Chapter 20 Sparrow in a Flock of Swans

  He told them about his brother and father's experiences on that starry night, even the most demanding parents-in-law would not think that a man who is willing to sacrifice his life for his daughter would not be a good husband.

  As for Kaguya's encounter, it was more of a pity. The heart that had been hanging in the air all night finally put down.

  She had a firm conviction in her heart that if they made any negative comments about Kaguya, she would choose to leave immediately after telling them the news of her mother's passing, after all, Kaguya was the one who had been living with her for over ten years.

  It was already past noon, and Nanny Mei had simply made some noodle soup and small dishes, but no one had an appetite to eat.

  The old lady was under too much mental pressure and she was already advanced in years, after half a day's work, she was exhausted and was forcibly sent to the bedroom to rest by everyone.

  Yu Zhongliang and his wife asked them in detail about their lives over the years, and introduced them to the big and small things of the Yu family.

  Yu Zhongliang asked Mei Yi to arrange a room for Xing Ye, letting her settle down as well. Xing Ye also wanted to avoid it for a while, leaving some space and time to digest these things.

  The living room was left with only Yu Zhongliang and his wife, and Yu Jiaqi.

  "Ah," Yu Zhongliang broke the silence, "Sister couldn't rest at night and thought of entrusting her to us. This child is really pitiful."

  "As soon as I held her hand, I found that the child had a layer of calluses on her hands. It was obvious that she had been doing chores frequently, taking care of her sick mother, cooking, washing clothes, and even delaying her studies. How could her life be as good as she said?" Auntie Liang Huiru chimed in.

  "Huiru, your parents are getting older, take good care of Xingye for me. You've always complained about not having a daughter, now let's just consider that we have an additional beautiful daughter, how does that sound?" Yu Zhongliang said to his wife.

  Li Huiru gave him a white eye: "You're so careful, afraid I won't see her, just for Xiaoyue's face, I'll treat her like my own daughter, no need for you to say."

  Yu Zhongliang hastily apologized, and it was clear at a glance who the leader of this household was.

  "Besides, let you two little brats annoy me again. This time with a younger sister, I'm too lazy to bother with you. What's that expression on your face?" She originally wanted to tease her sons for a bit, but Yu Jia Kai furrowed his brow and didn't even acknowledge her.

  "Yesterday, Xīnyè and my classmate Tiānyáng took the same train, Tiānyáng is someone you also know, a very enthusiastic person. He told us that Xīnyè didn't prepare anything to eat on the train, and she was too frugal to buy food from the train vendors, planning to arrive at Tiān Yún with an empty stomach." Jiā Kǎi couldn't help but recall their first encounter last night, "No wonder I saw her walking alone with a backpack under the streetlights, following the road forward. She must have been looking for the cheapest hotel or a place to stay for free."

  Yu Zhongliang and his wife felt a pang of sadness, such frugality was probably due to their poverty. The image of the match girl immediately overlapped with them, the thinly dressed little girl, cold and hungry, huddled in the corner of the street, yearning for warmth and food.

  "You see the starry night, and you still let her walk alone on the street at such a late hour, how dangerous it is, something might happen to her. How can you be so irresponsible towards your aunt?" The mother immediately educates her son.

  "Please, I didn't know she was going to be my cousin-in-law yesterday either." Yu Jia Kai defended himself.

  "Even if she's not your cousin, but some other girl in trouble, you shouldn't just stand by and do nothing. All I can say is that you lack sympathy."

  Yu Jia Kai felt that his mother's words were just a strong argument, but last night he didn't feel like he had done anything wrong. However, why did he regret not doing anything for her after finding out she was his cousin today? Was it just because she changed from an unrelated stranger to a blood-related sibling?

  "Alright," Yu Zhongliang watched the mother and son habitually bickering, not stopping them as he didn't know where it would lead: "Jia Kai, you two are close in age, it's easier to get along if you're closer. You should take care of Xing Ye more often, her mood must be even worse than ours. Take her out more often to clear her mind."

  Finally, she added a sentence, "You can't think of taking care of Jialuo like that, if you treat me like that at night, how will I deal with you."

  When Dad mentioned his younger brother's family, Yu Jia Kai felt a sense of pride. That kid was spoiled rotten when he was young, being the youngest and grandma and grandpa's favorite, he was so mischievous that even Dad couldn't control him. Later on, after being taken care of by his older brother several times, of course, "taken care of" needs to be in quotes, now the whole family doesn't listen to anyone except for his older brother.

  "Mom, be careful, I think this Xing Ye sister is very strong and smart despite her young age. She's also quite sensitive, so don't stimulate her too much." Yu Jia Kai reminded his mother, who sometimes seemed like a child to him, not very reliable, such as when she insisted on arguing with him.

  "I'll remind you again, her mother is also that kind of personality, sigh" Liang Huiru gave her son a white eye, not taking his words seriously.

  "I'd better go and persuade my parents again, today's blow to them is too great." Yu Zhongliang worried that his parents' bodies would not be able to withstand it.

  Staring at my new room in the middle of the night, it was originally a guest room, with only one bed and two bedside tables. A black walnut wall cabinet was embedded in the wall, and on the bed were the new sheets and pillowcases that Mei Yi had just changed, very clean and simple.

  If there's anything different, it's the photo of my grandmother's opera costume hanging on the wall. Xing Ye doesn't understand Peking Opera, so he naturally doesn't know which character's costume is in the photo, but it's extremely beautiful. Xing Ye can't help but stand under the photo and take a closer look, probably taken when his grandmother was in her thirties, with delicate makeup, slender figure, flowing eyes, truly beautiful enough to make women's hearts flutter.

  Really beautiful, in the middle of the night, I couldn't help but admire it. If the person in the photo were me, yes, loving beauty is a woman's nature. When there's an opportunity, I'll dress up and take a picture like this too, so that when I'm old, I can show off to my children and grandchildren.

  The stars shone brightly as he packed up his meager luggage, lay down on the bed, and couldn't sleep, secretly thinking about how to spend his days from now on.

  She just knew that her grandfather's family and her previous living environment were really different, her grandfather was a visiting professor at several universities, her grandmother had won the Lifetime Art Achievement Award after retirement and was a true old artist. Her uncle, who used to be a teacher at the university, followed his mentor into politics soon after her mother left home, first as secretary to the mayor, also his mentor, then as provincial governor's secretary, municipal party committee secretary-general, county-level head, and two years ago he was already the mayor of Tianyun City. It is said that the next municipal party committee secretary will be him without a doubt.

  The young uncle, who had never met before, was originally working in the consulate on foreign affairs. He quit his job and went to do international trade, but later he was taken away by his aunt, who is also the sister of his grandfather's brother, to America. There was no way out, so before liberation, his grandfather's family moved to America, while his grandfather stayed behind alone for his grandmother. His grandfather originally had a younger brother born to a concubine, who was only eight years old at the time. Unexpectedly, this eight-year-old child suffered from the journey and died of illness shortly after arriving in America. Only one sister was left, who was also an educated new woman. She took on the heavy responsibility of the family business, never married, but expanded the business to become one of the most prominent Chinese female billionaires in America. After the two countries established diplomatic relations, she found her older brother, who already had many children and grandchildren, and accused him of being irresponsible. She strongly demanded that he contribute a son or grandson to go to America to inherit the family business. As a result, his uncle was pushed out by his grandfather, who was filled with guilt, and became an American citizen with a green card. In fact, he was also the most suitable candidate.

  However, what's giving the grandparents a headache is that their 40-year-old nephew still hasn't shown any intention of getting married, and his girlfriends keep changing one after another. He's still a golden bachelor, a diamond-studded old unmarried man! The vast family business is once again facing the prospect of having no successor. It's said that the aunt has already set her sights on the two grandsons and is trying every means to get them to study in the US.

  Xīng yè jué de zì jǐ jiù xiàng shì yī zhī xiǎo má què diào dào le tiān huán qún lǐ, yǔ sì zhōu de yí qiè gé gé bù rù.

  Translation:

  Xing Ye felt like a small sparrow that had fallen into a group of swans, and was completely out of place with everything around her.