CHAPTER 497: CHAPTER 497: DIGGING A HOLE FOR ONESELF

"Recently installed, by the end of the year, you’ll have heating, so you won’t need the stove anymore."

Cai Xingjuan thought about how this would save the effort of using the stove and she breathed a sigh of relief. Not only would her husband no longer be busy chopping wood and starting fires, but she’d also have less cleaning to do, making life much easier.

By the end of the year, huh? Gong Ruini felt a bit disappointed; March in Beijing was still a bit chilly. But thinking ahead to winter, having heating would be so much more comfortable than the kang, making the whole house warm.

Heating? "Will the whole house be warm?" Zhao Guangran’s eyes twinkled. If they could really get heating like this, it would be great. Though the kang was comfy, you could only huddle on it all day.

Every winter, Zhao Guangran felt frustrated being stuck on the kang all day.

"Yes." Cai Xingjuan just remembered that there was no stove in this room, "You guys shouldn’t stay here for now. I forgot there’s no stove here."

Uh, not stay here? Gong Ruini noted the room was so cold and wondered how they could make them stay here. It was indeed uninhabitable, which was due to Cai Xingjuan’s lack of foresight.

"Then where will we stay? Will we be staying together?" The twins, just subdued by Zhao Xuran, didn’t bother to retaliate. Unexpected surprises like this made them happy.

"You have to stay together for now." Cai Xingjuan was a bit annoyed, as initially, not many people lived here. Plus, the situation wasn’t great a few years before, so no repairs to the pipes were made, meaning the heating couldn’t be fully supplied even if generated themselves.

Cai Xingjuan deeply regretted not settling these matters earlier. It seemed crucial to have her husband find someone to get the pipes cleaned as soon as possible.

"Really, that’s great." Zhan Zisu jumped up in excitement upon hearing this.

Then she hurriedly asked, "So where will we be staying now?"

"In the East Wing. Initially, someone lived there who liked fireplaces, so a fireplace was installed." Cai Xingjuan, having been in this house for so long, was well-acquainted with it.

The East Wing? Wow, Gong Ruini was envious. She always liked having a fireplace. In the past, she couldn’t afford a villa, so she could only drool over such fireplaces.

She never thought she’d live in such a nice place with a fireplace. Had she known, she would have snatched it up!

"We can swap rooms." Zhao Xuran noticed that Gong Ruini really liked the fireplace and suggested.

Really? Gong Ruini was thrilled and almost agreed immediately. But then she thought, having a bunch of people crammed into her room would be all sorts of uncomfortable, feeling like she had no privacy with everyone coming in and out as they pleased.

"No, thank you." Gong Ruini declined Zhao Xuran’s kind offer. "If needed, I can go over."

Right, it’s better to go feel the warmth of the fireplace from time to time. More importantly, it prevents Zhan Banxia and the others from running into her room. Just imagining Zhao Xuran’s room turning into a living room makes one laugh.

Clearly, she liked the fireplace, so letting her older brother give it to her was surprising. But being unusually meek wasn’t like Gong Ruini, who always wanted the nice things.

Todays’s Gong Ruini acting so modest was bizarre, making Zhao Guangran wonder why Gong Ruini was being so kind-hearted.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Guangran suddenly realized, grinning brightly, "Ni Zi, is this how you treat my brother?"

The annoying guy––seeing Zhao Guangran’s smile made Gong Ruini feel irritated. He must have thought of something; otherwise, he wouldn’t say that. "Am I not nice to Brother Xuran?"

"Yes, you go to my brother’s room, Ban Xia and the others will come and make a mess, and my brother’s room will be chaotic." Their brother loved cleanliness, and suddenly seeing his room in disarray wouldn’t make him happy.

It would be great for his brother to see the kind of person Gong Ruini is, and realize the person he’s been helping all along is such an ingrate.

"You can swap rooms with Brother Xuran." Gong Ruini expressed that Zhao Guangran’s attempts to sow discord were futile. "And that’s how it was decided initially."

Sheesh, at first, she didn’t even know the East Wing had a fireplace, so she refused to take the blame.

"I..." How did the issue land on him again? Zhao Guangran was caught in a bind, unsure of whether to advance or retreat, pathetically looking to Zhao Xuran, hoping his brother would back him up.

Zhao Xuran wouldn’t step in. This was just a small quarrel between them, nothing he should involve himself in, especially since Zhao Guangran stirred it up.

"Why don’t you swap rooms with Brother Xuran, without any trouble, right? You wouldn’t stop us from warming ourselves by the fire, would you?" Tsk, it was Zhao Guangran bringing this upon himself. Even if it made him uncomfortable, Gong Ruini felt he needed a good lesson; otherwise, he’d keep overstepping his bounds.

Switching rooms would prevent Gong Ruini from coming in, making the room a mess, and preventing him from sleeping in.

Whenever he tried to sneak in a late morning sleep, Zhan Banxia and the others disturbed him, making it all sorts of unappealing.

"I would never; it’s big brother’s room. How could I compete with big brother?" Right, why was he getting worked up? It wasn’t even his room, nor was it given to him to stay in.

"I can let you stay there." Zhao Xuran coolly said from the side.

Big brother, you’re such a great brother, appearing at this moment. Didn’t he know he was already cornered by Gong Ruini, yet his brother was getting involved now, pushing him further.

"Right, let’s swap rooms." Humph, who wouldn’t add fuel to the fire? Gong Ruini chimed in.

It was one thing for Gong Ruini to speak up, but Zhan Banxia and the others were also cheering from behind, almost to the point of beating drums.

"Get lost," Zhao Guangran couldn’t do anything to Zhao Xuran but was unmerciful to the two younger ones.

"Let’s just swap rooms." Zhao Xuran insisted again.

Big brother, why do you keep getting involved? Zhao Guangran felt like crying, "Big brother, it’s my fault, it’s my fault."

"Ni Zi, it’s my fault, my fault, my fault." Important things must be said thrice. Although his apology to big brother might seem insincere, none of it mattered as long as Gong Ruini let him off; his big brother could easily handle it.

Their big brother was always biased towards girls over boys. Others saw boys getting all the attention; for them, it was the girls who mattered. Zhao Guangran couldn’t understand why his brother seemed to dislike him so much.

"Good to know." Seeing Zhao Guangran’s aggrieved expression, Gong Ruini felt delighted; it was just the right way to handle it.

After all, Zhao Guangran was like an indestructible cockroach. No matter how much he was mocked or attacked, he’d sulk for a while before bouncing back, truly a super cockroach.

All in all, Zhao Guangran was an exasperating person, sensitive but not in the usual way. He’d occasionally shed tears yet was super quick to cause trouble, defying the typical man’s stereotype.

Everyone says women are fickle; well, Zhao Guangran is like that too.