Annuo comforted Shaofeng, "Boys should be a little more reserved."
"Why?" Shaofeng looked confused.
Annuo felt it was indeed a good question, so after a long period of thought, she said,
"Look, take you and Si Qing as examples. If a scale falls from my hand, the first thing you say upon seeing it is, 'Tsk, the spot is so obvious, what happened?' whereas Si Qing says, 'Mother, I feel so sorry for you, does it hurt?'"
"Or, if I occasionally have a stomachache and feel unwell, and you see it, the first thing you say is, 'What's wrong with you?' Si Qing's first words are, 'Mother, where does it hurt? Can your baby rub it for you?' Compare the two, can you see the difference?"
Qi Yu, having finished his apple, had already started on an orange. He almost choked on the juice upon hearing Annuo's words.
Shaofeng listened in a daze, his face showing disbelief. It was clear he never expected Si Qing, who appeared so well-behaved on the surface, to be such a mama's boy in front of Annuo.
"Cough, cough, cough, Si Qing," Qi Yu sputtered, his face red, "Si Qing, say it to my face, just say 'Can your baby rub it for you?'"
Si Qing's ears turned red.
He reverted to his original form and hid in Annuo's arms.
Qi Yu teased, "I never would have guessed, Si Qing, you little rascal, you're quite the chameleon. Why don't you show that side of yourself to me? I like it, I really like this kind of clingy little brother."
Shaofeng also looked at Si Qing in disbelief, "No way, when we're not around, how can you speak in such a spoiled tone?"
Si Qing lifted his head from Annuo's embrace, his tone fierce, "Is there a problem? Is there anyone who says I can't? I'm happy to be a mama's boy! I've lived two lifetimes, can't I still act spoiled with my mother?"
"Exactly, after living two lifetimes, is it too much to ask to be spoiled? If there's a problem, we're happy to be mama's boys," Qi Yu strongly supported his younger brother.
Si Qing let out a humph and shyly buried his head, hugging Annuo tighter.
Shaofeng tried to pull him off, "Hey, let go of my wife. You brat, I don't allow other men to hug my wife, and that includes you."
"I'm not a man, I'm still just a cub," Si Qing extended his dragon claws to gesture, "Cubs can hug their mothers, of course."
"I've seen spoiled people, but I've never seen anyone as spoiled as him," Shaofeng couldn't help but complain, "Si Qing, he acts one way in front of us and another way behind our backs, it's outrageous!"
"Mother," Si Qing decided to go all out, abandoning all pretense of shame, and hugged Annuo, acting spoiled.
Qi Yu and Shaofeng shared the same look of disdain.
Yan Hua looked at Si Qing, "Although you are indeed a cub right now, you are not an ordinary cub. You are a cub who has lived two lifetimes."
Qi Yu snorted, almost laughing to death.
Si Qing had a look of "I'm not listening, I'm not listening."
Shaofeng, seeing him stay in Annuo's arms for so long without coming down, finally couldn't resist and grumbled as he stepped forward to pull him from Annuo's embrace.
Si Qing refused to budge.
Shaofeng tugged at his tail with just a little force, and Si Qing immediately let out a pained cry, then hugged Annuo tearfully.
Chen Xi watched the father and son bicker, and as he watched, he took out some sunflower seeds and offered them to Yan Hua.
Qi Yu, curious, also asked for some.
Chen Xi told her to wait.
Qi Yu looked confused, and when she turned her head, she saw Yan Hua, after taking the sunflower seeds, handing over a large handful of shelled kernels.
Chen Xi gave her half of the kernels.
Qi Yu, holding the sunflower seed kernels, was stunned.
Ah.
So, Yan Hua was for shelling sunflower seeds?
Chen Xi ate the kernels, one by one, with great enjoyment. He occasionally poured another handful of unshelled seeds in, asking Yan Hua to continue shelling them.
Qi Yu, standing by, "mooched" food and drink. While eating, she asked Yan Hua, "Master, don't you like to eat sunflower seeds?"
"No," Yan Hua frowned, "They're too small. I prefer larger ones, like walnuts or peanuts."
If not those, then pine nuts or hazelnuts would do.
"See, he doesn't like them, but I do, so he doesn't have to eat them, and he can idly help me shell sunflower seeds. Isn't that great?" Chen Xi said proudly.
Qi Yu nodded as she ate.
How to put it? If she had to shell sunflower seeds for someone else, she would find it troublesome, but if someone shelled them for her, she would eat them with great pleasure.
She was indeed biased.
Yan Hua had no objections to what Chen Xi said and continued to diligently shell sunflower seeds.
Normally, people crack sunflower seeds with their mouths.
But Yan Hua did not.
He used the spiritual power in his palms, and with a gentle, even pressure, he lightly pressed down.
A handful of sunflower seed kernels would immediately be pressed out.
And they were all intact.
Qi Yu had never seen anyone elevate the act of shelling sunflower seeds to such a refined level, and she watched, dumbfounded.
Chen Xi raised an eyebrow at Qi Yu, "How is it? Amazing, right? Isn't it fantastic?"
Qi Yu nodded vigorously.
"Let me tell you, this method of shelling seeds was invented by me," Chen Xi pointed to himself with his thumb, his face full of pride.
Qi Yu hesitated to speak.
Si Qing quietly asked from the side, "Then why don't you shell sunflower seeds this way yourself?"
This method of shelling seeds was indeed very fast, and a large handful could be done at once.
Chen Xi could have used it himself after inventing it.
"I can't," Chen Xi said righteously, "My spiritual power isn't precise enough."
Yan Hua calmly continued to shell sunflower seeds.
Qi Yu was speechless and silently scooped a small handful into her mouth.
Shaofeng, who had been listening intently, was almost choked to death after hearing that.
Si Qing's expression was complicated, "Lord Chen Xi, so you researched this method so that Lord Yan Hua could better shell sunflower seeds for you?"
Chen Xi nodded.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with what he did.
At most, it was a bit shameless, but what did that matter? He had lost count of the times he had been shameless since he was a child.
Yan Hua also didn't think there was anything wrong with it, "Your Lord Chen Xi has always strived to develop spells for eating, drinking, and playing since he was young. Whether it's rapid sunflower seed shelling, quick walnut cracking, or the complete shrimp peeling technique, he's proficient in all of them. This is just the tip of the iceberg, don't act like you've never seen the world."
Si Qing covered his face and chuckled softly.
Shaofeng cleared his throat.
Chen Xi, after listening, suddenly felt something was amiss, "Hey, are you praising me or mocking me?!"