"Let's try a little harder, maybe Mom will agree," Li Zheng still didn't want to give up. "Sis, put in a good word for me. Your words carry more weight than mine."
Jiang Mo, pestered relentlessly, had no choice but to send a message in the "Royal Family Group Chat."
"Ms. Wang, Mr. Li, Little Bro's computer is really getting old. How about we check his college entrance exam results first? If he does well, maybe we can get him a new one?"
Li Daming grumbled, "You put me after your mom—doesn’t that make me seem like I have no status in this family?"
Jiang Mo rolled over on the sofa. "No particular order in the ranking."
Young Master Li @ CEO Li: "Dad, your ranking is the highlight! My computer, though..."
Li Daming pretended to be dead and didn’t reply. After all, the family’s financial power wasn’t in his hands—he had no say.
"Your suggestion sounds reasonable. If his exam results are good, we can get him a new computer," Wang Xia agreed.
That’s just how Chinese people are—always fond of compromise.
Ask for a new computer out of the blue? Two words: no way.
But if it’s tied to good grades? Well, that’s a different story.
Jiang Mo looked at Li Zheng. "Little Bro, that’s as far as I can push it. The rest is up to you."
"Fine, fine," Li Zheng sighed. "When you ask for something at home, Mom and Dad just buy it for you. Me? I have to beg pitifully for ages."
"Stop being so dramatic," Jiang Mo nudged him with her foot. "There’s no tissue left on the table. Go grab a new pack."
"Ah, on it!" He scrambled off and handed her a fresh pack of tissues.
When it came to family hierarchy, Li Zheng was undeniably at the bottom.
Holidays were meant for eating, sleeping, and playing.
Both siblings were night owls who slept till noon.
After pulling an all-nighter, they woke up past eleven.
Grabbing her phone from the bedside, Jiang Mo saw a message from Li Wan'er: "Free today? Wanna go shopping? My treat for lunch."
Yawning, Jiang Mo replied, "Mind if I bring someone along?"
"Oho! What’s this? Got yourself a boyfriend?" Li Wan'er sent a cheeky emoji, clearly ready for gossip.
Jiang Mo replied with an eye-roll emoji. "What are you thinking? My little brother’s home for the break."
Li Wan'er: "Oh, my bad. Forgot our little bro was back. Sure, bring him along."
Lazing in bed a little longer, Jiang Mo finally dragged herself up.
To her surprise, Li Zheng was already eating in the living room.
Hearing movement, he looked up. "Sis, I got your favorite steamed buns—still warm! There’s congee too. Come eat."
"How are you up so early?" Jiang Mo headed to the bathroom.
Li Zheng stuffed another bun into his mouth. "Hungry. Woke up starving."
Jiang Mo shook her head. Teenage boys really could eat their parents out of house and home.
He’d devoured a huge meal last night and even scarfed down two apples before bed, yet here he was, ravenous again after one night’s sleep.
By the time Jiang Mo finished washing up and sat down, Li Zheng was nearly done eating.
Taking a sip of congee and picking up a bun, she said, "I’m taking you out for dinner tonight. A beauty’s treating us."
"Who’s buying?" Li Zheng asked curiously.
Jiang Mo: "My college classmate. Already set it up. If you don’t wanna go, you can stay home and cook or order takeout."
"I’m in!" Free food? No way he’d pass that up.
After dawdling at home, they finally left at two in the afternoon. By three, they met up at the mall.
Li Wan'er carried three drinks in hand and grinned at the boy beside Jiang Mo. "Wow, so this is our little brother? Handsome! Here, have a drink."
"Thanks, thanks!" Li Zheng fumbled to take the drink, scratching his head sheepishly at the compliment.
Jiang Mo watched her brother’s awkwardness and sighed. "Let’s walk around first, then eat?"
"Sure! I wanna buy makeup and perfume. You can help me pick."
The mall’s basement floor had plenty of high-end beauty and fragrance stores. After helping Li Wan'er pick out foundation and lipstick, Jiang Mo was dragged into a perfume shop.
"Sniff these and tell me—which one would you like best?" Li Wan'er made Jiang Mo test every scent.
Jiang Mo preferred fresh, natural fragrances and pointed to one. "This one’s nice."
"Great, I’ll take it!" Li Wan'er cheerfully headed to checkout.
Jiang Mo was surprised. "That’s it? No more testing?"
Li Wan'er: "Nope."
Meanwhile, Li Zheng, who’d been quietly observing, was stunned by the prices. A tiny bottle of perfume cost nearly 800 yuan? That’s expensive!
Add the foundation and lipstick, and Li Wan'er had just dropped two or three thousand in one go.
So this was how much girls spent on beauty?
If his future salary wasn’t high enough, would he even be able to afford a wife?
Jiang Mo had no idea her brother’s thoughts had spiraled so far. Watching Li Wan'er splurge, she teased, "You’re not saving any money?"
"Girl just got a raise. Let me enjoy it first!" Li Wan'er grinned, then nudged her. "Speaking of, you must’ve saved up a lot, huh?"
"Mm, a little," Jiang Mo chuckled. With free room and board, her expenses were minimal.
Even she’d been shocked checking her bank balance—how had she saved so much in just a few months?
Which made her wonder… if Wang Xia and Li Daming had been working for the Gu family this long, how much had they secretly stashed away?
A wild guess—over a million?
Wang Xia & Li Daming: Try higher.
She had a feeling they were hiding some serious savings.
Li Wan'er elbowed her. "Yeah right, look at that smirk. Your ‘little’ must be a lot. At this rate, you might just become a rich lady from nannying."
"I’ll be clinging to your coattails then."
Li Zheng chimed in: "Save a coattail for me!"
As they joked around, dinner time arrived, and they settled on barbecue.
Li Wan'er declared, "I’m treating, so order whatever you want."
Jiang Mo spotted a group meal deal for three with plenty of options. "Let’s just get this set."
"Won’t that be too little? Seriously, don’t hold back."
"It looks enough. If not, we can always add more later."
Li Wan'er nodded. "Alright. Little Bro, anything extra you want?"
"I’m easy. The set’s fine," Li Zheng said, ready to dig in.
The food was decent, priced around 150 yuan per person. As they ate and chatted about old school memories, Jiang Mo casually mentioned running into Zhou Qian.
"Where did you see that scumbag?"
"Talk about bad luck—ran into him while eating," Jiang Mo complained. "No idea what he was thinking, even had the nerve to ask for my contact info."
Li Wan'er fired back, "Ugh, the audacity! If I ever bump into him, just watch me humiliate him so bad he’ll wish he never showed his face."
Li Zheng, ever the gossip enthusiast, chimed in, "Who’s this Zhou Qian you’re talking about?… Ex-boyfriend material or what?"
"Oh, no, just some jerk we crossed paths with back in school," Jiang Mo deflected, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her younger brother by dredging up old drama.
Li Wan'er, reading her friend’s mind, played along. "Yeah, just a college classmate."
Jiang Mo quickly changed the subject, noticing Li Zheng’s presence.
Halfway through the meal, Li Wan'er grabbed a gift bag from the empty chair beside her and handed it to Jiang Mo. "Here, perfume for you."
"For me? Why?" Jiang Mo blinked in confusion.
"Because you hooked me up with that job! I’ve been meaning to treat you to dinner and get you a little something once I got my paycheck," Li Wan'er explained. "I’ve been leaning on you so much—felt kinda bad."
It finally clicked for Jiang Mo. Earlier, when Li Wan'er dragged her to pick out perfume, she hadn’t sniffed a single bottle—just kept insisting Jiang Mo try them. This had been the plan all along.
"You really didn’t have to. This is way too expensive. Plus, I even brought my brother along to freeload off your treat today."
"Come on, don’t be shy. It’s not like I’m showering you with gifts every day," Li Wan'er pushed the bag across the table. "It’s bought now—no take-backs. Besides, the scent isn’t even my style. Just take it."
Translation: This perfume is yours now.
Jiang Mo sighed. "I just made the intro. You’re the one who landed the job."
Li Wan'er nibbled a piece of grilled mantou. "But without your intro, I wouldn’t have even gotten the interview. Sisters don’t do the whole ‘no, you shouldn’t have’ dance. Take it."
Jiang Mo relented, reading Li Wan'er’s stubborn expression. "Fine, then."
She’d just go all out on Li Wan'er’s birthday gift later to balance things out.
"Heh, dig in! The meat’s ready," Li Wan'er urged, piling grilled slices onto their plates.
They’d started dinner early, so by the time they finished, it was only 7:30 PM. After lingering around the mall a bit longer, they said their goodbyes and headed home.
Jiang Mo took a Didi to her apartment complex’s gate. Li Zheng stopped to buy fruit and Coke, ending up with several extra shopping bags in hand.
"Go easy on the soda," Jiang Mo said, pressing the elevator button. "Too much isn’t good for you."
"I know, sis," Li Zheng replied. "I don’t drink it that often anyway."
They stepped out of the elevator one after the other—Jiang Mo leading, Li Zheng trailing behind. When they reached their door, they spotted a kid perched on a small suitcase, glued to his game.
"Xuan? What are you doing here?" Jiang Mo was stunned. No one had warned her he was coming.
Gu Xuan looked up, his face the picture of puppy-eyed misery. "Jiang Mo-jie, where were you guys? I’ve been waiting forever!"
