"Oh." Chen Xihua smiled slightly, pretending nothing was wrong, and casually hummed in agreement before walking back to her room on her own.
"Fifth, Fifth Sister..." Chen Baohua had been worried and scared. His hands clenched unconsciously, then he loosened his grip on the hem of his clothes. What would his Fifth Sister scold him for?
He took two steps forward, reaching out to take his fifth sister's hand to explain, but she seemed to dodge him, or perhaps she was turning to go back to her room? Chen Baohua froze, somewhat bewildered.
“Xiao Wu…” Chen Xiuhua frowned, truly worried. She watched Xiao Wu walk into the room, his back seemingly indifferent, and felt uneasy.
Chen Meihua felt a chill run down her spine. She wasn't stupid; the calmer Xiao Wu appeared, the angrier he was. In the past, when Xiao Wu was angry, it was quite obvious—cold or unapproachable. But just now, was Xiao Wu acting as if nothing was wrong?
The others looked at each other in disbelief. Li Yumei's reaction was the most comical. Her mouth was agape, and she was completely stunned. It was unbelievable that Fifth Sister actually believed it.
Chen Lao Er was a little at a loss. Wasn't Xiao Wu angry? She usually cared so much about Xiao Bao, yet she didn't care at all when she learned that his grades had dropped.
The eldest sister, Chen Chunhua, was still confused. "Fourth sister, what's going on?"
"Big sister, let me tell you..." Chen Xiuhua first looked around at the others, especially Chen Xiaoliu. Her gaze lingered on him for a few more seconds before she approached her older sister and whispered.
Inside the room, Chen Xihua rubbed her forehead, ignoring the expressions on the faces of the others in the living room. She had been on a long-distance bus for seven or eight hours and was very tired; she wanted to take a hot shower first.
She first put her schoolbag and luggage away, then picked up her winter pajamas from the bed and went out of the room.
"Xiao Wu, um..." Chen Chunhua already knew what had happened, and her face was also very pale. When she saw Xiao Wu come out, she wanted to say something for Xiao Liu.
"Big sister, aren't you tired from the car ride? I am, so I'm going to take a shower first. Didn't Dad and Mom just say they were fine? Why are you all standing here like this?" Chen Xihua asked, feigning ignorance, interrupting her older sister.
Everyone else was on tenterhooks: Was Xiao Wu's attitude a bit off?
Chen Xihua: What's done is done, we'll find out sooner or later, and she doesn't want to know at all right now.
tired!
About ten minutes later, Chen Xihua came out of the shower. Everyone was already sitting at the dining table, turning to look at her, waiting for her to come out for dinner.
Chen Baohua sat obediently, but turned to the side, her eyes fixed on the bathroom door. When the door opened, she looked longingly at her fifth sister who came out, hesitant to speak.
Chen Xihua walked over and sat down next to Chen Xiaoliu, patting him on the shoulder. Then she picked up her chopsticks, slightly raised her chin, looked at Chen Lao Er, and said naturally, "No need to wait, eat, Dad, start eating."
"Oh, right, let's eat." Chen Lao Er paused for a moment, then started picking up food.
"Fifth sister, I was wrong. Last semester, every weekend I went to my classmate Du Hang's house to play computer games. Last month, a new internet cafe opened at the end of the street in the west district of the county. A lot of people went there. I... I also went to the door a few times, but I couldn't go in. Then, in the final exam, I dropped from first place to thirty-fifth in the class. The homeroom teacher called my parents, and my dad went to the school."
Chen Baohua suddenly grabbed Chen Xihua's right hand, which was about to eat rice, and began to confess his mistakes. His voice was tense and hurried, and he stuttered a little, but he was afraid that his fifth sister would not want to listen, so he finished speaking in one breath.
Then he became a little deflated, his whole body relaxed, his shoulders slumped, but his eyes were still fixed on Chen Xihua's reaction.
Although Chen Xiaoliu didn't dare to use too much force, Chen Xihua still paused in her eating, lowered her eyelids to look at her rice bowl, and then looked up at the plate of dishes in front of her.
"Okay, I understand. Xiao Liu, I'm hungry. Let's eat first." Chen Xihua lifted her elbow, which was being held, with a slight effort, and then began to eat.
She had actually guessed that it was nothing more than eating, drinking, and having fun; she probably hadn't really gone to that level of cheating or slyness yet.
The Chen sisters looked at each other, remained silent, and ate their food with their heads down. Chen Xiaoliu slowly turned around and sat up straight. Her hands trembled slightly, and she picked up her chopsticks, eating her rice listlessly without picking up any other dishes.
After about ten minutes, everyone had almost finished eating. The eldest sister, Chen Chunhua, thought for a moment, looked at Chen Baohua's pitiful appearance, and softened her heart, saying, "Xiao Wu, Xiao Bao was a bit playful, but he knows he was wrong."
"It's no big deal, it's just playing computer games. My little one can even use a computer now, that's amazing." Li Yumei raised her left eyebrow. She really couldn't stand it. What kind of attitude was this fifth daughter? Look how scared the little one is, he's even eating cautiously now.
"Yes, Mom and Dad are right. It's not a big deal. Computer games are just for playing, right?" Chen Xihua put down her chopsticks, took out a tissue to wipe her mouth lightly, and said casually.
"Oh right, Dad and Mom, I forgot to mention that my fourth sister is a senior in high school. Last month, she took her household registration book to register for the college entrance examination, and I registered too. I will take the college entrance examination a year earlier, together with my fourth sister. The school I applied to is also in Beijing."
“Xiao Wu, you asked me for your household registration book the other day, was it for registering for the college entrance examination?” Chen Xiuhua suddenly realized, and also remembered that when Xiao Wu came to her senior class (1) to get her household registration book, all the students in the class looked towards the corridor.
They were in the top class, and their senior year of high school was very demanding. The arrival of Xiao Wu's younger sister excited everyone, allowing them to relax and chat.
"Look, our class's top student's sister seems to have grown up a lot, she's even prettier now, and so tall, almost 1.68 meters! It's only been a little over a year, how can a girl grow taller in high school? Aren't they the boys who grow taller in high school?"
"I heard she's younger; it's normal for girls to still grow taller at fifteen."
"His grades were a bit low. I heard he was put into a regular class in his second year of high school. Wasn't he always around tenth in the grade before? Did he do poorly on the final exam in his first year of high school?"
Fourth Sister Chen Xiuhua thought for a moment, then was brought back to her senses by her father's words, and realized that the atmosphere in the living room was even more strange.
"Oh, okay, ah, early college entrance exam?" Chen Lao Er replied casually, and then, as a reflex, Xiao Wu skipped a grade again.
With a thud, Chen Baohua dropped his chopsticks. He turned his head sharply, his eyes reddening, his gaze filled with panic. It wasn't just guilt and fear of being beaten or scolded anymore; there was also confusion. He swallowed the last mouthful of food haphazardly.
Then, he grabbed Chen Xihua's right hand tightly and pounded his chest with all his might, crying, "Fifth Sister, I know I was wrong. Scold me! Hit me!"
Cough, hiccup... Don't ignore me. You're taking the college entrance exam early and going to university soon. Are you never going to come back? Fifth sister, do you not want to take care of me anymore? Do you not want your little brother anymore?
Fifth sister, you broke your promise. You said you would take care of me if I did something wrong...
Chen Baohua panicked and became somewhat frantic. He grabbed Chen Xihua's hand and started hitting himself repeatedly, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"Xiao Liu, don't do this..." Chen Xihua's expression also became a little strained. She tried to pull her right hand back forcefully, but she couldn't. Her eyes also began to redden.
"Xiao Wu..." The three older sisters of the Chen family stopped eating, a little frightened, anxious and unsure of what to do.
"Xiaobao, my darling son, what are you doing..." Li Yumei was heartbroken and extremely anxious. She stood up abruptly, wanting to go over and comfort Xiaobao, but Chen Lao Er grabbed her arm, saying, "Don't cause trouble!"
"Fifth Sister, I was wrong, please discipline me..." Chen Baohua continued to hit himself, looking at his fifth sister with a hint of fear in his eyes. He dared not do it again.
"Tell me, where did you go wrong?" Chen Xihua suppressed the bitterness and anger in her heart, turned her head away from Chen Xiaoliu's eyes, and spoke calmly.
She was somewhat reluctant to deal with him, since he was growing up anyway, and perhaps she was also a little tired.
"I...I was wrong. I shouldn't have hidden it. You said I could do whatever I wanted, but I had to tell you beforehand. I don't know, I don't know why I didn't tell you back then. Really, I don't know why. Later I thought about telling you, but...just..."
"You dare not say, huh?" Chen Xihua took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly before speaking. The person she raised wouldn't suddenly turn bad. "Little Six, since you know why I'm angry, that's good!"
She was furious. She wasn't angry that Chen Xiaoliu played computer games, but that he played them secretly, kept it from his family, and didn't know how to control himself.
"Yes, I shouldn't have hidden it, Fifth Sister, punish me!"
"You little brat, how many times have I told you to speak your mind? You still hide things and sneak around. I won't let this go until I give you a good beating." Chen Xihua used her left hand to slap his shoulder and arm hard about ten times.
The sound of slapping echoed in the living room, making everyone's hearts pound, especially Li Yumei, who was furious. Xiao Bao's arm must have been swollen and red from being hit.
Chen Chunhua and Chen Xiuhua's eyes also reddened, feeling a little sorry for Chen Xiaoliu. The third sister, who had originally wanted to say something to scold Chen Xiaoliu, also refrained from speaking.
"Fifth Sister, I'll tell you in advance everything I do from now on." Chen Xiaoliu realized that his fifth sister had hit him, and finally calmed down and wasn't so agitated anymore. Then he made a promise.
“Okay, Xiao Liu, remember this: with Fifth Sister here, I don’t care about anyone else, but you can’t hide anything anymore.” Chen Xihua said very seriously, word by word.
"Okay, I got it. I won't hide anything." Chen Xiaoliu's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously like he was pounding garlic.
He really didn't mean it; he just didn't know what possessed him at the time and didn't tell his fifth sister.
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