Chapter 44 Little Aunt

Xue Qingdai subtly shifted her body closer to the bench where Xie Yan was sitting, her eyes so bright they dazzled.
Xie Yan had a sharp sense for incoming crises, and his fingers twitched slightly, wanting to reach out and touch her face.

Daidai was probably thinking about breaking off the engagement again. Aside from Xue Qingdai, there wasn’t anyone else who disliked him this much.
His slender fingers came to rest lightly near her lips, and he trembled a bit—her lips were soft, like little clouds of cotton.

Xie Yan cleared his throat.
“Shh, let’s talk later. My nephew’s visiting today—with his girlfriend.”
“As the elders, we should set a good example for them.”

Xue Qingdai dragged her bench far away from him, looking visibly reluctant and displeased.
“I’m so much younger than you, and you still want me to act like an elder? You’re making it hard for me.”

Xie Yan had only wanted to distract her, but how did it end up on the topic of age?
She had hit him right on his sore spot. He was older than Daidai.

“Fine, whatever you want,” Xie Yan said, defeated.
“Daidai, please don’t be mad. If you don’t want to act like an elder, I won’t bring it up again.”
Just don’t call me old again…

Xue Qingdai cast him a resentful glance and pointed at the basket of apples at her feet.
Xie Yan connected the hose near the well and began washing the apples, his racing heart finally starting to calm down.

As for Xie Wei, he wasn’t all that important—a relative they rarely saw.
This was the first time Xie Yan was seeing his nephew since moving to the capital.

Xie Wei’s father, the eldest son of the family, had wanted to throw a welcome banquet for him, but that seriously clashed with old man Xie Songshan’s dislike of extravagance.
He ended up giving Xie Wei’s dad the cold shoulder for half a month.

Xie Yan didn’t feel any real connection to his eldest brother’s family—if anything, they felt distant.
Xie Wei, a few years younger than him, was just average in every way. He got into a mediocre university and kept nitpicking potential job offers.

Now that so many youths were returning to the cities, good jobs were nearly impossible to find. Most became part of the growing unemployed.
The government had only opened up private business partially as a solution to the job crisis.
Xie Wei basically wanted someone else’s position handed to him.

He had come to visit the old man today probably with some ulterior motive.

Xie Wei showed up carrying a kilo of pork leg, walking side by side with Zhao Meiqin into the wide hutong where many noble families lived.
Zhao Meiqin had also bought a few imperfect-looking bananas. Fruits were rare, difficult to store, and easily damaged—these bananas had some black spots, but they were her heartfelt gift.
She couldn’t even bear to eat them herself.

“Xie Wei, what kind of girls do your grandparents like? I want to make a good impression to earn points for you.”
“And you should really lock in a job after graduation. Be ready to take over someone else’s post.”
“There are more and more unemployed grads these days. With your family background, your grandpa’s bound to get you a guaranteed, stable job.”

“Unlike that loser senior of ours who ended up selling tea in front of the school gates—what a waste of a degree. I really envy you. I wish I had a grandfather like yours.”

Zhao Meiqin accidentally blurted out the truth and regretted it. She paused, then added:
“You mentioned your future aunt is staying at the Xie house—do you think she’ll stir up trouble?”

Xie Wei finally perked up at the mention, sneering, and said loudly,
“She’s just some poor girl marrying up into our family. My grandpa is only keeping her out of loyalty and kindness. Anyone else would’ve kicked her out already.”
“Relax, the engagement was arranged years ago. My uncle’s been too busy running around to even remember it.”

“Once you show up with your college credentials, people will see the difference between a real woman and a joke.”

Zhao Meiqin smirked to herself, secretly agreeing, but still said cautiously,
“Isn’t this a bit improper? What if your uncle gets mad?”

“My uncle? That ice-cold guy? He doesn’t care about women. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Xie Wei got caught up in his rant, only to suddenly feel a hot-cold shock up his leg.
He looked down and saw a skinny yellow dog peeing on his new leather shoes—and even licking its own tongue with pride.
His eyes practically glowed green with rage.

“Whose damn dog is this?!”
“What kind of bastard raised this mutt?!”

Zhao Meiqin had long grown used to the stench of urine—she’d endured far worse when Xie Wei reeked.
This was nothing.

Just then, a wooden courtyard door slammed open with a loud clack, and a fierce woman walked out wielding a stick, spitting a glob onto the ground.

Zhao Meiqin clutched her still-damp hair, a wave of nausea rising. She dared not cause trouble in this neighborhood.
Guo Feng had recently become the center of gossip, now being cursed at right outside her house. She had no tolerance for nonsense.

“Yeah, it’s my dog. So what?”
“Who are you? Raising a stink in front of my house?”

Xie Wei’s bravado faltered, but he puffed up again and declared with pride:
“I’m Xie Songshan’s grandson.”

Guo Feng rolled her eyes. Another one from the Xie family?

She’d been humiliated for days by the other women in the neighborhood.
Since the Xie family’s new daughter-in-law had moved in, she’d somehow become the community’s sweetheart, while Guo Feng was seen as a petty troublemaker.
Her husband had even gotten a scolding from his superior because of it, and she was constantly berated at home.

All that resentment boiled over.

“Get lost! You’re bad luck just standing in front of my place!”
“That new daughter-in-law of yours is no saint!”
“You all just wait! I’ll be the one to expose her one day!”

Guo Feng even splashed the leftover chicken blood from earlier onto the street, but the pair had already vanished.

Xie Wei and Zhao Meiqin were oddly pleased to be cursed at and walked even faster.

“See? Told you that so-called little aunt isn’t a threat. And you were worried!”
“I’m Grandpa’s only grandson. If he doesn’t favor me, who else would he favor?”

Zhao Meiqin wiped her damp hair, looking at the increasingly distant Xie Wei.
The disdain in his eyes felt like a knife twisting into her heart—bloodless, but painful.
She smiled weakly,
“Yeah…”

Back at the house, Zhang Shuying was giving orders like a commander:
“Dinner is just radish and cabbage. We’re not letting Xie Wei take advantage of us.”
“Hide the meat and everything the neighbors gifted Daidai—especially the two sausages!”

She directed her husband and son to lock up all the sunflower seeds and dried fruits in the cupboard.
She even snagged the last two liquor chocolates on the couch with sharp eyes.

Xue Qingdai was a little thrilled to witness such a dramatic scene for the first time.
“Aunt Shuying, you’re so cool and commanding!”

So that scumbag Xie Wei wasn’t even taken seriously in this house?
Where did his ridiculous sense of superiority even come from?

Just then Xie Wei called out from the gate:
“Grandpa, I’m here~”

Zhang Shuying gave her husband a sharp glare, reminding him to keep a straight face.
Xie Songshan tried to maintain appearances.

“Where’s Uncle? I haven’t seen him in forever!”