Chapter 158: Which man doesn't get hit?

"How's your wrist?"

"Just now, when Wen Ling was holding the inkstone, it was obvious the inkstone had fallen on her, and her wrist kept shaking."

"Wen Ling shook her wrist to show him, smiling and saying: 'It's fine, the inkstone is too heavy; using force will definitely make it shake.'"

"Zhou Yinhe felt a little guilty; the attendant was standing nearby, so he couldn't speak openly, thus he leaned over and whispered in Wen Ling's ear: 'Next time I won't need your hand.'"

"Wen Ling gave him a white-eyed look and kicked him without hesitation."

"The attendant just looked up and saw this scene, choked on his own saliva, and hastily averted his gaze, pretending not to have seen."

"Qin Lao had been upstairs for a long time without coming down; Wen Ling could guess what he was doing—surely he was holding the inkstone and admiring it."

"Waiting for him to come down, Wen Ling smiled and asked: 'Grandpa, done admiring?'"

"Qin Lao nodded, insisting that Wen Ling accompany him in a game of chess; Wen Ling was stunned, quickly shook her head to refuse, and pushed Zhou Yinhe out."

"'Let him accompany you; I'm not worthy.'"

"Hearing that, Zhou Yinhe let out a muffled laugh, stood up, and said to Qin Lao: 'Grandfather Qin, I'll keep you company.'"

"Seeing him smile, Qin Lao roughly guessed the reason, nodded, and said: 'Alright, Ah Ling, you come too; sit beside me and watch.'"

"Wen Ling then got off the sofa and followed them to the chessboard placed by the window; seeing tea utensils beside the board, she prepared to make tea for the two."

"Qin Lao recalled his fingers reddened from being scalded by hot water last time, frowned and was about to speak to stop her, but Zhou Yinhe beat him to it: 'You're not allowed to do that again; last time your fingers were scalded red.'"

"Wen Ling gasped, blinked her eyes, and said: 'I won't do that; I'll just make you tea separately.'"

"'Alright.' Zhou Yinhe still wasn't reassured, added another reminder: 'Don't do that, got it?'"

"Wen Ling pursed her lips and nodded unwillingly; she's just a kid, after all, needing to be told twice."

"It's not like she's a child; Zhou Yinhe watched her while playing chess, and when he saw her eager to try, he coughed to remind her, but sometimes he couldn't see, and at those times Qin Lao would glare at her."

"'Annoying, I'm not serving you anymore.' Wen Ling gave a soft hum, stood up, walked back to the sofa, and lay down to play on her phone."

"Zhou Yinhe looked at her worriedly, afraid she was truly unhappy, but Qin Lao laughed and said: 'Don't worry, our Ah Ling isn't petty; she won't hold a grudge against you.'"

"Upon hearing that, Wen Ling raised her arm halfway and drawled: 'I heard that; you're not allowed to speak ill of me.'"

"'Got it.' Qin Lao replied helplessly yet indulgent, and Zhou Yinhe lowered his eyes and smiled."

"Qin Siqing had long awaited the time to have lunch with her daughter; upon receiving the attendant's message, she nervously stood before the mirror, tidying her collar, exhaled a breath, and then headed toward the Qin Family residence."

"The villa she and Wenhuai bought is right next to the Qin Family, just a few steps out the door; standing at the villa's gate, Qin Siqing still hadn't braced herself mentally, she paused, slowed her pounding, deafening heartbeat before continuing inside."

"As the door opened, a cool breeze blew in, which actually eased her anxiety."

"Wen Ling stood beside Qin Lao and Zhou Yinhe, watching them play chess; hearing the door open, she tightened her grip, but still lifted her gaze toward Qin Siqing."

"'Ah Ling.'"

"'You've come.' Wen Ling smiled, greeted her politely, then withdrew her gaze and continued looking down at the chessboard; the hand resting on Zhou Yinhe's shoulder shrank back, and Zhou Yinhe, whose attention was already wholly on Wen Ling due to Qin Siqing's arrival, easily noticed."

"He lifted his head to look at her, raised his hand and pinched hers."

"Wen Ling gave him a cute little expression; Zhou Yinhe knew she was fine, stood up, and greeted Qin Siqing gently: 'Auntie, hello.'"

"Qin Siqing observed their small gestures, knowing their relationship must be excellent, she withdrew her attention from her daughter and softly said: 'Xiao Wu, hello.'"

"'Let's eat.' Qin Lao couldn't bear to watch this scene, stood up with a blank expression, and headed first toward the dining hall."

"Qin Siqing hesitated a moment, then followed Qin Lao ahead, leaving Zhou Yinhe and Wen Ling standing where they were."

"'Are you uncomfortable?' Zhou Yinhe still worried, reached up to tuck the hair that had fallen near Wen Ling's ear behind her ear, and whispered: 'Don't push yourself.'"

"Wen Ling shook her head and said softly: 'I've figured it out; after all, they gave me life, my parents. I will never relate to them the way you and Auntie do, but in this world there are also parents and children who aren't close—I'll just treat them as such.'"

"Zhou Yinhe rubbed her hair, firmly messing it up."

"'What are you doing!' Wen Ling shoved his hand away, gritted her teeth: 'You've messed up my hair.'"

"Zhou Yinhe, however, mimicked Qin Lao's posture as he walked toward the dining hall, hands behind his back, and drawled: 'Ah, it's just that my love isn't deep enough; all I did was mess up your hair, and you already dislike me for that.'"

"Wen Ling looked at his seemingly worried back, amused, jogged to catch up, took his hand, and said: 'Not hitting you already counts as loving you.'"

"'You still want to hit me?' Zhou Yinhe feigned disbelief; Wen Ling calmly nodded: 'Look outside— which man doesn't get hit? Follow me and you'll be satisfied; at most I'll just dislike you a bit.'"

"Having said that, she lifted her head to look at Zhou Yinhe's face, smirked maliciously, then let go of his hand and strode toward the dining hall."

"Zhou Yinhe staggered a moment before catching up, then asked her: 'Where did you learn these lines?'"

"'None of your business.'"

"Wen Ling turned her head, refusing to tell him; these words were from a video she had just watched, she had originally wanted to find a chance to tell Zhou Yinhe, but didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly."

"'Fine, let me hit you; after you hit me I'll go straight and accuse you of domestic violence.' Zhou Yinhe shrugged, calmly accepting the challenge: 'By then you'll also be demanded to apologize to me.'"

"'Ha, who'd believe that someone 1.9 meters tall could be beaten by a delicate little girl like me?'"

"'I'm fragile, is that not allowed?'"

"The two bickered all the way, walking in fits and starts; by the time they entered the dining hall, the attendant was already serving dishes with people."

"Qin Siqing was instructed by Qin Lao to sit on the lower right, letting Wen Ling and Zhou Yinhe sit on the lower left, so that Wen Ling wouldn't feel awkward."

"After sitting down, Wen Ling kept her eyes lowered; when Qin Lao and Zhou Yinhe spoke to her, she would answer with a smile; Qin Siqing, aware of her place, said nothing the whole time, merely gazing at Wen Ling with gentle eyes."

"'Speaking of which, I haven't seen your grandfather in ages.' Not knowing which topic prompted Qin Lao to think of Wen Lao, he sighed: 'We're this old, and we still don't know how many more times we'll get to meet.'"

"Wen Ling was very unhappy; she hated hearing such talk, she frowned and said: 'Grandpa, how can you say that? You'll still have to meet many, many more times in the future.'"

"Qin Lao lifted his gaze to her, saw her eye rims quickly redden, exclaimed 'aiyo,' and repeatedly apologized."