, most of the time, it was Su Yuze who took care of her. Maybe it was because he thought this younger sister was simply too cute.
In the large bathroom, Su Rou happily played with the bubbles in the bathtub and even playfully splashed water on Su Yuze's face. Su Yuze always smiled indulgently, allowing this naughty little elf to make a mess on his handsome face.
After the bath, when he was drying Su Rou's body, he keenly noticed a bruise on the inside of Su Rou's fair and tender thigh. Such a hidden place didn't seem like a result of a bump. Immediately, his handsome face darkened. "What happened here?"
Su Rou had forgotten that she had been pinched by Su Meimei. Looking at the bruise on her thigh, her big eyes looked at Su Yuze innocently, and she shook her head. Sister Meimei had said... she wasn't allowed to tell anyone.
Su Yuze narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why won't you say?" It seemed that someone in the Su family had bullied his little Rou'er. "Huh? Little thing, why are you afraid to say?"
Su Rou pouted. Her big eyes darted around. "Brother Ze, I want to go to sleep."
Seeing little Su Rou obviously avoiding the topic, Su Yuze knew that this little girl was a bit stubborn. He had to change his way of asking. "Okay, then who did little Rou'er play with at home today?"
Su Rou shook her head honestly. "No one played with me." Since there was no child of her age in the Su family, she always played with her doll boredly by herself.
"Then who was little Rou'er with today?" Su Yuze asked casually.
"Sister Meimei." Su Rou answered every question.
Su Meimei... He remembered the broken doll that little Rou'er had been fiddling with just now. He thought he knew what had probably happened.