บท 13: Family Gathering

Qing Yue woke at first light and entered the washroom.

"Light." The lights came on at the sound of her voice.

She undressed and walked towards the automatic showers. On detecting her body heat, the shower immediately came on and the temperature of the water adjusted to her body temperature.

"Brush." A toothbrush floated towards her and Qing Yue opened her mouth, allowing the machine to clean her teeth as she showered.

Her long hair was difficult to wash, the thick, sleek strands sticking to her body as the showerhead squirted shampoo and conditioner. But Qing Yue had enough practice. She gathered them together and rubbed thoroughly before she wrung them out and rinsed.

The automatic brush cleaned every corner of her teeth, bending and stretching as it scrubbed the back teeth and the top ones.

Once it was done, a flush replaced it and dispersed lavender mouthwash. Qing Yue closed her mouth and gurgled before spitting the mouthwash and setting out of the shower.

Sensing her absence, the automatic shower immediately turned off and the brushing tools retracted and retreated to their stations.

"Vrooom!" The automatic blow dryer descended from the ceiling and clamped on her hair, sucking her wet hair into its belly and drying it at leisure.

CareRobo wobbled in and sprayed a facial cleanser and moisturizer on her and applied a smudge of eyeliner and lip gloss.

"Thank you, Su Ji."

"You're welcome, Princess." The CareRobo wobbled out and the hairdryer lifted, retracting back into its nest above.

Qing Yue took a few steps and raised her arms, and a purple towel wrapped around her body.

Clean and dry, she walked out of the bathroom and entered her walk-in closet.

The lights immediately came on without her saying a word and a rack of clothes, in different designs and colors, swirled around her.

"Princess, what would you like to wear today?" The voice came from the ceiling, its soothing and gentle tone resounding in the bedroom-size closet.

"Su Wan, uncles and cousins will be coming over today. I need to wear something that'll be acceptable for a family gathering."

"Alright, Princess. Give just a second." The racks of clothes began to shuffle around, the formal and casual separating into two different lines.

Qing Yue waited patiently as two more lines of clothes in white and black appeared before her.

"Princess, I picked these clothes according to your preferences. They should be acceptable for your gathering."

"Thank you, Su Wan. Keep the white ones. I feel more comfortable in black."

"Yes." Once the white clothes shuffled back, Qing Yue looked through the rack of black dresses, skirts, skirt pants, and blouses.

There wasn't a single pair of jeans or a short skirt in her wardrobe. As a person who grew up in a conservative era where dragging dresses were the norm, Qing Yue wasn't able to adjust to the century's style of clothing.

As such, there were only floor-length dresses and skirts in her entire wardrobe.

But this was also how she'd become President Yue of the YueTian group. In her desire to craft and design clothes that fit her preference while conforming to the trending style, she'd ended up attracting President Tian's interest.

Qing Yue selected a black floor-length skirt and a long-sleeved blouse with airy arms. She quickly changed into the clothes and stood before her Queen-sized mirror.

Her obsidian black hair, though dry, was in coils, the knots looking like she hadn't brushed it in days. Qing Yue picked up a purple brush and untangled the coils, straightening the silky strands until they naturally shined and swayed in the air-conditioned room.

"Did I overdress?"

She checked her appearance in the mirror. The black blouse and skirt matched well with her ink-black hair. Combined with her snow-white complexion and purple eyes, she looked as if she were dressed for a date rather than a family meal.

And this was when she'd tried to keep her presence low.

"Even though it's late, uncles and cousins are coming over to celebrate my birthday. If I show up in grey again, Aunt Hong will start her tirade again." Sighing dejectedly, Qing Yue turned away from the mirror and picked up a random purse from her collection.

With the advancement in technology, aside from holding make-up tools, the purses had no other uses. And Qing Yue's every purse contained the same brand and design she regularly wore.

She opened her door and proceeded to the spiral stairs. Her foot had barely fallen on the first step when the sounds of laughter and excited chatter came from the golden door.

"Haha...Brother-in-law, where's Qing Qing?" The feminine voice of one of her aunts sounded and her Dad's cold voice replied.

"She should've just woken up. She'll be down in a minute."

"They're here already?" Qing Yue blinked in surprise.

Didn't Dad say they'd be here for dinner? But it was only breakfast now!

"Brother-in-law, Qing Qing will finally be an adult. As elders, we couldn't contain our excitement and arrived early. I hope you don't mind our early intrusion."

"No, Sister-in-law. Qing Qing will be glad to see you all."

Qing Yue was still descending the stairs when her Dad and the group of aunts, uncles, and cousins entered the Main Hall.

So much for a quiet breakfast.

With another deep sigh, she descended the last steps and headed towards the Main Hall.

Yei Yi had just woken up when she heard the commotion outside in her room. Getting off the bed, she came out in her pajamas to have a look. The instant her sight fell on the forms of the expected guests, she hurriedly returned to her room.

"I need to get ready quickly, otherwise, Qing Yue will steal all of their attention." She went to her dressing table and dashed into the bathroom with her skin-care kit.

Unlike Qing Yue, she didn't have any CareRobo to help her with makeup, but her shower and other bathroom utensils weren't any lower. Within the span of a few breathes, she got her hair done and put on a black strip-less below knee dress.

She checked her appearance in the body-sized mirror and applied eyeliner and a pink lip gloss.

"Yei Yi, you have to catch the eye of one of those cousins. This is your ticket to a life better than a servant's daughter." Smacking her lips together, she twirled and left the room in a joyous mood.

Qing Yue took a deep breath and entered the Main Hall.

A middle-aged female in red immediately stood up and walked over.

"Qing Qing, you're finally here! Come, let Aunty Hong see how beautiful you've become."

She held her hands and warmly scanned her face, her eyes overflowing with love and affection as she looked at Qing Yue. From her loving expression, one would mistake her for Qing Yue's mother instead of her husband's niece.

"Hello, Aunt Hong." Qing Yue embarrassedly greeted, baffled at the unexpected warmth of the other.

She hadn't even seen the woman once in the past five years, so where did the deep love and affection come from? Was she going through a phase?

"Little Qing Qing, you met your Aunt Hong. Aren't you going to meet your Aunt Si?"

"Why just Aunt Si? Aunt Mei is here as well."

"Your Aunt Gu..."

"Let Aunt Rui see..."

What's going on? Why are these Aunts more enthusiastic today than my previous birthdays?

Is the 18th birthday really that special?

Suddenly surrounded by a flock of fawning and over-affectionate aunts, Qing Yue felt her head spin from the mixture of perfumes and noisy chatter.

"Alright, alright. Stop crowding the kid, will you? Qing Qing, come to Uncle Wei. Otherwise, your Aunts will suffocate you to death." At this time, the gruff voice of a laughing middle-aged man resounded from the far end of the hall.

Qing Yue raised her head and saw the teasing look in her Uncle Yan Wei's eyes as he looked at her.

"Yes, Uncle Wei." A natural smile graced her lips and Qing Yue's eyes lightened as she looked at the man. Her mother's eldest brother, it could be said that her Uncle Wei was the only person that loved her purely without any hidden agendas.

"Aunts, please excuse me. I still haven't greeted the Uncles." Grateful for the timely rescue, Qing Yue turned to her frowning aunts and gently disengaged herself.

"But Qing Qing...!" Aunt Hong didn't want to let her go so quickly. She still hadn't brought up the matter she'd approached the girl.

"I'll see you after greeting the Uncles, okay?"

"Hmm...that works as well. Okay, Qing Qing, you go and greet your Uncles. We'll chat with you later, okay?"

"Yes, Aunt Hong. Please, excuse me." Excusing herself for the second time, Qing Yue slightly bowed her head and gracefully stepped out of the throng.

Her Uncle had rescued her at the perfect timing, otherwise, Qing Yue was certain that she would've fainted from the poignant perfumes.

"Uncle Wei, Uncle Bo." Qing Yue bowed to the Uncles from her mother's side and turned to her father's brothers.

"Uncle Wu, Uncle Fang, Uncle Wang."

"Haha...Qing Qing, don't be so formal with us. Come, sit next to Uncle Wei." Yan Wei patted on the couch beside him and Qing Yue shyly sat down next to him.

"Qing Qing, you've grown into a beautiful lady. Your Uncle Wu isn't ready to see you marry off." Uncle Wu, the fifth of the Li Family Young Masters and one of her father's close brothers, scrutinized her from head to toe before nodding in approval.

"When there are capable young men in the family, why do we need to marry Qing Qing off? Li Heng will..."

"Haha... the fifth brother is right. When there are capable young men in the family, there isn't any need to marry Qing Qing off. Just as it happens, Li Mu is about the same age as Qing Qing."

Qing Yue stiffened. Her Uncle Fang and Uncle Wang weren't beating around the bush. They made their intentions explicitly clear. They wanted Qing Yue to marry one of their sons.

It was only now Qing Yue saw the light and her confusion about their early arrival and her Aunts enthusiastic greeting cleared.

No wonder...

Qing Yue bowed her head, her gaze fixed on the floor as she let her mind wander and blocked herself from the discomfiting conversation.

"Uncle Wu, Uncle Fang, Uncle Wang! It's been so long since I last saw you. I missed you!" At this moment, Yei Yi entered the Main Hall and excitedly ran over. She bowed to Qing Yue's Uncles from her mother's side before sitting next to Li Wang, the second Li Family Young Master.

"Uncle Wang, how have you been?" Voice gentle, eyes warm, Yei Yi politely inquired after the middle-aged man's health.

"I'm well, thank you." Uncle Wang looked confusedly at Yei Yi, apparent from his expression that he didn't recognize the girl.

"Uncle Wang, you don't remember me? I am Yei Yi, your cousin Li Su's daughter."

"Ah! Yei Yi, right?...hahaha...you've grown as well." Li Wang carelessly remarked. He didn't remember the girl, so what was the point of acting familiar?

He doesn't even remember me? I just met him last year! The baffled expression in Uncle Wang's eyes made her heart twitch. A dark light flashed through Yei Yi's eyes and her gaze shifted to Qing Yue.

Similarly dressed in black, the girl's fair skin and ink-black hair made her look ethereal and noble as she peacefully sat with her head slightly lowered and a restrained smile on her lips.

Yei Yi clenched her fist and looked back at the middle-aged man with a soft smile. Her eyes were clean and clear, without a hint of the earlier gloom.

"Uncle Wang, you look just as handsome and charming as last year." She brightly said.

"Haha...what a sweet talker you are." The bafflement dispersed from the Second Li's eyes and he familiarly patted Yei Yi's head. At this moment, whether he remembered the girl or not, didn't matter. The fact that she considered him handsome and saw him last year proved that he should know her.

Thinking like this, Second Li amiably chatted with Yei Yi, whose clenched fist slightly relaxed.

At least the flattery still works.

Yei Yi relaxed visibly and started interacting with other uncles, her gentle demeanor, graceful manners, and soft smile soon won the hearts of the Li brothers.

'Truly a well-raised girl'

They all internally thought.

"Qing Qing is here already?"

The bright voice of a young girl resounded from the study entrance, and Qing Yue lifted her head to see Yan Bi, Li Wei, and the other cousins enter the Main Hall with her Dad.

Pushing to her feet, Qing Yue visibly hesitated before greeting her Dad.

"...Dad."