TSWPF -Chapter 135 Silence

Xiang Yunfei opened his mouth wide, looking at Liu Zhimou and then at Li Qingling. He stammered, “Zi… Ziqian, you’re living together with your fiancée?”

They weren’t even married yet, and they were already living together? What kind of situation was this? It was way too strange!

Liu Zhimou hummed in acknowledgment. “Come in and sit down first.” He stepped inside ahead of them.

Xiang Yunfei turned his head and glanced at Li Qingling a couple more times before trotting after Liu Zhimou.

As soon as he entered the main hall and sat down, he couldn’t wait to speak. “Ziqian, your fiancée is really beautiful.” Who said village girls were all dark-skinned and ugly?

If he ever heard anyone say that again, he’d definitely make them eat dog shit.

This was simply a lie… a complete lie.

Liu Zhimou poured him a cup of tea. Hearing his words, he snorted softly, feeling a little uncomfortable. A sudden urge rose in his heart—to hide Li Qingling away so no one else could look at her.

Xiang Yunfei didn’t notice Liu Zhimou’s displeasure at all. Full of curiosity, he asked, “Ziqian, you still haven’t told me—how did you and your fiancée end up living together? You didn’t trick that little girl, did you?”

Thinking about it, that really did seem possible…

Seeing Xiang Yunfei’s curious expression, Liu Zhimou briefly explained his situation with Li Qingling.

After hearing it, Xiang Yunfei fell silent.

At the academy, Liu Zhimou was a student valued by the teachers and admired by his classmates. Yet no one knew that his background was so tragic.

At this moment, Xiang Yunfei felt even more admiration for him from the bottom of his heart. An eleven- or twelve-year-old child who not only held up an entire household, but also made himself so outstanding.

That was truly impressive.

Compared to Liu Zhimou, he—who had been pampered since childhood—felt a sense of shame.

If he honestly asked himself whether he could do what Liu Zhimou did if they switched places… the answer was probably no.

“Ziqian, you’re really an amazing guy.”

Liu Zhimou didn’t respond. He turned his gaze toward the doorway, and when he saw Li Qingling, gentleness rippled in his eyes. “What is it?”

“Yes. I wanted to ask what dishes Young Master Xiang likes to eat.”

Before Liu Zhimou could answer, Xiang Yunfei hurriedly replied that he ate everything and wasn’t picky.

Li Qingling nodded, smiled at him, and turned to leave.

As soon as she left, Xiang Yunfei clicked his tongue twice and teased Liu Zhimou. “Stop looking already. She’s long gone.”

Although Liu Zhimou usually appeared gentle toward others, Xiang Yunfei could sense a certain distance beneath that gentleness.

This was the first time he’d ever seen such obvious tenderness from him.

This trip was really worth it.

Totally worth it.

Liu Zhimou withdrew his gaze, shot Xiang Yunfei a glance, then suddenly curled his lips into a smile. He stood up and said, “Hengzhi, weren’t there some questions you didn’t understand? Let’s go to the study and discuss them.”

“No way! Ziqian, can’t you spare me for just one night?” He’d come here to relax, not to study.

Ignoring Xiang Yunfei’s wails entirely, Liu Zhimou lifted his foot and headed straight for the study.

With no other choice, Xiang Yunfei drooped his head and followed him in dejection.

Li Qingning, that clever little sprite, saw the scene and ran to the kitchen with a giggle, saying to Li Qingling, “Big Sister, Big Brother’s classmate must be really scared of him. The moment Big Brother said they were going to the study to discuss homework, he didn’t dare resist and obediently followed him…”

Sure enough, Big Brother was not someone to mess with—even his classmates were afraid of him.

She absolutely must not provoke Big Brother in the future, or she’d definitely get disciplined.

Li Qingling was chopping chicken when she heard Li Qingning’s words. She glanced at her distractedly and scolded her with a smile, “If your big brother finds out you went eavesdropping again, you’ll be in real trouble. Don’t come crying to me for help then.”

She didn’t know where this little girl had picked up such bad habits—she found it both annoying and amusing. “If you don’t change this bad habit, I’ll tell your big brother and let him teach you a lesson. I won’t stop him then.”

If she didn’t correct this now, who knew what would happen later?

As soon as Li Qingning heard that, she bolted over and hugged Li Qingling’s leg, lifting her head and acting cute. “Big Sister, I was wrong, really wrong. I won’t dare do it again next time. Please don’t tell Big Brother, okay?”

If Big Brother found out, her little life would really be over—totally over.

She’d known since she was little that when Big Brother disciplined them, Big Sister would never help.

She could only act cute in advance and get Big Sister to drop the idea of tattling.

She was just a bit curious about Big Brother’s classmate—she really didn’t mean to eavesdrop.

Li Qingling had no choice after being pestered for so long. She reached out and tapped Li Qingning on the forehead. “Just this once. Remember it, okay?”

Once or twice could be forgiven, but absolutely not a third time.

That was her principle.

“Mhm mhm mhm… I remember.” Li Qingning nodded like she was pounding garlic, repeatedly promising she’d remember and wouldn’t dare do it again.

Li Qingling stopped making things difficult for her and sent her off to wash vegetables, while she continued cutting meat.

Li Qingning carried the water with some effort to wash the greens. When Liu Zhirou saw this, she ran over to help.

“Ningning, go sit down. I’ll do it.”

Liu Zhirou always had the demeanor of an older sister and took good care of Li Qingning.

Seeing this, Li Qingling shook her head helplessly and said, “Rourou, let her do it herself. Don’t help her.”

She treated all the children equally—she wouldn’t spoil them. Whatever work they should do, they had to do themselves.

Li Qingning stuck out her tongue at Liu Zhirou. “Rourou, go sit down. I can do it myself.”

It wasn’t like she’d never done this before—she could handle it.

Liu Zhirou looked at her, pressed her lips together, reminded her of a couple of things, then went back to sit on her stool and tend the fire.

After washing the vegetables and putting them away, Li Qingning ran over and sat beside Liu Zhirou, whispering in her ear.

“Rourou, I think Big Brother’s classmate isn’t as good-looking as Big Brother.”

She’d seen so many people, and she truly felt that Big Brother was the best-looking of them all.

“Don’t talk nonsense. If Big Sister hears you, she’ll scold you again.”

This girl really had a lot of nerve—she dared to say anything.

She was still young now, so others would just think she was a child speaking innocently. But if she grew up and still talked like this, people would point fingers at her.

Liu Zhirou didn’t want to see her get criticized, so she could only correct her carefully and stop her from saying whatever came to mind.

Li Qingning glanced at Li Qingling’s back and secretly stuck her tongue out at it. She’d spoken so quietly—Big Sister probably hadn’t heard.

But to put Liu Zhirou at ease, she shut her mouth and didn’t dare say anything more.

Sometimes she really felt that Liu Zhirou was even more nagging than Big Sister—always telling her this and that, forbidding everything…

Still, she knew Liu Zhirou was doing it for her own good, so she didn’t get angry with her.

After half an hour, Li Qingling finished cooking five dishes and one soup. She told Li Qingning to go call Liu Zhimou and the others out for dinner.

As soon as Xiang Yunfei came out and smelled the fragrant aroma of the food, his whole body perked up.

He widened his eyes, staring at the dishes on the table, swallowing hard. They looked incredibly delicious.

“Little Sister Qingling, your cooking skills are amazing. Just looking at it makes it seem delicious.”

Xiang Yunfei rubbed his hands together, smiling as he praised her.

Li Qingling handed him a bowl of soup and said with a smile, “Just simple home-cooked dishes. I hope Young Master Xiang doesn’t mind.”

Xiang Yunfei took the soup with both hands. Looking down at the milky-white soup, he asked curiously, “What kind of soup is this?”

Li Qingling had just opened her mouth to answer when Li Qingning cut in eagerly, “This is pork bone soup! It’s really tasty—and if you drink it, you’ll grow taller!”

She then enthusiastically pointed at each dish on the table, introducing them one by one. “This is Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour ribs, braised fish, mapo tofu, baby bok choy…”

After finishing, she even slurped up the saliva that was about to drip out.

Xiang Yunfei swallowed too, then turned to Liu Zhimou. “Ziqian, can we start eating?”

“Eat,” Liu Zhimou nodded.

The moment he nodded, Xiang Yunfei eagerly grabbed his chopsticks and picked up a piece of rib.

Once he started, he couldn’t stop at all. By the end of the meal, he was completely stuffed.

He slumped in his chair, rubbing his bulging belly, and said regretfully to Liu Zhimou, “Ziqian, I think I missed out on so much good food these past three years. If I’d known Little Sister Qingling cooked this well, I would’ve come back with you to freeload meals long ago. What a huge loss…”

At this moment, he deeply envied Ziqian. What could he do?

Liu Zhimou tugged at the corner of his mouth and kicked his foot lightly. “Don’t sprawl there. Go out and walk it off!”

Xiang Yunfei struggled to stand up, then reached out and patted Li Qingning’s head. “Little Sister Qingning, come on—let’s go for a walk.”

Although he hadn’t known Li Qingning long, he genuinely liked this little one.

Li Qingning jumped down from her chair and waved her little hand. “Let’s go!”

The so-called walk was really just strolling around the courtyard.

As Xiang Yunfei was outside, observing this rather unique house, the corner of his eye caught sight of Liu Zhimou carrying bowls into the kitchen.

Instantly, his eyes widened in shock.

This… a gentleman stays away from the kitchen…

How could Ziqian…?

“Little Sister Qingning, come here for a moment.” He beckoned to her. When she came over, he cleared his throat and asked, “Ziqian… uh, I mean, your brother-in-law—does he usually do this too?”

“Do what?” Li Qingning looked at him blankly, not understanding.

“Go into the kitchen…”

Into the kitchen? Li Qingning turned her head to look. Seeing Liu Zhimou washing dishes, she nodded matter-of-factly. “Yes. What’s wrong?”

Xiang Yunfei felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. He muttered, “But… ‘a gentleman stays away from the kitchen’…”

Before he could finish, Li Qingning interrupted him, waving her hand like a little adult. “Our family doesn’t have that saying. Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother—they all have to work at home.”

She scratched her head, thought for a moment, then continued, “My sister says you can’t be the kind of person who stretches out your hands when clothed and opens your mouth when fed. You have to learn more skills—only then can you deal with sudden situations and survive.”

After a pause, she added, “My sister also says that if you want to be a good official who seeks benefits for the common people, you have to experience the life of the common people.”

Li Qingning’s words plunged Xiang Yunfei into deep thought.