An Xiulan greeted her grandmother as she saw the old lady sitting in the living room reading a book. With time, both of them had learned to bear each other’s presence in their life. Although they were not an affectionate pair of grandmother and granddaughter, they were now civil with each other.
Song Yifei fed her stepdaughter to her heart’s desire. She was so happy to have An Xiulan back. She was very close to Song Xueyun and An Xiulan. The two girls always treated her like a friend and she behaved the same with them.
“Did you talk to Yunyun?” Song Yifei asked a while later.
An Xiulan looked here and there and then she saw her father on the phone. She asked Song Yifei to scoot near to her. She said in the lady’s ear something and the latter gasped.
“You did not do that, did you?” Song Yifei asked, half horrified and half excited.
“I did, “An Xiulan grinned. “How could I miss this chance? She stopped dating that douchebag.”
Song Yifei scoffed. “I didn’t even like that boy. I wonder what my brother and sister-in-law saw in him. He is no match for our Yunyun. Fine, he is handsome and a gentleman most of the time but they don’t look good together if you look carefully.”
“His parents were professors in the same University Mr Song teaches and he was the douchebag’s professor too, “An Xiulan stated. “Mr and Mrs Song didn’t know how he treated women. You know after cheating on Yunyun, he had the audacity to say that they were not married yet and they were only courting each other and were not in any kind of committed relationship.”
“Let’s go to Shanghai and beat the punk, “Song Yifei said, angrily. “Xiulan, you can’t date a guy who doesn’t treat you well. If someone dares to play with your heart, tell your dad or me. We will teach him a lesson.”
An Xiulan laughed. “Auntie, I’m not dating anyone. I’m so young.”
“Why not?” Song Yifei quickly said. “You are twenty-five. You need to date more. You need to get to know the guys. You need to feel the feeling of liking a guy, dumping him or getting happily ever after with him.”
“Feifei, you can’t teach her wrong things, “Lu Zhaolin said in a stern tone.
“Wrong things?” Song Yifei asked, shocked. “Zhaolin, she is twenty-five. Not sixteen anymore.”
An Xiulan nodded her head.
“Still, she is very young, “Lu Zhaolin said.
“When you were twenty-five, you had dated me for years, then married Qinyan and had two children too, “Song Yifei mentioned and An Xiulan stifled a laugh. Her stepmother would never let her father live with this. It was kind of funny to watch her father all flustered up.
“The time was different back then, “Lu Zhaolin gave the excuse.
Song Yifei snorted. “Really, Zhaolin? This is your excuse.”
“Fine, “Lu Zhaolin heaved out a sigh. “Xiulan can date but she can’t date that boy.”
“By that man you mean the handsome Captain Han?” Song Yifei asked with twinkles in her eyes.
“Auntie, he is deputy chief now, “An Xiulan added.
“Amazing!” Song Yifei smiled. “I never thought that someone could look that dashing in a uniform. He makes me want to put Xiaobao in a police academy or a military academy.”
Lu Zhaolin looked as if he had swallowed lemons. He really disliked that boy who had the attention of his wife and daughter. What was so good about that punk?
“If you want to date, always see if he has the qualifications and traits of your brother, ” Lu Zhaolin tried to be the smart and understanding parent.
“Dad, I would not even wish my worst enemies a boyfriend like Lu Xuan, ” An Xiulan said with a sigh. “He is a player.”
“I’m talking about Shangyan, ” Lu Zhaolin mentioned.
“Here he goes again, ” Song Yifei sighed.
“Trust me, I will never want a boyfriend like Yan Ge who doesn’t even know when to let go of an empty relationship, ” An Xiulan mumbled to herself. Looking at the elders she said, “Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine being single for the time being. Auntie, I am going to use the washroom.”
When Song Yifei saw her husband’s suppressed smile, she pointed her finger at him and said, “You intentionally used Lu Xuan and Gu Shangyan as examples, didn’t you?”
Lu Zhaolin looked here and there and said, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Now I see where Xiaobao and Xiulan get this fake innocence from, ” Song Yifei scoffed. “Speaking of him, I need to tell him that his sister is home.”
“Let him enjoy summer camp, ” Lu Zhaolin said. “If you tell him now, he will return. And Xiulan is not going anywhere.”
“Did you know Xiaobao made her promise that if she ever returned she can’t meet her other brothers before him because when she left she didn’t say goodbye to him?” Song Yifei said, looking at her husband. “He is still holding a grudge against Lu Xuan and Gu Shangyan even though he was so young back then. You know what An Xiulan means to him. If we don’t tell him, he will be more upset with us later on.”
“Why is our son like this? He always looks as if we owe him, ” Lu Zhaolin muttered.
“Just like someone I know, ” Song Yifei mentioned with a look.
“You are not talking about me, are you?” He narrowed his eyes at her.
Song Yifei innocently blinked her eyes and cupped his face saying, “No, honey. Of course not.”
Old lady Lu who was watching the scene sighed. This family was a bunch of dramatic people. They really belonged in the Zoo. She took her book and stood up to walk to her room. When she was on the way back to her room, she saw An Xiulan touching her new beads string.
“Do you like this?” Old Lady asked.
An Xiulan startled and placed it back. “It’s beautiful.”
“This is a mala blessed by a sage, ” The old lady said. “I have no use for this. You can keep it.”
An Xiulan was left blinking her eyes as the old lady left without saying anything else.
____
Since she had informed her mother that she would be staying the night at her dad’s house and the next day was Saturday, she woke up quite late. When she opened her eyes, she saw a handsome boy sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Jiejie, did I wake you up with my presence?” He asked in the softest tone he could produce.
An Xiulan blinked her sleepy eyes. “Xiaobao, when did you come?”
Lu Xun raised his and showed him five fingers.
“Five seconds ago?” An Xiulan inquired.
Lu Xun shook his head.
“Five minutes ago?” An Xiulan questioned.
Once again, Lu Xun shook his head.
“Umm five hours?” An Xiulan inquired.
Lu Xun nodded his head.
An Xiulan gasped and sat on the bed. “Why did you not wake me up?”
“You were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you up, “Lu Xun said.
An Xiulan’s heart melted. She loved this boy with all of her heart. She pulled him for a hug and dropped several kisses on his face.
“Jiejie, I called Ge last night but he didn’t say that you return home, “Lu Xuan pouted. “He lied to me.”
“Little Young Master, who was it that said I have to meet my little brother first before others?” An Xiulan questioned. “I was waiting for you to return before meeting Yang Ge or Lu Xuan.”
“Jiejie, I was not being serious, “Lu Xun pouted.
“But I took your words seriously, “An Xiulan said. “I will give everything to my little brother that he asks for. Even if it’s something like this.”
“Is it because I’m your favourite brother?” Lu Xun said with a wide smile.
She lightly tapped his nose and said, “No, silly. It is because I’m your only sister. If I won’t get you everything, who will?”
Lu Xun smiled like a child who got his Christmas gift in the summer. “Thank you, Jiejie.”
To say he was happy would be an understatement. He didn’t say without any reason that An Xiulan was his favourite person on the planet. Even when his parents didn’t have time for him, she would make time for him, pushing every other thing behind. When he would be having school problems and he felt like he couldn’t discuss them with his parents, he would call her and she would guide him properly.
She understood him more than anyone else. She would always respect the opinion of a ten years old boy like him. She was his Goddess and role model. Although he knew that his brother was amazing too, still nothing could equal the place his sister had in his heart.
“Aiyo, you are being polite to me now, “An Xiulan laughed as she ruffled his hair.