TVDC 13: Unlucky

It was Saturday, so Qiu Xuning didn’t have class.

Qiu Shunming had taken the day off and came back, saying he was taking the whole family out to a banquet.

“What kind of banquet?” Qiu Xuning asked.

Qiu Shunming said, “A wedding feast, of course. The eldest daughter of the Chungen family across from us is finally getting married, so we’re going over for her wedding banquet.”

Qiu Xuning froze for a moment, then stammered, “Everyone’s going?”

Qiu Shunming said, “Of course everyone’s going. With so many of us, it’s just like eating out at a restaurant. We won’t lose out.”

As he spoke, he grinned widely, looking quite pleased with himself.

Qiu Xuning: “…”

Then he noticed Zhou Mingmei preparing several bags. He had a bad feeling but still couldn’t quite believe it, so he quietly asked, “Mom, why are you bringing so many bags?”

Zhou Mingmei answered calmly, “If we can’t finish the food, we’ll bring it back. We won’t need to buy groceries for the next few days that way.”

Qiu Xuning said, “…If all of us go to the banquet, won’t it look bad?”

Zhou Mingmei’s face darkened. “What’s bad about it? We already gave a red envelope, how could we not go and eat?”

“Ah…” Qiu Xuning twisted his fingers, squeezing the soft flesh nervously. He didn’t really understand banquet etiquette, but he did know that bringing the whole family to a wedding feast was something people laughed at. They hadn’t even gone yet, and he already felt embarrassed. “…Um, Mom, I’d rather stay home and do my homework.”

In a rush, he made up an excuse, then looked toward Qiu Zhaozhao and said, “There are some problems I don’t know how to solve. I want to ask jie to teach me.”

Zhou Mingmei didn’t know what he was really thinking. Hearing what he said, she hesitated a little, but in the end, studying was most important. With a regretful look on her face, she said, “Alright then, you don’t need to go. I’ll bring food back for you.”

Qiu Xuning let out a sigh of relief, then looked eagerly at Zhou Mingmei. “Then… then what about jie?”

Zhou Mingmei glanced at Qiu Zhaozhao and said, “You stay at home and help Ningning with his homework, understand?”

Qiu Zhaozhao licked her lips and said to Zhou Mingmei, “Mom, then make sure you bring me some meat. I want braised pork.”

Zhou Mingmei readily agreed, then went out together with Qiu Shunming, Qiu Shuohai, and Qiu Haiyan.

Four people was fine—if it had been six, that would’ve been a bit too much, Qiu Xuning thought.

Qiu Zhaozhao looked at him and asked, “Should we watch TV first?”

Qiu Xuning thought for a moment and said, “Let’s just do our homework.”

Qiu Zhaozhao agreed. Then Qiu Xuning remembered something and asked, “Where’s He Zhiyuan?”

When Qiu Zhaozhao heard that name, she almost rolled her eyes. She muttered in annoyance, “Who knows where he went. He left early this morning. Honestly, the moment he finishes eating, he runs off, and he won’t even wash the dishes for me.”

Qiu Xuning pressed his lips together and whispered, “If you make him wash dishes, he’ll keep at it until there aren’t any dishes left in the house.”

At that, Qiu Zhaozhao grew indignant. “I swear he does it on purpose. How can anyone break a dish just by washing it? He just doesn’t want to do the dishes.”

Originally, dishwashing was something Zhou Mingmei meant to push onto He Zhiyuan. But the first time he washed the dishes, he broke more than half of them, making her so furious she punished him by not giving him meals for several days. The second time she had him do it, he broke them again. With no other choice, Zhou Mingmei had to take the chore back herself.

Hearing what Qiu Zhaozhao said, Qiu Xuning, for just a moment, also felt that maybe He Zhiyuan really didn’t want to wash dishes. Yet he still spoke up for him. “He’s a rich kid. He’s never had to lift a finger at home. Look, I’ve never washed dishes either. If I tried, I’d probably be worse than him.”

“Rich kid? More like rich in debt,” Qiu Zhaozhao shot back. Then something struck her, and she suddenly stopped. “Ningning, why do you keep speaking up for him?”

Suspicion flickered in her eyes as she stared at Qiu Xuning.

Meeting her gaze, he managed not to look away. His voice grew softer, carrying a hint of guilt. “I’m not really defending him. I just think that maybe we could try to get along. Isn’t he your cousin?”

Qiu Zhaozhao said, “He hit you.”

It really did seem like Qiu Zhaozhao was a bit of a brother-con.

Qiu Xuning gave a soft cough, his eyes darting away as his fingers unconsciously picked at the soft flesh between his thumb and forefinger. If Mrs. Qiu Yanru were here, just one look at his expression and fidgeting would be enough for her to know he was lying. “…Actually, I just bumped into something myself. He didn’t hit me.”

Qiu Zhaozhao froze. “What did you say?”

Qiu Xuning lowered his voice. “I lied. He never hit me. I just tricked Mom and Dad.”

“Why did you lie to Mom and Dad?” Qiu Zhaozhao asked.

Qiu Xuning said, “Because back then, I didn’t like He Zhiyuan either, so I just…”

He didn’t finish. His lips pressed together, his face flushed red. He was terrible at lying, his eyes not knowing where to look.

Yet even with that obvious discomfort on his face, Qiu Zhaozhao didn’t sense anything wrong. She nodded, patted Qiu Xuning on the shoulder, wearing an expression that said I get it, don’t worry. “It’s fine. Mom and Dad don’t like him either. He really is annoying, coming into our house without a bit of self-awareness and acting like some lord we’re all supposed to serve. Just looking at him is irritating. His family used to be so rich—if he had spared us even a little, our lives could’ve been so much better, right? No, they never gave us anything. Now that his parents are dead, he suddenly remembers us? Disgusting.”

Qiu Xuning froze, a trace of confusion appearing on his face. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond to what Qiu Zhaozhao had just said.

Then Qiu Zhaozhao added, “But really, I never even knew we had such a rich relative. Mom said they deliberately avoided contacting us, afraid we would come knocking to ask for favors.”

Qiu Xuning said weakly, “I don’t think it was on purpose that they didn’t keep in touch.”

But Qiu Zhaozhao’s mind had already wandered elsewhere. She leaned close to Qiu Xuning’s ear and whispered, “Ningning, I just remembered something.”

Qiu Xuning had never liked people getting too close—especially boys, but girls as well. Her warm breath against his ear made it ticklish, and he couldn’t help pulling away, shifting further to the side. Rubbing at the itchy ear, he looked up at her. “What is it?”

Qiu Zhaozhao didn’t mind his reaction at all. Lowering her voice, she went on, “I was just thinking, He Zhiyuan’s clothes all look like designer brands. If we put them up on Xianyu to sell, we could probably make a lot of money, don’t you think?”

“…” Qiu Xuning was stunned. He opened his mouth. “…You’re not actually thinking of selling his clothes, are you?”

Qiu Zhaozhao nodded. “He’s been eating and drinking here for free all this time. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me mad. He doesn’t give our family a cent, why should we keep feeding him?”

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her. She stood up, ready to head into He Zhiyuan’s room to take a look.

Qiu Xuning muttered, “But if you sell his clothes, what’s he supposed to wear?”

Qiu Zhaozhao said, “Big Brother has so many clothes, just give him a few.”

Qiu Xuning said, “That’s not really right.”

Qiu Zhaozhao patted his head and coaxed, “Ningning, just listen to me. Once I sell them, I’ll buy you a phone.”

“…”

Just how badly did “Qiu Xuning” want a phone, anyway. Why did everyone keep using that to tempt him?

Just as Qiu Xuning was about to refuse, Qiu Zhaozhao couldn’t wait any longer. She went upstairs straight toward He Zhiyuan’s room.

Qiu Xuning couldn’t stop her, so he quickly followed. When he saw she was already at the doorway, reaching out to open it, he hurried a few steps forward, grabbed her hand, and whispered, “It’s not right to just walk into someone else’s room. How about we just forget it?”

Qiu Zhaozhao said, “We can’t just forget it, Ningning. You don’t understand how hard it is to run a household. Our whole family depends on Dad and jie. Big Brother doesn’t work, and Mom even said jie has to help him save up for a down payment. Without any other income, how’s that ever going to happen? If our family had money, Big Brother wouldn’t still be unmarried by now. And you—your turn’s coming soon too. That’s why we have to find ways to make money quickly.”

For a moment, Qiu Xuning didn’t quite process it. In confusion, he asked, “My turn for what?”

Qiu Zhaozhao said, “You’re about to start high school.”

Her expression grew more serious. “If your grades are good enough to get into the county’s No.1 High School, then I’ll quit studying. I’ll go work and save money so you can go to college.”

Qiu Xuning: “…”

He finally understood, and his eyes widened in shock, the look he gave Qiu Zhaozhao growing stranger by the second.

For her to say something like that and she didn’t even feel wronged. Instead, there was a faint sense of mission in her tone, even a kind of pride in self-sacrifice.

Qiu Xuning, stunned as he was, also felt lost. He had never seen anyone willing to give up their own future just to support a relative. After all, he was an only child, the sole son of Mrs. Qiu Yanru. His family was well off, his upbringing and education had always been good. He had never seen much of the harsher side of life, nor did he understand the reality of different family situations. That was why he struggled to make sense of Qiu Zhaozhao’s way of thinking now.

Shocked and confused as he was, he also felt a bit moved by her willingness to sacrifice herself. But moved or not, if she actually went through with it, the thought alone made his skin crawl. “Don’t say things like that…”

He was just about to warn Qiu Zhaozhao when she turned and opened He Zhiyuan’s door. Walking straight inside, she said, “So don’t stop me. I’m doing this to save up your college tuition.”

“…” Qiu Xuning watched her slip into the room without a hitch, and he was left standing there, frozen.

He Zhiyuan, why don’t you ever lock your door? Why? Why??

He had even gone out of his way to give him both keys, but he just refused to use the lock!

While Qiu Xuning was still dazed, Qiu Zhaozhao had already started rifling through He Zhiyuan’s wardrobe.

“No cash on him, but these clothes aren’t bad. I don’t even know what brands they are, guess I’ll have to check at the internet café later so I can sell them for a good price,” Qiu Zhaozhao muttered as she tugged at He Zhiyuan’s clothes.

Just as Qiu Xuning was about to say something, a shiver suddenly ran down his back, every hair standing on end. A powerful, undeniable sense of dread washed over him.

He wailed silently in his heart, his shoulders trembling as he slowly turned his head. There was He Zhiyuan, standing right behind him with a blank expression. The moment he saw him, Qiu Xuning’s whole body went rigid, his mind turning completely blank.