Chapter 6: Family

    Li Yifeng wasn’t quite used to this new behavior from his sister, and being at that age where he got embarrassed easily, he quickly turned his attention to the computer in the corner of the room near the dining table, focusing on the screen instead.

    Tang Yifei, observing him, began to recall why the original owner of the body was often annoyed with her younger brother. The memory surfaced. This very computer was the reason Li Yifei had missed out on getting a better phone, which she had wanted to use for recording videos to upload to popular websites like other internet idols did.

    Their parents had seen the computer as a more practical tool for research and school assignments.

    But since they got it, it was mainly used by Li Yifeng for gaming. The siblings often argued over who got to use the computer, though both used it for equally trivial reasons.

    Reflecting on this, Tang Yifei thought that since they were both still young. It was no surprise they fought over things like this.

    Now, she could only watch her brother’s back as he played on the computer, something she would be able to look at for a long time. Maybe because of those two boxes of fried chicken he had bought to welcome her home, and she realized this was his way of showing he cared.

    Suddenly, Li Yifeng turned to her and spoke.

    "Fifteen minutes are up. Let’s eat the chicken."

"Aren’t we going to wait for Grandma, and Mom and Dad?"

    “This is just an appetite. They’ll bring food home to celebrate your recovery.”

    He replied, picking up a small drumstick and taking a bite to show her. Tang Yifei suddenly realized something. In all her life, she had never picked up a small drumstick with her hands to eat before.

    She watched her brother eat, studying him carefully.

"Go ahead, eat! Don’t just stare at me."

"Oh, right."

    Li Yifeng watched as his sister awkwardly picked up a drumstick and slowly nibbled at it. It was such a delicate and cautious way of eating, so unlike her usual self. Normally, when there was fried chicken with sesame seeds—her favorite—she would devour it in two bites, leaving only the bones.

    He started to believe what Grandma had said, his sister’s memory might really be affected.

    Her clumsy attempts at eating chicken and the fact that she even had some sauce around her mouth confirmed it for him. As a caring brother, he handed her a napkin.

When Tang Yifei accepted the napkin, she was genuinely touched by his gesture.

    The way she wiped her mouth was refined, almost as if she were a different person.

    Li Yifeng wasn’t used to this behavior from his sister, but he figured it wasn’t all bad. He preferred this calmer version of her, rather than the loud and demanding one.

    He only hoped she wouldn’t become weak. His sister may have had her faults, but she was strong. She had always managed to take care of herself and never let anyone take advantage of her, even if she sometimes fell for sweet words from boys. She never let anyone truly get the better of her.

    So, the siblings ate their fried chicken in relative silence, occasionally glancing at one another. Li Yifeng was still glancing at his sister’s slow moves.

    While Tang Yifei observed how her brother finished his drumstick in just two bites. She wished she could do the same, but she found herself unable to open her mouth wide enough to match him.

    As they continued eating, they finished off one box of chicken. Then, the sound of the metal door opening caught their attention, and they both turned to see who had arrived. It was the parents of the original body.

    Her father entered wearing a shirt tucked into his trousers, looking like a typical office worker, while her mother was dressed in a cleaning lady's uniform.

    How come this beautiful woman was really just a cleaning lady?

    The memories began flooding back. Her father worked as an office clerk, still stuck in the same position, earning around 4,000 yuan a month. While this wasn’t a terrible salary, it wasn’t enough to comfortably support the entire family.

    Her mother’s income as a cleaning lady was even lower, and together, they barely managed to meet the family’s needs. Even the small, cramped apartment they lived in was still being paid off with a bank loan.

    In her father’s hands were several bags of food, and Li Yifeng quickly got up to help. But when Tang Yifei tried to get up as well...

    "You stay here, I’ll take care of it."

    The small, cramped space didn’t bother Tang Yifei much anymore, as her heart swelled with warmth from her brother’s care. Since her grandfather had passed away, she had always felt lonely.

    Li Yifeng placed the large bags filled with various food containers on the table, while their parents washed their hands at the sink. After drying their hands, they set the table. Li Yifeng brought the rice cooker over and placed it on a chair that was clearly used as a stand for it.

    Tang Yifei watched him with interest.

“How are you feeling now?” her mother asked.

“I’m feeling better,” she replied.

    Her father looked at her with a sense of regret, feeling guilty for not being able to take better care of her. Even though she wasn’t his biological daughter, Tang Yifei could sense the genuine concern in his eyes. It was a stark contrast to her former life as Tang Yifei, where she had plenty of relatives but never felt this kind of warmth from any of them.

Li Yifeng helped their parents unpack the food, which included five different dishes.

    “Wow, Mom! There’s so much food today!” Li Yifeng exclaimed excitedly. He turned to his sister and joked,

    “Sis, don’t get better too fast, so we can keep eating like this for days!”

“Why are you cursing at your sister?” their father scolded him.

“Dad, I was just joking! You don’t get how teenagers feel.”

“But that joke was about your sister’s health.”

    Li Yifeng made a face as if to say, ‘What? It was just a joke. Why do I have to be scolded?’ Tang Yifei, seeing the tension, quickly spoke up.

    “I think I’m completely healed, actually.”

    She was hoping to defuse the situation.

    “Come on, Sis! You were supposed to back me up! Now the chicken I bought is going to go to waste.”

    Tang Yifei thought to herself that, since she was going to be living here, referring to herself as a big sister didn’t feel so strange anymore.

    “Didn’t you say a younger brother is supposed to take care of the older sister?”

    Li Yifeng smiled widely, clearly amused by her response.

    “This is what I’m actually used to, this guilt-tripping act.”

    Their banter was cut short by the sound of the metal door opening again. Grandma Li had returned, carrying a bundle of herbal compresses.

“Mom’s back,” their father greeted her.

“Let’s eat. I’ll first make the herbal compress for Yifei.”

    Tang Yifei, knowing that the compress was for her bruised face, felt a warm sensation in her chest again. She had never had a grandmother before, but now that she did, she could feel the care and love radiating from her. Ever since she arrived at this small home, there had been so many moments that filled her heart with warmth.

    She stood up and approached Grandma Li.

    “Grandma, I can wait. I’d rather eat dinner with you.”

    Grandma Li paused, setting the herbal bundle down.

    “You’re so troublesome. Fine, let’s eat.”

    As Grandma Li sat down at the table, the mother served everyone rice, and the family gathered around to eat. To Tang Yifei, the food tasted amazing, even if some dishes were a bit oily.

    Watching her brother excitedly exclaim that everything was delicious and seeing Grandma Li pile food onto his plate—though a bit biased—made her smile. When Grandma Li noticed her watching, she added food to Tang Yifei’s bowl as well.

    “Eat up, so you’ll recover faster,” she said, slightly begrudgingly.

    Tang Yifei looked at the food in her bowl, feeling that familiar warmth rise in her chest once again. How many times had she felt this way today?

Her grandmother may have a sharp tongue, but she had a kind heart.

    Seeing this, her mother also added food to her bowl.

    Followed by her father.

    And even Li Yifeng didn’t want to be left out.

    At that moment, Tang Yifei realized that despite the small, cramped space, this was the warmest home she had ever known. On her first day here, she already felt like she belonged here, not like a stranger.

    She couldn’t help but feel grateful to the original Li Yifei for giving her this opportunity.

What could she do to repay this family?

    After dinner, Tang Yifei tried to help clear the table and stood watching her mother wash the dishes, observing closely so she could do it next time.

    After a while, when their food had digested, her mother told her to get ready for a bath. Tang Yifei remembered what the bathroom here was like. It had a wet and dry area, but no matter how you showered, the water always seemed to splash onto the toilet.

    The bathroom was also cramped, but she consoled herself that this was her dream family now, trying not to think about the luxurious bathrooms at her old mansion—now probably taken over by some relative.

    She changed into her clothes inside the bathroom, as all her toiletries were kept there, making it even more crowded. Another memory surfaced once again that the original Li Yifei had a basket full of beauty products stored under the bed.

    She would always bring them into the bathroom when she showered.

Seemed like she would have to sort through that later.

    As she came out of the bathroom, her brother immediately went in. She returned to her room, where Grandma Li was already waiting.

“I’ve finished making the compress,” Grandma Li said, handing it to her.

    Tang Yifei didn’t need to say how she felt—her heart was warmed once again.