Chapter 170: Girls Need to Be Realistic

Having just casually tossed her phone onto the pillow, she seemed to recall something. When she answered the call, it felt like she had seen something extraordinary.

Full of doubt, she picked up her phone once more.

Her eyes suddenly widened...

!!!!!!

For the first time in her life, she had received so many red envelopes that her hands went numb.

Her mom, her dad, the three tightwad roommates in her dorm, her young aunt and uncle, and several other relatives from her family. Last of all, Song Chenyi had actually sent her 8,888!

Wahahaha.

So he knew all along.

After claiming all the red envelopes, she thanked everyone once again.

Beaming with joy, she headed to the bathroom.

While washing up, she looked at her WeChat red envelope balance, which had multiplied several times over.

New Year's is simply the best—!

Early on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Song Chenyi drove Luo Yixia to her hometown.

The grandmother's health was not too great, making her unsuitable for long car rides, and Song's parents also needed to visit relatives, so they agreed to go next year instead.

Luo Yixia finally got her wish and boarded the car.

The drive from here to City T took five or six hours. The journey was quite lively, with her phone ringing almost nonstop. First, Song's parents called, and shortly after, Yu Wenjing called again.

It was all the same routine: reminding them to drive safely or asking how far along they were.

Last night, Song Chenyi had even been pulled aside to be lectured for over an hour. Luo Yixia didn't know the exact details, but she had a pretty good idea.

"Last night, what did my mom, dad, and grandma say to you?" Luo Yixia asked knowingly, a mischievous grin plastered across her face.

"What do you think?" Driving the car, Song Chenyi couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Hahaha, are you nervous about meeting your future parents-in-law later?" Luo Yixia teased.

"If I remember correctly, your parents seem to like me even more now."

Luo Yixia was left completely speechless by Song Chenyi's remark. She really had a talent for touching a raw nerve.

Anyone with eyes could see how biased Yu Wenjing was toward him. As for her dad, who had previously stood firmly on her side, heaven knows what smooth words Song Chenyi had used to make him switch allegiance.

From time to time, her dad would even call or text to ask how Song Chenyi was doing—though thankfully, he hadn't messaged her much lately.

Yet yesterday, Luo Yixia accidentally saw that her dad had sent Song Chenyi an even larger red envelope than the one he sent her, with a chat history longer than her own. It turned out he had stopped checking in on her and started doting on him instead.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Luo Yixia felt a bit bored. What else could she do? Eat, of course.

By the time Luo Yixia was gnawing on her second roasted duck, Song Chenyi had reached his limit.

"You've had about enough, stop eating."

"I've only eaten one roasted duck, one pear, two bananas, one chicken foot, and two sausages," she said, putting on a pitiful expression.

"Open the window, the smell is too strong," Song Chenyi said, switching tactics.

"No way, it's too cold with the window open," Luo Yixia shook her head firmly.

Song Chenyi: "..."

Could he kick her out of the car right now?

It was already twelve o'clock when they arrived in City T.

"We should be there in about an hour," Luo Yixia patted her stomach, feeling like she was getting hungry again.

She reached behind her and pulled out a carton of milk.

"Do you want some?" Luo Yixia asked, sipping her milk.

"No."

"My family has quite a lot of relatives, so... try not to mind too much," Luo Yixia mumbled indistinctly.

"Okay."

Luo Yixia glanced at him and said nothing more.

In truth, she didn't really want Song Chenyi to visit her home.

Wretched as she considered herself to be, she always wanted to present her best side to Song Chenyi.

Her home wasn't as clean and straightforward as Song Chenyi's family environment.

She had spent her childhood living in the countryside, staying with her grandparents until her parents brought her to City A after she started primary school, and later moving next door to his family.

While every family might have a few eccentric relatives, Song Chenyi's family simply didn't.

She worried he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Even though her grandmother had only given birth to her father, she was surrounded by neighbors and townspeople who were all distantly related in some way.

Step outside, and you'd run into a junior aunt or a junior uncle; anyone older than her was a cousin of some sort.

In recent years, her father had done quite well in City A, finally buying a spacious house and a nice car. Every time they went back, all the relatives would swarm over.

Every single one of them was green with envy, unable to bear seeing others do well.

It was almost one o'clock when they reached the township.

Luo Yixia had been giving directions all the way.

Fortunately, the village had paved its roads long ago, and the paths were quite smooth.

"At this fork, turn in and just go straight," Luo Yixia pointed to the intersection ahead.

A row of small white poplars was planted along the roadside.

With the new rural construction initiatives in recent years, the environment in the countryside was genuinely lovely.

The mountains were green, the waters clear, and the scenery picturesque.

"I just texted my mom, and she said she's waiting for us at the entrance of the village."

"Can the car drive directly in?" Song Chenyi was actually visiting the countryside for the first time, and it wasn't the dirty, chaotic mess he had imagined.

In fact, the environment was much better than in the city.

"There's a reservoir here, we can come fishing," Luo Yixia pointed toward the reservoir by the roadside.

The water was a deep blue, mirroring the rolling green mountains, the clear blue sky, and white clouds like a giant mirror.

Suddenly, a car drove toward them from the opposite direction.

Song Chenyi slowed down and steered closer to the right side of the road.

However, the oncoming car refused to yield any space.

The right side of the road was very narrow, and a moment of inattention could send them tumbling into the reservoir.

The person in the opposing car stuck a hand out, signaling for them to move further right.

Song Chenyi didn't move. The other driver must have been in a hurry to leave.

With a sudden step on the gas pedal, the driver prepared to pass on the left lane. Meeting cars on rural roads was already inconvenient enough.

Yet Song Chenyi had already left plenty of room.

On the left side was a mountain slope with quite a bit of open space.

Then came a sharp "screech" sound, accompanied by a jolt of the car.

Song Chenyi and Luo Yixia exchanged glances—they had collided.

"Stay in the car, I'll go check," he said, opening the door and stepping out.

A white Volkswagen had scraped against the rear end of Song Chenyi's car.

"Can you even drive?!" The other driver cursed as he climbed out of the car.

The driver was a painfully thin middle-aged man in his fifties.

Seeing that the driver was a gentle-looking young man in his early twenties, the man's temper flared even higher, and his voice grew louder.

"How old are you even? Driving a car out here—if you don't know how to drive, stay off the road! With so much space, how did you manage to hit me?" Despite his skinny frame, his roar was full of vigorous breath.

Calmly, Song Chenyi took out his phone and snapped a few photos. "You hit me."

"You're saying I hit you just because you claim so? Your car was blocking the way!" The driver was aggressively arrogant.

"My car was completely stationary when we passed each other. You scraped us due to a misjudgment of your own clearance, so you are entirely at fault. I suggest you contact your insurance company, or we can have the traffic police handle it." Lowering his head, Song Chenyi looked at his phone, preparing to text his dad about the car incident.

After all, the car belonged to his father.

The male driver was slightly stunned by Song Chenyi's logical words; it seemed he really would be held entirely at fault under these circumstances.

At that moment, a woman stepped out of the car. She had a head of curly, dyed-red hair, was short and rather heavy-set, and wore a white down jacket that made her figure look even more bulky.

She started yelling the moment she emerged. "Are you dead? How can you let some punk bully us? Make him pay!"

As if reminded by her, the driver immediately chimed in, "We both bear some responsibility for this scratch. Just give us two thousand yuan so we can call it a day and settle this privately."

"Getting a Volkswagen's paint touched up costs around a thousand yuan at most. Besides, for a scratch this small, three or four hundred is more than enough," Song Chenyi said, glancing at the damaged areas of both cars.

His own car was worse off, with several deep scratches, but the Volkswagen only had a bit of paint rubbed off.

"Why do young people nowadays speak so harshly? What's wrong? Looking down on a Volkswagen? Who knows what kind of cheap brand your car is—who do you think you're looking down on?" Hearing Song Chenyi's words, the woman planted her hands on her hips and stepped forward.

Song Chenyi frowned slightly.

Inside the car, Luo Yixia found it increasingly difficult to sit still. The moment the woman started speaking, she realized how familiar that voice sounded.

Gently pushing the car door open, she stepped out.

The moment she saw the bickering couple, she wished she hadn't come out at all.

Finally, she bit the bullet and walked over with trembling steps.

"Second Uncle, Second Aunt."

The young girl called out softly, and the couple turned their heads to look.

"Eh? Xiaxia, why are you here?" asked the man addressed as Second Uncle.

"Oh, I'm heading home," Luo Yixia walked over to Song Chenyi's side.

"Xiaxia, do you know him?" Second Aunt piped up.

"My boyfriend, we came to visit Grandma and Grandpa today." Luo Yixia hesitated for a brief second before blurting it out.

"Oh, since we know each other, let's just drop it. A scratched paint job is no big deal," Second Uncle suggested, wanting to let it go.

"What nonsense are you talking about? So what if we know each other? Xiaxia, we can't just let this go. Even true brothers must settle accounts clearly. We aren't asking for much, just a thousand yuan so we can get it repainted, and then we'll call it square."

Song Chenyi remained silent, looking at Luo Yixia.

Luo Yixia truly didn't want to deal with her Second Uncle's family. They were only distant relatives to begin with, and Second Aunt was typically mean-spirited and loved taking advantage of others.

"Second Aunt, why don't we just contact the insurance company, or call the traffic police? Besides, this wasn't our fault," Song Chenyi finally stood his ground. He had no choice; he had to leave a good impression, after all.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, Second Aunt's expression changed.

Just as she opened her mouth to retort, Luo Yixia's phone rang.

"Mom?" Luo Yixia answered the call.

"We've arrived, we're by the reservoir. Um... Song Chenyi's car got scraped, and it's with Second Uncle..."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Yu Wenjing immediately said, "You guys stay right there, I'm coming over now."

They were only a few steps away from the village entrance anyway, but who would have thought they'd have such terrible luck right here.

Of all the cars in the world, they just had to scrape against each other.

"Forget it, let's just let it go," Second Uncle tugged at Second Aunt's sleeve, but she violently shook him off.

The group stood waiting for Yu Wenjing to arrive.

Second Uncle looked at Song Chenyi and asked, "Xiaxia found a boyfriend so quickly? Where is he from?"

"City A," Luo Yixia replied.

"Xiaxia goes to college in City A, right?"

"Mm."

"Xiaxia, don't blame Second Aunt for speaking bluntly. Your dad has managed to open a company these past few years, and though people don't care as much about matching social status nowadays, you shouldn't just pick any random boyfriend. A girl still needs to be realistic. Cars like BMWs and Mercedes are the way to go; even a Volkswagen is better than this thing." As she spoke, she leisurely glanced at Song Chenyi's car logo, wondering what kind of English words were written on that red emblem.