The handsome guy next door loves to flirt.

"Sis, is that guy in the kitchen really your boyfriend?" Xu Ya asked excitedly as she came out.

"I guess so!" He is indeed my boyfriend, but marriage isn't something that can happen so soon.

"Tch! How can you call him 'really'? He's obviously 'really'! He's tall and imposing, but his skin isn't fair either. He's too tall, unlike my idol... But he can cook, which is still a good thing."

These days, many people's favorite idols have changed; they mostly like pretty boys from certain groups or effeminate men. When Yun Shu heard about the celebrity Xu Ya liked, she realized he really wasn't much different from a woman. Even men are wearing makeup these days. And the ladyboys in Thailand are even more beautiful than women—how are real women supposed to live?!

"Alright, tell me how your job search went today!" In the morning, Yun Shu gave Xu Ya money and a map of Nancheng to show her the surrounding area, telling her to look for a job on her own.

"Sister, I'm so miserable! All those jobs either require a high degree or at least a year of experience. I only went to vocational school and have no work experience, so they don't even want me. And the jobs I can do, the pay is so low. I calculated it, and with rent, food, and clothes, it's barely enough to live on for a month." Xu Ya sighed dejectedly. She didn't realize how terrible reality was until she went out into the world, how hard it was to find a good job. Her feet were aching all day, and she hadn't found a suitable or satisfactory job.

“Nancheng isn’t a small city. Now you know how fierce the competition is here. Most people don’t dare to stay home. If you get fired one month, you’ll have no income and it’ll be tough. You won’t know how you’ll get through the next month. You can’t be scared off on your first day of job hunting.” Yun Shu couldn’t bear to see Xu Ya like that and comforted her.

Xu Ya nodded, thinking that Yun Shu's words made sense. Just as she was about to speak, her phone rang. She saw that it was her mother calling. After saying a few words, Xu Ya's voice became louder and contained a hint of anger.

"Mom, stop making a fuss. My sister is renting a place now, and it's not even a very nice place. She doesn't have a car and takes the bus to work. ...Gu Jia... doesn't care about my sister at all. Alright, stop playing mahjong and stop having these thoughts. I don't need your nonsense here. Stop causing trouble. My sister and I are having a hard time out here!" After saying that, she hung up the phone.

“Sis, my mom thought you made a lot of money, that you had a house and a car, and asked me to have you send her some money. Before, she said you were very rich, but I didn’t really think so. Now that I’m here, I realize that you’re just an ordinary worker.” Xu Ya finished speaking and took another big gulp of water.

"Xu Ya, I've noticed you've changed a lot... well, for the better, of course!"

“My dad passed away so early! And my mom is so unruly. I’m the eldest, and if she’s not doing well, I don’t know what will happen to Yan’er and Xiao Yang. But sister, I might be a bit like my mom, a bit lazy, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” Xu Ya is actually a bit afraid of hardship, easygoing, and doesn’t have high expectations.

"Change it! You can't rely on me forever. Keep looking for a job tomorrow. It doesn't matter if the salary is low since you just graduated. As long as someone is willing to hire you, you can gain more experience first."

Yun Shu sighed. It was clear that although Xu Ya had changed a lot, she still had some of her old shortcomings, such as being afraid of hardship, being quite lazy, and not liking to move around—she was a true homebody.

Although many things change as one grows up, it is said that it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. No matter how much one changes, some of one's nature cannot be eliminated.

The two chatted for a while, and when the aroma of food wafted over, Xu Ruo arrived.

"Shu! I've come at just the right time, haven't I!" Yu Ruo's eyes widened as soon as she saw Xiao Mingkun serving the dishes, and her stomach rumbled, making her feel hungry immediately.

Yun Shu looked at her amusedly and said, "Yes! Just in time, we're about to start eating. Come, let me introduce you. This is Xu Ya, my cousin. Xu is a double-character name, not your Xu."

"Really? But Shu, your cousin doesn't look like you at all. She's so plain-looking, unlike you, a great beauty." Xu Ruo compared them carefully and felt that she was right. However, Yun Shu had a black line on her forehead. It was really Ruo's style to insult people right away.

Upon hearing this androgynous person indirectly calling her ugly, Xu Ya immediately retorted angrily, "You're not exactly pretty either. You're neither male nor female, are you a man or a woman?"

"Hey! This is called having personality, okay!" Xu Ruo snorted. That brat is so unlikable. How come he's so different from Ashu?

Yun Shu brought in the dishes and heard the two bickering. She said helplessly, "Alright, you two, can you each keep quiet? Dinner's ready. If you want rice, go get it yourself." Xu Ya and Xu Ruo couldn't stand each other. They were clearly very similar in personality, but they just couldn't get along. It was strange.

Xu Ya only realized that Xu Ruo was a woman when she heard her call her "old lady". But can a woman dressed like this still be called a woman? It's a mess. Is she going down the art route? But the level of dressing is too bad. She's made herself look like this. I don't understand!

Yun Shu started setting the table. It was already 6:30, which was quite late, as most families eat around this time.

Xiao Mingkun walked in, and only then did Xu Ruo and Xu Ya want to get their food.

"Chef Xiao, your cooking skills are amazing, even better than my chef's. Ashu is so lucky now, she won't have to worry about food anymore," Xu Ruo sighed after eating a piece of meat.

Yun Shu's eyebrows twitched. This A Ruo really didn't know how to speak. She could cook too, okay? Although she couldn't cook it this well. But before she could speak, Xu Ya retorted, "My sister didn't go home. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so tired and wouldn't have anything to eat."

"Go away! Going back to the Gu family means there's no food to eat. There's no good person in the Gu family. If Yun Shu goes home, she'll only be hated."

"Alright, stop talking and hurry up and eat," Yun Shu interrupted. The mention of the Gu family reminded her of the time she had just sold her son a couple of days ago, and the thought made her uncomfortable.

Xiao Mingkun raised an eyebrow, noticing that Yun Shu's expression immediately darkened when Xu Ruo and the others mentioned the Gu family. He was puzzled as to why Yun Shu disliked his family so much. Was she like the Cinderella stories many girls told about in wealthy families? But then he saw Gu Cheng personally call him home, which suggested he wasn't indifferent to his daughter. Perhaps there was some hidden reason behind it all.

Afterwards, the group happily ate their meal. In the end, Xu Ruo and Xu Ya were so full that Yun Shu scolded them for being gluttons.

So Yun Shu sighed and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, while Xiao Mingkun stayed in the living room to talk to Xu Ruo and the others.