Chen Anzhi was startled to see the door slam shut in front of him. The dim light inside the room cast shadows of two people. He hadn’t known that Si Que was in You Yuji’s room when he came.
The thought that his humble apology had been heard by Princess Que made his already feverish cheeks burn even hotter. The feeling of utter embarrassment engulfed him, and unable to find a place to hide, he turned around and left quickly, his face flushed with shame.
Inside the room, Si Que grabbed You Yuji’s wrist and pulled her swiftly inside, pressing her against the wall.
His face was cold, and his dark, cool eyes were filled with a hint of menace. He held You Yuji’s wrist tightly with one hand, while the other was pressed against the wall by her ear, his entire body closing in on her.
You Yuji watched Si Que’s expression. Whether he was acting in front of her in the past or after his mask of a smiling face was torn away, he had never glared at her with such a menacing look.
You Yuji curiously observed Si Que’s demeanor, wondering what he would do. Would he get angry and throw a tantrum? Or would he tie her up again?
“Sister…”
You Yuji’s heartbeat paused for a moment, surprised that Si Que, with such menacing eyes, would softly call her sister.
“Has sister gone soft-hearted? Facing the repentant ex-husband, has sister gone soft?” Si Que forcefully tore open You Yuji’s collar, exposing her chest completely.
He pressed his slightly cool palm tightly against her heart.
“Come, let me hear your heartbeat. Let me hear if sister’s heart has softened for her ex-husband.” Si Que restrained his anger, and this restraint made his voice faintly hoarse.
You Yuji’s back was pressed tightly against the wall, with an angry man in front of her. Her already sore and aching chest was pressed hard by Si Que’s cool palm, making it difficult to bear.
You Yuji gently exhaled, slowly easing her discomfort.
In the next moment, the hand that Si Que was using to grip her wrist lifted, and he pinched You Yuji’s chin, raising her face to force her to look into his eyes, making her see the anger in them.
“Sister…” Si Que called her affectionately. He slowly lifted the corners of his mouth into a radiant smile. “My good sister wouldn’t soften for her ex-husband, right?”
His hand that was forcefully pinching her chin turned to gently caress her cheek, tender and meticulous.
“Sister, he’s not good at all. You can’t soften. You really can’t. He’s not as good as me, not even half as good as me, isn’t that right, sister?” He spoke in a gentle tone, delivering the most dangerous warning.
Si Que began to think how nice it would be if You Yuji weren’t so likable. He even wished that everyone would hate You Yuji so that he would be the only one in the world who liked her.
A dangerous vortex gathered in Si Que’s eyes, growing deeper and deeper. The rational part of him that didn’t want to hurt her made him struggle to restrain himself. This struggle made him, despite his ferocious demeanor, wear an obedient and radiant smile.
The contrast made his nearly perfect, celestial-like face appear strangely bizarre.
You Yuji felt a chill in her chest. She could clearly sense Si Que’s deeply suppressed anger. She raised her hand and held Si Que’s wrist.
“Ah Que, you’re hurting your sister.”
Si Que suddenly raised his voice, “You are not my sister!”
After a pause, Si Que added with a slow smile, “My good sister…”
One moment he called her sister, the next he forbade her from claiming to be his sister?
You Yuji’s slightly parted lips closed again, hesitating to speak.
She placed her hand on Si Que’s waist, gripping his clothing and leaning closer. The already intimate distance between them grew even tighter as she moved closer. You Yuji leaned in and kissed the corner of Si Que’s lips. Her soft lips brushed against his cool lips, gently at first, then pressing fully against his. She softly parted her lips and sucked lightly on his thin lower lip.
Si Que’s hand, which was against the wall, stiffened.
After a shallow suck, You Yuji bit down gently, then with increasing pressure, until Si Que felt a bit of pain. She stopped and looked up at him with gentle eyes, her lips still touching his. As she spoke, her breath carried a soft fragrance.
“What are you angry about? Aren’t I here in your arms?” she asked.
She smiled, her lips and eyes curving into a warm, tender expression. “Fine, I’m not your sister.”
You Yuji raised her hand, gently pressing it against Si Que’s chest, her slender fingers tapping lightly. Her eyes sparkled softly as she asked, “Would it make you happy if I called you brother?”
Si Que’s eyes darkened.
For a moment, You Yuji caught a subtle change in his emotions.
She had guessed correctly—ever since she had acted coy with her second brother, Si Que had been sulking. She rose on tiptoes, her breath warm against Si Que’s ear. “Brother, you’ve torn my clothes. Aren’t you planning to carry me to the bed?”
Si Que wanted to keep up his tough demeanor.
He lowered his gaze to the woman in his arms, her eyes teasing. His eyes drifted lower, to her disheveled collar.
Being tough in another way wasn’t impossible either.
He lowered his head and bit her shoulder viciously before bending down and sliding his arms under her knees, lifting her horizontally and carrying her towards the bed.
Unfortunately, his toughness didn’t last long.
You Yuji snuggled close, complaining of discomfort and asking him to massage her gently to relieve her pain.
Si Que didn’t want to agree at first—it was incredibly frustrating.
But You Yuji cuddled closer, poking his chest with her fingers and calling him “brother” in such a soft voice that it was impossible to refuse.
“Fox spirit.”
That night, Si Que didn’t know how many times he had cursed her as a fox spirit.
It was late into the night when You Yuji fell asleep comfortably in Si Que’s arms, sleeping deeply and soundly. Si Que, however, had no sleepiness at all, staring darkly at the soft, fragrant person in his arms.
Clearly, he was very, very angry today. The sudden burst of fury had almost made him lose control. He was madly jealous inside, jealous of that dog Chen Anzhi who had once gone through the traditional marriage ceremonies with his Yuan Yuan, exchanging cups of wine.
Usually, he didn’t care much about worldly matters and rarely got this angry. But when he did, he needed to see blood to calm his inner rage.
How did he calm down today?
Si Que thought about it for a while but couldn’t figure out how the overwhelming anger in his chest had subsided tonight.
With a dark face, Si Que turned his gaze to You Yuji, the culprit.
You Yuji was sleeping soundly. In her sleep, she unconsciously moved closer to Si Que, her creamy soft cheek lightly rubbing against his chest.
Si Que watched her for a while and suddenly smiled.
He pinched You Yuji’s face and patted it twice, saying softly, “Call me brother again.”
But You Yuji was asleep and naturally couldn’t fulfill his wish. She frowned uncomfortably in her sleep. Si Que quickly withdrew his hand and watched her for a while longer before carefully leaning down to kiss her soft cheek.
Throughout history, beauties have been disasters, and fox spirits truly take lives.
Si Que never quite understood You Yuji.
Did she genuinely like him, or was she angry about being deceived and intentionally trying to win his heart in revenge?
Si Que pulled the blanket up to cover You Yuji’s exposed fragrant shoulder. He stared at her, the smile in his eyes slowly fading as he fell into deep thought.
The next day, You Yuji’s period came as expected. She lay lazily in bed, unwilling to get up. Partly because she felt unwell, and partly because each time her period came, it signified another month of failed attempts at conceiving, naturally putting her in a bad mood.
“Baisui,” You Yuji called to the cat lying on the table.
Baisui dropped the ball of yarn in its paw and jumped onto the bed. You Yuji lifted the blanket, and it instinctively burrowed under, lying on her belly to warm her cold stomach.
This scene was just witnessed by Si Que as he entered, making him snort lightly.
He walked slowly to the bed, carrying You Yuji’s breakfast. Since she didn’t want to get up, he brought her breakfast to her. Si Que placed the breakfast on the small bedside table, reached into the blanket, grabbed Baisui, and tossed it onto the floor.
You Yuji looked at the poor little thing on the ground and couldn’t help but chuckle, pitying the little creature for having such a temperamental master.
Si Que sat down on the bed and handed You Yuji a bowl of red date and barley porridge. Then, he slipped his hand under the blanket, taking Baisui’s place.
You Yuji, feeling weak and boneless, leaned into Si Que’s embrace as she ate the porridge.
Si Que had also brought several small dishes with the breakfast, but You Yuji shook her head, having no appetite. She declined the other dishes, eating the red date and barley porridge with a subdued expression.
As she took one mouthful after another, her mind began to wander.
After so long without conceiving, could she possibly have some infertility issues? Or perhaps it wasn’t her problem; could it be Si Que’s? Suddenly, You Yuji decided she should see a doctor about her health.
Maybe she should check herself first.
If her body was fine, then she could ask Si Que if he was willing to get checked as well?
You Yuji took another bite of porridge, feeling inexplicably that Si Que might be unwilling to get checked. She also found it difficult to bring up. If it turned out that his inability to have children was due to the excessive medication he had taken before…
Her brow furrowed slowly, and the small spoon holding a bit of porridge tipped, letting the thick porridge slowly flow back into the bowl.
“Sister?”
You Yuji snapped out of her thoughts, turned to Si Que, and gave him a smile, casually saying she felt a bit unwell, then continued eating her porridge.
When Zhenxu entered, she saw You Yuji nestled in Si Que’s arms, eating porridge. She mentally sighed, instinctively looking away, almost reciting the mantra, “See no evil.”
She composed herself, walked in formally, and reported, “Madam, Lady Zhao has come to visit.”
You Yuji, feeling unwell and not wanting to get out of bed, saw no need to be formal with Jiang Chun and thus didn’t go to the parlor to greet her. Instead, she had Jiang Chun brought directly to the inner room.
You Yuji placed the bowl to the side and turned to Si Que, saying, “My sister and I are going to have a chat. Why don’t you take a walk in the plum garden?”
She really didn’t want Si Que to overhear her private conversation with Jiang Chun.
Si Que’s expression was neutral, but he seemed somewhat reluctant.
You Yuji pinched a bit of his clothing and gently shook it, smiling up at him with a coquettish look.
Si Que cleared his throat, glanced at her, but didn’t move.
You Yuji chuckled and leaned closer to his ear, whispering, “Good brother.”
Si Que paused in his massage of her stomach, looking into You Yuji’s eyes with a serious warning, “Don’t call me that during the day from now on.”
After a moment, he added, “And don’t call me that when you’re unwell.”
“Alright,” You Yuji nodded lightly. As Si Que stood up, she added softly, “Brother.”
Si Que turned around abruptly, meeting You Yuji’s smiling eyes. She slowly blinked, showing a hint of innocent expression.
“Yuan Yuan! Yuan Yuan!” Jiang Chun called out as she jogged in.
Si Que paused what he was about to say, his face cold as he walked out.
Jiang Chun passed Si Que on her way in, giving him a puzzled look.
“Why are you always running in? Can’t you be a bit more careful?” You Yuji said with a smile.
“It’s all because of you!” Jiang Chun replied with a laugh, quickly walking to sit beside You Yuji.
You Yuji smiled and asked, “What is it for me?”
“I found some folk remedies for you!”
