A Yang Family Girl Comes of Age—And Becomes a Hardcore Otaku (Part Two)

As the saying goes, "It's easier to deal with the King of Hell than with his little minions." This might not be a perfect fit for the situation, but it does sum up how Jill Young feels right now. The whole Yang family has basically been sorted out—anyone who’s reasonable and can follow logic has been utterly shocked by the news Jill brought.

They’ll rack their brains, think things through, and carefully choose their future paths. No matter what they pick, they know what’s urgent and what’s not—they’re not about to make trouble for Jill.

But all that grown-up logic? Doesn’t work on kids. Especially those twelve- or thirteen-year-old tweens—they’re a whole different headache. If this was some other family’s kid, Jill wouldn’t bother at all. She’d just tell their parents, “Your kid, your problem,” and let them handle the chaos.

But when it comes to Kathy Yang, it’s a whole different story.

First off, she’s Jill’s little cousin. When it’s your own family’s troublemaker, you’ve got to be a bit gentler. Family’s family, right? If you can smooth things over, you should. Second—well, this little rascal is actually kinda cute, and Her Majesty Jill has always had a soft spot for bullying adorable little girls, so... hehe...

Ahem, okay, let’s just ignore that second part—pretend I never said it! As the saying goes, if you can’t sweep your own house, how can you sweep the world? If you can’t sort out one little girl, how can you bring order to the universe! There’s still time, so Her Majesty Jill will personally step in and make sure this kid acknowledges her as the bossy big sis!

So, that night, Jill Young started plotting her strategy.

Under the glow of her desk lamp in the dark, Jill propped up her chin, pencil in mouth, deep in thought. You know what they say: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never lose." If Jill wants to conquer Kathy Yang, she’s gotta get to know her first.

But seriously, what kind of person is she, anyway? Even after using her Memory Recall Technique to jog her memory, Jill couldn’t dig up anything useful.

Kathy’s nothing like Little Sophie—the age gap between Kathy and Jack Young is massive. When Kathy was born, Jack was already swamped with middle school. By the time Jack was in college, the little girl was still in kindergarten. With a gap that wide, if they weren’t family, Kathy might not even know whether to call him 'brother' or 'uncle.' They say every three years is a generation gap—these two have so many gaps, it’s practically the Grand Canal.

So, from Jack Young’s perspective, Kathy Yang basically went 'zap' and grew up overnight. One second she was a sweet, obedient little kid, and the next she’s a middle-schooler in weird outfits spouting nonsense. As for his little cousin now? He’s basically clueless.

"I think I heard Auntie say the kid’s stubborn, never listens, and is basically impossible to manage—so, problem child confirmed." Whatever, Jill decided to go with a quick and dirty solution: "Hey, Bobby, run a background check!"

Like they say, if you don’t know something domestic, ask Baidu; if it’s foreign, ask Google. But Baidu and Google together can’t beat having Bobby Brooks on your side.

On the other end of the phone, Bobby Brooks thumped his chest enthusiastically: "Just tell me who you want checked—I’ll dig up their entire family tree for you!"

"Check my cousin Kathy Yang."

"Mercy, Your Majesty! I misspoke..." No need to go back eighteen generations—Bobby’s efficiency is top notch: "But don’t worry, Your Majesty, I’ll have the report ready for you in three hours, tops!"

Three hours to dig up dirt on someone thousands of miles away? That’s pretty darn fast. He’s not the CIA, after all. But Jill wasn’t having any of it: "Three hours? I’m giving you three minutes. Chop chop!"

"Three minutes? Uh, Your Majesty, that’s... kinda pushing it…"

"Pushing it? You think I’m an idiot? Feel your own B-cup, pat your heart, and tell me you haven’t run a background check on me. I bet you already know my entire family history. If you haven’t got my friends and relatives’ files ready, I’ll write my name backwards!"

"Uh..." The little chubby guy on the other end was speechless, like Jill had hit his weak spot.