Chapter 21: Anger

Xie Zhen felt that this scene was very familiar.

It seemed like not long ago she had witnessed a similar situation.

Struggling to recall, Xie Zhen finally remembered a year ago when the Duke of Dongping and his concubine stayed at her house. The Duke of Dongping’s concubine also held her father’s hand. Later, when her mother found out, her father had managed to break free.

Thinking harder, the Duke of Dongping’s concubine also called her father “cousin.”

Can cousins hold hands casually? Xie Zhen couldn’t understand. She vaguely remembered that her mother was displeased at that time, so now she was also a bit unhappy. As for why she was unhappy… she couldn’t quite put it into words. Subconsciously, she felt that Li Yu should only hold her hand, so how could he hold someone else’s?

After Li Yu withdrew his hand from Ouyang Yi, surprisingly, she didn’t continue to entangle him. Instead, her attention was fully on Xie Zhen, and she asked again, “Who are you, really?”

If this had happened before, Xie Zhen would have definitely answered, but today she deliberately hesitated, puffing up her cheeks and blowing the ink dry with a lingering voice, “My name is Xie Zhen.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, with a long tail sound, completely different from Ouyang Yi’s clear and round tone. With just four words, she captivated everyone. Ouyang Yi obviously noticed this, the other party was a delicate little beauty, much prettier than herself. As she stepped forward, she immediately felt inferior.

It was like night and day.

Ouyang Yi remembered the scene she saw when she entered the room and looked at the paintings on the table. “Why did you come here? Don’t you know my cousin doesn’t like people entering his study?”

The tone implied, “Only I can come in.”

Actually, it wasn’t that serious. When Li Yu was reading in the study, maids wouldn’t disturb him. It was only after Ouyang Yi came that she occasionally bothered him in the study, prompting Li Yu to establish this rule. In other words, Li Yu just didn’t like Ouyang Yi entering his study.

Li Yu subconsciously looked at Xie Zhen. Seeing her lack of reaction, he unexpectedly worried that she might get angry.

After a while, she said, “I came to play with Little Brother Yu, why can’t I come in? You’ve asked me so much, why don’t you say anything about yourself? Who are you, and what’s your name?”

Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief in secret, but then he thought, how could she possibly get angry? They had known each other for so long, and he had never seen her angry. Every time they met, she was always smiling, as if all the good things in the world happened to her.

Ouyang Yi snorted, dissatisfied with her changing the subject. “I’m Ouyang Yi, Brother Li Yu’s cousin.”

Suddenly remembering something, she no longer bothered Xie Zhen, grabbed Li Yu’s hand again, and ran outside, shouting as she ran, “Cousin, come with me quickly!”

Li Yu frowned, still not used to her impulsive nature after all these time. He held onto the door frame, stopping at the entrance. “Speak if you have something to say, don’t pull me. I can walk by myself.” With that, he forcefully shook off her hand.

Ouyang Yi was the only daughter of the Li family. After giving birth to her seven or eight years ago, Li’s wife failed to have another son. Therefore, the mother and daughter were not particularly favored by the in-laws. In addition, Li’s husband was often away for business, too busy to discipline the child. Li’s wife was also relatively weak. Over time, Ouyang Yi developed her current wild temperament, ignorant of the rules and doing as she pleased.

This was the first time Ouyang Yi had been sternly refused by him. In the past, no matter what she did, he might show impatience at most, but he had never denied her face so decisively.

Why? Was it because there was someone else in the room?

Ouyang Yi didn’t think in that direction. She hesitated for a moment and quickly said, “I’m not pulling you. How do you know where to go?”

Li Yu, with the corner of his eye catching the figure in the room, resisted the urge to turn his head. “This is my home, and I know it better than you do.”

With that, he walked out of the study, his delicate face filled with displeasure.

*

After Xie Zhen walked out of the study, the courtyard was empty. Xie Xian and Xie Rong had disappeared somewhere, and Li Yu had followed Ouyang Yi. The lively courtyard from just a moment ago was now deserted, with only her remaining.

She kicked the doorstep, pouting her tender pink lips. “Little Yu is a bad guy.”

Didn’t he say he was going to study? Didn’t he say the master would test his homework? How come he ran out as soon as Ouyang Yi called? He even said he didn’t have time to play with her. It must be all lies.

Why did he go out when Ouyang Yi called him? Because they were cousins?

The more Xie Zhen thought about it, the more unhappy she became. She decided to take out the plum blossom painting she had just put away, tore it twice, and threw it into the flowerbed under the corridor. Jinlu, watching her actions from behind, couldn’t help but find it a bit amusing. Children were indeed children, very willful. When they were a little unhappy, they wanted to vent by breaking things.

After a few steps, Xie Zhen turned back and asked, “Do you know where Ah Xian and the brother went?”

Jinlu had been standing at the door the whole time, so she could see clearly. “Miss Xian chased after that barking dog, and Young Master Xie also followed. They should still be in the courtyard. If Miss wants to find them, the servant can inquire for you.”

Xie Zhen remained silent, indicating her approval.

The adults from both families were still talking in the front yard, seemingly without any intention to leave. Jinlu mentioned that Madam Song intended to keep them for dinner.

Xie Zhen wandered aimlessly in the courtyard for a while. She was not familiar with the Li family courtyard, and soon lost her sense of direction. Surrounding her were rooms, courtyards, moon gates, and long corridors. The Li family’s estate was grand and imposing, surpassing even the Li family itself.

Passing through a cobblestone path, she entered a dilapidated small courtyard filled with dry branches and fallen leaves, nothing picturesque. Xie Zhen was about to turn back when she unexpectedly heard Ouyang Yi’s voice from inside, “Cousin, let’s put it back, shall we?”

Huh?

She couldn’t help but stop.

After a while, Li Yu’s voice indeed sounded, “You can do it yourself.”

Do what? Xie Zhen was curious, but she hesitated to approach. What if she was discovered? It would be embarrassing. Standing at the courtyard gate, she felt torn, her pink and tender baby face portraying an adult’s serious expression, making Jinlu burst into laughter.

Before she could finish laughing, she received a stern look from Xie Zhen, and Jinlu immediately covered her mouth and tactfully stepped back.

The conversation in the courtyard continued. Ouyang Yi’s voice was loud, and Xie Zhen could hear clearly, “The tree is so high, I can’t reach it! What if I fall, what should I do?”

Li Yu remained silent.

She continued, “How about Cousin holding me from below? I’ll put the little bird back in its nest, so it won’t freeze to death.”

Oh… so a little bird fell.

Xie Zhen pouted; what was so special about this? Birds often fell from their trees at home, and her brother would climb up to put them back. There was no need for her and Ah Xian to do it. Ouyang Yi was so silly, not even able to climb a tree; she couldn’t believe she had been so confident just now.

She didn’t know if Li Yu eventually helped her. In any case, Xie Zhen didn’t wait to find out; she turned around and left first.

*

Not long after they left, Jinlu found out the whereabouts of Xie Xian and Xie Rong.

Jinlu told her, “Young Master Xie and Third Miss are in the plum grove in the backyard. The maidservant will take you there.”

Xie Zhen said, “Okay.”

The plum grove is located in the southeast corner of the backyard, with dozens of plum trees planted inside. When winter comes, especially after snowfall, the entire yard is covered with glistening white snow, making the flower buds on the plum tree branches even more vibrant. One red and one white, they embellish this dim winter day.

As Xie Zhen and Jinlu approached, Xie Xian was chasing a dog under a plum tree.

The dog, tired from running, slowed down, and soon Xie Xian tackled it to the ground. The dog lay there lazily, not bothering to move. Xie Xian rolled in the snow with it, both covered in snow, “Caught you!”

Xie Rong stood with arms crossed under the tree, looking at them, with a somewhat helpless expression.

He is twelve years old this year, already showing the appearance of a young man. The childishness in his eyes has faded, replaced by a more refined and beautiful look. Leaning against the tree with a straight posture, a few snowflakes fell on his shoulders, making him look like a painting from a distance.

Xie Zhen’s mood improved a lot. She opened her arms and pounced, “Brother!”

Xie Rong turned his head and saw her, smiling as he welcomed her into his arms, “How did the little lamb find her way here? What about Li Yu?”

In his arms, Xie Zhen rubbed against him and tilted her small head, “Little Yu brother and cousin went away, leaving me alone in the study.”

The little girl still minded this matter, although she hadn’t said much along the way.

Xie Rong rubbed her head, “It’s okay, brother will be with you.”

She gave a crisp “Hmm” in agreement.

Over there, Xie Xian finally subdued the dog, carrying it to her. Probably tired from the chase, a few sweat beads appeared on its nose. “Sister, come and play with the dog with me. How about we give it a name?”

The dog was tired too, letting Xie Xian hold it with a listless expression, giving up struggling.

Xie Zhen took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, “Don’t run too hard; Mother says it’s easy to get sick.” Then she earnestly started thinking of a name, tilting her head and asking, “What name should we give it? Do you know whose dog this is? What if its owner doesn’t agree?”

Xie Xian hadn’t thought about this issue. She tightened her grip on the dog’s paw and said, “But… I like it. I want to bring it home. Can I?”

Xie Zhen decisively shook her head, “Mother doesn’t like dogs.”

Xie Xian almost cried, looking up to see Xie Rong.

Little did she know that Xie Rong was even more heartless than Xie Zhen, “No.”

The Xie family was allergic to the fur of these small animals. Once they got close, they would itch all over, and if it was severe, they might even get a rash. That’s why the two sisters of the Xie family, despite liking small animals, could never have them.

Xie Xian pouted and was about to say something when suddenly a shocking voice came from behind, “Where’s my puppy?”

This voice, probably only belonged to Ouyang Yi. Sure enough, when they turned around, they saw Ouyang Yi and Li Yu at the entrance of Meilin.

Ouyang Yi squinted her eyes, noticing the dog in Xie Xian’s arms, “Why are you holding my puppy?”

Xie Xian hid behind Xie Rong, her voice a bit timid, “Uh, is this your dog?”

Ouyang Yi got excited, couldn’t control her voice, “Of course, it’s mine. Is it yours? Give it back to me!”

She had been searching for her dog for a while, and the maidservant said she saw it running in this direction, so she came here looking for it. Unexpectedly, someone else had already picked it up.

Seeing that Xie Xian was about to cry, Xie Zhen was about to say something, but the dog, with some unknown strength, slipped out of Xie Xian’s arms and obediently crouched next to Ouyang Yi, wagging its tail. Not only that, it barked at Xie Xian twice, with the same attitude and momentum as Ouyang Yi.

Xie Xian had just been told she couldn’t keep the dog, scolded by Ouyang Yi, and now even her perceived little companion had “betrayed” her. Unable to hold back, tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried out loudly.

Unfortunately, Ouyang Yi felt no remorse at all and even added fuel to the fire, “Who asked you to mess with other people’s dogs…”

Xie Zhen pushed her away and warned sternly, “No bullying Ah Xian!”

The usually gentle little lamb, when angered, displayed considerable authority. Ouyang Yi took two steps back, conveniently standing next to Li Yu. In the previous situation, Li Yu had no room to intervene, so he could only stand in the background and watch. Unexpectedly, now Xie Zhen misunderstood and thought he was in league with Ouyang Yi.

Xie Zhen’s angry gaze fell on him, making him slightly uneasy.

Just as he was about to speak, Xie Zhen turned to Xie Rong and said, “Brother, I want to go home.”

Xie Rong agreed and led her and Xie Xian out. When passing by them, not even a greeting was exchanged.

Li Yu blocked Xie Zhen’s way, his palms sweating, feeling a bit awkward for reasons he couldn’t quite understand. After hesitating for a while, he finally asked, “Are you angry?”

Xie Zhen glared at him, the once clear and bright eyes now devoid of any laughter.

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