Prince charming, your persona has collapsed!
Chapter 835 - 344: Bro, They, They Want to Acknowledge Me as the Big Sister_2

"Now that my cousin is making big money outside, they're naturally even more eager to cozy up to him."

"Small towns are all like this—boring and full of hypocrisy."

Peng Xiaoyong voiced his true feelings.

Lu Wanting listened but only smiled quietly without much reaction.

At this moment, Peng Xiaoyong seemed to have too much pent-up frustration, so he pulled over a stool and sat next to Lu Wanting, chattering on about his own matters.

"Wanting, you know, when I graduated from college, I originally wanted to start working. But my mom wouldn't let me. She said I'm the only one in the family with high academic qualifications, and I needed to keep studying, to make a name for myself."

Peng Xiaoyong said he had missed out on a lot, but now he had finally graduated.

"Wanting, just wait and see. Three years. I promise, in less than three years, I'll carve out my own space in the world, and I'll make those who looked down on me take a good hard look!"

As Peng Xiaoyong talked, Lu Wanting was listening. But when he nervously reached out to hold her hand, she nonchalantly avoided it, as if it were all perfectly natural: "Oh, your brother's coming back."

Peng Xiaoyong turned around, only to see Zhou Yuwen stumbling toward them, looking drunk as he waved off relatives holding him from behind, saying, "I can't drink anymore, really, I can't."

"Uncles, Aunties, please let me go. You drink, you drink!"

After saying that, Zhou Yuwen helped close the door behind him.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Alcohol—it's really not something you should overdo. Even if you can hold your liquor, getting forced like that isn't fun.

Glancing at the kids' table of eating and drinking nearby, his gaze landed briefly on Lu Wanting who was watching him.

Peng Xiaoyong was slumped over the table, with redness visible beneath his eyes—another drunkard at the scene.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but laugh as he walked over, sat down, and said, "Cousin, you came out here dodging drinks too?"

Peng Xiaoyong pushed up his glasses and said nothing.

A few younger cousins, seeing Zhou Yuwen approach, were visibly excited. One young cousin darted toward Zhou Yuwen's arms: "Brother!"

Zhou Yuwen replied gently, "Good boy."

The cousin, only five or six years old, happily waved a red envelope in front of Zhou Yuwen.

He said, "That's nice."

"Who gave you the red envelope?"

"Auntie gave it to me!" The little cousin boasted proudly.

Zhou Yuwen peeked into the envelope and saw it contained three hundred yuan. "So envious," he said.

"I didn't even get one."

Peng Xiaoyong commented, "You're already an adult, still asking for red envelopes."

"I just turned eighteen," Zhou Yuwen said matter-of-factly.

Lu Wanting let out an audible chuckle: "What, they stop giving red envelopes once you turn eighteen over there?"

"Not really."

Actually, his relatives did intend to give him one, saying anyone unmarried was entitled to red envelopes indefinitely.

But Zhou Yuwen wasn't after those measly sums—it wasn't worth taking.

He munched on some fruit at the kids' table and then casually asked Liu Yilin to serve him a bowl of chicken soup.

Liu Yilin stood out among the younger group at the table, besides Zhou Yuwen and Peng Xiaoyong—the oldest. However, she was shy by nature, dressed in a clean blue school uniform, paired with black slightly flared jeans and white sneakers.

She sat quietly and properly.

Nearby, two younger cousins squabbled playfully.

Occasionally, they bumped into Liu Yilin.

But Liu Yilin simply frowned slightly, without saying a word.

She promptly stood up upon hearing Zhou Yuwen's request and served him a bowl of chicken soup.

Zhou Yuwen remarked with a sigh, "Our little cousin has grown into a proper young lady. Next year, it's off to college, and then you can start dating."

Liu Yilin blushed instantly, her face flushing a bright red, distinctly shy as she replied, "Mom says I'm not allowed to date in college."

"Don't listen to your mom's nonsense. If you don't date in college, you'll end up having to go on blind dates after graduation. The blind date guys—one's worse than the next. Then again, blind dates guys being incompetent probably still beats unreliable college boyfriends."

"Never mind. Just come study in Jinling. When the time comes, I'll find someone for you," Zhou Yuwen said half-jokingly, imagining from Liu Yilin's perspective that such a well-behaved girl couldn't help but end up being taken advantage of in any relationship. Better to keep her close and look out for her himself.

Lu Wanting couldn't help laughing at Zhou Yuwen talking in contradictions, then teased, "Guys in college are unreliable?"

"What about Susu? Are you reliable for her?"

Zhou Yuwen replied breezily, "I'm different; I'm special."

"Oh, please."

As a responsible older cousin, Peng Xiaoyong asked Liu Yilin whether those people from the KTV incident had been causing her trouble again.

Liu Yilin shook her head. "No, they haven't."

Peng Xiaoyong reassured her, "If they do, just inform the teacher. If the teacher can't help, get your mom to come to the school."

Switching gears, Peng Xiaoyong turned to Lu Wanting, criticizing the inherent flaws and loopholes in China's education system.

He talked about parents' apathy and schools' neglect being the main reasons why bullying persists among students.

Zhou Yuwen silently drank his chicken soup, refraining from chiming in, thinking to himself that bullying isn't unique to China—foreign schools suffer just as much, if not worse.

Drawing from the topic, Peng Xiaoyong shared his ideas about reforms, suggesting mutual oversight as a solution to change the situation.

Lu Wanting nodded as she listened, while Zhou Yuwen thought there was some merit in Peng Xiaoyong's points, but ultimately found them too difficult to implement.

You can't lay carpets across the entire world, so you can only wear shoes yourself.

Zhou Yuwen's philosophy was simpler: as long as his loved ones were safe from harm, everything else didn't matter.

Liu Yilin wasn't paying attention to Peng Xiaoyong's soapbox rant.

She glanced hesitantly at Zhou Yuwen sipping his soup, then gave in and spoke up: "Brother, actually, Zhao Rui sought me out once afterward."

"Who's Zhao Rui?" Zhou Yuwen asked curiously.

Liu Yilin couldn't help laughing. "She's that girl with dyed hair who hit me in the KTV."

"Oh, her," Zhou Yuwen recalled faintly, asking, "What did she want?"

Liu Yilin thought back to the cafeteria scene, her expression a mix of amusement and disbelief.

At this point, both Peng Xiaoyong and Lu Wanting looked up curiously, wanting to know why this girl sought out Liu Yilin.

Peng Xiaoyong went as far as to ask if she had threatened Liu Yilin again.

Liu Yilin quickly waved her hands, "No, no."

"So, what was it?"

Blushing slightly, Liu Yilin replied bashfully, "She... she said she wants to roll with me now... They want me to be their boss."

"Huh?" Lu Wanting broke into laughter, utterly caught off guard—such a dramatic twist!

Peng Xiaoyong adjusted his glasses and frowned, trying to make sense of the situation.

Stealing a glance at Zhou Yuwen, Liu Yilin spoke with a touch of pride and a bit of helplessness: "They're going around school saying my brother is a mafia boss with thousands of subordinates. And now, they want me to be their leader."

While she said this, Liu Yilin kept glancing at Zhou Yuwen. Lu Wanting and Peng Xiaoyong, unfamiliar with the real circumstances, naturally assumed it was just kids being silly.

And Liu Yilin added, "Zhao Rui even asked me for your WeChat, saying she wants to add you and treat you to a meal!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen smirked and said humorously: "I, a mafia boss with thousands of henchmen, have time for dinner with her? What a joke."