At the Dong family dinner table, although Dong Qihua and his father were staring at each other, it was clear to everyone that they were in a good mood.

When the head of the household is happy, the rest of the family follows suit, and even the food tastes better.

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal, Dong Yuan, the youngest daughter of the Dong family, returned home.

“Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Second Brother, sisters-in-law, and nephews, I brought gifts for all of you.”

“Yuan is back! Come and eat first, then we’ll distribute the gifts,” Ren Xiaofang said, visibly delighted to see her daughter.

For the past two days, she had been walking on eggshells at home, all because she had sent her husband’s eldest daughter to the Su family.

Her husband and his two stepsons had been giving her cold looks. If she made another mistake, she was sure they would tear her apart.

Now that her own daughter was back, she no longer had to live in fear.

“Thank you, little sister, for the gifts,” the two sisters-in-law said with smiles.

Both their stepmother and stepsister had salaries, as did they. The Dong family had a household assistant.

Each member of the Dong family contributed part of their salary to the assistant for groceries and household expenses, while the rest was covered by the old man.

So, the stepmother and stepsister didn’t eat into their share, and their children were still in school and didn’t contribute to the household expenses.

In a way, they weren’t at a loss. As for driving the eldest sister out, she wasn’t their sister anyway.

The two sisters-in-law only whispered complaints about their stepmother to their husbands in private.

In truth, they were quite pleased, though they didn’t dare show it openly. So, when they smiled at their stepsister, their husbands didn’t scold them.

“Yuan, sit down and eat,” Old Man Dong said, showing a bit more affection for his youngest daughter.

“Dad~ I’ve already eaten outside. Wouldn’t it be more fun to open gifts while eating?”

Dong Yuan clung to Old Man Dong with one arm and to her mother with the other, acting coquettishly.

Dong Qihua and his father focused on their meal, not paying much attention to their sister (aunt).

“Little Aunt, you shouldn’t hide away anymore. Su Shuoci is already married.”

Dong Baozhu, the daughter of Dong’s second uncle, spoke innocently. She was sixteen and in her third year of junior high in the compound.

“Baozhu, who told you that your little aunt was hiding from that cripple? Your little aunt was away on a performance tour. Do you understand?”

Ren Xiaofang couldn’t stand anyone slandering her precious daughter.

“Little Grandma, I heard it from my classmate. Her sister is Little Aunt’s best friend, and her sister said…”

“Enough, just eat your meal,” Dong’s second uncle scolded his daughter. He didn’t care why his little sister had been away for months.

Their eldest sister had just returned, only to be driven away by this stepmother who was only two years older than him.

His in-laws were a bunch of troublemakers, always trying to get something out of him. He was too busy dealing with his own problems to visit his sister’s family.

Mainly, he didn’t have the extra money, and the frustration bottled up inside him had no outlet.

“Baozhu~ Did you say Shuoci got married? Who would marry a cripple? Was it a village girl?”

Dong Yuan, however, was very interested. She wasn’t afraid of being laughed at by her family. She had often declared at home that she would marry no one but Su Shuoci.

But now that he was crippled, a beautiful girl like her couldn’t possibly spend her life with a cripple.

After being scolded by her father, Dong Baozhu didn’t dare speak freely. When her little aunt asked her, she just looked timidly at her father.

It seemed that as long as Dong’s second uncle nodded, she would spill everything she knew.

Dong Yuan didn’t want to beg her second brother over such a trivial matter, so she turned to ask her eldest niece, Dong Lili.

But Dong Lili had always liked the eldest son of the Sheng family and couldn’t stand her step-grandmother badmouthing the Shengs.

So, she didn’t like this little aunt either. Like her father and brother, she kept her head down and focused on her meal.

When Dong Yuan asked her, she didn’t even look up. “He married Gu Jiaojiao from next door.”

“What? Shuoci actually married that sickly fake heiress? How can the Su family survive? How can a sickly girl be worthy of my Shuoci?”

The Dong family: …

They all looked at Dong Yuan strangely. Why wasn’t she worthy? Su Shuoci had personally gone out to buy rice and meat.

It was said that the Su family ate meat every day. They weren’t short on money and were even supporting their eldest aunt’s family!

“Jiaojiao is the one at a disadvantage marrying a cripple. She’s the prettiest girl in the compound.”

Dong Qiming, the son of Dong’s second uncle, immediately retorted. He couldn’t stand anyone belittling Gu Jiaojiao.

“Qiming, you’re not still in love with Gu Jiaojiao, are you?” Dong Yuan asked sharply.

“Jiaojiao is my cousin. What’s wrong with me liking her?”

Dong Qiming was eighteen, two months younger than Gu Jiaojiao, and had once had a crush on her.

Even after Gu Jiaojiao became unreasonable, he still liked her. A few days ago, he found out that Gu Jiaojiao was his cousin.

This made him even more excited. Cousin or not, he could now openly protect and care for her.

Dong Qiming was in the same class as Gu Jiaojiao and had been waiting for her to return to school.

From now on, he could openly look out for her.

Dong Yuan: …

The talented member of the cultural troupe was momentarily left speechless by her nephew’s retort.

Yes, there was nothing wrong with Dong Qiming’s words. What was wrong with him liking his cousin? He hadn’t said he wanted to marry her.

“I’m going to see Shuoci right now,” Dong Yuan said, then ran out without even distributing the gifts.

Old Man Dong knew his youngest daughter had done many inappropriate things. Although he knew it was wrong, he still shielded her.

Who could blame him? Dong Yuanyuan was the daughter he had late in life. His eldest daughter and sons weren’t close to him.

In the past, he had been too busy fighting wars to care for his children. By the time he had free time, they were already grown and didn’t need him.

When his youngest daughter was born, his life had stabilized, and he occasionally had time to dote on her. As a result, he favored her much more.

He glanced at Dong Yuan’s retreating figure but said nothing. This little daughter of his had been spoiled too much. She wouldn’t turn back until she hit a wall.

*

In the afternoon, Old Man Sheng had seen his second grandson causing trouble for Jiaojiao. He waited for his eldest son to return from work to give him a heads-up.

“Liangyuan, you need to discipline your children better. You don’t know…”

Old Man Sheng rambled on, recounting everything he had seen and heard that afternoon.

“Dad, your heart isn’t in good condition. Don’t worry too much. With Shuoci by her side, Jiaojiao won’t be at a disadvantage.”

“That’s true. When Shuoci was first injured, he refused to go out and see people. Now, he’s all smiles when he meets people. It’s clear he really likes Jiaojiao.”

“Dad, out of my four children, Shijing and the youngest, Jiaojiao, were both raised by you. Both are good kids. I’m ashamed that I couldn’t educate the second and third ones properly.”

“That’s not your fault. You were too busy with work back then. How could you have had time to take care of them? Besides, genetics play a big role.

Our Sheng family has the blood of warriors, while Jiaojiao’s grandfather was a professor at a prestigious university in the capital. Noble blood doesn’t need much teaching to turn out well.”

Sheng’s father: …

Is this really my father?

When Sheng’s mother returned, Old Man Sheng ended the conversation and prepared to go to his second son’s house for dinner.

But he was stopped by Sheng’s third son, who had just entered. “Grandpa, stay and eat with us. Second Uncle is probably already eating by now.”