The Bizarre Performances

After dinner, Xiao Zhan continued drinking and chatting with Xiao Jing and Xiao Li, while Xiao Yan stood and spoke to Xiao Zhan.

"Father, I'll go prepare things with the others first."

"Oh~ Go on."

Xiao Zhan waved his hand lightly. Xiao Yan nodded, then came to Qing Lin's side, crouching down as he spoke gently.

"Little Qing Lin~ I'll take you to do some fun things, okay?"

"Mm!"

After spending the day together, Qing Lin had completely let down her guard around the Xiao Family. Hearing Xiao Yan's words, she nodded happily.

Seeing this, Xiao Jing's eyes revealed deep gratification, while Xiao Li's eyes also showed an unusual tenderness.

Qing Lin's father and mother, rest easy.

Your daughter was living well.

"Hey, what is Xiao Yan going to prepare?" Nalan Yanran asked Xiao Xun'er.

Xiao Xun'er raised a brow slightly and looked at Nalan Yanran with some displeasure.

"Miss Nalan, I have a name. And don't you think it's rude to call me 'hey'?"

"Then should I call you Sister Xun'er?" Nalan Yanran shrugged lightly.

".You should just call me 'hey.'" Xiao Xun'er said bluntly, then answered, "Every year, the Xiao Family has a fixed evening event prepared by us juniors. We call it the New Year's Eve Party."

New Year's Eve Party?

Nalan Yanran frowned deeply.

What was that?

While Nalan Yanran was pondering it, Xiao Yan had already taken Qing Lin's little hand and arrived at the doorway. He turned back to look at the two of them.

"Xun'er, Little Glutton, let's go~"

"Coming~"

"I told you not to call me Little Glutton!!!"

Laughing and bickering, they arrived at the Xiao Family courtyard. The leftovers from the noon feast had already been cleared away, the tablecloths replaced, and the formerly dirty, messy ground swept clean. Xiao Family Disciples were gathered around the wooden High Platform covered in a red carpet, discussing something.

"Xiao Yan's here!!!"

Someone shouted, and the Xiao Family Disciples immediately surrounded Xiao Yan. Their excited appearance frightened Qing Lin, who was holding Xiao Yan's hand; she quietly wrapped her arms around his waist and did not dare let go. Even Xiao Xun'er and Nalan Yanran beside them were squeezed aside.

"Look at mine, look at mine!!! My performance is absolutely indispensable tonight!"

"Get lost! What the hell kind of performance is that? Splitting roof tiles? How did you even come up with such trash?"

"These are titanium alloy roof tiles! Not just anyone can split them!"

"Can those still be called roof tiles?!"

Xiao Yan, surrounded by the Xiao Family Disciples, wore a face full of helplessness. He called out to Xiao Yu, who happened to be walking over from outside the crowd.

"Sister Xiao Yu, take Little Qing Lin out first."

"Okay."

Xiao Yu answered and immediately reached in to pull Qing Lin out of the crowd. She gently comforted the slightly frightened Qing Lin, then looked at Xiao Yan surrounded by the Xiao Family Disciples and smiled helplessly.

"It's like this every year~"

"That's true~"

Xiao Xun'er stood with her hands behind her back, watching the scene with a light smile. Nalan Yanran, meanwhile, pointed blankly at Xiao Yan, who was being surrounded by the Xiao Family Disciples.

"What... are they doing?"

"At the Xiao Family's New Year's Eve Party, us juniors perform onstage every year. But because of time constraints, only a limited number of performances can be included, so Brother Xiao Yan always makes the final decision on who gets to perform."

As Xiao Xun'er explained, Xiao Yu, holding Qing Lin, added, "Normally, as long as time permits, Xiao Yan tries his best to let everyone perform. After all, everyone has spent a long time preparing their acts, and Xiao Yan can't bear to cut them." As she spoke, her Jade Hand rose to her forehead, her face marked with a few dark lines. "But every year, there are always a few performances that are so bizarre that Xiao Yan has no choice but to cut them."

"Performances that are too bizarre?"

A huge question mark appeared over Nalan Yanran's head.

Over the past few days in the Xiao Family, she had gradually come to a realization.

The entire Xiao Family was an utterly bizarre clan. So just how bizarre did a performance have to be for this bizarre clan to find it bizarre?

Thinking this, Nalan Yanran actually became curious. She genuinely wanted to see the bizarre performances Xiao Yu had mentioned.

Just then, an excited voice suddenly rang out.

"My New Year's masterpiece is finished!!!"

Nalan Yanran looked over and saw Xiao Mei entering the Xiao Family courtyard from outside. Clutching a stack of bound papers, she ran excitedly toward Xiao Yan, who was surrounded by the Xiao Family Disciples.

"Mei'er!" Xiao Yu suddenly called out to stop Xiao Mei, then beckoned to her under her puzzled gaze. "Come here first."

For some reason, Nalan Yanran felt that there was something... speechless in Xiao Yu's tone.

Hearing Xiao Yu call her, Xiao Mei slowly suppressed her excitement and walked over.

Once Xiao Mei came closer, Nalan Yanran noticed something and raised her brow.

They had only been apart for an afternoon, yet why did Xiao Mei seem so much more exhausted? She had even developed dark circles under her eyes.

As Xiao Mei came before her, Xiao Yu wore a Complicated Expression and extended her hand.

"Let me see your script."

"Oh! This is my proudest work!"

Xiao Mei proudly handed the script to Xiao Yu, lifting her head with incomparable pride until her nose was practically pointing at the sky.

Xiao Yu took Xiao Mei's script and opened it. Xiao Xun'er and Nalan Yanran curiously leaned closer, while even Little Qing Lin in Xiao Yu's arms stood on tiptoe to look.

The male lead was Xiao Yan. The female lead was Xiao Mei. The vicious supporting actresses were Xiao Xun'er, Nalan Yanran, and Ya Fei, along with Xiao Ning, the shameless male supporting character who should not exist in this world.

The story told of a gentle, frail female lead whose life gradually fell into a low point under the oppression of the vicious supporting actresses and the shameless supporting male character.

Then, at that moment, the devoted, courageous, gentle, and faithful male lead descended from the heavens, driving away every trace of filth around the female lead. In the end, the male and female leads stepped together into a happy and fulfilling new life.

Hiss~~~

Before she had even finished reading, Xiao Yu blankly closed the script with an expressionless face. She tore the thick stack of papers in half and casually threw it onto the ground.

"Oh no!!! My masterpiece!!!!!" Xiao Mei looked as if the sky had fallen. She dropped weakly to her knees and stared tearfully at the scraps of paper on the ground. "It took me three months to come up with that peerless work..."

"Three months? No wonder you were occasionally absent-minded during that time. So you were thinking about this even while training on the Back Mountain?" Xiao Xun'er's face was covered in dark lines. Then she crouched down, revealing a somewhat gloomy smile as she pointed at the shredded script on the ground. "Also, Mei'er, I'd like to ask something. I can overlook the other two, but why did I become a vicious supporting actress too? Haven't I always treated you well?"

"Ah? Ah, that was... necessary for the plot."

Seeing Xiao Xun'er's gloomy expression, Xiao Mei tapped her fingers together and guiltily turned her head away, not daring to meet Xiao Xun'er's gaze.

"Hey! What do you mean, you can overlook the other two? I'm not happy about being written into the script without my permission either!" Nalan Yanran said indignantly upon hearing Xiao Xun'er's words. She then crossed her arms and Looked Towards Xiao Yu. "Still, it really is bizarre, just as you said. Does she bring out things like this every year?"

"Ah, she's really hopelessly foolish." Xiao Yu replied softly, pinching the bridge of her nose helplessly. "But aside from her, there's one other person who acts foolishly every year."

As soon as Xiao Yu finished speaking, Xiao Ning's voice came from outside the courtyard alongside the sound of footsteps.

"Xiao Yan! Take a look at your cousin's performance today—"

"Xiao Ning, if you don't want your biological sister to lose her biological younger brother forever, go back and put on some clothes. Don't even think about performing onstage."

Before Xiao Yan could respond, Xiao Yu's cold voice abruptly rang out.

The courtyard outside immediately fell silent. A few seconds later, Nalan Yanran heard Xiao Ning's footsteps gradually retreating. She did not even see the man himself.

Yet this only made Nalan Yanran feel as though a kitten were scratching at her heart. It itched unbearably, and she became intensely curious about Xiao Ning's performance, which Xiao Yu had eliminated before it could even be revealed.

What exactly was he going to perform???