The kids rushed in first: "Great-grandpa, we’re back to see you!"
Gu Qianru heard the commotion in the courtyard and ca out to greet them: "My little angels are back. Your great-grandpa went out for so errands; he’ll be back shortly."
Luo Qiao looked at Gu Qianru and asked, "Mom, where did Grandpa go?"
Gu Qianru stood up and replied, "There’s a tea reception at the Senior Officials’ Activity Center today; he should be back soon."
Lu Yichen spoke up then: "I thought I heard Yiting’s voice just now?"
Gu Qianru glanced toward the house: "Yes, Yiting’s in the living room."
Upon hearing Big Brother ntion her, Lu Yiting quickly wiped away her tears and walked out casually, pretending as though nothing had happened, greeting everyone.
At that mont, Taifeng walked in through the front gate.
Luo Qiao called out to Taifeng: "Taifeng, take the kids to play in the small square up front."
She then pulled two yuan out of her pocket and handed it to him: "Take this, and if they start asking for snacks later, you can spend it on them."
The kids followed Taifeng out.
Only then did Luo Qiao turn to Lu Yiting: "Alright, spill it. What happened?"
Lu Yiting tried to feign nonchalance, but with Lu Yichen and Luo Qiao staring her down, she finally gave in. "Fine, fine, I’ll talk, okay?"
Gu Qianru glanced at the siblings and said, "You all chat, I’ll go check on the kitchen. Sister-in-law Tang has sothing up today, so we’ll have to fend for ourselves."
Once Gu Qianru left, Lu Yiting finally spoke up: "After the holiday, when work resud, Xiangrui and I haven’t had a proper break. A few days ago, we finally got so ti off, and it happened to coincide with Xiangrui’s friend in Tai’an having a son’s full-moon celebration. We figured we’d take the chance to visit and go to Mount Tai as well.
You all know Big Sister-in-law’s cousin, He Ani, married soone from Miyun, and she lives pretty close to us. She often visits when she’s free. That day, I made the mistake of casually ntioning our plan to go to Mount Tai.
Sure enough, she said they had been planning to go as well, and I didn’t have the heart to refuse her. Xiangrui thought, well, she’s Big Sister-in-law’s cousin, more people might make it lively, so he agreed. But this whole trip practically drove us crazy.
Luo Qiao said, "Go on, what happened?"
Lu Yiting poured herself a glass of water, sipped a few tis, and continued: "The tickets were pre-purchased through one of Xiangrui’s connections. Her family of four, plus our family of three—four adults in total; only her eldest kid needed a ticket.
After boarding, neither of them ntioned paying for the tickets. We were too embarrassed to bring it up either. At alti, the kids began whining about being hungry and wanting boxed als.
Xiangrui flagged down the dining cart. Since we couldn’t buy food just for our kids while ignoring theirs, and it happened to be alti anyway, Xiangrui ordered seven als and paid for them. It wasn’t a significant amount, and he figured it’s best not to fuss over these things being among relatives.
When we arrived, Xiangrui suggested finding a place to stay first. To watch the sunrise, we’d need to start climbing the mountain at midnight, but if we weren’t interested, we could start fresh tomorrow morning.
Xiangrui’s idea was to find a hotel closer to the Red Gate. He wanted to ensure comfort and safety, so he preferred a place with better anities.
The whole way there, her family didn’t say much. Once we arrived, we went ahead and booked a room using our docunts. After completing the check-in, I turned around to see them still sitting in the lobby. I called out, saying we’re done, so they could proceed.
But then He Ani pulled aside, saying the place was too expensive and they wanted to find another. You have no idea how angry I felt! If you thought it was too pricey, why didn’t you say sothing earlier? We’ve already booked!
Her husband, Lin Zhiming, chid in, saying good hotels probably had similar rates, and, besides, the kids were tired. He proposed just staying there, but He Ani flatly refused to pay. Worse, she suggested everyone squeeze in together. What kind of suggestion is that?
Xiangrui frowned at that, partly blaming us for not discussing everything beforehand. But thinking they’re relatives and wanting to keep things amicable, he grudgingly booked them a room on his own.
After checking in, we freshened up and changed clothes, ready to head to Xiangrui’s friend’s son’s full-moon banquet. Since weekdays were inconvenient for everyone, the banquet was arranged for the evening.
When we opened the door, we found her entire family of four standing outside. At first, we thought sothing had happened.
Turned out, they were hungry and wanted to go out to eat.
Xiangrui explained we wouldn’t have dinner together since we were attending the full-moon banquet.
But then her two kids overheard and insisted on tagging along. Xiangrui hadn’t ward up to those kids throughout the trip, so he wasn’t willing to bring them.
But what I didn’t expect was those seven and eight-year-old kids throwing a tantrum—one even dropped to the ground crying. The more they acted out, the less likely Xiangrui would entertain the idea. With the hall full of guests that night, any disruption would make it awkward moving forward.
Xiangrui greeted her husband Lin Zhiming, then took and Mingyang to leave.
Even after we went downstairs, you could hear her kids crying upstairs. Tell , isn’t that just exhausting?
And the worst part? He Ani grabbed her younger son—a bawling ss—and followed us to the banquet, insisting we take the kids along since, after all, it was soone else footing the bill."
Luo Qiao smiled faintly at her sister-in-law’s exasperated recount, taking a sip of the tea Lu Yichen had brewed, patiently waiting for what ca next.
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