Chapter 23: Exercising My Rights in Advance

When Chu Peihan heard her concerned voice, his expression softened. He couldn’t lose his temper—he definitely couldn’t scare her.

Chu Shuangjiang and Chu Shuangsheng watched the scene in front of them, little heads filled with big question marks. They suddenly felt like something wasn’t right.

They had just come over to stir up trouble out of boredom, and normally, Chu Peihan never even looked at them, let alone reacted.

Yet now, they had barely given her a push—and he came out?!

Chu Peihan carefully helped Jiang Yunhe to her feet before turning to them, his expression cold:
“Apologize.”

Chu Shuangjiang stood with hands on hips and an angry face:
“Apologize? Her? As if! You old jinx! When did you two start hooking up? I’m telling Uncle!”

Chu Peihan grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back:
“Come back here. Stand properly!”

Jiang Yunhe was once again shocked—wasn’t he supposed to have bad eyesight?

How was he always able to precisely hit the target?

Even Chu Shuangjiang didn’t expect Chu Peihan to get physical. Before this, Chu Peihan’s usual response was simply ignoring them—as if they didn’t exist.

Now though…

“Old jinx! You dare hit me!”

“I’ll say it one more time: Apologize.” Chu Peihan wasn’t a man of patience—especially not with these two little brats.

He had already been in the military before they were even born.

He had always been busy… never had a chance to meet them.

After their parents had the accident, he rushed back, only to find the family elders had already decided their eldest uncle would raise the two of them. At that time, Chu Peihan simply didn’t have the capacity to take them in—so he had to compromise.

But even so, all these years in the military, he never missed a single payment of their child support or allowance. Everything was transferred to them without delay.

So much so that when he later got into an accident, he didn’t even have money for medical bills. If not for his comrades pitching in, not to mention his eyes—he might not have survived at all.

In the time since he returned, Chu Shuangjiang and Chu Shuangsheng kept showing up, trying to guilt-trip him and get money or stuff.

When he ignored them, they’d come up with all sorts of excuses to steal things.

Out of brotherly sentiment, Chu Peihan never stooped to their level. But today, they had really crossed the line.

“Chu Shuangjiang, apologize, or I’ll go talk to Uncle myself. I want to know—do two eight-year-olds really know how to be this obnoxious on their own, or is there an adult behind it coaching them?”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Chu Shuangjiang glared, clearly rattled. Chu Peihan had struck a nerve.

Jiang Yunhe stood nearby, watching quietly, her heart feeling warm.

As long as Chu Peihan was on her side, she didn’t care what else happened.

Chu Shuangsheng, seeing the tense standoff, got scared and tugged on his brother’s sleeve:
“S-second brother, just talk nicely with big brother.”

Chu Shuangjiang shot him a glare:
“You’re taking his side?!”

Chu Shuangsheng:
“I’m not—I didn’t—I’m always on your side, you know that!”

Chu Shuangjiang: “……”
Hmph.

As if he believed a word of that.

If Chu Shuangsheng really stood on his side, that would be a miracle.

Chu Peihan let out a cold laugh:
“Save your breath. If you don’t apologize, you two aren’t going home. I’ll go get a rope and tie you to a tree.”

He said it so casually.

Chu Shuangjiang started to get scared and looked first at Chu Peihan, then at Jiang Yunhe.

Jiang Yunhe raised her eyebrows—children who misbehave need to be taught a lesson. It was her today, but what about next time? What if it were someone else?

Would it all end the same as in her previous life—with Chu Peihan cleaning up their messes?

She didn’t want him to be that exhausted again. That’s why she stayed calm through it all.

Seeing her so unbothered only made Chu Shuangjiang grind his teeth in resentment:
“Tch! Fine, I’ll apologize! Stupid woman, don’t think you’re anything special!”

Jiang Yunhe:
“Stupid woman?”

That was over the line.

There hadn’t been any real conflict between them, yet this brat had shoved her with no warning. That wasn’t normal, no matter how you looked at it.

Chu Shuangjiang:
“Yeah! You’re a stu—”

Before he could finish, he was hoisted off the ground—and then, ouch, a sharp pain hit his butt!

Chu Peihan had tolerated him long enough. If the kid insisted on pushing it and wouldn’t take the off-ramp, then he had no problem using force.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

A few slaps later, Chu Shuangjiang was stunned. The next second, he burst into tears, crying loud enough for the whole village to hear—like he was the one being wronged.

Chu Shuangsheng, terrified, covered his eyes and backed away. He now saw his big brother in a whole new light—what a tyrant! Absolutely ruthless!

Jiang Yunhe stepped forward, blocking his view.

Chu Shuangsheng looked at her, eyes welling up. He was about to cry too, but forced himself to say:
“Y-you… we were wrong, Sister Yunhe! Please don’t let Big Brother keep hitting him—he’ll hurt Second Brother!”

Jiang Yunhe:
“You’re wrong—he didn’t hit you, and you didn’t push me. You two aren’t the same person.”

Chu Shuangsheng: “……”

She… had a point. And he couldn’t argue with it.

But he was still mad. What now?!

Chu Shuangjiang turned to glare at Jiang Yunhe, thinking: “Calling her a bad woman was being nice!”

Jiang Yunhe looked calm and fearless.

She had dealt with far worse people in her life. A bratty eight-year-old? Please. If someone like him could threaten her, she might as well give up on life.

Chu Peihan noticed the boy still didn’t seem to feel guilty—in fact, he looked even more defiant. That only made him angrier.

What should have been a simple apology had escalated because the kid refused to back down. And if they kept acting this way, they’d grow up rotten.

“Keep staring? I dare you!”

“I will! What—just because you’re blind doesn’t mean no one else can look!” Chu Shuangjiang clearly knew how to hit where it hurt. His words were cutting.

Jiang Yunhe was immediately enraged. She turned with a chilling expression:

“Chu Peihan, do you mind if I exercise my big-sister-in-law privileges a little early?”

“I don’t mind,” Chu Peihan replied casually. After she spoke, he even shoved Chu Shuangjiang toward her—totally cooperative.

As long as she asked, there was nothing he wouldn’t do.

“Come. Let’s talk over there.” Jiang Yunhe’s posture was relaxed, but her tone? Not so much.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think she was planning to kill someone.