Xiao Hu Wang Er was terrified and dodged behind the table, “What do you want to do?”

The young master puffed up his cheeks, “I’m going to teach you a lesson and make you understand the rules of the Yue family!” Saying this, he brandished a stick and charged at him.

Although Xiao Hu Wang Er wasn’t smart, he wasn’t stupid either. It’s not like anyone would stand around to be beaten, so he ran away. However, he remembered from last time that running outside made it easy for adults to notice him, and they would be his helpers, making him even more unlucky. So, he didn’t run outside but ran in circles with Yue Siming inside the room.

After a few rounds, Yue Siming was the first to give up. Being pampered and rarely engaging in such strenuous activity, he was soon out of breath and plopped down on the bed, unable to move.

Seeing Yue Siming stop, Xiao Hu Wang Er cautiously approached him and stopped beside his bed.

Yue Siming glanced at him.

The child gathered his courage and asked, “Young Master Yue, I haven’t eaten yet… where can I get something to eat?”

Yue Siming rolled his eyes in anger, “Are you a pig? Always thinking about food.”

Xiao Hu Wang Er retorted, “Don’t you think about eating when you’re hungry? It’s not just pigs that need to eat—chickens, ducks, fish, and people all need to eat.”

“Let yourself starve then.”

The child protested, “How can you be like this? You won’t let me go home or give me food. I want to go home!”

“Try going back, I dare you.”

“I dare to go back. I’ll just crawl back through that hole.”

“Idiot, your parents took money from my family. If you run away, they’ll be reported to the officials!”

“What are you saying? You’re lying! Why should my parents be reported? They haven’t done anything wrong.”

“My father paid money to have you serve as my page. The money has already been received. If you run away, they’ll be considered swindlers and will be reported.”

Xiao Hu Wang Er was hopping in place, “You… you… Who wants to be your page? What does a page do? I don’t even know how to read!”

Young Master Yue put on a pretentious look of benevolence, “That’s why you need to learn. You should thank me; otherwise, you’d never have a chance to learn in your lifetime.”

Xiao Hu Wang Er’s face fell in dejection. His original plan had also failed. If he ran away and caused his parents to be sent to jail…

Seeing that his intimidation had worked, Yue Siming immediately intensified his tactics, “So you’re going to stay here properly and listen to me. I’m your young master, and you have to do whatever I say. If you dare disobey me, I’ll beat you.”

The child sat dejectedly on the ground, saying nothing.

He didn’t understand why his parents agreed to send him here. Although his family was poor, they still had food to eat. Young Master Yue was harsh and mean; he would surely be bullied every day here. The child was a bit sad, after all, he was only five years old. Experiencing the feeling of being abandoned by his family once was enough to make his eyes redden.

Seeing that his scare tactics had been effective, Yue Siming shifted to a more conciliatory approach. He pulled out a large box of snacks from somewhere and pushed it in front of him, “Actually, if you just obediently listen to me, I’ll take you out to have fun and give you good things to eat every day.”

The child immediately grabbed a snack and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling as he chewed, “Really?” It tasted so good. If he could eat delicious food every day, being here wouldn’t be so bad.

The child’s mood changed rapidly, quickly distracted by the food. He forgot about crying and focused on devouring the entire plate of treats.

Xiao Hu Wang Er sat on the floor, shoveling the food into his mouth one after another, while Yue Siming squatted beside him, quietly watching him eat.

He had never seen anyone eat so eagerly before, like a starving ghost. It was quite amusing.

After the child finished eating, the sky outside had turned completely dark.

Yue Siming looked at the sky, stood up from the floor, took off his clothes, and climbed onto the bed, “I’m going to sleep now.”

“Oh, then where do I sleep?”

“You sleep in the next room.”

The child said “Oh” and walked toward the next room.

“Wait a minute, who said you can go to sleep now?”

“Then what should I do?”

The child was getting fed up with all the endless demands.

Yue Siming took a small fan from beside the bed, “It’s hot. Fan me until I fall asleep, then you can go to sleep.”

The child reluctantly pouted but didn’t move.

“You’ve already forgotten what I just told you? Are you a pig?”

The child finally walked over, took the fan, and climbed onto his bed.

“What are you doing? Who told you to come up here? It’s filthy. Get down!”

“Who’s dirty? The sister in the red dress almost scrubbed my skin off earlier. I’m clean now.”

“Get off right now. I hate it when people touch my bed.”

“You’re so fussy.” The child muttered under his breath, got off the bed, and stood at the head of the bed, fanning him.

“Hmm, you can only go to sleep after I do. Got it?”

“Got it. Hurry up and sleep then.” After saying this, he began singing a lullaby off-key.

Yue Siming couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Stop laughing and go to sleep.”

“It’s hard to sleep with all your noise.”

The child immediately closed his mouth, focused on fanning him, and furtively glanced at the person on the bed in the darkness.

Yue Siming didn’t notice. He was exhausted from the day’s activities, and with so much commotion, he curled up, a smile unconsciously forming at the corners of his mouth, and soon fell asleep.

Yue Siming, who was accustomed to waking up early, woke up at his usual time despite being tired from the day before.

He immediately felt something was wrong—his body felt so heavy.

When he opened his eyes, he found a dark little figure sprawled across him, snoring softly and sleeping soundly.

Yue Siming let out a sharp scream and pushed Wang Er Hu hard.

The child, bleary-eyed, barely opened his eyes, tilted his head, and continued to lie down, mumbling, “Mom… let me sleep a bit more…”

Yue Siming shrieked, “You idiot! Pig! How dare you sleep on my bed! I’ll feed you to a big, vicious dog!!! Get up!!!”

The yelling was enough to wake anyone up. The child opened his eyes, turned his head, and realized he was at the Yue residence. He had been so tired while fanning that he lost consciousness.

The young master kicked him, “You’re such a stupid idiot! Have you learned nothing? How dare you sleep in my bed! I won’t let you off the hook!”

Being abruptly woken up by a combination of hitting and scolding, the child was in a bad mood. He rubbed his eyes and complained, “Why are you so troublesome? I just slept a bit. What’s the big deal? It won’t kill you! I’m clean; I took two baths yesterday.”

“Don’t try to argue. Get off now. I need to change the bedding! No, I need to change the bed!”

Xiao Hu Wang Er had had enough. This person was more troublesome than any child he had ever met, constantly finding ways to make trouble. Annoyed and sleep-deprived, he decided to deal with this irritating behavior.

So the child, wrapped in a blanket, rolled around on the large bed like a dumpling, shouting, “I’ll sleep on your bed! I’m sleeping here! What are you going to do about it! I’ll sleep all over it, I’ll sleep, I’ll sleep!”

The young master, furious, pounded him with a pillow.

Wang Er Hu let go of the blanket, jumped on top of him, and held him tight, rolling around together, “I’ll make you clean up, you’re really crazy.”

Woken up early by this combination of hitting and scolding, anyone would be annoyed. The child rubbed his eyes vigorously and shouted, “Why are you so troublesome? I just slept a bit. What’s the big deal? It won’t kill you! I’m not dirty; I took two baths yesterday.”

“Don’t try to argue. Get off now. I need to change the bedding! No, I need to change the bed!”

Xiao Hu Wang Er couldn’t take it anymore. This person was more troublesome than any child he had ever met, constantly finding ways to make trouble. Annoyed and sleep-deprived, he decided to deal with this annoying habit.

So the child, wrapped in a blanket, rolled around on the large bed like a dumpling, shouting, “I’ll sleep on your bed! I’m sleeping here! What are you going to do about it? I’ll sleep all over it, I’ll sleep, I’ll sleep!”

The young master, furious, pounded him with a pillow.

Wang Er Hu let go of the blanket, jumped on top of him, and held him tightly, rolling around together, “I’ll make you clean up, you’re really crazy.”

The child clung to Yue Siming like an octopus. Yue Siming was under him, screaming repeatedly, but his strength wasn’t enough—his small arms and legs couldn’t break free, and he was getting exhausted.

Wang Er Hu was extremely pleased, “Not only am I sleeping on your bed, but I’m also sleeping on you! What are you going to do? I’ll make you suffer for being so annoying!”

Yue Siming bit his shoulder.

“Ah—stop biting me, you dog! Let go, or I’ll bite you too!” The child then bit Yue Siming’s shoulder in return.

They both stubbornly kept their bites, tears forming in their eyes from the pain.

Yue Siming, with saliva on the child’s shoulder, mumbled, “L… let go… I’ll count… to three…”

“Why should I… first… you first… let go…” The child was relentless, thinking that he would endure the biting longer than Yue Siming. If anyone should let go, it should be Yue Siming first.

Yue Siming couldn’t take it anymore, “Together… I’ll count to three… together…”

He then opened his mouth, drooling, and started counting, “One… Two… Three…”

They both released their bites simultaneously, panting heavily, their shoulders burning with pain.

Yue Siming pounded Wang Er Hu’s back with his little fist, “You’d better get off me. If you don’t get off, you’re done for. How dare you sleep on my bed and bite me, you’re done for!”

“What do you want to do?”

“I’m going to beat you! Hit your butt with a big stick!”

“You dare! If you dare hit me, I’ll sleep on you every day! Bite you every day!”

“You’re getting rebellious now!!” Yue Siming pushed him hard, his mind racing with ideas on how to deal with him.

As they were pushing each other, a knock on the door suddenly interrupted them.

“Master, I can hear you two making a racket. Is everything alright? Xiao Hu, be careful not to hurt the young master, understand?”

The child’s face turned pale with fear, realizing that outside were Yue Siming’s helpers.

Yue Siming snorted coldly, “Get up already!”

The child quickly climbed off him but couldn’t bring himself to apologize, so he just stubbornly held his head high.

Yue Siming ordered, “It’s fine, you can go. But you,” he pointed at Wang Er Hu’s nose, “you’re not allowed to eat today!”

Upon hearing this, Wang Er Hu immediately became obedient, grabbing Yue Siming’s clothing and pleading, “Young master, I was wrong. I need to eat; I’m so hungry right now.”

Yue Siming looked at him with satisfaction, “This is what you get for defying me. I’ll let you starve.” He then moved to get out of bed.

Wang Er Hu held onto his clothing, “Young master, I need to eat. Punish me in another way.”

Yue Siming glanced at him, thinking for a moment. “If you can make me happy, I’ll reward you with some food.”

Wang Er Hu blinked, “How about we play a game?”

“A game? What game?”

The child pulled Yue Siming’s hand and dragged him towards the door, “Come on, it’s really fun. I play it all the time, you’ll definitely like it.”

Curiosity piqued, Yue Siming let himself be dragged outside.

Wang Er Hu picked up a twig from the ground and drew squares in the dirt with his small butt sticking out.

After finishing, he clapped his hands and said to Yue Siming, “This is called hopscotch! It’s really fun.”

Yue Siming looked at it and said, “Teach me.”

“It’s easy. Watch.” The child carefully explained the rules of the game to Yue Siming, who appeared very interested.

Children are quick to forget grudges, and soon they were happily playing together, forgetting the morning’s quarrels.

As the sun rose and it became quite warm, Yue Siming, who usually disliked the heat, was so absorbed in the game that he didn’t notice the time until a servant announced, “Master and Dr. Yu are here.”

The young master paused for a moment, a touch of disgust creeping onto his delicate face.

Wang Erhu was startled; he was still quite intimidated by the tall general.

“Si Ming? Oh, he’s playing with Xiao Hu?”

Yue Siming turned his head, sweetly called out “Dad,” and didn’t even glance at the newcomer.

Wang Erhu turned his head and, besides the towering General Yue, noticed a young man with a friendly smile standing beside him. He was instantly mesmerized.

This person… is so beautiful, how can someone be so good-looking, even more so than the fairies in paintings.

Yue Siming nudged him on the head. “Idiot, don’t you know to greet my father?”

Wang Erhu snapped out of it and hurriedly said to Yue Yinggui, “Hello, General.”

Yue Yinggui and the beautiful person next to him both laughed. The beauty’s laughter was quite charming, and she looked at Wang Erhu with interest, making the child appear dazed.

Yue Yinggui said with a smile, “Xiao Hu, don’t call me General anymore; just call me Sir. You’re new here and don’t know the rules yet, but don’t make the same mistake again.”

The child, blushing under the beautiful person’s gaze, nodded vaguely.

Yue Siming, seeing Wang Erhu dazed and smitten, gritted his teeth in anger and said to the beauty bluntly, “What are you doing here?”

The beauty slightly bowed and smiled, “Young Master, don’t you remember today is the beginning of the month? Mingjing has come to check your health.”

Yue Yinggui reproached gently, “Siming, you should be polite to Doctor Yu.”

Yue Siming remained unappreciative and turned away.

Yue Yinggui, smiling helplessly, looked at the two sweating children and asked, “What were you playing?”

Yue Siming pointed to the ground. “Dad, Xiao Hu taught me to play hopscotch. It’s so much fun.”

Yue Yinggui said, “Playing is fine, but don’t overexert yourself. And with the sun being so strong today, don’t stand out here too long.”

Doctor Yu Mingjing smiled and said, “Sir, letting the young master play and sweat a bit is good. He doesn’t exercise normally, so moving around more is beneficial.”

Yue Yinggui nodded, agreeing that finding a companion for his son was indeed a good thing. Usually, this child was too reclusive, staying indoors or sitting alone in a daze all day. He rarely acted like a child, so seeing him like this was somewhat comforting.

Yue Yinggui went over and picked up his son. “Rest for a while first and let Doctor Yu check your health. You can play again later, okay?”

Yue Siming looked unwilling but couldn’t disobey his father. He shot a secretive glare at Doctor Yu Mingjing, who merely smiled back with a good-natured expression and made a gesture inviting them in.

Wang Erhu was left outside, still dazed from the impact of the beauty’s appearance. When everyone had gone in, he remained standing there, unable to come back to his senses. Not being called in, he didn’t dare enter, so he spent some time fiddling with flowers and plants outside by himself.

Not long after, the three of them came out. Yue Yinggui gave a few instructions before leaving.

Before leaving, Yu Mingjing looked back and gave Wang Erhu a sweet smile, making the child’s face turn red.

Yue Siming, seeing this, was burning with rage. He rushed over and slapped the child, shouting, “What are you staring at, country bumpkin? You’ve really never seen the world before.”

The child covered his face, feeling very wronged, “What did I do? Why are you hitting me?” It was unclear if rich kids were always like this, so arrogant and unreasonable.

“Look at how you’re staring at that fox spirit without even blinking. Are you a pig or something?”

“He looks pretty good. Why do you call him a fox spirit? Fox spirits are female.”

“Anyone who can seduce people is a fox spirit. From now on, you’re not allowed to look at him or talk to him.”

“Why?” The child didn’t understand. The man smiled so nicely, and he seemed good.

“He’s not a good person.” Young Master Yue sulkily scratched the ground with a twig.

The child, curious, squatted down and asked, “What did he do? Why do you say he’s not a good person?”

Yue Siming blinked his big eyes and whispered, “I can feel it. He’s really not a good person. His background is unknown. One day, he came to my door claiming he could cure my illness. So many old doctors with decades of experience wouldn’t dare say that. He’s so young—what skills could he have? Even after he came, I was still the same as before, but he managed to charm my father and deceive everyone in the house, treating him like a master. He’s a fox spirit. I hate him. I hate him so much.” The young master furiously jabbed the twig into the ground to show his anger.

Wang Erhu, honestly, didn’t quite understand. He didn’t see how this made him a fox spirit or why he was so disliked.

“And,” Yue Siming continued in a low voice, “I saw him rummaging through my things. It’s true, but no one believes me. He’s good at pretending to be a good person. He must have some ulterior motive for coming to my house, and my father actually believes him.”

“He rummaged through your things?” The child exclaimed. This time, he understood. Rummaging through someone’s things was like trying to steal.

Yue Siming quickly covered his mouth and glared at him, “Idiot, keep your voice down.”

The child blinked his big eyes and nodded vigorously.

Once he was allowed to speak, he immediately looked excited as if he had discovered a great secret, “Tell me, what happened?”

“Last year, when he first came, he secretly rummaged through my things. He’s definitely not a good person. You must listen to me and not get close to him. He’s very good at manipulating people. If you’re foolish enough to be deceived by him, I won’t forgive you. Do you understand?”

The child was innocent; he believed whatever he was told. Although he was confused, since it was what the young master said, he nodded sincerely.

The young master sulked, biting his lip, “If only my mother were still here. My father always listened to her.”

Wang Erhu asked curiously, “Where did your mother go?”

Yue Siming glared at him angrily, “Idiot, my mother is dead.” He then stood up and turned to walk back inside.