"Become an apprentice?"
Wan Yuekui suddenly pushed open the door and repeated the message loudly. The door slammed against the wall with a deafening sound.
The three of them were startled and turned around at the sound.
Wan Yuekui stood angrily at the door, one hand bracing against the door panel, his five fingers turning white. His agitated and furious appearance suggested that he was rescuing someone from Xiao Qi's grasp, rather than stopping his second brother from becoming an apprentice.
He had been listening outside the door for a while and felt that Xiao Qi was a strange person with a deep mind. First, he got close to his sister, and now he wanted to be his brother's teacher. Wasn't this a blatant attempt to bribe him?
Regardless, as the eldest brother of the Wan family, he couldn't stand it anymore. He wouldn't allow this strange man to approach his younger siblings again and again. With his blood boiling, he impulsively pushed open the door to the study as if a divine soldier had descended from the heavens.
Kneeling on the low stool, Wanwan was startled by her brother's sudden appearance and anger. It took her a moment to react. "Brother Kui, what brings you here?"
Wanwan didn't seem to be affected by her older brother's angry appearance, and when she asked a question, she still had a gentle and innocent look.
Meeting Wanwan's sincere gaze, Wan Yuekui's emotions calmed down a bit. He finally climbed down from the door frame and walked straight towards the three of them.
"Big brother?"
Wan Yuechi was still somewhat stunned, as if the pause button had been pressed on his entire body.
The second brother's half-answered question provoked Wan Yuekui, who was still in a bad mood. He adopted the airs of the eldest son and scolded his second brother, "Don't speak."
Wan Yuechi was puzzled, but seeing that his target seemed to be Xiao Qi, he took a step closer to Wanwan and made room for him.
His actions made Wan Yuekui even more arrogant. He thought that the people present were all under 18, and he was considered a young adult among them.
So, he adopted the same fighting style he used to have when he was in a fight. He stepped onto the stool, put his hands on Xiao Qi's desk, and brought his face close to Xiao Qi's, looking like he was about to warn him.
Xiao Qi looked up at him calmly, without any surprise or fear on his face. He held a brush dipped in thick ink in his hand, and the characters he wrote were neat and elegant. The noise of the door opening had not disturbed him in the slightest.
His dark eyes were like a calm lake, and when Wan Yuekui met his serene gaze, he felt a little embarrassed.
"Young Master Wan was dissatisfied just now, did you think it was beneath Second Young Master's dignity to accept me as his master?"
After speaking, he continued to write, his handwriting still vigorous and powerful, neither hurried nor slow.
Wan Yuekui was momentarily speechless after someone beat him to it, and the other person's calm and composed demeanor made him seem more like an adult than he was.
In a daze, Wan Yuekui lost the courage to order the other person to look up at him.
"yes!"
Wan Yuekui shouted loudly, seemingly more eloquent than eloquent, "What exactly are you up to, you brat! First you tried every means to get close to my sister, and now you want to be my brother's tutor. You're so young, yet you're so cunning. You might as well tell me the truth!"
“Big brother isn’t that kind of person!” Wanwan couldn’t help but defend Xiao Qi.
But these words struck a nerve with Wan Yuekui.
What kind of sorcery did Xiao Qi use to make his younger sister protect him so much?
His anger escalated to a new level.
"Wanwan, no need." Xiao Qi's lips curved into a beautiful smile. He looked up and met Wanwan's gaze, his eyes filled with gentleness. Then he put down his pen and looked seriously into Wan Yuekui's eyes.
"Young Master Wan, today it is the Second Young Master who has taken the initiative to come to me for guidance, and it is also the Second Young Master who has taken the initiative to ask me to be his teacher. Among scholars, there is a saying that there must be someone I can learn from when three people walk together. It is normal for us to ask each other for advice. I hope you can understand and not be angry."
Xiao Qi's voice was calm, and his eyes held an arrogance that was not typical of a child. He even quoted the Analects of Confucius, which Wan Yuekui, who didn't like reading, couldn't understand and was speechless for a moment.
Taking this opportunity, Wan Yuechi spoke up, "Brother, Young Master Xiao is right..."
"What do you mean, 'right'?" Wan Yuekui was furious when he heard his family defending Xiao Qi. He raised his hand and flicked his younger brother on the head. "I don't understand your scholarly matters, but the apprenticeship today is definitely not going to happen. I'm a magnanimous man and I won't argue with you. You two, come home with me right now!"
Before he finished speaking, he forcefully grabbed his younger brother's arm with one hand and pulled Wanwan with the other, taking the two of them back to the Wan family without stopping.
The older brother was sulking, and the two little ones were also getting annoyed.
Wan Yuechi looked at his older brother's back as he turned away from the two of them, and gave Wanwan a helpless look. "What's wrong with my brother? Is it really necessary to get so angry?"
With a flick of her little head, her dark eyes gleamed, and she took her second brother's hand and whispered, "I know, brother must be jealous. We'll just coax him like we would a little kid."
Wan Yuechi was taken aback. "Jealous?"
Unexpectedly, the surprised sound that escaped his lips caught Wan Yuekui's attention. He put his hands on his hips, subconsciously feeling that the two were talking about him, and said with displeasure, "What are you jealous about? What are you whispering about?"
Seeing that her little plan had been exposed, Wanwan simply skipped over and grabbed Wan Yuekui's clothes.
She rubbed her face against him and said in a clear voice, "Brother was unhappy today because he saw us go to Brother Xiao's house. We're thinking of ways to make him happy."
Her round little face was like a snow-white dumpling, and her coquettish voice was like honey, melting hearts.
Wan Yuekui couldn't resist his younger sister's coquettish manner, and his heart softened instantly. His vow to stay angry for a whole day crumbled without him even realizing it.
"I...I'm not jealous at all," Wan Yuekui stubbornly insisted.
Wanwan threw herself onto his arm. "Brother, we were wrong. I know you were unhappy that we went to see Brother Xiao because you were afraid we wouldn't like you anymore. Actually, we love you the most, brother. Wanwan loves you more than anyone else!"
The little dumpling's straightforward words made Wan Yuekui blush. He couldn't help but pat her head with one hand, but he still stammered, "No...no, I didn't."
“Yes, we like our eldest brother the most.” Wan Yuechi also chimed in, his gentle face full of sincerity.
Under the onslaught of his younger siblings, Wan Yuekui finally gave in. He hugged Wanwan, who was clinging to him, with one hand and pulled his younger brother with the other. He said earnestly like a little adult, "Actually, you can ask each other for advice, but Grandpa is Xiao Qi's teacher. If Yuechi becomes his disciple, wouldn't the seniority be messed up?"
Wan Yuechi slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "Brother is absolutely right! How could I have forgotten? I've learned a lot."
Upon hearing this, Wan Yuekui straightened his back and said with exceptional pride, "No matter how much I dislike studying, I'm still your eldest brother. Does Yuechi know he's wrong?"
"I know, I know."
Wan Yuechi responded with a smile, but inwardly he felt even greater respect for Xiao Qi, who had been able to enlighten him with just a few words.
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