Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
âHow many debts does he owe you? Why do I get the feeling he does this quite often?â Xiang Yang stage-whispered to Shi Ke.
Shi Ke chuckled, âThey both do this. Itâs a rule weâve had since we were kids.â
He turned to his little brother and asked, âHow many debts do you owe Ye
Kunâs brother?â
Shi Nian coughed lightly into his fist before replying, âJust a few.â
Yun Nan and Fang Xi looked at them in surprise. Xiang Yang asked the question the girls also wanted to ask, âHow do they usually pay you guys back? Wonât they skip out on the debt?â
Shi Ke glanced at the two younger boysâtheyâll always be boys to himâand said, âThey wonât because weâre their older brothers. In any case, up until now, none of them had dared to rebel. As for how they would return the favor⦠thatâs up to them and the situation at the time. Theyâll repay their debts; a gentlemanâs agreement isnât to be broken, after all.â
The three women looked at each other, amazed the men had such a system.
Xiang Yang sympathetically uttered to Shi Nian and Ye Kun, â
Shi Nian and Ye Kun were very calm; they didnât think the exchange was unfair at all. Ye Kun stated, âItâs an equivalent exchange; our older brothers gain, but we donât lose either. Sometimes, we have no other choice but to ask our big brothers for help; some things can only be solved by those big shots. For example, even my father canât get me a vacation from my brother, but Shi Ke can. My brother will let me off for Shi Keâs sake.â
Xiang Yang curiously asked Shi Ke, âWhy is that?â
âThatâs how our friendship works,â he answered mock-mysteriously.
Xiang Yang was impressed and said to Yun Nan and Fang Xi, âI gotta hand it to them; that sounds pretty out there.â
Yun Nan and Fang Xi nodded in agreement. âSometimes, the friendship between men is truly inexplicable,â they thought.
The three women went to the washroom hand in hand, chatting and laughing as they sighed at the friendship between men. When Xiang Yang brushed past someone, she accidentally bumped into that person.
âOh! Iâm sorry,â Xiang Yang apologized reflexively.
âCanât you watch where youâre going?â The other party questioned sternly. That person was a petite woman in her twenties or thirties with an arrogant expression.
Theyâd bumped into each other because they were walking in different directions, so they were both at fault for the collision. Xiang Yang only apologized out of politeness. She didnât expect that just because sheâd apologized, the other woman thought she was in the right and was being pushy and unreasonable about it.
Xiang Yang stood still and stopped smiling. She coldly retorted, âMe? Canât you watch where youâre going?â
The woman didnât expect Xiang Yangâs prickly repartee. She loudly rebuked, âYou apologized, so that means youâre in the wrong; if you werenât at fault, why are you apologizing to me?â
âI apologized because I thought I hit a person!â Xiang Yang stated coolly. âIf Iâd known what I bumped into was something thatâs not even worth trash, I wouldnât have bothered.â
âWho are you calling trash? Youâre the one whoâs not worth trash! â The woman became even angrier.
âThatâs right! Iâm not! Iâm worth much, much more!â Xiang Yang smiled. The other woman probably had a brain made of wood; she still hadnât caught on.
When she finally did catch on, the woman shrieked, âYou!â She was so mad she was at a loss for words.
âGu Wen, what are you doing?â someone inquired, and then three women walked over from behind the woman.
The petite womanâGu Wenâturned around and whined, âMom! Auntie! She called me trash!â
Xiang Yang laughed and said to Yun Nan and Fang Xi, âItâs been years since Iâve met a wimp whoâd run crying to their mom when theyâve lost an argument.â âWhoâre you calling a wimp?â Gu Wen snapped back, even more furious than before.
Xiang Yang crossed her arms and leisurely remarked, âIâve seen people beg for money, but Iâve never seen anyone beg for a scolding before. What? Donât tell me you like people calling you a wimp?â
Before Gu Wen could respond, an older woman frostily stated, âWho are you rude vixens? How dare you bully my daughter?â
â The apple sure doesnât fall far from the tree. With an attitude like that, no wonder her daughter is so arrogant,â Xiang Yang and the girls thought.
Yun Nan told Gu Wenâs mother, âMadam, youâve misunderstood. It was your daughter who started it. We didnât bully her. Calling us vixens is a little too much, isnât it?â
âToo much? I donât see whatâs wrong with what Iâve said. All of you look like vixens, laughing and giggling in such a high-end hotel. You donât seem like decent folk to me!â
Fang Xi was angrily amused. âYouâre saying, just because weâre good-looking, weâre vixens? Then what do you call that troll of a daughter you have there?â Gu Wenâs face turned red with anger. âWho are you calling a troll?â âIâm sorry, but the three of us arenât ugly, soâ¦â Fang Xi lightly remarked.
âYun Nan, you guys have really gone too far,â a soft and meek voice suddenly spoke behind Gu Wenâs mother. Only then did Yun Nan see Yun Liu. Yun Liu had probably seen them earlier and deliberately hid behind the other women.
âYou know her?â Gu Wenâs mother questioned sharply.
Yun Liu shrank away and said softly, âAuntie, sheâs the Yun familyâs biological daughter, Yun Nan.â
Gu Wenâs mother glared at Yun Nan harshly and commented, âShe certainly is a difficult character. No wonder youâre so submissive and uselessâitâs probably because you always got bullied.â
Yun Liu lowered her head, looking as though she didnât dare to speak..