My wife is a witch princess.

—It's like they're trying to kill someone.

……

Song Che felt his eyelids twitching. Who the hell was talking bad about him so early in the morning!

Did Xia Li scold herself?

dong dong dong-

Song Che opened the door, and behind it stood a face full of smiles.

Chapter 70 Golden Retriever: ? ? (3k)

"Brother Che, I came to see you. Have you been through something lately? You seem a bit off."

Jiang Shuo stood at the door, his face unusually serious.

"It's nothing, what could possibly happen to me?" Song Che opened the door and let him in. "No need to change your shoes, just come in."

"Okay, I was just feeling uneasy, so I came to visit you."

"Isn't there supposed to be self-study today? Did you skip class, you little brat?"

"No way, I properly asked for leave!" Jiang Shuo quickly clarified.

dong dong dong-

The door had just closed when someone knocked again.

Song Che opened the door again, and outside stood Zhang Hanyu's face, red from the cold but filled with a bright smile.

"Song Che, I came to see you! Jiang Shuo is such a disloyal guy. Luckily, I'm quick-witted and know how to follow... oh no, I mean, I know how to care for my classmate! Did he just go in?" She said, peeking into the house. Her nose was red, and she was shivering despite being wrapped in a thick school uniform. It was obvious that she had run all the way here.

"Look, it's standing inside." Song Che stepped aside to let her in.

As soon as Zhang Hanyu entered the room, she pounced on Jiang Shuo and grabbed his neck: "You little rascal Jiang Shuo! I didn't see you when I got to the classroom, so I knew you must have sneaked here! Hmm? What do you want? You're secretly severing me from behind my back with Song Che, aren't you?"

"How could that be!" Jiang Shuo cried out as he dodged, "You...did you ask for leave before you ran out?"

"I skipped class," Zhang Hanyu said matter-of-factly.

"You idiot!" Jiang Shuo said helplessly, "I knew it! Your family won't even let you ask for leave! You skipped class, do you want to die? And you went all the way? Couldn't you have waited until after school to come?"

“I can’t come after school, my dad’s keeping a close eye on me!” Zhang Hanyu glared back, then turned to Song Che, her expression turning worried, “Something’s wrong with Song Che! I keep feeling like maybe…maybe he has some kind of terminal illness or something, and he’s starting to give up on himself?”

Song Che was just coming out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of warm porridge when he heard this. He stopped in his tracks, and the expression on his face froze instantly.

He slowly put down the bowl of porridge, his expression more serious than ever before, even tinged with a hint of heaviness: "Zhang Hanyu..."

"Huh?" Zhang Hanyu's heart skipped a beat.

“Actually…” Song Che’s voice lowered, his eyes dimming slightly, “I really… have a terminal illness.”

The air suddenly froze.

Zhang Hanyu's smile froze completely, her eyes widened, and the next second, she suddenly raised her hand and spat several times: "Pah! Pah! Pah! I was just talking nonsense! It doesn't count! Tell me it's not true! Song Che, tell me you're lying to me!"

Song Che just stared at her silently, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He was actually trying to suppress a laugh, but this made Zhang Hanyu's heart sink.

Jiang Shuo hadn't expected Song Che to respond like that. He jumped up, his lips moved, and his voice trembled slightly: "Brother Che, you..."

But the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say them.

Zhang Hanyu's brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes visibly reddened.

"No...you guys actually believed that?" Song Che quickly broke character, realizing the joke was going too far, and scratched the back of his head. "I just messed up my exam, that's all. I was just teasing you guys like always! Why are you all so easily amused all of you?"

He touched his face. "I just didn't wash my face this morning, and the wind made my skin a little dry, so it's uncomfortable."

"Are you really alright?" Jiang Shuo stared intently into his eyes, confirming.

"It's really nothing, I'd be a dog if I lied to you!" Song Che quickly assured him, putting the spoon into the porridge bowl. "It's my fault, I didn't know my limits when joking. But speaking of which... you two came all this way just for this?"

"I just wanted to come see you." Jiang Shuo breathed a sigh of relief and sat down again. "I don't see you at school usually, and I really miss you. When Zhang Hanyu first told me you did poorly on your exam, I didn't believe it. But later... your grades were still the same, and I felt that something must have happened to you and you were holding it in."

"What could possibly happen to me?"

"Are you... having a mental breakdown?" Jiang Shuo asked tentatively. In his limited understanding, the only thing that could cause a boy's grades to plummet and his mood to be so low was a breakup.

Zhang Hanyu also tried to comfort him, even becoming incoherent: "Brother Che, don't be too sad. What's that saying again? Women affect the speed at which you draw your sword... no, they affect your future! At worst... at worst, I'll be your girlfriend!"

As she spoke, she boldly tossed her hair.

Jiang Shuo immediately interrupted him with disdain: "Don't you always shout 'Long live being single'? And you, a girl, actually..."

"What?!" Zhang Hanyu raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Shuo glanced down subconsciously, not daring to utter a sound.

"You better not have meant it the way I think it!"

Zhang Hanyu instantly lost his temper, and it seemed the two were about to start their nth argument over some historical issue—

"Song Che, I'm awake."

A slightly hoarse voice, carrying the languid air of someone who had just woken up, rang out.

Xia Li rubbed her eyes and shuffled out of the bedroom in her slippers. Her silver hair was a little messy from sleeping, with a few strands sticking up unruly. She was clearly not fully awake yet, her eyes half-closed, and she moved towards the sofa in the living room by instinct.

"Okay, good morning." Song Che replied naturally. "There's porridge in the kitchen. Help yourself after you wash up."

After he finished speaking, he realized that Jiang Shuo and Zhang Hanyu were staring at him with an indescribable look.

Song Che touched his face in confusion: "What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?" He then realized what he meant and explained, "Oh, oh, we didn't break up. It's just that I'm bad at the exam. I think I'll be better after the New Year."

Seeing that the two were still frozen in place, Song Che waved his hand in front of their eyes: "Hey, snap out of it! Hurry up and drink your porridge, it'll get cold if you don't. Why aren't you drinking it?"

"You two... are living together?" Zhang Hanyu's eyes lit up instantly, his voice filled with excitement.

"You've been living together for the hell?!" Jiang Shuo's eyes were as red as a rabbit's, and his voice was filled with grief and indignation.

At this moment, Xia Li was still rubbing her temples, probably because she had read too much last night and had a headache. She slowly swayed toward the sink, toothpaste foam in her mouth, and spoke indistinctly: "Song Che, I haven't completely mastered what you taught me last night. Shall we continue today? If you feel a little tired, you can rest today."

"Damn it, you all 'did' it, and you still teach her... You know so much?" Jiang Shuo's expression froze.

I hope my brother is doing well, but you... aren't you doing a little too well?

"No, Jiang Shuo, let me explain, it's not what you think!" Song Che quickly waved his hand.

Xia Li had just finished rinsing her mouth, wiped her lips, and added very seriously, "Never mind, let's do it anyway. It's my first time doing this, so I'm not very good at it. This is a good opportunity to practice more."

Song Che: "..."

Jiang Shuo: "What else do you have to explain?!"

He was heartbroken and almost wanted to beat his chest in frustration. "I came to see you because I was worried you weren't doing well. And you tell me you're already living with another couple?! And living such a... such a fulfilling life?!"

Zhang Hanyu's face also turned red. She leaned closer and lowered her voice, asking gossipy, "Song Che... how did it feel? Did you... study those 'study materials' I sent you together?"

"What...what feeling? Cooking! I'm teaching Xia Li how to cook! Pork rib soup! Stir-fried vegetables!"

Song Che was practically going crazy.

However, at this moment, in Jiang Shuo's eyes, cooking or anything else was enough to break his heart—he hadn't even properly held a girl's hand yet, but his brother was already living with such a beautiful girl.

I taught it last night, and I'll continue today. It's my first time, and I'm not very good at it.

This isn't right!

We agreed that we should study hard together and strive for a bright future.

Jiang Shuo looked around in grief and indignation, but thankfully he didn't find any roof beams in the end.

"So you weren't just heartbroken," he said quietly. "You're just too happy to leave... I won't drink this porridge, I'm not in the mood. I'm sorry to bother you today, brother. If you don't like it, I don't have to come next time. That would make me seem like I don't know my manners."

He mimicked Lin Daiyu's witty speech, but his thick glasses made him look rather comical.

"If you don't want it, brother, can I have it?"

A sweet, soft voice suddenly came from behind the sofa.

Jiang Shuo looked down and saw a little girl, about eleven or twelve years old, emerge. Her eyes were round and dark, like two washed grapes, her long hair was smooth, and she was wearing cute and delicate plush pajamas. She was tilting her head and looking at him curiously.

"My name is Taoxiang. What's your name, brother?"

Song Che's heart skipped a beat.

broken.

Sure enough, Jiang Shuo instantly forgot his previous grief and indignation, his eyes widened even more, and he began to stammer, "Sister?! Your name is Tao Xiang? That's so nice! My name is Jiang Shuo, Jiang as in ginger shreds, and Shuo as in abundant fruit! Do you want some candy? My family has so many kinds of candy! Oh my god... you're so cute! Come here and let your brother hug you, okay?"

A slightly silly smile involuntarily appeared on his face, and he even subconsciously squatted down.

"Really?!" Momoka's eyes lit up, clearly very interested in the candy.

"His family has a big golden retriever that's taller than you when it stands up," Song Che kindly reminded him from the side.

"Ah..." Tao Xiang's face fell, and she shrank her neck in fear. "I... I'm a little afraid of big dogs... then I'd better not go."

Without hesitation, Jiang Shuo blurted out, "Then I'll send it away. No, I'll... stew it, it won't be scary at all!"

Tao Xiang blinked her big eyes, looking at the fierce look on his face that hadn't completely faded, and whispered, "Brother... your expression just now seemed a little fierce."

Jiang Shuo: "...I didn't, I didn't! Little sister, let me explain...Never mind, what color burlap sack do you like?"

"I don't like sacks." Momoka was terrified. She didn't know that the man in front of her was a siscon, and not just any siscon, but one who would control any type of younger sister.

Still a hardcore controller.

However, Jiang Shuo quickly realized what was happening and exclaimed in anguish, "Damn it, this isn't your sister, is it?!"

Upon hearing this, Tao Xiang immediately replied, "Yes, I am Song Che's younger sister."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Song Che, preparing to receive praise. Last time, she thought it was unreasonable to say that she was Song Che's daughter, but it made perfect sense to say that she was his sister.

She thought for a moment, then hugged Song Che affectionately and gave him a quick kiss. "I love Brother Song Che the most."

"Not buddy, right?"

Song Che felt a pang of heartache seeing him, and he felt a pang of heartache himself, for a different reason than Jiang Shuo. Jiang Shuo didn't know that these two girls, one who almost killed him and the other who almost bankrupted him, were both... complete idiots!

Xia Li had finished washing up and went to the kitchen to get two bowls of porridge. "Song Che, here you go."

"I've already drunk it."

"Then I'll drink them all." Xia Li sat to the side drinking her porridge, took a sip, and then belatedly looked up. "Hello Jiang Shuo, hello Zhang Hanyu."