Ye Yunxia nodded. “Oh, right, she was assigned by the government, so she must be good. Tsk tsk, being a high-ranking official is really something—even after retirement, the benefits are this good.”
Su Guilin said, “In-law is a retired veteran cadre. He made outstanding contributions to the country when he was young, so of course, the state ensures his retirement life is well taken care of.”
Su Guihua nodded. “Exactly. We’re just benefiting from Father’s status.”
Ye Yunxia picked up her teacup, her tone exaggerated. “Well, you’re his son and daughter-in-law, and you gave him a pair of dragon-phoenix twins—grandchildren, no less. Who else would he dote on if not you?”
Su Guihua smiled but didn’t respond. Just then, the maid brought in the fruit platter, so she invited them to help themselves.
In the yard, Lu Xiuyuan eagerly pulled Su Yuanjie over to play with the remote-control race car. “Cousin, you take this car. Let’s see who can reach the other end first.”
“Alright, let’s go.” Su Yuanjie was also very interested in the toy.
Lu Manman, meanwhile, held Jiang Qingning’s hand and led her to the slide.
“Sister, this slide belongs to my family. Today, it’s just the two of us playing. We don’t have to line up with other kids like at kindergarten!”
Jiang Qingning didn’t find the slide childish at all. She and Lu Manman went up and down, having a great time.
“Sister, is this the same outfit you wore last time at Grandma’s house?”
“Mm-hmm, yes.”
Lu Manman tilted her head, puzzled. “Do you only have this one new outfit to wear?”
Jiang Qingning: “…” Though it stung a little, she still nodded and said, “A lot of kids only get one new outfit for the New Year.”
Lu Manman looked down at her own new clothes, then seemed to remember something and looked up. “Sister, I have lots of clothes I don’t wear anymore. Why don’t you take them?”
The two were born in the same year. Jiang Qingning was six months older than the twins but half a head taller. However, Lu Manman was chubbier, so her clothes would still fit Jiang Qingning.
Jiang Qingning shook her head. “No need, I have enough clothes to wear.”
But Lu Manman insisted, “Didn’t you just say you only have one new outfit? My grandma says you shouldn’t wear the same clothes when meeting guests—it’s not proper.”
Jiang Qingning: “…”
She began to understand why the “Jiang Qingning” in the novel grew to hate the twins so much. Being subtly provoked like this, intentionally or not, would be hard for anyone to accept.
However, Lu Manman truly meant no harm, and Jiang Qingning could empathize with her. In her previous life, she had said similar things to relatives.
Whether it was her past self or Lu Manman now, they had grown up in environments where new clothes filled their closets endlessly. Naturally, they couldn’t comprehend that some people could only afford a few new outfits a year.
Jiang Qingning still remembered a distant relative of her father’s from her previous life who came to visit. Seeing that an older girl’s sleeve was dirty, she went to her closet and brought out clothes with tags still attached.
She even pointed to the closet full of clothes and said, “All of these were given to me as gifts. I haven’t even taken off the tags—I can’t wear them all. If you see anything you like, take whatever you want.”
She had said it entirely with good intentions. In her view, letting the clothes go to waste was pointless, so it was best if someone took them.
Unexpectedly, the older girl got angry. “I have clothes to wear. What’s so great about having so many clothes?”
Jiang Qingning still recalled the look in the girl’s eyes—as if she felt insulted.
At the time, she couldn’t understand it. How did offering her clothes out of kindness end up offending her?
Now, hearing similar words, even though she rationally knew Lu Manman meant no harm, an odd feeling stirred inside her.
When there’s a significant economic disparity between two parties, it’s truly difficult to interact as equals. Every word can be overinterpreted by the person in the disadvantaged position.
“Sister, what are you thinking about?” Lu Manman shook Jiang Qingning’s arm. “I’ll go tell Mom. My closet is full of clothes.”
“Don’t.” Jiang Qingning pulled back the girl who was about to run off. “I have new clothes at home. I just didn’t wear them today because I was afraid of getting them dirty while playing at your house.”
“Let’s go play on the swing. I’m tired of the slide.” Jiang Qingning changed the subject.
Lu Manman didn’t dwell on it and happily went off to play on the swing.
By late morning, Lu Tingchen returned. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw the four children playing wildly and greeted them with a smile.
“How about we drive to KFC for lunch this afternoon? Anyone want to go?”
“Yes!” the children shouted in unison.
“Alright, we’ll all go.” Lu Tingchen smiled warmly. Behind him stood a teenager whose features bore some resemblance to his.
“Who is this brother?” Lu Xiuyuan asked curiously.
Lu Tingchen introduced him. “This is Zeming, your cousin from Uncle’s family. Don’t you remember having New Year’s Eve dinner together a few years ago?”
The twins shook their heads in unison.
Lu Zeming smiled. “Xiuyuan, Manman, I’m your cousin. I called to wish you a happy New Year during the holidays.”
“Ah, I remember now.” Lu Manman raised her hand. “You’re the Ming Gege Grandpa talked about.”
Lu Tingchen then introduced Jiang Qingning and Su Yuanjie to Lu Zeming. “These are your cousins from Manman’s maternal uncle and aunt’s family.”
Jiang Qingning and Su Yuanjie greeted politely. “Hello, Brother.”
Lu Zeming nodded, a faint smile on his lips. “Hello.”
Lu Tingchen said, “Zeming, why don’t you play with your cousins for a while?”
Lu Zeming replied, “Uncle, I should greet Aunt first. I’ll come out and play with them afterward.”
Lu Tingchen nodded approvingly. “Good. Come inside with me first.”
The two walked slowly toward the house.
Lu Manman wasn’t particularly interested in this brother. She had many relatives, especially during the holidays, when a stream of them would visit daily. She was constantly calling out to brothers and sisters, often mixing up who was who.
“Sister, I pushed you on the swing earlier. Now it’s your turn to push me.”
“I haven’t forgotten. I’ll push you right away.”
Lu Xiuyuan, however, was looking forward to this brother. “Xiao Jie, when Ming Gege comes, let’s build the robot together. It’s too big for just the two of us to finish.”
“What robot?”
“My third aunt sent it from America. It’s called a Transformer. It’s so much fun.”
“Then why didn’t you take it out for me to play with earlier?” Su Yuanjie asked.
Lu Xiuyuan thought for a moment. “Well, it’s in my room. Let’s finish playing with the race car first, then we can play with the robot.”
“Okay.” Su Yuanjie didn’t dwell on it and continued fiddling with the remote control, maneuvering the race car.
Lu Zeming was ten years old, about the same age as Su Yuanjie. His manners were proper and courteous, clearly the result of careful upbringing.
Ye Yunxia praised him. “This child is so well-behaved. You can tell he’s from the Lu family—look how much he resembles his uncle when they stand together.”
Su Guihua smiled. “Uncles and nephews often look alike.”
Ye Yunxia nodded. “True, uncles and nephews. Is Tingchen’s older brother coming back to the capital soon? Oh my, the last time I saw him was at your wedding, wasn’t it? It’s been years.”
Lu Tingchen said, “My brother can’t return for now. Zeming came back this time for his studies.”
Su Guilin nodded. “When it comes to education, the capital is still the best.”
After greeting the adults, Lu Zeming went to play with the children, naturally stepping into the role of an older brother. He patiently played Transformers with the two younger boys.
“Manman, why don’t you and your cousin join us?” Lu Zeming smiled and invited them.
Lu Manman shook her head. “No, that’s not fun at all. I’m taking my sister to play with dolls and have a tea party.” She pulled Jiang Qingning toward her room to play.
Jiang Qingning glanced at Lu Zeming. Meeting her gaze, he offered a faint smile before turning back to building the robot.
Jiang Qingning noticed that although Lu Zeming was playing with Lu Xiuyuan and Su Yuanjie, he mostly spoke and interacted only with Lu Xiuyuan. Even when addressing Su Yuanjie, he called him “Xiuyuan’s cousin.”
Manman’s Cousin, Xiuyuan’s Cousin.
Hmph, interesting.
In her previous life, Jiang Qingning had encountered plenty of second- and third-generation elites like him. Outwardly polite and well-mannered, yet at their core, they were the most arrogant and indifferent.
She rolled her eyes and walked away.
Lu Zeming, who was holding a Transformer arm, paused slightly.
…
After lunch, Lu Tingchen drove the children out for fun. First, they visited the Forbidden City. Although Jiang Qingning had been born in the capital in this life, she had never actually visited the Forbidden City before.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t been to many famous attractions. Her daily activities were mostly confined to the area around her home.
After buying tickets and entering, Jiang Qingning was surprised to discover that at this time, visitors could actually touch the Dragon Throne.
In her previous life, when she had visited, you couldn’t even get close to the hall—it was roped off, and tourists could only view it from a distance.
Delighted, she ran up and carefully touched the Dragon Throne. She even asked her uncle, who had brought a camera, to take a photo of her. This could be considered a perk of being a transmigrator.
Seeing this, Su Yuanjie and Lu Manman imitated her, posing for photos beside the Dragon Throne.
“Ayuan, come on! Let’s take a picture together!” Lu Manman called to her brother.
Lu Xiuyuan glanced at Lu Zeming standing nearby. Seeing him remain still, merely smiling as he watched the excited trio by the Dragon Throne with no intention of joining, he hesitated.
“I… I don’t want to take a picture. You guys go ahead.” Lu Xiuyuan spoke up.
Lu Manman frowned unhappily, snorted, and ignored him.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Qingning saw the boy with the fake smile standing ahead and stuck her tongue out at him.
Don’t think I don’t know what that look in your eyes means—looking down on us as country bumpkins.
The smile on Lu Zeming’s face stiffened, then turned cold.
After all, he was still young and couldn’t keep up the act.
His displeasure only made Jiang Qingning happier. She cheerfully continued taking photos, fully embracing the tourist vibe.
So what if we’re country bumpkins visiting the imperial palace? Deal with it.
After touring the Forbidden City, the children were exhausted. Lu Tingchen drove them to KFC.
What child doesn’t love KFC? Even Lu Zeming’s eyes held a glimmer of genuine anticipation.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Qingning deliberately walked past him and let out a soft, mocking snort.
Lu Zeming: …