When the Beautiful Airhead's Inner Thoughts Were Heard - Chapter 1

【Ugh, this is so boring. I want to go pick cherries.】

Tong Anying swung her legs listlessly on the swing under the grapevine trellis. It was the third month of spring. The grapevines were just sprouting tender green leaves, and the air was thick with the vibrant energy of the season.

Her maternal grandfather had specially transplanted this rare variety into her courtyard simply because she liked it—a luxury rarely seen in the capital.

Last year, Anying had spent every waking moment praying for it to blossom and bear fruit. Then, she ate so many grapes she made herself sick. Now, her fickle cravings had moved on to something else.

Su Zhouyue approached carrying a plate of fresh cherries. Without giving her a choice, she popped one right into Anying’s mouth and began scolding her. “You really have a short memory, don’t you? You fell into the pond just a few days ago, and now you want to fall out of a tree?”

Anying pulled Su Zhouyue down to sit beside her. Leaning against her mother’s shoulder, she rocked back and forth on the swing. “Mother, think better of me, please.”

“I said no, and I mean no.”

As she spoke, Su Zhouyue stuffed another cherry into Anying’s mouth.

【Mother is so fierce.】

Fierce? Did she just call me fierce?

Su Zhouyue raised her hand, ready to flick her.

【Then again, Mother really is beautiful.】

Su Zhouyue wore a moon-white short padded jacket under a light green gossamer robe. With her gentle eyes and delicate features, she looked like an immortal fairy descended from the heavens.

This silly girl. Su Zhouyue’s raised hand softened, and she merely tapped Anying’s forehead with a gentle finger.

【Maybe I should go fly a kite instead?】

She hasn’t even been still for a minute.

Su Zhouyue caught her hand, smoothing a few stray hairs behind Anying’s ear. “The wind is too strong today. The physician said your constitution is weak. If you end up flying away with the kite, where is Mother supposed to find another daughter?”

Anying finally behaved, but a strange thought crossed her mind.

【Wait, how does Mother always know exactly what I’m thinking? Could she actually hear my inner thoughts?】

Su Zhouyue choked on her breath. Forcing her face into a stern expression, she snapped, “Stop letting your mind wander. Are these cherries not enough to keep your mouth shut?”

After eating more than half the plate, Anying found the silence boring and retreated into the house. In the end, she didn’t pursue her suspicions about her mother being able to read her mind.

Su Zhouyue let out a long breath. Of course I can hear you!

A few days ago, Anying had accidentally fallen into the water. Ever since she woke up, the entire family discovered they could clearly hear her inner monologue.

Along with Anying’s thoughts, there was also a childish, robotic voice. Anying seemed to refer to it as a “System.”

The whole situation was profoundly bizarre.

Su Zhouyue hadn’t slept a wink that first night. The next day, she hurried Anying to the temple to burn incense and even prayed for a protective amulet, only to realize the family literally could not speak about the mind-reading out loud.

It was as if an invisible force sealed their lips.

Fortunately, the temple’s Abbot had comforted her, suggesting it might be a blessing and an opportunity granted by the heavens. Only then did Su Zhouyue’s heart rest at ease.

Since Anying was still bouncing around completely unaffected, Su Zhouyue decided to just roll with it.

“Madam,” Nanny Xu, Su Zhouyue’s personal maid, walked up briskly. “The Second Young Lady is back.”

Standing right behind Nanny Xu was her second daughter, who had only returned to her husband’s family a few days prior.

Su Zhouyue reached out. Tong Siyuan placed her hand in her mother’s. Scanning her daughter’s face, Su Zhouyue asked in surprise, “Why do you look so pale?”

Then, a sudden realization struck her. “Could it be?”

Siyuan bit her lip and nodded.

Su Zhouyue’s expression turned utterly grim.

Anying’s inner thoughts really didn’t harm anyone. In fact, they seemed to function as a direct window into the future.

The day after Anying fell into the water, Siyuan had come to visit.

At that moment, Anying’s inner voice had suddenly spoiled the plot: ‘Wow, my seemingly honest and upright second brother-in-law has secretly been fooling around with his maternal cousin for ages. She’s even pregnant! They’re just waiting for the belly to show so they can force her into the estate as an equal wife to Siyuan.’

Cui Heng was a husband Su Zhouyue and her husband, Tong Baibo, had chosen after meticulous screening. His family background and character had seemed flawless, which was the only reason they had willingly married Siyuan off.

If things were truly as Anying described.

Su Zhouyue would be the first to tear him to pieces.

Siyuan took a sip of hot tea, a bit of color returning to her face. She whispered, “I went back these past two days and had someone quietly investigate. As it turns out, the entire Cui family knew about it. I was the only one kept in the dark.”

It was infuriating. Her family had been played for fools, while she had genuinely intended to live a life of mutual respect with that beast, Cui Heng.

Siyuan’s grip tightened around her teacup until her knuckles turned white.

Su Zhouyue patted the back of her daughter’s hand. Siyuan looked up to see her mother’s face as cold as stagnant water. “Yanyan, don’t worry. Mother will settle this for you.”

Siyuan shook her head, her voice soft but steady. “Mother, I want to handle this myself.”

“Yanyan.”

“Mother, trust me. I will make sure Cui Heng is utterly ruined and discredited.”

Su Zhouyue saw the fierce determination in her daughter’s eyes. Every child of the Marquis House possessed a backbone. Her daughter had grown up; it was time to let her face some things on her own.

“Alright. Once you’ve settled it, I’ll have your father send an eight-bearer sedan chair to bring you home in grand style.”

Siyuan’s heart softened. “Thank you, Mother.”

“What sedan chair?”

Anying walked out of the house. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Siyuan, and she pounced into her sister’s arms like a clingy kitten. “Second Sister, you’re back!”

Siyuan stroked her hair. “I am.”

Anying tugged her sleeve and whispered, “Let’s go pick cherries.”

“What?”

Siyuan didn’t catch it, but Su Zhouyue heard it loud and clear. She laughed and waved them off. “Go on, go on. You can’t sit still anyway.”

“I’ll have Uncle Zhao fetch the ladder and call Xiao Yi’an.”

Anying hitched up her skirt and ran off like the wind, with Su Zhouyue and Siyuan following close behind.

Thus, when Tong Fengye returned home from his studies, he was greeted by the bustling, lively sight of his family crowding around the cherry tree.

“Second Sister is back!”

“Just got here. Are your classes over?”

Tong Fengye nodded rapidly. Remembering something, he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Second Brother-in-law, is it true?”

Siyuan nodded.

Tong Fengye instantly rolled up his sleeves. “Second Sister, don’t worry. I’ll go twist his head off right now.”

Siyuan chuckled, burying her face in her hands, while Su Zhouyue snapped at him, “Tong Fengye! Did you leave your brain at the academy? Have all your books gone to feed the dogs?”

Tong Fengye scratched his head, testing the waters. “Then, can I beat Cui Heng to death with my books?”

Su Zhouyue felt her temples throb. “Stop talking about killing and dying all day long.”

“Oh.”

Tong Fengye then remembered something else, dropping his voice even lower. “So, is Fourth Sister really?”

“Yes,” Su Zhouyue confirmed.

Before she could even finish the word, Tong Fengye dashed off.

“Tong Fengye! Where are you running so fast?”

“I’m going to ask Fourth Sister about my upcoming exam results! Mother, if she says something good, you might have to give me my reward in advance!”

Su Zhouyue fell silent.

Tong Fengye stood beneath the tree, looking up at Anying with absolute devotion. “Fourth Sister! The Imperial Academy exams are right around the corner. What rank do you think I’ll get?”

Anying was busy plucking cherries and didn’t even look down. “Third Brother, as long as you study hard, you’ll definitely get an amazing rank!”

But in reality—

【Sigh, Third Brother is going to be dead last again. Truly a consistent underachiever.】

The eager grin froze on Tong Fengye’s face. He trudged back to Su Zhouyue and Siyuan, looking utterly defeated. “Mother, it’s over. Everything is over.”

“Oh, it’s over alright,” Su Zhouyue said. Her smile remained incredibly gentle, but her eyes flashed with pure, murderous intent. “An advance reward, you say? Perfect. Now you can get your beating in advance.”

“Who’s getting a beating?”

Tong Baibo, who had just returned from court, wrapped his arm around Su Zhouyue’s waist. He frowned as he watched his two daughters having the time of their lives up in the tree. “Is Anying climbing that high again? Did she already forget her lesson from the pond?”

Su Zhouyue grumbled, “If she’s not trying to scale trees, she’s trying to fly away with kites. I can’t control her.”

Tong Baibo quickly appeased her. “My wife has worked hard.”

Tsk tsk, Tong Fengye thought to himself. This must be what Fourth Sister’s inner voice calls a ‘whipped husband.’

Anying and Tong Yi’an hopped down, cradling a massive, overflowing bounty of cherries. They trotted over to their parents. Yi’an looked up at Su Zhouyue with big, pleading eyes. “Mother, can we have candied cherry preserves for dinner tonight? Please?”

Su Zhouyue couldn’t bear to deny her daughters. Stroking both their heads, she smiled, “Alright.”

As Anying and Yi’an let out a cheer, Su Zhouyue called out, “Uncle Zhao, please have someone take the remaining cherries to the kitchen. Tell them we’ll be having candied cherry preserves with dinner.”

“Yes, Madam,” Uncle Zhao replied.

A short while later, Anying and Yi’an brought out the washed cherries. One carried a plate over to Su Zhouyue and Tong Baibo, while the other brought a plate to Siyuan and Tong Fengye.

Tong Baibo observed his daughter. “Since Anying is mostly recovered, she can return to her classes at the Imperial Academy in a few days.”

【No way!】

【I absolutely refuse to take those exams!】

“Father,” Anying whimpered, suddenly looking fragile. “I just felt a sudden wave of dizziness and full-body weakness.”

“No dodging the exams!” Tong Baibo barked.

Anying fell silent.

【Well, look on the bright side. Third Brother is going to be dead last anyway, so he can act as my meat shield and absorb most of the damage.】

Plop.

The cherry in Tong Fengye’s hand slipped out of his fingers and hit the floor.

What does this have to do with me?

Talk about stray bullets!

“Dead last?”

Tong Baibo fixed his gaze on Fengye, his voice dropping an octave into a low, dangerous growl.

Fengye let out two hollow chuckles. “Father, I can explain.”

【Sigh. Third Brother brings up the rear every single time. He’s just really not cut out for academics.】

Tong Fengye: “?”

Fuming, he stomped over to Anying and aggressively stuffed a handful of cherries into her mouth. “Just eat your cherries and stop talking so much!”

Anying: “???”

“Tong Fengye!”

Hearing Tong Baibo’s thunderous roar, Fengye’s legs instantly turned to jelly. Should I just be a good boy and fetch the disciplinary cane myself?

Tong Baibo was practically breathing fire. He moved in to strike, but Fengye actually had the nerve to bolt.

Pointing the wooden cane at his fleeing son, Tong Baibo shouted, “Tong Fengye! Think your wings are strong enough to fly away from me now?”

Fengye craned his neck as he ran, yelling back, “Even a little baby chick wouldn’t be stupid enough to just stand there and take a beating from you!”

“You.”

As Fengye scrambled for his life, his eyes darted around the courtyard. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his fifth sister munching happily on cherries, his fourth sister fanning the flames of his demise, his mother smiling with perfect elegance, and his second sister sipping her tea with supreme composure.

Oh, and there was his father, whose face was completely livid with rage, alongside his eldest brother, who had just returned from the Ministry of Justice looking like a walking corpse.

Is literally anyone going to check on my survival?

Unable to catch him, Tong Baibo finally threw down the cane in frustration. Just then, Nanny Xu arrived to announce that dinner was served.

Tong Baibo snapped, “Let’s eat!”

Wonderful. Fengye clutched his chest in relief. He had successfully survived another day in the Marquis House.