Chapter 5

"Hey, my sister is really beautiful, you know. She's definitely a top-tier beauty. Having my sister as your girlfriend would be a real blessing for you," Zheng Xiujing continued to persuade.

"No," Xia Houzhong firmly shook his head.

"Come on, think about it. My sister is now a trainee at S.M. Entertainment. With her level, she will definitely debut and become a star. When you tell others that your girlfriend is a star, it will be a really prestigious thing, right? How great is that?" Zheng Xiujing changed her approach, trying to entice him with fame.

"No," Xia Houzhong continued to firmly shake his head.

"Can't you stop looking so scared? My sister is usually very gentle, not like what you imagine," seeing Xia Houzhong's unyielding attitude, Zheng Xiujing almost praised her sister to the skies out of conscience.

"No," regardless of what Zheng Xiujing said, Xia Houzhong was determined to go home.

"Alright, then I won't make you my sister's boyfriend," Zheng Xiujing noticed that Xia Houzhong often rejected her before she finished speaking, so she set a small trap.

"No," Xia Houzhong didn't even hear clearly and shook his head firmly. After he realized what he had said, he hesitated for two seconds and quickly changed his mind, "I want to, I want to."

"Ha ha, it's settled then. Brother-in-law, you can't go back on your word," Zheng Xiujing ignored Xia Houzhong's later words and called him "brother-in-law" with a smile.

"Zheng Xiujing," Zheng Xiuyan came down from upstairs and heard the last few sentences of their conversation. She was so angry that she started to hop towards Zheng Xiujing with one foot.

Zheng Xiujing was a bit guilty at first, but seeing her sister's full anger, she quickly ran away.

"Hey, sister, you need to watch your image. Don't always have such a bad temper. I finally found you a boyfriend, and if you scare him away, you might never get married," Zheng Xiujing teased, taking advantage of her sister's injured leg.

"You're dead, Zheng Xiujing. Don't even think about getting an allowance from me in the future," seeing that she couldn't catch up with Zheng Xiujing, Zheng Xiuyan threatened. This tactic had always worked before, and it was a super move against her sister.

"That's my money, not yours. What right do you have to withhold it?" Zheng Xiujing angrily retorted.

Watching the two sisters bickering, Xia Houzhong was stunned. When he saw Zheng Xiuyan's angry gaze, he felt a shiver and thought to himself, "This has nothing to do with me, why am I getting her hate?" He quickly moved away to keep a safe distance.

Zheng's father treated their words as a joke, though he found it a bit inappropriate, he was amused. Finally, seeing his daughters fighting, he said, "Alright, Xiuyan, stop it. Your sister was just joking."

"Dad, you can't joke about this. You're even protecting her," Zheng Xiuyan felt wronged and couldn't catch up with her sister, so she plopped down on the sofa in a huff.

"Alright, Xiujing, you're being too much. What you said is really inappropriate," Zheng's father scolded Zheng Xiujing.

"Exactly, too much," Xia Houzhong quickly nodded in agreement, showing that he had no intention in that direction.

"You shut up," it seemed that Zheng Xiuyan's resentment towards Xia Houzhong was deep. She directed her anger at him as soon as he spoke, thinking that everything was his fault and that he had refused her so firmly, which really upset her. She wasn't sure if she was angry at him for making her this way or for not having good taste, only she knew.

Under the roof, one must bow. Xia Houzhong sighed at his bad luck and resented his father for casually sending him to the Zheng family. Now that he was in the Zheng family, he couldn't argue with Zheng Xiuyan in front of Zheng's father. He quickly grabbed a newspaper and pretended to read it, not caring if he understood the Korean text.

Xia Houzhong's act of reading the newspaper made Zheng's father and Zheng Xiujing laugh. Xia Houzhong was confused by their laughter.

Seeing Xia Houzhong's puzzled look, even Zheng Xiuyan, who hated him, couldn't help but smile.

Zheng Xiujing, laughing, pointed at the newspaper in Xia Houzhong's hand.

Xia Houzhong looked at the newspaper and blushed, realizing he had it upside down.

This embarrassing moment made Xia Houzhong more quickly integrate into the Zheng family's life. Although Zheng's father didn't say much, he didn't have the same prejudice as Zheng's mother. However, most decisions in the family were made by Zheng's mother, so he didn't say anything.

After this incident, Zheng's father's last bit of prejudice towards Xia Houzhong disappeared. After all, he was just a kid and quite amusing.

After Zheng's mother finished cooking, they sat down for dinner. Zheng's father took out a bottle of red wine and poured a glass for himself and his wife. Seeing Xia Houzhong eyeing the bottle, he couldn't help but ask, "Do you want to drink?"

Xia Houzhong chuckled and nodded quickly.

"Even if you want to, you can't," Zheng's father teased, laughing.

In South Korea, drinking is not allowed for those under 18. If a store is found selling alcohol to minors, they will be fined, and in severe cases, ordered to close.

Xia Houzhong felt frustrated after being teased by Zheng's father. Since coming to South Korea, he hadn't touched alcohol. Now, seeing the wine, his throat felt tight. Seeing that Zheng's father didn't seem to want to change his mind, he turned to Zheng's mother.

Zheng's mother, unable to bear Xia Houzhong's pitiful gaze, said, "Kids can't drink."

"Godmother, just a little, it won't hurt," Xia Houzhong quickly smiled and pleaded, looking quite servile.

Seeing Xia Houzhong's pleading, Zheng's mother was a bit amused and said, "Alright, just a little, not too much."

"Okay, okay," Xia Houzhong happily nodded, quickly stood up, and hopped to the cabinet to get a glass.

Seeing Xia Houzhong's eager look, Zheng's father shook his head and smiled, stood up, and said, "Your foot is injured, sit down. I'll get it for you."

"Thank you, Uncle," Xia Houzhong quickly thanked him. Although he had called Zheng's mother "Godmother," Zheng's father hadn't said anything, so he continued to call him "Uncle."

Zheng's father poured Xia Houzhong half a glass of red wine. Xia Houzhong, after smelling the wine, raised the glass, placed it to his lips, pressed it against his lower lip, tilted his head back slightly, took a small sip, swirled it in his mouth, and then swallowed it.

After taking a sip, Xia Houzhong showed a look of enjoyment, his face full of pleasure, making Zheng Xiuyan and Zheng Xiujing envious.

Zheng's father and mother were surprised by Xia Houzhong's wine-tasting skills. Zheng's mother then said, "You're quite good at it."

Xia Houzhong chuckled and took another small sip.

Zheng Xiuyan finally couldn't hold back and said softly, "I want to drink too."

Zheng Xiujing, hearing her sister, nodded eagerly, looking at their mother with pleading eyes.

"You two, stop causing trouble. You're still minors, you can't drink," Zheng's mother lightly tapped their heads.

"Why can he?" Zheng Xiuyan protested.

"Um..." Zheng's mother didn't know how to answer, and the situation became awkward.

"Because I'm Chinese, and you're Korean. Korea prohibits minors from drinking, but China doesn't," Xia Houzhong said smugly. To ensure he could still get wine in the future, he couldn't let Zheng's mother be in an awkward position, as it would affect his quality of life.

"What a lame reason. We're in Korea now, and it doesn't matter if you're Chinese," Zheng Xiuyan was furious, "You can oppose, but you can't drink the rest of the wine."

"Right, brother, you're so unfair. I even tried to set you up with my sister, and this is how you treat your benefactor?" Zheng Xiujing also said indignantly.

"Zheng Xiujing..." Zheng Xiujing's words only reminded Zheng Xiuyan of her new and old grievances. She grabbed Zheng Xiujing's head and started to rub it.

Zheng's mother, who had heard from Zheng's father about what Zheng Xiujing said earlier, was a bit amused and quickly stopped the two from fighting.

Zheng's father was also speechless. Since he had already made an exception for Xia Houzhong, if he didn't let the other two drink a little, it would be hard to calm them down. He thought it was fine to let them drink a little, as it was at home and could be considered a celebration of a new family member. He discussed it with Zheng's mother.

Zheng's mother, unable to resist, nodded in agreement, especially after seeing Xia Houzhong's pitiful gaze.

Zheng's father took out two more glasses, and Zheng's mother personally poured a little wine for the two sisters, teaching them how to drink red wine and emphasizing that this was a one-time thing, and they wouldn't be allowed to drink again until they were 18.

The two sisters immediately smiled and nodded, though it was unclear if they would remember. They were excited to finally taste the legendary wine.

They kept asking for more as Zheng's mother poured the wine. When they saw they only had half as much as Xia Houzhong, they looked disappointed, making Zheng's father and mother quite amused, unsure if they would regret this decision.

The two sisters, mimicking Xia Houzhong, took a small sip and slightly frowned.

Zheng Xiuyan swallowed the wine, tasted it, and said, "It doesn't seem very good. It's a bit sour and astringent."

"Mine is the same as yours, sister," Zheng Xiujing agreed, though her words were a bit redundant, as it was from the same bottle.

"If you don't like it, do you want me to drink it for you?" Xia Houzhong, hearing their words, was delighted. The rule about not drinking until 18 included him, so he wanted to drink as much as possible.

"Don't even think about it, humph," the two sisters said in unison, glaring at him. Zheng Xiuyan added, "Scoundrel."

---

The page flip ad starts.

The page flip ad ends.