Sang Lu noticed Feng Bai's headphones slipping slightly as he tilted his head back to look at her. His face wore an utterly baffled expression, as if saying, "Before you scare the hell out of my brother, you’ve already scared me."
Sang Lu didn’t quite grasp the meaning behind Feng Bai’s expression.
Was her question really that strange?
Emotional fluctuations could help Feng Yan overcome his mutism.
As Feng Yan’s younger brother, Feng Bai must know at least something about treating selective mutism, right?
Were they all just leaving it to her to worry about while the rest of the family couldn’t care less?
Just as Sang Lu was about to elaborate, she saw Feng Bai’s brow furrow slightly.
Then, his expression shifted between hesitation and resolve.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Sister-in-law, are you... having some kind of existential crisis?"
"...Huh?"
Sang Lu didn’t follow.
"Why would you even consider such a suicidal idea?" Feng Bai added.
Sang Lu: "..."
The air froze for a few seconds.
Then she burst into laughter, breaking the silence.
"Come on, don’t make your brother sound like some kind of monster."
Feng Bai watched her laugh but didn’t join in.
He couldn’t.
From childhood, he had revered—and feared—his eldest brother.
To him, Feng Yan might as well have been a force of nature.
He studied Sang Lu carefully.
Even if she was his sister-in-law, he was certain that provoking Feng Yan deliberately wouldn’t end well for her.
The topic of Feng Yan had opened a floodgate of questions.
"So you’re saying your brother doesn’t react to anything scary at all?" Sang Lu pressed, meticulous.
Feng Bai stared at her for a few seconds before nodding.
Since he’d already said this much today, he might as well go all in.
"One year, Grandpa took the three of us to Mexico for the Day of the Dead festival," Feng Bai recalled. "The streets were full of people dressed as skeletons and ghosts, deliberately trying to scare others. My second bro—"
He paused, frowning slightly before continuing,
"—and that good-for-nothing were terrified. But my brother? No reaction. He just coldly pointed at a local’s nose and gestured that their fake blood was dripping onto their clothes. He even pushed the person away without a flicker of emotion, making sure their makeup didn’t smudge on him."
"..." Sang Lu blinked, picturing the scene.
She couldn’t help but smile.
Feng Bai’s description perfectly matched her stereotype of the "Ice Block Brother."
But mocking him in front of his younger brother probably wasn’t the best move.
Adjusting her tone to sound supportive, she said,
"Well, he is the eldest. It’s only natural he’d be more composed."
Feng Bai lifted his droopy eyes coolly. "He’d just graduated elementary school that year."
"..." Sang Lu froze.
Uh…
That was… excessively mature for his age.
After hearing this, she completely abandoned her absurd idea of using horror movies or escape rooms to provoke an emotional reaction from Feng Yan.
Feng Bai stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Anyway, as long as I can remember, my brother has always been unshakable. He hates noisy crowds, never attends banquets or parties, and barely shows up for business dinners. So, Sister-in-law—"
His expression turned dead serious.
"—I’d advise you not to test his patience."
Sang Lu nibbled on her straw and replied offhandedly, "Oh? We’re going to a French dinner banquet tomorrow."
"A banquet? French cuisine? No way." Feng Bai’s serious expression stiffened as he processed her words.
Impossible.
His brother was picky.
He never ate raw or cold food, avoided fish because deboning was a hassle, and had zero respect for French cuisine’s style-over-substance approach.
A full French meal—from aperitifs to hors d'oeuvres to those over-the-top desserts—would waste at least three hours.
Feng Yan valued efficiency. This was completely out of character.
Feng Bai was convinced Sang Lu was making it up.
"Huh? What’s impossible?" Sang Lu was puzzled.
She assumed Feng Bai meant that someone as solitary as Feng Yan would never invite her to an event.
So she clarified,
"Maybe it’s one of those events where you need a plus-one. That’s probably why he asked me."
Feng Bai’s brow knitted sharply.
Before he could recover from the first shock, another one hit.
He eyed her with deep skepticism.
"You’re joking, right? He ‘specially’ asked you? That can’t be true."
He seriously doubted her words.
For Feng Yan, there was no such thing as an event that "required" a companion.
In other words, no one could make demands of him.
And the word "specially" just didn’t align with his cold, detached demeanor.
"Not possible," Feng Bai stated flatly.
Sang Lu grew even more confused. "Why is that so hard to believe?"
Now this was weird.
What was Feng Bai even doubting?
She knew Feng Bai didn’t think highly of her—last time at the family dinner, she’d ruined the mood by laughing at the wrong moment.
But was her impression really that bad?
Bad enough that Feng Bai couldn’t fathom Feng Yan willingly going out with her?
As she studied Feng Bai’s face, her expression took on a different meaning to him—like she was dismissing his skepticism.
Feng Bai suddenly felt a competitive urge: "Do you think you know my brother better than I do?"
His droopy eyes locked onto hers.
The atmosphere turned oddly tense.
A standoff.
To Feng Bai, it was a silent battle.
To Sang Lu, it was just confusion.
She just found this kid weird, his words all over the place.
The stalemate didn’t last long.
As the elder sister-in-law, Sang Lu saw no point in arguing with her brother-in-law.
She smoothly changed the subject, chatting briefly about the old master’s affairs.
Before long, noticing the time, she excused herself and left for the TV station.
After Sang Lu left, Feng Bai remained seated, lost in thought.
He pondered, then pondered some more.
He had to verify whether his sister-in-law was bluffing.
Pulling out his phone, he texted his brother:
[Bro, I ran into Sister-in-law earlier. I was at the studio near the TV station, and we had coffee together.]
A while later, his phone buzzed.
[Feng: Hm.]
Feng Bai chose his words carefully, typing slowly: [She mentioned you two are… having French food tomorrow?]
His brother’s reply was just as terse.
[Feng: Hm.]
Staring at the screen, Feng Bai fell into deep thought.
His headphones slipped further.
Another buzz.
[Feng: ?]
He quickly replied: [Nothing important, just asking. You’re busy—I’ll head to the recording studio.]
Setting his phone down, Feng Bai sat in silence.
Five minutes passed.
Maybe longer.
Once, at the dinner table, the old master had told the three brothers repeatedly that men changed after marriage.
Back then, he hadn’t believed it, scoffing at the idea.
Even if other men were like that, the Feng men would never be.
Now, though…
He might have to reconsider.
I'm not sure why Big Brother suddenly wanted to have French cuisine, and even "specifically" invited Sister-in-Law to join him.
But since Big Brother arranged it this way, he must have his reasons.
