Family Rules

Raina glanced unconsciously toward Leif. The man was expertly cleaning up the broken dishes, his expression calm and without a hint of complaint or anger, as if he had cleaned up such messes many times before. This was somewhat unexpected.

But then Raina thought about it and quickly understood — it was probably because of Gale.

After all, Gale was still young. It was normal to occasionally break dishes, especially during episodes of "Velvet Mercy," when Gale’s emotions could easily spiral out of control. Thinking of Velvet Mercy, Raina calmed herself and looked over at Gale.

Gale was obediently sitting on the sofa nearby, dark eyes fixed on her without blinking, as if unable to look away.

Raina reached out, her knuckles defined, and placed her fingers lightly on Gale’s wrist to check his pulse.

Today’s pulse was fairly calm; there were no signs of a Velvet Mercy episode. It seemed Gale had been managing it well so far.

However, managing it well didn’t mean it wouldn’t flare up again, nor that it wouldn’t affect Gale’s health. Gale’s body clearly looked weaker than other children his age. If this continued, his health would be seriously compromised.

After taking the pulse, Raina withdrew her hand and then picked up her phone. After fiddling with it for a while, she sent Leif the list of medicinal herbs needed, then put the phone down.

A few minutes later, Leif came out of the kitchen. Outside, the rain had stopped.

“Want to go for a walk?” Leif asked.

Raina glanced down at her round belly, then suddenly sat up straighter as if startled by a near-death moment. “Let’s go!”

Gale wanted to come too, but Leif raised his left hand and tapped his watch with his right fingertip. “You should wash up and get some sleep.”

Gale’s face fell instantly. Still, he gave Raina a reluctant glance, then waddled upstairs to his room.

Raina scratched her head and couldn’t help but ask, “Why can’t Gale come along?”

Leif said, “Family rules — no going out after nine.”

Big families often make house rules to manage family members. Of course, not everyone always follows them. The Carrington family didn’t have such rules, but the family Raina was raised with did.

Raina’s eyes darkened as she thought of something. She looked away and didn’t ask more. “I see... then... let’s go.”

Leif noticed her strange expression but didn’t press further. “Okay.”

The rain had stopped outside, leaving puddles here and there, but they weren’t deep. Each step splashed up a few droplets.

Raina was a bit distracted. She put her hands in her pockets and walked alongside Leif in silence for a while.

“Oh, I’ve sent you the list of herbs needed to treat Velvet Mercy. Let me know when you’ve got them ready,” Raina said softly, staring at the puddles.

Leif replied, “Got it.”

As they spoke, they reached an open fish pond.

Raina stopped, lifted her eyes, and looked at the water.

The rain had just stopped; occasional drops still silently fell onto the surface. A breeze rippled the water, sparkling under the light as if soothing the very soul.

She looked for a moment, then turned to Leif and asked, “Mr. Vexley, do you like fishing too?”

He walked beside her, also gazing at the water. Calmly, he said, “Yes.”

After a pause, he added, “Do you like it too?”

Raina stared blankly at the water. Hearing the question, she whispered, “I guess so. There was a time when life was tough. Fishing was easy and cheap. At first, I just did it to fill my stomach, but later... later I think I actually liked it.”

She changed her tone suddenly, sounding self-mocking. “Funny, isn’t it? I once had the illusion that maybe living like that all along would’ve been just fine.”

Maybe if she had never been taken back to the Carrington family and had lived a plain, ordinary life in Lystra, it would have been okay.

“No,” Leif answered, staring at the water’s surface.

Raina was a little startled and instinctively turned to look at him, a bit confused. “What?”

Leif said seriously, “I don’t think it’s funny at all.”

His tone was so earnest that it didn’t sound like just a casual remark.

Hearing that, a feeling Raina had never experienced before stirred inside her—somewhere between sadness and a slight sense of grievance. Her chest hurt a little, but there was also a subtle warmth she couldn’t quite explain.

After a moment, she looked away and smiled faintly at the path ahead. “Yeah, really, it’s not funny… But it’s all in the past now. Let’s go. The wind is starting to feel a bit cold…”

Before she could finish, her voice cut off abruptly. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Leif.

He had already undone the last button of his suit jacket, and after taking it off, he naturally draped the jacket over Raina’s shoulders.

Raina: “...”

This, this, this—

She looked like she had seen a ghost. Instinctively, she reached out to grab the jacket and handed it back, trembling slightly. “Mr. Vexley, really, you don’t have to. I’m not that delicate.”

And she wasn’t.

In fact, she was used to hunger and cold. She’d had days where she barely ate. So this little chill was nothing.

She had even thought, sometimes, that if someone would just drape a jacket over her when she was cold, or hand her a slice of plain bread when she was hungry, how wonderful that would be.

But no one ever did.

Lost in those thoughts, she suddenly heard Leif’s voice, firm and without room for argument: “Wear it.”

Raina held up the jacket, her fingertips trembling. She insisted, “I really don’t need it. It’s not that cold, haha…”

Whenever she got nervous, she laughed awkwardly.

Leif glanced at her, then didn’t push it further. He took back the jacket, put it on again, and carefully buttoned every button.

Raina let out a quiet sigh of relief. The awkwardness she felt earlier eased a bit.

Honestly, if Leif had insisted, she really wouldn’t have known what to do. When someone is kind, it’s always hard to refuse. Especially for her—when someone treats her well, she remembers it forever.

The cold wind blew again, and Raina shivered without realizing it. But afraid Leif might take off his jacket again to give it to her, she forced herself to endure it and said, “It’s late. Maybe we should head back.”

Leif nodded. “Okay.”

Raina exhaled quietly. Once back inside the hall, where it was warmer, she no longer felt cold. The two walked upstairs together, still heading in the same direction.

Raina: “...”

What was going on now? Did Leif actually plan to walk her back to her bedroom?!

Wait, wait, wait!

Why was she having such a weird thought?

Raina tried to clear her head.

For a moment, she felt her heart skip a beat. Her fingers clenched and unclenched at her side.

Just as they reached her door, Raina suddenly stopped and pressed her fist to her lips, coughing twice before saying, “Cough… um, Mr. Vexley, you really don’t have to…”

***