114: Chapter 114 Guess how many mothers I have?

The girls: "???"

Lin Qianxi couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you also from the Qiao Family? Your Martial Arts Talent doesn't look bad either, so why is there such a big difference in how you're treated?"

In her impression, big Families shouldn't be stingy with resources for talented descendants.

Qiao Feifei sighed, a sense of "world-weariness" appearing on her young face that didn't match her age.

"Sisters, you don't understand," she shook her finger.

"My aunt's dad, who is also my grandfather, has seventeen children, and my aunt is the only daughter. Get it?"

The girls were stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Things are valuable when they are rare, let alone in a top-tier wealthy Family like the Qiao Family; the only apple of their eye... how pampered must she be?

One could easily imagine Qiao Shiyu's status in the Qiao Family; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that if she asked for the stars, they would give her the moon.

Seeing their expressions, Qiao Feifei knew they only understood half of it, so she continued in a lowered voice,

"You don't know, big Families are not easy to navigate at all. It's nothing like Lin Yun, who is so happy being the only child in his Family with everyone revolving around him."

"I really envy you all; your Family is stable and peaceful, without so many messy things going on."

As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed everyone's gaze had fallen on her, and she quickly waved her hands.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm genuinely envious!"

"Don't think that children of big Families have it easy; it's actually really hard!"

"Look at my aunt, doesn't she also... um, act cute like crazy?"

After saying this, she realized she had let something slip and quickly covered her mouth, glancing guiltily at Qiao Shiyu, who was busy analyzing a Combat Technique, fearing she might have heard.

Fortunately, Qiao Shiyu was immersed in the dual joy of "studying" and "bickering" and didn't notice them.

The girls were amused by her appearance and chuckled.

Qiao Feifei quickly put her hands together in a pleading gesture.

"Sisters, you didn't hear anything just now! You absolutely cannot tell my aunt!"

Zhao Qingyue suppressed a laugh and nodded seriously.

"Mm-hmm, didn't hear it, we didn't hear anything."

Qiao Feifei breathed a sigh of relief and leaned in closer.

Her voice was even lower, as if she were sharing a shocking secret.

"Although my aunt doesn't do it intentionally, you should understand me, right?"

"Anything she lets slip casually is enough for me... hehe."

She made a "you know" gesture.

The girls understood and nodded one after another, signaling her to continue.

Listening to this gossip was more interesting than watching those two rivals bicker.

Qiao Feifei saw that her audience was cooperative and became even more enthusiastic: "My grandfather married eight wives."

She held up eight fingers.

"Although Martial Artists are powerful and reproduction is relatively slow, Martial Artists live a long time!"

She began to count on her fingers to educate the girls.

"First-rank lives to two hundred, second-rank to four hundred, third-rank to eight hundred, fourth-rank to sixteen hundred!"

"Even if it's hard to have offspring, if you marry many wives and live a long time, the number of descendants... look at my grandfather, didn't he have seventeen?"

The girls listened in amazement.

This fertility rate wasn't high relative to their long lifespans, but the accumulated absolute number was indeed shocking.

"My dad is the third eldest," Qiao Feifei pointed to herself.

"As for his talent... it wasn't very good. After he realized there wasn't much hope for him on the path of Cultivation, he simply... well, didn't rush to Breakthrough to become a Martial Artist."

"Why?" Chen Yuwei asked, confused.

"Let me finish," Qiao Feifei waved her hand.

"It's not that he didn't Breakthrough; he just did it later."

"He realized his Martial Arts Talent was limited, and after he became an adult, he didn't even finish Martial Arts University and just... started marrying wives."

"Guess how many mothers I have?"

Su Yingxue's eyes lit up, her curiosity completely piqued: "How many? Tell us, tell us!"

Qiao Feifei held up two fingers, then added another hand, making a "six":

"Already... twenty-six."

"Hiss—!"

The girls all gasped, exclaiming in low voices.

Twenty-seven?!

This... this is even more than the husband... no, that's not a fair comparison.

Qiao Feifei was very satisfied with their reaction and continued to spill the beans: "Then guess how many older brothers and sisters I have?"

"How many?" This time, even the quietest Shen Youqing couldn't help but ask.

Qiao Feifei held up both hands again and gestured a shocking number: "One hundred and thirty-nine!"

"Oh my god..." Zhao Qingyue covered her mouth.

One hundred and thirty-nine half-siblings?

This... how complicated must these relationships be?

"Now you know why I stick to my aunt every day, right?"

Qiao Feifei spread her hands, looking like she was saying, "Do you know how hard it is for me?"

Everyone nodded frantically.

Understood, completely understood!

In such a big Family where siblings are as numerous as ox hair and the competition is terrifyingly fierce.

Clinging to the thigh of the most favored aunt with the most abundant resources is simply the highest manifestation of survival wisdom!

"Fortunately, my dad later managed a Breakthrough to become a Martial Artist."

Qiao Feifei patted her chest, looking like she still had lingering fears.

"Otherwise... with his 'effort,' the number of my younger siblings would have to double!"

Hearing this, Shen Youqing's maternal instincts were already overflowing, and she took Qiao Feifei's hand:

"Feifei, these years... you must have had a very hard time, right?"

Having to stand out among over a hundred siblings to get resources, while also carefully maintaining the relationship with her aunt...

Upon hearing this, Qiao Feifei was so moved that she was almost in tears, and she squeezed Shen Youqing's hand back:

"Sister Youqing! You're the one who understands me! I've really had it so hard!"

She sniffled and said in a tearful voice (though there weren't many tears in her eyes):

"Do you know how much my annual allowance limit is now?"

"Only thirty million! Thirty million!"

Everyone: "..."

The sympathy that had just risen was like a popped balloon; with a "pfft," it leaked away completely.

Wu Qingya was even more dazed, repeating cautiously: "How... how much? Thir... thirty million?"

Did she hear that right?

Thirty million in allowance a year?

And "only"?!

Think of her, Wu Qingya; she was at least a daughter of the Wu Family, even if she was an illegitimate daughter.

Before she got into Martial Arts University, the total living expenses her dad gave her in a year were probably less than five hundred thousand!

After getting into university, to support her Cultivation, he gritted his teeth and gave her a few million; that was the greatest support she could get!

Wu Qingya generally understood the Family backgrounds of the other sisters, and they were even worse off than her.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been unable to afford even apprentice-level blood-qi pills, getting stuck outside the threshold of Martial Arts University.

But now, Qiao Feifei said she "only" had thirty million in annual allowance.

And she looked so miserable, as if she were "too poor to open the pot"...

Wu Qingya felt her worldview had been slightly impacted.

Qiao Feifei didn't notice the subtle changes in the girls' expressions and was still there "complaining":

"What's with those expressions? I'm really poor! Do you know how miserable the children of big Families are?"