After Qin Tiantian finished speaking, she stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Ji Fei, heading towards the main building.
"Who is Little Yi?" Ji Fei asked with curiosity.
"Little Yi is Aunt Mao's daughter, the same age as me. We went to the same elementary school and were really good friends," Qin Tiantian said cheerfully, skipping along.
Ji Fei didn't give it much thought, just asking out of passing interest.
With the arrival of Uncle Qin's family, the atmosphere in the house finally felt like a proper celebration for the upcoming birthday.
Qin Tiantian was genuinely charming and lovable, even her traditionally rigid grandfather couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. She truly lived up to her title as the family's little princess.
When they returned to the youth wing in the evening, only Qin Tiantian followed along. She seemed to have an endless stream of words and boundless energy.
As soon as she appeared, Aunt Mao showed up too, immediately bringing her favorite desserts. The treats for the other young masters and ladies were much less attentive, consisting of repetitive ordinary varieties.
Naturally, no one compared themselves to Qin Tiantian.
Qin Tiantian happily went to fetch her gifts and then chatted with Aunt Mao privately at the table.
"Where's Little Yi? Isn't she coming?" Qin Tiantian asked, puzzled.
Aunt Mao quickly replied, "Oh, we're just servants. How could a servant bring their family to play at their employer's home? She's not worthy."
Qin Tiantian immediately frowned, "But she's my friend! What's the harm in inviting a friend over? My family is very nice, no one will care."
Aunt Mao's expression stiffened slightly. "She still has work to do. She really doesn't have time to come over."
Qin Tiantian was shocked. "What? Work? But according to the school system here, isn't she supposed to be in her final year of high school?"
"Oh, she's not ambitious. She wasn't good at studying, so she dropped out after middle school and started working," Aunt Mao waved her hand dismissively.
Qin Tiantian was even more astonished. She clearly remembered that Duan Yi used to love studying. She had said that since her dad and brother didn't like her, she wanted to study hard and become someone useful, so that everyone would like her.
Back then, Duan Yi was even better at studying than she was. Although Qin Tiantian went abroad during middle school, they occasionally kept in touch over the phone, and every time they talked about studying. Even though their contact eventually fizzled out, Qin Tiantian always thought Duan Yi wouldn't give up on continuing her education.
Qin Tiantian was a kind-hearted girl, so she started imagining scenarios—perhaps it was because of the patriarchal mindset, and Duan Yi's dad and brother forced her to drop out and work to support her brother. But that didn't make sense either, since Aunt Mao worked for the Qin family and earned a good salary. Supporting two kids through university should have been no problem at all.
Qin Tiantian couldn't understand, but she had her own plans. She pestered Aunt Mao until she gave her the phone, and then secretly looked up Duan Yi's current contact information.
She quickly got in touch with Duan Yi. From Duan Yi's surprise and distant tone, Qin Tiantian sensed the long absence had created some awkwardness between them. She invited Duan Yi to come over, gave her a gift, and thought that if they met, she could help Duan Yi with any difficulties she might be facing.
She had often helped Duan Yi when they were young, so she didn't think much of it. She believed that if she had the means to help a friend, she shouldn't hesitate.
Afterwards, Qin Tiantian mentioned to others that she invited Little Yi to come over. Naturally, no one had any objections, since this was Qin Tiantian's home, and she could bring whomever she wanted.
However, Qin Tiantian then suggested that they all go to the amusement park together, the youth version, which was usually frequented by Qin Weiwei and Qin Xi while the adults politely declined.
In the end, Qin Jiaxi and Qin Rong, who couldn't resist the invitations, were included in the plan.
The next morning, Ji Fei came downstairs and found two people in the living room arguing.
"Who let you come here?"
"What, did I come to embarrass you? It's Qin Tiantian who invited me."
"You... she was just being polite."
"Does a young lady like her need to be polite with a small fry like me? I know you adore Qin Tiantian. In your eyes, she is a hundred or a thousand times better than me. You like her more than your own daughter. But, Mother, do you have to treat me like a disease carrier and keep me away? Every time she comes back, you don't even tell me. I've been saying for years that I want to see her, but you go out of your way to keep me in the dark. Is meeting her really going to bring her any harm? She's of a higher class, I'm of a lower class, so I'm not even worthy of meeting her, right?"
Ji Fei, who was eavesdropping at the corner of the stairs, was thoroughly entertained. She had always thought this aunt was a bit strange, and now she understood—she really didn't like her own daughter. Treating the employer's daughter like a princess while despising her own daughter. Well, in some ways, it was a manifestation of a snobbery.
Ji Fei couldn't help but peek over.
She saw a girl with a fairly charming appearance, but her clothing was... truly poor, standing there with a furious expression, questioning Aunt Mao.
This made Ji Fei curious. After all, the Qin family paid their staff well. It really shouldn't be so bad that the daughter of the house looked like she came from a slum.
Aunt Mao was sweating, looking anxious. Finally, she looked at Duan Yi with a mixture of grievance and helplessness, saying, "She's a young lady who is adored to the utmost, born with a silver spoon. You... you just can’t compare. Our families are on different levels, so you two could never be friends. I’m doing this for your own good!"
Duan Yi, seeing Aunt Mao's expression, softened a bit at heart. "That's my business."
Seeing that her daughter was determined to stay, Aunt Mao had no choice but to persuade her patiently. "Then, after you take the gift and exchange a few words, leave. You're off today, but the house still needs cleaning, your dad and brother still need to eat, and..."
As Aunt Mao spoke, Duan Yi's expression grew darker, almost glowering at her.
Aunt Mao's face stiffened. "The house still relies on you. Mom... mom has no choice. There's still work here, or else I would definitely help you."
Duan Yi's eyes reddened with grievance. Aunt Mao, however, could only look at her with an apologetic expression, as if she herself were so innocent, so powerless.
Ji Fei had accidentally witnessed a slice of Duan Yi's life.
She was also a pitiful girl.
So that's how it is. The parents remarried each other. Aunt Mao was unmarried and pregnant at the time, and then she married a man who had a son. However, the husband turned out to be good-for-nothing, lazy, and fond of gambling, with only a silver tongue that could sweet-talk. The family's main income depended entirely on Aunt Mao, while the son brought by the man was also lazy, spending all day playing games at home, and is still mingling around in vocational school.
Duan Yi, however, is ambitious. She's always been a good student, and was originally qualified to go to high school. But at that time, just when that son caused trouble and needed to pay compensation, the family didn't have any spare money due to these two father and son. Even borrowing from other members of the Qin family, they could only help the son solve the problem, while these two father and son firmly disagreed to continue supporting Duan Yi’s education. And this muddle-headed mother surprisingly agreed.
Incredible! She's her own daughter, yet with the money she earned, she destroyed her daughter's future for the sake of the man and his son. No wonder the relationship between this mother and daughter is so strange. Listening to their conversation earlier, it seems that things aren't just like this at home...
Qin Zhao and Qin Rong, who had just returned from the main building with a group of people, heard their sleeping sister-in-law's thoughts.
What? Just gone for a moment, and already such a tragic drama?