Apart from her grandfather’s side, there really aren’t any relatives on her mother’s side. "My mother’s relatives all died relatively early; my maternal grandmother and grandfather passed away when my mom was in her teens. My mom had an older brother and a younger brother. My eldest uncle passed away before my brother was born, and my uncle went missing; so really, there aren’t many relatives on my mom’s side."
The wife of her eldest uncle died even earlier than the uncle did. The eldest uncle had two children, but they dropped out of school early to work out of town, and just like ordinary relatives, they would only show up during the New Year without being particularly close otherwise.
Though referring to the uncle as ’missing’ sounds better, the reality was that this uncle had been involved in business from an early age and used to be the wealthiest person in the family. However, after making money, he wasn’t satisfied and messed around outside, which eventually led to his wife and children leaving him, and his company going bankrupt and closing down, after which he too disappeared without a trace.
Due to the uncle’s circumstances, his wife wasn’t very close to the relatives on their side either. The uncle did have a daughter who was sent to Japan to study makeup by her mother, and she apparently ended up doing quite well. Nonetheless, the communication was scant.
As for her mother, the only reason she used to throw her weight around was because her uncle backed her, since her maternal family had money. They were willing to help out occasionally, so she acted high and mighty within the Mei Family. However, even after her uncle disappeared, her mother didn’t restraint herself in the slightest, mainly because her personality was already fixed; who would want to change at that age?
Anyway, not a single person from the Mei Family side liked her mother, who was of the same ilk as her younger uncle and aunt, extremely obnoxious.
It must also be said that the relatives on her mother’s side didn’t have very good luck either.
Pei Ziyu understood. It seemed that all he needed to do was to win over his eldest aunt’s family, and there would be no issue whatsoever.
...
The return journey was no smoother than during the daytime.
The snow outside had been falling continuously since yesterday until this morning, and although it stopped in the afternoon, the temperature dropped at night. The snow was compacted and turned into ice, making the roads even more difficult to navigate.
At first, they were still able to chat casually, but later everyone’s focus shifted to the road conditions.
Fortunately, there were fewer cars and people on the road due to the snowy weather, so no accidents occurred.
At 6:30 PM, the car finally arrived at the entrance of the community in Xincheng.
Fan Tianyu pointed to the right, "Turn right a bit; the entrance to the parking lot is over there."
Pei Ziyu turned the car and drove towards the parking area, after parking everyone carried their large and small bags upstairs.
It wasn’t until Fan Tianyu knocked on the family’s front door that it was immediately opened.
Fan Tianyu was lost for words and without a greeting, he jokingly said, "Mom, you weren’t just standing by the door, were you?"
Of course, she was, otherwise the door wouldn’t have opened so quickly, but Mei Yinan would never admit it, "Nonsense, the kitchen is by the door. I was chopping vegetables and just happened to open it when I heard the knocking."
This ungrateful child, he doesn’t know how to read the room at all, not leaving her any dignity.
After finishing speaking, Mei Yinan looked behind him and was immediately captivated by a handsome and tall young man.
Handsome, really handsome.
Mei Yinan excitedly turned to Mei Mengzhen. The two seemed to be a perfect match in appearance, "Oh my, who do we have here?"
Mei Yinan was pretending to be ignorant, and Fan Tianyu was on the verge of diminishing his mother’s dignity once again.
But Mei Yinan, either intentionally or inadvertently, stepped heavily on his foot. Fan Tianyu felt the painful step and wisely chose to keep quiet.
Mei Mengzhen and Pei Ziyu, having witnessed everything from behind, struggled to conceal their laughter. Looking at Mei Yinan’s expectant eyes, Mei Mengzhen paused for a moment and then said, "Eldest aunt, this is my boyfriend, Pei Ziyu."
"Oh, so this is your boyfriend. He’s really handsome. Come in, quickly come in."
After speaking, Mei Yinan took out two pairs of slippers from the shoe cabinet, "I knew you were coming, so I prepared new slippers specially."
After quickly changing into the slippers, Mei Mengzhen introduced him, "Big brother Pei, this is my eldest aunt."
Pei Ziyu greeted Mei Yinan politely, "Hello, eldest aunt."
"Good, good," Mei Yinan said with a smile that hid her eyes as she hurriedly led them inside the house.
On the couch, her eldest uncle and Fan Tianhua were present. The eldest aunt introduced Pei Ziyu unreservedly, and he greeted them politely, but even after the greetings, his brother was nowhere to be seen.
Mei Mengzhen asked in confusion, "Where’s Chenchen?"
Fan Tianhua pointed towards the next room where the restroom door was still closed, "There, he’ll be out in a moment."
As soon as Fan Tianhua finished speaking, the restroom door opened, and upon seeing the crowd in the room, Mei Mengchen quickly locked eyes with Mei Mengzhen and dashed towards her, "Sister, sister, I missed you so much."
Mei Mengzhen set her gifts down and embraced her little brother tightly, "Sister missed you too, I really did."
The deep affection between the siblings was fully displayed in this moment, a scene overflowing with warmth that anyone could appreciate.
Unfortunately, at 5 years old, Mei Mengchen was no longer swayed by Mei Mengzhen’s sweet talk, immediately countering, "That’s nonsense. Sister, you did miss me, but not as much as before. Before, you used to call me often and we would talk for a long time; but now I have to call you first."
The atmosphere became awkward in an instant. Mei Mengzhen was taken aback and quickly defended herself, "That’s because sister knew you would call, so I was waiting for Chenchen’s call on purpose."
She was clearly making excuses, an absolute evasion, but the kindergarten student Mei Mengchen hadn’t learned this word yet and didn’t know how to respond, "But, sister, you could have taken the initiative, I missed you so much."
"Alright, next time sister will definitely call Chenchen first, is that okay?"
Mei Mengchen replied with a shy smile and agreed, "Okay, I’ll wait for sister’s call."
...
The siblings were affectionately entwined, a scene never to be witnessed in the Fan siblings. Watching the other siblings and then considering her own children, Mei Yinan couldn’t hide her irritation, "Look at others, then look at yourselves, hmph."
But her "hmph" was in vain; the very thought of Fan Tianyu and his sister Fan Tianhua hugging each other sent shivers down their spines. Fan Tianyu couldn’t help but say, "Mom, can you not give me the chills? There’s absolutely no way I and her, Fan Tianhua, could ever have such a loving brother and sister relationship."
It was absolutely impossible.
Fan Tianhua felt the same way. Even though her brother had bought her an apartment and she played the part of her loving little sister for three days, after those three days, she reverted back to her usual self. That faked sibling love couldn’t last!
Hearing this, Fan Tianhua couldn’t stay silent, "As if anyone would want to be on good terms with you."
Fan Tianyu suddenly bristled, "You, Fan Tianhua, I’m your boss. Can’t you watch your tone? Aren’t you afraid I won’t pay your salary?"
Fan Tianhua immediately tattled, "Mom, my brother won’t pay me my salary."