Shi Fa Ke stood in the courtyard, watching He Ketian run out like her pants were on fire, and couldn’t help but want to laugh. It had been a long time since He Ketian had abandoned her image like this…

With everyone gone, the courtyard that had been so lively just moments ago suddenly became very quiet.

Today… was really too lively.

So lively that she felt a bit tired.

Shi Fa Ke looked at the sun—it was about time for lunch. But because she had eaten her fill of tea and snacks earlier, she wasn’t hungry now. Feeling fatigue rising from her bones, she decided to take an afternoon nap.

Spring drowsiness and summer fatigue, after all.

She slept very deeply, falling into sweet, dark dreams where she seemed to see her childhood self again with Chu Yizhi and the He siblings.

Childhood was so wonderful—carefree, with the greatest sorrow being nothing more than having her little face pinched and her little braids tugged by Third Brother.

“Father, look, Third Brother is bullying me again…” Shi Fa Ke mumbled unconsciously.

In the dream, Third Brother came to pinch her little face again, and Father picked up a broom to chase him around the courtyard, making little A’ke, who still had tears in her eyes, laugh heartily.

“You little brat, even in your dreams you’re tattling to Father.”

Half-asleep and half-awake, she seemed to hear Third Brother’s laughing voice.

Shi Fa Ke woke up with a start, opening her eyes to see Third Brother’s enlarged baby face. He was holding a candle very close to her, the candlelight swaying in the wind and casting eerie shadows on his face, making him look ghostly. Shi Fa Ke screamed in fright, yanked the quilt up to cover her head and face, and huddled under the covers trembling.

“You rascal, how are you bullying your sister again!”

Probably hearing her scream, Father’s loud voice approached from far to near, followed by Third Brother’s wailing—he was probably getting his ears twisted again…

“A’ke, don’t be afraid, it’s Father coming home.” The rough, loud voice immediately dropped eight octaves, and then a gentle big hand softly patted Shi Fa Ke’s head through the thin quilt. “You overslept your afternoon nap and must be hungry. Your mother has prepared dinner. Get up and eat something.”

Shi Fa Ke remained huddled under the quilt in a daze. For some reason, tears suddenly burst from her eyes.

People are always like this—when alone, they seem indestructible, but once someone treats you with gentle care, you suddenly become sentimental and inexplicably feel wronged.

Shi Changhuai was coaxing his daughter when he suddenly felt something was wrong. The little girl under the thin quilt seemed to be… crying?

This was serious! Shi Changhuai hurriedly and carefully lifted the corner of the quilt, immediately seeing his precious daughter curled up like a little shrimp, silently shedding tears.

She looked so wronged!

“Shi! Zhong! Hai!” Shi Changhuai roared in fury, shouting each word distinctly, “What did you do!”

Shi Zhonghai was also startled by his sister’s tear-streaked face. Shi Fa Ke rarely cried, so he became somewhat flustered. Just as he was panicking, he was startled by his father’s angry roar. Seeing his father’s vicious expression… What deep hatred and resentment was this?! This was like a fight to the death!

Seeing a fist coming at him, Shi Zhonghai hurriedly jumped up and turned to flee, but he couldn’t bear to leave his sister behind, not knowing why she was hiding under the quilt crying. So… he began hopping around the room in circles…

One chasing and one fleeing…

“You brat, you still dare to run! Stop right there! How exactly did you bully your sister!”

“Oh my, I’m innocent! I just came to call her for dinner! Who knew she’d react like she’d seen a ghost when she saw me! She must have a guilty conscience. I even heard her talking in her sleep, tattling on me even in her dreams!” Third Brother shouted at the top of his lungs while running.

“Who told you to be so ugly?”

“But you’re the one who made me like this!”

“You little brat… asking for a beating!”

A complete commotion ensued.

Shi Fa Ke watched in a daze, then suddenly burst out laughing with a “puchi.”

It turned out that some things would never change.

Even when grown up, there would always be someone who would forever treat you like a child and treasure you like a precious jewel in their palm.

Seeing Shi Fa Ke finally laugh, both father and son Shi Changhuai and Shi Zhonghai quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

“A’ke, you must clear my name. I’m about to die of injustice. Tell me, what’s wrong with you?” Third Brother strode over, plopped down on the edge of the bed, and stared at her questioningly.

But Shi Fa Ke suddenly reached out and hugged his arm, her eyes curved in a smile, “Third Brother, you’re the best.”

Third Brother pursed his lips, but his heart had already melted into mush. Her eyes were still red like a rabbit’s, but she suddenly smiled—truly like a child, sunny one moment and rainy the next.

Shi Changhuai watched enviously and said sourly, “Isn’t Father good?”

Shi Fa Ke flattered him, “Father is even better!”

Third Brother muttered quietly about her being a little flatterer, then looked at their usually imposing father who showed them no mercy, now grinning from ear to ear—it was really hard to watch… Well, who could blame him for falling for such tactics?

“I’ve already served the rice, what are you all doing? I told you to call people for dinner, how did you all disappear! A’ke, you don’t even know how to cook when you’re at home… you’ve been crying?” Tao’s loud voice rang out at the door, still grumbling incessantly.

Shi Fa Ke didn’t dare to be sentimental anymore and quickly jumped out of bed, “Ah… I overslept and had a nightmare, didn’t recover for a moment.”

Tao looked at her suspiciously.

Shi Fa Ke quickly smiled ingratiatingly at her, “Mother, I’m hungry…”

Looking outside, the sky was indeed half-dark. Just how long had she slept?

“I saw chestnut cake and snow flower pastries in the kitchen. Did Ketian come again today?” During dinner, Tao mentioned casually.

More than that… He Kexian had come too.

Chu Yizhi had come too.

In short, today was indescribably lively.

Shi Fa Ke felt a bit mentally exhausted and took a sip of soup, “Mm.”

The atmosphere at the table became somewhat subtle.

“That little girl from the He family… hasn’t she been coming rather frequently lately?” Shi Changhuai couldn’t help but say.

Although she used to visit fairly often, she hadn’t been coming almost daily like recently. Especially since the two little girls seemed to have had some conflict before, with a cold war period in between, which made her recent behavior seem even more strange… It was like a determination of “if the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.”

“Mm, Ketian comes to keep me company playing chess.” Shi Fa Ke smiled, but in her heart she thought again of He Ketian saying she already had someone she fancied. She always felt… that her daily visits weren’t really about the wine, but about someone in particular.

Wait… could it be that the person He Ketian fancied was one of her brothers?

Once this thought arose, her gaze strangely swept across the faces of her three brothers one by one.

Shi Fa Ke’s words made even the daughter-doting Shi Changhuai fall silent for a moment. Keeping A’ke company playing chess was a life-threatening task! The father and sons looked at each other and reached a consensus—it seemed the He family’s little girl had significant ulterior motives…

Only Third Brother’s eyes lit up as he grinned at Shi Fa Ke, “I calculated with my fingers that I’ll have windfall luck recently.”

Shi Fa Ke naturally knew what he was talking about—nothing more than their previous bet. She chuckled and said while biting her chopsticks, “Then you miscalculated.”

Third Brother’s eyes widened, “Impossible.”

Tao looked suspiciously at her son, then at her daughter, “What riddle are you two talking in?”

The siblings immediately formed a united front, “Nothing, we’re just fooling around.”

If Mother knew they were betting with money, they’d definitely get a scolding, and might even have to surrender their betting money…