TSWPF -Chapter 193 We’re Doomed

After Li Qingling woke up from her nap, the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Liu Zhimou’s pair of eyes filled with tenderness. Instinctively, she smiled at him.

“Awake?” Liu Zhimou brushed her cheek lightly with his fingers. “Did you sleep well?”

The dark circles under her eyes hadn’t completely faded yet. When they got home, she would still need to rest properly.

Just awake, Li Qingling’s mind hadn’t fully caught up. Like a little puppy, she nuzzled against Liu Zhimou’s chest and gave a soft, drowsy hum.

Seeing her sweet, innocent state, he knew she still hadn’t fully come to her senses. He chuckled softly and kissed her on the forehead. “If you’re still tired, go back to sleep. We’re not in a hurry.”

After a moment, Li Qingling finally woke up completely. Feeling a little embarrassed, she tugged at his clothes and buried her head in his chest, her voice muffled. “How long did I sleep? Why didn’t you wake me?”

With things weighing on her mind, she hadn’t been sleeping well these past few days. She hadn’t expected to fall asleep the moment she got into the carriage.

She yawned lightly again, raised a hand to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes, and unconsciously rubbed her head against his chest once more.

The more she slept, the sleepier she felt, her eyelids threatening to droop again.

“You didn’t sleep for long. You—haven’t been sleeping much these past few days, have you?” He felt both helpless and doting as he rubbed her head gently. “You have to remember, I’m your husband. No matter what it is, you can tell me. Don’t keep everything bottled up inside.”

As her husband, he hadn’t done well enough either. He had held her while sleeping and still hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t sleeping well—this was his failure.

He would allow himself this one failure, and never a second.

He absolutely could not let the apple of his eye suffer any more grievances.

Li Qingling heard the self-blame in his tone. Her lips moved slightly—she had wanted to say that it was her own insomnia and had nothing to do with him—but when the words reached her mouth, she swallowed them back and obediently nodded.

If she said what she had just been thinking, it would make the two of them seem distant.

He was her husband, the closest person in the world to her. They must not appear distant.

These past few days, in order not to affect his sleep, even when she couldn’t fall asleep, she didn’t dare move around. She stayed quietly in his arms, forcing herself to endure until dawn.

She knew this wouldn’t do. Such a small matter had already made her unable to sleep for days—if something bigger happened, wouldn’t she completely collapse?

She needed to adjust her mindset. Just as he said, she shouldn’t keep everything to herself; she could talk to him about it. With him sharing the burden, she would feel much better.

The habit of shouldering everything alone really had to change—there was no other choice.

Satisfied, Liu Zhimou kissed her on the forehead. “Do you want to wait for me in the carriage, or come down with me?” After telling Xiaofeng and Xiaoyan, they could head home.

Li Qingling stood up from Liu Zhimou’s embrace and said she would go down with him.

Liu Zhimou hummed in response. He got out of the carriage first, then reached out to help Li Qingling down.

Just then, school had let out. The two of them walked to the academy gate and asked the guard to help call Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan out.

After confirming Liu Zhimou’s relationship to Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan, the guard turned and went into the academy to fetch them.

They didn’t wait long before Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan came running out. As soon as they saw Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling, they shouted happily,

“Brother-in-law! Sister! Why are you here?”

Liu Zhimou glanced around. With so many people coming and going at dismissal time, there was no private place to talk. “We came to see you about something. Let’s talk in the carriage.” Holding Li Qingling’s hand, he turned back toward the carriage first.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan exchanged a glance, feeling uneasy. Liu Zhimou’s expression didn’t look good—what could he want with them?

Could it be that he already knew about the fight they’d gotten into?

If Liu Zhimou found out, he’d definitely break their legs.

The two of them shuddered, their hearts trembling with fear.

“Why are you still standing there like fools? Get up here, quickly.” After getting into the carriage and seeing that they hadn’t followed, Liu Zhimou stuck his head out. When he saw them still standing there blankly, his face darkened again as he called out once more.

“Big brother, we’re coming.” Liu Zhiyan responded, then turned to Li Qingfeng and said, “Before big brother brings it up, we have to stay calm. We can’t give anything away.”

“Got it…”

The two of them took a deep breath and hurriedly climbed into the carriage. Sitting inside, they straightened their backs and sat upright across from Liu Zhimou, looking utterly proper as they waited for him to speak.

As soon as Liu Zhimou saw their behavior, his brows knit slightly. He had watched these two grow up—when they so much as wagged their tails, he knew what they were up to. Seeing them acting so obedient now, he knew something was definitely wrong.

“Why are you being so well-behaved today? Don’t tell me you caused trouble at the academy?”

As he spoke, his gaze bore into the two of them, watching closely for any telltale reaction.

“No, no, no, no!” Li Qingfeng waved his hands rapidly, rattling off denials in one breath. “We remember what you and sister told us—we came to the academy to learn more, how could we possibly cause trouble? Brother-in-law, you’re really wronging us.” His expression even carried a look of grievance, accusing Liu Zhimou of not trusting them.

Liu Zhimou narrowed his eyes slightly. Seeing Li Qingfeng deny it so quickly only made him more certain—these two had definitely gotten into trouble.

If they truly hadn’t, they would have loudly protested instead of just shaking their heads and denying it.

Liu Zhimou didn’t speak. He simply looked at Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan calmly, until the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end and they fidgeted anxiously, twisting their fingers.

Did big brother see through them?

The thought made them even more uneasy.

Although Li Qingling’s combat strength was high, they weren’t particularly afraid of her. They were far more afraid of Liu Zhimou—his punishments were terrifying.

They really couldn’t take it.

“B–Brother-in-law… what did you come to us for?” Li Qingfeng asked stiffly. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll head back to the academy to eat.”

He really wanted to run. That gaze was too frightening—it felt like Liu Zhimou could see straight through everything he was thinking.

He’d rather face the stern teachers at the academy than face his brother-in-law. He was just too scary.

Liu Zhimou curved his lips slightly and asked gently whether they were hungry.

There’s something coming…

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan nodded vigorously, saying they really were hungry and wanted to go back to eat.

“That’s fine. If you want to eat, just explain things clearly first, then you can go.” Liu Zhimou’s expression changed in an instant. He looked at the two boys sternly. “Confess and be lenient; resist and be punished. Tell the truth early and you can go back sooner.”

Gah—

Seeing how quickly Liu Zhimou’s face changed, Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan felt their hearts pound even harder. He was getting more and more terrifying—smiling one moment, dark-faced the next. They really couldn’t handle it.

Li Qingfeng quietly reached out a finger and tugged at Liu Zhiyan’s sleeve, signaling that it was his turn.

Seeing this little movement, Liu Zhimou pretended not to notice. His gaze stayed fixed on them—if his stare were tangible, the two of them would already be injured.

Left with no choice, Liu Zhiyan swallowed hard and said softly, “Big brother, we really didn’t do anything. Really.”

He didn’t have the courage to admit the fight. If he truly confessed, big brother might just kick him straight out of the carriage.

They had personally experienced how ruthless big brother could be.

Liu Zhimou narrowed his eyes slightly and calmly tossed out another sentence. “You’ve already lost two chances. This is your last one. Let’s see if you know how to grasp it.”

Casually, he held Li Qingling’s hand, playing with her fingers one by one. “As for what happens after losing three chances—I don’t need to explain that, do I?”

It was a blatant threat—and Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan were thoroughly intimidated.

They exchanged cautious glances, still hesitating over whether to tell the truth.

Seeing their expressions, Li Qingling looked at them in confusion. “You two didn’t really cause trouble at the academy, did you?”

Judging by how evasive they were, it really looked like it!

“No, sister, we really, really didn’t cause trouble. Believe us?” Li Qingfeng squeezed his fingertips hard, looking at Li Qingling, hoping she would trust them.

When Liu Zhimou was disciplining them, Li Qingling never interfered. She shrugged helplessly. “I can’t help it. Everything depends on Zhimo.”

“Three…” Liu Zhimou stopped wasting words and began counting.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan’s faces changed drastically. Once he finished counting, he wouldn’t wait for them to confess—he’d go straight to punishment.

Li Qingfeng swallowed hard again and tugged at Liu Zhiyan’s sleeve. “You say it…” He didn’t have the courage to face his brother-in-law.

Liu Zhiyan pressed his lips together. “You say it…” He didn’t have the courage to face big brother’s darkened face either.

Seeing the two of them pushing the responsibility back and forth, Liu Zhimou unhesitatingly counted again, “Two…”

Hearing that “two,” Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan were even more terrified. If they didn’t speak now, it would be too late—Liu Zhimou wouldn’t give them another chance.

“You hurry up and say it…”

“You hurry up and say it…”

The corner of Liu Zhimou’s eye twitched, fury surging in his heart. These two had clearly done something wrong—yet not only were they refusing to admit it, they were still pushing it onto each other.

It seemed they had thrown all his previous words to the back of their minds. He would have to help them remember properly.

Sensing Liu Zhimou’s anger, Li Qingling looked at Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan with eyes full of pity.

These two boys were doomed.