Chapter 339

Jingcheng, a certain club

Huo Siyan organized the final pre-Spring Festival gathering of the Teddy Sisters Group in Jingcheng.

As the Teddy Sisters Group grew larger, many sisters achieved career success or started families, making gatherings less frequent and harder to assemble everyone.

According to Huo Siyan's statistics, in all of 2008, the entire Teddy Sisters Group gathered together only once, and gatherings of seven or more occurred four times.

However, it was reassuring that although attendance was inconsistent, the bond remained unbroken.

Although they missed the big gatherings, whenever they had time, the sisters showed up—no one was permanently absent or skipped multiple gatherings outside work obligations.

Beyond offline gatherings, their online Weibo interactions were also very close; even Qin Lan, who kept a low profile due to her blog scandal, occasionally appeared in the Teddy Sisters Group's comment section.

"Big sister's here."

Zhao Ke called out; Huo Siyan and Li Xiaolu stepped out of the private room, and Ma Yili arrived with her small bag, making Huo Siyan sigh slightly.

"Why didn't you bring Ama?"

Ama was the daughter born to Wen Zhang and Ma Yili last year; Ama was her nickname, the meaning needing no explanation—it had drawn much teasing from the sisters about Wen Zhang being overly sentimental.

"The baby's still little and fussy, so my mom's watching her at home."

Ma Yili looked in good spirits; last year she married Wen Zhang and gave birth to a daughter, and the young couple were very affectionate.

After "Struggle," Wen Zhang's career also made great progress—he starred as the male lead in several dramas last year, gaining momentum, which allowed her to comfortably stay home and care for the child.

"Big sister, aren't you going home for the New Year this year?"

Li Xiaolu asked; Ma was from Shanghai, Wen Zhang was from Xi'an, both outsiders, and in the past they always returned to their hometowns for the holidays.

Unlike her and Huo Siyan, who were both native to Jingcheng, they had the energy to organize gatherings before the holiday.

"It's our first year married; going to either family's home isn't appropriate, and with the baby, we just stayed in Jingcheng—my mom and his parents are here too."

Huo Siyan praised: "Good, now we have somewhere to pay New Year visits."

Ma Yili turned to Zhao Ke: "Little Seven, why aren't you going back to your hometown?"

After Ying Caier and Gan Wei joined the Teddy Sisters Group, they became Little Eight and Little Nine; originally the youngest, Zhao Ke became Little Seven.

Zhao Ke looked gentle and quiet, like a woman from the water towns, but she was actually from Henan Province, and usually returned home for the New Year.

"There are two Spring Festival events on Jingcheng TV I have to attend; I'll head back on the third day of the New Year."

Zhao Ke explained; although her career progress was the lowest among the Teddy Sisters Group, she'd played supporting roles alongside the older sisters and rode their popularity to gain minor fame.

For actors at this third- or fourth-tier level, being invited to such TV station holiday events was a decent gig—never turn one down if you can help it.

As they chatted, new arrivals came: Qin Lan led the way, followed by… Yang Mi.

Huo Siyan instinctively glanced at Li Xiaolu, who said nothing; the group stepped forward to greet Qin Lan.

"Why did you come together?"

"I happened to be meeting Yi An and Yu Zheng to discuss a script; Mi Mi was there, so I invited her."

Yang Mi got along closely with the Teddy Sisters Group—in fact, she was especially close to Qin Lan.

If Qin Lan was present, Yang Mi would definitely attend gatherings; otherwise, it depended on luck—this caused some members of the Teddy Sisters Group to harbor resentment toward Yang Mi.

Whether Yang Mi truly counted as a member of the Teddy Sisters Group remained ambiguous.

As for Yang Mi herself, she didn't care—and even preferred to keep things vague.

Her goal was to cling to Qin Lan's coattails; pleasing Qin Lan was enough. To her, the Teddy Sisters Group merely needed to appear close; there was no need to become true sisters.

Don't forget, Dong Xuan and Huo Siyan didn't get along well; if Yang Mi grew too close to the rest of the Teddy Sisters Group, it would harm her relationship with Dong Xuan.

Yang Mi's strategy of straddling both sides was accepted by Qin Lan and Dong Xuan, who maintained mutual understanding and saw her loyalty as sufficient.

But some members of the Teddy Sisters Group strongly disapproved—Huo Siyan was the representative.

Of course, this was just something to hear and not take seriously; Li Xiaolu also had ties with Dong Xuan's side, and none of the other Teddy Sisters Group members had completely severed ties with Dong Xuan or Fan Xiaopang.

Huo Siyan's resentment toward Yang Mi stemmed not just from Yang Mi herself, but from Qin Lan's obvious favoritism toward her, which made Huo feel threatened.

Among the Teddy Sisters Group, the two people Qin Lan trusted most were Huo Siyan and Liu Yun.

The latter was slightly more trusted, but Liu Yun had a volatile temper and a dim mind; Huo Siyan firmly kept her under control, wary but not fearful.

Yang Mi was different: she straddled both sides and was heavily promoted by Yi An, proving her capability—Huo Siyan naturally had to stay alert and guard against Yang Mi stealing her position as Qin Lan's top confidante.

But for now, Yang Mi's strength and weakness both came from straddling both sides; she might be close to Qin Dong, but she was unlikely to ever become one of their most core, most trusted people.

"Big Sister Ma, Big Sister Huo, Big Sister Li, Big Sister Zhao."

Yang Mi greeted each one in turn; no matter what she thought inside, at Teddy Sisters Group gatherings, she always played the role of the obedient little sister.

Li Xiaolu slipped in a quick update to Qin Lan: "Sister, Little Nine can't make it today—we're just six of us."

Last year, two members of the Teddy Sisters Group got married: Big Sister Ma Yili and Little Nine Gan Wei.

Notably, neither held a wedding ceremony.

Wen and Ma married because of pregnancy; the bride wasn't in a good state then, so they skipped the ceremony and later treated friends and family to a meal.

As for Jia and Gan, it was harder to say—the group even suspected Gan Wei was exaggerating and hadn't married at all.

Whether married or not, life with a wealthy husband wasn't easy; ordinary days were fine, but during special times like before and after the New Year, schedules became inflexible.

Gan Wei didn't come; Little Five Liu Yun and Little Eight Ying Caier returned home for the New Year; Little Six Xiong Naijin was filming elsewhere; everyone else was present.

"Come on, last year was full of good news—two sisters got married, Big Sister gave birth to a daughter, the Teddy Sisters Group has successors—let's raise a toast to Big Sister!"

Once everyone was assembled, Huo Siyan immediately livened the mood, finding an excuse to start drinking.

They clinked glasses, and conversation flowed freely; Ma Yili, as Big Sister and new mother, began her usual pressure to marry and have children.

Yang Mi and Zhao Ke were fine—they were younger—but Qin Lan and the others couldn't escape it.

Ma Yili knew her limits; she didn't bring up marriage with Qin Lan, but children were fair game.

"Next year you'll be thirty, Seeing Yan Li's getting close too—what are you waiting for?"

Qin Lan took a sip of wine and gave her usual evasive reply: "Soon, soon."

Ma Yili couldn't get anywhere with her, so she turned her attention to Huo Siyan: "Little Three, you've known that boyfriend for a long time—when are you bringing him to meet us?"

Since Huo Siyan's recent intimacy was discovered, she invented a boyfriend to save trouble, but never introduced him to her sisters.

"Don't mention it—he's mad at me for ignoring him; we're in a cold war."

Huo Siyan's words were insincere; in truth, Seeing Yan Li was too busy to pay her attention, so she just fantasized about him a little.

Others didn't know, but Li Xiaolu understood exactly what was going on, and couldn't help sneaking a smile.

Yang Mi got along fairly well with her, since Li Xiaolu was famous and also got along decently with Dong Xuan, and they were all from Jingcheng with shared topics, so she curiously asked.

"Xiaolu-jie, what are you smiling at?"

"I'm not smiling at anything—just thought of a joke."

Li Xiaolu fell silent under Huo Siyan's warning glance, but Qin Lan and Ma Yili still wouldn't let it go.

Unable to pry open Huo Siyan, they turned to Li Xiaolu: "How's it going with Han Geng?"

"Han Geng? Who's that?"

Zhao Ke leaned over to gossip. Qin Lan chuckled: "You're younger than us, yet you don't even know Han Geng? He's from a Korean boy band—super popular."

Yang Mi reminded her: "He's in 'Welcome to Jingcheng.'"

Zhao Ke suddenly remembered: "Now that you mention it, I recall him—but isn't he based in Korea?"

"Looks like he's planning to return to China. Someone leaked photos of him having dinner with your fourth sister—they went viral. Your internet speed is way too slow."

Ma Yili complained. Zhao Ke protested: "I've got plenty of work too—I can't stare at trending lists all day."

Then she turned to Li Xiaolu: "Fourth sister, you're so unfair—dating someone and not telling the sisters."

"Who said I'm dating? We just had dinner."

Li Xiaolu scoffed: "You should check trending lists more—he's chatting with Huang Yiyi, singing karaoke with Niu Mengmeng, busier than our brother-in-law."

"Cough, cough."

Qin Lan cleared her throat: "Talk all you want, but don't bring up nonsense."

Li Xiaolu is the fourth sister; she calls only three men 'brother-in-law.' Huo Siyan's 'boyfriend' has never been seen; Wen Zhang she's never called brother-in-law, and her private life is clean.

So, who this 'brother-in-law' is goes without saying.

In fact, although Wen Zhang is the eldest sister's brother-in-law, he was previously low-profile and young, unable to command respect.

The title 'brother-in-law' mostly refers to Qin Lan's Seeing Yan Li. Zhao Ke, Gan Wei, and others who are younger and lower-ranked sometimes call him 'eldest brother-in-law' or 'Brother Wen,' but Huo Siyan and Li Xiaolu usually just call him by name.

It's no wonder Wen Zhang sometimes resents the Teddy Sisters' group.

Some sisters indeed treat him, Ma Yili's 'little husband,' with mockery and condescension, which wounds his pride.

"We didn't even say anything—you're rushing to defend him. Seeing Yan Li's so arrogant because you've spoiled him."

During private gatherings, Ma Yili spoke up again, but Qin Lan ignored her and asked Li Xiaolu about Han Geng instead.

"Nothing much—just a friend introduced us for dinner. Turned out he's just… average."

Li Xiaolu has always made clear she and Seeing Yan Li are just sex partners. That day, her friend organized it; she had no real intention—just wanted to meet him.

To be fair, she's always liked trends, and the trendy allure of boy bands added some appeal for her.

But after meeting him, Li Xiaolu was deeply disappointed.

How to put it? Though she'd spent little time with Seeing Yan Li and few times together, she'd inevitably been influenced—her standards and tastes had risen sharply.

So when faced with such a situation, Li Xiaolu unconsciously compared him to Seeing Yan Li.

That's pure bullying!

Han Geng wasn't doing badly—he had looks, height, and was a top Korean idol.

But compared to Seeing Yan Li, an 80s self-made business legend, he was nowhere near the same league—completely outclassed in status, aura, wealth, and overall charm.

As Li Xiaolu privately told Huo Siyan, Han Geng was extremely childish—compared to Seeing Yan Li, he was like an ungrown child.

Later, the whole thing fizzled out. Then Han Geng was exposed for other celebrity scandals, and Li Xiaolu looked down on him even more.

Seeing Yan Li can be as flashy as he wants—who are you to play this game?

"No man is any good."

Li Xiaolu concealed her comparison to Seeing Yan Li, only saying she wasn't impressed, and used Han Geng's scandals to celebrate escaping a playboy. Zhao Ke took up for her fourth sister and launched a broadside.

"Hey, our Wen Zhang isn't like that."

Ma Yili immediately defended her husband—after marrying and having a daughter, Wen Zhang had truly behaved well, worthy of being a good husband and father, so she naturally defended him.