“Why aren’t you saying anything!”
Ji Li suddenly shifted his little feet uncomfortably, his originally stern expression instantly cracking.
He slightly furrowed his brows, his eyes filled with intense unease, as if worried that Ye Shuang was dissatisfied with this reward.
“Are you thinking it’s too little?”
Ji Li tilted his head and thought for a moment, then turned around and pulled out another card from the slightly worn but very clean teddy bear his younger brother was holding.
It was still a platinum card.
Clutching the two cards tightly in both hands, Ji Li extended them again toward Ye Shuang, who was watching him. Pouting his little mouth, he said in a crisp voice:
“Here’s two million. If you go… all of this will be yours.”
His tone carried a hint of urgency and a small amount of certainty, as if he believed these two million were enough to make Ye Shuang agree to their request.
After all, the previous nanny had agreed to them very happily, though she resigned afterward.
“I refuse.”
Ye Shuang glanced sideways at the two cards, a “cruel” smile appearing on her face as her pink lips parted slightly:
“Besides, your father gave me a supplementary card—the unlimited kind~.”
Her voice remained gentle, but to the two little dumplings, it sounded somewhat “cruel” and “heartless.”
Having said that, Ye Shuang was indeed getting tired from squatting for so long.
She slowly stood up, her posture elegant, looking down at these two little kids who, despite their small size, were already learning to throw money around like adults.
With a smile hanging at the corner of her mouth, she calmly stepped past the stiff “chubby lump” and walked toward the sofa in the manor’s main hall.
Clearly, ever since arriving at the Ji Family, these two little children who had been constantly pampered and placed on a pedestal for everything they did had never imagined that Ye Shuang would actually refuse them.
The two brothers, Ji Li and Ji Zhou, looked at each other.
The bright, large eyes they once had gradually reddened around the rims, tears welling up and swirling, as if they were about to spill over at any moment.
However, the small pride in their hearts wouldn’t allow them to cry just like that, so they could only endure this grievance.
At this moment, the Old Butler, who had been standing quietly to the side watching the scene, raised his hand.
He pressed a clenched fist against the suspicious curve at the corner of his mouth, seemingly trying hard to hold back the laughter that was about to escape.
Before catching up to the lady of the house, he bent down slightly and whispered to the two young masters:
“Perhaps the young masters could try acting coquettishly with Madam?”
After saying this, the Old Butler didn’t linger any longer and walked away with steady steps to instruct the servants to prepare food for the lady of the house.
With his years of experience, he could clearly see that Ye Shuang hadn’t taken the somewhat offensive words of the two young masters to heart.
Moreover, he could also sense that Ye Shuang meant no harm.
Knowing this, the Old Butler was completely reassured.
This precisely proved that he hadn’t misjudged—this lady of the house was a rare person with a broad mind and a straightforward character.
But for now, he needed to go deal with the gossiping servants within the manor.
“Brother, how… how do we act coquettishly?”
The little dumpling Ji Zhou slightly lifted his head, pitifully sniffling.
Then, like a little hamster, he cautiously leaned close to the stiffened Ji Li’s ear and softly asked in his tender voice.
What Ji Zhou considered a whisper was actually heard clearly by the maids waiting nearby.
These maids, who usually worked busily in the Ji Family, couldn’t help but reveal knowing smiles upon hearing the young masters’ adorable conversation.
As working professionals diligently serving in the vast Ji Family Manor every day, they were naturally delighted to see the young masters building a good relationship with the lady of the house.
Professionally speaking, family harmony would make their work smoother;
Personally, none of them wanted to face tense, confrontational situations.
Moreover, like the Old Butler, they could clearly tell that the new mistress was just teasing the children.
“Let me think.”
Ji Li tightly held his younger brother’s hand with his small hand, strutting proudly on his short little legs as he walked to the sofa.
Knitting his fine eyebrows, he stared straight at Ye Shuang sitting on the sofa with his round eyes, grumbling in a fiercely cute tone:
“You come with us! If you don’t, we’ll cry!”
He remembered his classmates saying that sometimes crying could solve all problems, so he particularly wanted to test whether this trick would work.
Given how weak his stepmother looked, she should compromise, right?
At worst, he could make it up to her later.
Ji Li’s fierce expression wavered slightly, seeming somewhat uncomfortable and even a little guilty as he glared at Ye Shuang.
“Waa! You come with us!! Wuwu!”
As soon as Ji Li finished speaking, Ji Zhou beside him immediately opened his mouth wide without hesitation and started wailing loudly, the sound so startling it even surprised Ji Li.
Ji Li hadn’t expected his brother to be so “quick on the uptake” and react so fast, so he belatedly joined in with a few wails of his own.
However, unlike Ji Zhou’s genuine crying, Ji Li was all bark and no bite.
Ji Zhou was truly heartbroken.
Especially when he thought about how his kindergarten classmates would look down on them if their stepmother didn’t accompany them to the variety show.
Just the mere thought of it was too much for his young, sensitive heart to bear, and tears began falling like broken strings of pearls.
“I refuse. I absolutely hate bratty children.”
Ye Shuang leisurely picked up the warm milkshake, taking a delicate sip with elegant composure.
Then she casually glanced at the two crying little ones.
Tch.
She sighed inwardly – no matter how cute milk dumplings might be, the moment they started crying, they instantly turned into bratty children.
All that cuteness vanished without a trace.
According to the plot descriptions of these two little rascals in her mind, she knew they wouldn’t cry for long, so she contentedly enjoyed the attentive service of the Ji Manor staff.
Unsurprisingly, Ye Shuang’s unconventional response made the two children’s wailing stop abruptly, as if someone had suddenly hit the pause button.
They looked at each other, their chubby little faces nearly scrunching up into little buns.
“……”
The Old Butler stood to the side, taking advantage of the fact that the mistress wasn’t looking at him, and desperately signaled with his eyes for the young masters to yield.
From his observations of Ye Shuang during this period, this mistress clearly responded better to soft approaches than to coercion.
“Hic, then, then we won’t cry or be mean. Please come with us, please?”
Ji Li reacted extremely quickly, his little mind whirring as he nodded rapidly.
He extended his small hand and pulled his still-sobbing younger brother close.
With eyes that appeared exceptionally clear and bright after crying, he stared unblinkingly at Ye Shuang, cooing in a milky voice as he began to act spoiled.
To be fair, this Little CEO Ji truly possessed some learning ability.
Although his attempt at acting cute seemed a bit awkward, the overwhelming adorableness was undeniable—so much so that one couldn’t resist the urge to pinch his little cheeks.
At the very least, even Ye Shuang, who was pretending to be aloof, felt her heart tremble slightly.