Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 39

Since when?
Slater huffed and tossed the laundry on top of the washing machine. Picking up the detergents, he couldn’t help but recall Penny’s words.

“Does she really eat while sleeping?” What she said left a huge question mark on his mind. “She must be kidding. There’s no way she will still eat while sleeping.”

And he was correct. Penny usually stayed up at night to study the market flow, despite already having clear ideas on where to invest her money.

“Never mind.” He shook his head and grabbed the uniform. His expression gradually turned somber while holding the uniform in front of him. “How many washes would it need to get rid of the smell and dirt?”

Because of what was happening in school, Slater would graduate from the school of laundry before his real school.

He sighed, crumpling up the fabric to throw it in the machine. But just before he could, a hand swiftly snatched the balled fabric from his hand.

“Pe — Penny?!” Slater gasped the moment he saw the person who snatched the uniform. “What are you doing here?! I said I don’t need your help.”

He tried to grab his uniform back, but Penny timely backed away. This immediately filled him with irritation and nervousness.

“I said give it back —” Slater froze when she suddenly aired the uniform, revealing all the shoe prints and dirt on it.

Penny held the uniform up until it was blocking his gaze from her. “Third brother, what are these?”

“Huh?” His mouth opened and closed, but his words wouldn’t come out of his throat.

When Penny put down the uniform, she indifferently asked, “Did you try to make a cake in your school?”

A cake?

Slater’s eyes veered to the uniform before he nodded vigorously. “Yes! Our school has a cooking class, and I ended up ruining mine! Hehe.” He then quickly snatched the uniform back from her.

Holding it close to his chest, Slater cleared his throat and sported a brave front. “Penny, didn’t you learn good manners and right conduct?! How can you just snatch someone’s possession away just because you smell food?”

“I don’t eat raw eggs,” she murmured.

“Hah!” he clicked his tongue and hissed at her. “Leave me alone, will you!? Go back in your room or eat everything in the kitchen — I don’t care. Just leave me alone!”

Penny observed the urgency in his eyes first. “Okay!”

Having said that, Penny turned around and strode off.

Slater watched her back, but he couldn’t help but ask, “You’re going back to your room now?”

“Nope.”

“Where are you going?”

Penny looked back at him, dead in the eye. “To Mom and Dad. I’ll tell them that third brother is being bullied.”

“I am not being bullied!”

“Okay.” She nodded. “If the school investigates and finds out you’re not, then good.”

Seeing her resume in her steps, Slater quickly bolted in her direction to stop her. Penny halted and slowly gazed up at the figure blocking her path.

“Third brother?” she tilted her head to the side. “Is there something else you got to tell me?”

Slater, for the first time, cursed in his mind. Of all the people who could find out, it had to be Penny!

“Penny, I am your older brother, so you have to believe me!” he coaxed while patting his chest. “Your third brother isn’t being bullied, alright? I was making cake, and I messed it up!”

“Do you also make a cake with your shoes?” she returned innocently, and he froze. “There’s clearly a few shoe prints on it. So, unless a shoe is an ingredient, that will explain it.”

Nina would usually believe him when he said this. After all, Penny wasn’t the first person who found out about his dirty uniforms. Nina caught him one time, but he managed to fool her.

Slater’s stress level skyrocketed at the thought that Penny was stubborn. She would definitely use it against him!

“Also, third brother, why would I believe you?” Penny added.

“Huh?”

For a second, Slater’s mind went blank. His eyes were wide as he looked at her blankly. Weren’t those the same words he asked Hugo not so long ago?

Slater never apologized to Hugo, despite knowing he upset his brother. He firmly believed what he said shouldn’t be that hurtful. But now that he was on the receiving end, he quickly understood why Hugo felt upset.

Unlike him, Hugo had always been a reliable big brother. Yet, Slater still felt a little hurt hearing it from his little sister he didn’t really like.

“Why — why would you believe me?” he repeated quietly. “Because I am your big brother.”

Penny blinked. “Since when?”

“What?”

“Third brother, you never liked me and always targeted me at every turn. If not for my children, Chunchun and Tiana, I would be sick of your pranks right now.” Penny didn’t feel like keeping pretenses anymore as she spoke indifferently. “So, when did you become a big brother to me?”

This time, Slater couldn’t answer anymore because even if he didn’t, they were both aware of the obvious answer.

He sighed deeply and asked in defeat, “What do you want to keep quiet? I’ll treat you better now if that is what you want.”

“I don’t want you to treat me better.” She shook her head.

“What?”

“Third brother, it’s okay if you don’t treat me better. I’m overly kind to myself. You can see by my size.”

Slater frowned. “Then what do you want from me?”

“Nothing.”

“Huh?”

“Third brother, why do you always respond as if you didn’t hear me the first time?” her lips curved down. “I’ll repeat it again. I want nothing from you.”

He heard her the first time, but now he had to feel nervous. “Then, can you not tell mom and dad?”

“Why not?” she blinked and blinked, waiting for a reasonable explanation.

Knowing this would be a deciding answer, Slater thought of many things to tell her. However, the way Penny looked at him didn’t give much hint of what she was thinking. If anything, she seemed like she didn’t care whether he’d hate her or not because she already decided to tell their parents.

Slater felt defeated and confessed. “Because I don’t want to be labeled a victim.” He cast his dispirited eyes down.

“Or maybe, because I don’t want to worry mom and dad. There’s also a bit of worry that it will affect Brother Atlas and Second Brother,” he continued. “And… I’m scared that if I say anything, it’ll just trouble everyone.”

So it’s a little bit of everything? Penny thought, mentally nodding and sort of grasping his cowardly reason.

She observed him wordlessly, seeing him nervously pinched his fingertips together. It reminded her of how she would usually hold her hand whenever Jessa was in a bad mood in her first life.

“Fine,” she sighed, watching him look up at her again. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad.”

His eyes lit up. “Really?”

“But on one condition.” Penny raised a finger.

Seeing the look in her eyes, Slater felt nervous and scared. “Wha — what is it?”

“Apologize to Second Brother. You owe him that and he deserves it.”