Reunion breeds trouble

In the afternoon, Lin Shuyang and several elders were busy in the kitchen, and even Zhou Qingchi was dragged in to help with the cooking.

Bai Yixia was entrusted to play with the children. Fortunately, she liked children and made the younger children next door laugh.

The afternoon passed by slowly like that.

Compared to lunch, the family reunion dinner in the evening was much more formal. Several chefs prepared a table full of delicious dishes, and the aroma attracted a bunch of children even before the food was served.

Bai Yixia led the way, followed by her little ones, as they slipped into the kitchen. Bai Yixia's family didn't have enough stoves, so Zhou Qingchi brought his uncle to his own house to fry fish. The crispy little fish, sprinkled with chili powder, made the little ones' mouths water. Even those who couldn't handle spicy food slurped and chewed.

Zhou Qingchi's uncle patted him on the shoulder and said, "Qingchi, your skills are not bad."

Zhou Qingchi lowered his eyes, pushed the oil in the pan, and smiled with raised eyebrows.

On another stove sat a pot of chicken soup. Bai Yixia peeked into it and was so captivated by the aroma that it wafted up that she couldn't help but smack her lips.

Zhou Qingchi glanced over and, while the children were eating small fish, scooped out a stewed chicken foot that was soft and tender for her. She winked gently at her, "Have something to tide you over first."

Bai Yixia readily accepted, smiling at him with narrowed eyes.

Dinner officially started at 6:30. We were seated at two tables, one for the elders and one for the younger generation.

Bai Yixia led Zhou Qingchi to a seat, and when she looked up, she saw that her cousin was sitting opposite her, which was quite an unexpected turn of events.

Bai Yixia quietly pursed her lips, leaned closer to Zhou Qingchi, and said in a low voice, "Let's just focus on eating in a bit and not worry about anything else."

Zhou Qingchi already understood what she was wary of, so she didn't argue and obediently nodded, which made Zhou Qingyan next to her feel a pang of jealousy.

During the New Year celebrations, regardless of what happened before, everyone is in high spirits when the feast begins. The younger generation, who are good at socializing, will take their glasses to another table to offer toasts and congratulations after only a few bites, making the elders blush. Then, they will casually add a chair there, and after a few drinks, they will start talking about other things.

Bai Yixia joined in the fun at the beginning, mainly to talk to the four elders and wish them good health in the coming year. After speaking, without waiting for any red envelopes, she grabbed Zhou Qingchi and went back to their table to start eating heartily.

The city's ban on fireworks and firecrackers is not very strict, and since this area is not in the city center, fireworks and firecrackers were set off one after another in the evening.

Bai Yixia was gnawing on a bone, while her older siblings chatted and the occasional sound of fireworks filled the air.

She thought happily, "This is wonderful. My family is healthy, and I'm surrounded by people I love. This year is probably the happiest I've ever had."

Thinking this, my deskmate, a lively older sister, brought out a bottle of red wine and waved it in front of everyone.

Bai Yixia gave Zhou Qingchi an inquiring look, and seeing that he nodded, she excitedly brought two cups to him.

She couldn't appreciate the taste of the wine, but it smelled very fragrant, unlike the harsh baijiu on the elders' tables. So she took small sips of about half a cup before tapping it crisply against Zhou Qingchi's glass.

The room was warm and cozy, and they were having dinner. Bai Yixia's cheeks were flushed, her eyes were glistening with tears, and she smiled gently. With a chuckle, her wine glass clinked, and she slowly said, "Zhou Qingchi, Happy New Year!"

Zhou Qingchi watched with envy and warmth, then reached out and affectionately pinched the back of her neck before clinking glasses with her, saying, "Happy New Year, Xia."

Bai Xixi had just peeled a piece of fish for her child when she saw the two of them getting closer and closer. She rolled her eyes and went to join in the fun, "What are you doing! Aren't you going to wish your sister a Happy New Year?"

Bai Yixia was in a good mood and drank a few more mouthfuls. Her head was suddenly spinning, so she turned to look at her and shouted, "Happy New Year! Happy New Year!"

The younger students at the table had all grown up playing together, and they especially got along well with Bai Yixia and Zhou Qingchi. They swarmed around them, laughing and giggling.

The adults at the table raised their glasses, while the minors held up their drinks, and in unison wished everyone a Happy New Year.

Zhou Qingchi's gaze remained fixed on Bai Yixia, as if trying to warm her up completely. A smile still lingered in his eyes, but when he turned, he met a pair of gloomy eyes.

He looked over without flinching, and while everyone else was cheering and jumping for joy, he was the only one staring intently at Zhou Qingchi, looking extremely resentful.

Zhou Qingchi didn't know what he had done to offend him, but he wasn't the type to take things lying down. Seeing him looking at him, he didn't hold back, raising his eyebrows and curling the corners of his mouth, and defiantly raising his wine glass at him.

The man, misunderstanding everything, became so angry that his face turned blue, and he angrily downed several glasses of wine.

Zhou Qingchi found it boring and looked away in disinterest.

The room was bustling with activity.

After a few rounds of drinks, not to mention the elders at the other table, even Bai Yixia felt a little dizzy from drinking, as if she couldn't think of anything and was just having fun.

She felt warm from drinking and leaned against Zhou Qingchi. Zhou Qingchi didn't flinch and let her lean on his shoulder.

Suddenly, a few inappropriate words came from another table, and some of the people in the table had become a bit harsh.

The person who started the conversation paused for a moment, vaguely brushed the matter aside, and then, as if dissatisfied, turned their attention to the younger generation.

Bai Yixia jolted awake, about 70-80% alert, and straightened her shoulders to look over.

Sure enough, my uncle's face was flushed from drinking, his eyes were glazed, he was still holding that small wine cup in his hand, and his speech was somewhat slurred.

Even so, he still kept chattering, "Second brother, there are two girls in the family."

His words came out of nowhere, and the way he looked at his second uncle revealed a sense of self-satisfaction that seemed to come out of nowhere.

My second uncle has a good temper, and he responded softly.

The older cousin, who was sitting next to Bai Xixi, immediately sensed something was wrong upon hearing this, and her expression became somewhat unnatural.

The next second, the uncle said, "You're twenty-four or twenty-five this year, it's time to get married."

My cousin twitched her lips, but out of respect for seniority, she didn't say anything in response. She just said, "I'm not in a hurry, Uncle. There's still plenty of time."

Her uncle, however, didn't see it that way. He looked at her critically and said, "Still too early? If you keep this up, you'll be an old maid. Who will want you then? I told you, what's the use of a girl studying so much? It just makes her heart wild!"

Bai Yixia glanced at her cousin and noticed that she was gripping the cup tightly, her face darkening.

Someone over there chimed in, "What's wrong with studying? Why are you interfering with these young people?"

He is Bai Yixia's maternal uncle. He has always disliked Bai's eldest uncle and has always been at odds with him.

The uncle raised his glass and said, "We old folks should accept our age and stop meddling in the affairs of young people."

Seeing that his uncle still seemed unconvinced, he chuckled and said, "Why are you only talking about others? Talk about your own family, brother."

He tilted his chin up and looked at Bai Yixia's second cousin, "Your second son is twenty-two or twenty-three now, right? Has he settled down yet?"

The uncle tilted his head and said, "Why should a man do things so early? Besides, my son still needs to study and pursue his studies. He'll find a job eventually."

Bai Yixia rolled her eyes inwardly. Further studies? She should just graduate from university first.

As she thought this, her uncle, secretly pleased, hummed and said, "Yes, yes, she still needs further study. But feelings also need to be developed gradually."

Then, she turned to her second cousin and asked, "Xiao Yang, is anything going on at school?"

Bai Siyang appeared polite and somewhat shy, saying, "I'm usually busy studying and haven't paid attention to these things."

When he said that, the elders on the other end chimed in, saying that kids these days aren't in a rush.

The four old men waved their hands and interjected, "The children are still young. Everyone should say less, say less."

Grandpa Bai glanced at Uncle Bai and warned, "Don't think you can talk nonsense just because you've been drinking."

Bai Yixia just watched the show, sipping her sweet water while listening intently, occasionally chuckling.

But it seemed like her uncle didn't like them, and the topic turned to Bai Yixia again, "Xia is twenty now, right?"

Bai Yixia didn't understand why she had to have something to say, but even though she didn't like him, she still politely replied, "Yes, I'm almost twenty."

The uncle nodded and didn't say anything more. The aunt beside him looked at them with a smile and said, "You're twenty now, you can start dating. Do you have anyone you like? If not, your aunt can introduce you to someone."

She smiled like a cunning old fox, and Bai Yixia felt a chill run down her spine under her gaze. Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Zhou Qingchi mentioned again, "Little Zhou too, there are many good girls around here, and they can have all kinds of girls they like."

The way he said that made it sound like he was a master matchmaker.

Bai Yixia was thinking of simply refusing both, when she heard Bai Siyang laugh inexplicably, "Mom, don't worry about Qingchi, he's very popular at school. Don't let his girlfriend hear this and get angry with him."

Everyone was taken aback by these words.

Zhou Qingchi was someone they had watched grow up, someone else's child. From childhood to adulthood, they would always compare him to their own children, and they all cared about him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Qingchi, for saying that so easily." Bai Siyang frowned at him apologetically, "It's just that you have a lot of issues, and I'm not sure if you're still together? Or maybe you've changed..."

Bai Yixia was amazed and almost exploded. He should have said what he meant; this half-hearted approach was more likely to cause misunderstandings than speaking directly.

Zhou Qingchi's face was somber. "That's not true." As he spoke, he looked up at Bai Siyang with displeasure, but his tone remained normal. "I don't know where my cousin heard about this. I've never been in a relationship before."

Bai Siyang had long disliked him, so how could he let him off so easily? He immediately spoke in a teasing tone, "I saw it all with my own eyes... well, maybe I was just seeing things. Hahaha, besides, we're all family, what's there to be embarrassed about?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his father, as if he couldn't wait any longer, chimed in, "If it's true, it's true; if it's not, it's not. Why don't you admit it now? When you were messing around with those people, why didn't you think you'd be caught?"

Uncle Bai, relying entirely on his seniority and the alcohol, glanced casually at Zhou Qingchi and Zhou Qingyan, and chuckled, "In this respect, you're just like your mother."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yixia suddenly looked up, reached out from under the table, and grasped Zhou Qingchi's hand tightly.

Zhou Qingyan, who had been eating non-stop, paused, slowly put down his chopsticks, and his expression disappeared.

Lin Shuyang, sitting at the same table, also looked displeased, her face stern as she stared coldly at Uncle Bai.

She gently put down her chopsticks, let out a soft breath, and turned to look at Zhou Qingyan, saying to the boy beside him, "Lu Fan, are you done eating? Let your little brother Yan take you to play for a while?"

Lin Lufan, having received the hint, nodded repeatedly and put his arm around Zhou Qingyan's shoulder, "Brother Yan, shall we go have some fun?"

Zhou Qingyan subconsciously looked at Zhou Qingchi, but seeing that he didn't react, he didn't move either. Bai Yixia gave him a look, signaling him to leave first.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded, a smile on his face, and said goodbye to the elders who had always looked after him and his brothers.

Watching the two boys leave, Bai Xixi tricked a few even younger kids into going downstairs to set off fireworks.

Many people left during the meal, leaving only two or three scattered people.

Bai Yixia was furious. Seeing that the irrelevant people had all left, she was about to speak when Lin Shuyang silenced her with a look.

Ms. Lin Shuyang was as gentle as ever, smiling as she spoke to them, "Xiaxia, your uncles have had too much to drink. Why don't you and Xiaochi go and buy some drinks?"

Bai Yixia was reluctant, frowning as she looked at her, "Mom..."

Mr. Bai, who was sitting next to Lin Shuyang, also glanced at her and gently shook his head.

Bai Yixia was speechless, but she remained standing still.

At this moment, Zhou Qingchi made the first move. He gently stroked Bai Yixia's hand with his fingers and politely replied, "Okay, uncles and aunts, please eat first. We'll be back soon."

After saying that, he pulled Bai Yixia out the door.

This time, Bai Yixia was no longer willing to be led away. Before stepping out the door, Bai Yixia looked up at Bai Siyang one last time. Seeing his smug expression, she felt a surge of anger and glared at him angrily.

The elevator was taking some time to arrive, and the doors weren't closed, but the room was completely silent.

Bai Yixia held back her anger, wanting to go back and yell at her again, when the elevator arrived. Just before the elevator doors closed, she heard her usually gentle mother's cold voice.

"I invited these people, so what do you mean by that, brother? Are you looking down on my child?"

Bai Yixia's heart skipped a beat. She looked down at her hand, which was suddenly gripped tightly by Zhou Qingchi, and without hesitation, she gripped it back tightly.

Yes, seeing it grow from an embryo into this huge lump, how can it not be considered my own child?