At noon, Song Shiyu finished cooking and called Pei Qinhuai out.
She quickly ate her own meal and then rushed back to her room to continue studying and drawing plans.
The previous patchwork and sewing tasks had all been roughly drafted, so she no longer needed to draw—they could just start practicing.
Basically, it was a process of dismantling, practicing, and then practicing while dismantling again.
By the time she was satisfied, her stitches looked neat and nearly flawless.
Of course, her first project was making her own bedding.
She wanted the cotton thick, the fabric attractive, and ideally, all in a uniform color.
She intended to personally make the beddings and sheets for her Western-style bed.
On top of that, she continued drawing designs for woodworking projects. All in all, she had plenty to do that afternoon.
Time flew as she worked.
By the time Song Shiyu had cut all the fabric pieces according to her small sample drawings, two full hours had passed.
Pei Qinhuai soon came knocking, saying he was going to pick up the children.
Song Shiyu stretched and felt a little tired.
Pei Qinhuai looked around her room. “This…”
Song Shiyu quickly realized. “It’s too messy, right? Can’t help it. If I want to stay here comfortably for a long time, I have to make the room more livable.”
Pei Qinhuai: “Need help?”
Song Shiyu waved her hand. “No need. You have to focus on studying—don’t let my little projects interfere with your work.”
She then looked serious. “Studying is more important! You need to surpass the others.”
Pei Qinhuai: “…”
What surpass the others? What does that even mean?
“You going?”
“Where?”
“To pick up the children.”
For some reason, Pei Qinhuai suddenly invited Song Shiyu along.
Song Shiyu glanced at him.
The male lead himself had actively invited her. If she refused, what if he held a grudge? Besides, her future depended on others’ favor—so it was better to try to integrate.
“Alright, let’s go together.”
Pei Qinhuai exhaled in relief.
For some reason, he had never felt nervous around Second Miss Song before. Even though he found her beautiful and suitable as a wife, he had never felt this sense of caution around her.
Now, for some reason, he felt a little on edge.
Pei Qinhuai and Song Shiyu left together and headed toward the clan school.
Along the way, villagers couldn’t help staring at them.
“Pei family’s Third Young Master is finally able to take his wife out in public. Not easy at all.”
“Indeed! That wife of his isn’t simple. She’s pretty, but that waistline… seems a little unreliable.”
“Right! The Third Young Master is usually so upright and dependable. Now with a beautiful wife like that, life won’t be so easy. I reckon there’ll be trouble ahead.”
“True. Pei Third Young Master looks delicate and inexperienced; he doesn’t know how cunning women can be!”
“Those who are greedy for beauty will be done for eventually!”
“…”
Song Shiyu overheard some of their chatter. She wasn’t too bothered, only glancing at Pei Qinhuai beside her to see what he thought.
Judging from appearances, improving the original reputation of Second Miss Song wouldn’t be easy.
So she pretended not to hear them and smiled politely at anyone who looked her way.
The crowd, seeing this, grew more curious and focused their attention on Song Shiyu even more.
“Is she crazy? Why is she smiling at me like that? That smile’s kind of creepy.”
“Does she want something from me? Or does she think I’m too good-looking?”
“Ah! She’s staring at me!”
“…”
Song Shiyu twitched her mouth and quickly abandoned her earlier desire to win them over.
Forget it! This feels suffocating.
Pei Qinhuai seemed to sense something was wrong. At some point, he quietly stepped forward and blocked the others’ line of sight from lingering on her.
Song Shiyu noticed his gesture and felt unexpectedly touched.
This man wasn’t as unapproachable as she thought. At least at this moment, he understood her situation.
He wasn’t entirely heartless.
Before long, the two arrived at the clan school gate.
The school had just dismissed, and students were trickling out.
“Strange… where’s An’an?”
“And Xixi…”
Song Shiyu and Pei Qinhuai had been waiting for a while but still hadn’t seen the children, which felt unusual.
Pei Qinhuai hesitated. “Wait a little longer.”
Song Shiyu nodded.
Though she agreed for now, her mind drifted to what she remembered from the original story about Pei Jin’an and Pei Jinxi.
In the original story, they weren’t this well-behaved and had a poor relationship with the original Second Miss.
Their mother never picked them up from school either.
But she recalled a certain detail—there was a hint in the story that Pei Jin’an and Pei Jinxi might have been bullied at the clan school.
Could it be that they hadn’t come out yet because they were being bullied?
Thinking this, Song Shiyu looked at Pei Qinhuai, cleared her throat, and asked, “Have you been paying attention to the two of them lately?”
Pei Qinhuai: “Huh? What do you mean?”
Song Shiyu narrowed her eyes.
“Isn’t it unusual for them to be the last ones leaving the school sometimes?”
Pei Qinhuai was taken aback and thought for a moment. “Seems like it.”
He had been busy and hadn’t noticed.
Pei Jin’an and Pei Jinxi had only attended the clan school for three months. A while ago, it was a short vacation, so they hadn’t gone. He hadn’t paid much attention to how they were treated there.
Now, listening to Song Shiyu, he realized something might be off.
He looked at her with a hint of suspicion.
“What are you trying to say?”
Song Shiyu: “You’ve had a feud with the First Uncle’s family. There are many children there, and the younger ones tend to follow the example of the older ones. Could it be that An’an and Xixi…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but Pei Qinhuai understood immediately.
His expression darkened slightly, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes. “That… shouldn’t be the case, right?”
Even as he said it, Song Shiyu could tell he didn’t fully believe his own words—otherwise, why phrase it as a question?