You stab me, I stab you

"You..." Pei Yunluo glared at her angrily, at a loss for words.

Ning Sang-sang looked at her in utter bewilderment. "What did I do?"

Why stop halfway through a sentence? Is there something wrong with you?

Pei Yunluo glared at her, fire blazing in her eyes. "Shut up."

"All right, I'll shut up." Ning Sang-sang readily agreed.

Seeing that she had not argued, Pei Yunluo felt a little better. She opened her mouth, about to say something else, when Ning Sang-sang's voice rang out again:

Is Pei Yunluo on her period today? Why is she so emotionally unstable and moody?

Pei Yunluo: "..."

She moved her lips, about to speak, when a clear voice rang out behind them.

"A Luo."

Pei Yunluo turned to look behind her. When she saw her good friend approaching, a smile appeared on her face, and her displeasure instantly vanished.

Ning Sang-sang also looked toward the voice and saw a pretty, adorable young girl with fair skin, dressed in an emerald-green skirt, walking briskly toward them. The jade ornaments she wore clinked as she moved, making crisp, pleasant sounds. Two handsome young men who looked exactly alike followed behind her.

At the sight of this trio, Ning Sang-sang immediately knew who they were. The girl in front was Song Huanhuan, the legitimate granddaughter of the Marquis of Pingyang's Residence. She was the same age as Pei Yunluo and her closest friend. The two men behind her were her twin older brothers, Song Minghan and Song Mingze, who were close to Su Miaoling's five older brothers.

"Huanhuan!" Pei Yunluo called happily as her friend reached her side.

Song Huanhuan answered with a cheerful smile, then looked at Su Miaoling and greeted her warmly. "Sister Miaoling."

"Huanhuan," Su Miaoling replied gently, a gracious smile on her face.

Song Huanhuan then turned her gaze to Ning Sang-sang. Finding her unfamiliar, she asked Pei Yunluo curiously, "A Luo, who is she?"

"She's the third young lady of the Duke of Ning's Residence," Pei Yunluo answered, shooting Ning Sang-sang a glare.

The corner of Ning Sang-sang's mouth twitched. Pei Yunluo really did hate her. She had not said or done anything, yet she was being glared at for no reason.

"The third young lady of the Duke of Ning's Residence?" Song Huanhuan exclaimed in surprise. "They found Ning Hui's missing older sister?"

Just then, Song Minghan and Song Mingze came over.

"Brother Minghan, Brother Mingze."

"Brother Minghan, Brother Mingze."

Pei Yunluo and Su Miaoling greeted the brothers in unison.

Song Minghan nodded with a hum of acknowledgment.

Song Mingze answered with a smile, then turned his gaze to Ning Sang-sang and sized her up. So this was Ning Chengxiao's younger sister, who had been lost since childhood. She seemed neither servile nor overbearing, and her eyes were clear. She seemed quite decent. He moved his lips, about to say something, when a clear voice suddenly rang out in his ears.

These brothers are both Su Miaoling's lapdogs. They live for Su Miaoling, die for Su Miaoling, go mad for Su Miaoling, go wild for Su Miaoling, and bang their heads against walls for Su Miaoling. In the future, they'll even turn against each other while fighting over her and try to kill each other. You stab me, I stab you, and in the end, they both go meet the King of Hell.

Song Mingze: "?"

What had he just heard?

He and his older brother were both Su Miaoling's lapdogs, and in the future, they would fight to the death over her? You stab me, I stab you, until they both met the King of Hell?!

Utter nonsense!

Song Mingze thought he must have been hearing things to hear such nonsense. He rubbed his head and moved his lips, about to speak, when his younger sister's startled voice rang out. "Did you all..."

Then she fell silent.

Song Mingze looked at his younger sister and saw her brows tightly knitted, her sentence left unfinished. He asked, "Huanhuan, did we what?"

"Second Brother, did you..." Song Huanhuan opened her mouth, wanting to ask whether they had heard those words just now, but she could not get them out no matter how she tried. Her expression instantly darkened. Damn it, why couldn't she speak?

Having already experienced this herself, Pei Yunluo knew from Song Huanhuan's reaction that the mysterious force was stopping her from speaking about Ning Sang-sang's inner voice.

"Huanhuan, what's wrong?" Song Mingze asked with concern.

Song Huanhuan moved her lips, desperately wanting to tell him what she had just heard, but no matter what she did, she could not say it.

Apparently, someone did not want her to repeat what she had just heard. She gave up trying and answered Song Mingze listlessly, "Second Brother, I'm fine."

Ning Sang-sang grumbled inwardly, Birds of a feather really do flock together. Song Huanhuan and Pei Yunluo both love stopping halfway through their sentences, leaving everyone hanging.

Hearing this, all three Song siblings turned their eyes toward her, deeply shocked. Were they hearing her thoughts?

"Ahem." Ning Sang-sang gave a light cough. "Commandery Princess Yunluo, enjoy yourselves. I'm going to find my second brother and the others."

Time to make my escape. Being around these love-addled fools makes me feel like my intelligence is dropping.

"You're not allowed to leave. Stay with us." Seeing that Ning Sang-sang was about to go, Pei Yunluo hurriedly stopped her.

Ning Sang-sang: "..."

There's something off about Pei Yunluo today. Why is she sticking to me like this? Is she secretly cooking up some big move to deal with me?

But this is our first meeting, and I haven't offended her. Why is she so hostile toward me?

Oh, forget it. Love-addled brains aren't like normal people's brains. Besides, Pei Yunluo is a peerless specimen of love-addled stupidity. It's only natural for her to act crazy.

Hearing this, Pei Yunluo flushed with anger and glared at her, fire blazing in her eyes.

"Yunluo, what's wrong?" a gentle, concerned voice asked.

Pei Yunluo forced down her anger and tore her gaze away from Ning Sang-sang, turning instead to Su Miaoling, who had expressed concern for her. Looking at her lovely face, she involuntarily recalled what Ning Sang-sang had just said, and her expression grew strange.

Brother Minghan and Brother Mingze both like Sister Miaoling. They go mad for her and wild for her, and in the future, they'll even turn against each other and fight to the death over her. You stab me, I stab you, and they both meet the King of Hell. That's just too...

"Yunluo, what's wrong?" Su Miaoling asked softly when she saw Pei Yunluo staring at her in a daze.

Pei Yunluo snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Su Miaoling. "Sister Miaoling, I'm fine," she said gently.

Then she turned to Song Huanhuan. Seeing her standing there with a stunned expression, she waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Huanhuan."

Song Huanhuan came back to herself and looked at her in astonishment. "A Luo, you..."

"I'm the same as you," Pei Yunluo said.

By now, Song Minghan and Song Mingze were certain that what they had heard was Ning Sang-sang's inner voice. With complicated expressions, the brothers exchanged a glance.