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Chapter 17

Yu Shu barely managed to slip away from her seven aunts and eight aunties, and went out to the balcony to get some air.

Ye Ping hadn\'t had the chance to furnish the balcony yet, so it was bare and empty, and no one wanted to stand outside in the cold winter air. Wenwen had brought a chair out to the corner of the balcony and was sitting there, grinding her teeth at her phone.

Wenwen looked up from the chaotic battle going on in the mobile game she was playing: "Sis, you came out here to get some peace and quiet too?"

"Wenwen, how were your exams?" Yu Shu asked with a smile, teasing her.

Wenwen\'s little face immediately drooped, and she said tonelessly, "Can we not talk about grades and just give me New Year\'s money? I didn\'t ask if you have a boyfriend, and you\'re asking me about my grades! That\'s so unfair!"

Wenwen was fourteen this year and in the second year of junior high. She was right in her teenage rebellious phase. Over the past couple years, the girl had become addicted to mobile games, always glued to her phone whenever she had a free moment. It was giving her aunt headaches.

"Here, I\'ll give you a big red envelope."

Wenwen wanted to do a mobile transfer, which suited Yu Shu just fine — red envelopes could be a hassle. After Wenwen received the New Year\'s money, she immediately returned to her game and recharged 648 yuan.

After recharging, she suddenly realized Yu Shu was still next to her, and looked up sheepishly, "I...I\'ve wanted this Wu Zetian character for a long time, and my mom wouldn\'t give me money for it..."

Yu Shu knew what it was like to be that age. "I know, I know. I won\'t tell her. If she asks, just say I only gave you 200 yuan."

Wenwen instantly broke into a bright smile and scooted her chair over to make room for Yu Shu, "Sis, draw one for me."

"Click here, here, do a 10x draw. Here\'s the luck value — you usually need 361 before you\'ll get a Glory Crystal. I only have 22...And...there\'s..."

As Wenwen counted on her fingers how much more luck value and money she needed, before she could figure it out, she saw her sister tap the screen and a flashy special effect appeared...

"Was it this one? I just did a single draw."

Wenwen stared blankly at the phone for a few seconds before rubbing her eyes — "Ahhh!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Sis! Sis! Sis! I got it, I got it!!!!"

Yu Shu tilted her head slightly, putting some distance between her ear drums and Wenwen\'s "shrieking."

It took Wenwen quite some time to calm down from her excitement. She still had a lot of points left for draws, so she pestered her sister to help her draw again.

Yu Shu drew Wenwen\'s second Glory Crystal from a 10x draw out of 5 10x draws; the third Glory Crystal was even more ridiculous — she got it from just 2 10x draws.

Watching on the side, Wenwen yelled excitedly, "Sis! Draw this one, this Yin Yang division one. I quit playing it awhile ago out of frustration. Just help me do a 10x draw..."

"Ahhhh — Four SSRs!!!!"

"This one, this one, The Fifth Personality. I saved up for so long..."

"Wow — Gold skin, gold skin!"

"Open this box, this box..."

...

After five straight mobile games, Wenwen\'s throat was hoarse from all the yelling. The way she looked at her sister now could only be described as "utmost admiration": "Sis, you were a red carp in your past life?"

Yu Shu was not at all modest: "I was the red carp\'s original carp."

At lunchtime, the two sisters were called downstairs to eat.

Wenwen couldn\'t get enough of her awesome sister and stuck to her like glue the whole way down.

Ye Ping had only invited her closest relatives and friends, so it wasn\'t too many people. Other than the kids, there were two tables for the adults. Since the house had ample room, Ye Ping prepared the dishes right there instead of booking a restaurant.

Yu Shu helped Ye Ping put all the dishes on the tables. People hadn\'t even sat down yet when the doorbell suddenly rang. Yu Shu was about to answer it when Ye Ping stopped her and took off her apron to go open the door herself.

The ones who should\'ve already arrived were all here, so anyone showing up now was clearly an uninvited guest.

"Sis-in-law, we\'ve come to give you New Year\'s greetings."

"Dearest sis-in-law, may you enjoy great happiness and prosperity." Yu Shu\'s Second Uncle held a basket of fruit, baring his mouth full of yellowed, smoke-stained teeth. As soon as he opened his mouth, the stale cigarette stench came pouring out.

And it wasn\'t just Second Uncle and Auntie, Third Uncle and Auntie came too with their two sons and four boys of varying ages — the youngest one was only three and was being held by Yu Shu\'s grandma, Yao Jinhua.

Ye Ping said, "Oh, you\'ve got the wrong door. I don\'t recall my husband Yu Feng having any brothers. When you all abandoned us years ago, I didn\'t see any of your faces."

Yao Jinhua quickly apologized with an ingratiating smile, "It was my fault, these last few years I\'ve been so busy taking care of these little monkeys that I neglected my Eldest."

Ye Ping gave a cold laugh. Neglect was putting it lightly — they\'d practically forgotten they even had this big son!

Even faced with Ye Ping\'s immense displeasure, one mustn\'t respond to a smiling face with a fist. And today was meant to be a joyous occasion. Plus Yao Jinhua was still her mother-in-law, so Ye Ping couldn\'t very well chase them out. She swallowed her resentment, which went straight to her gut.

Yu Feng didn\'t seem to notice her anger at all and was quite happy to see his brother and mother after so long. He warmly welcomed them in and even brought the kids over to the children\'s table, getting them all settled.

The once harmonious banquet instantly took on an indescribable air. Fortunately, Ye Ping had prepared ample food, and adding these extra people didn\'t leave anyone shortchanged.

Yu Shu and her brother observed coldly from the sidelines, silently ridiculing their father\'s endless hopefulness towards his parents and brothers.

After a few years, and he still longed for them — would he ever learn?

Ye Ping pulled the siblings into the kitchen and whispered harshly, "What\'s with those long faces? All the relatives are here today, don\'t let anyone criticize and poke at you for being unfilial!"

Yu Shu said, "What filial piety? Smile until our teeth fall out? Did you see how dad was groveling for their approval?"

"Shut it!" Ye Ping berated loudly. "Who do you think you are lecturing your own father? That \'groveling\' nonsense — is he a dog and you\'re what? You\'ve studied and think you\'re so clever for knowing a few idioms, now you look down on your own parents? Without us peasants could the likes of you become university students?"

Yu Shu choked on her words, rendered speechless by Ye Ping\'s bizarre logic and sheer audacity.

"And you, no sulking," Ye Ping ordered Yu Yang. "Go sit with the kids and look after your little brothers and sisters. No matter how angry you are, both of you better suck it up today and not let others gossip."

Ye Ping gave Yu Shu\'s arm a fierce twist. "Got it?!"

"Got it," Yu Shu reluctantly answered.