"I haven't forgotten!" Zhou Ri said, a hint of petulance in his voice.
He adjusted the bundle of chopped wood he was carrying, holding it steady with his hand. "It's precisely because I believe in Brother that I don't want to see him being ordered around by that woman!"
Zhou Ri quickly walked to the front of the group, then turned and walked backward. "Brothers, are you content following behind her? Are you content staying in this godforsaken place forever? We weren't exactly well-off before, but life in the Lin manor was bearable. What is this now!"
As he spoke, his anger grew. He finally threw the wood he was carrying onto the snowy ground and stomped on it in defiance.
Zhou Ri's three consecutive questions drew helpless smiles from Zhou Yi and the others. Only Zhou Er tried to pacify him, "Don't think like that. Brother has his reasons for doing this. We just need to listen."
"You chopped it with difficulty, and you'll have to chop it again if it breaks. Zhou Ri, you should be more sensible," Zhou Liu chimed in. He truly couldn't fathom why Zhou Ri, just a few days younger than him, was so rebellious. He really wanted to roll up his sleeves and give him a good beating. However, since his brothers hadn't stepped in, he had to hold back.
Zhou San gently picked up the discarded wood. "Alright, children have tantrums, and they pass. Just make sure the Mistress doesn't notice later."
"What if she notices!" Zhou Ri became even more upset. "What can she do to me with her sickly appearance!"
It was Zhou Yi who ruthlessly broke his delusion, "If you want to leave, we brothers won't stop you."
Zhou Ri suddenly felt a wave of injustice. "Brother Yi, that's not what I meant! I just... I just..." Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke.
"Alright," Zhou San put an arm around him, patting his shoulder. "Our little sun just feels these tasks are beneath you, right?"
"Yes!" Zhou Ri nodded emphatically. "Aren't all of us brothers among the best? Do we really need to endure such humiliation in this poor place?"
Zhou Si and Zhou Wu, who had been silent, merely exchanged glances and shook their heads. They couldn't blame Zhou Ri for his outburst. It was simply that their Mistress hid her abilities too well. Zhou Yi, Zhou Er, Zhou San, and Zhou Ri had been sent out on errands and hadn't acted with the Mistress before, so they were unaware of her strength, which was understandable. These two, along with Zhou Liu, had witnessed the Mistress's capabilities. All they could say was: Brother's surrender was a very wise choice.
However... Before they could even try to persuade him, the "little sun" started his tirade again. "If you ask me, we can carve out a name for ourselves in the martial world if we go solo!"
Zhou Si: You truly haven't seen the world.
Zhou Wu: Will he really not get beaten up like this?
Zhou Liu: Stop talking, I already want to hit him...
The "little sun" continued to ramble, completely oblivious to the concerned glances of his brothers. "Also, don't you think she's too harsh on the Eldest Miss?"
Finally, Zhou San couldn't stand it any longer. "Little sun, that's enough."
"No! This is not enough!" The more Zhou Ri spoke, the more impassioned he became. If someone handed him a megaphone at that moment, he would have wanted to climb onto a high platform and shout his words to everyone.
"You shut up!" Zhou Yi finally growled, ready to grab him.
Zhou Ri dropped his wood and ran, shouting back mockingly, "And you, Brother Yi, always being with you and that blockhead, I'll go crazy sooner or later! I..." Before he could finish, he felt something soft bump into him from behind. Then, as if pushed, he fell face-first into the snow.
He scrambled out of the snow, shaking his head to clear the snow from his face, and shouted angrily, "Who was it!"
However, as he turned, he saw Song Qing Chao standing there, looking concerned. "Are you alright?" She was wearing a dark red cloak with white floral patterns, and as she gently bent down, her green underskirt was revealed. Graceful and elegant, her slightly frost-kissed face was framed by white fur, revealing only her beautiful eyes. She smiled, her eyes curving, her smile more captivating than the dawn reflecting on snow, exuding an indescribable radiant beauty.
Even though she was the one bumped into, she was now worrying about the furious instigator. This made Zhou Ri, who had been bad-mouthing her all along, feel a pang of guilt, but the thought quickly vanished. He just looked down on these sickly people! If it weren't for Brother's orders, he would never have associated with someone like her!
"Is the Mistress alright?" It was Zhou Yi who rushed forward to check on Song Qing Chao.
Zhou Ri turned his head stubbornly, wiping the melting snow from his face with his hand. While his brothers were all apologizing on his behalf, he stood stiffly, his neck unbent. Little Six, who had been pulling at him, found it futile and then directly kicked him behind the knee. His legs buckling slightly, Zhou Ri exploded in anger, "What are you doing!"
Zhou Yi shot him a glare. "You bumped into the Mistress, why aren't you apologizing immediately!"
"But I'm the one who's hurt!" Zhou Ri exclaimed, feeling wronged.
Song Qing Chao quickly intervened, "I'm fine. Get up quickly, and don't blame Zhou Ri. Children can be mischievous."
"I'm not a child!" Zhou Ri shouted up at the sky.
Song Qing Chao: ... She didn't know what to say. It was the first time she had seen someone refuse a way out. While she had indeed orchestrated it, she hadn't expected this child to be so stubborn. Her heart felt weary; it was like raising a child... Song Qing Chao felt an unprecedented urgency for Zhou Zheng Xi to return. She wondered how Zhou Zheng Xi and Bai You An were getting along. Those two... it was hard to say. But she didn't have the luxury of worrying about others now; she needed to sort out her own mess first. Finally, after much persuasion and assurances that she was truly unharmed, Song Qing Chao managed to ease the worries of the Zhou brothers.
"Four, five, six, and Little Sun, stay and assemble the fence. The rest of you, follow me to move the supplies, alright?" Soon, everyone went about their tasks according to the division of labor. Only Zhou Ri remained stubbornly sulking.
Zhou Si: "I advise you to work honestly and stop thinking about useless things."
Zhou Wu: "If you act like this, you'll surely be disciplined when Brother returns."
Zhou Liu: "Who here can you even beat?"
Zhou Ri: ...
Zhou Ri stormed off angrily.
Zhou Si: "Should we go find him?"
Zhou Wu: "I don't think so..."
Zhou Liu: "I think we should find him and give him a good thrashing first."
Zhou Ri, who had only walked half a meter away, instantly retreated and cried out, "You are my own brothers!"
Zhou Si and Zhou Wu said in unison: "We're doing it for your own good."
Zhou Liu: "Hitting is love, scolding is affection."
Zhou Ri: ...
Immediately, the two began to wrestle, rolling around in the snow. On the other side, Zhou Si watched the spectacle with his arms crossed. "Who do you think will win?"
Zhou Wu planted the wood into the ground. "Can Little Sun beat Little Six?"