Xiao Si didn't know why, but he disliked Long Rui getting close to Xiao Bei, and subconsciously said so.
Long Rui's smile froze. "Who are you?"
Xiao Si pursed his lips and remained silent, but his gaze met Long Rui's without fear. At twelve years old, how could he be afraid of an eight-year-old cub!
Shu Bei glanced at one, then the other. Seeing that they were about to fight, she helplessly stood between them, pushing them apart with her arms. "What are you doing, what are you doing? We're family, we don't fight. I don't like playing with you males, I'm going to play with Duo Duo."
Saying that, she walked past them to find Duo Duo behind.
The children here were precocious in some ways, and not in others. Xiao Si's gaze followed Shu Bei's retreating back, carrying something that shouldn't be there at his age.
Long Rui narrowed his eyes, took two steps forward, and said in a low voice, "Xiao Bei is mine. You'd better stay away from her. You're just an ordinary Winged Serpent, you can't compare to me. If you don't want to be too embarrassed by the comparison, give up your ideas early."
Xiao Si's breathing hitched. He didn't know how to refute, because he knew that this younger brother was telling the truth. The gap between them wasn't obvious now, but it would grow larger in the future. Winged Serpents couldn't compare to Dragon Beasts...
Taking a deep breath, he said calmly, "So what? As long as Xiao Bei likes me in the future, you won't have a chance. Also, you're too young. When Xiao Bei comes of age, I will propose. You'll still be a child then."
After speaking, he walked away to retrieve the beast skin bag he had brought from under a nearby tree, which contained honey water and various small fruits. He walked without stopping to give them to the girls.
He received a chorus of praise.
Leaving behind a sullen Long Rui, who could only watch helplessly!
He was three years younger than Shu Bei. When Shu Bei came of age, he would only be fifteen. Shu Bei was so popular, would she wait for him to grow up?
Long Rui disliked growing up too slowly for the first time. If only his mother had given birth to him earlier!
Long Rui walked over dejectedly and joined the girls' pretend play. His heart was heavy. Not only did he have to watch the one he liked, but he also had to watch his silly sister. Alas, if only Xiao Bei were like his sister!
No, he had to go back and ask his father how to do it...
The girls liked to shape mud into various forms, preferably resembling food. They played with ordinary mud. If they shaped it today and let it dry for a day, it would crack the next day, and they would have to reshape it.
But it didn't matter, they enjoyed the process.
Duo Duo, Shu Bei, and Shu An were together. The three of them were of similar age and had common topics. Xiao Si was not far from them, helping them shape mud. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Duo Duo swallowed the last bite of fruit and said in a very certain whisper, "Xiao Bei, Xiao Si ge and Long Rui both like you."
Shu Bei didn't react much after hearing this. "What's so strange about that? Long Yang di di, and your di di, and other di dis all like me."
Except for Shu Ke and Xiao Si, they were all her brothers.
Duo Duo choked for a moment and said mysteriously, "Xiao Bei, I don't mean it that way."
"Then what do you mean?"
Just as Duo Duo was about to explain clearly, she was stopped by Shu An. "Duo Duo jie, Xiao Si ge is eavesdropping."
Caught off guard, Xiao Si blushed and quickly clarified, "No, I wasn't eavesdropping!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he had betrayed himself, making the young man so embarrassed...
Duo Duo pouted and snorted, "I'm not playing with you anymore. You were eavesdropping on our conversation!"
Xiao Si: "..."
"Is it okay if I move farther away? I won't eavesdrop on you, don't worry." Saying that, he quietly walked away. However, his intention to help shape mud was thwarted because Shu Ke grabbed him by the neck and pulled him aside.
What fun was it for a few males to play house? Fighting was the real business. There was no reason other than wanting to fight. Several boys started fighting, but judging from the situation, there was some personal vendetta involved. As for who had a personal vendetta with whom, it was unclear.
Duo Duo watched them go off to fight before continuing their previous topic. "Xiao Bei, I said Xiao Si and Long Rui like you, meaning they want to be your mates when they grow up."
Shu Bei's mud-rolling action didn't stop, and she didn't seem surprised. "I know. Father told me to stay away from both of them."
What was this? Wente had reminded her two daughters eight hundred times that these boys had ill intentions and no good intentions. Take the food, but don't agree to anything.
Because of this last sentence, the couple even argued. In Wente's opinion, females should be unreasonable like this. If males wanted to pursue females, how could they not pay?
And it was natural for females to accept, as it was given voluntarily, not forced.
But Shu Yue thought that since she didn't like them, she shouldn't string them along. If she was indeed interested in them, it wouldn't be too late to accept gifts and develop a relationship.
It was a rare argument, and the victor was naturally the mistress of the house. But in private, Wente didn't want his daughter to suffer, so he secretly reminded her.
This was the first act of defiance that Wente committed, and Shu Yue still didn't know about it.
Duo Duo twitched her lips. Well, her father had told her the same thing.
Girls, by nature, loved gossip, especially about their best friends' romantic problems, which they cared about more than their own. She asked curiously, "Then who do you like?"
Shu Bei still answered without hesitation, "I don't know. We'll talk about growing up when we grow up. What if neither of them is good-looking when they grow up? Then I won't like either of them."
Shu An glanced at her sister. What did Mother say? Hmm... a looks-oriented person. Her sister was already looks-oriented before she even grew up!
This answer made Duo Duo a little dissatisfied, and she asked Shu An, "Xiao An, what about you? Who do you like?"
Shu An's answer was even calmer. "Whoever is the most powerful and treats me well in the future, I will like."
She didn't want to like someone else first. What if she liked a male, and that male didn't like her? Wouldn't that be troublesome? She would have to find someone else to like. It was better to wait for others to like her first.
"Uh..." Duo Duo was speechless. Why were these sisters the same!
The questioner couldn't escape being asked. Shu Bei curiously asked her, "Duo Duo, you seem to understand so much. Do you have someone you like?"
Upon hearing that she was being asked, Duo Duo's face instantly turned red, the kind of blood-red. Such an anomaly meant she definitely had something to hide!
Shu An glanced at the males and said strangely, "You really do? I didn't notice anyone you liked."
Duo Duo excitedly retorted, "No! No! I don't like anyone!"
Even though she was in a hurry to refute, she subconsciously lowered her voice, afraid that some young male would hear her, and she would have no face to see them.
"Then why are you blushing?" The two sisters stopped kneading and focused on watching her.
Duo Duo said anxiously, "No, really no!" She truly didn't like anyone, but she didn't know why she blushed when this topic was brought up...
"I'm just shy. Don't ask me such questions in the future." This was also an honest child.
Shu Bei looked at her suspiciously, feeling that it wasn't simple.
Duo Duo patted her face to cool it down. "Really no. My mother said that when choosing a partner, you should find someone strong, not only capable of supporting the family but also good to their partner. I'm waiting for them to grow up, and then I'll be able to tell."
"Hmph, isn't that what all females hope for?" Shu Bei pouted and continued kneading the mud.
The three little girls, like little adults, had innocence on their faces, yet they were discussing 'mature' topics, as if liking someone was just a matter of saying it, when in fact, they didn't understand its true meaning at all.
"Children, you've played for quite a while, it's time to go home for dinner~" The parents came out to call the children home for dinner.
"Okay, we're coming!" They neatly arranged the wet mud they had shaped, waiting to play again tomorrow.
They weren't afraid of it being destroyed; they could just reshape it. In the children's minds, there was plenty of time, and they always looked forward to tomorrow.