What if My Brother is Too Good?

Upon arriving at the Huo residence, first, she dutifully wished Grandpa Huo a Happy Chinese New Year. Words of praise gushed unbridled from her lips. This pleased the elderly Huo a great deal, and he gave her a big fat red packet.

If there was one thing the Huo family had, it was money. Huo Wu was getting red packets left and right this morning. After the gifts and the greetings, she honed in on her target and went straight to Chu Xueyi.

Chu Xueyi had put on fine light makeup today. She looked simply exquisite.

Huo Wu greeted her warmly, “Sister Chu, you look so pretty today.”

Is that so? Chu Xueyi stroked her own face and pondered over the compliment.

She had gotten up before 5 am this morning to do her makeup. After trying on countless new outfits, she finally selected the one she had on right now, on the advice of her friend group. But all this felt like a wasted effort. From the moment she arrived at the Huo residence, the one person that she wanted to compliment her the most hadn’t glanced her way even once. She felt a little dejected.

But when Huo Wu came over, she quickly composed herself and said a cheerful “Happy New Year.”

Huo Wu returned the festive greeting, “Sister Chu, wanna go for a walk in the garden?”

“Sure.”

Behind the residence, there was a little garden with a swing. The weather today was not the best for playing on the swings, so the two of them merely sat on the seat.

The winter air gave the whole garden a feeling of bleakness.

Huo Wu looked down at the tips of her suspended feet. After working up her courage, she said, “Sister Chu, I heard you’re into charity work?”

At the mention of charity, Chu Xueyi’s disappointment over her own wasted efforts dissipated somewhat. “Yup, I am,”

Huo Wu pursed her lips and thought for a bit before asking, “How come?”

Chu Xueyi sighed slightly. “Because there are so many people who are suffering in this world. I was born lucky. My life is wonderful. So I want to do what I can to help more people live a normal life. It’s also a way to build some good karma.”

As she said that last sentence, there was a hint of mirth in her voice.

Hearing her reasons, Huo Wu found herself liking Chu Xueyi even more. Here was a socialite who truly valued charity work, unlike those entrepreneurs who were only putting on a show in front of the public to boost their own image.

With sincerity in her voice, Huo Wu said, “Sister Chu is awesome.”

Chu Xueyi shrugged off her compliment offhandedly. “Awesome? I’m no savior of the world, and I can’t help everyone. I can only do my part.”

And on this note, Huo Wu saw her chance. Lowering her gaze, she finally spoke her mind hesitantly, “Sister Chu, a while ago, didn’t Jiangcheng hold a hotpot feast for thousands of street cleaners to thank them for their contributions to the city? So I was thinking since Didu is especially cold this year, shouldn’t we also send some warmth to the street cleaners of Didu?”

Jiangcheng was the “hotpot capital,” and all its residents loved hotpot. The “thousand-person hotpot feast” was especially meaningful. All the street cleaners throughout the city could attend it and eat as much hotpot as they wanted to their hearts’ content, free of charge.

Huo Wu decided on this idea after a day’s worth of thinking. Linking Jiangcheng to Didu, and then proposing to spread warmth to the street cleaners of Didu, would make the suggestion seem less abrupt.

Besides, such a charity event in Didu would have Chu Xueyi as the main supervisor responsible for all aspects of the event. In this way, nobody would notice that it was originally Huo Wu’s idea, and this would allow her to deflect any credit or attention.

Huo Wu’s words surprised Chu Xueyi. “Wu, I didn’t expect that you would think of this too.”

Too?

“Sister Chu, did you have this idea before?”

Chu Xueyi nodded. “Yeah. It’s snowing a lot this year, and the streets have to be shoveled overnight so that people can walk around safely. Most of the shoveling is done by the street cleaners. They get paid so little while doing so much. It must be hard for them.”

So Chu Xueyi had the same plan. That’s even better.

This way, Huo Wu figured she could just be the icing on the cake. She could be even more inconspicuous.

“That’s true. Ah Sister Chu, I have quite a bit of red packet money here. I would like to give all of it as charitable donations.”

A smile slowly spread across Chu Xueyi’s face. “Okay, I’ve already written this down on my agenda. Now that you’re joining in, we can add more items to the plan.”

Huo Wu had confidence in Chu Xueyi’s abilities. She didn’t ask what these items were specifically since Chu Xueyi was more experienced than her in these matters. She only had to provide the funds. Of course, if needed, she would also put in her time and energy with no complaints.

She only hoped that this warmth would truly be of help to the street cleaners, especially to the Jiang couple.

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