Chapter 456: Brother Against Brother

The car door opened, and Yuan Shiyao took a step forward.

But unexpectedly, the first thing he saw was his twin brother’s pair of emerald eyes, identical to his own.

Yuan Shimo looked at his twin brother and raised an eyebrow slightly. "It really has been a while."

Yuan Shiyao: "..."

The smile on the young man’s face stiffened for a moment before he managed to call out, "Brother."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Baili Jing get out of the other side of the car, stop, and crook his arm in a gentlemanly invitation.

The girl’s fair hand rested on Baili Jing’s arm, and as she leaned out, she smiled at him.

Photographers were already waiting nearby, ready to publish the news once the photos were taken.

After the event, there would also be a charity livestream.

Just talking about dry, boring topics wouldn’t interest netizens, but if the romantic gimmick between Baili Jing and Jiang Qingli was used as the main topic, countless people would click to watch.

After the photos were taken, Jiang Qingli withdrew her hand.

Seeing this, Yuan Shiyao was about to step forward when Yuan Shimo suddenly called out to someone nearby, "Teacher Meng, Shiyao is here too."

Before Yuan Shiyao could react, Meng Xian’s arm was already around his shoulders.

"Shiyao, you’re here too!" Meng Xian naturally knew Yuan Shiyao and even admired him. "A while ago, I heard from your brother that you were interning at a courthouse. I didn’t expect it to be one in the Twelve Cities. How are things here? They’re not working you to the bone, are they? HAHAHA!"

Yuan Shiyao greeted Meng Xian and answered honestly, "No, it’s been very fulfilling."

That was the truth.

Thanks to Xie Youchen, the court had been working him like a dog lately, sending all sorts of cold cases his way.

Yuan Shiyao had been annoyed at first, but after interacting with more victims, he realized their hardships and started voluntarily working overtime, hoping to accomplish something tangible during this period.

Meng Xian glanced at Yuan Shiyao’s dark circles and said, "Don’t work yourself too hard. You need to rest. Are you here today for the court’s legal awareness event?"

Yuan Shiyao nodded. "Yes."

He’d been so busy that he hadn’t had any time alone with Jiang Qingli since his confession.

The few times they met were always at official gatherings.

Jiang Qingli would be surrounded by a crowd of high-ranking officials and nobles, and the few words they exchanged were always formal. There was never an opportunity to be alone together.

Today, Yuan Shiyao had heard that Jiang Qingli had a solo engagement.

Coincidentally, the court had a regular legal awareness event in cooperation with the military district to teach children at the welfare institute about the law and how to protect themselves.

Yuan Shiyao had a good public image, and the director figured it was a waste not to use him, so he was sent over.

On the way here, Yuan Shiyao had been feeling lucky.

But he never imagined that Jiang Qingli would already be surrounded by two males.

’I can handle the fox spirit.’

’But why is Yuan Shimo here too?’

’And even Meng Xian came...’

Meng Xian was notoriously talkative and also enjoyed looking after his juniors.

Having cornered Yuan Shiyao now, he began to question him in detail about his recent experiences.

Not far away, the director of the welfare institute received word and hurried from the front entrance to the back, striding forward to exchange pleasantries with Jiang Qingli before ushering her inside.

At his side, Yuan Shimo smiled. "Teacher Meng, I’ll go ahead and accompany my female master."

"Yes, yes, you go on ahead. I was planning to bring you to see Advisor Jiang anyway," Meng Xian said with a grin. "Make sure you do well in the public class later. Show your female master what you’re capable of."

"I will."

Yuan Shimo gave his mentor a gentle smile, slowed his pace as he passed his younger brother, and his thin lips curled into a faint sneer.

Then he quickened his pace and headed inside.

Seeing this, Meng Xian smiled with great satisfaction. "Look how well your brother and sister-in-law get along! Your brother never used to care about charity. He was too lazy to even eat. It was a good day if he didn’t have his head buried in a book. But now, the moment he heard we were coming to the Twelve Cities, he agreed faster than anyone! He even prepared the entire charity lesson for the children all by himself!"

He grew more and more excited as he spoke, clapping Yuan Shiyao firmly on the shoulder. "Shiyao, I’m too old to know how to use these high-tech cameras. You take a few extra photos of your brother and sister-in-law later, and I’ll send them to our student group chat for everyone to see!"

Yuan Shiyao: "..."

’He was starting to suspect Meng Xian knew something and was helping his student mess with him.’

’But Yuan Shimo only seemed gentle and easygoing; in reality, he was extremely uncompromising and proud. Since they had agreed to compete as brothers, he wouldn’t let anyone else interfere.’

’Of course, even if that were the case, it didn’t matter.’

’Yuan Shiyao figured that his brother having a good relationship with his sister-in-law, and him having a good relationship with his sister-in-law, were two separate, non-conflicting matters that could proceed simultaneously.’

So, he readily agreed to Meng Xian’s suggestion. "Of course, Teacher Meng. I’ll get some close-ups of my sister-in-law later."

-

The welfare institute’s event would last for a total of three days.

This afternoon, Jiang Qingli’s group would mainly be touring the welfare institute, breaking the ice with the children, and introducing them to the activities planned for the next few days.

There was a dedicated arts and crafts teacher who would do some simple projects with the children.

The entire session would be livestreamed to introduce the environment to residents of other urban districts, showcase the children’s creations, and appeal for donations and social awareness.

After speaking with the director, Jiang Qingli changed into the same event T-shirt as the volunteers.

This welfare institute had over thirty children, the majority of whom were male.

In the Empire, it was common to prioritize females over males. Any healthy female child who entered a welfare institute would be snatched up for adoption by a crowd of people. Only a few females with physical disabilities were left behind.

During the ice-breaking activities, Jiang Qingli had already noticed those few young females.

Perhaps because they were missing something, their personalities were more withdrawn.

Especially one little girl with a missing arm, who wore long sleeves even in the sweltering heat and kept her head down, not daring to look at anyone.

In the arts and crafts class, after the teacher explained the painting steps, the girl looked left and right. Seeing the other children painting excitedly beside her, she also picked up a paintbrush.

But because she only had one hand, the paper skewed sideways after just a couple of strokes.

Baili Jing saw this and was about to step forward, but Jiang Qingli reached her first, walking up behind her.

The girl’s senses were sharp. Her back immediately stiffened, and she looked at the newcomer nervously.

The staff at the welfare institute cared for her deeply, to the point of being overprotective. Everything she did was met with excessive concern.

This made her feel like she was a burden no matter what she did.

But Jiang Qingli didn’t say anything, simply holding the paper steady with a natural motion. "There, it won’t move now. Take your time."

The girl’s eyelashes trembled, and she tentatively made a stroke.

But she hadn’t quite mastered the force, and ink splattered onto her clothes, staining a large patch of her white dress black.

Jiang Qingli said, "That’s perfectly normal. The same thing happened to me the first time I painted. It’ll wash right out."

The little girl let out a small sigh of relief and slowly continued to paint, following the steps.

Throughout this process, Jiang Qingli neither held the girl’s hand to help her finish, nor did she say that this kind of activity wasn’t suited for her.

She just watched her with a gentle and encouraging gaze.

When the girl finished painting, she smiled at Jiang Qingli, then shyly took a step back. "It’s done."

Jiang Qingli smiled and ruffled her hair.

The camera turned just in time to capture this moment.

In the livestream’s chat, one comment was particularly jarring—

[This is so staged.]