That look sent a shiver through Shen Jianhua’s body, he glanced at his daughter’s bedroom door and, seeing no sign of the two girls coming out, he wrapped his arms around Zhou Lanfang’s waist. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝
"We’ll take care of it tomorrow."
"You’re hopeless..." Zhou Lanfang said with a blushed face as they went back to their room together.
Apart from the issue with Shen Mianmian, Zhou Lanfang was actually very satisfied with Shen Jianhua; even though he could be stubborn at times, he never lost his temper if she didn’t push him too far.
As for their marital relations, she had no complaints at all.
Whenever the village women gathered to share racy jokes or gossip about whose husband wasn’t performing well, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of pride.
Her husband was great in that regard; he gave her all his earnings, and usually, he didn’t inquire much about how the money was spent, which gave her the chance to save quite a substantial amount for her own private use.
After the death of Shen’s mother and Jianhua’s brother, the Shen family’s eldest sister-in-law remarried with her children, leaving behind an extra piece of residential land for the family. It was a pity they didn’t have the money to build a few large tile-roofed houses; living in those would have been so comfortable.
With the living room now quiet, Shen Mianmian guessed what might have happened. Pretending to be unaware, she tidied up a bit and then went to bed.
Zhou Siyu, though often crafty, was only fifteen and didn’t quite understand the matters between husbands and wives. She was just relieved to be able to speak freely now that the living room was empty.
"Sister, did you hear what uncle said just now? He said we should take a bath together."
Shen Mianmian ignored her, as she had an exam tomorrow and needed to maintain a good mental state.
"Sister, do you not want to go with me?" Zhou Siyu saw her getting sleepier and was determined to bother her. She climbed over to Shen Mianmian’s side, "If you really don’t want me to go with you, I’ll tell uncle after I come back from the exam tomorrow that I won’t go."
"Go or don’t go, it’s up to you."
Shen Mianmian responded with her eyes closed.
"So, you really don’t want me to go, huh?" Zhou Siyu’s voice took on a tone of hurt, "Although I’m just your cousin, not a real sister, we’ve grown up together since we were little. Our relationship is almost like that of real sisters, isn’t it? Why do you always treat me like an outsider?"
Zhou Siyu raised her voice a bit, which sounded particularly clear at night, and Shen Mianmian, who knew her cousin all too well, understood Zhou Siyu’s motive for doing this.
She had been doing well lately, and Teacher Chen had been kind to her; Zhou Siyu was probably feeling threatened, worried that she might actually do well on the exam.
Now, she was deliberately making noise, trying to fabricate a scene of her being jealous of Zhou Siyu, so that Shen Jianhua would think they were fighting and scold her for being an incompetent older sister, jealous and bullying her younger sister.
With this in mind, a cold smile curled on the corner of Shen Mianmian’s lips. She figured the other room was probably buzzing with activity by now and wouldn’t be concerned about Zhou Siyu.
This time, Zhou Siyu was bound to miscalculate.
After waiting a while and seeing that Shen Mianmian wasn’t responding, Zhou Siyu kept nagging in her ear, "Sister, are you angry that I’m going, is that it?"
After saying this, she glanced at the door; all was quiet outside, without a sound.
Normally, any slight noise in this room would bring her aunt and uncle rushing over quickly.
Could it be that uncle was too tired today? Sleeping soundly?
Zhou Siyu was somewhat unwilling to give up and unconsciously pulled at her again, louder this time, "Sis, it’s all my fault, please don’t be mad, okay?"
A gust of cold air slipped under the covers, and just as Shen Mianmian was dozing off, she shivered from the cold, and suddenly she was wide awake.
Her voice turned cold, and she glared at Zhou Siyu, "Are you going to sleep or not?"