The servants behind them whispered one by one, “How cute, he’s so adorable.”

Rong Xiu turned and glared at them, and the servants lowered their heads.

Jin Yi used a fork to pick up a green bean and put it in his mouth, gently biting it. Looking at Rong Xiu’s glossy feathers, it was clear he had been pampered and nurtured by a privileged life, unlike himself who had been wandering through wind and rain, without even a place to stay, bullied everywhere.

After dinner, Fan Xia settled Xiao Jin in his room, which even had its own bathroom. He turned on the shower, and warm water flowed from the showerhead. Xiao Jin took off his clothes, washing the wounds on his body and his dusty feathers.

Looking at himself in the mirror, seeing the gorgeously decorated room, remembering the gentle Fan Xia who had brought him home, he gathered his incomplete wings. He wanted to stay here forever.

In a flash, winter arrived, and Xiao Jin had been living here for three months.

During this time, his clipped flight feathers had regrown. His once dull and lackluster feathers now looked like a walking rainbow, and compared to the pure white pearl bird, the colorful peony parrot was more eye-catching and more appealing to humans.

In just three months, with his sweet tongue and pretty face, calling “brother, brother” to everyone, he had made the servants’ hearts bloom with joy. He quickly won the affection of everyone in the Western-style house.

Rong Xiu stood on the balcony, looking hatefully at Xiao Jin chatting easily with the servants.

“Brother Rong Xiu!” Birds are naturally alert, and Xiao Jin sensed Rong Xiu’s gaze. He turned and greeted Rong Xiu upstairs: “The kitchen made sugar-roasted chestnuts. They’re delicious. Why don’t you come down and have some?”

Rong Xiu clenched his hand, his wings tense and contracted.

It was he who wanted sugar-roasted chestnuts and had instructed the kitchen to make them, but Xiao Jin’s tone and attitude made it seem as if he were the master of this house!

Rong Xiu angrily went downstairs, his pure white feathers brushing past the dreamy rose window, and came to the kitchen. Seeing the leisurely pastry chef in the kitchen, he asked, “Are the sugar-roasted chestnuts ready?”

The pastry chef stood up respectfully: “Yes, my lord.”

Rong Xiu sneered: “Then why haven’t I seen them?”

The pastry chef was stunned: “Xiao Jin took them. I thought you were sharing, so…”

“So what? Did I order him to come and take them? I’m not dead yet, and you all believe his words without even asking me. How unruly!” Rong Xiu suppressed his anger.

“Brother Rong Xiu, don’t be angry.” A soft and weak voice came from behind. Xiao Jin was holding the sugar-roasted chestnuts: “I really didn’t think you would be angry over a package of sugar-roasted chestnuts. I’ll give them back to you now. Please don’t blame the pastry chef anymore. It’s all my fault.”

Rong Xiu laughed in extreme anger. His pure white wings hadn’t been tainted by even a speck of dirt in the kitchen. On the contrary, his flawless wings gained an unshakeable dignity and solemnity in front of Xiao Jin’s gorgeous feathers.

“First, you’re not wrong. He is. You wanted sugar-roasted chestnuts, you reached out and asked for them, and the pastry chef kindly gave them to you. But it’s precisely because of his kindness to you that you’ve harmed him.”

“No, no-” Xiao Jin’s face turned ugly.

Rong Xiu ignored him completely and continued: “Second, as a pastry chef, I instructed him to make sugar-roasted chestnuts. After he finished, he neither gave them to a servant to bring to me nor delivered them to me personally. This is his dereliction of duty. He needs to be retrained before returning to work. Go find the housekeeper for your wages.”

“My lord!” The pastry chef couldn’t believe it.

“Brother Rong Xiu, you can’t do this!” Xiao Jin said.

Rong Xiu couldn’t be bothered with him, but Jin Yi chased after him: “Brother Rong Xiu, the pastry chef only made a tiny mistake. You can’t treat him like this. It’s too cruel.”

Rong Xiu stopped his steps up the stairs. The mottled cold light from the rose window shone on his cold, snow-white skin. His pure white wings made him look like a proud and noble deity, looking down with a cold expression: “Xiao Jin, please know your place. I am the master of this house. My decisions are not for you to comment on. By the way, your flight feathers have grown back, right?”

Xiao Jin saw the undisguised jealousy in his eyes.

In this house, the person he hated and resented the most was Rong Xiu. Why did he have a privileged background, able to marry a good wife-master like Fan Xia, living a life of comfort, while he could only rely on others’ charity?

“I was brought back by Sister Fan Xia. If I’m to leave, it will be because Sister Fan Xia tells me to go.” Xiao Jin turned away angrily.

Since there were no outsiders here, Rong Xiu simply dropped the facade of the master and mocked: “Fan Xia is my wife-master. We are one as husband and wife. What are you?”

Xiao Jin snorted coldly and said: “You’re husband and wife now, but who knows if you’ll still be in the future.”

“Say that again!” Rong Xiu raised his hand, originally just intending to scare him. Rong Xiu’s upbringing wouldn’t allow him to actually do such a thing.

But unexpectedly, Xiao Jin rushed into his palm, colliding with it. Xiao Jin had grown up in darkness and had suffered all kinds of hardships. What he feared least was being hit. Then he rolled down the stairs, even deliberately damaging his wings.

The servants rushed over at the sound and were all shocked at the scene.

Fan Xia hurriedly arrived at the hospital. Xiao Jin lay sickly in bed, while Rong Xiu stood to one side.

“Come out with me for a moment,” Fan Xia said coldly.

Rong Xiu followed her out.

“What happened? The servants said they saw you two fighting, and that you pushed Xiao Jin, causing him to get hurt,” Fan Xia said.

Rong Xiu explained: “He rushed into me himself. I didn’t push him at all.”

Fan Xia shook her head: “But the servants’ words—”

“You’d rather believe the servants than your own husband?” Rong Xiu’s eyes were hurt, and he spread his wings, flying into the wind and snow.

Rong Xiu flew for a long time, not knowing where he was. The snow was heavy, and he was very cold. Pearl birds have delicate constitutions and can’t withstand cold, but he would rather sit on a tree branch than go back and see Xiao Jin’s smug face.

He dared not go to his mother’s home, fearing that if his mother knew they had quarreled, it would affect Fan Xia’s career.

But besides his mother’s home, where else could he go? In his life, the first half was given to his parents, the second half to Fan Xia.

He suddenly felt he had nowhere to go. He shivered in the wind, trembling with cold, but stubbornly refused to go back. Perhaps in his heart, there was a vague hope that Fan Xia would come to find him?

He quietly flew back to the Western-style house. The house was brightly lit, but he only saw the servants taking great care of the injured Xiao Jin. No one cared about where he, the master of the house, had gone. Even Fan Xia was nowhere to be seen.

He collapsed from exhaustion.

In his hazy memory, he felt someone pick him up. It was warm.

When he woke up again, Fan Xia was by his side, holding his hand: “You almost turned into an ice bird. Will you run away again?” All the anger in Rong Xiu’s heart turned into grievance. He threw himself into Fan Xia’s arms and cried weakly: “I won’t run away anymore. You didn’t come to find me. If I ran away, I would never come back. I won’t run. Even if I die, I want to die as your partner.” The more he spoke, the more aggrieved Rong Xiu felt. In desperation, he added: “I’ll drag that green tea parrot to die with me!” Fan Xia’s hand, which had been stroking his feathers, paused. She chuckled helplessly: “You dislike him that much?” Rong Xiu silently wiped his tears.

“Actually, you misunderstood me. Last night, I didn’t even finish speaking before you flew out. I couldn’t catch up with you. What I wanted to say was, although the servants said they saw you push him down, we should find a way to clarify the situation and then send Xiao Jin away. We’ll send him to a technical training school to learn a skill so he can be self-reliant in the future. Then my household will be peaceful.” Rong Xiu looked up: “You?”

Fan Xia nodded.

After all, how can a wild flower compare to a home-grown one!