Lu Lijun looked at his brother questioningly. He silently waited for an answer from his older brother, who was startled by the others' sudden appearance, but when he didn't get any, he quickly continued.
"But elder brother, you don't like pets, then why are you bringing it? I don't like cats. If you want a pet in the house, bring a dog. I like dogs," He said without a pause, a cute smile on his chubby face and a tinge of anticipation in his eyes.
Everyone broke into laughter as they heard the innocent words of Lu Lijun. Lu Qiang smiled and called his brother to stand next to him. The young boy was confused by their laughter.
"My dream would become impossible if your brother brings a dog instead of a cat. I would have to go to my deathbed without seeing the next generation."
"What do you mean, grandpa?" Lu Lijun asked with a confused expression.
Lu Qiang coughed involuntarily to hide his scandalized expression.
"Lu Lijun! What's that in your hands?" he asked in hopes of distracting the young boy and the grandpa before he could break into another dialogue about lewd things and corrupt his innocent brother.
"Oh, this?" Lu Lijun looked at the gift in his hands. "This is the birthday gift I have prepared for you. Happy birthday, elder brother." He gently passed the box to his brother.
"Thank you so much," Lu Qiang said as he received the gift.
"Won't you open it?" Lu Lijun asked.
"Of course, I will."
One could hear elder Lu grumbling in dissatisfaction as he started to open the gift. "He's not getting late for office now. Rascal!"
"No, I am not. I have all the time in the world for my little brother," Lu Qiang replied in a firm voice.
"I love you. Thank you so much." Lu Lijun had a pleasant smile on his face and a teasing look intended for his grandfather.
The family members were well aware of the biased reactions they would get from Lu Qiang when it came to his younger brother. His words, which were precious gifts for others, were showered freely on his brother. His attention and love belonged to Lu Lijun alone.
If one were to calculate the amount of attention and time spend on each, Lu Lijun would win with a swooping seventy-five person, while the remaining family and others would gain only fifteen and ten percent respectively.
While outsiders envied the warm treatment his family received from him, Lu Qiang's family felt envious of the little brother who was treated like a prince compared to them.
"What's that in your hand, brother?" he asked quietly as he stared at the white packet.
Lu Qiang was at a loss for words. He surreptitiously looked at the package. "This? It's noth—"
"There are various recipes to expand our family tree."
Lu Qiang's words were interrupted by a voice. Lu Qiang turned to the source with a fierce expression on his face. He saw elder Lu sitting with a smirk on his lips, his expression emoting his thoughts. 'Now explain this to your precious younger brother for whom you have all the time in the world.'
"Recipes? Brother, are you going to cook?" Lu Lijun asked.
"Well! Don't pay attention to grandpa. I am not—" He was interrupted yet again. This time it was Lu Lijun jumping with happiness.
"I want to cook, too."
"You are next in line to cook after your brother creates beautiful dishes." Elder Lu mischievously smiled as he threw a glance at Lu Qiang.
"I am not going to cook anything. Let's open the gift first. I am excited to see what my brother brought for me," Lu Qiang said with a forced smile on his face, suppressing the annoyance caused by his grandpa.
Opening the box, he could see a tiny white robot kept inside it. He took it out from the box and asked his brother, "Did you make it? It's really nice."
"It will wake you up in the morning. It has a feature that allows you to set an alarm!" He took the robot from his brother's hand and pressed on a few things. The robot reacted immediately, moving its limbs.
"Good morning, brother. It's time to wake up!" The words were recorded in Lu Lijun's voice.
"Do you like it, elder brother?" he asked.
"Yes! I like everything that comes from you." Lu Qiang hugged his brother, patting his head with one hand.
"You liked his gift, but what about mine?" Grandpa was sulking like a child.
"Grandpa, you gave brother Lu Qiang a gift? Where is it? Lu Lijun asked with a little curious expression on his face.
"It's there, in your brother's hand." Elder Lu replied while pointing towards a white paper packet.
"Did you give him a recipe book? Haha! Do you really want the elder brother to cook?" Lu Lijun burst out into laughter.
Grandpa nodded with an innocent expression on his face.
"Is that so? Then I'll help him too. Elder brother, give me the recipe book."
"It's not a recipe book. Grandpa is just trying to pull your leg. These are some important doc.u.ments related to the company, so you can't touch it. Have you done checking all the features of the laptop I gifted you?" Lu Qiang suddenly changed the topic.
"Not yet, brother!"
"Then go and check it out. Later, we will play games on it together."
"You will play with me?" he rejoiced. "I will do that right now. I am going back to my room, then." Lu Lijun hugged Lu Qiang and left for his room upstairs.
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