Family Feuds & Bullseye Blunders
544 Words
Yuan kicked off his sneakers at the entrance, the apartment’s atmosphere thick enough to slice with a butter knife. His mother hunched over the stove, pausing every few minutes to clutch her lower back like it owed her child support. His stepfather brooded on the couch like a storm cloud wearing sweatpants.
"Mom, you’re supposed to be resting." Yuan steered her to a chair, ignoring the human thundercloud in the living room.
His brother emerged in a door-slamming crescendo, collapsing into a chair with the grace of a disgruntled sea lion. The family ate in silence, chopsticks clinking like passive-aggressive Morse code.
Stepfather finally broke the ice: "A-Lin, discipline your brother. Be a *role model*."
"You’re his sperm donor. Do your job." Yuan murdered a dumpling with his chopsticks.
"A-Bai!" His mother interjected. "Respect your elders!"
Yuan swallowed seven comebacks. *Living under this roof meant digesting rage like expired milk.*
Later, sorting packages:
"Where’s my computer?"
Mother fidgeted. "Your stepfather… gave it to your brother. For ‘academic research’."
Yuan’s eye twitched. *Of course.* The gaming rig he’d saved three months for now hosted his brother’s hentai archive.
"Mom, when I graduate…"
"I know." She patted his hand. "We’ll move out. Just… endure."
---
### **Dawn of the Arrow-pocalypse**
The sports field baked under September’s last cruel prank. Yuan slumped in the grass, tuning out the principal’s speech about "school spirit" (translation: unpaid labor).
"Check the VIP section!" A classmate elbowed him.
A procession of private school elites arrived – Gucci backpacks gleaming, entitlement radiating like nuclear fallout. At the center strode Ye Yingli, Fenghai Academy’s "Ice Queen," her raven ponytail slicing through the air like a guillotine.
"Ye Yingli! Archery Club’s untouchable goddess!" Boys whispered. "Rumor says she’s never missed bullseye!"
"Until today," Yuan muttered.
---
### **Showdown at High Noon**
"Contestant 0723, Ye Yingli!"
The Ice Queen nocked her arrow. Nine perfect shots later, the crowd held its breath.
*Thwack!*
"10 points!"
On the final draw, the announcer boomed: "Contestant 0724, Yuan Shenglin–"
Ye Yingli’s arrow veered wildly.
"4 points!"
Gasps rippled. 94 points – still top score, but her porcelain facade cracked.
Yuan strolled to the line, baseball cap backwards. *Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!* Arrows peppered the target like angry hornets.
"99 points! New champion!"
The crowd erupted. Ye Yingli watched, nails digging crescent moons into her palms, as Yuan accepted his medal with the enthusiasm of someone receiving a parking ticket.
---
### **Ghosts of Arrows Past**
"Long time no see… A-Lin."
Yuan froze. The voice from his nightmares – smooth as cyanide-laced honey.
Ye Yingli approached, a snow leopard debating whether to pounce or play dead. "You’ve been… well?"
He turned. Eighteen months hadn’t dulled her beauty – nor the memory of her texting *"We’re through"* during his mother’s first chemotherapy session.
"Don’t." He slapped her hand away. "You forfeited touching privileges when you traded me for that yacht-club Ken doll."
"But I–"
"Save it." Yuan shouldered past. "Your perfect life missing something? Tough. I’m not your redemption DLC."
Ye Yingli stood statue-still as he vanished into the crowd, her meticulously crafted ice queen persona melting under the autumn sun.
**[System Ding!]**
**[New Character Unlocked: Frostbite Ex (Emotional Damage +30%/Sanity -50%)]**
**[Achievement: "Dodged a Gold-Digging Icicle"]**
- Writer
