Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

"walk?"

Qi Xinye didn't quite understand. She shook her long hair, glanced out the window, and turned back to say, "I'm usually only allowed to go to school... I also have to book private lessons for things like the violin... so I rarely have time to go out and play."

What does this mean?

Yu Zhe mentioned this possibility.

"You...you haven't ever gone on a long trip yet, have you? Just staying here or at school every day?"

"Yes, yes," Qi Xinye smiled weakly. "To be honest, my father said the family has high expectations for me. The elders all say I need to learn etiquette and management skills. As long as I can stay ahead of my peers, I can manage the Qi family in the future and ease my parents' burdens. And..."

"Were you happy when you were learning these things?"

"..."

Qi Xinye thought for a moment, then answered according to her previous logic, "This is the rule..."

"Don't talk about rules or not, I'm asking you if you're happy, why do you always give irrelevant answers?"

Qi Xinye was not angry at all when she was interrupted the second time she spoke.

But this made her feel that her train of thought had been disrupted.

Yes... Young Master Su asked her if she was happy, but why did she keep answering with questions about being proper and improper?

She didn't know, but Yu Zhe did, because "rules" were just an excuse she used to make, even though she didn't want to learn them.

"I'm unhappy..."

As soon as she said this, Qi Xinye covered her mouth with her hand, afraid that the elders in her family would hear it. These were words she had spoken on a whim.

But there are no elders from my family here.

Only Yu Zhe.

A smile played on his lips as he grabbed Qi Xinye's hand, startling her.

"Young Master Su?"

"If you're unhappy, you need to change! I'll take you to do something fun, come with me!"

Without asking for her opinion, Yu Zhe pulled her up from her seat.

Asking here is pointless; she'll just spout some rules, so it's better to "act first and report later."

Qi Xinye didn't know what he wanted to do. She tried to break free at first, but because she was surprised and because girls are naturally not as strong as boys, she was led out of the room by Yu Zhe by the hand.

Once outside, Yu Zhe didn't stop. She took Qi Xinye and ran out of the courtyard, heading towards the edge of the manor.

"Young Master Su? Where are you taking me?!"

"Hehe, don't worry about it, just come with me."

Because the two weren't running very slowly, almost no one saw the two little cuties.

However, Su Zhenfeng and Qi Yi, who were still chatting at the door and hadn't left, happened to turn around and see this scene.

Qi Yi was utterly dumbfounded: "Brother Feng...that's your daughter...your son, right? It seems like you've kidnapped my daughter..."

"Haha, don't mind it, don't mind it!" Su Zhenfeng was already used to it; he wasn't surprised by his son's strange behavior anymore. "Come on, let's continue discussing that project. You invest seven percent..."

Qi Yi could only turn back to Su Zhenfeng and continue talking about the project, and his expression relaxed considerably.

Just now, he seemed to see a smile on Xiao Ye's face. If you don't count the pressure from her family and the etiquette she was forced to practice, this child hadn't smiled for many years.

Normally, Qi Yi is powerless to deal with the pressure from his family, but now, if Xiao Ye can have fun with Yu Zhe, Qi Yi would be more than happy.

Yes, Qi Xinye herself didn't realize that when Yu Zhe pulled her hand and ran outside, she had a smile on her face.

Running freely on the light and soft snow, without any worries.

Even though there was nothing particularly special about it, Qi Xinye felt a sense of joy and release from the bottom of her heart.

Your requirements are too low; this is not enough.

Yu Zhe laughed even more heartily. While playing hide-and-seek, he discovered a large section of old, unrepaired wall at the edge of the manor.

He led Qi Xinye straight through a flower field until they reached the wall.

Both of them were panting heavily from exhaustion.

"Hoo... Haa, Young Master Su, what... what are you doing?"

"Of course, I'll show you the outside world."

"The outside world?"

Qi Xinye also looked at it every day when she went to school; the outside world wasn't anything special.

Following his memory, Yu Zhe headed towards the flower field next door, where Qi Xinye was waiting in the proper young lady posture.

What are you looking for?

"Wait a minute... Ah, I've got it! This is it!"

Yu Zhe's eyes lit up, and with great effort, he lifted a large stone hammer that he had found in the flower field.

This was discarded here by the Qi family's gardener when he no longer needed it.

Yu Zhe almost tripped over it while playing hide-and-seek, so he remembered it.

Qi Xinye watched as Yu Zhe raised the hammer.

Although Yu Zhe is a boy, he looks like a silver-haired little girl. When this silver-haired little girl happily raised a hammer that was bigger than her own head, it made Qi Xinye chuckle.

But being one of the older children, she stepped forward and advised, "Young Master Su, this is very dangerous..."

"It's alright, it's alright, I know what I'm doing."

Do you think I don't know how dangerous this is?! Isn't this necessary just to broaden your horizons?

Yu Zhe struggled to lift the hammer and approached the wall made of a mixture of stone and earth.

Without saying a word, he gritted his teeth, struggled to lift the hammer, and smashed it against the wall!

Clang!

The reaction force made Yu Zhe shudder, but only some dirt and dust fell from the wall.

"Are you alright?!" Qi Xinye rushed over to check on her in a panic.

This wall is an old, abandoned wall of the Qi Family Manor. It was built decades ago. Although it has no value and is very dilapidated, it's not something a child could break down. Besides, why would you break it?

"Hmm? You're not addressing me as 'you' this time?"

Yu Zhe steadied himself, picked up the hammer again, and laughed, "Looks like you also find this interesting, right? So you've temporarily forgotten about the rules."

"Ah... no..."

"No need to apologize, that's the right thing to do."

Yu Zhe shifted his gaze back to the wall: "I just looked at this wall, and only this part of it is extremely loosely constructed. Even we could smash a big hole in it without affecting the surrounding walls."

"But...why did you smash it?"

"How do you know why you need to smash the wall before you've actually broken through it?"

Yu Zhe also played the role of a riddle solver.

Under Qi Xinye's questioning gaze, Yu Zhe repeatedly swung the hammer and smashed it hard against the wall.

Bonus Chapter: Qi Xinye (6) (Bonus Chapter)

She just stood there, staring blankly, which made Yu Zhe want to complain.

Hey, hey, hey, I'm smashing your wall! Can't you act a little angrier?!

But Qi Xinye was actually quite confused. What could a nine-year-old child possibly know?

She had almost never seen such a scene before: the eldest son of a large family, living in...

But then he started swinging a hammer and smashing the wall... That's just unbelievable.

But she forgot another reason for the action... which was that she also found it very interesting...

Each strike of the hammer against the wall felt like a blow to her long-closed heart.

Each muffled thud awakened Qi Xinye's playful nature as a child.

She didn't know when it started, but her desire to persuade Yu Zhe to put down the hammer turned into wanting to watch Yu Zhe smash through the wall.

The cracks on the earthen wall were getting bigger and bigger.

Yu Zhe took a closer look, touched the wall, and quickly calculated the potential dangers if this part of the wall collapsed in his clever and genius little mind.

In just a short while, he came to the conclusion that there was no danger.

Unless a hammer hits your own foot, the wall will only have a big hole smashed through it in the middle, and it won't collapse.

You know what, this wall is actually quite good quality, really sturdy.

But that's where it ends. Yu Zhe put down the hammer, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and handed the hammer to Qi Xinye.

"You don't need to watch anymore, you're the one who will deliver the final blow."

"Huh? You mean... I can play?"

Hehe, look, it's already working. Qi Xinye also thinks it's just a game.

"Of course, it's boring to just watch from the sidelines the whole time."

Of course it's boring... Just like when Yu Zhe and the others played hide-and-seek, Qi Xinye could only watch secretly, even though she really wanted to join in.

But now, she's actually allowed to join them.

Qi Xinye was somewhat flattered as she took the hammer; its immense weight made it difficult for her to lift her arm for a moment.

Yu Zhe helped her adjust the hammer, and then said.

"Now you just need to smash it one more time, just one more time, and the wall will be smashed through."

"Really?"

Qi Xinye felt a little excited; it was the first time someone her age had chatted with her like this.

But once she regained a little of her senses, she became very scared and put the hammer down again, which she had finally managed to pick up.

"No... My family would be very disappointed if they knew I was like this, and then there would be so many more tutoring classes..."