With such a loud voice, wasn't she doing it on purpose for her to hear?
Shu Qingqing gently pressed down on Lu Bochuan's arm. "I'll go."
She walked to the entryway and saw Lu Yu blocking the door. Outside stood a woman with curly hair, an old lady in her sixties, and a teenage boy about Lu Yu's age.
The curly-haired woman kept trying to get inside, but Lu Yu held his arm out to stop her.
"Grandma, Auntie, why don't you... come back another day? Today isn't very convenient."
"What do you mean it's not convenient? Xiao Yu, we are your biological grandmother and aunt. No matter what, you have to let us inside to talk." The curly-haired woman initially had a hint of fawning on her face, but when she looked up and saw Shu Qingqing, her gaze suddenly turned arrogant. "Oh, Xiao Yu's stepmother is here. At least you have some manners, knowing to come out and welcome us yourself."
Shu Qingqing looked them over. They were indeed relatives from Lu Yu's mother's side. The original owner of this body hadn't met them many times, but the few interactions they did have hadn't been very pleasant.
Especially Lu Yu's aunt, Jiang Xinran; she had a very sharp tongue.
Looking at Lu Yu's expression, he seemed to be in a difficult position.
Was he worried that she wouldn't like these relatives, which was why he was hesitating to let them in?
Shu Qingqing thought it was possible. After all, the original owner treated Lu Yu poorly, so it was even less likely she would treat his relatives well.
Shu Qingqing curled her lips into a polite but distant smile. "Oh, it's Lu Yu's grandmother and aunt. What wind blew you here today?"
Jiang Xinran sneered coldly. "What do you mean by that? We are Xiao Yu's family. We came specifically to celebrate his birthday!"
"Is that so?" Shu Qingqing glanced at their hands and feigned surprise. "Since you came to celebrate Lu Yu's birthday, why did you come empty-handed? You didn't even bring a gift?"
At these words, Jiang Xinran immediately choked up, unable to reply.
Lu Yu's expression didn't change at all. He seemed almost... used to it?
Behind her, Sun Xiangmei quickly stepped forward and grabbed Lu Yu's hand. "Xiao Yu, look at this. Grandma and your aunt were just in such a rush to get here that we forgot to buy a present. Next time, we will definitely make it up to you."
Jiang Xinran quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, Auntie will make it up to you later."
Lu Yu pursed his lips and said nothing.
Since it was his birthday, even if the original owner had conflicts with these people, it wasn't the right time to make a scene. Shu Qingqing didn't say anything more and let them in.
The group acted as if they were in their own home, heading straight for the dining room the moment they entered.
"Oh my, in-law, son-in-law, you're all here." Sun Xiangmei warmly greeted the old lady and Lu Bochuan, then pulled up a chair and sat down right next to Old Madam Lu.
Jiang Xinran put on a sweet smile, called out "Old Madam" and "Brother-in-law," and plopped herself down in Shu Qingqing's seat.
Old Madam Lu and Lu Bochuan both thoroughly detested these forms of address, but because Lu Yu was present, they didn't say anything.
Hah, both of them certainly knew how to pick their seats.
Shu Qingqing crossed her arms and watched coldly. Just as she was about to speak up and chase her out of the seat, Lu Xun reached out and pushed Jiang Xinran. "Move away, this is my mom's seat."
Jiang Xinran frowned in displeasure. "I am a guest. How can a child speak like that? Brother-in-law, if you ask me, Xiao Yu's stepmother really doesn't know how to raise children..."
Before Jiang Xinran could finish her sentence, Lu Bochuan's face darkened. "Get up."
Jiang Xinran bit her lip in embarrassment, reluctantly standing up and changing to another seat.
Because of the arrival of these people, the atmosphere at the dining table suddenly grew quiet.
Jiang Xinran and Sun Xiangmei tried to start a conversation a few times, but no one paid them any mind, so they had no choice but to eat in silence.
Jiang Zhe was sturdily built and had a hearty appetite. As soon as he sat down, he devoured the entire plate of braised prawns that Shu Qingqing had specially asked the kitchen to prepare.
Although Shu Qingqing was a bit displeased, she didn't say anything.
After the meal, it was time to cut the cake.
Knowing that everyone had already been bombarded with too many of her little desserts recently, Shu Qingqing had only made a small six-inch cake this time, thinking a small slice for each person would be enough.
However, with three extra people, there wasn't quite enough cake to go around.
She had to cut the slices even smaller.
"Here, the first piece goes to our birthday boy." Shu Qingqing gave the prettiest piece to Lu Yu, and then distributed the rest to everyone else in turn.
Just as everyone picked up their forks and prepared to eat, Jiang Zhe suddenly threw a fit.
"Mom, why is my cousin's cake so much bigger than mine? I want to eat his piece."
Jiang Xinran took a look and smiled. "Xiao Yu's piece really is a bit bigger. Xiao Yu, you're the older brother, so you should yield to your younger brother. Swap your cake with his."
Lu Yu lowered his eyes and reached out to push his cake over.
Jiang Xinran looked pleased.
Sun Xiangmei also couldn't stop smiling. "Xiao Yu is such a good older brother. He's just as sensible as he was when he was little."
Old Madam Lu's face darkened. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn't say anything.
Shu Qingqing reached out and stopped Lu Yu's movement. "Jiang Zhe, right? From what I can see, you aren't that much younger than Lu Yu. Even Lu Xun hasn't clamored to swap cakes, so you can't possibly be less sensible than him, can you?"
"Besides, the first piece of cake belongs to the birthday boy. It's not your birthday. Can you even handle this kind of blessing?"
Jiang Xinran glared, her eyes wide. "It's just a piece of cake! What's all this nonsense about blessings?"
Shu Qingqing scoffed coldly. "Exactly, it's just a piece of cake. It's not like Jiang Zhe has never eaten one before, right? Yet he still has to snatch it from Lu Yu."
Jiang Xinran was choked up, unable to find words to retort for a moment.
Shu Qingqing lifted her chin. "Lu Yu, hurry up and eat your cake."
Lu Yu glanced at her, retracted his hand, and silently forked a small piece into his mouth.
After eating the cake, Old Madam Lu sat for a little while before leaving, and Lu Bochuan returned to the company.
Shu Qingqing originally thought that Jiang Xinran and her group would leave shortly as well, but who knew they had absolutely no intention of doing so.
Jiang Xinran and Sun Xiangmei very familiarly ordered Nanny Li and the others to prepare fruits and snacks, then plopped down on the sofa to watch TV.
Jiang Zhe, on the other hand, took the initiative to go into Lu Yu's room.
Operating on the principle of out of sight, out of mind, Shu Qingqing simply went back to her room to watch a movie.
To her surprise, when she came out after finishing the movie, it was already dark outside, and the family of three still hadn't left.
Lu Yu's bedroom was filled with the sound of Jiang Zhe yelling and shouting all by himself.
Lu Xun came running over, his footsteps thumping, and hugged her calf. "Mom, brother Jiang Zhe keeps fighting with me over toys."
Shu Qingqing went over to take a look. Good heavens, Lu Yu's usually tidy room was now a complete mess. Jiang Zhe was rummaging through Lu Yu's things everywhere. "Cousin, I like this one too, give it to me!"
After saying that, without waiting for Lu Yu's agreement, Jiang Zhe directly stuffed the race car model in his hand into the bag at his feet.
Shu Qingqing took a look; the bag on the floor was bulging.
But when the group of them arrived, they hadn't brought anything at all.
So everything inside the bag must have been scavenged from Lu Yu's room.
Shu Qingqing didn't plan on tolerating this anymore. "Lu Yu's grandmother, it's dark now. I won't keep you any longer."
Jiang Xinran clicked her tongue. "Xiao Yu's stepmother, we are Xiao Yu's family. Even if we stayed the night here, it wouldn't be out of line. How can you just chase people out like this?"
Lu Xun stood to the side, lifting his innocent face. Mom, what is a stepmom?
Jiang Xinran gave a smug smile. A stepmom? A stepmom is...
Shu Qingqing had worked so hard to mend the relationship between the two brothers; how could she allow someone to sow discord now?
She grabbed the tissue box from the coffee table and hurled it at her, manually shutting Jiang Xinran up.
Jiang Xinran was stunned for a second before stomping her feet in fury. Shu Qingqing, how dare you hit me? You are nothing but a stepmom. We are Lu Yu's closest relatives!
Just as she spoke, Lu Yu happened to walk over.
Jiang Xinran immediately grew even more arrogant. Xiao Yu, your stepmom is bullying me! Hurry up and help your aunt!
