Chapter 352 - 333: The Golden Alliance for Wushan Cloud Rain

Wu Yun quickly replied: "No need, Sister Na! I think Qi Ruixi is adorable, so just consider the extra as New Year’s money from me for her to buy candy!"

Liu Nana was still a little embarrassed. After she insisted twice more and was still refused by Wu Yun, she finally sent a message: "Alright, then! I’ll thank her uncle on Qi Ruixi’s behalf!"

"Little brother Wu Yun, you’re in Jingyang lately, right? Call Feifei, and I’ll treat you two to a meal sometime!"

"Sounds good! It’s a deal!" Wu Yun sent a smiley face emoji.

Just as Liu Nana was replying to her readers’ comments, Qi Ruixi, who had been watching TV on the sofa, rubbed her eyes, walked over to Liu Nana, and said, "Mommy~ I want to go sleepy-sleep!"

Liu Nana put her phone in her pocket and stroked Qi Ruixi’s face. "Let’s go! Mommy will take you in."

After turning off the TV, Liu Nana took Qi Ruixi’s hand and said as they walked, "Do you want to go see your auntie?"

Qi Ruixi nodded eagerly. "I do! Auntie’s house has lots and lots of yummy food!"

Liu Nana turned on the bedroom light and continued to ask, "And do you like that uncle of yours?"

Qi Ruixi, loving him by association, said, "I do! Uncle gave Ruixi lots of New Year’s money! I’m going to use this money-money to buy candy-candy! And I’ll buy one for Mommy, too!"

"Good girl, Ruixi! In a couple of days, I’ll take you to see your auntie, okay?"

...

For the next two days, Wu Yun and Qi Fei’s family went to Liu Yan’s hometown in the neighboring county to celebrate the New Year.

It was Wu Yun’s first time celebrating the New Year in a small town. He found the atmosphere much livelier than in the city—at least here, no one cared if you set off fireworks and firecrackers.

People were constantly setting off large firecrackers. The massive bangs would sometimes make pedestrians yelp and dodge, but most people were used to it.

During this time, when they first arrived in town, the loud noises put Da Xiong and his three companions on high alert, nearly causing a few comical incidents.

Fortunately, after Wu Yun reassured and explained things over the walkie-talkie, the four of them relaxed.

In town, the four foreigners were an even bigger attraction than the Rolls-Royce.

In Da Xiong’s words, he felt like a monkey being watched at the zoo.

Whenever they appeared, eighty to ninety percent of the people would cast curious glances their way, with some even pointing and whispering.

Upon arriving at Qi Fei’s maternal grandmother’s house, since Da Xiong and his three companions had nowhere else to go, they were also warmly received by the family, which of course required a round of explanations and introductions from Liu Yan.

Liu Yan could be said to be the most successful person from her side of the family. Although she had given her family some help over the years, more or less, it was only what she could manage. Still, with her help, her several siblings had managed to make a small fortune.

Thus, the New Year’s gifts Wu Yun brought made Qi Fei’s grandmother and other relatives grin from ear to ear. Families with children were especially full of praise for Qi Fei’s boyfriend, looking as if they couldn’t wait to attend their wedding.

Here, however, Wu Yun felt a bit out of place. It wasn’t that he looked down on Qi Fei’s grandmother’s side of the family, but rather that many people were overly polite and formal with him, some even bordering on fawning.

Wu Yun noticed that this treatment wasn’t just directed at him; it was much the same for Qi Guo.

So, while waiting for the meal to start, Wu Yun and Qi Guo stayed outside chatting, as outsiders couldn’t really join their conversation.

In contrast, Da Xiong and his three companions were having much more fun. A large group of children surrounded them, even offering their own firecrackers to the four men and playing joyfully with them.

"Uncle Qi, is it this awkward for you every year?" Wu Yun asked.

Qi Guo replied with a sense of helplessness, "Not every year. Back when your aunt and I first got married, everyone had plenty to talk about. But ever since I made my fortune, everything has changed."

"People no longer come to eat and socialize with you with pure intentions; they all have requests! Over the years, I’ve had your aunt help when she can, and I step in to refuse when she can’t. So, in their eyes, I’ve probably become more and more unapproachable."

Wu Yun chuckled. "I think it’s also because of your status as a boss, Uncle Qi. Even if you speak to people nicely, the imposing air you inadvertently give off makes them uncomfortable. I’m starting to feel it myself, and this kind of presence will probably only get stronger with age."

Qi Guo scolded with a laugh, "What imposing air? You’ve been reading too many novels! It’s just that they want something from me, so they subconsciously feel inferior. So what if I’m a boss? I’m still human, flesh and blood. Most of the time, people just create these barriers for themselves."

Although Wu Yun didn’t quite agree with some of these ideas, he didn’t refute Qi Guo’s point of view.

"What are you two still talking about? Hurry up and come to the table for dinner!" Liu Yan, wearing an apron, shouted to the two men as she placed some hot dishes on the table.

"Coming! Coming!" Qi Guo turned to respond, then said to Wu Yun, "Your generation doesn’t have many siblings, so you’ll have fewer family get-togethers later on. You should make a few close friends! Otherwise, it’ll get pretty lonely."

"Oh, right! To keep you from being lonely, you and Feifei should have a few more kids! If we can’t handle them all, we’ll just hire a few nannies! Hahaha!"

Wu Yun watched with exasperation as Qi Guo turned and walked to the table. ’This future father-in-law of mine is a bit of a character,’ he thought.

When Wu Yun sat down at the table with people his own age, Qi Fei asked curiously, "What were you and my dad talking about? You seemed so happy."

The corner of Wu Yun’s mouth curved up. He leaned close to Qi Fei’s ear and whispered, "Your dad told us not to use birth control and to have a few more kids. He said he’d help raise them!"

"Pfft! You’re being indecent! Tell me the truth!" Qi Fei didn’t believe Wu Yun’s nonsense for a second. She employed her Vigorous Vajra Finger and said, "Spill it! Or you’ll suffer the consequences!"

"I’m being framed! Your dad really said that! He said if he can’t handle them, he’ll hire nannies!" Wu Yun pretended to be scared.

The two of them ate while laughing and teasing each other. They seemed to be in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, and while the others were being fed "dog food" by their PDA, they also didn’t want to disturb them.

Of course, the couple still occasionally joined the table’s conversation, so they didn’t come off as arrogant or unapproachable.

Just then, Qi Fei’s phone, which was on the table, rang.

Qi Fei picked it up and saw it was a message from Liu Nana.

"Feifei! Are you free tomorrow? Qi Ruixi said she wants to go to the Confucius Temple with her aunt!"

"What I mean is, if you guys are free, we should all hang out. Tomorrow is the first day of the New Year, and I already booked three movie tickets for the afternoon showing of *Celestial Lion*! I’ll treat you to lunch to thank little brother Wu Yun for giving me a Golden Alliance donation!"

Qi Fei turned to Wu Yun, puzzled, and asked, "What’s a Golden Alliance? Sister Na said you gave her a Golden Alliance donation?"

At that moment, a younger cousin at the table, Liu Shuai, who wore glasses and was rather handsome, spoke up. "Sister Fei, a Golden Alliance is the highest tier of donation on the Singularity novel website. One Golden Alliance is ten million Singularity Coins, worth one hundred thousand Huaxia Coins!"

Hearing Liu Shuai’s explanation, everyone else at the table gasped. That was like directly giving someone a hundred thousand coins!

Liu Shuai continued to explain, "Of course, for a Golden Alliance, the author only gets half the money, but the value it creates is worth far more than just one hundred thousand coins!"

The others at the table thought it was a bad deal, letting the platform take fifty thousand. They felt it would be better to just give the money directly.

Some people looked tempted, but they couldn’t find an excuse to speak up.

Qi Fei asked with a smile, "Liu Shuai! How do you know so much about this?"

Liu Shuai grinned proudly. "But of course! I’m determined to become someone like Tian Can Tadou!"

After that, Liu Shuai couldn’t help but give everyone at the table a basic lesson on the world of web novels.

He had just finished his explanation when he heard his mother behind him say, "I tell you to study hard every day, and instead, you’re always reading these novels! And now you say you want to write them? Do you think novels are so easy to write?!"

Liu Shuai retorted, not wanting to back down, "The tables can turn in thirty years—OW!"

As his mother pulled him away, Liu Shuai yelled back, "Sister Fei, when I succeed as a novelist, have Brother Yun give me a Golden Alliance donation, too!"