As she got up to get dressed, Liam scolded her lightly, "That's between a wife and her husband. Why are you interfering?"
"She's my wife too. Why can't I say something?"
Liam: …
Everyone else in the room: …
Forget it. He's still young.
Seeing no one argue back, Xing grew anxious and said, "Second Brother already begged her to stop, but she didn't let him go! We need to check on him!"
"They're just doing what wives and husbands do. Don't get involved," Han said hoarsely, unable to hold back when he saw Xing still insisting on going out.
Afraid they'd notice something strange, Han coughed unnaturally and continued, "It's getting late. Let's just sleep."
After that, Xing pouted and didn't dare say anything more. At home, he feared his oldest brother the most. Unwillingly, he got into bed.
But he couldn't sleep at all. His brother's words kept playing in his mind.
Stuff between wives and husbands?
That scary? He decided he never wanted to do that!
---
The next morning.
Han woke up early. As he left the room, he glanced at the door next to his.
He didn't expect the door to open suddenly. When Niley came out, he quickly turned his head and walked into the kitchen.
Niley had sharp senses and naturally knew what had happened next door last night. Following the "if I'm not embarrassed, others will be" principle, she didn't say anything and walked into the kitchen behind him to start heating water to wash up.
Yesterday afternoon, Han and the others had already brought their things back from Mr. Chen's place next door while cleaning the house, so they began washing up too—using cold water.
Niley glanced at them but didn't say a word.
After boiling the water and pouring it into a thermos, she mixed some with cold water to wash up.
After she finished, she saw Han still standing in the kitchen, head down, lost in thought. But that wasn't her business.
She took some ingredients from the cupboard and got ready to make breakfast. Looking at Han, who was just standing there, she asked, "Wanna help?"
She didn't plan anything complicated—just congee with preserved egg and pork, and scallion-flavored ham egg pancakes.
It wasn't that she didn't want to leave the cooking to the Chen brothers, but honestly, she couldn't eat their cooking.
She decided she'd find a proper cook later.
After preparing the ingredients for the congee, she poured the washed rice Han had readied into the pot to cook.
Han quickly lit the fire. She reminded him, "Watch the pot. When the rice softens, add the chopped preserved egg."
Han nodded.
She then turned to make the egg pancakes. Thankfully, she had cooked for the kids at the base many times before, so she was skilled at it.
She prepared enough for seven or eight people, brushed oil onto the pan, and got ready to cook.
At that moment, Xing and the others woke up and rushed to the kitchen to wash up.
"Big Brother, what are you cooking?"
Xing shouted before even entering the kitchen. When he walked in and saw Niley, his face changed instantly. Pointing at her, he yelled, "It's you! You bullied Second Brother all night!"
Niley rolled her eyes wordlessly.
Xing got even louder.
Lei, who had followed him in a few steps later, rushed forward and covered Xing's mouth, giving Niley an apologetic smile. "Fifth Brother's still young and doesn't understand. Please don't be mad."
Xing struggled out of his grasp and glared at Niley. "Fourth Brother, why are you apologizing to her? She's just like Jiang Yu—neither of them are good women!"
"Get out!"
Niley snapped impatiently, tired of the noise, though her hands didn't stop flipping the pancakes.
Lei saw how skilled she was and looked surprised. He ignored the out-of-control Xing, hoping he wouldn't regret it later.
He shook his head and walked over to Niley. "Wife, can you teach me how to cook this?"
Niley found it strange to be called "wife" by anyone other than Mier, but she figured it was just a title and didn't bother correcting him. Raising a brow, she asked, "You want to learn?"
Even though Lei and Liam were twins, they didn't look exactly alike. One had sharp, snake-like features with a gloomy vibe, while the other looked clean and gentle, with an air of calmness.
This one at least acted human.
When he nodded, Niley smiled slightly. "Watch closely."
She then began teaching him how to make pancakes.
Seeing that neither of his brothers were on his side, Xing felt extremely wronged. Glancing toward his third brother, he stomped his foot and said, "I'm going to find Third Brother!"
Lei sighed helplessly. "He's been spoiled since he was little and doesn't know much."
Niley ignored him. After finishing a pancake, she looked at Lei. "Got it?"
Lei was stunned by her straightforward attitude but still stepped up to try. "Let me give it a go."
She stood to the side and watched. He did okay, so she left the rest to him and went to check on the congee, adding in all the ingredients.
Then she told Han, who was still tending the fire, "That's enough fire."
The congee was nearly done. After a couple more minutes, she added the seasonings, drizzled in sesame oil, stirred it, and covered the pot.
She turned and went back to the room to find Mier.
Meanwhile, Xing had gone to find Han and asked him to team up. Han just wanted to stay in Mier's room since it was warmer. The two of them, afraid Niley might be angry, quietly snuck in.
Inside, they saw Mier had just sat up, looking like he'd just woken up.
Xing rushed up to ask about what had happened last night, but Han pulled him back. Xing looked at him confused. "Third Brother, are you also going to pretend that Second Brother didn't get bullied by that woman?"
Mier had just woken up and was surprised to see his brothers. When he realized he'd overslept again, he blushed. Hearing Xing's words, he frowned. "Bullied?"
"You, Second Brother! You were begging her to stop all night. Didn't she bully you?"
Xing looked serious as he nodded. After all, Mier was never afraid of pain or hardship. Why else would he beg for mercy?
Hearing this, Mier's face turned completely red. He jumped up to explain, but in his panic, his clothes fell off.
His bare upper body was covered in bruises and bite marks. The chain around his waist was still on.
Xing stared at the scene. Even as naive as he was, he finally understood what his brother had really gone through. Curiously, he picked up the chain. "Second Brother, what's this?"
Mier quickly covered his face and dove under the blanket.