"Why are you back so late?"
Whether Qin Yanzheng believed Qin Yaxin's words or not, only Qin Yanzheng himself knows.
"After leaving the school gate, my classmate stopped me and talked for a while, and that... that took up some time."
Qin Yaxin's gaze was somewhat evasive, and it wasn't hard to tell that her words were tinged with embellishment.
"After parking the car, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
Seeing that Qin Yanzheng was about to say something, Song Lan spoke up at the right time.
Without a doubt, she was referring to Qin Yaxin.
While Qin Yaxin was putting up the bike rack and returning to her room to put down her schoolbag, Qin Yanzheng frowned and asked Song Lan, "Wife, do you believe what my second sister said?"
"Believe only half of it."
Song Lan said softly, "But we definitely won't get anything out of them if we ask now. But don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this."
"I'll talk to my second sister after dinner. You have to work, take care of the children, and look after the healthy growth of the fifth and sixth children."
This is already exhausting enough for you. I can't bear to watch you sacrifice so much for our family while doing nothing in return!
Qin Yanzheng's dark eyes revealed sincerity. He felt sorry for Song Lan, for his beloved. The more he felt sorry for Song Lan, the more he felt Qin Yaxin was being immature. As a student, she wasn't studying properly and was even lying to her family.
This meant that while the older brother and sister-in-law were busy with work and household chores, they also had to squeeze out time to keep an eye on whether she was going astray.
"Can you do it?"
Song Lan raised an eyebrow.
Qin Yanzheng immediately responded, "A real man can't say no. Besides, whether I can or not, you, my wife, are the most qualified to say, aren't you?"
Upon hearing this, Song Lan was stunned for a while. After realizing what Qin Yanzheng meant, she glared at the man and said with a slight part of her lips, "If you keep talking nonsense, don't blame me for locking you out tonight!"
She said that, but her beautiful face was flushed. Looking at her like that, Qin Yanzheng chuckled softly: "I'm just telling the truth, wife, you can't be too domineering."
"You can tell the truth yourself!"
She rolled her eyes at the man and turned to go into the kitchen.
As Qin Yanzheng watched her retreating figure, the laughter in his throat noticeably rose.
"Honey, I know you're shy, but it's nothing. After all, we're husband and wife, so it's normal for us to talk to each other casually."
As Qin Yanzheng walked to the kitchen doorway, he leaned against the door frame and smiled as he watched Song Lan's busy figure.
He received another eye roll from Song Lan.
But this did not affect Qin Yanzheng's mood at all. On the contrary, he felt very happy and said, "Wife, you look especially beautiful whether you glare at me or roll your eyes at me."
In his eyes, his wife glaring at him and rolling her eyes at him was no different from her flirting with him!
"Stop joking around and hurry up and set the table."
She looks very proper and exudes an aura that keeps strangers at bay, but once she opens her mouth in front of her, she talks in a completely unprofessional way. I really don't know what to say about her!
"Alright, my lady!"
Qin Yanzheng immediately straightened up and gave a prompt response.
"Aren't you worried that your family seeing this will damage your image?"
Song Lan shook her head and ladled porridge into the bowl.
"What's there to worry about?"
Qin Yanzheng dismissed it, saying, "If a person cares about what others think about everything, how tiring would life be! Besides, I'm just following in my wife's footsteps!"
Before Song Lan could respond, Qin Yanzheng's figure had already disappeared from the kitchen doorway.
As Song Lan listened to the footsteps fading away outside the kitchen door, a slight smile involuntarily curved the corners of her lips.
Yes, if we care about how others see us in everything we do, aren't we just setting a "rule" for ourselves?
Being unable to step out of one's comfort zone is like being trapped inside; not only will life be exhausting, but one day it might even drive you crazy!
Of course, in some matters, such as those involving one's own dignity, one cannot allow others to trample on it at will; otherwise, one will be ridiculed, despised, and called a spineless coward.
Dinner was enjoyed as warmly as usual. Qin Yanzheng took care of washing the dishes, but Qin Yaxin knew that she had come home late from school and hadn't helped with the cooking. Therefore, she was quite enthusiastic about washing the dishes after dinner.
"Brother, I'll wash them. After I'm done, you can wipe the water off and put the dishes and chopsticks in their places."
Upon entering the kitchen, Qin Yaxin, before Qin Yanzheng could even begin, reached into the pot, grabbed a dishcloth in one hand, and quickly began washing the dishes with the other.
Qin Yanzheng stood to the side, quietly watching Qin Yaxin busy herself.
After a long pause, a cold, deep voice escaped from his lips: "You didn't tell the truth when you came back from school this afternoon."
Qin Yaxin paused in her washing of dishes, opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
"I want to hear the real reason now."
Qin Yanzheng looked serious and stared directly into Qin Yaxin's eyes.
"...Big brother, I didn't lie!"
Biting her lip, Qin Yaxin hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, but she didn't do as Qin Yanzheng had suggested. Hearing this, Qin Yanzheng didn't get angry; his tone was completely emotionless.
"Qin Yaxin, you know our family's situation. I don't want your sister-in-law to suffer. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Brother, does this have anything to do with me getting home a little late today?"
Qin Yaxin was completely confused.
"Are you genuinely confused, or are you pretending?"
Qin Yanzheng said, "Mom is gone, Dad is busy with work, and I also have endless work. Have you ever thought about what kind of life the whole family would be living if your sister-in-law weren't here?"
How long has it been since those things happened? Have you already forgotten them?
My mother passed away, my father was at the forest farm, and I was injured and unconscious. It was your sister-in-law who held up our family. She protected you, your second brother, and your fifth and sixth children, so that you wouldn't suffer too many strange looks.
It was your sister-in-law who healed me, roused me, and restored my health to normal.
During that time, she had to work to support the family, take care of you all, and still remember to visit Dad at the forest farm... If it were you, could you have endured that period?"
Qin Yaxin pursed her lips and remained silent.
"Thanks to your sister-in-law's efforts, things at home are back on track. Now, your second brother is in the army, and your eldest sister works in a machinery factory."
You're in your first year of high school, and I thought the three of you wouldn't cause your sister-in-law any more trouble. But look what happened! You've learned to lie!
What you probably don't know is that this afternoon, your sister-in-law was worried because she hadn't seen you come home. She kept looking towards the gate, afraid that something might have happened to you.
If you have any conscience at all, you should know that even with your sister-in-law and me helping to take care of things at home near the machine factory, the recent arrival of two more little ones means your sister-in-law is still having a tough time.
She has to go to work every day, and when she gets home she has to take care of her children, including the fifth and sixth graders. After all, a person's energy is limited.
Especially since your sister-in-law is a doctor, when a patient needs major surgery, she might be on the operating table for several hours at a time. Do you think she's exhausted?
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