Boom…

Qin Shouye felt a sharp pain in his head.

What had he just heard?

He heard Uncle Hong calling out to General and Madam.

The general was, of course, his elder brother, which meant that Madam was his sister-in-law, right?

Qin Shouye stared more closely at the young man in the sky-blue outfit.

No wonder he found this young man familiar; this was his sister-in-law!

So, Qin Shoucheng…

He now wished he could grab Qin Shoucheng and beat him up.

This Qin Shoucheng, so young yet with such poor judgment!

He was embarrassed himself, and now he had implicated Qin Shouye.

However, Qin Shouye felt that Qin Shoucheng should also suffer a bit; otherwise, he would have worried all afternoon for nothing.

Qin Fang narrowed his eyes and stared at the dazed Qin Shouye, asking, “Shouye, what are you staring at your sister-in-law for?”

Qin Shouye came to his senses and stammered, “I see… It’s sister-in-law! I was wondering why this young brother looked so familiar; it turns out to be sister-in-law! Hahaha…”

Yang Haiyan laughed and said, “Of course! Today I disguised myself as a man to go out for a stroll, and it was quite comfortable. But what about you, Shouye? What are you doing here? Are you waiting for me, or do you have something you don’t understand in the accounts?”

Qin Shouye replied, “Sister-in-law, this is a long story.”

Qin Fang snorted, “Then make it short.”

Qin Shouye hesitated, sensing his elder brother’s mood was not good. To prove his innocence, he shamelessly sold out Qin Shoucheng. “Elder Brother, it was Shoucheng who suspected you of having an affair with a young man, right, sister-in-law? That’s why I was waiting at the door for you, wanting to ask about this matter.”

As soon as these words came out, Qin Fang’s previously calm expression darkened. “What did you say? An affair with a young man?”

Damn it!

He was innocent.

Qin Fang quickly turned to Yang Haiyan, saying, “I don’t have any! What’s up with a man?! I only like women. No, no, I only like you!”

Yang Haiyan couldn’t help but laugh at the brothers’ antics. “Why did Shoucheng suddenly say you have an affair with a young man?”

After thinking for a moment, she continued, “Is it because he saw us buying food at the academy gate?”

That seemed to be the only possibility.

As for Qin Fang having an affair with a young man?

That was impossible.

After all, Qin Fang was lively and energetic when he was with her.

Qin Shouye added, “Yes, he said he saw Elder Brother being very affectionate towards a young man, suspecting that Elder Brother was involved with him. So he pretended to be sick and took a leave from the teacher, then came back to tell me this. So… Elder Brother, it’s really not my fault.”

Hearing this, Qin Fang clenched his fists, his fingers cracking audibly with frustration.

What was this nonsense about being involved with a young man?

What was this about pretending to be sick and taking a leave?

Qin Fang coldly said, “At such a young age, he knows nothing about propriety. Can unverified things be treated as facts? Even if there are things, he shouldn’t lie to the teacher and take a leave. I think he needs a good lesson.”

He could be suspected of many things, but he could not accept the suspicion of being involved with a young man.

Qin Shouye tightly pursed his lips, not saying a word, afraid of getting into trouble.

Qin Fang turned to Yang Haiyan and said, “Yanyan, there’s still plenty of time before dinner. I’m going to find him and have a talk. This kid needs to be properly taught a lesson; otherwise, he’ll go too far.”

Yang Haiyan, naturally unconcerned about their brotherly interactions, smiled and said, “I’ll wait for you for half an hour. We’ll have dinner in half an hour.”

Qin Fang nodded.

After Yang Haiyan left, he looked at Qin Shouye and said, “Call Shoucheng to the training ground. I see he has too much free time and his brain isn’t working. Since that’s the case, let’s find something to keep him busy, or else he’ll get into trouble with all that idle time.”

Qin Shouye thought, “…”

Qin Fang snorted again, “Do you know what to say?”

Qin Shouye thought for a moment and replied, “Just say that Elder Brother is waiting for him at the training ground?”

Qin Fang shot him a glare, saying, “Say it’s about today’s matter, about the affair with a young man. I want to ask him about it.”

As soon as he heard the phrase “affair with a young man,” Qin Shouye felt a shiver run through him.

He was anxious for Qin Shoucheng, but there was nothing he could do. “Misery loves company,” he thought, hoping Shoucheng would take it easy. “I understand, Elder Brother. Don’t worry; I’ll definitely bring Shoucheng to the training ground.”

He usually went to the training ground himself, and even just training for a while left him feeling sore all over.

He could imagine that Shoucheng would have a rough night.

Qin Shouye returned to the courtyard, weighed down with thoughts.

Qin Shoucheng had been reading when he heard his elder brother’s voice and immediately came out of the room.

In fact, he had been waiting for him; without his brother’s return, he couldn’t concentrate on reading. “Elder Brother, you’re back? Where did you go?”

Seeing his concerned expression, Qin Shouye wanted to say, “You’re in for a tough time.”

However, he held back: “I was waiting at the door for Big Brother. I wanted to discuss today’s matter with him.”

Oh, Little Brother, rather than have you take a beating, it might be better if you did.

You’re still young, and if Big Brother hits you, he’ll definitely show some mercy. If he hits me, he won’t hold back at all.

Qin Shoucheng, of course, didn’t understand his elder brother’s gaze.

Hearing his elder brother’s words, he hurriedly asked, “Did you see Big Brother? Dinner is about to be ready. Has he come back?”

Qin Shouye replied, “I was waiting at the door and saw Big Brother. He said that since you witnessed the incident firsthand, he needs to explain it to you. Do you think it’s necessary?” He was giving Shoucheng a chance; as long as Shoucheng thought it wasn’t necessary, he could skip it.

It could be considered his last bit of mercy as an elder brother.

Qin Shoucheng nodded, “Big Brother is so kind to explain it to me. However, since I discovered this matter first, Big Brother really needs to explain it to me. I’ll go listen to his explanation. If it’s not satisfactory, I still won’t believe him. At that point, we can tell Father and Mother and see what they say.”

Qin Shouye felt that his younger brother was hopeless. “Big Brother is waiting for you at the training ground. He said it’s quiet there, and no one will disturb you, so he can explain things to you properly. You should go over.”

Qin Shoucheng said, “Then I’ll go. Elder Brother, are you coming?”

He ran a few steps, but when he saw that Qin Shouye didn’t follow, he stopped and asked him.

Qin Shouye calmly said, “I’ve been waiting for Big Brother at the door all afternoon. I’m a bit thirsty now, and I want to use the restroom. I’ll come over later. You go ahead.”

I’ll come to carry you when you’re too beaten up to get up.

As for now, it’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble, so I won’t go.

Qin Shoucheng said, “Alright, then I’ll go first.”

Qin Shouye watched as his younger brother ran further away and suddenly his eyes lit up.

Actually, it wouldn’t be so bad if Little Brother got beaten up by Big Brother.

This way… he could go see Miss Li and ask her for some medicine… for his little brother.

What a good excuse!

Thinking of this, Qin Shouye felt quite happy.

He watched Qin Shoucheng’s retreating figure, imagining what Miss Li looked like when he saw her at noon.

At that thought, his heart surged with warmth.

In his sixteen years of life, he had never felt this way before—the feeling that everything was beautiful simply by thinking of someone.

Qin Shouye wasn’t a naive fool; he understood clearly that he had fallen for Miss Li at first sight.

Just like it was said in books, it was love at first sight.

Then… what about Miss Li?

From the way she looked today, it seemed she didn’t share the same feelings for him.

But that was okay; it could develop slowly.

In a good mood, Qin Shouye went back to his room to pour himself a cup of tea, planning to drink it before heading to the training ground.

He just wondered if his younger brother could last the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

…..

Qin Shoucheng arrived at the training ground and saw his elder brother wielding a big knife. “Big Brother, I’m here!” he shouted.

Qin Fang glanced at him, made a move, and plunged the knife into the chopping block before picking up two wooden swords. “You haven’t slacked off on your training these days, have you?”

Qin Shoucheng replied, “No, I’ve been training with Uncle Kun every day. I practiced for half an hour this afternoon.”

Qin Fang nodded, “If that’s the case, let me see your progress.”

As he spoke, he tossed one of the wooden swords to him.

Qin Shoucheng nearly dropped his jaw. “Big Brother, am I supposed to spar with you?”

Qin Fang raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

Qin Shoucheng looked at his elder brother’s height (193 cm) and then at his own (140 cm).

How could they compare?

In fact, over the past year, Qin Shoucheng had grown several centimeters from following Qin Fang.

For Qin Shoucheng and Qin Siya, Yang Haiyan had specifically arranged for the kitchen to prepare calcium-rich food for them.

Later, when Uncle Kun learned that such food could help children grow taller, he also made sure to provide it.

In an era without calcium tablets or various vitamins, dietary therapy was the best.

In fact, dietary therapy itself was excellent for the body.

Indeed, growing several centimeters over the year made Qin Shoucheng quite happy.

When he was back in his hometown, he didn’t get enough nutrition, so he was small in stature, but the children of similar ages in their village were all like that.

When he got to the border and entered the private school, he found that most of his peers were taller than him, which made him sad for a while.

Later, his sister-in-law said that dietary therapy could help him grow taller, so he followed that advice and never picky about food.

As expected, he grew taller.

But no matter how much he grew, the gap between him and his elder brother was still too large!

Qin Fang didn’t realize his brother’s inner thoughts. “Get ready. Instead of thinking about random things, it’s better to think about how to deal with me.”

Qin Shoucheng said, “Yes.”

He wasn’t afraid of losing, especially since losing to his elder brother wasn’t embarrassing.

So he steadied his sword and began to spar with Qin Fang.

Qin Fang preferred using a big knife, especially a heavyweight one.

Because swords were generally light and had thinner blades, he wasn’t accustomed to using them.

However, he didn’t need to take it seriously when teaching his younger brother.

Qin Shoucheng knew he would lose, but he didn’t expect to lose so thoroughly.

Under his elder brother’s hands, he couldn’t even land a single strike before his sword was knocked away.

Qin Shoucheng’s face flushed, “I…”

Qin Fang said, “Again.”

Qin Shoucheng replied, “Yes.”

As a result, Qin Fang said, “Again.”

Qin Shoucheng answered, “Yes.”

…

Qin Shouye was hiding in a corner, watching as Qin Shoucheng’s sword was knocked away repeatedly, and he was knocked down time and again.

His elder brother really… showed no mercy at all.