An Shuchao threw on his clothes and came out to the footbath, seeing An Ping standing beneath his daughter and son-in-law’s window eavesdropping.
The sounds coming from the room were enough to make anyone blush.
"Be gentle, do you want to kill me..."
"I wouldn’t dare. It took me over thirty years to marry such a beautiful young wife, I don’t have time to hurt you..."
As soon as the words fell, An Hao let out a long cry, "Ah—!"
An Shuchao, having been around the block, naturally knew what was happening in the room.
His face turned red, and he quietly stepped forward, grabbed An Ping’s hand, and dragged him back, "What are you doing standing here? Go back to sleep."
"I need to apologize to my sister."
"Apologize for what? Come back tomorrow." An Shuchao pulled his son to retreat.
This kid actually learned to eavesdrop, intruding on the couple’s private moments—what was he listening for!
Just as father and son turned to leave, An Ping slipped and fell to the ground with a thud, letting out a cry of pain, "Ow, my butt!"
"Ancestor! Can’t you be quiet?" An Shuchao stomped his feet in irritation, "Damn it, you had to mess up at the crucial moment."
The commotion in the courtyard caught the attention of Qin Jian and An Hao.
"Can you check what’s going on outside? It sounds like An Ping," An Hao said.
Qin Jian opened the door and looked outside, only to see his father-in-law and An Ping under the eaves of the wall at his and An Hao’s room.
An Ping looked like he’d just taken a fall, covered in snow, while the father-in-law stood there, looking embarrassed, facing Qin Jian.
"Dad, An Ping, what are you doing here?" Qin Jian was puzzled.
"No... nothing." Worrying that his son-in-law might misunderstand, An Shuchao quickly pointed to the washbasin on the ground, "I was going to dump the water..."
"Right. We just got here," An Ping said, giving himself away.
Qin Jian was confused, "What are you talking about?"
"Hehe." An Ping grinned mischievously, "I can only say, brother-in-law, you’re a real man!"
Listening to the conversation at the door, An Hao truly wanted to find a hole to crawl into from embarrassment; they must have misunderstood to make such comments.
Just as she was about to clarify, she suddenly realized why they would say such a thing—could it be that they had been eavesdropping?
"An Ping, you little devil, what on earth did you do?" An Hao shouted from the kang bed.
An Ping took a few steps forward, pushing open the door, poking his head in to say to her, "Sis, I ate the stir-fried pork with chili peppers. It was really good! Thanks! I was actually here to apologize, but then I overheard a bit... of something that made me blush."
"It’s not what you think. I was just very tired, and your brother-in-law was helping me massage my legs to relieve the fatigue," she explained.
"Ah~ is that so?" An Ping said with a sly smile, "Sis, you don’t have to explain to me. Why explain? There’s a saying, ’To explain is to cover up.’
"..." An Hao was so frustrated by him that she couldn’t speak.
An Ping chuckled and turned to leave.
He had only taken a couple of steps when he doubled back and cheekily said to An Hao, "Sis! Although it’s the sweet time for newlyweds, be mindful of your health, especially since you’ve been so tired today..."
"Scram!" An Hao, infuriated by his teasing, picked up a shoe sole from the floor and hurled it at him. An Ping didn’t dodge in time and was hit squarely on the head.
An Hao couldn’t help but laugh, "Pfft! Serves you right! That’s for not being serious."
An Ping clutched his head, on the verge of tears! Who said he wasn’t serious? He was here to apologize, wasn’t he?