“What’s going on between you and Xiao Chu?”

As soon as Grandpa Pei’s voice fell, all the eyes of the Pei family turned to Pei Zhengnian.

This matter…

Pei Zhengnian fell silent.

He looked toward Shen Nanchu.

Shen Nanchu shifted her gaze nervously.

“This is all my fault.”

Since it had already happened and there was a child involved, Pei Zhengnian had no intention of shirking responsibility.

“Kneel down.”

With a thud, Pei Zhengnian knelt straight down.

Shen Nanchu silently mourned for his knees for three seconds.

“Left hand.”

Father Pei picked up a freshly made wild grass whip, ready to deliver some tough love.

“And the right hand.”

Pei’s Mother grabbed a freshly broken tree branch.

The couple exchanged a glance, perfectly in sync.

One, two, one, two, one, two…

A perfect mixed doubles team—no fatigue.

Shen Nanchu quietly lifted the corner of her eye to peek.

Even the system was front and center, enjoying the spectacle.

Shen Nanchu: “Tell me, does this kind of whipping hurt?”

System: “Judging by the male lead’s reaction, it doesn’t seem to hurt at all. In fact, he looks like he’s enjoying it.”

Shen Nanchu nodded thoughtfully. Made sense.

Didn’t she even see him deliberately raising his hands a bit more, ready to take the hits?

Definitely a masochist!

Wait a minute.

Suddenly, Shen Nanchu felt enlightened.

Why was the male lead no longer giving her any disgust points?

Turns out she was using the wrong approach.

If someone’s a masochist, hitting them isn’t torture—it’s pleasure.

But Shen Nanchu wanted to make Pei Zhengnian unhappy!

(ꈍ︹ꈍ๑✿)

She had it all backwards.

Time to set things right, starting now.

……

Pei Yunzhou was somewhat speechless.

What exactly were his parents doing?

Weren’t they supposed to be punishing his second brother?

Why was their effort so much lighter than usual?

Back in the day, his parents were the kind of heroes who could snap a whip with just one strike!

ᕕ༼•̀︿•́༽ᕗ

No surprise he was the least favored in the family.

……

Watching Shen Nanchu occasionally cast a sly glance at Pei Zhengnian, Grandpa Pei and Grandma Pei’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

The widow-in-law and the younger uncle—admittedly, it went against social norms.

But if they didn’t talk about it, who would know?

Girls grow up and change—only getting more beautiful.

Even if they returned to the capital, who would dare spread gossip?

Besides, with all that Shen Nanchu had done for the Pei family, Grandpa and Grandma Pei were itching for their second son, this silly boy, to bring that girl home as his wife.

Good cabbage left outside the garden always gets trampled by pigs.

Father Pei and Pei’s Mother had been hitting Pei Zhengnian for so long that Shen Nanchu felt sorry for his hands.

Luckily, it wasn’t her problem for now.

Well, after all the blame Pei Zhengnian had taken, Shen Nanchu felt a tiny bit guilty—but just a tiny bit!

“System, what do you think is better: one person getting punished, or both of them?”

The system knew this one well.

“Host, it’s definitely better for only one person to get punished!”

Exactly—better the colleague dies than the queen.

In an instant, Shen Nanchu tossed that tiny bit of guilt all the way to Java.

Better for Pei Zhengnian to shoulder it all alone!

After Father Pei and Pei’s Mother called out to Pei Zhengnian many times, Grandma Pei finally stepped in to smooth things over.

“Since it’s already happened, it has to be resolved.”

“Xiao Nian, how do you plan to handle this?”

How to handle it?

Pei Zhengnian lowered his head.

“Once I join the army tomorrow, I’ll report our marriage to the higher-ups.”

Wait, so the eldest sister-in-law is becoming the second sister-in-law?

Pei Yunxi and Pei Yunzhou exchanged glances.

They wondered if the eldest brother would jump out of his coffin to give the second brother a good beating.

Hold on, that can’t be right—eldest brother died without a body, so no coffin.

Grandma Pei glanced at Shen Nanchu, then gave a nod to Pei Zhengnian.

“Marriage is something between two people; you can’t decide it alone.”

At that moment, the ever low-profile Shen Nanchu suddenly became the center of attention.

Everyone looked at Shen Nanchu, then back at Pei Zhengnian.

Shen Nanchu raised her head and looked at Pei Zhengnian.

What did this mean?

Why was everyone staring at him?

Pei Zhengnian was covered in question marks.

The system spying on this scene was getting frantic.

Is this male lead’s brain made of steel?

If you want to get married, how can you not ask the host’s permission first?

Not to mention some grand proposal ceremony—at least a knee on the ground, right?

Really, who invented this kind of male lead? Even a steel furnace would reject him as an impurity.

Grandma Pei looked at her dazed second grandson and twitched her mouth hard.

The path has been paved for you, and you can’t even climb it?

Grandpa Pei was so annoyed he turned his back.

Back in the day when he was chasing Grandma Pei, he was smooth as silk. How did it come to this?

Hmph—each generation is worse than the last.

Grandpa Pei rolled his eyes at Father Pei.

Father Pei was confused.

Why was his father randomly rolling his eyes at him again?

In the end, it was Pei’s Mother who came out to smooth things over.

“Mom, you’re right. This really is something for Xiaonian and Xiaochu to decide themselves. Let them work it out.”

“That’s right.”

Grandma Pei tugged Grandpa Pei’s sleeve, and the elderly couple led the way out of the room.

Father Pei followed closely behind them.

Pei’s Mother pulled Pei Yunxi and Pei Yunzhou, who wanted to stay and watch the drama, along with her.

Pei Yunzhou was thoughtful enough to close the door behind them.

Outside in the yard.

Grandma Pei rubbed her old back and shouted, “My old back’s aching—I need to lie down.”

“Let me help you back, wife,” Grandpa Pei said with vigor.

The next moment, the two old folks pressed against the door, ears perked up, listening to the sounds inside.

Pei’s Mother was speechless.

“I’ll go chop wood,” Father Pei quickly responded, joining the eavesdropping team.

“I’ll go read a book.”

“Sis, I can’t figure out this problem. Can you help me?”

Even Pei Yunxi and Pei Yunzhou lined up neatly.

Pei’s Mother…

Fine! She joined in too.

๑(°口°)

๑(°口°)°口°)

Inside the room, Pei Zhengnian and Shen Nanchu sat in opposite corners, a wide distance between them.

Pei Zhengnian said nothing. Shen Nanchu thought for a moment, then spoke.

But before she spoke, she took three minutes to gather her emotions.

Pei Zhengnian still hadn’t figured it out.

Hadn’t he already solved this?

And perfectly, at that.

Shen Nanchu had a husband now, someone to raise the kids, and a steady provider.

What else was there to complain about?

It was enough to drive a person crazy.

Pei Zhengnian felt this was harder than fighting an enemy for three hundred rounds.

Women—what a headache.

And Shen Nanchu was even more troublesome.

Maybe he should just try the same tactics he used to train new recruits in the army?

Pei Zhengnian thought that might just work.

He waited until he took a sip of water before coming back—after working hard most of the day, he was parched to death.

At this moment,

Shen Nanchu arrived.

This time, she truly came armed with an improved approach.

Her eyes shimmered with tears, the tip of her nose flushed red, and her lips lightly bitten—like raindrops clinging to a spring pear branch, delicate and shy, hiding a fragile tenderness.

“Brother Pei, do you think I’m not good enough for you? It’s okay, I understand~~~”

Pfft~~~

Pei Zhengnian, who had just taken a sip, suddenly sprayed the water out.

Every drop landed squarely on Shen Nanchu’s face, which was already tinged with the bitterness of tea.

Not a single drop missed.

༽◣_◢༼

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep