They were in the middle of a conversation when we walked in, but they stopped talking as soon as they saw us.
Yue Xin waved at us.
“Ting’er, Ling’er, come here.”
Bai Ling heard her mother’s call and immediately relaxed, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
She smiled, let go of Bai Ting’s hand, and ran straight to hide behind her mother.
Bai Ting watched her little sister ditch her and run to their mother’s side, feeling a bit disappointed.
She had been planning to drag her off to a room and give her a proper lesson for being disobedient earlier.
But now that little plan was ruined.
Seeing Bai Ling hiding behind their mother made her stomp her foot in frustration.
Hmph, I’ll let you off this time, but next time, you’ll see what happens when you don’t listen to me.
As she thought about it, a wicked smile crept onto her face.
Bai Ling stood in front of their parents, gave them a proper morning greeting, and then immediately ducked behind her mother again.
Greeting the elders in the morning was a long-standing family tradition.
Bai Ling, who had been raised with strict family values, naturally knew that the first thing she should do every morning was greet her elders.
But instead, the first thing she did was go to the woods behind the villa to look at the cherry blossoms. Even when it wasn’t cherry blossom season, she’d still go and stand there for a while.
At first, the elders often scolded her for this, saying that the first thing she should do was greet the family elders, and only after that could she go look at flowers all she wanted.
But Bai Ling never took those scoldings seriously.
Over time, the elders just let her be.
After all, she was just a child.
Forcing her to live under the shadow of the elders wouldn’t be good for her.
Bai Ting, on the other hand, walked right up to their parents and said sourly, “If I hadn’t dragged her back, she’d probably still be out there staring at cherry blossoms.”
In front of their parents, Bai Ting was always the obedient daughter.
Every morning, the first thing she did was greet them.
It was only after that that their father had told her to go fetch Bai Ling from the woods.
Yue Xin looked at her eldest daughter and smiled gently.
“Alright, we get it.
Now take your sister and go get ready.
We’ve got guests coming later.”
Hearing that, Bai Ting’s mood instantly flipped from sulking to delighted.
She stared straight at Bai Ling, who was still hiding behind their mother, a faint smile playing on her lips.
To Yue Xin, that smile looked like the sweet smile of a well-behaved girl.
But to Bai Ling, it was as evil as it could get.
Just looking at it made her shiver.
Her lips twitched, her brows furrowed, and she looked pitiful beyond words.
Bai Ting kept “smiling” at Bai Ling for a few seconds, practically bursting with joy inside.
Hmph, that’s what you get for defying me earlier.
Heh, just wait, I’ll make you feel so good you’ll be floating.
Seeing Bai Ling’s submissive little expression made Bai Ting even happier.
She slowly approached her sister, step by step.
Bai Ling watched the little devil coming closer and couldn’t help but take a step back.
For every step Bai Ting took forward, Bai Ling took one back, her fear growing with each one.
Until Bai Ling was backed up against the wall with nowhere left to run, Bai Ting grabbed her hand and “smiled” sweetly.
“Let’s go~” Her voice was soft and syrupy.
If a man had heard it, who knows what he might’ve imagined.
But Bai Ling knew exactly what it meant—there was no escape now.
After speaking, Bai Ting even threw her a flirty wink, which nearly made Bai Ling jump out of her skin.
Sitting nearby, Bai Mo watched his two daughters and could only sigh helplessly.
He knew just how charming his younger daughter was.
Sometimes even he had the urge to go up and kiss her cheeks.
But he was an elder, after all—he had to keep his dignity.
Still, who could understand this kind of suffering? All he could do was silently endure it.
So he tried to act calm and said, “Alright, enough fooling around.
Get dressed and come down quickly.
Don’t overdo it.
The Qiao family will be here soon, and we don’t want to embarrass the Bai family.”
Bai Ting happily responded, “Got it!!” She knew that when her father said “don’t overdo it,” he was talking to her.
Since he’d already given his tacit approval, there was nothing left to worry about.
She dragged her unwilling little sister out of the hall.
Bai Ling was helpless.
Even her father had said it—what else could she do? She could only pout and let herself be pulled into that “little black room.”
Bai Mo watched the door close behind his two daughters and let out a slightly sour sigh.
The jealousy in his heart—he was jealous of his eldest daughter.
Why did she get to cling to that adorable little girl, while he couldn’t? If only he were a few decades younger, maybe he could too.
Thinking that, he sighed again.
Yue Xin, sitting beside him, caught every bit of his expression.
Seeing that dejected look on his face, she couldn’t help but find it funny.
As if she could read his mind, she gave him a sideways glance, her lips curling into a faintly mocking smile.
“What? You want a piece of that too?” she said, still looking at him sideways.
Bai Mo’s face turned red with embarrassment.
He didn’t dare meet her eyes.
He knew his little thoughts had been exposed.
Afraid of revealing more, he turned his head away, avoiding her gaze—it gave him the creeps.
Yue Xin saw his awkward expression and her mocking smile deepened.
Feeling playful, she leaned in and whispered something in Bai Mo’s ear.
Whatever she said made Bai Mo’s face turn even redder.
He stammered, “Th-this… this…” He still had his head turned away and didn’t see the sly smile on his wife’s face.
Seeing him so flustered, Yue Xin burst into laughter, her whole body shaking with amusement.
Hearing her laugh, Bai Mo turned to look at his wife, who was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
For some reason, he felt a little wronged.
He realized Yue Xin was just teasing him.
She laughed so hard that tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
“Alright, stop laughing.” Hearing that, Yue Xin wiped the tears from her eyes with a delicate hand.
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop.” But when she saw the look on her husband’s face, she couldn’t help but laugh again.
“Ahahaha.”
“That’s enough, seriously.” Bai Mo said, putting on a stern face.
Yue Xin saw his expression and knew she’d gone too far.
She raised her hand again, this time to cover her bright red lips, trying to hold back her laughter.
But it was hard.
Her body trembled from the effort, and she looked like she was suffering.
