3 Chapter 3 Attitude Shift?_1

"Are your hands useless? Or are they useless?"

Musheng cocked his head, seemingly puzzled as he looked at Ma Nanji. Yet the words that came out of his mouth made Ma Nanji explode in rage!

"What did you say!"

Ma Nanji yelled, his delicate and handsome face somewhat twisted. Xiaojuan knew all too well about Ma Nanji's temper and how irritable he was, especially since he often cursed at his sister for being useless. She was aware of their strained sibling relationship, but she never expected it to be so volatile that a single sentence could set it off.

Xiaojuan sat stiffly, feeling awkward as well, but the corner of her eyes curiously glanced at Musheng. Ma Nanji had said that his sister was both weak and temperless, right? She seemed so afraid that she would cry at the slightest stern word from him, so why was she so calmly sitting on the couch now, without a hint of panic, even as Ma Nanji was raging like an angry lion?

"Look, having a brother with a low IQ is really troublesome. Since Mom went out to buy food for you, couldn't you cook for yourself if your hands aren't broken? Even if you couldn't make rice, you could at least cook some noodles, right? Boiling water and tossing in noodles is all it takes; if you can't even do that, doesn't it mean your hands are useless?"

Musheng seemed to explain in a good-natured tone, but his words infuriated Ma Nanji to no end. His rage grew, unable to believe that his sister, who normally didn't dare to raise her voice, would dare to mock him like this, especially in front of his girlfriend. In a moment of agitation, he hurled his cellphone at her with all his might.

Xiaojuan's eyes widened in shock, never expecting Ma Nanji to actually strike his sister. But what made her nearly scream was that Musheng didn't seem panicked at all. She just casually lifted her hand, exuding a cool detachment and sharpness. The cellphone hurled at her shot back with the speed of lightning, "smack," hitting Ma Nanji right on the forehead!

"Ah!!!"

Ma Nanji screamed painfully and collapsed onto the couch.

Damn, that was cool!

Astonished by Musheng's action, Xiaojuan's first thought was just that. Regaining her senses, she cried out, "Nanji!!" and rushed to check her boyfriend's injury.

"What a pity..." Musheng glanced at the now-dismembered smartphone on the ground after hitting Ma Nanji and mused, "Why couldn't it be a Nokia?"

If it had been, Ma Nanji would have been laid up in the hospital for anything from a month to half a year.

Ma Nanji stiffened all over, unable to cry out with his hand still on his forehead. Despite the throbbing pain, he squinted at Musheng across from him.

This time she had changed position, facing Ma Nanji with one leg over the other, her casual indifference contrasting with Ma Nanji's carelessness. She possessed a majestic and commanding presence, with arms crossed and chin tilted up in a smile that was not quite a smile: "Little brother, looks like your sister has neglected to teach you how to respect your elders for far too long."

Her words were casual, but they felt laced with shards of ice. Ma Nanji, still in a state of shock, felt as if cold water had been splashed on him, extinguishing the fiery rage within him, but he still glared at Musheng and said stubbornly, "You dare hit me, I'm going to tell Mom!"

He didn't stop to consider why Musheng was acting so differently today. After being put in his place, his immediate thought was to invoke their mother to intimidate Musheng.

Musheng smiled meaningfully at Ma Nanji, "Sure, she just got back. Go ahead and tell her."

No sooner had Musheng spoken than the door lock clicked, and a woman with her hair up and wearing a turtleneck sweater entered. Ma Nanji and Xiaojuan's eyes widened instantly.

"Oh, Musheng, you're back?"

Ma Changying opened the door to find everyone staring at her with a bit of confusion, but then her eyes fell on another figure on the couch, and she exclaimed with warmth and mild reproach, "Why are you back so late? Do you know how worried I've been? Are you hungry?"

Ma Nanji was utterly dumbfounded.

He pointed at Musheng in shock, "You... you..." but couldn't finish his sentence for a long time. Just because he hadn't come home for five days due to boarding school, had the world really changed this freaking much?

On the contrary, Musheng simply waved his hand: "Not hungry."

That attitude which was less than appreciative of Ma Changying's concern completely infuriated Ma Nanji again. He exploded with anger, "Mom, Musheng just hit me!"

This sudden outburst startled both Xiaojuan and their mother.

"Don't be disrespectful. She's your older sister. You're not allowed to call her by name! Besides, what's wrong with her hitting you? It's for your own good. Otherwise, it means you did something wrong!"

With that one sentence, Ma Nanji's entire worldview collapsed.

As if deeming that he was not sufficiently disturbed, Musheng lazily looked at him and said coolly, "Why so loud? You scared the poor girl."

After saying this, she glanced at Xiaojuan; realizing it was about her, Xiaojuan exclaimed "Ah" and turned red-faced upon seeing Musheng's teasing expression.

Neither Ma Changying nor Ma Nanji noticed her reaction. When Ma Changying did see her, she was quite surprised, "Who is this girl?"

But she had her suspicions, so she directed the question at Ma Nanji.

As a girl herself not so thick-skinned, Xiaojuan stood up shyly and greeted, "Hello, Auntie. I'm Ma Nanji's classmate. My name is Yang Xiaojuan, you can just call me Xiaojuan."

She had arrived after Ma Changying had left, so Ma Changying had not met her before.

After speaking, she sneaked another look at Musheng. Musheng was watching tv, not paying attention to them, and Yang Xiaojuan suddenly felt an indescribable sensation in her heart.

"Oh, Xiaojuan..."

Ma Changying was not truly oblivious. She didn't point out the young people's flirtations and smiled warmly at Yang Xiaojuan, "Have you eaten? Should I make something for you two?"

"Oh, no need, no need," Yang Xiaojuan said, glancing at her phone, noticing it was quite late, and started to prepare to leave: "Auntie, it's getting late. I should go." She knew when it was time to leave.

"Goodbye, Auntie. Ma Nanji, I'm leaving. Bye... Nanji, bye!" At the door, Yang Xiaojuan bid farewell to each of them in turn. Musheng, languidly lifted his hand as a gesture: "Goodbye..."

Ma Nanji was still sulking and completely ignored the fact that his little girlfriend was leaving. After Yang Xiaojuan left, Ma Changying asked Musheng with concern, "Are you sure you don't want to eat anything? I remember your convenience store job doesn't provide dinner."

Musheng was about to reply when Ma Nanji, already bursting with anger, snapped, "Mom, I'm hungry!"

Ma Changying opened her mouth as if to say something but eventually said nothing, only responding, "Alright, I'll make you something."

She walked into the kitchen with a bag of marinated food in hand. That's when Ma Nanji glared viciously at Musheng: "What kind of Love Potion have you given to mom?"

He couldn't believe it—the red and swollen mark on his forehead was plain to see, and yet mom could act as if she saw nothing. He was utterly flabbergasted!