238 – By Comparison

“Are you sure you want to meet my aunt and uncle?” Rouxi asked from the hotel room. They had arrived the day before to Sunny City.

Chu Mimi had spent forty months in prison on several accounts of fraud. She had been released a few months earlier and was living in Sunny City after her release. Her husband, Gerry, was released the following month.

Li Yun’s eyes focused on Rouxi’s curious expression as she tilted her head up to look at him, “Are you nervous about me meeting them?”

“Well, I’m nervous you might not like them because of how I was raised,” Rouxi knew he wasn’t the judgmental type, but she didn’t know how he feels about her aunt and uncle. As a child, Rouxi often pretended to be their daughter in a confidence scheme. Having Rouxi around lowered the marks’ guard and helped them appear like they were part of the wealthy elites.

“Not exactly good parenting,” Li Yun grew up in a stable environment and it couldn’t emphasize with parents and guardians who put their children in difficult situations. 

“I’m sure if you can forgive criminals, you can forgive them. Their scams weren’t that bad. Most of the people we had scammed weren’t particularly outstanding citizens.” The schemes involved the target making illegal deals. If they weren’t consumed by greed, they would know that it was a scam. 

“Let’s meet with them first,” Li Yun remained tight-lipped about his opinions. Between an absent father and an abusive mother, maybe the aunt wasn’t bad by comparison. 

The GPS in their rental car led Li Yun up the winding road of the hilly town. Halfway up to the hill, he drove into the driveway next to a ranch. The outside was maintained, but it was overgrown with miscellaneous herbal pots.

The two of them got out of the door and rang the doorbell. They waited, but it wasn’t long before the door swung open. 

“Oh my baby! Meilin, you’ve finally decided to visit!” Chu Mimi squeezed Rouxi tightly and rocked side to side.

A wide smile appeared on her youthful face and Li Yun could see the strong family resemblance in the full cheeks and dainty nose. She barely looked like she was over thirty, but it was partially her expertise in makeup. Li Yun wondered if she was the one who taught Rouxi her makeup skills.

“Hi Aunt Mimi, this is Li Yun,” Rouxi greeted.

“Hello aunt Mimi,” Li Yun greeted Chu Mimi with a short bow and then a shakeand.

“Oh my, you must really be something to date a Song,” Chu Mimi greeted back with a curt nod. “Are you a son of a large conglomerate or the CEO?”

“Aunt,” Rouxi’s warning tone directed her to stop.

“Joking! Joking,” Chu Mimi pushed the two guests into the house. “Did you lose your sense of humor in China?”

“Where’s Gerry?”

“Gerry is in the back cooking dinner, make yourself at home!”

Upon entering the dining room, a handsome man entered the room with his apron still on. He had finished making bow-tie pasta with mushroom white sauce. There was a good helping of asparagus on the side. 

“You’re here!” Gerry had the same warm smile on his face when he greeted them.

The couple was both welcoming and friendly. No one would be able to guess that they had recently been released from federal prison just a few months prior. 

“Thank you for dinner,” Li Yun said after quickly finishing up his bowl of pasta.

“No need to be formal,” said Mimi. “Since you’re a surgeon, do you have a lot of time outside of work?”

“I only work when there are classes and surgery scheduled,” said Li Yun. “The rest of the time, I work as a researcher.”

“Oh ho, are you looking to impress the Song researchers with your credentials?” Gerry asked, he recalled Rouxi’s stepparents were also researchers.

“I just happened to stumble into it,” said Li Yun.

Mimi looked at Li Yun’s Shennong business card. “You’re just a researcher? Are you sure you don’t own the company?” If she knew anything about Song Taiji, it was that he wouldn’t allow any lesser beings to enter his family.

“Aunt Mimi, are you planning to come back?” Rouxi interrupted her from asking too many questions.

“No, I don’t plan to come back,” Mimi responded. “Why, you don’t plan to return to the States?”

“No.”

“What do you mean? You prefer staying with the Song than us?”

“I’m not staying in Imperial City either.”

“Then why not come and relocate to the States?”

“You’re still afraid of Song Taiji?”

Chu Mimi shivered. He was likely the main reason why she was in prison in the first place. She knew some things about the Song, but as the prison guards were bought out by him, she had to be careful not to reveal too much. Song Taiji didn’t hate her like he did Chu Meya, but he would rather make sure she stayed out of China. “Let’s not talk about him.”

“He had agreed not to interfere with you, if you choose to return,” Rouxi wasn’t there to convince her aunt to return back to China, just reassuring her that it was an option. Her federal record would make it difficult for her to find a real stable job.

“I would rather rot over here than return,” Mimi was used to living in the states. There wasn't anything back home other than Rouxi. She turned back to Li Yun. “Dr. Li isn’t afraid of the Song family?”

“Did you ask Chu Meya that question when she approached the Song?” asked Li Yun.

“So she told you about Meya?” Mimi asked, a bit surprised. Rouxi rarely talked about what happened to her mother.

“Only some things,” said Li Yun. “I am not aware of the details.”

“Can we not talk about her?” Rouxi didn’t want to talk about the past. 

“How much do you know about the time she approached the Song?” Chu Mimi asked.

“I don’t know much.” Li Yun didn’t know the details. but Master Yi Bao said that Song Taiji was very devoted to his late wife, and Chu Meya's appearance ruined the relationship. Song Taiji’s late wife, Song Lei Qin, passed away when she was six months pregnant with their fourth child. The medical report says it was an accidental fall, but there was more to what had happened. Song Taiji blamed Chu Meya for her death.

“Meya was foolish, but she did what she thought was necessary.”

“She sounds like someone with narcissism.”

“What do you know!?” Chu Mimi raised her voice. “I see that you’re wealthy, successful, and from a good family. But do you know what it's like to be evicted from your own country, with nothing but the clothes on your back? My sister and I had to scrub the ground to make any sort of living.”

“But what happened afterward?” Li Yun asked. “When you took Rouxi in? Instead of turning your life around, you involved a helpless child. You knew about Rouxi’s ability, and you used her in your confidence scam.”

Chu Mimi lowered her eyes. “I have never asked her to help.”

“You didn’t need to. She was a little kid who was afraid that you would abandon her if she didn’t please you. What you had Rouxi do wasn’t any better.”

Rouxi appeared tough on the surface, but she had a constant need to please the people close to her. A big part of her starting a company was likely because of Song Taiji.

“All right Aunt Mimi, it’s getting late, thank you for dinner,” Rouxi stamped her foot and stood up from her chair.

She dragged Li Yun into the car. She didn’t think Li Yun would be so openly hostile.

“The house she’s living in? You bought it for her?” Li Yun asked.

“I did, so what?” Rouxi never thought she had to explain what she did with her own money. “She’s my aunt.”

“Buying her a house is fine, but why are you sending her monthly allowances?” 

“How do you know I’m sending her allowances?”

“She doesn’t appear to be working, and neither is her husband. The only way she could afford to live there is if someone is paying for her. If you continue paying her, she’s not going to look for a job.”

“Yun, you don’t have to treat me like a child,” Rouxi was upset by how he was treating her aunt.

“I’m not treating you like a child. I’m just frustrated because you don’t seem to notice how much she’s using you,” Li Yun could tell that Mimi cared more about herself than Rouxi.

“How I treat my family isn’t for you to decide, I’ve never asked you to treat your friends or family any differently.”

“Most of them are decent people.”

“Just because my family isn't decent, you feel like it’s all right to be rude to them?”

“You know I didn’t say that.”

Rouxi ignored Li Yun for the rest of the drive.

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