"So, your cousin's good friend's family is actually this well-off?"

"Is that really worth making such a fuss about?"

Dia glanced lightly at the girl beside her, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.

This distant, poor relative of hers had been making a scene ever since she heard that Merita's grandfather was a former president of the Federation, acting like she'd never seen the world.

Dia even regretted agreeing to her mother's request to personally show her around Du City during this vacation.

If she brought Cong Yu in front of Merita, she would inevitably be mocked.

Thinking of Merita's nasty habit of belittling people, Dia became less enthusiastic about the gifts she was planning to bring.

After casually ordering the latest luxury brand perfume from the online store, she closed her optical brain and looked at her cousin, Cong Yu, saying, "When I go to the party tomorrow, be careful when you go out shopping by yourself. Have the driver pick you up..."

"Cousin? Can't...can't I go?" Cong Yu looked at Dia with a crestfallen expression, opening her mouth and saying falteringly, "I...I promise not to cause you any trouble, I just want to see..."

As she spoke, she opened her innocent eyes and timidly asked, "Can I? Cousin?"

"Well...it's not impossible."

Dia almost slapped herself after saying those insincere words.

What was she thinking just now?!

Damn it!

She thought annoyedly, and glanced at Cong Yu, who seemed oblivious to her inner turmoil. She lowered her head, canceled the order she had just placed on the optical brain, and reordered two of everything.

"I'm warning you, Merita has a terrible temper, so don't get close to her! If you're unlucky enough to run into her, remember, no matter how nasty her words are, you just smile and nod, and then run away as soon as she's done talking!

Don't even think about bringing me up. Let me tell you, she's not like me, who had a good upbringing thanks to my father. If there's a real argument, I'd be too embarrassed to argue back, and I certainly wouldn't stand up for you, understand?"

"Is that young lady...really that bad-tempered?"

"Isn't she? She's been spoiled since she was a kid. Ever since her father died, her personality has become even more arrogant and eccentric. It's only because people like me pity her that they're willing to humor her, which has only fueled her arrogance.

Don't say I didn't warn you, don't mention her father or brother in front of her, or I won't care if you get beaten to death."

The more she spoke, the more animated Dia became as she looked at the girl in front of her, her words of belittlement becoming harsher with each sentence, the corners of her mouth rising higher and higher, her whole face twisting horribly.

Lost in her tirade about how awful others were, Dia naturally didn't notice how repulsive she herself looked at that moment, nor could she see the dark glint that flashed in the eyes of the so-called poor relative from the backwater planet.

...

"Huh? Your brother's not coming?"

"Wow, Merita, why are you making that face? If my brother can't come, isn't me coming almost the same thing? We have pretty much the same face, don't make your disgust so obvious, okay?"

Zhen Po had also received an invitation from Merita to the planetary resort. They had indeed had a good time playing together in the game, so Merita had casually mentioned it to them when she invited Wang Wenfei.

But at the time, the two brothers had been careless and didn't take it seriously.

As a result, not long after they returned home for the holidays, Zhen Hu received a high-paying tutoring job. After confirming that it wasn't a scam, and unable to refuse the generous offer, Zhen Hu immediately signed a contract and took off.

By the time Zhen Po received Merita's official invitation, he couldn't help but wear a mask of pain.

Merita's temper was definitely not good, but she was genuinely kind and sincere to her friends. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gotten along so well with Merita in the second half of the wilderness survival game.

However, remembering Merita's difficult personality when she was angry, Zhen Po felt a little flustered even looking at her projection now.

"You and your brother look pretty much the same, but your personalities are completely different, okay? If it wasn't for your brother, do you think you'd be able to play well with me?"

"Hey! Just because we're good friends, don't think I'll just take it when you insult me! If my brother and I didn't take pity on you for having so few friends and made an effort to include you, you wouldn't be able to find anyone to hang out with now! Don't you know how bad your temper is?"

"Do you think I want to play with you? Hmph! I don't mind telling you, I've already invited several other people to come along, I don't need you!"

"Okay, okay, you don't need me, right? I'm not coming!"

"You're really not coming?" Merita raised an eyebrow as she looked at Zhen Po's face, which was filled with emotions, in the video. She suddenly softened her tone and coaxed quietly, "Coming here is all-inclusive, with food, lodging, and round-trip transportation~"

Zhen Po: "..."

"I even brought my family's chef with me~ Wei Star's specialty seafood, whether eaten raw, grilled, or steamed, is incredibly delicious! Your brother has something to do and can't come, why don't you come out and have some fun?

In another two years, your vacations will be spent in the military, and you won't even be able to come out then!"

"Hmph! I'll come! I'll eat you into bankruptcy!"

"Okay, okay~ Remember to meet up with Fei Fei and take the same starship. You have to take care of her since she's a girl..."

After being lectured by Merita about how to take care of girls, Zhen Po quickly hung up the video. After hanging up, he immediately called his brother, who was working part-time, to complain about how much "suffering" he had to endure to help him decline the invitation.

"Sen Ye, Sen Xuan, hold your stances, I'll come over to check on you in a moment."

Zhen Po watched the two little dumpling faces flash by in the video. When his brother finally stood in front of a flower wall, Zhen Po couldn't help but laugh and said, "Bro! Didn't you say you were happy to be hired as a tutor? Hahaha, are you taking care of little kids?"

"What's wrong with little kids? I'm a tutor for little kids now."

Zhen Hu lowered his voice, looking around warily, then glared at his younger brother, "Make it quick!"

"Hey, hey, don't be so anxious, bro. I've already explained about Merita's invitation for you. In exchange, I have to make sure her little friend is comfortable along the way, right?"

"You?" Zhen Hu looked his thick-headed brother up and down, "What can you do?"

"Serve tea, pour water, fetch meals, carry bags, chat during the day, and stand guard at night."

"Wow, that's quite the service you're offering." Zhen Hu couldn't help but laugh, "How much food and drink did Merita bribe you with?"

"A table... Hey! No! I'm doing this for your own good, okay?"

"Hehe →_→" He knew his own brother well. He didn't believe a word of what Zhen Po said about making amends and working like a dog for him.

...

"Your pastry-making skills are really amazing~"

Mei Pu stood beside her husband, her eyes darting around as she watched Mu Chen, who had single-handedly taken over the kitchen to make pastries for the whole family. She clicked her tongue in wonder.

"Look at you, you can't do that~" Saying that, Mei Pu reached out and tugged on Ming Qi's clothes, her coquettish gesture catching the eye of her son, who was passing by with a cup of coffee.

Then, Ming Qi and his father saw their son look at them with disdain.

"You're both getting old, don't do that sort of thing in public." Ming Song sighed, putting on his old-fashioned persona and lecturing them, only to be met with disdain from his parents.

"Look over there, why don't you say that to them." Mei Pu pointed to the living room, where her grandparents were still being lovey-dovey, and her godparents were also being affectionate. As for her missing second uncle and aunt—oh, they hadn't come out of the bedroom yet.

Although they weren't present, their presence was still strongly felt.

Ming Song took a deep breath and looked at Mu Chen, who had worked tirelessly yesterday, shamelessly worming his way into their home and snagging a guest room.

He didn't expect that the man would declare himself a member of the family today and start making pastries for everyone.

Ming Song could already foresee that by this time next year, there would probably be a new pair of lovey-dovey fighters joining the ranks!

Perhaps, next year, he should just quietly sit in a corner and pet cats like his two great-uncles?