The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

Half an hour later, the meal was finished.

As usual, Sun Lao Er and the other teenagers in the courtyard tidied up and cleaned up.

In just a few minutes, the crumbs on the table were cleaned up.

After they left with their bowls and chopsticks, Song Anting stood up from the stool.

"Brother Kaixin, thank you for your hospitality today. It's getting late, so I'll head back now."

"An Ting, wait a minute!"

As Li Kaixin spoke, she took out a food box filled with vegetables and handed it to her: "Give this to Uncle Song to try. He's recovering from his injury, so it's good for him to have some nourishment."

"No, no, I can't accept this, Kaixin-ge!" Song Anting quickly waved her hand, her face turning red again.

"An Ting, listen to me." Li Kaixin shoved the food box into her hand. "Your father's leg is injured, so he should eat more, otherwise he won't recover quickly."

"But, but I can't eat and..." Song Anting's voice gradually faded.

She longed to bring these nice things back to her parents, but she felt it wasn't right to do so, and she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Just then, Li Xiaoxiao came over and grabbed Song Anting's arm.

"Sister Anting, please take it. We still have so much left; it'll spoil if we don't finish it in a day or two."

What she said wasn't entirely untrue.

Li Kaixin always makes extra of this kind of food, firstly to ensure the children in the courtyard are well-fed, and secondly so that her parents can also have something to eat.

As for the parents' portion, it was served separately, but even so, there was still a small portion left on the table.

Upon hearing this, Song Anting glanced at the remaining dishes on the table next to her and ultimately decided not to refuse.

Then, Li Kaixin escorted the person to the entrance of the main house.

He leaned against the doorframe with one hand and said gently, "An Ting, would you like me to walk you there?"

"No need, Kaixin-ge." Song Anting quickly shook her head, her hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the food box.

"Alright, be careful on the road."

Li Kaixin didn't insist. He knew that if the two of them walked together alone, people would easily gossip about them.

Song Anting nodded and walked towards the outer courtyard without lingering.

Just as she stepped into the outer courtyard, she suddenly turned around and smiled:

"Brother Kaixin, what you made today was really delicious... and thank you."

"An Ting, if you like it, I'll call you again next time," Li Kaixin quickly replied, but before she could finish speaking, she disappeared from sight.

He looked at the empty corridor and was about to turn around and go back into the house when his younger sister, Li Xiaoxiao, was already in front of him.

"Big brother, what are you looking at? Everyone's already gone." She playfully patted Li Kaixin on the shoulder.

"Hey, Xiaoxiao, you're here to tease your older brother too, huh?"

Li Kaixin turned around, looked at her sister's teasing expression, and pretended to knock her on the forehead.

Li Xiaoxiao took a step back and said with a grin, "Big brother, how could I dare! I just felt that Sister An Ting looked at you differently than others."

"What's the difference? You little brat, just focus on your studies and stop thinking about these things."

After Li Kaixin finished speaking, he didn't want to talk to her anymore and turned to walk into the house.

Inside the room, two more lunchboxes were placed on the table, and Li Kai was picking up his chopsticks and filling them with leftover food.

"Li Kai, what are you doing?" Li Kaixin walked up and suddenly asked.

Startled by the shout, Li Kai jerked his hand and nearly dropped his chopsticks on the table.

He looked up at his elder brother and said with an embarrassed smile, "Brother, didn't you say we shouldn't waste food? I was just thinking of packing some for Xiaohua to take back."

Li Kaixin didn't reply, but crossed her arms and stared at her younger brother.

Li Kai felt a little uneasy under that gaze and tentatively asked, "Big brother, is it not possible?"

"Sure. But we haven't settled our score yet."

Li Kaixin nodded and said to his younger sister behind him, "Xiaoxiao, come help Xiaohua with her clothes. Xiaokai and I have something to take care of."

"Okay, big brother!" Li Xiaoxiao immediately walked to the table.

Li Kai's face froze in surprise, and just as he was about to slip away, he was grabbed and pulled away.

"Brother, I was wrong. I really didn't mean to say it." He clasped his hands together and quickly begged for forgiveness.

Li Kaixin just chuckled coldly twice and dragged her younger brother toward the kitchen.

Li Kai tried to struggle, but the hand gripping him was like an iron clamp, and he couldn't break free at all.

As Li Kai passed the side of the kitchen, he grabbed the doorframe and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao! Please beg my brother for me!"

Li Xiaoxiao acted as if she hadn't heard and continued packing vegetables into the two food boxes.

Li Kai thought she hadn't heard him and was about to call out again when Li Kaixin grabbed him and pulled him into the kitchen.

As soon as the side door closed, the main room fell silent.

Only then did Li Xiaoxiao dare to raise her head and look at the tightly closed kitchen side door.

She herself almost got beaten up by her older brother just now, so how could she possibly speak up for Li Kai?

Just then, Zhang Xiaohua walked over from the side bedroom carrying her schoolbag.

She looked around the room and was taken aback to see Li Xiaoxiao standing alone at the table.

"Xiaoxiao, where are Big Brother and Kai Ge?"

"Shh!" Li Xiaoxiao quickly made a shushing gesture and gestured towards the kitchen with her eyes:

"Xiaohua, they're in the kitchen. Don't go over there yet."

Zhang Xiaohua nodded, then her gaze fell on the table: "Xiaoxiao, what are these two lunchboxes for?"

"Your older brother asked you to take this back." Li Xiaoxiao closed the lid of the lunchbox, picked it up, and stuffed it into her hand.

Zhang Xiaohua looked down at the lunchbox, about to say something, when a noise suddenly came from the kitchen.

"Ouch! I was so wrong, brother, please go easy on me!"

"You little rascal, still trying to be cheeky!"

"Oh dear, I'll stop joking around! Big brother, please have mercy on me!"

With those sounds, Zhang Xiaohua had long forgotten what she was about to say, put down her lunchbox, and wanted to go over and see what was going on.

Seeing this, Li Xiaoxiao, who was standing nearby, smiled and stopped her: "Xiaohua, don't worry, your brother knows what he's doing."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Li Kai's screams became even louder.

"Oh, I've already apologized, big brother. If you hit me again, I'll fight back."

"Fine! I'll give you a chance to fight back."

Then came another series of muffled thuds and Li Kai's pleas for mercy.

Zhang Xiaohua, who was in the main room, felt her heart clench with worry as she listened.

She tugged at Li Xiaoxiao's sleeve, her face pleading, "Xiaoxiao, I still want to go see."

"Alright, alright! I'll go with you." Seeing her worried look, Li Xiaoxiao reluctantly let go of her hand.

As soon as the two pushed open the kitchen door, they saw the older brother pressing Li Kai down on his lap and slapping his buttocks repeatedly.

Li Kai was lying on the stool next to the stove, kicking his legs and yelling.

Li Kaixin naturally heard the sound of the door opening, turned around and saw that it was his two younger sisters, so he stopped.

He then straightened up and said with a smile, "Xiao Hua, what brings you here?"

"Big brother, can you let Kai go?" Zhang Xiaohua looked at Li Kai, who was lying on the stool, with heartache.

"Okay, okay!" Li Kaixin nodded, then nudged her younger brother beside her. "Get up now, Xiaohua's watching!"

Upon hearing this, Li Kai immediately stood up from the stool.

......