The 99th Divorce

Just as Li Jianyue climbed back up, the door to the room opened. The two children on the bed were shocked out of their wits. Li Mosen’s body suddenly stiffened. The action caused Li Jianyue to be thrown off him. Immediately, the both of them turned their heads to look over.

Li Jianqian walked in. In his hand was a book entitled, “How the Steel Was Tempered.” When he saw their extreme reactions, he grew suspicious and asked, “What were you doing?”

“Older Brother!” Li Jianyue scrambled up and looked at Li Jianqian. Her expression was full of complaint as she asked, “Why didn’t you knock before entering? That was so rude!”

Li Jianqian burst out laughing. “This is my room, too. Why do I need to knock before entering my own room?”

Li Jianyue’s little pink face reddened in frustration as she argued, “You should knock before entering if there are people inside! Don’t you knock before entering Daddy and Mommy’s room?”

“How can you compare this with that?” Li Jianqian asked. “Dad and Mom are husband and wife. The both of you are brother and sister.”

Li Jianyue was disgruntled, especially since she had been out-spoken by her brother. She felt a growing sense of resentment. She felt that her brother was wrong. However, she wasn’t able to put into words exactly where he went wrong. She really wanted to rebut him, but, at the same time, she didn’t know what to say. The feeling was horrible.

The little child harrumphed and turned her head away, yelling, “I’m going to ignore you from now on, Older Brother! Why are you always the only one who’s correct?”

Li Jianqian hugged his book as he walked in. He removed his cotton slippers and climbed onto the bed. “That’s because what I say makes sense. You can’t argue against it, and that’s why you think I’m correct.”

Li Jianyue got even more upset when she heard that.

“But, what were the both of you doing just now?” Li Jianqian asked. “Why did you have that expression?”

“We were playing a game of being thrown off.” the moment Li Jianyue mentioned it, her face broke out in a smile at the memory of playing it moments before. “You don’t ever play with me, so Older Brother Mosen and I created a new game. It’s so fun!”

“It’s not fun!” Li Mosen objected vehemently. “It’s not fun at all!”

Li Jianyue put her hands on her hips and stood akimbo as she shouted back, “It’s fun!”

Li Jianqian watched as the two siblings hollered at each other. He turned his lips up in scorn and commented, “Mosen, if you don’t find it fun, then don’t play the game with her. What you’re doing will make Ersu become too pampered and spoiled.”

“Girls are meant to be pampered! If you won’t pamper me, that means that you don’t love me! Hmph!” Li Jianyue repeated the words that Li Sicheng had said before and announced, “I’m going to tell Daddy! I’ll let Daddy lecture you.”

“Ersu, you’ve gone overboard,” Li Mosen wrinkled his nose and said. “I’m not going to play this game with you anymore. I’ll play with you later when I’m in a better mood.”

“Please don’t…” A frown appeared on Li Jianyue’s face. She pouted her little lips as she tried to placate her brother. “Older Brother Mosen is the best!”

Mosen refused to give in. He turned his head the other way and said, “Wait until my mood improves.”

“Are you in a bad mood?” Li Jianyue blinked her eyes, looking as if she were getting bullied.

“A very bad mood. Ersu bullied me,” Mosen said.

“I didn’t! Older Brother Mosen is the best! I could never bear to bully Older Brother Mosen!” The little girl raised three fingers in the sign of a “three” and said, “I swear it!”

Li Jianqian felt the second-hand embarrassment on behalf of Li Jianyue and pointed out, “Ersu, you’re swearing wrong.”

“Huh?” the little girl was confused.

“It’s not those three fingers. It’s the three fingers in the middle,” Li Jianqian said.