“ Don’t you understand ? Or is it that you simply don’t want to understand ? ” Wendy asked bitterly , her voice choked with emotion , a cold smile tugging at her lips . “ For the past four years , Joshua has been treated worse than at the orphanage , probably . Do you understand now ? ” “ What ? ” Shirley responded , stunned . “ Shirley , what was it like when Joshua first met you ? Has he ever visited your school ? ” Wendy pressed . Shirley hesitated , recalling the past . “ He came a few times , specifically taking the bus to my school to find me . Once , he even snuck into my classroom , trying to listen to my lecture , but some other students saw him and kicked him out ! ” Wendy could barely contain her fury . “ Did they hit him ? ” “ Yes , I think there was one time ! ” Shirley recalled . “ It was the students at school who hit him , but it wasn’t serious – just a quick slap on the head before they kicked him out . Wendy , you don’t know how embarrassing it was . He secretly tried to sneak into my class , and everyone at school thought he was my boyfriend . It was terrifying ! ” Wendy shuddered , struggling to believe Shirley had faced such humiliation as well . “ Luckily , it didn’t cause much of a stir that time ! The students just kicked him out , and that was the end of it . After that , he didn’t dare come to my school again ! ” Shirley added . She looked at Wendy with concern . “ Wendy , why are you asking about all this ? Isn’t this something you already knew ? ” Wendy fell silent , a deep sense of sorrow settling in her chest . Desperately wiping away her tears , she felt the weight of the situation pressing down on her . She quickly grabbed a tissue to continue wiping her eyes . “ Joshua is selling live crabs at the market . He must be out of money and trying to earn a bit of pocket change ! ” Wendy sniffled . “ What ? ” Shirley said , shocked . “ You won’t give him money ! I won’t either , Maddy , Judy , and Indy definitely won’t ! Mom won’t , and Dad’s too busy with work , so he won’t either ! ” Wendy took a deep breath . “ So , what is Joshua to us ? Why is he even here ? ” “ This … ” “ You just said that Mom and Dad have done DNA tests several times and confirmed that he’s our biological brother . But what does that actually mean for us ? ” Shirley’s eyes widened , her mind racing to grasp the situation . “ Has he ever gone to Mom’s room to rest or sleep ? Haven’t we all done that ? Haven’t Maddy , Judy , Indy , Cassidy , and Frankie all done that ? ” 7:18 pm . “ Why , when he goes , do you all feel disgusted ? Why , when he goes , do Mom and Dad feel disgusted ? Is he even considered a person in this family ? Wh at is he to us ? ” Shirley’s face blanched in panic , unsure how to respond to Wendy’s piercing question . In truth , even as adults , they sometimes still sought comfort from their mom , begging to sleep with her for reassurance . Especially their youngest sister , Cassidy Fraser , who , still in college , would often return home and sleep with Maggie during the holidays . Yet Joshua was even younger – only 18 now , and when he was first found , he was just 14 . t to see the head of the Eastview Orphanage . Some of the children there were abandoned by their parents , others were orphaned and had never known a mom’s love , never even seen their parents . Joshua should consider himself fortunate to have been found at 14 ! But he’s also incredibly unlucky . You and me ? We have never treated him like a person ! Not even our parents have treated him as a person ! Why . Shirley ? Why is this happening ? Isn’t he our biological brother ? ” Joshua swiftly completed dozens of test papers . Having lived as a spiritual entity for twenty years in his previous life , his memory remained sharp . he could effortlessly recall a vast array of knowledge . The next day , he resumed selling live crabs and fresh shrimp , just like Tom and the others . Compared to the first day , the second day saw even better sales . By the second day , the storm had fully passed , and most people had resumed their normal activities . Armed with the experience from the previous day , he and Tom , along with the others , sold off all the live crabs and shrimp they had stockpiled . It wasn’t much – just over a hundred pounds – but they sold it all within a few hours . “ Let’s go ! We’re heading to the wholesale market to buy longan , lychees , and bananas ! Bananas , in particular , are set to rise from a dollar per pound to two and a half dollars per pound ! We can rent a small warehouse at the market and st ock up with 3,000 pounds ! ” 7:18 pm ff Promise to Punish My Ridiculous Family