After Becoming Financially Free, They Offered Their Loyalty - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Severe Imbalance in Family Status

TL: YYang

Li Xiao brought out a small bowl of rice and explained, “This is my student, Shen Yuan. He lives downstairs.”

After speaking, Li Xiao looked at Shen Yuan. “Shen Yuan, this is my younger sister, Li Meng.”

“Hello.”

Shen Yuan nodded and raised his hand in greeting.

However, although they were sisters, their personalities were completely different.

Li Meng just gave a faint “oh.” Even knowing he was her sister’s student, her expression remained cold, and her eyes still held a defensive posture.

The atmosphere changed, and Shen Yuan reined himself in a bit, deliberately waiting for Li Meng to wash her hands and sit down before starting to eat.

It was their first meeting, and he didn’t want to leave a frivolous impression on his counselor’s sister.

He just hadn’t expected the two sisters’ personalities to be so different. During the meal, Li Xiao asked Li Meng a few questions about her work, but she only responded to her sister with faint replies.

One was warm and considerate, the other was cold and indifferent.

The key was that Li Meng was constantly on guard against Shen Yuan, even glaring at him a few times while eating small bites, her eyes like those of a protective mother beast.

?

“Besides getting a little close when I was untying the apron, I don’t think I did anything to your sister, did I?”

Shen Yuan complained inwardly.

This feeling of being watched with suspicion was not pleasant. Even with Shen Yuan’s thick skin, he couldn’t sit still any longer.

He, who usually ate two bowls of rice, only had one today before putting down his chopsticks. “Counselor, I’m full. I’m heading home now. You two take your time.”

“You only ate that much? There’s still plenty of rice in the cooker.”

Li Xiao looked up at him in surprise.

“I have a small appetite. One bowl is enough. I’m leaving now. See you at school!”

“Okay, be careful on your way down.”

Li Xiao stood up to see him off. After watching Shen Yuan go downstairs, she closed the door and sat back at the dining table to complain, “What was that just now? Why were you looking at my student like that?”

“He has ill intentions,” Li Meng said coldly.

“What nonsense are you talking about? He’s just my student.”

“Believe it or not, he came to our house alone at night. He definitely doesn’t have good intentions. And the way he looks at you is not right.”

Li Meng was a flight attendant and encountered all sorts of men on the plane every day. She trusted her judgment of men.

Some men looked decent, but they would secretly size her and her colleagues up when they weren’t looking.

Some would even secretly take pictures with their phones.

And some men were even more shameless, directly asking for contact information.

Thinking of those men’s lewd expressions, Li Meng felt disgusted. They were all creatures who only thought with their lower bodies!

“There you go again with your old habit. I know you’re very resistant to guys, but you can’t always look at them with the same eyes.”

“I’m never wrong about men. You should learn to distinguish them at school too,” Li Meng said with certainty.

“I know.”

Li Xiao was helpless with this sister. Ever since that incident, she had completely lost trust in men. She sighed silently and began to clear the table.

Li Meng stood up to digest her food. As a flight attendant, maintaining her figure required not only controlling her diet but also her daily posture.

But then she inadvertently glanced at the coffee table and saw a new bag.

“Sis, did you buy a new bag?”

Li Meng picked it up casually. It was an exquisite black handbag, soft and comfortable to the touch, with perfect stitching and cutting. But when she turned it over, she found that the clasp was an LV logo.

“No, the student who was just here gave it to me.”

Li Xiao replied while washing the dishes.

“He gave you an LV?”

Li Meng was a little incredulous.

“He said it was a high-quality fake, costing over two hundred yuan.”

“Oh.”

She rarely bought such luxury bags and couldn’t tell if it was real or fake. Li Meng thought about it and figured it made sense. His family lived downstairs, so they probably weren’t wealthy. It was impossible for him to give such an expensive bag.

But as a student, was it appropriate for him to give a bag to his teacher?

Combining this with what she had just seen, Li Meng became even more convinced that this student named Shen Yuan had ulterior motives.

“I told you this student of yours has bad intentions. Otherwise, why would he give you a bag for no reason?” Li Xiao had finished washing the dishes by now, dried her hands with a towel, and came out, saying helplessly, “It’s really not what you think. Today…”

Li Xiao explained the whole story to her sister. Logically, it sounded plausible, but Li Meng still felt something was wrong. She firmly believed in her first intuition.

This Shen Yuan was audacious and definitely wanted to hit on her sister!

Shen Yuan had already returned home by now. He had no idea that he had been labeled a pervert by Li Meng. If he knew, he would definitely refute it vehemently.

How could I be that kind of person!

“Dad, Mom, I’m back.”

Shen Yuan pushed open the door as usual and shouted loudly.

“You’re back, so you’re back. Why are you shouting so loud?” The middle-aged woman on the sofa was watching TV and scolded him impolitely.

“Hehe, I was just saying hello.”

Shen Yuan was used to his mother Li Hongjuan’s attitude and didn’t think much of it. At home, he had long been the one with the lowest status.

“Mom, I haven’t eaten. Is there any food left?”

Shen Yuan patted his stomach. He had only eaten one bowl of rice at Li Xiao’s place upstairs and felt like something was missing.

“In the fridge. Heat it up yourself.” Li Hongjuan pointed towards the kitchen with the remote control, looking impatient.

“Leftovers again.”

Shen Yuan was a little reluctant. “How about you cook something else? It’s not often your son comes back.”

“Cook it yourself!”

Faced with his own mother’s attitude, Shen Yuan sighed silently. She really was his biological mother. Since his mom was unwilling to comfort her son, he had to do it himself.

Actually, Li Hongjuan hadn’t been like this to him only after the family went bankrupt. It had been this way ever since Shen Yuan’s younger sister, Shen Xuan, was born.

Shen Yuan’s grades were poor when he was young, and he was mischievous and often caused trouble. Li Hongjuan had been called to the school by teachers countless times.

Each time, she was criticized and told to take him home and educate him properly, which made her feel ashamed every time she went to the school.

In contrast, Shen Xuan was sensible and considerate from a young age, always thinking of her parents, a true little sweetheart.

And her grades were excellent. She was now a senior in high school, in the experimental class at Star City No. 2 High School, with a chance of getting into Tsinghua or Peking University. Every time Li Hongjuan went to a parent-teacher conference, she held her head high.

So, with such a pair of children, wasn’t it reasonable to be biased?

Fortunately, Shen Yuan was used to it. If one day Li Hongjuan suddenly became nice to him, he would find it strange.

The door creaked open again, and a middle-aged man who looked five or six parts similar to Shen Yuan walked in, though he was slightly overweight and shorter.

“I’m back.”

“Oh, Old Shen is back. You haven’t eaten, right? I’ll heat up your portion too.”

Seeing that it was his father, Shen Heping, Shen Yuan grinned.

“Why is our son back today?”

Shen Heping was a bit surprised. Because the apartment was a two-bedroom, there was no room for his son, so Shen Yuan usually stayed at the dorm.

Shen Yuan chuckled. “I missed you guys.”

“Good, good.”

Shen Heping nodded in satisfaction, put his briefcase aside, and instructed, “Since our son is back, have your mom cook a couple of dishes. We’ll have a good drink tonight, father and son.”

Shen Yuan’s gaze subconsciously fell on Li Hongjuan. If his mom was willing to cook, he wouldn’t have to eat leftovers.

As expected, Li Hongjuan sat on the sofa without moving, not even bothering to turn her head. “If you want to drink, cook it yourselves. You two are spoiled!”

The father and son exchanged an awkward glance, then turned their heads away at the same time.

Shen Yuan continued to heat the food, thinking that his family status hadn’t dropped further because there was no room left to fall, but his dad’s family status had truly plummeted to a terrifying low.

Shen Heping was also easy-going. Since his wife was unwilling to help, he rolled up his shirt sleeves and walked into the kitchen to help his son.

However, since he rarely cooked, Old Shen didn’t know where to start. In the end, it was Shen Yuan who took a potato and a piece of meat from the fridge.

“Let’s just make a simple shredded potato with pork.”

Although Li Hongjuan was harsh with her words, she was soft-hearted. With a “thump,” she put down the remote control and walked into the kitchen with a look of disgust. “Get out, both of you. You can’t even cook a proper meal. What’s the use of having you two!”

“Thanks, Mom! You’ve worked hard!”

Shen Yuan chuckled, put down the potato he was peeling, and scurried out of the kitchen.

In the living room, Shen Heping handed Shen Yuan a cigarette. Shen Yuan didn’t smoke much, but since it was a rare visit home, he planned to have one with his dad.

He was about to light it, but Shen Heping shook his head. “Your sister doesn’t like the smell of smoke. Let’s go smoke on the balcony.”

Shen Yuan was speechless. It was a rare visit home, but he was still let down.

It was one thing for Li Hongjuan to be biased, but even Old Shen was a doting father to his daughter. You know, it was his son who was just fighting alongside you in the kitchen.