Chapter 718

"Mina, what's wrong?" Bryan held the fish Jane had grilled in both hands, his heart aching as he watched Mina devour the fish while tears streamed down her face. Before she could answer, he sprang to his feet in a rage. "Damn that Huan! I'm going to drag him here right now and beat him until he kneels to apologize!" Mina hastily wiped her tears, fanning her mouth with her tiny hand as she panted, "Hah—hah—! What are you talking about, Bryan? I'm not crying, and what does the little mute have to do with this? It's just that Jane made this fish way too spicy it's burning my eyes out!" Bryan frowned dopily, glancing between his fish and hers. "Is it really that spicy?" he asked, bewildered. "Super spicy! Like, insanely hot!" Mina mumbled, her words slurred as if the spice had stolen her ability to speak. "Let me try!" Bryan reached over with his chopsticks to pluck a piece from Mina's fish. He frowned in confusion, about to speak, when he caught Jane's warning glare. Swallowing his original comment, he abruptly launched into an Oscar-worthy performance, panting like a puppy with his tongue out. "So spicy! Jane, why'd you make it so hot?" Jane shrugged innocently. "Big sister wanted the extra-spicy version." Bryan deliberately twitched his lips. "Mina, I think you need to stop studying anatomy you're getting weirder by the day!" His words instantly provoked Mina, who leapt up to chase him down for retribution. Meanwhile, Jane stayed by the fire, tending the flames while enjoying the spectacle. When John returned, the sight of the youngsters still frolicking in the courtyard softened his usually cool expression. Just as Mina chased Bryan right into his path, he scooped her up only to notice the tear streaks on her face. His brow furrowed slightly as he fixed a frosty gaze on the fleeing Bryan. "Bryan! Get over here right now!" Bryan froze, then reflexively dragged his heavy feet to stand before John. He cautiously peeked at his elder brother's expression before asking in a small voice, "Tyrant, I haven't done anything wrong lately, have I? Even my teacher said I've been making progress in my studies." "Did you bully Mina?" John demanded with a stern face. "No!" Bryan denied immediately. Mina quickly realized the misunderstanding and explained, "Big brother, brother Bryan didn't bully me. I just had Jane grill me some extra spicy fish earlier, and the spiciness made my eyes water." Hearing this, John's expression turned slightly awkward, but he maintained his authoritative demeanor as he asked Bryan, "Have you finished your homework?" Bryan almost blurted out "yes," but then remembered that his school assignments were directly sent to John through the parent-teacher communication app. If John decided to personally check his work... He hung his head silently. "Not yet..." "Then why aren't you doing your homework? What are you waiting for?" John kept his stern face, using it to mask his embarrassment over wrongly accusing Bryan. "Oh." Bryan obediently lowered his head and turned to go inside. John hadn't expected Bryan to be so docile today. Watching his younger brother's dejected figure shuffling toward the house, he felt a pang of guilt. "Come back," he called out. "Since Jane has already grilled the fish, you might as well eat first before doing your homework. No sense wasting his hard work." Bryan instantly perked up. With exaggerated formality, he clasped his hands together in a salute. "As Your Majesty commands!" Then he spun around and happily dashed off toward where Jane was grilling fish. —— After washing up, Jane returned to his bedroom only to find the bed still empty. He climbed onto the mattress, grabbed his pillow, and hugged it tight as he prepared to go find his sister. But as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, she saw Brother Harold entering her sister's room. After a moment's thought, she decided it might be better for Brother Harold to comfort her sister in this situation. Just as she was about to head back to her room to sleep, John appeared in front of her. Little Jane tilted her tiny face upward and called out in a sweet, milky voice, "Big Brother." John bent down, scooped her up, and carried her back to her room. After tucking her into bed, he casually picked up a picture book from the nightstand. But instead of reading to her, he fixed his gaze on her dark, grape-like eyes and asked seriously, "Jane, tell me the truth what really happened with Mina today?" He had tasted the fish she grilled it wasn’t spicy at all. He had also checked the seasonings she used none of them contained the infamous "insanely spicy" chili peppers. Besides, he had specifically instructed William that the kids were still young and needed milder food, so there were no extremely spicy ingredients in the house. Mina’s claim that she cried from the spiciness was clearly a lie. Jane flashed John a perfectly practiced fake smile, her mind racing to figure out how to explain the situation. What would happen if he found out the truth? After mentally playing out an entire dramatic scenario, she shivered involuntarily. Then, with sudden determination, she knelt on the bed, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "Big Brother, I’ll be honest. Sister cried today because... she’s having some relationship issues..." Before she could even finish, she already felt the icy chill in his deep, piercing gaze. For once, John’s expression darkened uncontrollably. They had been so focused on guarding against Frederick and now, before they could even deal with that, Mina was tangled up in another emotional mess! And she even cried! He was determined to find out just who this reckless bastard was who dared to upset his beloved sister John. The dramatic scenes playing out in Jane’s mind grew even more intense. She could practically see Huan’s mangled corpse though she herself had fantasized about smashing that idiot’s head in, she never wanted her brothers meddling in her love life. Surely her sister felt the same. Otherwise, her sister wouldn’t have spent the whole afternoon pretending like she didn’t care at all. Panicking, Jane quickly explained, "Big Brother, it’s true that Sister had a little romantic trouble, but it’s nothing serious! We’ve already handled it ourselves, so don’t worry!" Seeing the nervous look on Jane’s face, John realized his earlier outburst might have scared her. He softened his expression and coaxed gently, "Jane, I promised you I wouldn’t interfere in your love life, and I won’t meddle in Mina’s either. But you’ve got to tell me who’s the little punk that upset her? Just so I can rest easy."