After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me - Chapter 988

Chapter 988: Cold Shoulder
Ye Lingfeng found Xi Mo just as displeasing.

Both of them glared at each other, and after a brief, unspoken exchange, quickly turned their eyes away.

Xi Mo glanced at Zhouzhou and said, “Zhouzhou, I have something to attend to. If you need anything, just give me a call.”

“Mmhm.” Zhouzhou nodded, still wiping her tears.

Seeing her like this, Xi Mo couldn’t help but chuckle. He stepped forward and pulled her up. “Come on, stop crying, I’ll walk you out first.”

“Alright.” Zhouzhou nodded obediently, following him out.

Once she saw his car drive away, her tears immediately stopped flowing.

She tried to force herself to cry again but couldn’t, so she simply wiped her eyes and decided not to cry anymore.

“Let’s go,” Ye Lingfeng said, holding her hand and stretching. He was already mentally preparing for the next task.

Ah, he had just finished one mission and hadn’t even had time to rest before another task came up. Life was so exhausting; it was a never-ending cycle.

However, Zhouzhou seemed to be full of energy and joy.

Ye Lingfeng drove her to the research institute.

Zhouzhou happily ran inside, her smile brightening when she saw Jing Bai, “Brother!”

But this wasn’t just an ordinary brother. This was money!

She approached with extreme enthusiasm, but Jing Bai didn’t even look at her. He grabbed something and turned back into the laboratory, completely ignoring her.

Zhouzhou blinked in surprise, then pouted in annoyance. Why was he angry? She wasn’t mad anymore, so what was he angry about?

Qin Ren walked over, following her gaze, and sighed. “I don’t know who upset him, but he’s like this now, shutting everyone out. He’s been so absorbed in his experiments lately. I consulted with a psychologist, and they said he’s retreating into himself again.”

So serious?

Zhouzhou’s face turned puzzled as she felt at a loss.

The reason she said that earlier was because she was genuinely angry. He had repeatedly told her to kill her father, and she didn’t like hearing that.

But now, thinking back, maybe she had been a bit too harsh?

Zhouzhou scratched her head in thought.

She just wanted to make things clear. She never expected him to be like this.

Seeing the look on her face, Qin Ren asked in surprise, “Zhouzhou, do you have anything to do with it?”

Zhouzhou hesitated before nodding, “Maybe…”

She then recounted the whole situation to him.

After hearing this, Qin Ren understood. Jing Bai’s behavior was probably really connected to Zhouzhou. It seemed he cared about her, although for most of the time, it was just because of his desire to study her.

But that unique interest he had toward her was definitely different from how he treated anyone else.

And the fact that Zhouzhou could stir such emotions in him was clear evidence of how deep it went.

Thinking of this, he stepped aside and said, “Go on, talk to him.”

“Mmhm,” Zhouzhou nodded her small head and was about to walk away when she stopped, turning to Qin Ren. “Big Brother, just be careful too, okay? If nothing major happens, don’t go out. And if you do, take me with you. I’ll protect you!”

For a moment, Qin Ren felt a bit touched, realizing his little cousin had truly grown up. He reached out and patted her on the head.

Suddenly, he noticed something strange and asked in confusion, “Why did you change your hairstyle?”

The mention of her hairstyle instantly brought all of Zhouzhou’s sadness flooding back. She clutched her chest dramatically and began to tearfully whine, “Because Dad said my Fortune Hair is too eye-catching. It’s easy for bad people to find me.”

So that’s why.

Qin Ren finally understood and patted her head again, “That makes sense. You should listen to your dad.”

Even if it wasn’t for that reason, he had long thought that Zhouzhou should change her hairstyle. Her hair had grown so long it was now more like a big onion stalk than a cute little sapling. She couldn’t just keep running around with it sticking up like a telephone pole, right?

Zhouzhou stared at him, her face saying, Is that all?

Wasn’t anyone going to mourn her Fortune Hair?

Suddenly, her urge to cry came back stronger than ever.

See? No one cared! She was on her own, crying alone!

Well, never mind. Once she took down all those bad guys, she would proudly wear her Fortune Hair again!

Thinking about it, Zhouzhou balled up her small fists and gave herself a pep talk.

She could do it. She was strong enough to do it!

After rallying her spirit, Zhouzhou walked into the lab, head held high.

The laboratory was huge, and Jing Bai was the only one there, making the space feel even quieter.

Zhouzhou ran up to him, stood on tiptoe, and curiously peered at the reagent in his hands. “Brother, what’s this?”

Jing Bai didn’t answer, continuing his work as though she didn’t exist.

Seeing his reaction, Zhouzhou tilted her head in confusion. Hmm, if he won’t talk, I’ll just look myself.

She looked around the lab, but couldn’t find the stool she usually stood on. In fact, all the chairs were gone. Not a single one was left, and there wasn’t even a box to stand on.

Zhouzhou froze, and after running around the entire lab in frustration, she found nothing.

Jing Bai, noticing her running around in his peripheral vision, couldn’t help but smile slightly. But when she turned her head, his smile faded immediately as he resumed his work.

Zhouzhou stormed up to him, her brow furrowed. “Brother, did you take all the chairs away?”

Jing Bai continued to ignore her.

Zhouzhou huffed, jumping up and down in anger. He’s picking on me!

Wait until she grew tall, she would throw all their tables away and make them look up to her!

Zhouzhou stomped off angrily, and Qin Ren caught up to her and asked, “What happened?”

Zhouzhou, looking deeply aggrieved, explained, “There’s no chair inside, I can’t reach anything.”

Ah, so that was it.

Qin Ren couldn’t help but laugh. “I knew he had taken the chairs away. He was just waiting for you.”

Hearing this, Zhouzhou’s temper flared. See? I knew it was him!

She puffed her cheeks, looking like a tiny pufferfish.

Qin Ren found this quite amusing and grabbed her hand, pulling her outside. “Come on, I’ll take you to get the chairs.”

“Mmhm.”

Not long later, they reached a room filled with chairs. Half of it was occupied with the stuff Zhouzhou had emptied from Alva’s lab.

Zhouzhou grabbed one of the chairs and marched back into the lab. She slammed it on the floor and stepped onto it with an exaggerated pose, hands on her hips, glaring at Jing Bai.

Jing Bai didn’t even bat an eye, maintaining his expressionless demeanor as he continued with his work.

Zhouzhou stood still, arms crossed, eyes locked on him, waiting.

After a long while, her eyes started to sting from not blinking, and she couldn’t hold it any longer, blinking her eyes.

Just then, Qin Ren walked in and saw the scene. He couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Two big kids playing games.

He sighed and approached them, eyeing the reagent in Jing Bai’s hand. “Alright, stop messing around. You’re doing it all wrong.”

Jing Bai ignored him, expressionless, and poured out the reagent to start over, still unwilling to speak.

Seeing this, Qin Ren couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Keep acting like that.

He picked up Zhouzhou and set her on a workbench. “Come on, watch Big Brother do the experiment.”

Zhouzhou shook her head, “I don’t want to watch, I’m going to read.”

The semester was almost over, and she still had to get a scholarship.

Hearing this, Qin Ren nodded, “Alright, do you want me to teach you?”

“Yes, yes!” Zhouzhou nodded enthusiastically.

Qin Ren took a chair for himself and began teaching seriously.

The siblings sat together, one teaching, one learning, completely ignoring the silent presence of Jing Bai.

Unknowingly, Jing Bai’s attention was drawn toward them.

And the moment he glanced over, Zhouzhou immediately turned her head and caught him looking.

She smiled triumphantly. “Gotcha!”