Chapter 12

Shen Zhirou stared fixedly at Ning Guofu, a rare flash of anger on her face. “If it weren’t for my grandma, Mianmian and I would have starved to death long ago. You have no right to talk about her like that.”

Her gaze then shifted to Ning Jianfang. “Mom, if family dinners are going to be like this next time, then don’t bother calling Mianmian and me back. We’re leaving.”

With that, Shen Zhirou grabbed Shen Yumian’s wrist and headed for the door. Ning Jianfang hurriedly blocked their path. “No, your uncle and aunt were just joking around. Don’t get so upset. You’re finally back home—we should all have a meal together as a family.”

Shen Zhirou turned a cold face toward her mother. “There’s no such thing as joking about the dead. Enjoy your meal.”

Ignoring the clamor from the room, Shen Zhirou pulled Shen Yumian out of her mother’s house by the wrist. Shen Yumian was seething inside; she’d nearly lost her temper and started arguing just now.

Kang Yunheng watched as Shen Zhirou and the others left, deciding he didn’t want to stay either. His uncle was a bloodsucker, his cousin Ning Lei was a total Parental Freeloader, and his aunt talked way too much nonsense. There was no reason for him to stick around.

On a whim, Kang Yunheng washed his hands and prepared to head out the door.

Ning Jianfang was already fuming from Shen Zhirou’s outburst. When she saw her son leaving too, she snapped, “They’re gone—where do you think you’re going?”

“I don’t want to stay either. Enjoy it with the rest of the family.” Kang Yunheng yanked the door open and bolted. At nearly six feet tall, he moved faster than Shen Zhirou and the others, catching up to them in no time.

Shen Zhirou heard footsteps and glanced back to see Kang Yunheng approaching. When she and Shen Yumian turned to look at him, he called out, “Sis, where are you headed?”

“We’re going to find someplace to eat. Why’d you run out?” Shen Zhirou asked curiously. She and her sister weren’t that close to Ning Guofu’s family—they only saw them a few times a year during holidays. By rights, Kang Yunheng should have been more familiar with them.

Kang Yunheng waved it off with a grin. “Before I started college, I just put up with it. They come over all the time, and that aunt of mine never shuts up with her nonsense. Ning Lei’s nothing but a Parental Freeloader, and Mom’s a Brother-Supporting Devil herself. I was too young before to have any say at home—I had to listen to their empty chatter. Now that you’ve left, I don’t want to stay either. I’ll head back to school soon anyway.”

Shen Yumian couldn’t help but laugh at how he tore into Ning Guofu’s family. The three of them hadn’t been close as kids—their fathers were all different, after all. But now that they were grown, the old resentments had mostly faded.

Once Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian left the complex, they noticed Kang Yunheng still trailing behind them, which surprised them.

Kang Yunheng caught Shen Zhirou’s eye. The tall young man blushed to his ears, licked his lips, and said to her, “Sis, I haven’t eaten either. Mind if I tag along?”

Shen Zhirou hadn’t expected that. Their sibling relationship was cordial at best—polite, but nothing more. They weren’t close enough for casual private dinners. Still, since he’d asked and it wasn’t like she couldn’t spare the cost of one more meal, she looked him over and nodded. “Sure, come eat with us.”

“Awesome! Thanks, Sis.” Kang Yunheng beamed like he’d heard the best news ever, sticking eagerly to Shen Zhirou and the others.

Shen Yumian, however, wasn’t thrilled. He had both parents—why was he horning in on her sister? Even if she was a sister herself.

Having grown up with Shen Yumian, Shen Zhirou could read her little sister’s mood like a book. She quickly soothed her in a gentle voice. Today, Shen Zhirou wore cropped black denim flare pants with a simple white T-shirt on top. Her wavy black hair fell loosely over her shoulders, giving her a warm and elegant air.

“What do you want to eat, Mianmian? How about hot pot? We just had Sichuan food last time, right?” Shen Zhirou asked thoughtfully, squeezing Shen Yumian’s hand to signal her not to be mad.

Shen Yumian was always putty in her big sister’s hands. A few soft words from her melted away her irritation. After all, her sister still liked her best—asking her first what she wanted to eat.

“Yeah, hot pot sounds good.” Shen Yumian nodded.

Shen Zhirou cooed, “Okay, we’ll do whatever Mianmian wants.”

Once her sister was placated, Shen Zhirou turned to Kang Yunheng. “Hot pot okay with you?”

“Sure, I’m not picky, Jie Jie.” Kang Yunheng quickly agreed. He had never eaten with his two sisters before. It wasn’t that he lacked money for food; he simply wanted to join in on the fun.

Shen Yumian shot Kang Yunheng a sideways glance. This guy was awfully clingy, insisting on tagging along with her and her sister.

Oblivious to the fact that his other sister saw him as a burden, Kang Yunheng flashed Shen Yumian a smile. She let out a soft “hmph” and turned her head away.

Watching her younger sister’s behavior, Shen Zhirou found her utterly adorable. At twenty-two, Yu Mian still acted like a child vying for affection.

The hotpot restaurant was still some distance away, so Shen Zhirou and the others stood at the roadside and hailed a cab. Shen Yumian pulled Shen Zhirou into the back seat and didn’t forget to tell Kang Yunheng, “You’re such a big guy; go sit up front.”

Kang Yunheng smiled and obligingly climbed into the front passenger seat.

Meanwhile, back at the house, all hell had broken loose. When Kang Defa got home, he found the Ning Guofu family there again. He searched the place high and low but couldn’t spot Shen Zhirou or Shen Yumian—or even his own son. He turned to Ning Jianfang. “Jianfang, where are Zhirou and the others?”

Before Ning Jianfang could respond, Liu Fengxia beat her to it, her voice dripping with that innate passive-aggressive snark. “They’ve climbed the social ladder and turned into phoenixes. They don’t even recognize us poor relatives anymore. We elders can’t say a peep against them—they’ve already flown the coop.”

“Tch, what’s so great about that? She’s just some unwanted kid, strutting around like she’s all that,” Ning Lei chimed in, not taking his eyes off his game.

Kang Defa had had enough. “Zhirou and the others are good kids. If anyone’s in the wrong, it’s us for letting those two down. Quit with the backhanded jabs, all of you. They must’ve left because you said something to run them off again, right?”

“Oh, brother-in-law, they’re not even your blood. Why go to bat for them so hard? Think they’ll repay the favor? You’d be better off spoiling our Leilei a bit more. At least when you’re old and need help, Leilei can pitch in.” Liu Fengxia could see no fault in her son, blind to the fact that he was a full-fledged member of the Parental Freeloader Clan, idling his days away.

Kang Defa laughed in sheer exasperation and jabbed a finger at Ning Lei, sprawled across the sofa. “Count on him? The only thing he’ll do when you need help is hunker down there gaming.”

“Second Uncle, how can you talk like that? Second Aunt hasn’t even said a word about me, and you’re already dumping on me?” Ning Lei shot back the moment he heard the criticism.

Ning Jianfang emerged from the kitchen, gave Kang Defa a slap, and scolded him sternly. “What’s wrong with our Leilei? He just hasn’t found the right job yet. How can you, his uncle, say such things? The kid came all this way to see you. Now come help me in the kitchen.”

Kang Defa drew in several deep breaths and held his tongue. His wife was a die-hard Brother-Supporting Devil, always sneaking money and goods to her brother’s family. But after all these years, with Yunheng grown, he decided more trouble wasn’t worth it. Better to let sleeping dogs lie.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and followed her into the kitchen to gather the ingredients for dinner.

Liu Fengxia sat smugly on the sofa, munching fruit. She was used to Ning Jianfang’s family waiting on hers hand and foot. Ning Jianfang’s parents had passed early, her eldest sister lived up north with little contact, so she had always treated this little brother of hers like gold.

Ning Guofu, well into his fifties, saw no shame in being a shameless sister-treasurer. Whenever he wanted money or things, he acted like Ning Jianfang owed it to them—demanding it with perfect self-assurance.

Sometimes Ning Jianfang didn’t have much to give, and if it was less than expected, she’d fret endlessly over whether her brother would be upset. It had infuriated Kang Defa more than once. But their generation had endured worse; with the kids grown, he didn’t want the hassle and simply looked the other way.

As he prepped the vegetables in the kitchen, Kang Defa asked, “Where’d Yunheng go?”

“He’s gone too. What do you make of that boy? We’ve always been thick as thieves with Guofu and them, so Yunheng should’ve been tight with Ning Lei. But today, one little spat and he takes off. Kids grow up, and you just can’t rein them in anymore,” Ning Jianfang sighed.

Kang Defa kept his thoughts to himself: his son was smart to bail—what good came from palling around with a freeloader? Best to keep as much distance as possible from Ning Guofu’s clingy crew. But fearing another blowup, he said nothing.

Noticing the heap of shrimp, Kang Defa said to Ning Jianfang, “How about we save some of these shrimp? Next time Zhirou and them visit, we can cook them up for the girls.”

“Bye then. Next time, come eat something else. Ning Lei loves shrimp—he can polish off a ton of them by himself. Just boil them all.”

Ning Jianfang was actually a bit dissatisfied with Shen Zhirou today. She felt Shen Zhirou was blowing things out of proportion and had made her lose face, so she had no desire to bring her up. But she was still keeping the future bride prices for her two daughters’ weddings in mind, which meant she couldn’t burn that bridge just yet. For now, she’d give her the cold shoulder for a few days and reach out later.

In any case, in Ning Jianfang’s heart, her little brother’s whole family mattered far more than her two daughters.