Chapter 120: Juanjuan: I Have My Brothers

Because she was worried about the kids at home, Jiang Dai sped up her storytelling pace that day.

As soon as she left the Liang residence, she hurried back home.

“Ma Zi, what are you staring at?”

On the street, someone clapped Wang Maquan on the shoulder.

Wang Maquan snapped out of it and looked at the man beside him. “Wasn’t that haunted house in Niantao Village taken care of by San Kandao?”

“Yeah, it was! That’s San Kandao we’re talking about! He’s actually killed people!”

Wang Maquan frowned. “But I think I just saw that woman.”

“You must’ve seen wrong. No way! You have no idea how much commission Boss Kang paid…”

Wang Maquan didn’t dwell on it. He turned and went off with his buddy to Cloud Rain Pavilion¹.

In front of the Bai family home.

Juanjuan was playing with the neighbor girls, her little face flushed pink. She looked completely different from before.

“Juanjuan, is that your mom?” one of the girls asked.

At the sound of the question, Juanjuan immediately turned around. A graceful figure had appeared in her line of sight.

It was her mother, who had left early that morning.

“Mom!”

The little one ran over excitedly and threw herself into her mother’s arms.

Her forehead was damp with sweat, and her big, clear puppy-dog eyes sparkled as her little chest rose and fell with unsteady breaths.

It was obvious—she’d had a great time playing.

Jiang Dai gently brushed the loose strands of hair from Juanjuan’s ear. “Want to go home with Mommy, or keep playing here?”

Juanjuan wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. “Go home with Mommy!”

After saying goodbye to the neighbor girls, Juanjuan took her mother’s hand and headed home.

【I wonder if those three brothers ran off again!】

Juanjuan shook her little head. Nope, they didn’t.

Though she couldn’t quite understand why.

Clearly, Eldest Brother and Third Brother had things they really wanted to do outside. But not only had they stayed home, they’d been obedient and even helped out.

It didn’t take long for Juanjuan to find out why.

At the dinner table, Jiang Dai handed out some candied fruits she’d bought on the way home.

Looking at her four well-behaved, polite children—who waited patiently for their food without a single complaint—Jiang Dai felt completely at ease and couldn’t help but praise them.

“My precious babies are so good. Don’t run off, and if you’re going somewhere, just let Mom and Dad know so we don’t worry.”

Bai Tian chimed in with praise, “Exactly! The four of them helped me with a ton of chores today! We’ve got to work hard and earn money!”

“And then…”

Bai Tian looked at the four kids. “Make sure our little ones eat well, drink well, and have a happy life!”

Bai Yunqi looked at his cheerful, naive parents and couldn’t help but chuckle, then echoed, “Right! Mom and Dad, you work hard to earn silver!”

Bai Yunxing thought to himself, if he really were the biological child of this couple, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“I’ll work hard to earn silver too! I’ll spend it on Mom and Dad!”

Bai Yun’an wore a harmless, soft smile as he spoke the kind of words everyone loved to hear.

Juanjuan looked at her brothers, then at her parents. “I’ll study hard too, and earn… earn silver in the future!”

“Good, good, good! Now eat up.”

Jiang Dai was all smiles. Mutual love and effort really did bring such joy.

The rest days were over, and the private school was about to start again.

Bai Tian had been walking the four kids to school for a few days. On the third day, during breakfast, Bai Yun’an made a suggestion.

“Dad, we can walk home with Zheng Xian and the others. You don’t need to take us anymore.”

“Other kids don’t get walked to school by their parents.”

Bai Yunqi added, “Exactly, Dad, Mom! No one else gets walked to school. If you keep coming with us, we won’t be able to walk back with Zheng Xian and the others.”

【Even though I’m not exactly thrilled to walk with that skinny little Zheng Xian.】

As usual, Juanjuan quietly ate her meal while listening to her brothers’ inner thoughts.

Keeping secrets had gone from something deliberate to a habit. After all, she’d been through enough to stay calm now.

Jiang Dai and Bai Tian exchanged a glance. It was true—around here, parents didn’t usually walk their kids to school. The children went on their own.

And their home wasn’t far from the school. Plus, there were two other kids nearby who could walk with them.

“Alright then.”

Jiang Dai thought it over and agreed, though she still gave them a few reminders.

…

“Bye, Mom!”

Juanjuan waved at her parents standing in the courtyard.

“Juanjuan, let’s go!”

Not far away, Bai Yunqi had two bags slung over his shoulders, one of which belonged to his little sister.

There was no helping it. She was still too young and too short. If the bag weighed her down and stunted her growth, that wouldn’t be good.

“Coming!”

Juanjuan hustled over with her short little legs and joined Bai Yunqi, then followed her brothers toward the school.

It was obvious that without their parents tagging along, the three brothers were in much better spirits.

The little one walked beside her eldest brother, looking obedient on the outside. In reality, she was eavesdropping on her brothers’ inner thoughts—and was utterly shocked by what she heard.

Bai Yunqi: 【Not bad at all. As expected, no need to rush. After a few days of playing the obedient child and not running off, we got to go out during the rest days, and now Mom and Dad don’t even walk us to school.】

【Soon, I’ll have plenty of time to go treasure hunting.】

Bai Yun’an: 【Retreat to advance. It really works. Lower their guard, then secretly do what I want. Easy.】

Juanjuan: !!!

So that’s what’s going on!

Big Brother and Third Brother are totally in sync!

Bai Yunqi sighed inwardly: 【The spiritual energy here is way too thin. Probably no way to cultivate. I’ll just have to strengthen my body and use qi in emergencies.】

【Still gotta rely on Mom and Dad. No idea how much silver they’ve made, but there’s definitely more spiritual energy at home now than before.】

Juanjuan blinked: So Big Brother’s got his eye on the family’s silver?

Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed. Before she could react, her brother pulled her behind him.

“Hey!”

A rude voice rang out from ahead.

Juanjuan peeked out from behind her brother and saw three older boys.

Each one looked a bit taller than her eldest brother.

At any other time, Juanjuan might have been a little scared.

But now that she knew who her brothers really were, she stayed perfectly calm.

In fact, she was curious—what did these three want?

Translator’s Notes