Chapter Sixty-Two: My Little Sister Is Just That Adorable

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the people of China, following their traditions, observe ancestral rites. Treating the dead as the living is not only a crucial mark of filial piety but also a virtue that honors and respects the elders. Those able to visit the ancestral graves will go as a whole family to pay their respects. If it's truly impossible, an incense altar and spirit tablet are set up in the central hall, and the entire family offers wine and burns incense.

This day is also known as Little New Year's Eve. Families hold feasts, and visits among friends and relatives are referred to as "bidding farewell to the old year."

As for someone like Cheng Xiaoyu, an outsider with no place at home, he could only browse the internet and watch TV in his hotel room. The biting cold and fierce northern winds of Beijing in February gave him no desire to step outside. Bored, he called Wang Ou for a chat. Hearing the lively sounds on the other end, he felt a hint of loneliness and quickly hung up.

Cheng Xiaoyu scrolled through his contacts and realized, to his dismay, that there was no one he could really talk to. In his boredom, he ended up texting Tang Wenqian.

"Sis, with the New Year upon us, I’m sending you early greetings. Wishing you great luck in the Year of the Tiger—majestic as a tiger, strong as a tiger, bright as a tiger, and, well, a little careless as a horse."

After quite a while, he received a reply: "That’s not very sincere. Keep your blessings, send something real—like a gift or a red envelope."

He replied, "Alright, tell me, what’s your New Year’s wish? I’m in a good mood today, maybe I’ll grant it for you."

"Just plant one of the requests you owe me. Next year, it’ll grow into many more."

"If you plant it, you’ll have to water it, give it sunlight, maybe even fertilize it, and there’s no guarantee it’ll bear fruit. Are you sure you want to plant it?" Cheng Xiaoyu sent back.

"Your answer ruined all my happiness. You’ve ruined my good mood for the whole day."

"Then let me tell you a joke. When Liu Bei’s famous horse bolted towards a cliff, Zhang Fei shouted anxiously, ‘Brother, rein in your horse!’ Guess what Liu Bei said?"

"Did he say, ‘I’ll leave my wife in your care?’" Tang Wenqian replied, leaving Cheng Xiaoyu speechless.

"Liu Bei cursed, ‘I’m happy, you’re nervous next door.’"

"Ha ha ha, that one’s killing me."

"Why are your thoughts so dirty? Besides, Zhang Fei isn’t that kind of person…"

"Aren’t all guys fond of telling dirty jokes? Maybe not Zhang Fei, but you definitely are!"

"But I told you, I have the heart of a young girl! How could you slander me like this?"

"You win, I give up. Let me step aside and go throw up." Tang Wenqian replied with several vomiting emojis.

"My adolescent girlish heart—are you jealous now that you’re in menopause?"

"Damn it, Cheng Xiaoyu, don’t forget I still have dirt on you!"

"Oh, then please be gentle, it hurts!" Cheng Xiaoyu replied, laughing so hard he collapsed onto the bed, feeling much better.

After a long pause, Tang Wenqian sent another text: "You scoundrel."

This time, Cheng Xiaoyu didn’t reply.

Around dinner time, he received a message from Su Yuxi, inviting him to Quanjude.

Cheng Xiaoyu asked what was going on.

Su Yuxi didn’t say much, simply replying, "Dinner."

Cheng Xiaoyu answered, "Alright," put on his coat, and took a cab to Quanjude’s Hepingmen branch.

On the way, Su Yuxi sent him the private room number.

When Cheng Xiaoyu entered, he found Su Weilan, Su Yuxi, and three unfamiliar young people—two men and a woman, all about his age.

One of the young men was wrapping Peking duck in a pancake, while Su Weilan picked up a serving of shredded pork in Beijing sauce. Seeing Cheng Xiaoyu enter, he didn’t get up, but called out, "Xiaoyu, come over! We’ve been waiting for you."

Cheng Xiaoyu walked over and, since the table was quite large—big enough for over a dozen people—he moved his chair to a spot not too close to anyone and sat down. Only then did Su Yuxi pick up her chopsticks; she had been waiting for him.

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled apologetically, "Sorry, traffic was a bit heavy." In truth, the roads had been clear and it hadn’t taken him long.

The boy eating duck said, "There shouldn’t be any traffic today. Beijing is only quiet like this in the days before the New Year."

Cheng Xiaoyu just smiled, "Maybe I was unlucky and caught a jam."

Su Weilan interrupted, pointing with his chopsticks at the boy who’d commented about the traffic, "This is my third uncle’s son, Hongwen." He pointed to the girl, "And this is my third uncle’s daughter, Feifei."

Finally, he gestured to the young man nearest Cheng Xiaoyu, "This is Wu Zixuan, the secretary’s son. Just call him Zixuan."

Wu Zixuan stood up to shake hands with Cheng Xiaoyu.

Su Weilan just smiled meaningfully.

As for Su Hongwen and Su Feifei, they ignored Cheng Xiaoyu and continued to enjoy their food. Clearly, for them, the dishes were more attractive than socializing.

Wu Zixuan was fair-skinned, with lively eyes that weren’t large but were expressive. He was about the same height as Cheng Xiaoyu, with delicate, almost androgynous features—gentle and refined, the type many girls likely adored.

Su Hongwen, by contrast, was a bit chubby, with a round face and small eyes. He looked a bit clumsy, but was tall and sturdy.

Su Feifei had a round, childlike face, wasn’t very tall, and gave off a cute, sweet vibe. Her hair was styled in a little side braid, and her outfit was strikingly pink and flashy—clearly someone who loved dressing up.

Su Yuxi wore her hair in a ponytail, clad in a thin white turtleneck sweater, dark blue jeans, and black riding boots. Under the sparkling crystal chandelier, she appeared delicate, radiant, and pure.

Cheng Xiaoyu first said to Su Weilan, "Sorry for the trouble these past two days, really, it’s been an imposition."

Su Weilan shook his head, "We’re family, no need for such formality."

Only then did Su Hongwen look up in surprise and ask, "So you’re Second Uncle’s illegitimate son? You don’t look like it at all!" Evidently, he hadn’t even noticed there was an extra person at the table.

Cheng Xiaoyu was momentarily at a loss for how to respond to such a sudden question. The expression wasn’t malicious, just thoughtless, which made things a bit awkward.

Su Feifei clapped and laughed, "At least he’s fatter than you, bro. Now you’re not the ugliest in our family anymore!"

Everyone laughed, and even Su Weilan didn’t rebuke Su Feifei’s rudeness. Cheng Xiaoyu just smiled; naturally, he wouldn’t stoop to bicker with a child. Still, the manners in his third uncle’s family left something to be desired.

Only Su Yuxi didn’t laugh. She set her chopsticks on her bowl and said coolly, "To pursue superficial beauty is purely an animal instinct—the urge to mate. Feifei, when will you outgrow those primitive impulses and learn to see the world with your soul?"

Su Feifei had always idolized Su Yuxi for her intelligence and beauty. Hearing such a philosophical rebuke, she couldn’t make sense of it—not realizing Su Yuxi was likening her to a beast. Blushing, she stammered, "Sorry, sis, I was just kidding! Don’t be mad!" She didn’t care at all that the remark had been aimed at Cheng Xiaoyu.

Su Hongwen couldn’t grasp that Su Yuxi’s words were a veiled insult. He was simply displeased that she was defending Cheng Xiaoyu. In his eyes, Cheng Xiaoyu was still an outsider; Su Yuxi ought to have been on their side.

Children love to divide up into camps. Though Su Hongwen was a freshman in college and older than Su Yuxi, he’d always been proud of having such an outstanding cousin—closer to her than to his own sister. Su Buyun and Su Weilan, though of the same generation, had a significant age gap with even the oldest of the younger cousins, Hongwen—a gap of nearly half a generation. In terms of age and sentiment, only Hongwen, Yuxi, Feifei, and Wu Zixuan had truly grown up together. All his life, Hongwen felt as if the world revolved around him. Now, with Cheng Xiaoyu somehow allied with Su Yuxi, he felt as if a star player had defected to the other team.

Cheng Xiaoyu glanced at Su Yuxi. At that moment, he found this little sister rather endearing.

The atmosphere that followed was hardly warm. Hongwen kept boasting about his influential friends and his flourishing life at Peking University. No one at the table vied for attention, allowing Hongwen to bask in his own limelight and regain his composure.

As for Su Weilan, he acted the part of guardian, bringing his younger siblings out for fun. Having been in society for years, he had little in common with Cheng Xiaoyu and the others, his interests lying in making money and chasing girls, so he paid little attention to Hongwen’s stories.

Cheng Xiaoyu found Hongwen’s childishness amusing, and listening to him was entertaining, as if watching a one-man show.

To Su Yuxi, Hongwen was a single-celled organism with questionable intelligence. Besides, she wasn’t fond of talking much anyway.

Wu Zixuan, on the other hand, was clever—likely the result of a secretary-father’s upbringing. Only he kept responding to Hongwen, ensuring the conversation didn’t fall flat.

As for Feifei, she was clearly a hopeless romantic; Cheng Xiaoyu could see from the way she looked at Wu Zixuan.

The six of them dined for nearly two hours, with Hongwen still not having had his fill of talking. After leaving Quanjude, Hongwen eagerly suggested going to Tongquetai for karaoke—he’d always had confidence in his singing.

Su Weilan’s task was to entertain his younger siblings, so he had no objections. The others didn’t mind, so he decided on karaoke.

While the five of them waited for Su Weilan to fetch the car, Hongwen quickly grabbed the front passenger seat. Since Cheng Xiaoyu was on the heavier side, there was no way the remaining four could squeeze into the back.

Su Weilan said to Hongwen, "Hongwen, why don’t you try sitting in the back holding Feifei? Maybe you’ll all fit?"

Hongwen dismissed the idea, "I’m pretty big myself. Let him hold Feifei—it’s all the same." He couldn’t remember Cheng Xiaoyu’s name and simply looked his way.

Feifei protested coyly, "No way, I won’t do it! Let him take a cab!" She was in her first year of high school and understood the proprieties between boys and girls.

At that moment, Cheng Xiaoyu felt that coming to dinner had probably been a mistake. He could only smile, "It’s fine, I’ll just take a cab. You all go ahead." He’d already decided to head back to the hotel instead; there was no need to join in, especially since he didn’t know any of the songs in this timeline.

Of course, Su Weilan was much closer to Hongwen. He knew Hongwen and Feifei had been spoiled and didn’t think to chastise him for his lack of generosity. He just smiled and said to Cheng Xiaoyu, "Alright, we’ll go first. Come as soon as you can." In fact, had it not been for Zhou Peipei’s request, he wouldn’t have invited Cheng Xiaoyu at all tonight. He didn’t care much for Cheng Xiaoyu’s feelings. Still, after sharing a meal, having observed Cheng Xiaoyu’s words and actions, he found the young man less frivolous than he’d imagined—in fact, he seemed rather steady. It puzzled him why Cheng Xiaoyu had done something so seemingly reckless the day before. But he wasn’t about to dwell on a marginal figure and put those thoughts aside, calling everyone else to get in the car.

Wu Zixuan and Feifei got in, but Su Yuxi didn’t. She fastened her deep blue down jacket, lowered her head, and said to Su Weilan in the driver’s seat, "I’ll take a taxi with my brother."

At those words, everyone in the car was stunned.