Fang Yue’s smile disappeared.

She stood up slowly, but still tried to sound calm.

“Yanxu, don’t misunderstand. Nian Nian fell while playing. Maybe she scratched herself.”

My brother did not answer.

He carefully lifted me into his arms.

The moment my cheek touched his chest, I began crying again.

“Brother…”

“I’m here.”

His voice became unbelievably gentle.

“Tell me what happened.”

I buried my face against him.

For a three-year-old, explaining fear was difficult.

So I only raised one trembling finger toward Fang Yue.

“She hit me.”

The living room became completely silent.

Fang Yue’s face changed.

“Nian Nian, children shouldn’t lie.”

My brother finally looked at her.

“Say that again.”

She swallowed.

“I mean… maybe she misunderstood. I only touched her face because she was being naughty.”

My brother picked up his phone.

“Uncle Chen.”

The head of household security answered immediately.

“Pull the living-room surveillance footage from the last thirty minutes.”

Fang Yue froze.

I didn’t understand why.

But she did.

“Yanxu, wait.”

My brother ignored her.

A minute later, the recording appeared on the television.

Everyone could see it.

Fang Yue crouching in front of me.

Her fingers gripping my chin.

Her lips moving.

Then her hand striking my face.

Then covering my mouth when I tried to cry.

My brother watched without moving.

His expression frightened Fang Yue more than shouting ever could.

When the video ended, he made one phone call.

“To the family group.”

That was all he said.

Within thirty seconds, the video had been sent to every member of the Shen family.

And then my brother’s phone began ringing.

First was my father.

“What happened to Nian Nian?”

Then my mother.

“Where is my daughter?”

Then my grandfather.

His voice came through so loudly that even I could hear it.

“Who touched my granddaughter?”

Behind him, my grandmother shouted:

“Don’t ask over the phone! Get the car!”

Then came my uncles.

My aunts.

My nine cousins.

One cousin was attending a conference in another city.

He left halfway through.

Another was at the airport.

He canceled his flight.

My oldest cousin simply wrote in the family group:

“Keep her there.”

Fang Yue looked at my brother in disbelief.

“All this because she got slapped once?”

My brother’s eyes turned colder.

“You still think the problem is how many times you hit her?”

“She’s just a child!”

“Yes.”

His voice became quiet.

“That is exactly why.”

He looked down at me.

“She is three years old.”

Fang Yue seemed to realize for the first time that nobody was going to accept an excuse.

She grabbed her handbag.

“I’m leaving.”

Two security guards stepped in front of the door.

My brother said:

“You’ll leave after her parents arrive.”

Her eyes widened.

“You called my parents?”

“No.”

He looked toward the entrance.

“My grandfather did.”

Twenty minutes later, the Shen residence looked like a family board meeting.

My father came first.

He took me from my brother’s arms and examined my swollen cheek.

His hands began shaking.

My mother burst into tears.

My grandfather arrived using a cane.

The same man who had survived three heart surgeries and terrified executives twice his size stood in the middle of the living room staring at the fingerprints on my face.

“Nian Nian.”

He opened his arms.

I immediately reached for him.

“Grandpa…”

His eyes reddened.

Then he looked at Fang Yue.

“So it was you.”

She stepped backward.

“Grandfather Shen, this is a misunderstanding.”

“Don’t call me grandfather.”

The room went silent.

Fang Yue’s parents arrived soon afterward.

Her father entered smiling nervously.

“Chairman Shen, young people make mistakes. Let’s discuss this calmly.”

My grandfather pointed toward the television.

The surveillance footage played again.

Nobody spoke until it ended.

Fang Yue’s mother covered her mouth.

Her father’s face turned pale.

Then my grandfather asked one question.

“If someone held your three-year-old daughter down and slapped her, would you call it a small mistake?”

The man lowered his head.

Fang Yue suddenly began crying.

“I didn’t know she was Yanxu’s biological sister!”

Everyone looked at her.

My brother’s expression changed.

“What did you think she was?”

Fang Yue wiped her tears.

“I saw posts online saying the Shen family hadn’t had a daughter for generations. Then suddenly this little girl appeared everywhere. I thought…”

“You thought what?”

She hesitated.

“That she was the child of some relative your family had adopted.”

My mother stared at her.

“So you believed an adopted child could be abused?”

Fang Yue opened her mouth.

No words came out.

That sentence destroyed her final excuse.

My brother removed something from his pocket.

A small velvet box.

Fang Yue recognized it immediately.

Her face went white.

He had planned to propose to her that month.

Instead, he placed the box on the table.

“Our relationship ends today.”

“Yanxu!”

“Don’t contact me again.”

She rushed toward him.

“I love you! I was jealous because you always talked about Nian Nian!”

My brother stepped away.

“You were jealous of a three-year-old child.”

His disgust was unmistakable.

“That isn’t love.”

Fang Yue began begging.

But nobody changed their mind.

Her parents took her home.

The Shen family did not use money or influence to hurt her.

My grandfather only made one decision:

No one in the family would ever do business with someone simply because of a personal relationship again.

If Fang Yue’s family had contracts, they would continue only if they met normal commercial standards.

No revenge.

No secret punishment.

But no special treatment either.

That turned out to be enough.

Because much of Fang Yue’s confidence had come from believing she would marry into the Shen family.

Once the engagement disappeared, so did the doors she thought would automatically open.

As for my brother, he blamed himself more than anyone else.

For weeks, whenever he left the room, he looked back at me.

“Nian Nian, I’ll be right back.”

I would nod.

But sometimes I still grabbed his sleeve.

Then he would sit down again.

One night, he carried me to bed and asked:

“Are you still scared?”

I thought seriously.

Then I touched his face with both hands.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because brother came back.”

His eyes immediately turned red.

He hugged me carefully.

“I’m sorry I left you alone.”

I shook my head.

At three years old, I didn’t understand apologies very well.

So I simply kissed his cheek.

“Brother is still the best.”

He laughed, but his eyes were wet.

Outside my bedroom, nine cousins were arguing over who would take me to the zoo the next morning.

My grandfather was telling everyone not to wake me.

My father was ordering a softer carpet because I had fallen during the incident.

And my mother was already complaining that they were spoiling me too much.

I fell asleep listening to their voices.

Years later, the family would still tell the story about the day one slap brought nine generations of Shen men running home.

But when people asked my brother what happened, he never talked about power, wealth, or revenge.

He only said:

“That was the day I learned that protecting someone doesn’t mean promising nobody will ever hurt them.”

Then he would look at me and smile.

“It means making sure that when they are hurt, they never have to face it alone.”