Chapter 181: The Favorite in the Family
After finishing breakfast, Lin Muqing helped clean up the dishes, then sat with Mother Ye to chat and watch some TV.
Father Ye called Ye Ziming over again, like he had something to talk about. Lin Muqing watched quietly but didn’t ask. This time, though, their talk didn’t last long. Soon after, she saw Father Ye changing into a suit, grabbing a briefcase, and heading out the door.
Even though it was the holiday season, not everyone could take time off. And Lin Muqing had her own issue to deal with, her school homework.
“Boss~”
“Hm?”
“This question is so hard~”
“Then just do the easy ones first.”
“Emmm… but I’m hungry.” (pouts)
Ye Ziming put down his pen, turned to look at Lin Muqing who was lying on the desk, and then looked at his phone. He had been working on his own homework all morning and through the afternoon. As for Lin Muqing, sadly she was stuck doing homework under his strict supervision for the entire day.
“Wuwuwu…”
Lin Muqing lay slumped over the desk, tilting her head to look pitifully at her good buddy while making cute little whining sounds. She was trying to get his attention, hoping he’d look at her and maybe go easy on her.
An entire afternoon went by, and Lin Muqing felt super wronged, because not only did her good buddy make her do homework, he also took away her phone!
“We’ll stop here for today.”
Ye Ziming let out a small sigh, tidied up his own homework, stood up, and walked over to Lin Muqing.
Originally, he had planned to keep going for a bit longer. It wasn’t even evening yet, and there was still time before dinner.
But when he saw how pitiful she looked, he softened a little and handed her phone back.
“Yes!!”
Lin Muqing immediately came back to life at full power when she got her phone back. She jumped up from her chair in joy. <(@"v*@)/
Ye Ziming just smiled warmly and didn’t say anything. He quietly helped put away her homework. By now, the excited little kitten had already run off and was fully focused on playing with her phone.
It was clear she had developed a strong dislike for homework. The moment she got the chance, she ran off without even wanting to pick up her pens. After cleaning everything up, Ye Ziming sat next to her and played with his phone while gently stroking her like a cat.
Time skipped to the evening. Lin Muqing followed her good buddy downstairs, planning to help Mother Ye make dinner again. But just then, two people entered through the front door. Ye Ziming’s older brother, Ye Zizhuo, and his sister, Ye Mengze.
Ye Zizhuo had just returned from studying abroad so he could better take over the family business. He was now going to learn from their father how to run the company.
“Big Brother.”
She greeted him simply. Whatever her good buddy called him, she would call him the same. Lin Muqing thought that was easy enough.
This older brother looked quite a bit like her good buddy, but his vibe wasn’t so cold. He seemed a lot more friendly. When he heard Lin Muqing call out to him, Ye Zizhuo smiled and called her “sister-in-law,” then took a gift box out of his bag.
“Thank you, Big Brother.”
Seeing the gift box handed to her, Lin Muqing didn’t act shy. She accepted it happily and thanked him politely.
“Mm.”
Ye Zizhuo smiled and nodded. After quickly looking her over, he turned to glance at his younger brother.
The look on his face clearly said, ‘Well done, little bro.’
When Ye Ziming saw the look his older brother gave him, he glanced back calmly. His eyes seemed to say, ‘Of course.’
Ye Mengze’s reaction was similar to Ye Zizhuo’s. Seeing Lin Muqing at their house, walking around naturally in casual home clothes, both siblings were surprised. At the same time, they had to admire Ye Ziming’s efficiency.
Then, when they saw Lin Muqing following Mother Ye into the kitchen to help prepare dinner, the two siblings were even more shocked.
“Mom, let me help you,”
During dinner prep, Ye Mengze, now changed into comfy home clothes, smiled and offered to help her mom in the kitchen.
But to her surprise, Mother Ye immediately rejected her and even kicked her out.
“Go play somewhere else! I tried to teach you before, and you didn’t want to learn. All you’ll do now is get in the way…”
Standing at the kitchen door, Mother Ye scolded Ye Mengze. Clearly, she had been holding this in for a while.
“Look at her, and then look at you. Can’t even cook, how are you going to get married?”
She directly compared her daughter to Lin Muqing, praising Lin Muqing for being sweet and well-behaved, while telling her daughter to learn from her.
But as a mom, she still cared about her daughter’s feelings, so she didn’t speak loudly, only loud enough for the two of them to hear.
“Mom, is she your daughter, or am I?”
After hearing the lecture, Ye Mengze pouted and muttered, feeling a little wronged. She peeked through the kitchen doorway and saw Lin Muqing wearing an apron, standing in front of the stove, tasting the soup with a spoon.
She didn’t seem to notice what was going on behind her. After tasting the soup, she added a bit more salt, then turned on the gas stove, poured in oil, and got ready to stir-fry the vegetables.
“Ugh… I wish she were my daughter.”
Following her daughter’s gaze, Mother Ye also looked at Lin Muqing in the kitchen. Then she turned to her daughter and said this with a smile, one that was clearly full of favoritism.
After that, Mother Ye ignored Ye Mengze and went back into the kitchen to give Lin Muqing a hand and teach her a few tips.
“I’m doomed. I’ve been replaced…”
Looking at the two in the kitchen, Ye Mengze suddenly froze like a statue.
She had originally come home with the mindset of watching the drama unfold after hearing that her little brother was bringing his girlfriend over. She had even imagined Lin Muqing coming to her for advice. After all, meeting the parents is a big deal.
But what she didn’t expect was that Lin Muqing not only got their parents’ approval easily, but also stole her spot as the “favorite.”
To be fair, Ye Mengze should’ve seen it coming. Everything Lin Muqing had done so far showed she was no ordinary girl.
With that in mind, Ye Mengze slowly turned her head to look at her older and younger brothers chatting on the sofa.
Somehow… she had a bad feeling her peaceful days were coming to an end. Especially because her older brother looked like he was really enjoying the show.
“Dinner’s ready!”
After stir-frying the last dish and setting everything on the table, Father Ye returned home with his briefcase. The family slowly gathered around the table for dinner, though Mother Ye and Lin Muqing were still in the kitchen wrapping things up.
“Big bro… I’ve got a bad feeling.”
Sitting at the dining table, Ye Mengze looked at Lin Muqing, who was now taking off her scarf, and then at Ye Ziming, who remained calm as ever. She leaned toward Ye Zizhuo and whispered:
“What’s wrong?” Ye Zizhuo looked confused and replied in a low voice.
“Look at our sister-in-law. She’s not even officially in the family yet, and she’s already super likable. And Mom and Dad didn’t react weirdly at all!”
“Mm… So?”
“So I bet, later tonight, Mom’s going to tell you to go find a girlfriend too… and she’s definitely going to use her as the standard.”
“…?”