So why was her mom so worked out over this? Putting aside the matter of whether Er Bao had discretion, it was obvious that this relationship was not going to last anyway.
“Mom, I feel that if you really interfere in this matter, Er Bao’s temper may flare, and this relationship may end up lasting longer than it would originally have. You know Er Bao’s temper as well. Er Bao hasn’t gone through his teenage rebellious stage yet. Don’t use up all of Er Bao’s rebellion on this one matter. It won’t be good if you make a fool out of yourself in the end.”
With San Bao’s persuasion, Qiao Nan finally calmed down. “Well, I guess you’re right. Sigh. I’m old. I don’t think in the same way that I did when I was younger. San Bao, be honest with Mom. Did Er Bao bribe you with something? Why are you helping Er Bao in every way on this matter? Er Bao bought you over, didn’t he?”
Usually, when the three children were together, Er Bao and San Bao quarreled with each other the most. The two of them were like sworn enemies. There was sure to be a fight between the two of them before they could even finish ten sentences.
But now, San Bao was wholeheartedly speaking up for Er Bao. There was no way for Qiao Nan not to think that this was strange. “When did your relationship with Er Bao become so cordial? I thought that you only liked Da Bao and despised Er Bao for being too childish and coming before you, depriving you of the chance to be an elder sister.”
“I do hate it.” San Bao slapped her thigh and said, “Even up until now, I hate that he’s so childish. But I’m still his triplet and spent time with him in your womb. No matter how much we argue, we only do so behind closed doors. It’s our own family matter. But in front of outsiders, I’ll definitely stand with Er Bao. Mom, you belittle me and Er Bao. Putting aside my arguments with Er Bao, our relationship is actually very good.”
“…” Qiao Nan could only chuckle. It was good that they shared a close relationship. “Alright, we’ll do as you said. As long as Er Bao has a clear idea of what he’s doing. But I’m warning you. You vouched for Er Bao in front of me. If Er Bao doesn’t have as much discretion as you said and gets into trouble, I won’t just deal with Er Bao. I’ll take you down with him.”
Qiao Nan was not worried about anything else. She was simply worried that Er Bao knew that San Bao was on his side and would get San Bao to act as his shield and cover for him because they shared a good relationship.
If the situation was truly like San Bao’s analysis, then nothing would happen in the future. But if what Qiao Nan was afraid of really happened, San Bao would be in the wrong too and would have to be punished as well. Was it so easy to be a guarantor? If anything happened, the siblings would be punished together.
San Bao scrunched up her face pitifully. “What about Da Bao? There’s no reason for Da Bao to get off with it alone, right? We’re triplets. If Er Bao gets in trouble, I’ll be in trouble too. But why should Da Bao be let off?” If that were the case, it would be too unfair. Da Bao had found out about Er Bao’s relationship even earlier than she had.
Da Bao was even by Er Bao’s side, but Da Bao had not even stopped Er Bao from getting into a relationship. So if she was going to get into trouble, then Da Bao should not be let off either. Otherwise, this would be clearly unfair. Her mom was just being biased, and she and Er Bao were children whom no one loved.
“Don’t spout such nonsense.” Qiao Nan tugged on San Bao’s braids. “The problem hasn’t even occurred yet, but you’re already so eager for the three of you to be punished together? Don’t worry. If any of you three make a mistake, the other two are not going to get away with it either. It’s your fault for meddling in it. You’re all my children, so I’ll treat all of you equally.” If she were to punish them, the three of them would face the same punishment. None of them would be spared.
San Bao could feel a murderous aura emanating from Qiao Nan. San Bao shrank her neck and her gaze lost their previous confidence. Once she returned to her room later, she would make another call to Da Bao and confirm that Er Bao still had self-control and would not drag Da Bao or her down with him.
It was Er Bao who had committed the mistake, so it was only right for Er Bao to be punished. But how unjustified it would be for both Da Bao and her to be punished as well! Neither she nor Da Bao had done anything. They had simply been obedient children.
Seeing San Bao’s hesitation and guilt, Qiao Nan smiled and did not stop San Bao from running back to her room. Being fearful was good too. Only if she was fearful would San Bao be concerned about the development of the matter and help keep Er Bao in check so that nothing would happen.
“Hello, Da Bao. It’s me, San Bao.”
Zhai Yi raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure you want me to call you San Bao, and not Zhai Yu?” Ever since he started university, Zhai Yi had not heard anyone call him by the familiar nickname ‘Da Bao’ for almost two months!
“Bah, that was just a slip of the tongue. Eldest brother. Can I call you eldest brother?” The three of them had been born just minutes apart. As the youngest, Zhai Yu was annoyed that she had not been born just a little earlier. If she was born just a little earlier, she would not only be older than Er Bao, but she might even be older than Da Bao and be the eldest sister among the three children.
Just because of that little difference, she had not only lost her status as the eldest sister but had also become the youngest. In the short span of a few minutes, she had suffered such a great loss.
But today’s situation was different. The moment she realized that Zhai Yi was upset, Zhai Yu did not even address him as Zhai Yi. Instead, she affectionately addressed him as ‘eldest brother’. It was obvious just how anxious San Bao was to be trying to suck up to him.
The moment he heard Zhai Yu address him as ‘eldest brother’, Zhai Yi knew at once that his mom had scared Zhai Yu badly. “Spit it out. What did Mom threaten you with? You’re the only one who stays by Mom’s side most of the time. Shouldn’t your relationship with Mom improve because of that? Why has Mom scared you so badly?” At twenty years of age, Zhai Yi knew that it was not easy to hear Zhai Yu address him as ‘elder brother’. It was even rarer than winning the lottery.
“Mom said that if Er Bao commits a folly or makes a mistake, she’ll punish both of us as well. Eldest brother, for the sake of our health, please keep an eye on Er Bao while you’re by his side. Don’t let him have any chance to make a mistake at all. Apart from class time, don’t let him have more than an hour to spend with his girlfriend every day, and this hour definitely cannot be in the evening. It has to be in the day. Of course, spending the night is absolutely out of the question. Even if he dies, you’ll have to carry Er Bao’s corpse back to your dormitory.”
“…” Zhai Yi finally understood why Zhai Yu had been so afraid. So that was what it was.
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