Chapter 191

Chapter 191: Doesn’t Seem Much Better Either

“Mm-hmm, Big Cousin, you decide.”

Big Cousin was dependable. Since he had said so, Du An Rao relaxed.

Many times it was not that the bully’s methods were so amazing, but that the victim never guarded against them. That was how tragedy happened.

This was also why betrayal from people close to you hurt twice as much. Once that complete, unquestioning trust was gone, all those low-level tricks would be full of holes and not worth mentioning.

After solving this big worry in her heart, Du An Rao was overjoyed and even ate a few extra pieces of melon.

Madam Jiang felt her heart soften when she saw it. This child thought too much for others, that was why she had so many worries.

Those people who questioned her kindness and treated her good heart as some scheme to stir up trouble were not worthy of the care she gave them.

“Let them worry about their own family matters, we won’t talk about that.” Madam Jiang changed the topic. “I heard from You Nian that, An An, you haven’t gone out much since you came to City B. Last time you went shopping with him, you even ran into that horrible mess, so the experience couldn’t have been very good. Are you free in a few days? I’ll adjust my time and personally take you out to play, okay?”

“Sure, sure, but I have to go out the day after tomorrow, Aunt. Let’s set it for the weekend.”

“The day after tomorrow? What are you going to do?”

“The young proprietor of that jewelry store where the trouble happened gave me an invitation to the Duobao Pavilion auction. It’s the night of the day after tomorrow. I want to go broaden my horizons and see if there’s anything I can buy.”

“The Duobao Pavilion auction?” Madam Jiang looked over at Jiang Chang Bin and his father.

Mr. Jiang shook his head in embarrassment, looking quite helpless.

Their family was not poor, but they still could not reach the threshold to attend that kind of auction.

Instead, Jiang Chang Bin thought for a moment and said: “Qing Ting should have an invitation. For this kind of auction you can usually bring a guest. I’ll ask him to take me along, so I can look after An An.”

Madam Jiang’s eyes lit up. She was about to nod and say a few words when she heard Du An Rao say: “You can bring a guest? Then there’s no need to trouble him. I’ll just take Big Cousin with me.”

“…That works too.”

Here it was again, that feeling of being carried to an easy win by his Little Cousin.

“But, Cousin, are you sure you’re free that day? If you have something else to do, you don’t need to go with me. My Granduncle already sent several bodyguards to protect me. I’m just going to look around and buy things, not to make trouble. I don’t need someone specially following me.”

Before Jiang Chang Bin could say anything, Madam Jiang spoke first: “What could he possibly be busy with? Boss is already this age, and we’ve never seen him date a girlfriend, go out on a date, go shopping, or watch a movie. Day after day it’s either the company or home. I’m afraid he’ll end up alone for the rest of his life.”

“…”

He was just busy and didn’t have time for romance. How did it sound like, from his mom’s mouth, that nobody wanted him?

“Your aunt is right,” Mr. Jiang chimed in. “When I was his age back then, your Big Cousin could already toddle along. But look at him, he’s useless!”

“…”

Complain if you want, but did you have to praise yourself while stepping on him?

Listening to his parents gang up on his brother, Jiang You Nian felt no sense of danger at all. Instead, he happily added fuel to the fire.

“Isn’t that true, Cousin? Look at my brother. He’s good looking, tall, very capable, makes money, and keeps himself clean. How is it that no young lady likes him? It made me keep wondering before if maybe he… doesn’t like women.”

“!!!”

No, he was straight, very straight, not bent at all! Seriously, who had he offended just by being single? Why did it feel like even stray dogs passing by could step on him? This was too much!

Watching Second Cousin stab Big Cousin in the back without mercy, Du An Rao quietly glanced at Jiang Chang Bin with deep sympathy.

[As expected, the problem of older young people marrying late is one of the hot topics most parents worry about. Big Cousin is being attacked by his whole family. That is so tragic.]

“…”

Thanks to his Little Cousin for the sympathy, but it would be even better if she could take the gloating out of her tone.

And so it was settled that Jiang Chang Bin would go to the auction with Du An Rao.

Jiang You Nian also wanted to go, but he happened to have class the day after tomorrow, and it was with a teacher who loved to fail students. He could not skip it.

He could only regret missing this good chance to see the world. He told his brother again and again to stay by Little Cousin’s side the whole time and take a good look at what they auctioned there. Even if he could not afford anything, at least he should look more and broaden his horizons, then come back and tell him about it.

“…”

This brother was so embarrassing. Could he throw him away and change to another one?

After eating lunch at the Jiang Family and then a whole pile of fruit, Du An Rao slowly headed back. As soon as she got home, she saw her two elders who had been waiting for her.

“Granduncle, you didn’t go out today?”

“The end of the year is coming. Everything that should be done is already done, and the wedding arrangements are almost finished. The rest can be left to the people under me. Why would I keep running around outside? Of course I should stay home more to keep your Grandmother company.”

Du An Rao almost got cavities from how sweet that sounded.

[I’m happy that you two love each other, but Granduncle, did you forget that besides Grandma Qin, there’s also me, this miserable single junior? If I have to stay home from now on, won’t I have to watch them show off their love and feed me dog food every single day?]

Right after Du An Rao finished grumbling in her heart, Du De Sheng got an eye roll from Qin Yan Qing. He awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth and changed the subject: “Did you have fun at your uncle and aunt’s place today? You didn’t run into anything, right?”

He really wanted her to spill any gossip for him and Grandma Qin to enjoy.

Du An Rao sat down next to Qin Yan Qing, picked a green jujube from the fruit plate and took a bite: “Nothing happened. We just ate, ate some fruit, and chatted for a while.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

The words on the tip of Du De Sheng’s tongue were choked back by her two short answers. His gossip-loving heart was stuck there, but in order not to make her suspicious, he had to press down his curiosity. It really felt suffocating.

Luckily, as soon as Du An Rao started munching on the jujube, her thoughts began to drift. Without any hint from Du De Sheng, she remembered the fresh gossip she had eaten at her uncle’s house today.

[Thinking about it carefully, the Yu Family’s mess is really explosive. There’s the dad whose wife cheated on him, the mom who rushed to be the cheating first love’s mistress, the sister who almost got trapped by her gay boyfriend in a honey trap scam, the sister who was coldly thrown away by her own father for profit, and only one broken brother who barely escaped a disaster. But life is so long. Who knows when you’ll run into some weirdo again?]

The two elders in the room: “…”

It really was explosive! Were the younger generation’s family relationships all this messy now? Thankfully, their own family was simple and did not have so many problems.

But on second thought, they seemed… not that great either.