All Hail Cousin Brother

212 Cousin Coaxed Me Again!

At this moment, her mind was filled with thoughts. What was her cousin doing? Was he sitting alone at the chess table again playing chess with himself?

Her cousin had a very indifferent personality. Even Chang An did not always serve him personally.

He always liked to be alone in the study. Although it was not boring to paint and read, it was still a little lonely to do this every day.

Yu Youyao couldn’t play the zither anymore. She climbed onto the piano dejectedly and puffed her cheeks, feeling very vexed.

Seeing the young lady sigh, Chun Xiao was a little worried. “Young Miss, are you bored in the courtyard? Why don’t you go to the Green House to talk to Young Master?”

Yu Youyao glared at her angrily. “Shut up about Young Master. Tomorrow, you can just be Cousin’s maidservant. Don’t poke at my heart all day.”

No matter how stupid Chun Xiao was, she should know that Young Miss was sulking. She quickly asked, “Did Young Miss and Young Master quarrel?”

Young Master doted on Young Miss no less than Old Madam. Usually, he would coax her, afraid that she would feel aggrieved. To put it bluntly, these two were so sweet. How could Young Master bear to quarrel with her?

On second thought, her teeth could even bite her tongue.

Yu Youyao nodded, then shook her head and said weakly, “No.” She decided to be angry at her cousin one-sidedly and not look for him. This couldn’t be considered a fight!

Hmm, why did it feel strange?

Chun Xiao was stunned. “If you didn’t quarrel, why are you angry?”

She made it sound like she was the one who was making a fuss. Yu Youyao’s cheeks puffed up in anger as she glared at her again. “What do you know? Cousin is too much. He didn’t tell me what gift he was going to give me on my birthday and deliberately made me anxious. Don’t you think that’s too much?”

When Chun Xiao heard this, she almost laughed out loud.

Young Miss had been spoiled by Young Master. How could she be really angry? Perhaps it was because Young Master had not satisfied her curiosity that she had become angry and wanted to do something.

Chun Xiao quickly restrained the smile on her face. “Yes, Young Master is really too much. He clearly knows that Miss is curious, but he refused to tell you about your gift. I’m afraid you will lose all desire for it if you keep thinking about it.”

Yu Youyao nodded vigorously, feeling that the maidservant in front of her knew her best.

However, when she heard Chun Xiao say that something was wrong with her cousin, Yu Youyao felt that something was amiss. “Actually, Cousin isn’t too overboard. It’s just that in the past, every time he gives me something, it isn’t big. That’s why I’m especially looking forward to it and curious about it.”

Just now, she even said that Young Master was too much.

At this moment, it was not up to others to criticize Young Master. Chun Xiao tried her best not to laugh.

Who would ask others what kind of gift to give in advance?! Yu Youyao opened her mouth, but was too embarrassed to say it out loud. She felt that her temper was really unreasonable, and she couldn’t help but blush. “Forget it. On the account that Cousin prepared a birthday gift for me, I won’t get angry with him!”

Chun Xiao turned around and laughed hard.

Yu Youyao stood up from under the Chinese parasol tree. Her green dress was very youthful, making her look extremely fresh. “Let’s go to the Green House to look for Cousin.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Youyao heard the sound of wheels.

Looking up, Yu Youyao immediately smiled. “Cousin, you’re here!”

As she spoke, the little girl picked up her dress and ran to her cousin. Zhou Linghuai pursed his lips and chuckled. “I came to see if Cousin’s chess skills have improved.”

Yu Youyao tilted her head. “Cousin, you can’t laugh at me.”

Zhou Linghuai smiled again. He took out a palm-sized jade box from his sleeve and handed it to her. “Although I can’t tell you about the birthday gift in advance, I can give you a small gift before your birthday.”

Yu Youyao’s eyes widened, then she laughed. She held the jade box and was in no hurry to open it. “Cousin, Cousin, what’s in this box?”

Zhou Linghuai did not answer. “Open it and you’ll know.”

Yu Youyao refused to listen. She tugged at her cousin’s sleeve and frowned. “This time, I want Cousin to tell me personally.”

Zhou Linghuai did not refuse. “It’s just a small thing I carved. It’s not worth much. It’s just something new.”

Yu Youyao was finally happy. She quickly opened the box to take a look.

Inside was a yellow jade pendant with a curved crescent moon. On it were carved two fishes playing with a lotus. The two fishes were waving their tails and playing among the lotus leaves. It was vivid and exquisite.

Yu Youyao held the jade box and pouted. “Cousin, you’re coaxing me again!”

These random words stunned Zhou Linghuai. He also wondered how he had offended the little girl just now. Then, he saw the little girl’s lips curve and heard her cheerful voice. “Cousin, your carving skills are so good. How can you say that it’s not worth anything? You almost scared me.”

Zhou Linghuai heaved a sigh of relief, but then felt helpless. “You silly girl…”

He was probably the one who had almost been fooled into thinking that she was angry.

Yu Youyao held the pendant and looked at it over and over again. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. “Cousin knew that I had broken a longevity lock that Mother had given me, and there was a pair of fish playing with a pearl on it, so you carved a pair of fish for me. However, you were worried that it would be the same and make me miss her. You didn’t want me to be unhappy, so you changed it to a pair of fish playing with a lotus for me.”

She saw through his thoughts. Zhou Linghuai chuckled. “As long as you like it.”

Yu Youyao tugged at her cousin’s sleeve, her face looking a little guilty. “Cousin, I-I wasn’t that angry with you before, but I was just a little angry.” She raised her hand and gestured with two fingers, forming a small slit the size of a needle. “Annoyed!”

Zhou Linghuai said nothing.

Yu Youyao stole a glance at her cousin’s expression and smiled ingratiatingly. “However, I’m still very happy that you’ve taken the trouble to prepare a birthday gift for me. I was just about to go to the Green House to look for you when you came over.” She looked at her cousin with sparkling eyes and tugged at his sleeve. “Do you think this counts as telepathy?”

Zhou Linghuai couldn’t help but laugh. He raised his hand and flicked the little girl’s forehead. “I’ll spoil you!”

Yu Youyao smiled. “I wasn’t like this in the past. Cousin, you have to be responsible for me. In the future, you have to always spoil me.”

Zhou Linghuai’s expression paused for a moment. The little girl’s eyes were as clear as water, but there was a hint of a sparkle in them. At a glance, it was like water reflecting on a lake, and even his heart was rippling, so he nodded lightly.

Yu Youyao giggled. “Cousin, I’ll go into the house and find a red string. I’ll wear the pendant.”

The little girl ran back into the house happily. Zhou Linghuai smiled and shook his head helplessly.