There was finally a break a week after school started. As Tang Yuanyuan walked out, she bumped into Yuchi Yishu at the school gate.
“Yishu, when did you get here?”
“Just now.”
“Did Aunty Han ask you to come pick me up?”
“Yeah, something like that.” He played a part in it too. Ever since Tang Yuanyuan started attending school, Yuchi Yishu had taken on the role of picking her up from school.
It seemed to have become a habit of his, regardless of whether Han Muzi instructed him to or not.
“Something like that? Did you come to pick me up on your own or did Aunty Han ask you to?”
“I wanted to come pick you up. Happy?” He knew that she was speculating again so he just told her what she wanted to hear.
As expected, her little chubby face broke out into a wide smile when she heard that and she went up to hug his arm. “You’re the best, Yishu!”
Meng Kefei was admiring them from the side. Must be nice to have a brother; unlike me…
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Tang Yuanyuan and she turned to look at Meng Kefei.
“Fei, we’ve known each other for so long but you haven’t been to my house before, have you? Why don’t you follow me home this time?”
A flustered expression quickly spread over Meng Kefei’s face as she waved her hands nervously in the air. “I really shouldn’t.”
“Why not? We’ve been friends for so many years, but you’ve never followed me home in my car before. Isn’t your mom out right now? That means you’ll be alone once you go back. You should just come home with me every weekend from now on.”
Tang Yuanyuan then looked up at Yuchi Yishu to get his reaction. “Can I bring Fei home with us, Yishu?”
His gaze fell on Meng Kefei.
Her ears were bright red. She took two steps back in surprise and continued to wave her hands. “You really don’t have to. I can get home pretty fast by bus anyway. Besides, I—”
“Since Yuanyuan invited you, you should come with us.”
His single sentence stopped her from finishing hers. She looked at Tang Yuanyuan cautiously; she was still slightly timid.
“It will be fine, Fei. Aunty Han really likes children. If you come home with me, you can see Little Sprout too.”
“C-Can I really do that?”
“Of course.”
Alas, Meng Kefei mustered her courage and followed them back.
Not too far away from the school gate, Yuan Yuehan and Zhang Xiaolu watched the three of them leave together and sneered, “She usually acts like a little lamb but turns out she has the upper hand. Is she really going home with them just like that?”
“I heard they have been friends for a really long time. It’s our fault for getting to know her too late.”
“Meng Kefei is so annoying.”
…
Yuchi Yishu brought the two girls back to the Ye residence at Seabay Villa. From a distance, Meng Kefei spotted a wide area and assumed their house was somewhere in there. But after entering the place, she found out that the whole land belonged to the Ye Family.
She came from a poor and lowly family background. When did she ever get to see such a sight? Following Tang Yuanyuan from behind, Meng Kefei looked slightly pale and also became tenser as she walked.
She had washed the clothes she was wearing thoroughly. They were a bit old, but they were still her best outfit.
Walking through that magnificent place, however, she suddenly felt like the clothes she was wearing was rubbish.
Meanwhile, Yuchi Yishu kept a neutral expression. Tang Yuanyuan followed in his every step, bouncing along happily like a little chubby sparrow.
Meng Kefei followed behind them and was walking in a very timid manner.
After thinking for a moment, she pulled Tang Yuanyuan back and whispered, “Is this your house?”
Tang Yuanyuan shook her head. “No, this is Yishu’s house.”
“Yishu’s house? You and him—” Meng Kefei paused. A moment later, she questioned, “Is he not your real brother?”
Yuanyuan and I met in middle school. All these years, I’ve always thought that Yuchi Yishu was her biological brother. They had different family names, but I just assumed they each took on a different family name from their parents.
After some couples divorce, they let their children take after their own family name.
But it never occurred to me that they were not biological siblings.
Tang Yuanyuan nodded. “He isn’t my real brother. But I’ve known him since I was very, very little, and I grew up with him.”
Despite having guessed it, Meng Kefei was still very shocked after hearing Tang Yuanyuan say it herself. “He’s so nice to you. I always thought you two were real siblings.”
“Not biologically, but we’re practically like real siblings!” Tang Yuanyuan beamed. “Yishu treats me super well. Aunty Han and Uncle Ye are both really nice to me too. You’ll know once you meet them later, Fei.”
“I’m a little nervous.” Meng Kefei bit her bottom lip. She then said in a small voice, “Is my outfit too ugly? Will they disregard me when they see me?”
“Don’t worry, Fei. Aunty Han and Uncle Ye don’t look down on anyone. They’re very friendly.”
Despite Tang Yuanyuan’s efforts to comfort her, Meng Kefei started to develop an inferiority complex for the first time. As long as you don’t go close to beautiful things and just look at them from afar, you won’t feel so ugly yourself.
But once you go close to them, you’ll be able to point out all the stark differences. Meng Kefei felt like she was ugly beyond comparison now.
She wanted to turn around and leave; she did not want to take another step forward.
But Tang Yuanyuan looked so enthusiastic that she could not run away from the situation. In the end, she just followed them inside.
After they got through the main gate and took several turns here and there, then went through another door, they finally arrived in the living room.
The interior design of the living room was magnificent. It was something Meng Kefei would never have imagined in her lifetime. Her hands were sweating profusely, which gave her more reason to hide behind Tang Yuanyuan.
“Aunty Han. Uncle Ye. I’m here!”
Yuchi Yishu turned and headed into the kitchen. A moment later, footsteps were heard from upstairs and a gentle and feminine voice was heard. “You’re here, Yuanyuan. Did Yishu pick you up?”
“Yes!”
Meng Kefei looked up subtly at the source of the voice and found a beautiful and elegant woman. Although the woman was already a mother, there were no signs of age on her face. She just did not have the innocence of a young girl anymore, but she was more mature and womanlike.
If Meng Kefei had not known that she was Yuchi Yishu’s mother, she would have mistaken his mother for his sister instead. She was indeed very beautiful and looked very young.
“Eh? Did you bring a friend home, Yuanyuan?”
Han Muzi’s gaze fell on Meng Kefei’s face.
Meng Kefei immediately blushed and shrank back behind Tang Yuanyuan.
“Yes, Aunty Han. This is Meng Kefei and she’s my best friend. Fei, quickly greet Aunty Han.”
Meng Kefei was so nervous that her legs started to shake and her voice was extremely weak and soft. “H-Hello… Aunty Han.”
