"You're quite lucky; you happened to be able to answer all the questions this time." Song Tianfang crossed her legs, her expression somewhat unnatural. "It wasn't for nothing that your father insisted on supporting your education."

Before Chen Na and Song Tianhui could retort, her husband Sun Tao added, "But these days, top scorers aren't so rare. Every province produces one every year. Many PhD students can't even find jobs these days, so Song Xia, you can't be arrogant."

"Isn't that surprising? There are hundreds of thousands of college entrance exam takers in this province this year. You look down on the top scorer among hundreds of thousands. So, does that mean your Sun Hui is even more outstanding than Xia Xia?" Chen Na couldn't stand the couple. She was clearly jealous, but she insisted on saying such things.

She gave a forced smile and asked, "Brother-in-law, which PhD student do you know who can't find a job? I've never heard of that."

Sun Tao rolled his eyes: "The college entrance exam is just one of the many opportunities in life. The key is the workplace you end up in. Sister-in-law, you don't have a formal job yet, so you don't know how sought-after our company is. Last year, we even had graduate students who got in, but they only earned a few thousand yuan a month."

"Brother-in-law, are you looking down on your job? That makes sense. Your salary has never been high. But brother-in-law, you're not a permanent employee, so this might be your life. It's different for graduate students. They get permanent jobs right away, and this is just their starting point."

"How dare you talk to your brother-in-law like that?" Song Tianfang was displeased to see her husband get the short end of the stick. Although their family wasn't very wealthy, her parents-in-law both had retirement pensions, which was much better than her younger brother and sister-in-law, none of whom had formal jobs. She had always felt superior, so why was Chen Na talking to her husband like that?

"Chen Na, who do you think you are? How many days of schooling have you even had?"

“I haven’t read many books and I’m not much of a talent, but at least I wouldn’t casually give advice to a top scorer in the college entrance examination or a PhD, unlike you guys who are just average yourselves but look down on others.”

"Enough!" Song Tianfang slammed her hand on the table, then turned to Song Tianhui and provoked him, "You just let your wife slander me like this? Do you even respect me as your sister?"

"Then when have you ever respected your deceased elder brother?" Song Tianhui could no longer contain himself. "Song Tianfang, put away your arrogance. Our two families have never taken advantage of you. Xiaxia becoming the top scholar should be a happy occasion, but you two have to say such discouraging things. What are you up to?"

"I'm your older sister!" Seemingly embarrassed by being addressed in front of so many younger relatives, Song Tianfang's face turned ashen. "Do you even want us to continue being relatives?"

“It’s because you don’t treat us like family, Song Tianfang. Ask yourself honestly, how have my brother and I ever wronged you all these years? Every time you and Sun Tao argued, it was always my brother and I who stood up for you. But after my brother passed away, did you take care of Xiaxia and the others even once? We don’t ask you to take care of anything, but at least don’t bully the three children!”

Song Tianfang's pupils dilated in shock: "In your heart, is this the kind of person your sister is?"

Song Tianhui sneered: "Don't you know what you've done?"

Song Tianfang stood up, carrying her purse, and said fiercely, "Fine, since you don't acknowledge me as your sister, even if you beg me to come to your door, I won't come again."

"You'd better keep your word and not come to my house crying again after you and Sun Tao have a fight."

Chen Na chimed in from the side, "It's best if you don't come, so you don't have to take a big bag of stuff from my house every time you leave. Those things all cost money."

Song Tianhui was annoyed: "Alright, just shut up."

Chen Na rolled her eyes and said nothing more, then winked at Song Xia.

Song Tianfang pulled Sun Tao away, saying, "She's only passed the imperial examination with top honors, and you're all fawning over her like this. I want to see what kind of name she can achieve in the future, and how much she can help you."

"You don't need to worry about this."

After the couple left, the atmosphere finally eased a bit. Song Jun said coldly, "They said before that they wanted to sever ties with us. I don't know what they came here for today. Outsiders would congratulate my sister on passing the imperial examination, but they only say discouraging things."

When he first heard the first sentence, Song Tianhui wanted to give her a lecture. After all, she was his own sister, and they had shared the same womb, so their relationship was naturally different. But when he heard the second sentence, he sighed instead.

Putting aside Sun Tao, Song Tianfang's actions were truly despicable. Her words and deeds were nothing like those of an elder; instead, they were like those of an enemy. It's truly baffling how things turned out this way. Even though their own lives are more difficult, they don't hold grudges like Song Tianfang. Why can't they stand to see others doing well?

Little did he know that it was because the couple were both vain that they liked to put on a show in public. Although they had some wealth, they didn't have much cash on hand and basically spent everything they got.

They are just ordinary people, and no one respects them outside. But here, they think they are doing the best. Whenever they say a few words of advice, it's as if they have received a great favor. So why can't they take advantage of others? And once they are doing a little better here, they will feel a sense of crisis because they don't have a sense of superiority. So why can't they slander them?

It is often said that some relatives are not as good as friends and neighbors. That's true. You can be good to them, but you can't be better than them. You can't have what they don't have.

Now that Song Xia has become the top scorer in the provincial college entrance examination, the only one they can compare to is their own child, Sun Hui. But is it so easy to become the top scorer? Given Sun Hui's current study motivation and intelligence, it's practically impossible for her to reach Song Xia's current level.

Therefore, they could only use other examples, such as future job choices, and the extremely rare downfall of top students, to try to continue belittling Song Xia and show that their family was still the best off.

Song Xia said calmly, "Uncle, some feelings can't be forced. Learning to let go is the only way to live up to yourself. I never let such troubles bother me. You should also think more about yourself, Aunt, and Song Hao. Every time Second Aunt goes over, think about who gets the most tired?"

Song Tianhui sighed in silence again, glancing at his wife Chen Na with a guilty look.

Chen Na doesn't care about him; she's not as insightful as a child. She's wasted these past few decades.

Song Jun stared intently at Song Xia, recalling the time when his father had just passed away and he and Song Jiao were being unreasonable. His sister had always resorted to harsh and forceful pressure. He had no doubt that if he and Song Jiao didn't change their attitude, his sister would grow increasingly cold towards them until they came of age, at which point she would sever all ties with them. Even now, his sister was extremely strict about keeping their finances separate, despite his and Song Jiao's numerous subtle attempts to address the issue. Had he and Song Jiao hurt his sister too much in the past?