The next day, Yao Tang had just finished classes when she received a call from her grandmother.

“Yao Tang,” her grandmother’s doting voice echoed from the other end of the line. “Uncle Yao’s family is coming over from the countryside. They’re waiting for you at the school gate and would love to invite you over for dinner. Do you have the time to eat with us?”

“Hm.” With a faint agreement, she got up to pack her things. As she was doing so, Lin Xin walked over to her with a grin.

“Sister Tang,” she started. “Let’s go eat some sweet and sour pork ribs at the cafeteria before heading off the study. Just the thought of that math homework is giving me a headache.”

“You guys go on ahead.” She shook her head. “I won’t be eating here tonight.”

“Sure. See you later!” With a wave of her hand, she and Qin Jing headed down the corridor.

The other young woman walked to the school gate, where she saw a tall man standing at the side. Upon seeing her, he stretched out his hand and waved hello.

“You must be Yao Tang, right?” The man adjusted his glasses, smiling at her. “I’m Yao Yan, your cousin. It’s nice to meet you. I’ll lead you to the car.”

They walked over to the car parked a few feet away from the school gate. He slowly opened the door for her, where she was met with a gentle and sweet woman.

The woman pulled her into a hug before introducing herself,

“Tangtang, I’m your second aunt. I have a small gift for you. It’s nothing much, but I hope you’ll like it.”

In the boxes she had prepared, there were small dolls, pairs of earrings, and a bunch of shiny necklaces. In the other box, she had prepared small cakes just for her.

These were all the things that girls normally liked.

And from the quality of the boxes and the objects, it was obvious that her aunt had spent a lot of effort in preparing her a gift. Yao Tang slowly smiled.

Her Uncle Yao Rong, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat, turned around. “Little Tang, I picked out half of these gifts for you,” he said. “The artificial flowers I had them pack up would look beautiful on your desk.”

“I’m not even done talking to her yet.” Jiang Wan shot him a glare. “By the way, Yao Tang, I was thinking—instead of the artificial flowers, we can put the doll there, instead? It would look pretty cute, right?”

Yao Yan, who had been sitting right next to his cousin, shook his head.

They were so excited that they were practically overwhelming her with these questions.

Yao Tang didn’t pay much attention to their chatter. However, from what she had observed, she didn’t see any bad intentions coming from this family, unlike her supposed biological parents.

So, she let them be.

Yao Rong stopped the car at the parking lot of Tianlun Hotel. After making sure that everyone was ready to go, they headed out and prepared to attend the Yao’s family banquet.

Despite it being called a family banquet, it was really just Yao Rong’s family and Yao Yuan’s .

Originally, Yao Rong wanted to eat in a place with a much warmer environment. However, Yao Yuan didn’t agree. Qin Maneven suggested that they eat in someplace more expensive. At that point, they were forced to agree to meet here instead.

At that time, they all took their seats.

Qin Man’s family arrived much later.

Seeing that Yao Rong’s family had already taken their seats, Qin Man suppressed the urge to snort. “It seems you’ve arrived quite early, Yao Rong,” she said sarcastically. “Has the food been a motivational source?”

Why else would country bumpkins be this early?

Yao Yan frowned. He was about to respond to his parents when Jiang Wanheld his hand.

“You’re all here.”

“We’re sorry we’re late.” Old Madam Yao smiled sheepishly as she swatted away Qin Man’s hand. “We are already late, yet the three of you have the nerve to insult them. Ha! You really are shameless.”

Qin Man’s face turned bright red with anger, but she didn’t say a word.

After all, the old woman was still Yao Yuan’s biological mother. She had no choice but to obey.

Once they had all greeted each other, they asked the waiter to serve the dishes.

“Sister-in-law, there isn’t much of this food in the countryside,” Qin Man said, the corners of her lips rising up into a smile. “You have to eat a bit more later, okay? If we can’t finish it, then you can just pack it up.”