Sang Lu couldn't shake the fragmented images from her dream, where Feng Yi and Feng Bai, the brothers, were in conflict.
Her thoughts were a jumble.
After greeting the old man, Feng Yan, she went to the courtyard for some fresh air.
She wandered around for a while.
The Feng family's old house was elegantly and traditionally decorated. As she strolled through the corridors, every corner looked like a picturesque garden painting.
Her chaotic thoughts began to relax.
But just as she started to unwind, a figure appeared before her.
Feng Yi had somehow come out of the house as well, with a hint of displeasure between his brows, blocking her path.
"Sister-in-law, I've been meaning to ask you, do you have some sort of issue with me?"
Sang Lu was startled by his sudden appearance.
She took a moment to gather herself before looking up.
Her face was puzzled: "?"
Feng Yi: "If you have an issue with me, just say it."
He had sensed it as soon as he returned to the old house.
The way Sister-in-law looked at him compared to Feng Bai couldn't be described as impartial; the difference was stark.
Honestly, it shouldn't matter too much how Sister-in-law viewed him.
But with his grandmother and parents passing away early, there were no other female elders in the family. Sister-in-law marrying into the Feng family was almost like gaining half an elder.
From this perspective, Feng Yi was quite displeased.
He insisted on getting to the bottom of it.
Seeing Sang Lu's confused expression, he decided to be blunt:
"Sister-in-law, haven't you noticed you're quite biased? Your attitude towards me and that guy is different. What did I do to offend you?"
Sang Lu pointed to herself: "?"
Me?
Biased?
Really?
"No, not really..." Sang Lu replied.
"No?" Feng Yi raised an eyebrow sharply, let out a laugh, "Don't try to fool me. If you think I'm inferior to Feng Bai, just list the reasons..."
Sang Lu's expression stiffened.
She thought to herself, what a troublesome kid.
It seemed if she didn't respond, he wouldn't let it go.
"Alright, but remember, you're the one who asked me to say it—"
Sang Lu shrugged,
"—I can easily list several reasons."
Feng Yi crossed his arms, full of arrogance, and nodded his chin.
"I'm all ears."
Sang Lu: "First, your attitude towards Grandpa isn't very good. Who calls their grandfather 'old man' all the time? Is that polite? In this regard, Feng Bai is much more courteous than you."
Feng Yi's expression paused for a moment.
He carefully recalled.
This was indeed true.
When he was young, he called the old man "Grandpa." But somehow during middle school, he gradually changed the term and has been calling him "old man" ever since.
Feng Yi shrugged, accepting this reasoning.
"Fine, that makes some sense. Go on, what's the second?"
"Second..." Sang Lu thought for a moment.
Uh...
She couldn't come up with anything.
Upon reflection, she didn't know much about other aspects.
In terms of career, both were about the same, practically nothing, so it's hard to say who's better or worse.
She glanced up at Feng Yi, seeing his still casual and defiant face, waiting for her to give reasons.
What to do?
She had made a bold claim earlier, saying she could easily list several reasons.
Now, stuck at the first point, unable to continue, wouldn't that make her as Sister-in-law seem very undignified, like her words were worthless?
Her mind raced.
CPU overheating.
After a moment, she let out a short "ah" and, bracing herself, spoke:
"Feng Bai is polite to Grandpa, but you're not. Compared to you, that's one point for Feng Bai, right?"
"Mm." Feng Yi lazily responded, "And then? You already mentioned this earlier."
Sang Lu: "Feng Bai one point, you zero. That's two points."
Feng Yi: "?"
Sang Lu: "Feng Bai two points, you still zero. That's three points."
She spread her hands, looking frank:
"See, Feng Bai against you, an easy three to zero. You've been completely defeated."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sang Lu was amazed by her own cleverness.
Genius!
She really was a genius at making things up!
Opposite her, Feng Yi's expression gradually turned incredulous.
His eyelid twitched, and he was left speechless.
Wait a minute. Let him think this through.
Is that really how this is calculated?
He is, after all, a graduate student.
Don't take him for a fool, okay?
"Sister-in-law, stop talking nonsense. Believing your logic is like believing I'm Qin Shi Huang. You're just being biased; why not admit it?" Feng Yi's tone was a bit helpless.
Just then.
In the quiet courtyard, two figures walked over from the other side of the corridor.
It was Feng Yan and Feng Bai.
Feng Yan walked steadily, a bit ahead.
Feng Bai followed a step behind.
Since he was young, Feng Bai liked sticking close to his elder brother, walking behind him, feeling inexplicably safe.
Knowing his brother wanted to take a stroll, he quietly followed along.
At this moment, his footsteps made no sound, trailing behind his brother just like when they were kids.
The seven-year age gap between them made their demeanor and attire quite different, yet their facial features were similar.
Clearly brothers at a glance.
Walking quietly in the corridor, there was an indistinct sense of harmony between them.
As they turned the corner, they saw Sang Lu and Feng Yi standing in the shadows.
At the same time, Sang Lu's gaze shifted over.
She met Feng Yan's eyes directly.
Sang Lu was just worrying about how to handle Feng Yi's questions.
Now she had an idea.
Quick-witted, she pointed her chin in Feng Yan's direction and said to Feng Yi in front of her:
"Look, your brother is taking a post-dinner walk with Feng Bai, not you. Do you dare say he's being biased?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Yi turned his head sharply.
Seeing his brother and that guy looking so harmonious, he was stunned.
Feng Yi: "..."
Why didn't his brother invite him for a post-dinner walk?
A surge of competitiveness suddenly arose within him.
Does his brother think the same as his sister-in-law?
That he's not as good as Feng Bai?
Could it really be because he lacks the manners of Feng Bai?
With these thoughts, his arrogant and defiant demeanor instantly weakened.
He slumped his shoulders and lowered his voice:
"Fine, I'll think about what you said. In the future, I'll try not to call Grandpa 'old man'..."
Sang Lu was taken aback.
She never expected that bringing up Feng Yan would be so effective, rendering Feng Yi speechless in an instant.
Had she known, she should have mentioned Feng Yan from the start.
It would have saved her from making up stories and burning a lot of brain cells.
Not far away.
Feng Yan couldn't hear what they were saying.
He only saw Sang Lu pointing her chin at him, and then saw the arrogance dissipate from Feng Yi.
This was the first time he had ever seen Feng Yi show an expression resembling surrender to anyone other than himself. It caught him completely off guard.
…
Sang Lu had initially thought that when Feng Yi said, "I'll try not to call Grandpa an old man anymore," he meant he'd gradually work on it over time.
What she hadn't expected was that Feng Yi would immediately start implementing his self-reformation plan.
Before leaving, everyone had gathered in the courtyard.
Feng Yi swung his leg over his heavy motorcycle, his helmet tucked under his arm, and prepared to bid farewell to the old man.
Having called him by the same nickname for years, it was a little hard to switch gears all of a sudden. The words felt awkward and unfamiliar on his tongue:
"I'm heading out now, old man-grandpa… uh, no…"
"Old-grandpa-man… uh, that's not it either…"
"Old—"
"Will you just shut up already? Stop talking!"
Sang Lu's vision went black for a moment as she abruptly cut him off, her voice raised.
With a loud "smack," she slapped Feng Yi hard on the back.
If she let him keep going, who knew what kind of outrageous or disrespectful nickname he'd come up with next.
