Chapter 8

Chu Xiaoyi was the sort of person who couldn’t always keep things bottled up. Sometimes when his emotions got the better of him, he would even argue back when reporters tried to trip him up, inevitably falling into their traps. His manager He Xin had reminded him about this many times, but Chu Xiaoyi had never been able to correct the habit immediately. However, now that he was spending time with Chu Xiaoxiao, he finally obediently kept his mouth shut.

Chu Xiaoyi realized that he couldn’t keep talking. The more he spoke, the more his weaknesses showed, and there were flaws everywhere. Chu Xiaoxiao wouldn’t directly laugh at him, but her subtle and pitying gaze put even more pressure on him.

The family had long since learned how formidable Chu Xiaoxiao was, and in most situations they treated her as an adult when communicating with her. This had also been Han Ya’s suggestion. If adults deliberately put on airs in front of an exceptionally gifted child, they could easily fall flat on their faces. Han Ya had even cited a real example: a child prodigy attending an ordinary school who constantly clashed with teachers. One reason was that the teachers insisted on establishing themselves as the highest authority, causing the prodigy to develop resistance toward them.

Chu Xiaoyi had only been home for two or three days and still didn’t fully understand Chu Xiaoxiao. Even so, he was beginning to feel some pressure. Wisely choosing silence, he pretended nothing had happened, changed the subject, and led his sister toward the supermarket.

Inside the supermarket, the atmosphere between the siblings was actually quite harmonious. Neither mentioned rolled R sounds anymore. The supermarket in the shopping center specialized in high-end products. Even the fruits were famous brands, and there were many imported fruits from overseas, piled high on the shelves in a colorful display.

Chu Xiaoyi said, “What do you like to eat? Just pick whatever you want.”

Chu Xiaoxiao carefully examined the shelves. Her gaze lingered over the beautifully packaged fruits as she sank into thought.

Chu Xiaoyi spotted a plump bunch of Shine Muscat grapes and casually picked up a bag, placing it in the shopping basket. He had tried them before. They had a rose-like fragrance and were very sweet.

The bunch of green grapes was wrapped in a transparent bag tied with a beautiful ribbon, looking extremely refined. Chu Xiaoxiao happened to notice the price tag on the bag and immediately revealed a somewhat troubled expression. She felt she should have a serious talk with her bargain-bin older brother.

Although Chu Xiaoxiao didn’t yet have a complete understanding of money, she knew the usual price of grapes, since they were a common fruit at home. The grapes Great-Uncle Chu Qingfeng bought were generally 29.9 yuan. The grapes Dad Chu Jiadong bought were generally 99.9 yuan. Yet the grapes Brother Chu Xiaoyi was buying were actually 199.9 yuan?

As the family’s youngest child, Chu Xiaoxiao had always bluntly expressed her opinions to the elders. She occasionally even criticized her father’s behavior, let alone the utterly unreliable Chu Xiaoyi. Hugging the bag of grapes from the basket, she called out to her brother seriously for the first time:

“Brother.”

Chu Xiaoyi had been choosing fruit. He turned around in confusion. “?”

After pondering for a few seconds, Chu Xiaoxiao said earnestly, “People have the right to pursue beautiful and valuable things, but it’s best not to engage in spending beyond your means.”

Chu Xiaoyi: “???”

What nonsense was this little brat suddenly talking about?

Holding the grapes, Chu Xiaoxiao slightly knitted her brows and pointed at the price tag, delivering a silent hint through her actions.

Looking at the price of the grapes, enlightenment suddenly struck Chu Xiaoyi, and he understood the hidden meaning behind his sister’s words!

She thought he shouldn’t be buying such expensive grapes!

Seeing the little thing’s tense expression, Chu Xiaoyi instantly broke out in a cold sweat and found himself caught in a dilemma. At this moment, he had to choose whether to be a vain person or a hypocritical one. If he continued hiding his income, she would think he was maintaining appearances despite being broke. If he admitted his real income now, she would settle all the old accounts with him.

Once a person tells a lie, countless more lies are needed to cover it up. Although Chu Xiaoyi had originally only wanted to tease a child, he now felt that if she learned the truth, she would explode. She might even pin him down on the sofa and beat him.

Chu Xiaoyi’s gaze wavered as he stammered, “Mm, that… actually makes some sense…”

Seeing his inexplicable loss of confidence, Chu Xiaoxiao mistakenly thought she had hit the mark. Feeling that her words had worked, she returned the grapes to the shelf and comforted him, “If you really want to eat them that badly, I’ll buy them for you in the future.”

However, Chu Xiaoxiao felt that “the future” was still very far away. After all, she had no earning ability for the time being and would probably have to wait until she got a job and made money.

Chu Xiaoyi felt a little touched, yet couldn’t resist teasing her. “Don’t you dislike me a lot? You’re actually going to buy things for me?”

Chu Xiaoxiao said seriously, “Dislike is dislike, but you’re a member of the family. I have to be responsible for you.”

Chu Xiaoyi reached out to pinch her little head. “Stop saying such profound things. You’re still being raised by other people. How can you be responsible for anyone else?”

Chu Xiaoyi simply assumed she was innocent and speaking without restraint. Her intentions were good, but there wasn’t really anything she could do.

“Alright, let’s go.” Chu Xiaoyi picked up the shopping basket and held out a hand to her. “You’re still young right now. You’re the one who should be taken care of.”

Hearing that, Chu Xiaoxiao’s little face scrunched up. She didn’t take her brother’s hand.

After a long silence, she refuted him. “I think you’re wrong.”

Chu Xiaoyi blinked. “Huh?”

Chu Xiaoxiao said, “It’s not because I’m young that I should be taken care of. It’s because I contribute in other ways within the family and exchange that for other people’s care.”

Seeing her solemn little expression, Chu Xiaoyi felt inexplicably confused. “Wait, how did we suddenly get onto this topic…”

Chu Xiaoxiao’s little temper flared up as well. Adopting the same posture she used when debating with her father, she argued forcefully, “You and I have an equal cooperative relationship. There’s no such thing as one person taking care of the other!”

Chu Xiaoxiao believed that the family was the most basic unit of human cooperation. She also contributed and gave to this family and could not allow her bargain-bin brother to erase that fact.

Chu Xiaoyi laughed despite himself. “Don’t Mom and Dad raise you right now? Don’t the elders take care of you? There are still all sorts of things you can’t do.”

Chu Xiaoxiao replied righteously, “Within the same family unit, everyone is good at different things, so naturally everyone has different responsibilities. Even though I can’t work yet, I contribute in other ways!”

Chu Xiaoyi asked, “What can you contribute right now?”

Chu Xiaoxiao declared, “I bring happiness and joy to the family!”

Chu Xiaoyi couldn’t help laughing. “So you’re the mood-maker?”

If they were an idol group making a debut, wouldn’t his little sister be the variety-show member?

Chu Xiaoxiao didn’t understand what her brother meant, but she put her hands on her hips and said confidently, “If you simply say that I’m cared for because I’m young, or that Mom and Dad have to take care of me because they’re my parents, then that’s far too unreasonable! People can only keep getting along if there’s give and take!”

Because of her special ability, Chu Xiaoxiao had always believed that if others treated her well, then she should treat them well too. Human relationships became close through repeated interactions. A family was just like a class in kindergarten—everyone had to contribute to the class, otherwise they would be disliked by the others.

Of course, every class also had underperforming students. For the time being, they were unable to contribute and needed help from others. While underperforming students might indeed lack ability, they shouldn’t take their shortcomings for granted and never think about improving.

Right now, Chu Xiaoxiao viewed Chu Xiaoyi as an underperforming student. Although their relationship was only so-so, she had a responsibility to help him improve, and that was also one way she contributed to the family. Naturally, she wouldn’t allow her efforts to be ignored, nor would she accept being treated as someone who contributed nothing yet merely received care.

After hearing her novel theory and seeing her look so indignant, Chu Xiaoyi simply grabbed her hand and led her outside. “Alright, alright, you contribute…”

Chu Xiaoxiao was somewhat dissatisfied with his perfunctory tone. She huffed angrily as she followed beside him, feeling that her bargain-bin older brother was truly stubborn beyond reason.

The siblings paid and left. During the taxi ride home, neither spoke. Chu Xiaoyi secretly glanced at the sulking little thing and thought that her emotions were quite intense. He had no idea how she could stay angry for so long. He felt that his sister always had strange ideas. She even viewed family members as her peers and didn’t think there was any difference between herself and the adults.

Chu Jiadong probably got shut down by her all the time.

The thought suddenly appeared in Chu Xiaoyi’s mind. His own thinking had always been different from Chu Xiaoxiao’s. He had always felt that taking money from his father made him powerless and humble, as though he were begging and therefore had no right to speak. Because his father was the family’s financial pillar, he couldn’t oppose him and had no choice but to follow his wishes.

His fiercest act of resistance had been decisively leaving home, cutting off all contact, and no longer accepting financial support. Only then had he been able to stand up straight. For a period of time, the sentence he hated most was, “Your parents raised you for so many years; how could you do something like this?” It always provoked intense resistance in him, making him shout hoarsely, “I never asked them to give birth to me or raise me!”

In reality, the moment those words left his mouth, his subconscious still viewed things as “being raised by his parents.” Although he refused to admit it, the thought remained buried deep in his heart like a thorn that could never be removed.

But Chu Xiaoxiao was different. She didn’t think she was being raised. She believed she and her parents were equal partners. They all lived within the same collective. Aside from different responsibilities, there was no hierarchy among them—a view quite different from many mainstream ideas.

After getting out of the taxi, Chu Xiaoyi saw that the little thing still looked awkward and upset, and couldn’t help showing a helpless expression. He held out his hand to her and said sincerely, “Alright, I admit you contribute. Are you still angry?”

Chu Xiaoxiao didn’t take his hand. She turned her head and huffed, but still followed closely behind him like a little pet set to follow mode in a game.

As a result, Chu Xiaoyi could only keep an eye on her from time to time. When he reached the entrance of Yurong Terrace, he discovered a rather embarrassing problem—he had forgotten to bring his access card. When he returned home, He Xin had already arranged everything in advance, and they had driven directly into the complex, causing him to completely forget about the access procedure.

Wearing a baseball cap and a black face mask, Chu Xiaoyi hesitantly looked toward the security guard in the guard booth and stiffly waved at him. The uniformed guard looked back at the heavily disguised Chu Xiaoyi with suspicion and vigilance in his eyes.

That was right—security at Yurong Terrace was extremely strict. Even food delivery and courier services weren’t allowed to enter freely. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called a luxury residential complex.

Bracing himself, Chu Xiaoyi tugged his mask down slightly and continued looking at the guard with earnest eyes, hoping the man would recognize him and realize he wasn’t suspicious.

The young security guard raised an eyebrow in confusion, apparently unable to understand Chu Xiaoyi’s actions. He clearly had no interest in entertainment or celebrities and had no idea who he was.

Chu Xiaoyi, whose national popularity had suffered a critical hit: “…”

Looks like I’m still not famous enough.

Chu Xiaoyi was feeling a bit of a headache and was considering whether to call a family member to come get them when Chu Xiaoxiao suddenly spoke beside him.

“Pick me up.”

Chu Xiaoyi: “?”

Seeing that he wasn’t moving, Chu Xiaoxiao impatiently repeated, “Pick me up.”

Chu Xiaoxiao was rather short and was completely blocked by the gate, making her invisible to the security guard. Confused but careful, Chu Xiaoyi picked her up and raised her slightly higher according to her instructions, having no idea what she intended to do.

With one hand resting on her brother’s shoulder, Chu Xiaoxiao waved to the security guard with the other, like a leader inspecting troops, appearing formal and friendly. The moment the guard saw her little face, he smiled and nodded back. The next second, he slowly opened the gate and allowed the siblings to enter.

At home, Chu Xiaoxiao was the only person who could enter the residential complex using facial recognition. Thanks to her friendship with Yang Yin, quite a few security guards remembered her. Occasionally, when family members forgot their access cards, they could still get in if they happened to be bringing Chu Xiaoxiao along.

Chu Xiaoyi: “???”

Chu Xiaoyi: Isn’t this supposed to be a luxury residential complex? Since when does it use face recognition approval? Why doesn’t my face work at all, but she can unlock the gate so easily?