Chapter 24 Gathering

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 Gathering"Knock, knock!" Accompanied by a knocking sound, Xu Shanshan called from outside the door, "Sis, Brother-in-law, time to get up!"

Xu Yingying responded and then whispered to Li Yifei, "Let’s just forget about this matter, don’t feel burdened, you are now my boyfriend."

Li Yifei hastily nodded his head, then took a deep breath, smiled at Xu Yingying, and said, "No problem now."

Xu Yingying nodded, got up to open the door, and Xu Shanshan immediately squeezed in. She glanced at the quilt on the bed and then scrutinized their clothes, chuckled, and said, "You two got dressed pretty quickly, huh?"

Li Yifei coughed dryly, showing a bit of embarrassment, while Xu Yingying glared and retorted, "What do you mean by that; are we supposed to stay undressed for you to see?"

Xu Shanshan giggled and said, "If you’re not wearing clothes, there’s nothing to see, but Brother-in-law... hehe, I wouldn’t dare to look."

Li Yifei chuckled, quickly started folding the quilt, and after he finished, he put on his outerwear, by which time Xu Yingying had also dressed.

"What are you doing running over here so early in the morning?" Xu Yingying asked.

Xu Shanshan let out a light laugh and said, "Nothing much, Mom woke up early and that woke me up, so I came to bother you all."

"Hmph, you really are bored," Xu Yingying said as she fixed her hair, which was curled into large waves and quite easy to manage.

"So what should we do? There’s nothing to do this early in the morning. How about we go out for fun later?"

"What’s there to do for fun, isn’t chatting with Grandpa nice?"

"You come back home once a year, but I visit every month. Grandpa doesn’t miss me, Brother-in-law, will you go play with me, please?"

Xu Yingying immediately vetoed the idea, "No way, your brother-in-law also has to keep Grandpa company."

"Boring, hmph, I’ll go find someone else to hang out with then," Xu Shanshan said to Xu Yingying while sticking out her tongue, then turned and ran out.

Xu Yingying shook her head, feeling completely helpless about her sister, then turned to Li Yifei with a smile and asked, "What are you laughing about?"

Li Yifei responded, "I just wonder, you two are identical twins, so how can your personalities be so different?"

Xu Yingying, feeling rather helpless, said, "Hmph, she’s just a child who won’t grow up, I really don’t know when she’ll let me stop worrying about her."

"It’s not like that. I think Shanshan’s way is alright too, being happy and carefree. A girl should just live happily, there’s no need for her to be so full of ambitions and pursuits like you."

Xu Yingying, dissatisfied, said, "You’re not allowed to say these things to Shanshan, or she’ll become even more insolent. I’m telling you, I don’t expect her to be like me, but she can’t just run off to play all the time, especially not with those sketchy people she calls ’art friends.’ I see them as a bunch of people with no real skills who use art as an excuse."

Li Yifei, not familiar with the situation, said, "Well, I don’t really know about that. If the people Shanshan is hanging out with are really sketchy, then we should indeed intervene."

Xu Yingying looked at Li Yifei and suddenly asked, "Are you good at fighting?"

"I’m okay, why? Do you want me to fight someone?"

"It’s not about fighting, but finding an opportunity to teach those guys a lesson and keep them away from Shanshan."

"Really? Interfering like that in Shanshan’s friendships might just make her angry."

"Hmph, so what if she gets angry, I’m her sister, what have I got to be afraid of?"

"This... I think it’s better to be cautious. If you trust me, I’ll take the chance to meet Shanshan’s friends and see what kind of people they are. If they really aren’t up to snuff, I’ll deal with them. If they’re okay, then I think we should just let her be."

"You..." Xu Yingying’s eyes showed extreme skepticism.

Li Yifei shrugged and said, "If you don’t trust me, then there’s nothing I can do."

At this point, Xu Yingying nodded and said, "Then go and check them out. They are bound to have some gathering in the next few days; just follow along."

Li Yifei grinned and replied, "No problem, this one’s on the house, a bonus."

Xu Yingying rolled her eyes at Li Yifei and said, "I’ve already given you plenty, and besides, when we get back, I’ll be arranging a job for you, so it’s only right that you do a bit extra."

Seeing Xu Yingying speak in such a tone was rare, and Li Yifei just chuckled before he and Xu Yingying went out to the living room. Grandpa and the Xu Zhenguo couple were there, but Xu Shanshan was nowhere to be seen.

After breakfast, a round of New Year’s visits began, with even distant relatives joining in, creating a buzz all around, before the Xu Yingying’s family of five finally returned to their home in the city that afternoon.

Compared to the bustle of the countryside, their city home felt relatively quiet. Xu Shanshan answered several calls as soon as she arrived home, with friends discussing plans for a get-together.

After Xu Shanshan finished her calls, Xu Yingying said, "Shanshan, since your brother-in-law doesn’t have anything to do at home, why don’t you take him out for a bit?"

Xu Shanshan looked at Xu Yingying in surprise and asked, "You trust me to take my brother-in-law out without worry? Aren’t you afraid I’ll lead him astray?"

Xu Yingying snorted and said, "I want him to keep an eye on you."

Xu Shanshan chuckled and said, "No problem," then gave Li Yifei a wink. She had always been skeptical about Li Yifei as a brother-in-law, but since he was sharing a room with Xu Yingying, she couldn’t help but believe that Li Yifei was her sister’s boyfriend.

She actually thought this brother-in-law was pretty nice and wasn’t afraid of Li Yifei at all. In fact, she got along with him very well, and the thought of going out with him was very appealing.

Around five o’clock, Li Yifei left home with Xu Shanshan, who didn’t drive because they were planning to drink that evening.

They hailed a taxi and arrived at a place called Art Bar. The decor seemed quite unique, but the interior was a bit dark. After circling around a round corridor, they reached a small hall surrounded by chairs and tables. At that moment, six or seven people were sitting at two tables, drinking, while a young man with long hair sat on a small stage in the center, playing a guitar and singing a song Li Yifei had never heard before.

"Shanshan’s here," someone called out first, and then everyone greeted Xu Shanshan warmly as she appeared very familiar with them all.

"Shanshan, who is this?" inquired a long-haired woman who wore a low-cut shirt and floral pants, wiggling her hips suggestively and pointing at Li Yifei. Her gestures were indeed very flirty.

"Let me introduce you all—this is Li Yifei," Xu Shanshan said, pulling Li Yifei to her side and introducing him with a smile, without mentioning that he was her sister’s boyfriend.

"Li Yifei, I’m Xiao Ming," said the flirtatious woman, extending her hand, which was adorned with red nail polish, toward Li Yifei.

Li Yifei shook her hand, said hello, and then suddenly realized something was off; this person had an Adam’s apple. Upon closer inspection, despite the heavy makeup making him look convincingly feminine, a hint of stubble was visible above his chin.

This gave Li Yifei an unpleasant shiver, having seen plenty of transvestites in Thailand but never expecting to encounter one in his life. Today was truly an eye-opener.

"Shanshan, who is he to you?" Xiao Ming then asked Xu Shanshan.

Xu Shanshan playfully winked at Li Yifei, then replied, "I brought him with me—what do you think he is to me?"

"Wow!" Xiao Ming suddenly exclaimed, then gave Li Yifei a thorough up-and-down look, which made the hair on his back stand on end. He had never felt so rattled, not even when facing a formidable opponent.

"Shanshan, what’s with your taste in men—how did you find such a boyfriend?"

Xiao Ming’s remark made Li Yifei quite displeased, especially since everyone seemed to have mistaken him for Xu Shanshan’s boyfriend, a misconception Xu Shanshan appeared to encourage intentionally.

However, Li Yifei didn’t contradict it, as Xu Shanshan had given him a meaningful look earlier, clearly indicating her intention. The cheeky girl hadn’t said a word on the way there and chose to present him with the situation as a fait accompli upon arrival.

Immediately, Xu Shanshan latched onto Li Yifei’s arm and declared, "Xiao Ming, you have no taste. Let me tell you, my boyfriend is amazing."

"Amazing? What can he do? Does he understand music? Does he dance? Does he paint? Does he know art?" Xiao Ming challenged with a shrill voice.

Li Yifei shook his head, saying, "I don’t know any of those."

The boy who had been singing on stage jumped down and approached Xu Shanshan with hostility in his eyes, saying, "Shanshan, what are you doing? Why did you bring someone who doesn’t understand anything?"

Xu Shanshan pouted and said, "You just don’t see what I see. Yifei’s qualities aren’t something you can just recognize. If you keep talking like this, I’m going to leave."

The long-haired man opened his mouth, then said nothing. Instead, he reached out to Li Yifei and said, "Zhao Qingsong."

Li Yifei shook hands with the long-haired man, smiling and about to let go, but the young man suddenly tightened his grip. The others watched excitedly, making it clear that they knew Zhao Qingsong was competing in a test of hand strength with Li Yifei.

Li Yifei couldn’t help but smile, holding the hand of Zhao Qingsong, curious to see what the young man was capable of.

"Hehe, Shanshan, be careful your boyfriend’s hand doesn’t get crushed," someone teased.

"That’s right, you know how strong Qingsong is. He’s trained in martial arts," another added.

"If you want to be Shanshan’s boyfriend, you’ve got to show some real skills. How else could it be?" they continued.

Xu Shanshan looked a bit nervous as she watched Li Yifei. She knew Zhao Qingsong had considerable hand strength, but she was unsure about Li Yifei. At that moment, she was truly worried he would be at a disadvantage. She had meant to warn Li Yifei moments ago, but it was too late, and now she hoped Zhao Qingsong would release Li Yifei. However, seeing Li Yifei’s consistently relaxed demeanor, she swallowed her words and her eyes shone with the same excitement as everyone else’s.