“I thought you were going through puberty a few years ago, which is why you disliked our parents,” Cheng Liu asked him. “But now you don’t want to have anything to do with me?”

“I just have a problem with them.” Cheng Gui glared at Cheng Liu and said angrily, “They wouldn’t even spend money to send you to junior high, so why are they being nice to us? They treat you like a cash cow, can’t you see that?”

Cheng Liu took a moment to react before asking, puzzled, “Just because of this?”

“Isn’t this enough? You want them to let you arrange a job for me and buy me a house?” Cheng Gui said viciously. “Be careful, or I’ll bleed you dry for the rest of my life!”

“…” Cheng Liu was speechless for a long time before slowly saying, “What are you thinking about all day? The night before I decided to take the high school entrance exam directly, our parents borrowed money from relatives to pay for the transfer. I thought it was too wasteful, otherwise where would you have gotten your ice cream?”

“What?” Cheng Gui was stunned. “I clearly heard the neighbor next door say that our parents told you to stop studying.”

“You believe what that neighbor says?” Cheng Liu clicked her tongue. “They don’t like us and they just talk badly about us.”

“Then Mom and Dad only took my second sister and me to study in the county, they didn’t take you.” Cheng Gui had suspected for a long time that Cheng Liu wasn’t their biological daughter.

“Oh, that.” Cheng Liu said with a hint of pride, “Because you two are too stupid, that’s why you need to go to a better school to enlighten yourselves.”

Cheng Gui: “…”

“What do you do for a living in S City?” Cheng Liu looked him up and down, then casually shifted the topic, “He Bai said you’re homeless.”

Cheng Gui gritted his teeth and pointed to his employee badge. “I have a job!”

“Where?” Cheng Liu asked him.

“At…” Cheng Gui suddenly said, a little deflated, “a real estate agency.”

Cheng Liu tugged at Cheng Gui’s cheap suit. “What are you wearing? It looks like something a dog would throw up. I don’t think your agency is any good either.”

“You’re not dressed much better either.” Cheng Gui looked up at Cheng Liu’s clothes. “This suit of mine costs three hundred yuan.”

Cheng Liu chuckled and said, “My hoodie costs over two hundred, my pants cost a hundred, and my socks cost ten yuan a pair. All together, it’s more expensive than yours.”

Cheng Gui was speechless: “…Isn’t this your clothes from last year?”

“You talk too much.” Cheng Liu put her hand on her brother’s shoulder and led him to the living room. “I’ll take you to buy some nice clothes tomorrow. I heard that a food testing institute is hiring. Why don’t you go check it out?”

Cheng Gui studied food safety.

“Don’t use back channels,” Cheng Gui said, frowning. “I haven’t found any food testing institute hiring anyone.”

“What back door? They went through several rounds of written tests and interviews. I saw it on my WeChat Moments before.” Cheng Liu reminded him, “Having more channels to get information doesn’t count as using back doors. The rest you have to earn yourself.”

As soon as Cheng Liu entered the living room, the aroma made her hungry, so she quickly sat down.

This time, Cheng Gui sat next to Cheng Liu, while He Bai and Ji Chaozhou sat together.

He Bai served Cheng Gui some food, saying, “It’s best to talk things out. Come on, have some more food.”

Cheng Liu praised her sweetheart, “These were all made by Chaozhou, they must be delicious!”

He Bai turned to the side, pushed up his glasses, suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, maintained his refined and handsome appearance, and smiled, “This is everyone’s credit.”

Ji Chaozhou didn’t serve food to anyone, only Cheng Liu kept serving him food.

“Why do you think your parents are treating Cheng Liu like a cash cow?” Ji Chaozhou suddenly asked Cheng Gui across from him.

“Huh?” Cheng Gui looked up and stared blankly at Ji Chaozhou, speechless for a long time. From before they entered the door, he hadn’t dared to look Ji Chaozhou in the eye; he was too dazzling.

Assistant He, dressed in an expensive suit and wearing a watch worth millions, might at most make Cheng Gui feel that they were not from the same class, but Ji Chaozhou made him feel that they were from different worlds.

“It’s a misunderstanding,” Cheng Liu interjected.

Ji Chaozhou glanced at Cheng Liu indifferently. “I want to hear what he has to say.”

The Cheng siblings subconsciously put down their chopsticks and straightened their backs.

“I must have misunderstood before,” Cheng Gui explained somewhat awkwardly.

Ji Chaozhou looked at Cheng Liu. The version he had heard before was clearly the one she had embellished. He had always thought that Cheng Liu didn’t want to waste money, so she directly took the high school entrance exam. He never thought that her family couldn’t afford the transfer fee.

Cheng Liu on the other end of the line didn’t seem sad at all, and even started to boast. “That bottle of Coke sparked my interest in the internet. The development of Shenyin today is inseparable from the older brother who drank my Coke back then. It was because of the audio he downloaded that I was able to get into the top high school in the city.”

Ji Chaozhou lowered his eyes; she always did this.

Sometimes, it was hard to tell which of her words were true or false.

No, that wasn’t right. Cheng Liu didn’t like to lie. She was just good at using words to cover up key information. If no one asked, she wouldn’t answer.

“I visited a few car companies today, I’ll send them to you tomorrow once I’ve compiled the information,” He Bai said from the side.

“Okay, just send it to my email. As for the details…” Cheng Liu thought for a moment, “I’ll tell you again at four o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”

He Bai paused with his chopsticks: “Are you buying a suit for your younger brother? I happen to know a good bespoke tailor shop.”

“I don’t need such a nice suit,” Cheng Gui refused. “Anything will do.”

Cheng Liu agreed, “Just buy a nice outfit for the interview, it doesn’t have to be particularly expensive.”

“Then I’ll go with you. I have experience with suits,” He Bai said with a smile.

Cheng Gui subconsciously turned to look at his sister, while Cheng Liu stared longingly at Ji Chaozhou across from her.

“Mm,” Ji Chaozhou replied, holding his chopsticks.

Cheng Liu then continued to eat happily.

At the entire dining table, only Cheng Gui remained clueless: What ‘mm’?

If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: The title refers to an auspicious, legendary tree that sheds money when you shake it. It became a metaphor for someone/something that easily gives out money—’cash cow’ is a good English equivalent. It’s not inherently derogatory (but it could be); it’s often neutral or even positive, such as when referring to a company’s key product (Super Mario to Nintendo, for example).

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