Chapter 197 It was never her home

"That's good. You're all busy with work, so there's nothing we can do about it. By the way... what grade is Xiaowei in now? Is she going to come back here for junior high?"

Shen Jiaying paused, unsure of what grade Shen Xuewei was in, and looked at Chen Fangmin.

Chen Fangmin said with a hint of pride, "She started school early and is now in the third year of junior high school."

The relatives were somewhat surprised, "I don't think she's registered yet. Doesn't junior high school require a household registration? Why are they letting her attend junior high there?"

When the topic of household registration was brought up, Shen Jiaying's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

“This child couldn’t bear to leave her maternal grandparents and wanted to stay at their house to study, so her household registration was registered there.”

The relatives suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. But Jiaying, you only have one daughter, how can you bear to let her register her household registration outside?"

Shen Jiaying gave a wry smile, "Isn't this all for the good of the child? She's gotten used to things over there and doesn't want to come back. We can't force the child, so we, as her parents, can only work harder and visit her whenever we have time."

Shen Xuewei watched this scene coldly, like an outsider, feeling both mocked and disgusted.

Someone spoke her mind.

"Shameless..." Chen Fangyang couldn't stand Shen Jiaying and Chen Fangmin's behavior and cursed under his breath.

When Grandma Xi heard this, she pinched him and whispered, "Don't talk too much, give your older sister and brother-in-law some face."

Chen Fangyang rolled his eyes and swallowed his anger.

If he had known beforehand that it would be so unpleasant for the elderly couple to come, he would never have agreed to let them come.

After the relatives who had been talking gradually dispersed, the Chen and Shen families sat in the living room, and the atmosphere became somewhat strange.

Both sides knew exactly what was going on, but they still maintained polite smiles on their faces.

Chen Fangmin tried to smooth things over, "Alright, Mom and Dad, you must be tired. Get some rest. I've already prepared rooms for you."

"The banquet is tomorrow, and the people delivering the gifts will be back later, so it might be a bit noisy..."

Grandma Xi smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright, it won't bother you. I slept the whole way in the car, I'm not sleepy at all. Let's see if there's anything your dad and I can help with."

Chen Fangmin tried to dissuade her again and again, but then let her do as she pleased.

Shen Xuewei treated herself as a guest and had no intention of helping. She then carried her things upstairs to the second floor.

Chen Fangmin complained in a low voice to her grandmother, somewhat dissatisfied:

"Mom, what's wrong with Xiaowei? Why has she become so lazy? She goes upstairs to sleep when we need to help around the house. She wasn't like this before!"

Grandma Xi sighed softly, "She got carsick the whole way and wasn't feeling well. Don't keep nagging her; she's a good child. Praise her more, okay?"

Chen Fangmin was unhappy that her maternal grandmother was not on her side.

"Mom, I didn't say anything to her, why are you protecting her and not me?"

Grandma Xi had no choice but to say, "Alright, alright, I'll take your side. Aren't we having a banquet? It's okay if she's not here. Let's get on with the business. You're pregnant, so don't do anything. I'll help you."

Chen Fangmin leaned down against her and said coquettishly, "Mom, you're the best."

She glanced at Grandpa Chen not far away and said, "Dad is fine too. I knew you still love me."

Grandpa Chen looked at his daughter with a complicated expression. "Of course your mother and I love you. Amin, as her mother, you shouldn't be so biased. I heard you're not planning to let Xiaowen go to high school?"

Chen Fangmin was reprimanded and was somewhat unhappy.

"It's not that I'm not letting him study. His grades are so bad, how many schools would be willing to accept him? If he could just learn from Xiao Wu and get good grades, would I really stop him from studying?"

"As you all saw just now, Xiao Wu is poised and generous, has a sweet tongue and knows how to talk, and gets good grades. If I don't pamper him, who will I pamper?"

"Xiao Wen is so quiet you can't even utter a word. I wanted to talk to him properly, but I couldn't. How can you blame me for that..."

Grandpa Chen shook his head in disappointment, "Amin, this is not how you raise a child. Your mother and I didn't treat you or your older brother like this either."

Chen Fangmin was getting impatient. "Dad, why are you saying all this? Yes, yes, I'm not as good at raising children as you and Mom, okay?"

She muttered under her breath, "And you're talking about me? Ali went through the same thing before, and you guys didn't seem to like her that much."

The elderly couple were both taken aback and were speechless.

After a moment of silence, both sides tacitly moved on from the matter.

Shen Xuewei naturally went to sleep in the room. When she woke up, it was already dark. There was a lot of noise downstairs, with many people busy at work.

Shen Xuewei stood by the window, looking at the people working below, her face indifferent and expressionless.

This place was never her home.

As I pushed open the door and sat idly in the living room on the second floor, Chen Fangyang appeared.

Chen Fangyang scratched his messy hair. "Xiao Weiwei, your parents are really shameless and annoying. Let's go home after we finish the meal."

Shen Xuewei sighed, "Second Uncle, this is not something I can decide. You have to talk to Grandpa and Grandma."

"I know, I just want to talk to someone."

Shen Xuewei felt uneasy and turned to stare at Chen Fangyang.

"Second Uncle, for the sake of our friendship over the years, if anything happens, you must stand by my side."

Chen Fangyang was taken aback. "That depends on what it is. I'll try my best to be on your side."

"Not as much as possible, but definitely."

Chen Fangyang looked around and lowered his voice, "Tell your second uncle, are you planning to do something illegal like murder? Listen to your second uncle, you can't do such a thing. Don't follow your little uncle's bad example..."

Chen Fangqiu, who happened to be going out, heard this and snorted coldly.

"Chen Fangyang, no matter how bad I am, I'm not like you, gossiping about people behind their backs."

Chen Fangyang retorted, "Am I wrong?"

Suddenly, the conflict spread to the two uncles. Shen Xuewei's temples throbbed with veins, and she quickly jumped out to call for a halt.

"Second Uncle, Youngest Uncle, please stop talking. Let's get through these few days quietly, finish the banquet, and go back as soon as possible, okay?"

The two glared at each other, then turned their faces away, refusing to look at each other.

Only after Chen Fangqiu came downstairs did Chen Fangyang mutter, "I'm the older brother, I won't hold it against him."

Shen Xuewei reminded him, "Second Uncle, remember what I just said. Anyway, it's not about killing or arson, and I'm not capable of doing that. Just remember to stand by me."

This time, Chen Fangyang nodded readily, "Okay, Second Uncle, I'll listen to you and stand by your side, alright?"

He looked around the room and clicked his tongue in amazement:

"Your dad must have made a lot of money over the years, he even built a three-story house, and every floor is fully furnished..."

Shen Xuewei glanced at it and nodded in agreement.

Her father entered the workforce at the age of thirteen or fourteen and worked his way up in society for many years, doing almost everything from construction site laborer and henchman to scrap collector, scrap yard owner, and even illegal broker.

Given his earning power, the Shen family shouldn't have waited so long to build their house.

However, he was good at both earning and spending money, showing off in front of relatives and women.

Money came and went, but I still couldn't buy a house.