YM778.TV Chapter 173 Section 173 - Fair-weather Friends
Since ancient times, matching social status has been the foremost prerequisite.
Even if the uncle recognized the freedom to love and was absolutely against arranged marriages, the social circle was there for a reason: birds of a feather flock together, and what kind of people should associate with what kind of people.
While there are examples of rich girls getting together with poor boys, and not a few at that, ultimately, they are not many, and most of them end up leaving the stage in tragedy.
With time, no matter how strong love is than gold, it cannot withstand the impact from all directions.
The partner of Fourth Aunt from the uncle\'s family, Chen Meizhi, was named Tang Guangzhong, a senior mechanical engineer at National Defense Star, not the awkward and tongue-tied bookish type, but rather eloquent and well-spoken, quite a doer, with strong practical skills.
Whether it was educational background or work experience, he shone with a diamond-like brilliance, and within less than two years of entering the National Defense Star Group, he was identified as a talent worthy of special attention.
He didn\'t exactly come from a salary-earning class; if the working life failed him, he would have to roll back home to take over his old man\'s mechanical factory - not a big one, just a modest ten billion or so Star Yuan, after all, equipment was expensive, and it was also a small factory providing supporting services to National Defense Star.
In a certain sense, this brother-in-law of the Fourth Aunt was considered one of their own from the very beginning, at least Sister Meizhi wasn\'t letting the "fatty water" flow into someone else\'s field and was keeping it in-house instead.
Although when it came to talking about marriage, one inevitably faced prejudices of social standing, the Chen Family Gate didn\'t care so much about those things. They didn\'t even disdain poor relatives, let alone poor boys. As long as one had confidence and could withstand the pressure, they were welcome to give it a shot.
Uncle Chen Haiqing didn\'t care whether the in-laws were wealthy or not. After all, none were as wealthy as his own family, so comparing wealth was meaningless.
As the chairman of National Defense Star Aerospace Company (NDS), the fourth-largest manufacturer of combat aircraft on Blue Star, was about to marry off his daughter, it was bound to draw public attention. However, Chairman Chen personally sent out a message, directly blocking information from public media; no reporters were sent to disturb the event.
Only personal media, like flies, were trying every means to probe the wedding scene.
However, the Chen Family Gate was not unprepared. A buffer zone was established within a two-kilometer radius centered on Fengzhi Manor, temporarily designating it as a ground and no-fly zone. Whether at intersections or in green spaces, there were guards stationed to prevent idlers from coming in, especially those dedicated paparazzi attempting to infiltrate.
Since the day the guests started to arrive, within a mere six hours, the automatic air defense system set up inside and outside the manor and on the hotel rooftops had fired off slender, high-energy laser beams without fail, shooting down more than two hundred micro-drones. From time to time, one could see fireballs burst like fireworks in the sky, then fall.
Though these uninvited guests posed little threat, they were a nuisance.
Guests arrived one after another, most of them simply greeting before returning to the nearby hotel; only a few who were particularly close lingered to chat longer.
Having married off four daughters, Uncle, as one of the male members of this generation of the Chen Family Gate, had naturally, just like his other brothers, dutifully served as the greeter four times.
No wonder Chen Shan\'s expression seemed sour as he stood at the door. With four elder sisters who were blood-related, how could he not put in the effort?
After a whole day, his cheeks were almost cramping from fatigue.
Only when it began to grow dark did the guests finally start to dwindle, allowing the brothers to finally take a breather.
Standing at the gate of the manor were not only Uncle\'s youngest son, Chen Shan, but also Second Uncle\'s eldest son, Chen Guang, Third Uncle\'s only son, Chen You, the Fourth Uncle\'s Chen Shi and Chen Fei brothers, and Fifth Aunt\'s daughter, who was helping Sister Meizhi with the pre-wedding preparations and incidentally acting as a bridesmaid.
If ordered by age, Chen Shi was the eldest, followed by Chen Guang, then came Chen Fei, and afterwards Chen You and Chen Shan, with the uncle\'s youngest son still being the baby of the group.
"Are you guys hungry? I\'m going to get some food," said Chen Shi, the eldest among the little brothers. His suggestion immediately met with unanimous approval from everyone.
Chen Guang, the eldest son of Second Uncle\'s family, immediately chimed in, "I\'ll go with you!"
"And me!"
As the manor was part of Fourth Sister\'s dowry, Chen Shan, as her brother, entirely regarded it as his own home; getting something to eat was nothing, he even considered asking the chef to cook something special for them.
Chen You, the only child of Third Uncle Chen Haizhi, clutched his stomach, "Are you guys bringing food here, or is it my turn? I\'m starving."
He was only a year older than Chen Shan and at an age when he had a big appetite, already hungry enough to eat a horse at this point.
"Brothers, I\'ve brought you food," said a voice.
Just then, the voice of Little Sister Chen Meng came through.
"Jiu!"
A burst of white light soared over, landing right on Chen Fei\'s shoulder. As the light dissipated, Little Bird appeared.
The gate of the manor was brightly lit, so the Illumination Technique enveloping the Pure Light Sparrow didn\'t stand out that much.
"Pure! Light! Sparrow!"
Seeing the little bird, Chen Shan instantly soured.
Did he have to show off so much?
Truth be told, back when he flaunted wealth in front of his other siblings, he never felt this way.
But now, it was clear that karma had arrived.
"You gave me a scare, it\'s Xiao Jiu!"
"It really is a Magical Beast, was that a Light-based Spell just now?"
The other brothers, unlike Chen Shan who was biting a lemon, were actually quite envious of Fourth Uncle\'s good fortune in managing to gain the favor of a Magical Beast, the Pure Light Sparrow.
Chen Meng pushed a dining cart closer and proudly said, "Xiao Jiu is so amazing! Muah!"
Although Little Sister Chen often suffered from the \'Light Burst Flash,\' she couldn\'t help but love the little bird, and to say she adored it would be an understatement.
"Yo! Chen Shan, you\'re here! Come on, stand at attention and salute, \'Greetings, Commander.\'"
A slippery voice came from a distance.
The already ill-tempered Chen Shan turned his head and said fiercely, "Li Xingxing, who the hell do you think you are? Daring to impersonate a commander!" Your journey continues at empire
"Hahaha, is Little Shanzi on edge today!"
"Exactly, exactly, with four elder sisters, you have to act as the door guardian four times over! But if they were four younger sisters, that\'d be a different story!"
"Stand up straight, greet with a smile, and show exactly fourteen teeth, not one more, not one less."
A group of people staggered over, obviously all of them were Chen Shan\'s fair-weather friends.
As a third-generation wealthy, he inevitably had a clique of like-minded fellows, most of whom were childhood friends, familiar enough with each other to crack unrestrained jokes.
After all, Chairman Chen wouldn\'t be expected to carry a basket to the market after work to haggle over a block of tofu with a street vendor.
Social classes are often determined by one\'s circle of life, and without strong family ties, children from ordinary working-class families would find it hard to enter Chen Shan\'s inner circle.
"Li Xingxing, watch your sister..."
Chen Shan\'s eyes shifted, revealing a mischievous expression, but he was interrupted before he could say more.
"My sister hasn\'t troubled you, why drag her into this? It looks like you\'re itching for a beating again!"
The boy with the slippery voice from before lunged over and ended up grappling with Chen Shan.
Li Xingxing has an elder brother named Li Gaogao, and together, they are \'Gaogao Xingxing,\' a pun on being \'joyful.\' His elder sister\'s name is Li Wanjiji—Wanji, a common name for ancient women, indicative of status and family background.
However, Wan is a homophone, which when read as [wan] means beautiful. Using this pronunciation, the name has a dual meaning, signifying a certain level of sophistication.
Yet, some peculiar-minded friends added the character for \'day,\' turning it into "manage thousands of affairs daily (Ri Li Wanji)," much to their amusement.
Poor Miss Li from the Li Family, who had wronged no one, unexpectedly got stuck with such a nickname.
As her brother, Li Xingxing had fought plenty of fights over this, beating up anyone who dared use that moniker, even his close friends.
The Miss Li Wanjiji who had come along stood innocently, trying to prevent her brother from acting rashly but was squeezed to the back by a mob of rowdy instigators, unable to exercise her strength.
The eldest of the current generation of the Chen Family Gate, Chen Shi, immediately said, "You two, no fighting!"
Li Xingxing, holding onto Chen Shan, said to Chen Shi, "Yo, the eldest brother is here, you be the judge, does Little Shanzi deserve a beating?"
Right then, Chen Shan was famished and had only forty to fifty percent of his strength, feeling weak before a punch was even thrown.
Chen Fei, however, never coddled these spoiled rich kids, threatening without any courtesy, "He deserves it, once you beat him up, I\'ll come beat you up."
His words were beyond reproach—Chen Shan deserved a beating for speaking out of turn, but if a member of the Chen Family is hit by someone outside, it\'s a matter of \'brothers fighting within the walls, defending against insults from outside,\' and as part of the old Chen Family, they would certainly strike back.
Chen Guang and Chen You stepped forward, standing behind Chen Fei. The two cousins intent on a political career didn\'t mind getting into a fight for family.
"..."
Li Xingxing felt intimidated seeing the four brothers on the opposite side.
The fair-weather friends who came with him were not as united as the brothers of the Chen Family Gate.
In the end, he let go of Chen Shan\'s collar, pretended to dust off Chen Shan\'s shoulder, and said, "Watch your mouth and don\'t court disaster."
What had been a good relationship among buddies suddenly turned cold.
In truth, it was no big deal, and within 12 hours, the two similarly odious buddies would be back slinging arms over each other\'s shoulders, chumming around.
Chen Shan\'s eyes darted around, and he grabbed Li Xingxing, who was backing away, smiling without warmth, "Let me introduce everyone, my brother Chen Fei, he\'s awesome, see that Little Bird on his shoulder? A Second Rank Magical Beast with four spells! Do any of you have that? Definitely not! It\'s not about money.
Look at my brother Chen Fei, a Level B supernatural power user, taming Magical Beasts like it\'s nothing, tell me if you\'re convinced, Li Xingxing, are you convinced?"
The grabbed Li Xingxing was stunned on the spot, to have a Second Rank Magical Beast that knew four spells, what kind of high-end breed was that!
Chen Fei was taken aback, looking toward the little sister by the dining cart.
Chen Meng was also surprised—catching her second brother\'s glance, she quickly shook her head; she hadn\'t had the chance to tell anyone yet, not even her parents or her eldest brother and sister-in-law knew.
What? Second Brother is a supernatural power user?
The eldest, Chen Shi, almost laughed out loud—Chen Shan was truly unruly, having been thrashed by his brothers all through one summer, and he hadn\'t been wronged in the least.
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