Chapter 1427 - 1429

"Morning." Gong Ruzhi yawned as he walked to the dining table.

"Morning." Gong Ruwen replied with all sorts of lethargy.

If it weren’t for having things to deal with today, Gong Ruwen really didn’t want to get up. He truly felt exhausted and completely drained.

Oh dear, what’s wrong with big brother today? His lack of energy scared Gong Ruzhi.

Every morning, his big brother is usually full of energy, even waking up early to run in the park downstairs for an hour.

Could it be that he’s feeling unwell today? This really spooked Gong Ruzhi.

As he raised his head to ask what was wrong, Gong Ruwen’s overnight dark circles made him step back in shock.

"What’s up?" Gong Ruwen sipped his coffee and bit into a sandwich, honestly unable to get himself to love this kind of food.

Though it has meat in it, for someone with a Chinese palate like Gong Ruwen, it can’t be considered great.

Were it not for the coffee, Gong Ruwen swore he wouldn’t eat such heavy-flavored things so early in the morning.

"Brother, what happened to you yesterday?" Could he have encountered a challenge? Or, did brother-in-law talk to him last night?

Oh my, Gong Ruzhi’s face paled immediately. If his big brother couldn’t handle brother-in-law, how could he, a mere little brother, be of any use?

Moreover, he’d been pushing his luck in various ways and didn’t even know how many times he’d offended Zhao Xuran.

"I didn’t sleep well." Gong Ruwen kept pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling utterly worn out. Though he had coffee, the fatigue remained.

Not sleeping well—it must have been brother-in-law, otherwise, given big brother’s sleep prowess, there’d never be talk of insomnia.

Should he ask for specifics from big brother? But would big brother be willing to be straightforward about it?

"Brother, why didn’t you sleep well?" Gong Ruzhi picked up a bowl, preparing to eat breakfast.

Gong Ruwen glanced over at Zhao Xuran busy in the kitchen, and Gong Ruzhi was startled by the fact that his brother looked towards brother-in-law before speaking.

Could it really be that big brother was scolded by brother-in-law?

"Ni Zi didn’t eat late-night snacks yesterday."

"You know she didn’t eat much for dinner either, right?" Gong Ruwen said in exasperation, raising his voice slightly.

It seemed he wanted Zhao Xuran in the kitchen to hear, as he couldn’t directly defy words spoken to elders, but could do more behind the scenes.

No way, his sister didn’t eat night snacks? Gong Ruzhi was shocked by this news, "Why didn’t she eat?"

"Sister, weren’t you hungry?"

"She used to habitually eat late-night snacks."

Gong Ruzhi disregarded the morning rush; the most important thing now was his sister’s situation.

He grabbed a piece of bread and ran to the kitchen, "Brother Xuran, why aren’t you letting sister eat?"

"You can’t agree with mom, thinking sister’s going to get as fat as a pig?"

Gong Ruzhi regretted yesterday not standing up to mom—how great it would’ve been if he’d defended his sister.

Given mom’s stance as well as brother-in-law, Gong Ruzhi imagined how heartbroken his sister must’ve been yesterday.

"Yesterday was a joyous day, the day when sister successfully proposed to brother Xuran," Gong Ruzhi muttered to himself.

Right, how did he forget that, "Oh, you don’t feel embarrassed from yesterday, and that’s why you want to harshly punish sister?"

That’s just too much, especially from someone who’s supposed to be a man. Gong Ruzhi felt his eyes had been opened wide these past few days.

Oh my, Gong Ruwen didn’t expect his little brother would jump out to confront Zhao Xuran instead of having him explain.

Though Gong Ruwen thought his little brother’s action was absolutely fantastic, he also worried about him.

Zhao Xuran was already not in a good mood; he expected Gong Ruini to be up early for breakfast, yet there were no signs of her eating yet.

And then Gong Ruwen jumped up asking him for an explanation—if it weren’t for his refined upbringing, he’d want to curse.

"Ask the mother-in-law about this."

"Her words were why Ni Zi didn’t want to eat night snacks."

Recalling the effort to get his wife up for breakfast, only for her to half-asleep declare such things, Zhao Xuran felt like crying.

"She said she’ll strive to eat less from now on."

If he didn’t restrain himself, Zhao Xuran would’ve warned Cai Meina to meddle less in their affairs, admitting that his mother-in-law meant well for Ni Zi, but now Ni Zi was heading to an extreme.

On any other day, if Ni Zi ate less, Zhao Xuran could persuade her, watching her hit the wall would bring her back, but the situation now was special.

Gong Ruzhi was utterly startled by the bomb Zhao Xuran dropped, making him forget to chew the food in his mouth.

Gong Ruwen was equally shocked, needing coffee earlier to perk him up to face reality, yet now mentally clear it left him feeling drained.

"Is Ni Zi planning to have a bird-sized stomach?" Gong Ruwen sighed inwardly; this situation was not agreeable.

If Ni Zi was just talking, the matter would soon pass, but if Ni Zi was serious, what to do?

Knowing Gong Ruini’s personality, Gong Ruwen was sure his sister would act on this.

Some might think Ni Zi has a carefree nature, having been with Zhao Xuran for years rarely showing obvious affection publicly.

But does that mean their relationship is average, or just subdued?

No way—anyone saying that definitely hasn’t looked into Zhao Xuran and Gong Ruini’s eyes.

Staring into their eyes, one can undoubtedly see the deep love there.

Whether before or after confirming their relationship, Ni Zi sought Zhao Xuran to discuss and inquire how to handle things.

Facing danger, she thought of Zhao Xuran first rather than Gong Ruwen, her own brother.

Initially, Gong Ruwen might’ve felt hurt not being placed before Zhao Xuran.

Now Gong Ruwen understood—it was full trust in Zhao Xuran; otherwise, would Ni Zi act this way?

Even Zhao Xuran couldn’t persuade Ni Zi now, and Gong Ruwen found this matter somewhat troublesome.

What to do? Gong Ruwen looked helplessly at Zhao Xuran, hoping for some guidance.

Should he talk solutions for this matter? Sorry, he was clueless too, as the instigator was his mother-in-law and Gong Ruwen’s mom.

This matter should be approached by the son; shouldn’t he, the son-in-law, roll up his sleeves instead?

Gong Ruwen was also at a loss, not knowing how to explain but hoped for a better approach.

It seemed that hope was slim, but if he spoke, would it work?

"Can you imagine why mom suddenly said that?" Gong Ruzhi always felt there was something off about it, how mom spoke those words yesterday.

"Clearly mom used to want sister to eat more."

Gong Ruzhi’s words made the frustrated Zhao Xuran and Gong Ruwen suddenly enlightened.

Exactly, why the stark contrast—the absence of reasoning definitely presented a problem.