Shi Ruan continued, "I don't know the specific plans of Ji Chunsheng's company yet, but I think it's a meaningful activity. Since I'm on break and have nothing to do at home, I plan to participate."
Shi Li didn't oppose Shi Ruan going out to have fun and make friends - that was a good thing. She just didn't want Shi Ruan to have too much contact with Ji Chunsheng.
But she was only Shi Ruan's cousin, not her mother, so she couldn't restrict Shi Ruan's personal freedom.
Shi Li asked tactfully, "Don't you need to write teaching plans during the winter break, along with various other tasks? Will you have time for this activity?"
Shi Ruan broke into a shy smile, "Ji Chunsheng can help me write them."
Shi Li was speechless - who was actually teaching this class anyway?
She finally just said, "Be careful when you go out, and don't trust your boyfriend too much. No matter how close you are, you should always maintain some caution."
Shi Ruan laughed and ruffled her sister's hair, "I know, little mother hen."
That evening, Huang Jie and her husband came to the family home for a reunion dinner.
Though it wasn't a special occasion, whenever the whole family gathered, it was considered a reunion meal.
Shi's Grandmother was very happy, as elderly people love nothing more than seeing their descendants all together.
Shi's Grandmother was looking forward to the New Year. Her most worrisome youngest son had returned home, the troublesome Hong Yan wasn't around, and all her grandchildren had found partners.
Life was getting better and better.
After dinner, Shi Li's family of three sat at the old house for a while, chatted briefly with their uncle's family, then went home.
On the way home, Shi Li recalled what Youngest Uncle Shi had said about Hong Yan after dinner.
Shi's Grandmother had always hoped her son would divorce that human trafficker and find another wife - she didn't care about the woman's family background, only her character. But her foolish son was stubbornly determined not to divorce, as if he had swallowed an iron weight.
Moreover, he would visit Hong Yan in prison every so often. Youngest Uncle Shi had just visited her that day.
With the New Year approaching, Youngest Uncle Shi was worried about the poor conditions in prison and had specially brought some personal items, hoping the prison guards would secretly pass them to Hong Yan.
However, the guards followed regulations strictly - if it wasn't allowed, it wasn't allowed.
So Youngest Uncle Shi had to bring back all the clothes and food he'd brought. He could only see Hong Yan through the glass and chat with her briefly.
During her time in prison, Hong Yan had aged considerably, with many white hairs appearing and numerous wrinkles on her face.
In just three months without seeing her, she looked like she had aged more than five years.
Youngest Uncle Shi felt very sorry for her.
When he mentioned this to Shi Li after dinner, it was because he knew Shi Li was close to Song Ying. He hoped Shi Li could talk to Song Ying about writing a letter of forgiveness, since Hong Yan was already so pitiful, to help her get out of prison early.
Though Youngest Uncle Shi didn't say it directly, Shi Li understood his meaning perfectly.
Shi Li pretended not to understand her uncle's hint and didn't respond.
However, on the way home, she relayed her uncle's words to Song Ying - not to persuade her to write a letter of forgiveness, but to let her know Hong Yan's current condition and make her feel better.
Song Ying had been so busy studying lately that she'd forgotten about Hong Yan and her hatred.
Only when Shi Li brought it up did she remember, but it was actually a good thing for her.
The fatigue from long hours of studying instantly vanished, and Song Ying felt she could do ten more sets of practice papers.
Shi Li wanted to tell Song Ying about Hong Yan's biological daughter but feared upsetting her, so she kept quiet.
She had heard about it from Shi Ruan that afternoon - out of misplaced affection, Youngest Uncle Shi had been regularly using his salary to support Hong Yan's biological daughter since Hong Yan's imprisonment.
Youngest Uncle Shi lived in the old house for extended periods, and since Shi Ruan often came home for meals and stayed over, she would occasionally hear grandmother scolding her uncle for being shameless.
Because Youngest Uncle Shi gave his monthly salary to support Hong Yan's daughter, it was like throwing money into a bottomless pit. When Shi's Grandmother found out, she was furious.
Shi's Grandmother didn't dare let her eldest son and daughter-in-law know about this, but they actually already knew. Even without Shi Ruan's gossip, being as shrewd as they were, they had long known about Youngest Uncle Shi secretly supporting Hong Yan's daughter.
However, out of respect for Shi's Grandmother, they didn't make a big deal of it.
Besides, Youngest Uncle Shi was still behaving himself otherwise - they considered it a small price to pay to keep their mother happy.
If this issue caused a rift and Youngest Uncle Shi cut ties with the family, Shi's Grandmother would be the most worried.
Shi's Grandmother was over eighty and had suffered a serious illness in the summer.
Not wanting to trouble Shi's Grandmother over such minor matters, everyone pretended not to know.
After learning about her uncle's financial support to Hong Yan's daughter, Shi Ruan specifically asked her friend about the daughter's current situation.
After Song Ying's return, Xu Xinxin was "expelled" from the Xu family.
Though they called it expulsion, the Xu family handled it gracefully, probably due to their years of connection, and didn't ask for reimbursement of the money they'd spent on her over the years.
They even paid her high school tuition and overseas homestay fees until she came of age.
If Xu Xinxin had returned to school and studied properly, it could have been a good path for her.
But she didn't. After dropping out, the future years' tuition was naturally returned to her.
The homestay fees that Mr. and Mrs. Xu had paid were also substantial, calculated at the highest standard, and Xu Xinxin took all of it back.
These two sums were considerable, and together with her unspent allowance, it would have been enough for ordinary people to live luxuriously for several generations.
However, Xu Xinxin had developed an addiction, and for those involved with such things, no amount of money is ever enough.
Combined with her naturally extravagant spending habits, this money was quickly squandered.
During this time, without parental supervision, she became particularly unrestrained, and her addiction grew worse.
When the money ran out, she couldn't leave the drugs, and she couldn't possibly get a job.
So she thought of approaching Madam Xu, knowing Xu Xing was hard-hearted as a man, she specifically went when he wasn't home.
Madam Xu indeed had a soft heart and, seeing how thin she had become, transferred her some money.
But she somewhat regretted it, worried that Song Ying would be upset if she found out, and mentioned it to her husband when he returned home.
Xu Xing's expression immediately darkened, and he strictly forbade any further assistance, ordering the security guards to never let her into the house again.
When Xu Xinxin tried to visit the Xu residence a second time, she was stopped by security, who refused to let her in no matter what and said some harsh words.
Being proud by nature, Xu Xinxin never went back again.
She changed her target for begging money and started asking Youngest Uncle Shi for money.
She had tried it as an experiment, not expecting to actually get any money, but from then on, it became unstoppable.
However, Youngest Uncle Shi's monthly salary was only six thousand yuan, far from enough to support a drug habit.
Shi Ruan heard from friends that she started frequenting nightclubs, hanging around at chaotic gatherings, mooching off others.
Her current lifestyle was extremely chaotic, with some things so disturbing that Shi Ruan didn't tell Shi Li to protect her younger sister's innocent mind.
Shi Li roughly knew she wasn't doing well, relying on Youngest Uncle Shi's support (though a salary of 6000 yuan couldn't possibly support her habits).
