Chapter 74: They’re getting along well?

No one could bring themselves to hit a smiling face, especially when that face was exceptionally good-looking—and belonged to someone who had already won them over by cooking them food.

The next day, during lunch, Wei Ranmiao noticed that the cousins seemed to be getting along much more naturally.

It had only been one night, yet everyone had already loosened up?

Still, the more she thought about it, the less she felt there was anything wrong with that. They would be living under the same roof from now on, after all. Wei Ranmiao was not the sort of person who went looking for trouble. If anything, she preferred a peaceful household where everyone could get along.

Seeing her children looking so much more relaxed, she couldn’t help feeling relieved. Perhaps she was being selfish, but she truly didn’t want her own children to feel uncomfortable just to accommodate someone else’s.

It would be best if everyone could get along.

With that thought in mind, Wei Ranmiao turned to Lin Feng with a warmer smile.

"Did you sleep well last night? The first night in a new place is usually the hardest, but you’ll get used to it soon."

Bai Jian’an, who was reading a book; Bai Jiancheng, who was playing on his phone; and Bai Jianning, who was secretly reading a certain genre of web novel with flushed cheeks, all paused at once.

The three exchanged no words, but they shared the same guilty secret.

They had all been craving late-night snacks the previous night, something their mother had always disapproved of. To her, wanting midnight snacks meant staying up past their bedtime, and if she found out that all three of them had been awake well past midnight, they would undoubtedly be in for a scolding.

It wasn’t often that they got a break from their studies and work. They had no intention of wasting this precious opportunity to relax by listening to their mother’s nagging.

Holding their breath, they watched as Lin Feng smiled gratefully at his aunt.

"I was a little unfamiliar with the bed at first, but once I finally fell asleep, I slept quite deeply. It wasn’t too bad."

The three of them silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Wei Ranmiao was focused on Lin Feng and didn’t notice her children’s strange reactions. She nodded with satisfaction.

"That’s good to hear. It shouldn’t take long for you to get used to it."

After a brief pause, she continued, "What are your plans for today? If you’d like, we can accompany you shopping. It’s rare for all the children to be home at the same time, so we could all go together if you want."

Truthfully, Wei Ranmiao wasn’t particularly eager to go out just yet.

Although the same-sex scandal had been suppressed and other entertainment news had already drawn the public’s attention elsewhere, she still wanted to wait a few more days before taking Lin Feng out in public.

That way, neither she nor the boy would attract too much unwanted attention.

Lin Feng was sensible enough to understand her concerns. The commotion surrounding the recent incidents had yet to die down completely, so he shook his head and replied softly, "Grandpa Bai and I have a dinner appointment with someone this evening."

Wei Ranmiao looked surprised. Her husband hadn’t mentioned anything about it to her.

"You’re meeting someone? Who?"

"The Lin family," Lin Feng answered honestly.

The moment those words left his mouth, a deathly silence descended over the table.

Then, without warning, Bai Jianning sprang up from the couch where she’d been lounging and reading.

"Third Brother, you can’t go!"

Wei Ranmiao was just as startled by Lin Feng’s answer, but the moment she saw her daughter’s reaction, her expression darkened.

"Bai Jianning, sit down."

Her voice carried the unmistakable authority of a mother.

The puffed-up Bai Jianning immediately deflated as though someone had pricked her with a needle. She obediently lowered herself back onto the couch, sitting down with exaggerated caution.

For a moment, she had completely forgotten that her mother was there.

But the thought of the Lin family still troubled her, and she couldn’t keep quiet for long.

"Third Brother, the Lin family is really hostile right now. They might beat you up if you go! You really shouldn’t go."

"Bai. Jian. Ning."

At the cold warning in her mother’s voice, the girl promptly snapped her mouth shut. In an instant, she transformed back into a well-behaved, sensible young lady, her face full of innocent composure.

After shooting her rebellious daughter one last chilly glance, Wei Ranmiao turned back to Lin Feng.

"Don’t mind her. If you’re going with your grandfather, then you must be meeting the head of the Lin family."

She pursed her lips as the image of her unsavory former brother-in-law came to mind.

"The patriarch of the Lin family is a capable man who knows how to handle things. Although the Lin family has every reason to harbor grievances over what happened in the past, neither family head will allow the situation to descend into further chaos."

"Just make sure you don’t leave Grandpa’s side," Bai Jianning couldn’t resist adding.

Another cold look landed on her.

Bai Jianning shuddered.

’Uh-oh. I’m definitely in trouble once Mom gets hold of me later.’

Thinking of this, she glanced at her mother with wide, pleading eyes, desperately trying to communicate a silent message.

Wei Ranmiao: "..."

She had always considered herself an intelligent woman, someone who knew how to navigate the complicated social world with ease. So how had she ended up with such a wild daughter?

Had she and her husband spoiled their youngest too much simply because Jianning was the Bai family’s only granddaughter?

This could not continue.

If their daughter kept behaving so naively and recklessly, sooner or later someone would take advantage of her. They would deceive her, frame her, and perhaps even hurt her. The world of high society had never been kind to the purehearted.

As she imagined her precious daughter being kidnapped, drugged, or dragged into one scandal after another after being deceived and taken advantage of, Wei Ranmiao’s expression grew increasingly solemn.

Bai Jian’an coughed and cast his little sister a helpless glance, while Bai Jiancheng watched the unfolding scene with undisguised schadenfreude.

Their mother was definitely about to do something drastic.

After all, Bai Jiancheng himself had once been sent off to the military for six whole months to toughen him up after he’d gotten involved with people in social circles known for their unsavory reputations.

Bai Jian’an had not escaped his mother’s discipline, either. When he was a university freshman, he’d gotten carried away by the carefree atmosphere of campus life and nearly turned into a silk-pants who neglected his studies. His mother had promptly kicked him out of the house and forced him to work at construction sites for three months.

Now, it was Bai Jianning’s turn.

The two brothers couldn’t help wondering what their mother would come up with this time.