At 6:20 in the morning, before Jiang Zhiran's alarm clock rang, she was awakened by the sound of a door slamming downstairs.
She suddenly opened her eyes. A faint gray light shone through the gap in the curtains. The air conditioner still lingered in the room. She stared at the ceiling and listened to Cheng Hong's deliberately raised voice downstairs.
"Xiao Xiao, hurry up! The milk is getting cold!"
Then Cheng Xiao responded lazily: "I know, Mom."
Jiang Zhiran expressionlessly lifted the quilt and stepped barefoot on the floor, feeling the cold temperature rising from the soles of her feet. She reached out to turn off the alarm clock that had not yet rung and walked straight into the bathroom.
The mirror reflected her pale face, with faint dark circles under her eyes. She turned on the faucet, letting the cold water splash on her face, trying to wash away the lingering fatigue.
After changing into her school uniform, she picked up her schoolbag and went downstairs. A hearty breakfast was laid out on the dining table—fried eggs, bacon, and hot milk. Cheng Xiao was already sitting there, eating leisurely. He didn't even raise his eyelids when he saw her coming down.
Cheng Hong poked her head out of the kitchen with freshly baked toast in her hand. When she saw Jiang Zhiran, the smile on her face faded instantly.
"Zhiran, you got up quite early today." Cheng Hong's tone was neither cold nor hot. He glanced at her and then quickly looked away. "There's bread in the refrigerator. Take it yourself."
Jiang Zhiran didn't say anything, walked around the dining table, took out a box of yogurt from the refrigerator, grabbed a bag of toast from the cabinet, and stuffed it into his schoolbag.
Cheng Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with sarcasm: "Mom, you are biased. Why don't I get this treatment?"
Cheng Hong glared at him, but her tone softened a bit: "What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't your breakfast here?"
Jiang Zhiran sneered and walked towards the entrance with his schoolbag.
Cheng Hong's low voice came from behind: "Ignore her. She has such a face all day long. Who is she showing it to?"
Cheng Xiao chuckled and didn't respond.
Jiang Zhiran put on his shoes and pushed the door open to go out.
The morning breeze was cool, and she took a deep breath, as if to expel all the depression in her chest.
She hated this home.
She hated Cheng Hong's hypocritical face, Cheng Xiao's arrogant attitude, and even more so her father - the man who betrayed her mother, but now lived with another woman and another son with peace of mind, as if she was the superfluous one.
The bus stop was empty. She leaned against the billboard, biting her yogurt straw and looking into the distance with a cold gaze.
There were footsteps behind him, and Cheng Xiao walked over slowly, with his school uniform jacket casually draped over his shoulders and holding the lunch box prepared for him by Cheng Hong.
He stopped two meters away from her, neither approaching nor speaking, but just lowered his head to play with his phone.
Jiang Zhiran knew he was looking at her, but she never looked back.
The bus came slowly, she stepped on, swiped her card, and walked straight to the last row.
Cheng Xiao followed her and found a seat in the front row. His back was straight and straight, like a tree that refused to bow its head.
Jiang Zhiran leaned against the window, watching the scenery passing by quickly outside, with only one thought in his mind -
One day, she will leave this home and never come back.
On the bus, Jiang Zhiran sat in the last row, and the music in his headphones blocked out the outside sounds.
The sun shone in through the car window, falling on the cuffs of her school uniform, casting a small sliver of warmth. She lowered her head and flipped through her vocabulary book, her fingertips gently stroking the pages, her expression cold.
Suddenly, the seat next to me sank.
She frowned and looked sideways - Cheng Xiao had come over from the front at some point and was looking at her with his head tilted, a smile on his lips.
"Sister." Cheng Xiao dragged out the tone, deliberately softening her voice with a hint of coquettishness, "Can you lend me the vocabulary book?"
Jiang Zhiran closed the notebook expressionlessly and stuffed it back into his schoolbag: "Carry it yourself."
Cheng Xiao didn't get angry. Instead, he moved closer, resting his elbows on the back of the seat in front of her and looking up at her. His eyelashes were very long, casting a small shadow in the sunlight, and his eyes were as innocent as a cat begging for food.
"But your notes are more complete." Cheng Xiao blinked and said lightly, "Please help me."
Jiang Zhiran glanced at him coldly.
She knew he was pretending - Cheng Xiao didn't need to borrow her notes for her grades. He was just testing her bottom line, like a cunning cat, stretching out his claws to scratch her from time to time to see if she would get angry.
"Stop acting." Jiang Zhiran turned his head and put his headphones back on. "Disgusting."
Cheng Xiao chuckled, but instead of backing away, he reached out and tugged at her headphone cord: "Sister, can you give me one of your headphones?"
Jiang Zhiran suddenly pulled back the earphone cord, his eyes sharp: "Cheng Xiao, are you sick?"
Cheng Xiao withdrew his hand and shrugged. The smile on his face remained unchanged, but a dark emotion flashed in his eyes.
"Yeah." He leaned back in his seat lazily, his tone frivolous, "Maybe it's hereditary."
Jiang Zhiran's fingers tightened slightly.
She knew what he was implying - her indifference, his hypocrisy, and the twisted relationships in this family were all "inherited" from the previous generation.
When the bus arrived at the stop, she got up and got off, walking forward without looking back.
Cheng Xiao followed her slowly, keeping a distance from her, and his voice came lightly -
"See you tonight, sister."
Jiang Zhiran didn't answer.
The sunlight shone on her thin back, casting a long shadow, and Cheng Xiao stepped on her shadow, the smile on his lips gradually faded.
————————————————————
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
