After finishing a game, Qin Tian's phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was his uncle's number, so he quickly answered.
"Hello!"
"Tian Ge, Tian Ge, something's gone wrong!"
The voice on the other end wasn't his uncle's, but Tang Wen's.
"What's up?" Qin Tian asked, looking confused.
"My dad and grandpa are throwing a fit. One is grabbing a broom to hit Uncle Fu, and the other went to the kitchen for a cleaver. What should I do? I don't dare to stop them!" Tang Wen explained in a panicked voice.
Beside her, Zhang Peng, who had been eavesdropping with his head poked out, was stunned. He quickly retracted his head, pretending he hadn't heard anything. As an outsider, it was better for him not to get involved in such matters.
"Heh, serves him right. No need to stop them, why would you?" Qin Tian said with schadenfreude.
"No, Grandpa looks serious. We're all terrified," Tang Wen said, even more anxiously.
Qin Tian was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected his usually good-tempered maternal grandfather to be so fierce. But thinking about it, it made sense. Any father in this situation would blow up.
"Third Uncle, Third Uncle, let's talk things through. Put down the broom."
"Right, right, Third Uncle, please don't be impulsive."
"Talk about what? What is there to talk about? You, with the surname Qin, get out of here! You're not welcome in our house."
The voices of two older cousins trying to mediate, along with his uncle's angry roar, could be heard from the phone.
"Brother?" Tang Wen called out again when Qin Tian didn't respond.
"There's no use calling me. I won't get involved. He'll have to fend for himself!" Qin Tian said calmly.
Just then, his grandfather's formidable voice boomed, "Damn it! He made my daughter suffer so much, and he still wants to come into my house? Come here, and see if I don't kill you!"
What followed was a scene of utter chaos. Even from his end of the phone, Qin Tian could sense how dramatic things were unfolding. Finally, his mother's piercing shout temporarily brought the situation under control.
"Auntie is still the most powerful. Brother, are you really not coming?" Tang Wen asked in a low voice.
"No," Qin Tian flatly refused. Since his mother was there, nothing serious would happen, and his presence would only complicate matters.
"Brother, can you pick me up and take me to play? I'm standing here trembling!" Tang Wen pleaded in a soft, pitiful, and helpless tone.
"Let's talk about it after they've discussed things properly!"
"No, wait. I'll sneak to the village entrance later. Can you drive and pick me up? Please? It's too scary here. I want to go play with Nuan Nuan jie."
"Alright, I'll drive over then." Qin Tian reluctantly agreed. He only had this one sister, and in a couple of days, she'd be gone for almost a year, so he might as well fulfill this small request.
"Oh, oh... Thanks, Tian Ge. You're the best." Tang Wen thanked him ecstatically.
"Xiao Wen, what are you doing there? Who are you talking to? Come here!" His uncle's scolding voice came from the background.
"It's a classmate's call. Coming, coming," Tang Wen replied hurriedly, then whispered, "Brother, I'll hang up now. See you later." With that, she hung up the phone.
Qin Tian put away his phone with a wry smile and said to Zhang Peng, "I have something to do, I have to go. You play by yourself!"
"Oh, oh, you go ahead. Hao Ge will be here soon, and I'll wait for him." Zhang Peng said with a smile.
"Then I won't turn off this computer. I'm leaving," Qin Tian said as he stood up.
"Mhmm, mhm!" Zhang Peng nodded.
After Qin Tian had walked a few steps, he suddenly called out.
"Tian Ge!"
Qin Tian stopped and turned, looking at him with a confused expression.
"If you want to have a drink or grab some skewers or something, just find me anytime. I'm free these two days!" Zhang Peng said with a grin.
Qin Tian nodded with amusement and turned to leave.
...
...
After driving to the village entrance to pick up Tang Wen, who had secretly slipped away, Qin Tian drove back to Yucheng.
"How's it going?" Qin Tian asked casually, glancing at Tang Wen sitting in the back.
Tang Wen leaned on the seat and replied with a smile, "So far, so good. Grandpa and the others are making your dad explain everything..."
"It's not my dad!" Qin Tian interrupted her.
"Then, then the one surnamed Qin?" Tang Wen ventured.
Qin Tian didn't commit.
"Anyway, the atmosphere is still quite tense, but with Auntie there to keep things in check, the communication is going relatively smoothly. However, I don't think Grandpa or my dad will easily forgive... that person surnamed Qin!" Tang Wen said seriously.
Just then, Tang Wen's phone rang. That's right, she had a phone too. Her uncle only let her bring it during holidays, not when she was at school.
"It's second cousin," Tang Wen said, glancing at the caller ID and pouting.
"Answer it!"
"Mhmm!" Tang Wen agreed and answered the call.
"Hello, Heng Ge!"
"Xiao Wen, where are you? Where did you go?"
"I'm going to Yucheng to play with Nuan Nuan jie. I'm on my way."
"Ah? How did you get there?"
"Tian Ge is picking me up. We're already on our way."
"Holy cow, what the heck? You snuck out without telling me? Hurry up, come back and give me a ride!" Tang Heng said anxiously.
"No, you should stay there. If they start arguing, you can help break it up," Tang Wen refused without hesitation.
"Xiao Wen, you can't do this! It's hard for me to stay here too. Give the phone to your Tian Ge, quickly, quickly."
"Ah? What did you say? I didn't hear you. Oh no, the signal is bad."
Under Qin Tian's astonished gaze, his cousin skillfully feigned ignorance, hung up the phone, and then turned on airplane mode.
"Who taught you all this?" Qin Tian asked, amused.
"On TV," Tang Wen stuck out her tongue, smiling like a cunning little fox.
"You watch too much of that kind of drama," Qin Tian rolled his eyes.
"We can't bring him along. It's fine if I sneak out alone, but if I run off, Dad and the others will be angry."
"You're such a little smarty-pants."
"Hee hee..."
At this moment, second cousin's call came to Qin Tian's phone and was transferred to the car's system.
"Xiao Wen, you dare to feign ignorance and hang up on me!" As soon as Qin Tian answered the call, second cousin's furious voice immediately came through.
"No, my signal was really bad just now," Tang Wen feigned ignorance again.
"Heh heh!" Tang Heng sneered, ignoring her, and said, "Little brother, turn around and come back to pick me up!"
"We're almost there, I'm not going back," Qin Tian refused.
"Don't do that! I'm also very scared here. You don't know how scary Grandpa looked when he was holding the cleaver." Tang Heng said bitterly.
"He wasn't going to cut you, so what are you scared of?"
"You weren't there, how would you know? Hurry up, come back and take me with you."
"Not taking you. Hanging up!"
"Don't be like that, little brother, please."