Home is where the comfort is.
Xiao Qian sips the lovingly-made soup by her mom and enjoys watching her momâs daily routine of disciplining her tardy younger brother. It makes her feel at ease.
âYou little brat! Not coming home after school, where have you been roaming? You still know how to come back!â Jia Xiufang aimed a kick at her sonâs buttocks, while Chen Zilong dodged and explained.
âOur teacher detained us. Sister, youâre back! Save me! Momâs having menopausal issues and is beating your well-behaved brother again!â
âAs the saying goes, a sapling needs to be straightened lest it grows crooked. Da Long, our mom is doing it for your own good.â Xiao Qian answered gently, only her eye behind the glasses seemed a bit cunning.
Itâs been a long time since she has seen such a scene. It really feels like home.
The warm soup, the nagging mom, and the disobedient brother â itâs so good to be back home.
âLearn from your sister! When will you know better? Not returning home after school and wandering around aimlessly, did you go hang out with those unruly youngsters again outside the school?â
âNo, Mom, I didnât! I just went to the game hall for a bit after school. I went on my own, I didnât go with anyone else â Ah!â
Chen Zilong screamed as Jia Xiufang took off her slippers and smacked him on the shoulder with them.
âIâll show you not to study hard! Iâll show you to go to the game hall! Do you have money now? Are you arrogant now?!â
âI wonât go anymore, sister, please save me!â As Chen Zilong tried to seek refuge behind Xiao Qian, Jia Xiufang scolded angrily.
âStand right there! I am only going to hit you a few times. If you dare to run, Iâll use a feather duster to flog you to death! â
Not daring to run anymore, Chen Zilong obediently let his mom vent her anger.
After drinking half a bowl of soup, now feeling warmed, Xiao Qian put down the soup bowl and said earnestly:
âDa Long, donât blame our mom. She just had a knife at her throat, and she was terrified. With you as the only man in our family, she got more scared when you didnât come back.â
âIsnât that true? That knife just now was aimed right at me. Oh, my goodness, I was scared to death!â Even now, Jia Xiufang was still trembling when she thinks about it, knowing that she had a brush with death.
âWhat happened, Mom? Tell me! Are you okay? Are you hurt?â Upon hearing this, the smiley expression on Chen Zilongâs face vanished, replaced with a look of tension and seriousness.
âAt least you little brat has some filial piety, knowing to care about your mother. Itâs alright, thanks to your sister, it was all like thisâ¦â
Jia Xiufang, unable to wait, recounted the whole story to Chen Zilong, who was scared to death. Chen Zilong touched his momâs neck, and after seeing that it was only chubby and nothing else, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He sat there pale-faced and took a long time to regain his senses. âMom, why would you be so bold? If youâd left when my sister told you to leave, wouldnât everything be fine now? Sister, your skills at diffusing situations have improved! Effortlessly saving a lost middle-aged woman!â
âWhat can I expect from you!â Jia Xiufang complained about her son.
Pondering for a moment, Chen Zilong stood up and walked towards the door.
âWhere are you going?â Jia Xiufang asked.
âIâm going to find our neighbor, that four-eyed nerd â ah, sister, I wasnât talking about you!â Chen Zilong narrowly dodged the chopsticks thrown by Xiao Qian.
How could he forget that his family also has a âfour-eyedâ member?
âI was talking about Liao Yun Chang! Our mom usually gets along pretty well with him. How could he cause such big trouble for our mom!â
âYou come back! Donât make a fool of yourself! This matter canât be blamed on him. What will our mom do to deal with the neighbors once youâve stirred up trouble?â Xiao Qian scolded her delusional little brother.
Although she didnât like Liao Fugui either, she couldnât blame him for what happened. Indeed, this was not his fault.
As Xiao Qian lectured her brother on how to be a good person, the doorbell rang, and Jia Xiufang went to answer it.
Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man who looked similar to Liao Fugui, wearing glasses thicker than the bottom of a bottle. Although a bit older and with more wrinkles on his face, it was not difficult to see that he must have been a handsome guy when he was young. He extended his hand towards Jia Xiufang with an apologetic expression on his face and said,
âSorry for causing you trouble, my dear younger sister. As soon as I got off work, I heard about this incident; were you scared?â
âItâs all right. What are you talking about? I wasnât hurt.â
Liao Fugui stood next to his father, with two boxes of milk bought from the supermarket downstairs in his hands, as a consolation to Jia Xiufangâs frightful experience.
Jia Xiufang tried to invite him in to have a polite conversation, but Liaoâs father declined. Taking a glance at the dining table in the living room, he realized that the family was in the middle of having dinner, and figured it would be impolite for him to disturb. So, he stood at the entrance and kept apologizing to Jia Xiufang.
Chen Zilong whispered into Xiao Qianâs ear, âSister, do you think this old man has set his sights on our mom? Iâve seen him around all the time, trying to please her. Just yesterday, he brought a watermelon over, claiming he couldnât finish it on his own. Watermelons are so expensive now, he didnât just give her one without a reason. I think he has ulterior motives.â
âCould that be so?â Watching the interaction between the two middle-aged people, Xiao Qian thought, it sure seems animated. She accidentally glanced at Liaoâs father and saw Liao Fugui standing beside him.
Her mouth twitched. She really didnât want to have a brother like him.
She then whispered to her brother,
âDa Long, when you have the chance, you shouldâ¦ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
It would be better to keep Liaoâs father at a distance. Her mom, as a charming old woman, wouldnât have a shortage of men pursuing her. Although slightly overweight and indecisive, she stood out among the many older ladies. Otherwise, how could she give birth to a beauty like Xiao Qian herself?
Liao Fugui looked at Xiao Qian and Chen Zilong, a playful flicker in Xiao Qianâs eyes, as if she were scheming a prank. When her brother asked her a question, she secretly tapped his head.
She seemed like a mischievous elder sister, quite different from the professional psychologist sheâd just been.
After chatting with Liaoâs father, Jia Xiufang politely thanked him, and with lots of pushing and shoving, Liaoâs father finally stuffed the shopping into Jia Xiufangâs hands. Soon after, he left with Liao Fugui, and the house quieted down.
âLook at how polite your Uncle Liao is! Seriously! Buying things for us when he didnât have to. I wasnât afraid at all â Why didnât he buy the walnut milk?â
Xiao Qian couldnât help but laugh at her mom, who just pretended to be polite for a while before wanting to accept Liaoâs fatherâs kind offer.
Finally, the family had time to sit down and have dinner together. Jia Xiufang, as the head of the household, wanted to express her thoughts on todayâs incident.
âXiao Qian, Da Long, the matter today was a close call. What have you two learned from it?â
Chen Zilong thought for a moment while holding chopsticks in his mouth, âMom, you like walnut milk. Iâll go to the store and exchange a box for you tomorrow.â
Jia Xiufang, annoyed, knocked on his head with her chopsticks, âAll you care about all day is eating and eating! What I want to say is that todayâs situation has made me realize the importance of the bond between siblings. The love between brothers and sisters is deeper than any other. You two should always try to support each other. If one of you is in trouble, the other must not stand idly by. Remember, you two are milk kinship. Look at that woman, how touching it is that she would travel far and wide for her brother.â
âPuff!â Xiao Qian almost spat out the soup she had in her mouth.
Ms. Jia Xiufang, youâve gone off-topic, havenât you?