But that was the truth. When I turned around, I found no one behind me. Suddenly, I had this strange illusion that everything just now was merely a hallucination. Maybe I was just so sick of Yu Chi Cheng that I fantasized about giving him a good beating.
Relieved, I said to my aunt, "Well, since you and uncle have seen me, I'll head back to the palace now." After saying that, I felt an inexplicable lightness. I turned around and walked towards the Twin Palace. But after walking for a while, I noticed that my aunt and uncle were following me all the time. It was extremely eerie...
"Er... I forgot to ask. Where are you and uncle staying this time?" I walked a few steps and thought it better to make it clear.
My aunt replied cheerfully, "The Huiyang Palace."
Instantly, I had a bad feeling. The Huiyang Palace was so close to the Twin Palace!
I forced a smile at my aunt and uncle. Soon, I found the reason for my uneasiness. Living so close, wouldn't it be easy for them to bump into that brute Yu Chi Cheng?
Although I didn't know where he was at the moment, given his vindictive nature, I was afraid my days ahead would be tough...
...
I followed my aunt and uncle back to the Twin Palace in a daze. Along the way, my uncle kept babbling about how I had changed over the years, but I didn't really listen. It was only when they mentioned Yu Chi Cheng that I snapped out of my daze. No, I must continue to feign illness during their short stay here.
As soon as I entered the Twin Palace, the fragrant smell of food hit me. I perked up and looked over. There was my brother, blatantly stealing the crystal shrimp dumplings that mother had brought for me!
"Yong Ziming! Stop right there!" I panicked and rushed over quickly. Seeing me, my brother widened his eyes, picked up the silver plate of crystal shrimp dumplings and ran.
"Ouch, Xi He. Why are you back so early? Hey, don't run so fast. Let your brother eat something first!"
"Yong Ziming! You bastard! That's what mother brought for me. You ate so much delicious food at the banquet. Now you're still snatching from me! Give it back!" I was extremely angry when I saw my brother being so naughty. This guy had loved to snatch food from me since childhood. Even if he had his own share, he still wanted to take mine. That was why I felt at ease letting him take the blame whenever something went wrong. Thinking of this, I suddenly regretted standing up when I injured Yu Chi Cheng. Otherwise, Yu Chi Cheng and I might have been friends.
Friends... Thinking of this, I suddenly shivered. Was it possible for me to be friends with him?
Distracted, I didn't notice a table corner in front of me and tripped over it. Fortunately, my brother glanced back by chance. Quick as lightning, he reached out and caught me. "Xi He, be careful!" At that moment, he was holding the plate in one hand and supporting me with the other. He looked so funny. I snorted and steadied myself, then pounced on him. "Give me back the shrimp dumplings!"
My brother held the plate high. After letting me pounce for a while, he said, "Alright, come and eat together."
Looking at my brother's long drooping eyelashes, I instantly lost all my temper. My brother held the plate in one hand and led me with the other towards the old Chinese fir round table. He put down the crystal shrimp dumplings, then moved a small round chair for me. "Come, sit down and eat slowly."
I still snorted at him but sat down obediently. As soon as I sat down, my eyes were drawn to the plate of crystal shrimp dumplings. All my grievances vanished. I reached out to grab them, but my brother slapped my hand hard with his silver chopsticks. "Use these!"
I complained, "But you just grabbed them with your hands!"
Yong Ziming sneered, "My hands are clean. What about yours? Just looking at your naughty look, I know you've been playing with mud again. Let me see your hands. Look! There's mud in your fingernails. How dare you grab them!"
My brother examined my hands back and forth several times. Finally, he found a tiny bit of dirt in one of my fingernails and then mocked me. I was quite helpless about this, but I still took the silver chopsticks to pick up the crystal shrimp dumplings.
This time, my brother didn't compete with me for the food. He just sat there smiling at me, looking rather playful.
After eating a few shrimp dumplings, I suddenly stopped and said, "Brother, don't you know your smile is really evil... Come on, what do you want?"
Hearing this, my brother raised his eyebrows, rubbed his face and said, "Really? I thought it would make me look gentle."
I said, "Brother, have you fallen in love with someone recently? So you've come to me for advice?"
My brother continued to raise his eyebrows and said with a smile, "If you keep talking so much nonsense, I'll finish them for you!"
I quickly covered the plate and said, "Brother, you've already eaten."
Yong Ziming looked innocent. "But I didn't eat enough."
"Why?"
"Why do you think? It's all because of that stinky kid!"
Finally, I found a topic that I could share the same hatred with my brother. I was excited and said, "Come on, tell me what happened at the banquet?"
My brother looked at me helplessly, poked my head and said, "You're lucky. You could feign illness and skip it. But your third sister, fourth brother and I had to go. At the banquet, mother saw that guy sitting alone, looking so pitiful, so she told me to go and sit with him to catch up on brotherly feelings. But what feelings do I have for him? So as soon as I sat down, the atmosphere changed. I had to force a smile and talk to him while smiling. My face was cramped from smiling. But he just ignored me. He looked at me with a face as gloomy as hell. Do you think I was in the mood to eat?"
Hearing this, I couldn't help laughing. I didn't expect my brother to have suffered so much at the banquet. Immediately, I decided to pick up a shrimp dumpling for my brother. My brother gave me a satisfied look, ate it carefully, and then continued, "Fortunately, he left early. I went to the Star - Picking Terrace to get some fresh air and get rid of all the bad luck. Otherwise, you wouldn't have seen your dear brother tonight."
When I heard the last six words, I couldn't help twitching the corner of my mouth. I thought my brother was really just like mother. I didn't want to tease him either. I just forced a smile and said, "Yes, it's good that you're back, brother."
My brother didn't care. While I wasn't paying attention, he ate a few more shrimp dumplings and said, "Oh, mother said that she and father will accompany aunt and the others to the Shanglin Garden tomorrow. They've also asked me to go. Do you want to go?"
Hearing this, I quickly shook my head. "I don't want to. I'm still sick, you know?"
My brother rolled his eyes and said, "Really not going? The Shanglin Garden is much more fun than the palace."
I continued to shake my head. Then, looking at my brother who was sizing me up playfully, I pushed him. "Alright, it's getting late. Go to sleep quickly. You have to go to the Shanglin Garden tomorrow."
Before my brother was pushed away, he didn't forget to grab a few more shrimp dumplings. Laughing, he walked towards his left chamber. I went back and looked at the few remaining shrimp dumplings on the plate. Sighing, I instantly lost my appetite. I called someone to clean up and then went to my right chamber.