DSMC Chapter 179.2

Since the Liu family had an eldest son and a third son, naturally there had to be a second son as well.

The aunties, whose desire to share gossip was now in full swing, continued exchanging information about the members of the Liu family.

“See that table? That’s the Liu family’s second son. He drinks, eats, gambles, all the vices. The Liu family fell into decline this quickly partly because of him. Three months ago, he even gambled away the Liu family’s ancestral heirloom. His mother nearly died of anger. His father beat him and had him confined in the ancestral hall. He couldn’t even get out of bed for half a month.”

“Oh, if that were my son, I’d beat him to death and be done with it. Giving birth to a piece of char siu would have been better.”

“Exactly. Now you understand, don’t you? Why they brought the son born outside the family back? The first two sons are one who might not live past thirty and another who’s completely beyond saving. Who wouldn’t be furious?”

“But doesn’t the Liu family have any property left to inherit now? Don’t they have to rely on the Cheng family for support?”

They may have fallen on hard times, but their foundation is definitely still there. They just don’t have much spare cash in their hands.”

“I think they might simply be out of money. Their businesses seem to lose money year after year.”

Following the aunties’ pointing and gossiping, Yan Jiyun looked over and saw the Liu family’s second son drinking heavily with a group of young men.

He looked somewhat similar to the eldest son, Liu Jingyi. Neither of them had Liu Father’s face; they both took after their mother. However, compared to Liu Jingyi, the second son had a much more carefree and unruly face.

The eldest son, Liu Jingyi, was a sickly man, while the second son had the demeanor of a carefree young master who treated life like a game. Both had handsome features. Compared with the two of them, the Liu family’s third son seemed slightly less impressive.

After changing clothes, the groom, Liu family’s third son, came out and went around the tables to toast each group of guests. Perhaps because they were taking the bride’s condition into consideration, the bride didn’t appear. Instead, Liu Father and Liu Mother accompanied their son as they went around toasting.

Liu Jingyi’s younger brother had also been called over to join them.

Yan Jiyun studied the microexpressions of the four people. Each of them had a different expression, and none of the smiles on their faces came from the heart.

Were they all harboring their own ulterior motives?

He hadn’t triggered any missions so far. Two hours had already passed, and he hadn’t even received a Side Mission. He was beginning to wonder whether he had been looking in the wrong direction.

But after entering the instance, the biggest event was the third son of the Liu family getting married, and all the important figures in town seemed to be here.

It doesn’t matter. He’ll first figure out all the relationships between the people in town.

He had wanted a pure romance instance, but the system clearly had no heart. This wedding looked like nothing but trouble.

After the four of them finished making their rounds, they came to Yan Jiyun’s table. Someone beside them reminded them which distant relatives were sitting there.

Yan Jiyun lowered his head, trying his best not to draw attention to himself. But the Liu family’s second son spotted him at a glance.

After the groom finished toasting, the second son walked over to Yan Jiyun. “What’s your name, distant cousin? Come have a drink with your big brother.”

Yan Jiyun reacted quickly. He had been worrying about not having a chance to get close to these people. He was just about to answer when he saw the system pop up with new character information.

[Congratulations, Player! You have obtained a new identity: Distant Cousin Here to Mooch Off the Family]

Yan Jiyun was speechless. ‘What exactly have I been mooching off? I just didn’t pay a wedding gift and happened to eat a free meal. This garbage system is way too stingy.’

He had thought role-playing wouldn’t be necessary. So it appeared in this kind of form instead?

Was this a new rule for the new instances?

The first time a player came into contact with a relevant plot NPC, the system would assign them a corresponding character identity?

If that was the rule, then both the players and the game’s freedom of action were actually extremely high. But it would also make role-playing far too random.

For example, he had now become a distant cousin who had come to mooch off the family. If someone claimed that their character was a pig butcher, wouldn’t he then have to go butcher pigs?

And if he didn’t know how to butcher pigs, would the pigs end up killing him instead?

Given the way this game worked, that possibility was extremely high.

The Liu family’s second son was named Liu Jingxi.

Yan Jiyun had waited a long time for this opportunity, so of course he wasn’t going to give it up. But he deliberately put on a shy expression and stammered, “I-I don’t know how to drink. My mom told me not to drink.”

Liu Jingxi smelled of alcohol, but Yan Jiyun couldn’t see any signs of drunkenness in his eyes. When someone was drunk, their gaze would usually drift, and they wouldn’t pay much attention to the people around them.

The Liu family really was full of people harboring their own ulterior motives at this wedding.

Liu Mother seemed to dote on her second son, and she immediately spoke up for him. “Oh, young people should have fun together! Don’t be so restrained. Play however you like. There’s even somewhere to rest if you get tired. Your Brother Jingxi will take good care of you.”

Yan Jiyun put on a coy expression for a moment before reluctantly agreeing. “All right, then. But Jingxi-ge can’t force me to drink. I really don’t know how.”

Liu Jingxi only smiled without answering. In the end, he draped an arm over Yan Jiyun’s shoulder and half-led, half-dragged him out of his seat. “Come on, you have to be a little bolder when you’re having fun. How can a young man not know how to drink? What are you going to do when you get married someday? Don’t you need to drink then?”

Yan Jiyun thought to himself that he was a cat. He probably wouldn’t be getting married anyway.

‘A female cat? Get lost, get lost, get lost. I’m human, not a bird or beast, and certainly not livestock.’

“I-I’m not old enough to get married yet. My mom said so.” He stammered deliberately, trying his best to fit the character he’d been assigned. The system hadn’t said that he absolutely had to behave according to his role, after all. He could play the character however he wanted.

Liu Jingxi laughed.  “Hahaha, you’re hilarious. Don’t tell me you’re a mama’s boy?”

Yan Jiyun said, “I’m not.”

At most, he was a “daddy’s boy cat”. When his cat owner opened a can of food for him, he was willing to listen for a brief period of time.

Liu Jingxi deliberately teased the cousin he’d just met, then took Yan Jiyun over to his own table and continued drinking with a group of young men.

They were probably people he usually hung out with around town.

Yan Jiyun was given a seat there, right beside Liu Jingxi.

Liu Jingxi didn’t actually force him to drink. The young men at the table were all going crazy, fooling around with one another. Among the dozens of banquet tables, theirs was by far the loudest.

Yan Jiyun also thought they were noisy, but he proactively poured drinks for the young men who kept urging Liu Jingxi to drink, showing that he knew how to read the room.

Liu Jingxi had drunk quite a bit. Suddenly, he suggested, “It’s too boring sitting here. Let’s go for a drive!”

Young men were impulsive. The moment someone suggested it, they were ready to go. “Let’s go!”

But all of them had been drinking, and Yan Jiyun wasn’t particularly interested in going. He deliberately fell a few steps behind, preparing to slip away.

Unfortunately, Liu Jingxi had sharp eyes and immediately caught him. “Little cousin, can you drive?” Liu Jingxi asked.

“A little.” He was a player who had even driven a heavy truck before.

“When did you get your driver’s license?” Liu Jingxi asked again.

Yan Jiyun thought for a moment before answering, “I only got it recently, but don’t worry about my driving.”

Liu Jingxi said, “You look like you just became an adult. Don’t tell me you’ve never even driven a car before?”

“I have.”

And just like that, Yan Jiyun followed the group out of the Liu residence.

If he left now, he had no idea what would happen at the Liu residence afterward. If he missed the events that happened right away, wouldn’t he lose a huge amount of information?

But no matter what he did now, Liu Jingxi wasn’t going to let him leave.

‘Damn it. I’m not a walking stick, so why does he keep leaning on my shoulder?’

Although the Liu family had married into the Cheng family for money, they still had several cars to keep up appearances.

Eleven or twelve young men squeezed into three cars. Yan Jiyun ended up in the driver’s seat, so he didn’t have to squeeze into the back with everyone else.

As the owner of the car, Liu Jingxi naturally sat in the passenger seat. Nobody dared fight him for it.

Yan Jiyun was just about to ask where they were going when the two cars in front weaved their way onto the road.

Then he remembered. 

‘Wait. Aside from me, everyone else has been drinking quite a lot. Drunk driving is a big no-no!’

He pretended to be extremely frightened. “That’s dangerous!”

Several young men in the back laughed. “Little cousin, that’s what makes it exciting! Hurry up and catch them!”

Liu Jingxi turned around and laughed as he scolded them. “Don’t order my little cousin around. I haven’t even ordered him around yet.”

Yan Jiyun just wanted to roll his eyes.

He turned the steering wheel and drove onto the road, then slammed his foot down on the accelerator.

Everyone in the back, including Liu Jingxi, who wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, lurched forward from the sudden acceleration. If they hadn’t been able to brace themselves against the front seats or grab onto the handles, they would have all ended up face-first on the floor.

Yan Jiyun put on an anxious expression. “Sorry. I’ve never driven a sports car before. I didn’t realize it had this much power. I barely touched the accelerator and it shot forward. That was scary.”

That sudden burst of acceleration made Liu Jingxi immediately buckle his seatbelt.

Yan Jiyun guessed he might be afraid of dying.

What followed was Yan Jiyun’s demonstration of what it meant to be a new driver.

His driving line was unstable. Whenever the car picked up speed, he swerved left and right, looking as if he were facing a life-or-death crisis. His braking was wildly inconsistent, sometimes slamming down hard and sometimes barely pressing at all.

The young men in the back were practically unable to take it anymore, but since he was Liu Jingxi’s cousin, they could only suffer in silence.

The one good thing was that they were still alive!

Yan Jiyun was having a great time. At first, only part of his driving had been an act. But as the journey went on, the acting became increasingly elaborate.

Even Liu Jingxi, who had eventually moved to the back seat, was starting to feel overwhelmed. He finally spoke. “Little cousin, just drive properly.”

Following the two cars ahead, they entered a maple forest several kilometers outside the town.

Yan Jiyun said, “Ge, I am driving properly. I just got my license! Give me another couple of days to practice and I’ll definitely be steadier than this!”

Liu Jingxi’s face looked as though he were constipated. “……” Thank you. I guess.

In truth, Yan Jiyun was having a pretty great time driving. But the road they were on now looked more like a village road, and the car had already slowed down.

Before long, the two cars ahead had stopped by the side of the road. They weren’t moving anymore.

Yan Jiyun also pulled over. He was puzzled. The road ahead looks pretty wide. Why aren’t they continuing?

Yan Jiyun had always been patient. Whenever he encountered something suspicious, he preferred to keep his questions to himself for the moment.

It wasn’t until he got out of the car with the others that he saw the stone monument standing ahead.

It read: “Dangerous road ahead. No passage permitted.”

Yan Jiyun walked a few more steps forward and discovered that the road ahead was full of potholes. There was also an especially deep pool of water in the middle of it.

If they hadn’t stopped, they would have driven straight into the water.

The young men, however, didn’t seem interested in the pool at all. Instead, they all headed into the maple forest together.

Seeing Yan Jiyun staring at the pool, Liu Jingxi stood there waiting for him. “Didi, come on.”

Yan Jiyun had no choice but to put aside his desire to investigate the pool. What are these young men going into the maple forest for?