Has the Little Money-Grubber Saved Enough for a 'Wife Fund' Today? - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

On the dining table, Long Xi spoke to her mother in a frantic, conspiratorial tone: “Sister has officially entered battle mode. Aside from that year of the financial crisis, I’ve never seen her this organized.”

Shen Zaiqing deeply agreed. She looked at her and asked, “Hey, let me ask you—what’s the attitude on Sister Mumu’s end?”

Long Xi stroked her chin, feigning a look of profound wisdom. “To be honest, I can’t read her either.”

“I feel like Sister Mumu has changed a lot since returning to the country. Do you think she got her heart broken by my sister, and now she’s just playing with her to vent her frustration? Maybe she’ll just keep this ‘love me or leave me’ cold attitude from now on.”

Shen Zaiqing slapped her hand away, saying with disgust, “Your hands are oily; go wipe them clean.” She disagreed with her daughter’s take: “I think there’s definitely a spark between them.”

Long Xi grinned, revealing her true thoughts. “I think so too! I’m a total shipper of those two.”

Shen Zaiqing grumbled, “Then why did you say all that just now?”

Long Xi replied, “Those were the surface appearances. I was just describing the scene. You can’t just look at the surface; you have to dig deeper. Now you’re hearing my actual conclusion.”

Thinking of the clever idea she had come up with, Long Xi excitedly asked her mother, “Ma, Ma, Ma, do you think my sister can actually wake up tomorrow?”

Shen Zaiqing put on a look of deep consideration, but after pondering for quite a while, she still didn’t have a definitive answer. She said, “I don’t know.”

She felt like she could, but also felt like she couldn’t.

When it came to the matter of sleep, their Mimi was full of too many uncertainties.

“I’d say it’s fifty-fifty,” Long Xi proposed. “Why don’t we make a bet and see who guesses right?”

She insisted her mother choose first: “Ma, you pick first, and I’ll take the opposite.”

Shen Zaiqing couldn’t be bothered to bet with her. Seeing that she had finished eating, she cleared the plates and bowls. Remembering something, she put on a serious face and reminded her: “Don’t make fun of your sister.”

“Help her out a bit more.”

Long Xi hopped off the stool, gave her mother a ‘no problem’ gesture, and then put her hands behind her back, pacing with the posture and tone of a weary old soul: “Since I’ve been back these few days, I’ve already prepared myself to burn like a candle to light their path.”

“Leave everything to me.”

She stopped by the dining table, grabbed one of its legs, gazed at it affectionately, and said with full confidence: “I’ll aim to get this settled before the New Year. I’ll make sure the money you spent on this big table wasn’t a waste.”

Shen Zaiqing didn’t believe a word of it.

Despite saying they wouldn’t bet, both the adult and the child were awake before six o’clock the next morning. They hovered by the door, wanting to go out but not daring to, only daring to listen for movement from a distance.

Shen Zaiqing whispered to Long Xi, “Why do you think your sister didn’t ask us to wake her up?”

Long Xi was back in her dragon cub form, clinging to the doorknob with her body suspended, her ears and dragon whiskers pressed firmly against the door.

She listened intently, taking a moment to answer: “Maybe she’s immune to our voices. Alarms are probably more effective.”

“If the alarms can’t wake her, should we go in and call her?”

Long Xi said, “That’s a good question. But if the alarms can’t wake her, the two of us probably won’t have much luck either. How about this: if the time comes and she’s still not awake, we rush in. One of us grabs her shoulders, the other grabs her legs, and we toss her into the car and deliver her straight to Sister Mumu. Let Mumu see her in her pathetic state; let her lose all face so she won’t dare sleep in next time.”

What a terrible idea. Shen Zaiqing said gloomily, “Let’s hope the security guards don’t arrest us.”

Long Xi was holding Shen Zaiqing’s communicator, speaking to Long Xin on the other end: “Ma, Ma, Ma, are you there? What’s your take on your eldest daughter’s life-long happiness?”

Long Xin was exhausted and severely sleep-deprived. She hadn’t gone to bed until three o’clock last night, and this was not her usual wake-up time. She had been jolted awake by Long Xi’s barrage of messages.

Letting out a huge yawn, Long Xin said slowly, “I think your sister can make it up.”

With one minute left until 6:20, Long Xi was incredibly excited: “The alarm is about to go off!”

Shen Zaiqing knew Long Xin had official business today that wouldn’t end until very late. Every extra second of rest now meant a bit more energy later, so she wouldn’t feel as miserable tonight.

Shen Zaiqing quickly snatched her communicator back, refusing to let Tietie disturb her other mother anymore.

She used to call her “Tietie” (meaning ‘close/intimate’) because she wanted a sweet little girl; now she felt she should rename her “Naonao” (meaning ‘noisy/rowdy’), as she was the most boisterous one in the whole family.

Last night, instead of sleeping in her own room, she insisted on squeezing in with her mother under the guise of a “heart-to-heart talk,” and even sent provocative videos that made Long Xin furious.

By comparison, Mimi had been such an obedient child when she was little.

The sound of an alarm came from the next room. The dragon cub hanging on the doorknob lifted her hind leg and nudged Shen Zaiqing’s arm, pulling her back from her memories.

Shen Zaiqing patted her head, wondering what she was so irrationally excited about.

The alarm rang for the tenth time, yet there was still no movement in the next room.

Long Xi didn’t know exactly how many alarms her sister meant by “setting more,” but she was getting anxious. She desperately wanted to rush next door and shake her sister awake.

If she thought it would work, she would have done it without hesitation.

Unfortunately, for her sister, the only way to truly wake up was if she wanted to wake up herself.

“Don’t be impatient, give her a little more time.” Being two halves of a whole, Shen Zaiqing thought the same as Long Xin—she believed Long Xuan could do it.

She knew her daughter cared about that person. she knew there must be a system—perhaps immature but worth a try—of mental triggers in her head.

This was a person and a matter she cared about; she would spare no effort to tear through the cocoon that obstructed her.

The final alarm finished ringing, and the room fell into a long silence.

Just as Long Xi was about to question if they had failed, the sound of shuffling slippers came from Long Xuan’s room.

Long Xi excitedly tugged at Shen Zaiqing’s sleeve, her words tripping over themselves: “Ma! I want sugar cakes for breakfast! Put lots and lots of sugar inside, lots and lots…”

Shen Zaiqing swatted her away with a palm and walked calmly to the kitchen to make breakfast.

She didn’t even look at the time. Steaming a couple of buns and boiling a few eggs would be enough—easy to pack if there wasn’t time to eat.

A mother knows her daughter best. By the time Long Xuan walked out fully dressed, it was nearing 7:20.

And her Mimi still looked like she hadn’t fully woken up.

Shen Zaiqing asked as usual if she wanted a packed lunch. Long Xuan, with her eyes half-closed, nodded and allowed Shen Zaiqing to hang a plastic bag containing buns on her wrist.

Usually, it went on her right hand, but today her right hand was clutching a black hat—clutching it very tightly. Shen Zaiqing could only hang the items on her left wrist.

Shen Zaiqing reminded her: “Heading out? Did you bring your car keys?”

Long Xuan nodded dreamily.

Shen Zaiqing knew she would feel much better once this initial grogginess passed, but seeing her child with sleepy eyes and a hazy consciousness still made her heart ache a little.

Long Xi sauntered past, reminding her sister that she’d be late if she didn’t leave soon.

In fact, she had just chatted with her boss and knew that Mu Yiyan was already dressed and waiting at the entrance of their complex. Whether it was because of urgent work or a desire to see her sister sooner, Mu Yiyan would likely ask for an update in a few minutes.

The two residential areas weren’t far apart; driving took only ten minutes.

However, the path from the front door to the garage proved a bit difficult for her sister.

Long Xi dialed Mu Yiyan’s number, soothing her impatient boss while explaining the reason for her sister’s slowness.

She covered the mouthpiece of the communicator, her head poking out of the small door for a real-time broadcast.

“My sister has left the house—literally.”

“Unfortunately, she walked in the wrong direction. How could she go wrong? Our apartment is Unit 01; the other side is just a wall. The elevator isn’t even over there.”

“Okay, after feeling the wall, she realized her mistake. She’s adjusted her direction and is walking steadily toward the elevator.”

“Oh! She tripped on her slipper! Her head hit the wall… I wonder if that knocked her awake.”

“She’s awake! She successfully found the elevator button. She’s in the elevator now!”

Shen Zaiqing wondered if Mumu would be understanding of her daughter’s potential lateness after hearing that explanation. After listening to it herself, she really wanted to kick this gloating little dragon cub out the door.

And once Long Xuan had exited the elevator, Shen Zaiqing did exactly that.

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