Chapter 5: Severe Imbalance in Family Status

Li Xiao scooped out a small bowl of rice and explained, "This is my student, Shen Yuan. He lives downstairs."

Then Li Xiao turned to Shen Yuan: "Shen Yuan, this is my sister, Li Meng."

"Hello."

Shen Yuan nodded and raised his hand in greeting.

Although the two were sisters, their personalities were completely different.

Li Meng gave a faint "Oh," and even knowing he was her sister's student, her expression remained cold, her eyes maintaining a defensive posture.

The atmosphere changed, and Shen Yuan became more reserved, deliberately waiting until Li Meng had washed her hands and sat down before starting to use his chopsticks to pick up food.

Meeting for the first time, he didn't want to leave a frivolous impression on his counselor's sister.

However, he hadn't expected that the two sisters' personalities were truly worlds apart. During the meal, Li Xiao asked Li Meng a few caring questions about her work, but she only responded to her sister with indifference.

One was warm and considerate, the other cold and aloof.

What's more, Li Meng kept her guard up against Shen Yuan, glaring at him several times while taking small bites of her food. Her gaze was like that of a mother beast protecting her cub.

?

"Besides standing close when taking off the apron earlier, I don't think I did anything to your sister, did I?" Shen Yuan complained inwardly.

The feeling of being suspected wasn't pleasant, and even though Shen Yuan had thick skin, he couldn't sit there any longer.

Usually able to eat two bowls of rice, today he only had one before putting down his chopsticks: "Counselor, I'm full. I'll head home now. You two enjoy your meal."

"You're only eating this much? There's still plenty of rice in the cooker," Li Xiao looked up at him in surprise.

"I have a small appetite. One bowl is enough for me. I'll be going now. See you at school!"

"Alright, be careful going downstairs."

Li Xiao got up to see him out. After watching Shen Yuan go downstairs, she closed the door and returned to the dining table to reproach her sister: "What were you doing just now? Why did you keep looking at my student like that?"

"He has ulterior motives," Li Meng said coldly.

"What nonsense are you talking about? He's just my student."

"Believe it or not, him coming to your home alone late at night definitely isn't innocent. And the way he looks at you isn't right either."

Li Meng was a flight attendant who encountered all kinds of men on planes every day. She trusted her judgment of men.

Some men appeared serious but would secretly look at her and her colleagues when they weren't paying attention.

Some were even worse, secretly taking photos with their phones.

And some men were even more shameless, directly asking for contact information.

Thinking of those men's lewd expressions made Li Meng sick. They were all just thinking with their lower bodies!

"There you go again with your old problem. I know you're wary of all men, but you can't view them all the same way."

"I'm never wrong about men. You need to learn to be discerning at school too," Li Meng said firmly.

"I know."

Li Xiao didn't know what to do with her sister. Ever since that incident, she had completely lost trust in men. Li Xiao sighed inwardly and began clearing the bowls and table.

Li Meng stood up to digest her food. As a flight attendant, maintaining her figure required not only controlling her food intake but also paying attention to her daily posture.

However, she happened to notice a new handbag on the coffee table.

"Sis, did you buy a new handbag?"

Li Meng picked it up casually. It was an exquisite black handbag with a soft, comfortable touch and perfect stitching. When she turned it over to the front, she discovered that the clasp actually had an LV logo.

"No, it was given to me by the student who just came over," Li Xiao replied while washing the dishes.

"He gave you an LV bag?" Li Meng found it hard to believe.

"He said it's a high-quality replica, just over two hundred yuan."

"Oh."

She rarely bought such luxury handbags and couldn't tell if it was genuine or a replica. Li Meng thought it made sense, he lived downstairs and probably wasn't wealthy, so he couldn't afford to give such an expensive bag.

But was it appropriate for a student to give his teacher a handbag?

Combining this with the scene she had just witnessed, Li Meng became even more convinced that this student named Shen Yuan had ulterior motives.

"I told you this student doesn't have good intentions. Why else would he randomly give you a handbag?"

Li Xiao had finished washing the dishes by now and was drying her hands with a towel. She came out and explained helplessly, "It's really not what you think. Today..."

Li Xiao explained the whole story to her sister, and logically it made sense, but Li Meng still felt something was off. She firmly believed in her first instinct.

This Shen Yuan was bold and shameless, definitely trying to seduce her sister!

By now, Shen Yuan had returned home, unaware that Li Meng had labeled him a pervert. If he knew, he would definitely protest vigorously.

How could I possibly be that kind of person!

"Dad, Mom, I'm home," Shen Yuan called out loudly as he pushed open the door, just as he always did.

"You're back, so you're back. Why shout so loudly?" The middle-aged woman sitting on the sofa watching TV scolded him without hesitation.

"Hehe, I'm just greeting you," Shen Yuan was used to his mother Li Hongjuan's attitude and didn't think much of it. After all, he had long been the person with the lowest status in the family.

"Mom, I haven't eaten yet. Is there any food at home?"

Shen Yuan patted his stomach. He had only eaten one bowl of rice at Li Xiao's place upstairs and felt like something was missing in his stomach.

"In the refrigerator. Heat it up yourself." Li Hongjuan pointed toward the kitchen with the remote control, somewhat impatiently.

"Leftovers again?" Shen Yuan was a bit unwilling. "Why don't we cook something new? Your son rarely comes home."

"Cook it yourself!"

Faced with his biological mother Ms. Li's attitude, Shen Yuan sighed silently. Indeed his own mother, since his mother wasn't willing to comfort her son, he had to do it himself.

Actually, Ms. Li hadn't started treating him this way just after the family went bankrupt. It had been like this ever since his sister Shen Xuan was born.

When Shen Yuan was young, his grades were poor, and he was mischievous, often causing trouble. Li Hongjuan had been called to school by teachers countless times.

Each time she was criticized and told to take him home for proper education, making her unable to hold her head up whenever she went to school.

In contrast, Shen Xuan had been sensible and considerate since childhood, always thinking of her parents, a perfect little darling.

Moreover, her grades were excellent. Now in her senior year at Xingcheng No. 2 Middle School's experimental class, she had a chance at getting into Tsinghua or Peking University. Every time Ms. Li attended a parent-teacher meeting, she walked with her head held high.

With such a pair of children, was there any reason not to favor one over the other?

Fortunately, Shen Yuan was used to it. If Ms. Li suddenly started being nice to him one day, he would actually feel uncomfortable.

The door creaked open again, and a middle-aged man who looked somewhat similar to Shen Yuan walked in, though he was slightly overweight and shorter.

"I'm back."

"Oh, Old Shen is back. Haven't eaten yet, right? I'll heat up your portion together with mine," Shen Yuan said cheerfully when he saw his father, Shen Heping.

"Son, why did you come home today?" Shen Heping was a bit surprised because their home was a two-bedroom apartment with no room for his son, so Shen Yuan usually lived at school.

Shen Yuan grinned, "I just missed you guys."

"Good, good." Shen Heping nodded with satisfaction, putting down his briefcase and instructing, "Since our son is home, ask your mom to cook a couple of dishes. Let's have a good drink together, father and son."

Shen Yuan's gaze instinctively fell on Li Hongjuan. If his mom was willing to cook, he wouldn't have to eat leftovers.

As expected, Li Hongjuan sat motionless on the sofa, not even bothering to turn her head: "If you want to drink, cook it yourself. Spoiling you two!"

The father and son exchanged an awkward smile, then both turned away.

Shen Yuan continued heating the food, thinking that his family status hadn't continued to decline only because there was no more room to fall. However, his father's status in the family had truly dropped to a terrifying low.

Shen Heping was open-minded. Since his wife wasn't willing to help, he rolled up his shirt sleeves and walked into the kitchen to busy himself alongside his son.

However, since he rarely cooked, Old Shen didn't know where to begin. In the end, Shen Yuan took out a potato and a piece of meat from the refrigerator.

"Let's just make a simple dish of shredded potatoes with meat."

Although Li Hongjuan was harsh with her words, she was soft-hearted. She put down the remote control with a "bang" and walked into the kitchen with disdain: "Get out, both of you! You can't even cook properly. What use are you two!"

"Thanks, Mom! Sorry for the trouble!" Shen Yuan grinned, put down the potato he was peeling, and dashed out of the kitchen.

In the living room, Shen Heping offered Shen Yuan a cigarette. Shen Yuan didn't smoke much usually, but since he rarely came home, he decided to join his father for one.

He was about to light it when Shen Heping shook his head: "Your sister doesn't like the smell of smoke. Let's go to the balcony."

Shen Yuan felt speechless. Rarely coming home, he still ended up being disappointed.

It was one thing for Ms. Li to favor his sister, but even Old Shen was a daughter-doting father. Keep in mind that it was the son who had just been battling alongside him in the kitchen!