Aunt Aurelia was the classic case of a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Her current anxiety about her children's future was the most normal state for a mother. Her daughter had already gotten into a vocational college, and her son's grades made her see black spots before her eyes. It would be strange if she weren't worried.

  Grace understood her aunt perfectly. However, in their past lives, her cousin Lisa's life had actually been quite smooth. After graduating from the flight attendant program, she successfully joined an airline and became a stewardess. Although it was hard work, it was, as Aunt Aurelia said, somewhat respectable.

  Later, on a flight, she met her future husband, an ordinary employee at a multinational company.

  After they married, the husband's career unexpectedly took off. He rose from a regular employee all the way to regional director. Lisa also gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, in her first pregnancy and lived a very comfortable life with her husband's family.

  Aunt Aurelia and Uncle Casper also enjoyed the benefits brought by their daughter, and their lives improved as well.

  It was her cousin Glory whose life had been different. As expected, he failed miserably in the college entrance exams. No one even suggested he repeat his last year in high school because everyone knew he simply wasn't cut out for studying.

  Later, he went to a technical school and majored in animation production. After graduation, he joined an outsourcing production company. When busy, he pulled all-nighters constantly. That originally tall, handsome young man actually started balding before he was thirty! And developed a beer belly!

  He dated several girlfriends, but none of the relationships lasted because he simply had no extra energy to devote to a partner.

  Later, Aunt Aurelia became so anxious that she started arranging blind dates for him. He eventually married a woman somewhat arbitrarily, but they divorced within two years due to emotional incompatibility, leaving him with a son just over a year old.

  Now, looking at her tall, youthfully and beautiful cousin Lisa and her vibrant, tall, and handsome cousin Glory sitting before her, Grace herself couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic and sigh with emotion.

  They had grown up together and were especially close. On one hand, Grace sincerely hoped Lisa would find a good partner and live a happy life like last time. On the other hand, she didn't want Glory to repeat his past mistakes and be crushed by life.

  "Auntie, don't worry about these things. Even if Lisa and Glory don't go to university, they will still make something of themselves in the future," Grace comforted her aunt.

  Audrey also nodded. "Grace is right. Lisa and Glory are both good kids. They won't do poorly in the future."

  Hearing her children praised made Aurelia feel somewhat better inside, but she couldn't help adding, "Sis, you and Grace don't need to comfort me. I've figured it out now. I don't expect them to achieve great things. I just hope that after graduating from their vocational programs, they can find stable jobs and support themselves."

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  Casper also nodded beside her. "Yes, it's hard to find jobs nowadays. Many university graduates can't even find work."

  Lisa and Glory buried their heads in their food and didn't make a sound. Every time it reached this point, the two of them just listened silently, already used to it.

  After all, since they were little, they had been the comparison group in the family. Whenever the topic of children came up, others were always praised, while they were always the ones scolded.

  Fortunately, Grace was thoughtful. Each time, she would take the initiative afterwards to comfort her cousins privately. This prevented any rift from forming between them and instead made their relationship even closer.

  Grace put down her fork and suddenly looked at her aunt with a serious expression. "Auntie, whether it's Lisa or Glory, if they ever encounter difficulties in the future, I won't stand by and do nothing."

  "They're still young now. They might have no plans for the future and feel lost. But if one day they have a goal, I, as their older sister, will definitely help."

  It was originally just venting and complaining a bit, but Aurelia didn't expect her niece to suddenly say such things to her. For a moment, she was stunned.

  Reacting, she quickly said, "Grace, that's not what Auntie meant. You're still a university student yourself. How could Auntie let you worry about your younger cousins' affairs..."

  Seeing her aunt's flustered response, Grace smiled. "I know, Auntie. But I'm serious."

  Aurelia's mouth hung half-open, momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say, only feeling a twinge of sadness in her nose.

  She was an emotional person. Regardless of whether Grace's words would be fulfilled in the future, hearing them now moved her deeply. It made her feel she hadn't doted on this niece for nothing.

  Seeing this, Audrey gently patted her sister's hand and said softly, "The children are all close. It's only natural they support each other."

  Aurelia wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and nodded gently.

  After dinner, Grace brought out the gifts she had bought for them.

  "Uncle Casper, this is for you."

  "There's one for me too? Thank you, Grace!" Casper reached out and took it. It was a new mobile phone!

  Grace figured that with Uncle Casper's personality, he would probably use a phone for years without being willing to replace it, so a new phone was the most practical.

  Naturally, the gifts for her younger cousins were more plentiful.

  For Glory, she bought sneakers, a tablet computer, a PSP, and other things boys liked.

  For Lisa, she bought a handbag, perfume, and a full set of new digital devices.

  "Thank you, sis! Oh my gosh, all these together must cost several dollars!" Lisa was both touched and felt bad about the money spent on her sister.

  Grace smiled and said, "Don't worry about the cost. If you lack anything in the future, just tell your sister."

  Lisa hugged the first genuine Chanel handbag of her life and nodded vigorously.

  Glory, however, sidles up and whispers, "Sis, then I want to study abroad."

  "What?"

  Lisa exclaimed in surprise, then couldn't help laughing. "With your grades, not even the diploma mills overseas would want you!"

  "But my English is good!" Glory widened his eyes, saying proudly, "Maybe my English is even better than sis's!"

  "Give me a break," Lisa rolled her eyes and turned to Grace. "Sis, don't listen to his nonsense. He's watched too many foreign shows and started hallucinating."

  Because Uncle Casper was from the north, her cousins and even her aunt usually spoke with a bit of a northern accent, which sounded particularly amusing.

  "You don't understand anything. I won't talk to you," Glory also looked at Grace and grinned. "Sis, don't a lot of people go abroad these days to get a gilding? Get a foreign diploma, then come back and say they're overseas returnees."

  Hearing this, Grace laughed. "You should spend less time on TikTok. With your grades, do you still want to study abroad? Where? Africa might be a possibility."

  "Pfft..." Lisa couldn't help laughing out loud.

  Being teased by his own sister might not work, but being teased by Grace instantly deflated him.

  Seeing this, Grace said, "Let me give you some serious advice. Given your aptitude for studying, don't consider using a diploma to achieve self-worth. It's useless!"

  Even if she had all the money in the world, she couldn't change the fact that her cousin had no talent for academics.

  Sure, you could buy degrees from many foreign universities, but what's the point?

  An empty shell of a third-rate foreign university diploma, filled with nothing but worthless fluff—it would only waste your own life and time.

  "Find your direction in life. Think carefully about what you really want to do, then come talk to me. When that time comes, your sister will step in."