At this moment, both children wore similarly tense expressions on their matching little faces.
Their cheeks carried a hint of adorable baby fat, pink and plump like ripe peaches, making one instinctively want to pinch them.
The milk dumplings possessed delicate features – straight nose bridges and lips that pouted like tender flower petals. One could imagine their mother must have been a great beauty.
Their long, curled eyelashes resembled tiny fans, fluttering slightly with each blink.
Their identical dark grape-like eyes shone bright and spirited, currently examining Ye Shuang with the same expression of curious yet restrained appraisal.
Unsurprisingly, these adorable milk dumplings that made people want to squeeze them were Ye Shuang’s stepsons:
Ji Li and Ji Zhou.
Facing Ye Shuang, both children held each other’s hands tightly, seemingly somewhat nervous yet bravely drawing courage from one another.
How could these harmonious siblings know that in the future, they would turn against each other over a woman, ultimately meeting tragic ends together?
Ye Shuang looked puzzled as she turned to the Old Butler standing beside her in formal suit, her gaze carrying a hint of inquiry.
“Madam, the two young masters have been waiting for you for quite some time since learning of your return,” the Old Butler said with a gentle smile, his tone filled with affection for the children.
Ye Shuang nodded in sudden understanding. She hadn’t expected her two ready-made sons to be this adorable.
She deliberately crouched down to bring her eyes level with the two little ones and asked softly, “Was there something you wanted to see me about?”
“Well…”
Ji Zhou, who was tightly holding his older brother’s hand, was clearly the shyer one.
His little face flushed red like a ripe apple, his cheeks puffed out in a pout, his large eyes blinking rapidly.
He mumbled something but couldn’t quite form coherent words.
His chubby hand holding the teddy bear unconsciously tightened its grip, wrinkling the poor bear under the pressure.
Facing Ye Shuang’s gentle gaze, he flusteredly turned to look at his brother beside him, his eyes full of silent pleading.
“We have something to ask.”
Ji Li, who stood slightly taller than his younger brother, appeared more composed.
This little dumpling tried hard to maintain his composure, his small chest rising and falling slightly as he carefully took a small step forward.
Summoning his courage, he spoke in his milky voice: “Are you our stepmother?”
Though phrased as a question, the little dumpling’s bright eyes held complete certainty, as if he had already confirmed this fact.
“That should be correct,” Ye Shuang said, tilting her head slightly with an appropriate smile.
Her gaze remained fixed on the two adorable milk dumplings before her, the urge to tease them stirring inside her like a growing flame.
She screamed internally: Ah, these two little dumplings look absolutely fun to play with!
Though she was just a stepmother, a stepmother was still a mother! Where else could she find such a good deal as becoming a mother without going through childbirth? If a mother couldn’t tease her children, what joy was there in motherhood?
But for now, she should hold back. She mustn’t scare these two little rascals away – it might take considerable effort to win them back later.
“If you are, then you are. You shouldn’t say ‘should be’,” Ji Li declared, struggling to maintain a stern expression on his little face like a proper young master, casting a helpless look at Ye Shuang that seemed to say:
“How can you not even understand this?”
“Mhm! That’s right!”
Ji Zhou finally caught on, nodding vigorously like a little rattle drum, his small head bobbing earnestly as he confirmed his brother’s words were absolutely true.
“In that case, what brings you here?”
Ye Shuang struggled to suppress her rising smile, resting her chin on one hand with eyes full of affection as she patiently waited for the two little cuties to state their purpose.
Though they were now within the castle’s temperature-controlled environment where the climate was pleasant, maintaining a squatting position was starting to tire her.
After all, she was currently a deli-cate beau-ty~
Ahem.
Ji Li imitated adults like a proper little Master, giving two deliberate coughs. His childish voice sounded particularly adorable when deliberately lowered.
Then with sparkling eyes and an expression as serious as if announcing an important decree, he “solemnly” declared:
“As our stepmother, you must learn… well… to grow up!”
“Yes, grow up! You can’t… threaten… to die… it damages… our reputation,” Ji Zhou chimed in with his milky voice, struggling to organize his still-unpracticed words.
Clearly they hadn’t escaped the gossip these past days – people were actually saying Ye Shuang fainting from shock was her threatening suicide.
“Oh?”
Ye Shuang’s eyes shifted slightly, instantly filling with amusement. She adopted an attentive posture, gazing fixedly at the little bean sprout delivering his lengthy speech.
Truthfully, she was rather surprised such young children would use an idiom like “threatening suicide.”
But when she remembered Ji Li’s future identity, it suddenly made sense.
He was the main character after all, destined to be as overpowered as a dragon sovereign – being this clever seemed rather normal.
She just wanted to pinch his little cheeks even more now – so adorable~
“Don’t brush us off!”
Ji Li suddenly released his brother’s hand, standing before Ye Shuang with hands on hips in a huff.
His round eyes stared directly into Ye Shuang’s amused ones as he complained discontentedly: “You must be polite!”
“Mhm, alright, alright.”
Ye Shuang quickly blinked, realizing she couldn’t keep teasing these two little ones.
The smile instantly vanished from her face as she adopted a serious expression. Under Ji Li’s satisfied gaze, she put on a attentive look to continue listening.
“As part of your stepmother duties, you must accompany us to appear on… a variety show that all our classmates can see!”
Ji Li declared with utmost seriousness, his little mannerisms making it seem like he was announcing matters of great importance.
“We need to demonstrate our Ji Family’s values before everyone! And our harmony and affection! So… Miss Ye, you can’t be willful.”
“If you perform well, this card will be yours from now on! This is our reward for you!”
Saying this, Ji Li extended his chubby little hand, offering a platinum card while looking proudly at Ye Shuang.
“Yes, reward!”
Just like a loyal repeater, Ji Zhou nodded eagerly, earnestly echoing his brother’s words with his milky voice.
“……”
Ye Shuang’s gaze fell upon the platinum card being offered by the chubby little hand, and she almost couldn’t resist the urge to pinch the cheeks of the two serious-faced toddlers before her.
She never imagined that in her lifetime, she, the esteemed Ye Shuang, would be bribed by a four-year-old little milk bun.
She truly never expected that in her lifetime, she, Ye Shuang, would be bribed by a four-year-old little milk bun.
One has to admit, as expected of a domineering CEO male lead from a novel—even in childhood, he still exudes that overpowering CEO aura.
Though, this aura carried just a hint of unintentionally amusing greasiness.