Chapter 249

Chapter 249: Chapter 248 "Mom, Ruxue and I are just ordinary friends, nothing like you guys are thinking. Moreover, Qianwen misunderstood earlier. It was an accident, so..." Ye Tianchen interrupted his mother Luo Yan. He definitely didn’t want to be continuously misunderstood by his mom and little sister. If it went on like that and the family started to believe it, that would be a disaster.

"Tianchen, you boy, Mom didn’t say anything else, did she? I’m very happy that you and Ruxue have become good friends. As for you young people’s affairs, Mom won’t interfere, nor can she. Just let things take their natural course!" Luo Yan interrupted Ye Tianchen as well.

"Mom, what I meant is..."

"Alright, I get it. Let’s eat, you might be full, but we are still hungry!"

Luo Yan didn’t give Ye Tianchen another chance to continue speaking. Of course, she could see what was on her son’s mind and also Ruxue’s intentions. She didn’t want her son to continue and cause embarrassment for Ruxue, a nice, sensible, and pretty girl might get hurt; secondly, Luo Yan knew that Tianchen currently didn’t have strong feelings for Ruxue or any romantic inclinations towards her. Coupled with her son’s low emotional intelligence, Luo Yan wanted to leave him with more opportunities. After all, affection could be nurtured, and love at first sight was just a myth.

"Hey..."

"Qianwen, you and your brother take care of starting the meal, Ruxue and I will go up and try on some shoes!" Luo Yan said to Qi Ruxue with a smile.

Watching Luo Yan and Qi Ruxue go up to the second floor of the villa, Ye Tianchen was utterly speechless. He wanted to make things clear and prevent this ongoing misunderstanding about his relationship with Ruxue. But the three women—his mom, sister, and Ruxue—gave him no chance to speak. How could he not feel speechless?

"It’s all over now, all over!" Ye Tianchen sighed, flopped down onto the sofa, and shook his head.

At that moment, Ye Qianwen approached her brother with a mischievous grin, glanced up at the second floor, then whispered slyly, "Bro, did you just kiss Sister Ruxue? You big bad boy, you’re quite bold, huh? With emotional intelligence so low yet such courage, you might still have a chance to capture a beauty’s heart!"

Ye Tianchen glanced at his little sister Ye Qianwen. The little girl looked completely like a little adult, eager to grill him for some juicy details. She was the one who blabbed so quickly what she saw of him and Ruxue in the kitchen to their mom, leading to his mom’s outright dismissal of his explanations, hence this blown-up misunderstanding.

"Little girl, haven’t I always treated you well? Why would you betray me at such a crucial moment? It seems you can forget about getting an allowance from me in the future since I’m poor too!" Ye Tianchen warned his sister with a look.

Ye Qianwen was shocked. She quickly sat next to her brother Ye Tianchen, relentlessly grabbed his arm, and stared at him fiercely, "Bro, you would have been better off not saying that. Those words have just incited mine and Mom’s intense dissatisfaction with you, hmph!"

"Intense dissatisfaction? Hey, am I not the one who supports your allowance every month when it runs short? And you’re dissatisfied with me, has the world lost all reason?" Ye Tianchen said, feigning an exasperated tone while looking at his sister’s adorable expression.

"Bro, you still have the nerve to talk? You say you ’support’ my allowance, but isn’t it true that I only get it after begging you when I’m desperate? And sometimes you give me just one or two dollars. You’re the chairman of the Sea King Group, for Heaven’s sake. The most important thing is that since you became chairman, your net worth must be at least a hundred million, right? Yet you haven’t bought a single gift for me or Mom to this day. That’s too much, hmph!" Ye Qianwen puffed up her cute cheeks and glared at her brother Ye Tianchen.

Of course, Ye Qianwen wasn’t genuinely upset about her brother being stingy. She just wanted him to be more socially savvy and to increase his emotional intelligence. To tell the truth, despite Ye Tianchen’s changes, he still worried his mom Luo Yan and sister Ye Qianwen due to past events. Both hoped he would find a girlfriend soon, preferably getting married quickly. Different perspectives naturally lead to different desires.

"Well, to be honest, when it comes to buying things for others, I’ve indeed never done it before. I’ve always been the one to receive gifts. For a super, invincible, handsome guy like me, these things are rarely a concern. Considering your big mouth today, telling Mom what you shouldn’t have, I’ve decided to deduct the allowance I support you with..."

"Bro, you’re the worst..." Ye Qianwen protested immediately as her brother mentioned cutting her allowance.

"I haven’t finished talking, what’s the rush... But considering you brought this issue to my attention, and it is true that I haven’t bought any gifts for you or Mom, that’s my fault. So, it balances out the good and the bad. I was already thinking of increasing your allowance..." Ye Tianchen said with a sly grin.

"Really? Bro, you’re the best!" Ye Qianwen couldn’t help but kiss Ye Tianchen on the cheek, rarely finding her older brother so generous and understanding, which utterly delighted her.

In this world, probably only his little sister, Ye Qianwen, could roughhouse with Ye Tianchen like this, could threaten him like this. Ye Tianchen treasured his family deeply; back on Apocalypse Planet, he had been an orphan. The loneliness and solitude you experience when you have no one with whom to share life’s ups and downs is frightening, leads to despair, and can even make life seem utterly meaningless.

"Of course, it’s true. When have I ever lied to you?" Ye Tianchen asked earnestly.

"Hehe, of course not. So, how much pocket money are you planning to give your little sister each month?" Ye Qianwen asked with a mischievous smile.

"Hmm... Well, considering the current prices, your usual spending habits, your recent behavior, and the various signs of you always playing pranks on your big brother, the Chairman has decided... to increase your monthly allowance from the original one hundred yuan to now... one hundred and five yuan..."

When Ye Qianwen heard Ye Tianchen’s final words, she was devastated. She had been full of hope, looking at her stingy big brother who was finally ready to be generous, thinking he would increase her allowance by a significant amount. But after all that buildup, he only added five yuan... With today’s prices, five yuan can’t even buy a decent ice cream...

The worst part was, Ye Tianchen’s last statement dropped her from heaven straight into hell. All that talk just for an additional five yuan in her allowance... Her big brother was truly the epitome of stinginess, leaving her wanting to cry but devoid of tears.

"Bro, you’re so mean, ah..."

Ye Qianwen complained, attacking Ye Tianchen with sofa pillows, nearly going mad, while Ye Tianchen just laughed heartily. Honestly, he had no real concept of money; it was just that his "frugal and stingy" nature was hard to shake. It wasn’t about five yuan or five billion; if Ye Tianchen could afford it and his sister wanted it, he would give it to her. Family was more important to Ye Tianchen than anything else.

At that moment, Luo Yan and Qi Ruxue came down from the second floor of the villa. Seeing Ye Tianchen and Ye Qianwen playing and roughhousing in the hall, they couldn’t help but smile, especially Qi Ruxue. Seeing the usually somewhat stiff Ye Tianchen happily playing with Qianwen like a big kid, she felt quite moved and wished she could be like that with Tianchen.

Earlier, in the room on the second floor, after Luo Yan tried on the shoes Qi Ruxue bought for her, they talked a lot. Luo Yan indirectly found out that Qi Ruxue, the beautiful and well-behaved girl she approved of, had truly fallen for her son. Luo Yan was overjoyed; she never imagined her son would have such romantic fortune, being completely clueless about emotional intelligence and romance. Luo Yan had worried that her son might never find a wife, but now with Qi Ruxue, such a wonderful girl, liking her son, how could she not be happy as a mother?

Therefore, Luo Yan also hinted a lot to Qi Ruxue in their conversation, telling her that Ye Tianchen was still a bit playful, naturally more so as a boy, and would be more mature once he aged a bit. After all, Ye Tianchen was just in his first year of college, and Qi Ruxue was two years older than him, naturally leading to some differences in their personalities.

"Ruxue, look at these two siblings, turning the house into a playground every day!" Luo Yan shook her head with a smile.

"Auntie, I’m really envious of them. Sometimes, it’s not bad to live a simple life!" Qi Ruxue said earnestly.

Luo Yan nodded; she had come from a prominent family herself, so she knew the truth in Qi Ruxue’s words. The bigger the family, the more rules there were, and without rules, things wouldn’t work. But with rules came constraints on human nature. Also, within large families, intrigues were everywhere, and many people were blinded by greed. Where would you find such happy scenes?

"Can you two siblings stop messing around and come to eat? What are you up to?" Luo Yan pretended to be a bit angry as she walked downstairs.

"Mom, bro is bullying me, he only gave me a five yuan increase in my allowance!" Ye Qianwen pouted cutely and smacked Ye Tianchen with a sofa pillow.

"Hey, you’re always disrespectful to your big brother all day long, blabbing to mom every chance you get. It’s already pretty good that I’m giving you a five yuan increase..." Ye Tianchen dodged and said with a mischievous smile.

"Alright, enough you two. Don’t make Ruxue laugh at you; you’re both grown up and still fooling around. Quickly get ready to eat!" Luo Yan shook her head with a satisfied smile on her face. Her children brought her so much joy. She certainly hadn’t raised them in vain! (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it and give it a monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation.)