A Show of Family Affection

People really were strange creatures. Back when Chen Rongrong lived with her uncle's family, her eldest aunt, Liu Mei, had guarded against her like a thief every day. Whenever there was anything tasty, she would hide it away and secretly save it for Rongrong's younger cousin.

Sometimes she would even make snide remarks about how much extra the family had to spend each month because Chen Rongrong was there.

Her cousin was young and would sometimes ask for things. Then Liu Mei would say, "Oh, where would the family get enough money to buy you something so expensive? Your dad has four mouths to feed! Your cousin still has to go to college! Don't we need to save money?"

Those words had really grated on Chen Rongrong's ears.

But ever since Chen Rongrong moved out, Liu Mei had started fussing over her every day, asking whether she had eaten and whether she had gone to bed.

She would send a few rose emojis.

She even shared articles along the lines of "the mother who raises you deserves more gratitude than the mother who bore you," and "a thousand days away from home can't compare to the kindness of family."

She also made a point of chatting with Chen Rongrong and sharing the family's daily life, saying that her cousin wanted KFC.

"When do you have time? Let's go eat together."

"Look how big you've grown in the blink of an eye. You're about to go off to college, and we've never even taken you out to have fun. When you have time, how about our family goes hiking together?"

Every day, Liu Mei sent Chen Rongrong messages like these, going over the same things again and again. She even sent her photos from throughout her childhood, reminiscing about the past and marveling at how quickly time had flown.

Chen Rongrong had indeed been angry with the family in the first few days after she moved out, but as time went on, it was impossible to say she felt no affection for her uncle's family.

However harsh and mean they were, they were still Chen Rongrong's family, and they had, after all, truly raised her to adulthood.

Besides, Aunt Liu Mei kept sharing the details of her daily life with Chen Rongrong, and in the end, Chen Rongrong couldn't keep her heart hardened. Then Liu Mei said, "You're about to start school, and our family hasn't even had a proper meal together.

"Find some time, and let's go eat out together, all right?"

Liu Mei's words were heartfelt, and Chen Rongrong had no reason to refuse. In the end, she agreed.

So that day, Chen Rongrong and her family went out to eat. At the restaurant, they ordered all of Chen Rongrong's favorite dishes. At the table, her uncle and aunt set aside their usual harshness and showed a rare warmth and affection.

Her eldest aunt, Liu Mei, kept putting food on Chen Rongrong's plate, saying, "Rongrong, eat more. These are all your favorites!"

Her eldest uncle wasn't much of a talker, but he too told her to eat. He had intended to say that what happened that day was his fault, that he shouldn't have...

Before he could finish, Liu Mei interrupted him. Smiling, she said, "Oh, it's not often our family comes out for a meal. Why bring that up? It's in the past, it's in the past."

Even her usually willful and unruly cousin, Chen Mengyao, obediently called her "Sister."

Under the circumstances, even if Chen Rongrong's heart had been made of ice, it would have nearly melted away.

During the meal, Liu Mei also asked Chen Rongrong when school started.

She said, "When the time comes, your eldest uncle will borrow a car from a friend, and the three of us will take you to school to register. We can take a look around Jinling while we're there.

"Haven't you always said you wanted to see that plane tree avenue in Jinling? We can all go together!"

Liu Mei handed Chen Rongrong the card on which the authorities deposited her subsidy. She said that she hadn't given it to her before because Chen Rongrong had been young, and she was afraid she would spend recklessly and go astray. But now Rongrong had grown up.

She would need money for college too.

"The authorities put 950 yuan on this card every month, and your eldest uncle and I will give you another 250, making it 1,200 yuan a month.

"Your eldest uncle was just telling me last night that our Rongrong has grown up and isn't a little girl anymore. From now on, you'll need to buy clothes and makeup and spend more money, so you should have a bigger monthly allowance."

Liu Mei spoke in a gentle voice. Chen Rongrong had originally come prepared to attend a Hongmen banquet.

Before leaving the hotel, she had even talked to Zhou Yuwen about it, saying that someone who showed kindness for no reason was either a crook or a thief.

"Husband! Just watch! I'll get back every last cent that's mine!"

But after a few words from her aunt, Chen Rongrong suddenly felt a prickling in her nose.

She really did nearly burst into tears afterward.

In the end, her cultivation was still too shallow.

Finally, she even said, "Auntie, please don't say any more. I was wrong too. I have too quick a temper. I know it hasn't been easy for you and Uncle."

"Silly child, what's the point of saying all that? Isn't everything we adults do for your sake?"

Liu Mei smiled gently.

And so the family was reconciled. Near the end of the meal, Liu Mei naturally brought something up, seemingly in passing. "Which classmate's home have you been staying at these past two months?

"This is such a lot of trouble for them. We should thank them properly."

Chen Rongrong, who had been so moved that she had nearly poured her heart out to her eldest uncle's family, found herself at a loss for words when she heard that, unsure how to answer.

Seeing Chen Rongrong's discomfort, Liu Mei didn't press her. She smiled and said, "Never mind if you can't say. I was just asking."

"You're not married yet, after all. It's not really proper to keep living away from home. You're going off to college soon anyway, so why don't you move back for now?" Liu Mei gently stroked Chen Rongrong's back, earnestly trying to persuade her.

In truth, many things were understood without being said, but spelling them out would make things awkward.

Not just Liu Mei's family-even Dong Xue, Shi Zhenzhen and the others had vaguely guessed that Zhou Yuwen and Chen Rongrong had probably slept together.

The two girls told Shen Ding about it, but he didn't believe them.

Shen Ding said, "How could that be? They've only just gotten together. There's no way."

Dong Xue said, "How are you so innocent? You can tell just by looking at the way those two act."

"Exactly. Didn't you see it once yourself? Zhou Yuwen didn't want to touch her, but Rongrong deliberately took his hand and put it on her chest."

"All right, stop talking!"

When Shen Ding heard that, he felt as though his ears had been defiled.

Righteous indignation filled him. "Chen Rongrong treats you like sisters. How can you talk about her like that behind her back!?"

"She and Zhou Yuwen only just got together. They might not even get married someday, so how could it possibly be like what you're saying? Don't tell me any more of this!"

The two girls were secretly amused at the sight of Shen Ding. They had thought he had given up, which was why they had gossiped with him so openly. Who would have thought this little fatty would be so stubbornly obtuse?

Fine, then they'd better not tell him.

The two of them had secretly seen Chen Rongrong straddling Zhou Yuwen at the KTV, rubbing against him for all she was worth.

Although she had been wearing denim hot pants at the time, the sight of those movements was enough to burn their eyes.

Zhou Yuwen hadn't wanted to, but Chen Rongrong had insisted on clinging to him.

Alas, poor little Shen Ding.