Chapter 375 - The three boys

Meanwhile,

Back at the Fan Mansion, Fan Chuan was supervising as his hired men moved the remainder of his stuff into the moving vans that were waiting outside. He was standing at the top of the split staircase as the hired men moved past him one after the other. 

With his hands behind his back, a complicated expression appeared on his face when he saw two of the hired men carrying a huge framed photo that used to hang over his boyhood bedroom.

It was a picture of three boys of different ages. The two older boys were laughing, as if they had an inside joke, and each of them held a hand of the little toddler between them, who was smiling happily as he looked up at one of the older boys. 

"Sir, you don't have to come by yourself," said the old head butler of the Fan Mansion as he watched the hired men who carried the photo frame walking down the stairs and out of the house. "We can handle everything here ourselves. There are just these old photo frames left."

Fan Chuan shook his head and said, "This might be the last time I return here... After this, we would be selling this place off..." 

He looked around the place and said, "I probably won't have a chance to come here anymore... I want to... remember as much as I could."

Looking at his master's dejected expression, the old butler could not help but sigh, "Why don't you keep this mansion then, sir? After all, you and the other masters all grew up here. I'm sure you would have plenty of memories here." 

The old butler's eyes glazed over as he looked down at the stairs. Perhaps it was because he was getting old now, but he had been thinking about all the wonderful memories that he had in this mansion. 

As he looked at the stairs, which had remained the same despite the number of renovation being done to the house, the images of three boys running up and down the stairs appeared in his eyes.

...

(Flashback) 

"Come quick, Lei! We are about to miss the movie!" a preteen yelled as he ran down the stairs while buttoning his clothes. When he got to the bottom, he looked back and said, "Come on! Just leave the kid!" 

Another boy, the young Fan Lei, laughed as he walked down the stairs slowly with an even younger boy in tow. "He's our brother, Shaohang. How can we just leave him? Besides, my mum and your dad won't be at home today. There won't be anyone to play with him." 

"Ah, he's such a baby! Just leave him to the servants," the young Fan Shaohang sneered as he looked at the youngest boy, who barely reached his waist. "He can't even dress himself! Taking him would be a hassle. We should just leave him at home!" 

"You're the baby!" the youngest boy yelled as he threw a fist at young Fan Shaohang, hitting the boy's thigh. "I'm telling Mum!" 

"You only know how to tattle to your mother!" the young Fan Shaohang scoffed as he reached down and pinched the youngest boy's cheeks. "How are you going to grow up like this? Are you really a boy?"

"Argh!" the youngest boy slapped the young Fan Shaohang's arms away. "Let me go!" 

"Enough, Shaohang," the young Fan Lei said as he pulled his older brother's hand away from his youngest brother's face. He then gently rubbed the youngest boy's sore cheeks as he scolded his older brother softly, "Stop picking on Xiao Chuan... He's still a young boy. He would learn how to button his shirt once he's older."

"Ah..." The young Fan Shaohang folded his arms and said, "You're spoiling the brat a little too much. What are you going to do if he grows up and be a little girl?" 

Young Fan Lei laughed softly upon hearing his eldest brother's words, and his laughter soothed the tension a little, causing the young Fan Shaohang to smile a little. "Shaohang, if I don't spoil him, who am I going to spoil?"

"Me?" Young Fan Shaohang said as he pointed at himself. "At least when you spoil me, you don't have to worry about me crying when I want to go to the toilet at night." 

He then looked down at his youngest brother and said, "That's a jab at you, you cowardly weasel..."

"Ah! You jerk!" the young Fan Chuan yelled in anger. He wanted to hit his oldest brother again, but his second brother pulled him back and shook his head. "Second Brother! Hit him for me! Eldest Brother is being a jerk again!" 

"It's not right to hit your elder, Xiao Chuan... Come, let's go now... You want popcorn, right? Second Brother will buy for you," Fan Lei said gently as he tried to diffuse the situation. He then looked up the stairs at the butler, who had been watching over them, and said, "Brother Peng, in case my mum asks, we will be back late. I'm going to take Xiao Chuan out for dessert later."

....

Back in present, the old butler, Old Peng, sighed and added, "Please think about this again, Master Fan Chuan. This is your family home... Don't sell it. What if you regret later?"

Fan Chuan's eyes softened slightly as the memories of him and his brothers running around in the house replayed themselves in his mind. "You're right... I have got so many memories here..." Fan Chuan murmured softly. He then shook his head and looked at Old Peng. "It's too late, Old Peng. We can never get those carefree times back..." 

"Things are never too late, Master Fan Chuan... If Master Fan Lei were here, he would--"

Upon hearing the name of his late brother, Fan Chuan subconsciously curled his fingers into fists as he snapped, "But he's not!"

He then massaged his glabella as he took in deep breaths. "Let's not talk about those who are gone." 

...