Chen Xiaoqian spread out her little notebook, ready to study which picture of the small wooden table looked better, when her mom called.

"Qian’er!"

"What’s up, Mom?"

"Are you busy these days?"

"Not too bad, Long is about to take an exam, right? I’ll go back to see him."

"Great, what I wanted to tell you is this: you should hurry back, your brother’s exam is one thing, but there’s something else. Aren’t you always helping people with their problems? There’s a matter for you to deal with."

Helping with problems... Xiaoqian’s mouth twitched.

Did her mom really take her for a fortuneteller?

"Go ahead, who has a problem this time? Do they want me to treat a child who doesn’t want to eat, or do I have to predict if a menopausal woman’s husband is having an affair? Actually, you should call Fugui, he’s willing to be the director on female affairs and can handle all these issues."

These are all the random tasks her mother had arranged for her over the past two years, all from relatives and friends, so she couldn’t refuse.

Fortunately, since marrying Mr. Liao, Liao Fugui has taken over the "female director" responsibilities from Xiaoqian, handling all sorts of bizarre tasks for comforting her mother’s quirky friends and relatives.

Sometimes, Xiaoqian feels a bit mischievous, imagining if she revealed Fugui’s identity as a forensic psychiatrist, would those always looking for free help be startled to know that Fugui is specialized in diagnosing mental disorders in criminal cases? 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Xiaoqian’s mom also knew Fugui’s profession could be intimidating, so when introducing him, she’d just say her stepson is a PhD, with such a complex specialty name that ordinary people can’t understand it.

Considering that revealing Fugui’s identity would mean she would have to resume the "female director" tasks, Xiaoqian had to suppress her mischievous impulses and habitually passed the responsibility onto him.

Mentioning Fugui got Xiaoqian’s mom all excited.

"Your brother Fugui and Meizi have gone on a trip. The young couple’s relationship has improved so quickly. Meizi is a good girl, I’ve seen it. She’s straightforward and honest, just the kind of girl I like. The last time she came to our house, she all but devoured half a plate of ribs by herself. I liked her right away, no pretense!"

"She’s a foodie by nature, no need to pretend—wait, you said he’s gone on a trip with Meizi?"

Xiaoqian realized something was wrong.

"Yes, they went traveling. Last time Fugui was at your place, somehow they decided to go have a look together. It was convenient since Fugui’s work gave him a break. He just called us to say they were going out to have fun."

No, something’s definitely not right.

Xiaoqian immediately sensed there was an issue.

Liumei and Fugui were not the kind of spontaneous bohemian youth who just take off on a whim. Both of them were rather pragmatic. That dinner was meant to celebrate in advance with Mrs. Yu. At such an occasion, how could those two possibly not attend?

And they didn’t even tell the family where they were going...

Xiaoqian squinted, there was something going on here!

"Can you come back tomorrow?" her mom asked again.

"I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon. By the way, Mom, who is it that you want me to help?"

"Do you remember your third uncle?"

"I have so many uncles, which one are you talking about?"

"Why can’t you remember things? You studied so much, yet still confused, just the neighbor of your third granduncle’s house, his mom and your grandma are—"

"Stop! Hold it! Don’t explain all these relationships to me!" Xiaoqian started to get a headache just hearing these complex relations.

When Yu Minglang came back, he saw Xiaoqian sitting cross-legged, talking on the phone like a familiar village woman, her expression very animated, something that could only be caused by a call from the family.

Yu Minglang put on his slippers and came over to sit beside her. Xiaoqian ran her hands through his short hair, feeling its smoothness, an addictively tactile sensation.

"You’ve reached graduate school, but you still can’t sort out these relationships? What a waste of your education!" Every time Xiaoqian’s mother took her daughter out, she had to patiently explain which relative was called what, otherwise Xiaoqian wouldn’t get it straight.

"Why do I need to understand this stuff, people’s titles are just codes."

Even at a doctoral level, these complex family relations aren’t necessarily clear. The way these elders talk about such connections could practically reach a post-doctoral level!

"That’s wrong! You can’t talk like that. Our family now has money, and you’ve married into a prestigious family, so when you bump into relatives on the road, you need to greet them proactively. Otherwise, people will go back and say you’ve become condescending with money."

Prestigious family? Yu Minglang pointed at his nose, wondering if he, a man who submits his salary every month to receive pocket money, could be considered part of a prestigious family?

Xiaoqian gestured towards his height, indicating that his family being tall is their "prestige"!

"I don’t care what they say. Only the insecure care about such things. When walking down a busy street, how could I possibly know everyone?"

"Chen Xiaoqian, have you gotten cocky with money? Don’t think just because you won a championship I won’t discipline you! You won a championship, but didn’t I still have to call every household to announce it?"

Xiaoqian rolled her eyes, "Mom, if you boast to people like that, doesn’t it irritate them?"

No wonder so many distant relatives suddenly started asking her mom for favors, it turns out this menopausal lady went around bragging, stirring up trouble for no reason.

"Mom, how many times have I told you, in sadness, don’t speak to others, it pains loved ones and delights foes. In happiness, don’t speak to others, it’s either jealousy or being taken advantage of, why can’t you learn this?" Xiaoqian truly worried about her mom’s blabbering nature.

After acquiring wealth, even relatives they hadn’t contacted for centuries started reaching out, yet back when Chen Lin used to beat her mom, and when the family needed to borrow money to build a house, none could be found?

"Why shouldn’t I say it! My daughter is successful! I must say it! My well-raised daughter is bringing me pride, I have to let them see it, I have to let them know our family has risen up!"

This urge to flaunt like ordinary folks, Xiaoqian figured her mom could never shake off.

Even now as a bureaucrat’s wife, she still carried this mindset.

"Qian’er, let me tell you, you must not forget the past when you have money. Remember back then, when us three..."

Oh no!

Xiaoqian looked distressed. Whenever her mom started with "remember back then," it meant at least ten minutes of bitter nostalgia!

She would begin with their tragic past, and there were only Fugui and his son who could listen smilingly from start to finish without getting bored!

"Mom, Mom! My Minglang is home, quickly give him a lecture. He’s been living too luxuriously lately, always working overtime and not eating properly. Quickly lecture him! Put goji berries in the thermos cup!"