“If Zhong Lingyu doesn’t acknowledge me, then Song Chan, you should marry him!”
Song Chan’s heart pounded.
On the way back from the tutoring center, she observed Meng Mian’s expression, fearing Meng Mian would ask about school.
Meng Mian was a very traditional woman, always extremely strict with her children. She definitely wouldn’t understand what happened in the classroom corridor that afternoon. Song Chan might face Meng Mian’s interrogation as soon as she gets home.
Song Chan frantically prepared a long speech, but when she got home, Meng Mian said nothing, wearily putting down her things and heading to her room.
Song Chan felt lost and quickly called out to Meng Mian, “Mom!”
Meng Mian turned around, her eyelids heavy. “Hmm?”
Seeing that her mother didn’t seem to want to question her, Song Chan shook her head, her heart pounding. “You should rest early.”
Meng Mian went to her room, closing the door, leaving Song Chan alone in the living room. She stood there, even forgetting to take off her schoolbag, staring at Meng Mian’s bedroom, her expression confused.
Song Qing crouched down, opened the door, and stealthily darted behind Song Chan, startling her.
Song Chan turned and precisely grabbed her younger brother’s ear, making him yelp in pain.
The noise was too loud, so Song Chan quickly gestured for Song Qing to be quiet, then pulled her back to her room.
Song Qing noticed the schoolbag on Song Chan’s shoulder. “Why are you carrying such a heavy thing home?” she said, helping her take it off. She noticed the backpack looked a little different from usual, picked it up and weighed it in her hand, her tone surprised. “Every weekend, you practically carry the whole drawer home. Why is your backpack so light today?”
Song Chan rubbed her aching knees. She’d been accompanying Meng Mian to various tutoring centers today, asking all sorts of questions, and had walked quite a distance. “Zhong helped me pack it.”
Song Qing beamed. “So it was my brother who did it! No wonder a smart brain makes all the difference. He’s good at organizing. My brother is definitely going to be a gentle and thrifty person in the future.”
Song Chan’s eyes teased, “All those ‘brother’ calls…” “So affectionate? Does Zhong Lingyu even intend to acknowledge you as his younger brother?”
Song Qing retorted cheekily, “If Zhong Lingyu doesn’t acknowledge me, then Song Chan, you should marry him! You must avenge your poor brother, since he made me misunderstand.”
Song Chan pretended to hit him, both startled and angry, and retorted sarcastically, “You should say that to his face!”
Song Qing covered his head, “I just saw you were unhappy and wanted to comfort you, why are you angry instead?”
Although Song Qing was very straightforward in many ways, perhaps because they were twins, he was always very sensitive to his sister’s emotions.
Like a little puppy, he squatted down in front of Song Chan and acted coquettishly, “What’s wrong? Why are you unhappy? Did Mom scold you?”
As soon as Song Qing heard that Meng Mian had come to school today, he immediately realized something serious had happened and rushed over from the playground to break up the fight. When he arrived, he indeed saw Meng Mian red-faced and visibly upset.
Song Chan grew increasingly frustrated. “It would have been better if Mom had just scolded me, but she didn’t say a word to me at the tutoring class today.”
The image of Meng Mian’s weary back as she turned to go back to her room flashed through her mind, and an indescribable sadness welled up inside her.
Song Qing: “That’s certainly bizarre.” He muttered to himself, stroking his chin. “Could it be because of me?”
Song Chan was stunned. “What does that have to do with you?”
Song Qing: “Didn’t Mom see Zhong at school?”
Song Chan: “Yes.”
Song Qing: “And then she called out ‘Mom.'”
Song Chan: “That’s right.”
Song Qing: “So Mom thinks I’ve brought a reliable older brother to the family!”
Song Chan: “Huh?”
Song Qing: “A reliable older brother is also a money tree.” Then he raised his hands and shook them, accidentally revealing a small bulge in his belly, which jiggled as he imitated a tree covered in gold leaf. “Clatter, clatter, clatter, can you hear the sound of money? How could a woman like my mom, who loves money more than life itself, refuse!”
Song Chan: “…”
Song Qing: “Even though my daughter’s grades aren’t good, my son is sensible early!”
Song Chan slapped Song Qing onto the floor, making him scream and beg for mercy.
Her bloodline power as the older sister finally gave way.
Song Qing was indeed very sensitive to her sister’s emotions, but she was also adept at igniting them.
As Song Qing cowered on the floor, shouting her innocence, there was a knock at the door.
Song Qing rushed to open it and saw Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng standing there. She rushed over and hugged them both, accusing Song Chan of her violence and declaring she couldn’t stand being in this house for even a moment longer!
Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng, however, laughed heartily, a hint of surprise in their eyes.
In their memories, their uncle and mother’s relationship was remarkably harmonious. Uncle Song Qing treated Song Chan with exceptional respect, and Song Chan doted on her younger brother. Even when Song Qing made a mistake, Song Chan’s face only showed forgiveness.
Only today did they learn that their mother and uncle had also been fighting since childhood.
Seeing that no one was thinking about him, Song Qing stomped his feet angrily. “Really, nobody wants to comfort me? A bowl of scallion oil noodles is enough to appease a little cutie, you guys aren’t losing out!”
Zhong Xin looked around, not seeing Meng Mian, but noticing the bedroom door was tightly shut. “Is Auntie in there?”
Song Chan nodded.
Before she could even mention that Meng Mian might be in a bad mood, Zhong Xin, like a lively little bird, opened the door and flew in without a care.
“Auntie!” she called sweetly, rushing over to hug Meng Mian, then sitting down beside her. “Why are you sitting alone in the room? Without even turning on the lights! What are you thinking about? Look what I brought you! Ta-da, a fragrant hand cream, this is super effective, let me show you!”
Zhong Xin rattled off a whole bunch of things, leaving Meng Mian completely bewildered.
Zhong Cheng turned on the light and walked over, speaking slowly and deliberately, “We went to the mall after school and found a brand on sale. Zhong Xin said that the brand never goes on sale, so we bought a lot. This hand cream is really good.”
Meng Mian’s work takes a toll on her hands; her skin is always rough, but she’s used to being frugal and can’t bear to buy good hand cream. The one Zhong Xin gave her, however, felt incredibly comfortable to the touch and had a very light scent. But even though she liked it, she couldn’t accept it and quickly tried to decline.
“I’m wasting such a good brand, Xin Xin, you keep it.”
Zhong Xin pouted, “You don’t like it? I’m so sad. It’s all your fault, Zhong Cheng! I told you we should have chosen the lemon-flavored one.”
Zhong Cheng: “When did I tell you we should choose this one? How come every time we choose the wrong one, it’s my fault?” He then smiled at Meng Mian, “Auntie, why don’t you look at mine? I bought you a gift too.”
He pulled out a pair of shoes, flat calfskin shoes, understated in style and soft to wear. Before Meng Mian could react, Zhong Cheng helped her put them on, and she found the size was surprisingly perfect.
Zhong Xin protested, “Auntie, you like Zhong Cheng’s shoes but not mine?”
Meng Mian was shocked.
Zhong Cheng frowned. “Zhong Xin, stop being so sarcastic.”
Meng Mian quickly stood between the siblings, completely flustered. “Don’t fight! Don’t fight! Auntie will accept it all!”
Meng Mian did like to take advantage of small things, but she wasn’t greedy. Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng’s gifts were indeed valuable to her; most people wouldn’t have accepted them. But for some reason, receiving something from Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng gave Meng Mian the excitement of winning the lottery, her head spinning with joy.
If the two started arguing, Meng Mian wouldn’t be able to hold her own and immediately surrender.
Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng blinked and smiled at each other.
Meng Mian suddenly realized, “You two are putting on an act for me!”
Zhong Xin, looking slightly guilty after being caught, smiled and stepped forward, affectionately pressing her cheek against Meng Mian’s.
Meng Mian’s bravado vanished. Song Qing and Song Chan stood dumbfounded in the living room.
Song Qing was utterly baffled. “My mom has such a volatile temper, and Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng were so easily appeased? What kind of tricks did these two siblings use?”
Song Chan seemed not to hear Song Qing’s complaints.
Putting aside all factual evidence, she knew Meng Mian. Her mother had always been harsh and wary of others, rarely showing kindness except for matters of self-interest. Yet, she was incredibly loving and tolerant towards the twins, Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng, whom she had only met a few times.
Meng Mian’s love seemed to be the protective reaction of a human elder towards their grandchildren.
At this moment, Song Chan felt that blood ties truly never lie. Even with a temporal distortion, humans, out of instinct, would unconsciously express emotions. And she herself was beginning to find it increasingly impossible to doubt the relationship between Zhong Xin, Zhong Cheng, and herself.
At night, Zhong Xin turned on the cool air conditioner in her rented room, unfolded the sofa, set up the projector, and invited Song Chan and Meng Mian to watch a movie.
Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng’s rented room was opposite Song Chan’s, very close; they could sleep there or on the sofa if they wanted.
While searching for a movie, Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng disagreed, Song Chan and Song Qing playfully bickered, and Meng Mian sat in the middle of the sofa, grinning from ear to ear at the scene before her.
Finally, just before midnight, they found a chilly, suspenseful folklore film. Meng Mian said she was scared, and the four children huddled around her, each hugging her arms and legs, declaring they would protect her.
Meng Mian had never felt so happy in her life.
At dawn, a mist rose over the city, hazily enveloping its sleepy neon lights.
Everyone said they were hungry, and Zhong Xin volunteered to go to the kitchen to cook instant noodles.
She specially bought Song Chan’s favorite spicy cheese, cut off a few packets, and put a piece into the instant noodle pot.
As the instant noodles bubbled and gurgled in the boiling water, Zhong Cheng brought in the washed bok choy.
“Grandma just told me that my aunt’s family is coming tomorrow.”
The aunt Zhong Cheng mentioned was Song Chan’s eldest aunt.
Zhong Xin: “But didn’t Grandma say she’d be having dinner with us this weekend?”
Zhong Cheng: “Grandma meant that if we don’t mind, we can eat together.”
Zhong Xin: “Then let’s eat together! Of course, I don’t mind. I’m not afraid of my aunt. If my aunt and cousin dare to make Mom uncomfortable, I’ll make them even more uncomfortable.”
Zhong Xin remembered her aunt Zhou Wenxuan’s behavior towards Song Chan at the restaurant, and felt her anger hadn’t subsided; she wanted to show off her skills again.
Zhong Cheng remained noncommittal: “What about Dad?”
Zhong Xin: “What about Dad?”
Zhong Cheng, looking at his sister’s goldfish-like brain, knew she’d forgotten again. “Dad said he’d come to see where we live this weekend.”
Zhong Xin: “I promised?”
Zhong Cheng: “You promised. And you didn’t tell him about going to Grandma’s for dinner.”
Even a fool could predict what Zhong Lingyu’s situation would be like tomorrow.
Empty-handed, swaggering, she arrived at her future mother-in-law’s house.
Interrogated by her mother-in-law, stared at by her father-in-law returning from a business trip, and facing the troublesome eldest aunt of the Song family who was about to cause trouble…
Thinking of this, Zhong Xin covered her mouth, “Zhong Cheng, I think I’ve accidentally messed up with Dad again.”