Pei Jin’an: “……”
His brows were tightly furrowed as his gaze fell on his third uncle, feeling very uncomfortable.
“Third Uncle, why are you being so polite to her? The matters of the Pei family have nothing to do with her! Even if she wants to get involved, it should wait until you two are officially married. Why does she get to interfere now?”
Song Shiyu: “……”
This brat—she was only trying to help him, and yet he still didn’t understand!
Pei Qinhai, however, shot Pei Jin’an a sharp look: “Were you asked to speak? Adults are talking and handling things; what business is it of a child like you?”
Pei Jin’an: “……”
Pei Qinhai quickly turned his attention to Song Shiyu: “You should sit aside. Don’t be nervous.”
Song Shiyu: “……”
Pei Jin’an and Pei Jinxi’s expressions became more complicated.
Obediently, Song Shiyu moved to sit on the side.
Pei Qinhai snorted coldly, hands clasped behind his back, speaking calmly: “Do you two know why you were told to kneel as soon as you returned?”
Pei Jin’an: “Yes.”
Pei Jinxi: “They say it’s all my fault. It has nothing to do with my brother…”
Pei Jin’an looked stubbornly at his sister: “Sis! Don’t say anything! This is my fault. I fought with them, not you. I don’t need your help, but I’ve said my piece! I still don’t think I did anything wrong!”
Pei Qinhai sneered.
“Still think you did nothing wrong?”
Pei Jin’an gritted his teeth and straightened his posture. “Yes! I did nothing wrong!”
Pei Qinhai: “Good. Since you think you did nothing wrong, let me ask you—did your sister suffer because of you?”
Pei Jin’an: “…Yes.”
Pei Qinhai: “Did you get yourself hurt? Did you put yourself in a situation where the problem couldn’t be solved?”
Pei Jin’an: “…Yes.”
Pei Qinhai: “Then you still say you did nothing wrong?”
Pei Jin’an: “…If it’s put that way, then I admit I really did make a mistake.”
Song Shiyu glanced at Pei Qinhai.
As expected, he was good at arguing—just a few words and he had the siblings convinced.
At first, she thought Pei Qinhai would scold the two children recklessly, but now it seemed she had overthought it.
He probably understood these matters far better than she did.
Her worries had been pointless. She shouldn’t have foolishly jumped in earlier.
Pei Qinhai: “Hmm. Good that you recognize your mistake. From now on, half an hour of extra horse-stance training every day.”
Pei Jin’an froze for a moment, then his expression suddenly lit up with joy.
“You… you’re actually letting me practice martial arts?”
Pei Qinhai didn’t say much, but not opposing it was tacit approval.
Pei Jin’an knew this better than anyone!
He had been silently pleading with his third uncle for permission to train properly in martial arts, but his third uncle had always refused.
Out of respect, after asking once, he hadn’t tried again.
He never expected this time, his third uncle would actually be willing to help!
Pei Qinhai clasped his hands behind his back, and once he saw the gloom vanish from Pei Jin’an’s expression, he added: “Train properly. Next time, if you still can’t win a fight, your punishment won’t be just horse-stance practice.”
Pei Jin’an nodded vigorously.
“Got it!”
Pei Jinxi, standing beside him, looked envious. She couldn’t help but ask: “Then… what about me? Can I train too?”
This time, before Pei Qinhai could respond, Song Shiyu spoke up.
“Of course! Girls must have the ability to protect themselves. Defending the family or the country isn’t just for men; even we daughters can become female generals!”
Pei Qinhai: “……”
Although Song Shiyu had interjected, he didn’t stop her.
He looked at Song Shiyu with calm eyes.
This made Song Shiyu feel a little uneasy inside.
She couldn’t quite explain why…
It just felt like his reactions weren’t exactly like what the book had described. She couldn’t pinpoint what was different, just that it was… strange.
Definitely strange, and completely unpredictable.
Since that was the case, it was better for her not to try to control it. She would just take care of herself, and leave the Pei family matters alone.
“Since you’ve both said what you wanted, I’ll go cook first.”
Song Shiyu left the room.
Pei Qinhai silently followed.
Pei Jin’an and Pei Jinxi exchanged glances.
Pei Jinxi frowned: “An’an, don’t you think Miss Song seems a little… off this time?”
Pei Jin’an couldn’t help but glance at his sister. “It’s not just Miss Song; even Third Uncle seems a bit off.”
“Have you ever seen Third Uncle scared of someone like this?”
Pei Jinxi shook her head, then quickly realized.
“It’s probably because… Miss Song really does have some frightening skills. If it were you or me, would you dare to anger her?”
The two of them exchanged glances.
They couldn’t help but imagine Song Shiyu wielding an axe.
Pei Jin’an couldn’t help but sigh.
“So, it turns out Third Uncle is the one who really thinks things through the most.”
“Hehe! I still feel the same as before—I just don’t like this woman! Not one bit! No matter what she does, I absolutely can’t like her!”
…
Song Shiyu went back to the small kitchen to cook.
This time, she moved even faster.
Soon, she had prepared a Western-style dish and soup, and when she brought them out, it shocked the three Pei family members.
Pei Jin’an looked at the golden scrambled eggs, almost drooling.
Although he had been unhappy with Miss Song staying at the Pei household, over the past few days, he had to admit that under her management, his meals were well taken care of.
After the family finished eating, Song Shiyu hurried to clean up.
She organized everything neatly, leaving the meticulous Pei Jin’an unable to find even a small flaw.
After tidying up, Song Shiyu returned to her room to continue her sewing and mending projects.
Looking back on a busy morning, she felt quite proud of herself.
Song Shiyu had lived independently from a young age. When she went to school, she moved across provinces. She had lived in dorms before, then later rented her own place.
Once she had her own space, arranging and tidying naturally became her own system. After a year or two of renting, Song Shiyu had developed her own ideas about life and was very independent.
She could cook.
She could arrange her living space according to her own taste.
On top of that, she had studied art and design, so when it came to home decor and handicrafts, she really knew her stuff.