He was making his stance clear in front of all the guests. No one should think that just because Yu Nianqing’s mental power was weak, they could look down on her or bully her as they pleased. Her three older brothers would always have her back.
At this point, the livestream chat exploded.
“Help, this man is so handsome!”
“Looks like the Yu family’s genes are incredibly strong. This must be the famous Mr. Diplomat himself.”
“I want to be Yu Nianqing’s sister-in-law fan!”
“Count me in!”
“Big brothers, does this young lady have a lot of older brothers?”
“Time for a Baidu encyclopedia search: Eldest son Yu Ningyan, a colonel; second son Yu Ningsui, a diplomat; third son Yu Ninghuai, currently still a student at an academy.”
“With a lineup like that, Yu Nianqing could probably get away with anything, even if she were crippled!”
If Yu Nianqing had seen that comment, she would certainly have been torn between laughter and tears.
A fallen leaf had landed on Yu Ningsui’s shoulder. No one knew where he had picked it up. Yu Nianqing casually brushed it off for him. “Second Brother, did you just get back?”
Yu Ningsui’s eyes were filled with warmth. “Mm, I came straight here as soon as I got off the starship.” That explained why he looked a little tired. The faint dark circles under his eyes were conveniently hidden by his glasses.
“You must be exhausted, Second Brother.”
“How could I miss my little sister’s twentieth birthday? By the way, where’s Ninghuai?” Yu Ningsui asked gently. He glanced around but didn’t see Yu Ninghuai anywhere.
Yu Nianqing’s expression turned strange. “He’s in the study with Eldest Brother. Eldest Brother summoned Third Brother first thing this morning. How strange…”
Yu Ningsui looked as though he understood. “Go ahead and enjoy yourself. I’ll go check on them.”
Yu Ningyan, who had yet to make an appearance, had actually called Yu Ninghuai into the study. At that moment, Yu Ninghuai stood motionless facing the wall, while Yu Ningyan sat in a chair behind him.
“When Mother passed away, Nianqing wasn’t even a year old. Neither Ningsui nor I was home. What did Mom say before she died?”
“She said… that we had to take good care of our little sister.”
No one knew how long Yu Ninghuai had been standing there. After remaining silent for a long time, Yu Ningyan suddenly asked him this question.
At the mention of their mother, Yu Ninghuai’s eyes reddened. He hadn’t taken good care of his little sister and had failed to fulfill the promise he’d made to their mother.
Yu Ningyan was about to continue when the study door opened. Yu Ningsui stood in the doorway. He closed the door carefully behind him before looking at Yu Ninghuai, who was still standing facing the wall. “What’s going on here…?”
Seeing who had arrived, Yu Ningyan furrowed his brows and asked, “Why are you back?”
“If I hadn’t come back now, would there even be a sister left for me to see in one piece?” Yu Ningsui asked. The room was rather warm, so he took off his suit jacket and laid it on the table.
Based on Yu Ningsui’s return journey from Gemini Star, he shouldn’t have arrived on Kloss Star for another two days. Yet, for the sake of Yu Nianqing’s twentieth birthday, he’d rushed back without stopping, day or night.
Yu Ningyan had intended to settle the score with Yu Ninghuai and give Yu Ningsui an explanation when he returned. Now, it seemed Yu Ninghuai was in for a world of trouble.
Only the three brothers knew that Yu Ningsui, who appeared the most approachable and refined to outsiders, was actually the most devious of them all. He was so cunning that even Yu Ningyan, their eldest brother, was at a loss when dealing with him.
As a diplomat for Kloss Star, he could hardly do his job without a few tricks and a calculating mind.
“Second Brother…” Yu Ninghuai’s voice trembled slightly. Ever since they were children, whenever he made a mistake, Second Brother had always been the most reasonable one, but he was also the one who hit him the hardest.
Yu Ningsui patted Yu Ninghuai on the shoulder. “What happened to our little sister while I was away for the past six months? Go on, tell me.”
Yu Ninghuai glanced nervously at his two older brothers and recounted everything Yu Nianqing had told him. When he got to the explosion Yu Nianqing had experienced, he could clearly feel the temperature in the entire room dropping…
“Gene-editing technology had made a new breakthrough, so I couldn’t spare any time for my little sister.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent. Yu Ningsui let out a cold laugh. “Yu Ninghuai, if there’s a next time, I’ll turn you into snow-pool fruit juice and drink you.”
“I understand.” Yu Ninghuai readily admitted his mistake.
“Yu Tiancheng finally couldn’t resist bringing Feng Yue home.” Yu Ningsui’s tone had lost all the gentleness he’d shown earlier.
“I don’t really mind, but I don’t know how Xiao Qing feels about it,” Yu Ninghuai said.
Yu Ningsui snorted. What did Yu Nianqing think? His little sister had been so thoroughly protected by her older brothers since childhood that of course she wouldn’t be able to accept all this. As for whether the explosion had been an accident or deliberate, he couldn’t even be bothered to investigate it.
All three brothers believed the incident had dealt a heavy blow to Yu Nianqing. She was the only one who didn’t see it that way.
“Since they’ve come, we should give them a proper welcome.” Yu Ningsui pressed a hand to Yu Ninghuai’s shoulder, reminding him to keep his cool.
Hearing this, Yu Ningyan couldn’t help reminding him, “Ningsui, don’t go too far.”
Yu Nianqing sat at the piano beneath the crystal chandelier. After replying to a few more comments, she put away the camera robot and ended the livestream.
A woman in a lab coat appeared at the entrance to the front hall. She was carrying something in her hands and seemed to have rushed over, still slightly out of breath.
Ivy had arrived late. She hadn’t even had time to change out of her lab coat. Whether Bo Chen had done it on purpose or not, he had insisted that she finish three sets of experiments before letting her leave.
Yu Nianqing happened to spot Ivy and happily went over to greet her. People passing by made way for the sweeping hem of her gown.
“Ivy!”
Hearing her voice, Ivy looked over. Seeing Yu Nianqing dressed up for the occasion, she muttered, “The wife Bo Chen tricked into marrying him really is something…”
“Ivy, what took you so long?” Yu Nianqing asked as she lifted her skirt and approached her.
“Your husband, of course!” Ivy complained. “You didn’t come to the research lab today, so we had to do all your experiments for you.”
Yu Nianqing thought of how meticulous Bo Chen had always been about his work. That approach certainly suited his personality. She discreetly glanced behind Ivy, but there was no one else there.
“Happy birthday, Xiao Qing. You look beautiful today.” Ivy had noticed the look in Yu Nianqing’s eyes, but she chose not to comment on it.
Yu Nianqing personally fetched a cup of milk tea and handed it to Ivy. Ivy’s eyes lit up. She shoved her gift into Yu Nianqing’s hands and immediately started drinking the milk tea.
After chatting with Yu Nianqing for a while, Ivy noticed that the banquet was nearing its end, yet the talent awakening ceremony still hadn’t begun.
“Xiao Qing, when is the awakening ceremony going to start?”
“With her mental power at only E-rank, what talent is there to awaken?” Zhang Yunhua said, holding a glass of mutant orange juice. She had happened to overhear Ivy’s question.
Ivy frowned and turned to look at her. Chen Huan stood nearby. Although she was drinking snow-pool fruit juice, her eyes were fixed entirely on the milk tea. With Zhang Yunhua standing beside her, she didn’t dare reach out and take a cup.
No one responded, leaving Zhang Yunhua feeling rather awkward. She pinched Chen Huan, who hurriedly chimed in, “W-why is that?”
Zhang Yunhua was exasperated by how slow-witted she was. “Because her mental power is too low to use any awakened talents! Even if she awakens one, it’ll be useless! So some people might as well stop getting their hopes up!”
Ivy gave the two of them a cool glance before asking Yu Nianqing, “Xiao Qing, you’re far too kind. You let just anyone in here. This is the first time I’ve seen someone behave so rudely in another person’s home.”