Chapter 146: Punishment

Just then, Scarlett returned upstairs after seeing Alexa and John off and walked into the room.

"Why is this little troublemaker asleep again?"

Scarlett sighed softly.

Alexa had just reminded her not to let Andrew sleep during the day, or he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep that night.

But looking at the sleeping Andrew, she couldn’t bring herself to wake him.

"Scarlett, did Mom tell you anything?"

Catherine asked before heading to the study.

"She just told me to remind you two not to stay up late and to eat properly."

"Oh."

After Catherine entered the study, the previously lively house suddenly became quiet.

Scarlett sat down beside Andrew, watching cartoons to pass the time while waiting for him to wake up.

But even by eleven o’clock in the morning, Andrew showed no signs of waking, and Scarlett was starting to get hungry.

Moreover, if he kept sleeping, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep that night.

Helplessly, Scarlett gently patted him.

"Wake up. Stop sleeping. You can sleep tonight."

After a few gentle pats, Andrew turned over, hugged the pillow tightly, and mumbled foolishly,

"Hehe... Asuna... my Asuna..."

Scarlett blinked in confusion.

"Asuna? Which girl is that?"

"How can this little troublemaker call out another woman’s name in his dream?"

Scarlett instantly frowned, anger flashing across her face. The hand patting Andrew’s cheek became a little more forceful.

"Wake up."

After being patted several times by that cool, faintly fragrant little hand, Andrew finally woke up drowsily, still hugging his pillow.

He looked at Scarlett with sleepy eyes.

"What happened? I was just saving the world."

"Who is Asuna?" Scarlett asked with a stern, serious expression.

Andrew, still groggy, answered without thinking,

"Asuna is my wife."

"What did you say?!"

Instantly, an icy killing intent swept through the entire living room.

Andrew, who had still been half-asleep, immediately sobered up. Realizing something was terribly wrong, he clutched his pillow and hurriedly explained in a panic,

"Teacher, listen to me! The Asuna I mentioned is..."

"Is what? Repeat what you just said!" Scarlett’s voice was ice-cold, her killing intent unmistakable.

Hearing her boyfriend call another woman his "wife"—any normal girl would be furious, lose her temper, and refuse to listen to any explanation.

The overwhelming pressure frightened Andrew so much that he almost lost the ability to think.

He immediately took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and quickly explained,

"Teacher, listen to me! The Asuna I mentioned is an anime character! It’s not what you think!"

"An anime character?" Scarlett still glared angrily at Andrew, only half convinced.

Just then, the study door suddenly opened.

Catherine walked out wearing a cosplay costume and struck a dramatic pose.

"Little Brother, are you talking about Asuna? Is it this one?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Andrew nodded repeatedly.

Scarlett turned to look at Catherine, who had completely transformed. The anger on her face gradually subsided.

"So the ’wife’ you mentioned in your dream was an anime character?"

Scarlett turned back to Andrew, looking at him with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief.

"Hehe... I didn’t sleep well last night. I was too tired, so I ended up having all kinds of weird dreams."

Scarlett pursed her lips. There wasn’t much more she could say.

Instead, she turned back to look at Catherine cosplaying Asuna.

"Does that anime character really look like this?"

"Mhm. My cosplay is pretty accurate."

As she spoke, Catherine struck another pose.

Even though Scarlett had never seen Asuna before, she still thought Catherine looked quite beautiful in the cosplay.

After waking up, Andrew rubbed his eyes, sat cross-legged on the sofa, rested his chin on one hand, and carefully observed her.

Then he said casually, "It’s pretty accurate, I guess."

Catherine immediately protested.

"What do you mean, ’pretty accurate’? What’s inaccurate about it? The only thing missing is the mecha, okay?"

"Asuna isn’t as flat as you. She actually has boobs. You’d be better off cosplaying Megumin."

"Go die!"

Catherine was so angry that she grabbed the pillow beside her and threw it at Andrew’s head.

Andrew dodged by tilting his head, then immediately wrapped his arms around Scarlett beside him.

"Teacher, save me! My sister is hitting me!"

As he spoke, Andrew buried himself in her soft embrace and quietly murmured,

"Teacher’s figure is still the best. If you cosplayed her, you’d definitely look even more accurate."

After saying that, he peeked out and raised an eyebrow at Catherine.

That finally broke Catherine’s composure. Not only had she been mocked for being single, but now she was also being teased for her flat chest.

"Waaah... you’re bullying me~"

Catherine ran back to the study, looking thoroughly dejected.

Seeing this, Scarlett helplessly tried to push Andrew away.

"Alright, you’ve hugged me long enough. Get up now."

"Mmm-hmm..."

Andrew clung to Scarlett’s slender waist and acted spoiled.

"Let me hug you a little longer, my wife."

Scarlett simply couldn’t resist Andrew whenever he acted spoiled, so she let him cling to her for a little while longer before finally pushing him away.

"Okay. You can hug me tonight. It’s almost noon, so let’s get lunch ready first."

"Got it!"

Andrew went to prepare lunch while Scarlett went to comfort Catherine.

When she entered the study, she found Catherine continuously eating snacks.

"Why are you still eating snacks? Lunch will be ready soon."

Scarlett wanted her to stop.

"I’m upset, and when I’m upset, I like to eat."

Catherine still sounded a little depressed.

"Then eat less. Andrew will finish cooking soon."

Catherine sniffled and declared proudly,

"I won’t eat anything he makes! Even if I starved to death outside, I wouldn’t eat a single bite of his cooking!"

...

Scarlett let out a long sigh. After persuading her for a while, she finally managed to coax Catherine out.

During lunch, Scarlett warned Andrew not to tease Catherine about her flat chest anymore.

Only then did the conflict between the two finally come to an end.

Then, while holding her bowl of rice, Scarlett couldn’t help complaining,

"Your mother told both of you to listen to me, but I can’t exactly act like your mother and stop you two from arguing all the time, can I?"

Catherine lowered her head and quietly ate, also feeling a little embarrassed that Scarlett had to mediate their quarrels.

After hearing that, however, Andrew suddenly got an idea. He leaned close to Scarlett’s ear and whispered with a perfectly serious expression,

"Hello, Mother Scarlett."

"Hello, my foot! You’re washing the dishes later!"

"Yes, Mother Scarlett."

...

Scarlett felt slightly annoyed by Andrew’s shamelessness, but remembering him calling her "Mother Scarlett," the corners of her mouth couldn’t help curling upward.

Caught between annoyance and amusement, she finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into laughter, causing her to choke on the rice in her mouth and cough several times.

"Teacher, are you okay?"

Andrew asked with concern, only to receive a smack on the head from Scarlett.

"It’s all your fault! How dare you ask if I’m okay?"

"Ouch... I was wrong."

"Wrong, my foot!"

After lunch, Scarlett watched Andrew happily head into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Slightly dissatisfied, she muttered to herself,

"You keep making me so angry. It’s been such a long time since I punished this little troublemaker, and he’s getting naughtier by the day."

"No, I have to think of a way to punish him a little."

Scarlett originally considered using her previous "lighting a fire" punishment again but quickly dismissed the idea.

That punishment was too dangerous. If she wasn’t careful, it would end up being more of a reward than a punishment.

So what should she use instead?

After thinking for a moment, Scarlett considered making him kneel on a durian.

"Catherine, is there a fruit store nearby that sells durians?"

"No. If you want one, you’ll have to buy it from the supermarket. I can order one for delivery."

Thinking Scarlett wanted to eat durian, Catherine was about to open a delivery app.

"No need. I don’t really want to eat one."

"You don’t?"

Catherine froze for a second before immediately realizing Scarlett’s intention.

"Scarlett, you can just make Andrew kneel on a keyboard instead. I have a 64-key, an 87-key, and a 108-key mechanical keyboard. Take your pick!"

After much deliberation, Scarlett decided to postpone the matter of punishing Andrew and deal with it another time.

After lunch, Andrew started feeling drowsy again. To keep him from sleeping until evening and ruining his sleep schedule, Scarlett kept him occupied by chatting with him, watching anime, and playing games.

But after only a short while, Andrew was lying on the sofa watching anime, his eyelids fighting a losing battle.

Seeing this, Scarlett had no choice but to keep talking to him to help him get through the sleepiest part of the day.

"I can tell you really like those anime characters. Why have I never heard you talk about them or play those games?"

"It’s enough for anime to live in my heart. As for games, they’re too exhausting. I don’t feel like playing them," Andrew said lazily from the sofa.

His answer left Scarlett almost speechless.

"Can’t you be a little more energetic? You’re actually complaining that playing games is tiring?"

"Can’t help it. I’m getting old. I don’t have the energy to grind anymore."

"You’re only eighteen! You think you’re old? Then what does that make me?"

"Teachers are forever eighteen. I’m almost nineteen."

"..."