Xie Jingyue kept her hand on Xie Qingqing's shoulder, encouraging her. She said all this to give her the courage to speak up and explain herself. If she didn't care about being smeared, then perhaps she needed to come up with a strategy for this task.
If there's really no other way, then he can just be a useless person. From now on, he'll be protected under her wing, as long as there's no hardship in the future.
It all comes down to the choices you make.
The Xie family was large, with many children, and about twenty people sat at one table. Their eyes were fixed on them as if they were being watched by weasels.
Xie Qingqing felt a lump in her throat. She knew she couldn't let her aunt down. Her aunt was doing this to clear her name, and if she didn't speak up, the happiest person would be Xie Wan'er.
"I was eating by myself in the corner today, and then, she suddenly came over and knocked over my plate." She couldn't help but burst into tears halfway through her sentence. For so many years, no one had been willing to listen to her, and she thought she had gotten used to it. She didn't expect that receiving this kindness would still make her feel uncomfortable.
"I don't know why she knocked over my plate, or why she told my classmates I was wasting food. I only took one bite. Then she... she said I was wasting food, that Dad doesn't like me wasting food, so she punished me by not letting me eat. Auntie, I'm so hungry, sob sob..."
Children this age are still growing. Although they haven't entered puberty yet, anyone who has been to school knows that you'll feel hungry after just one class, let alone after she hasn't eaten all day.
"That's not how it happened, she spilled it herself. I just didn't want others to think that the children of the Xie family are bad, so I asked my sister to clean up the floor. Sister, why are you slandering me? I clearly didn't do it, why are you saying that?" Xie Wan'er reacted quickly, immediately organizing her thoughts and offering a defense.
"You spilled it and let the other classmates laugh at me. I only ate one bite, just one bite!" It was clear that Xie Qingqing was a little bothered by that one bite. Such delicious food, and she only ate one bite. For a foodie, isn't that a very upsetting thing?
What's more, she's never had a decent meal in her life, and now that she's finally enjoying some good times, she has to suffer this stunt from the fake heiress. Luckily, she's just a child and can tolerate it; if this happened to a college student, she would have gone completely insane on the spot.
Xie Qingqing's eyes were blurry from crying. She turned to Xie Jingyue and said, "Auntie, what I said is true. It was Xie Wan'er who spilled it, not me."
"You're talking nonsense! You did it on purpose! It wasn't me!" Xie Wan'er retorted vehemently.
But what exactly happened? Does anyone care?
Nobody cared. In the eyes of the adults, it was just two children playing around, nothing serious. Besides, they had watched Xie Wan'er grow up, so they were secretly biased towards her.
Only children would think this is a huge deal. Being late, leaving early, skipping school, or going online, if caught by adults, is almost like losing one's life.
"Alright, alright, what's there to argue about? If it's not you, it's not you. Why are you yelling? Don't you know your sister isn't well?" Madam Xie had watched Xie Wan'er grow up, and there was probably more to this story than met the eye, but she still subconsciously ignored her own daughter.
Xie Qingqing suddenly felt deflated. See? No one will believe her no matter what she says.
Children are born craving their parents' attention, but when their own mother shows them no concern whatsoever, in that instant, nothing else seems to matter.
“I remember the school cafeteria has CCTV, right? Why don’t we check the footage? I’m quite interested in this,” Xie Jingyue suddenly said.
"Little sister, why are you arguing about the two children?" Xie's father scolded.
“We can just not fight over it. You can send that child away, and I won’t get involved in this matter.” Xie Jingyue pointed at Xie Wan’er. “I just can’t stand having a bastard living in our house. My Xie family’s child has been wronged by a bastard. If word gets out, how will I ever be able to live with myself?”
Madam Xie was furious at the word "bastard." How could the child she had raised with such care be a bastard? Since this child had appeared in her life, they must be destined to be together!
"Enough! Do you think you're in charge of this family? Wan'er is my child, and that won't change. You can protect Qingqing if you want, but remember, you watched Wan'er grow up too." Father Xie slammed his hand on the table, clearly very angry.
Xie Wan'er bit her lower lip and cried out pitifully, "Auntie, do you really not want me anymore?"
Xie Jingyue curled her lip in disdain, "This child wants to starve your own daughter to death, and just now she was slandering your own daughter's reputation at the dinner table. Does someone like that deserve to be my niece? Xie Wan'er, let me tell you, if you ever cause any trouble outside using the Xie family's name, I'll be the first to send you away!"
"Enough!"
"Ahem!" The old lady coughed softly, and Xie's father, who had just been burning with anger, instantly fell silent.
"mom."
"You're definitely the one in charge of this household. I guess this old woman won't have any say in the future. Oh well, it's normal to be disliked when you get old."
"Mom, you know that's not what I meant," Xie's father quickly explained.
The old lady was originally supposed to live in the eldest son's house, but since the second son inherited the family business, the old house actually belongs to her. Whoever is in charge can live in the old house, and the old lady will live with that person.
Xie Jingyue directly demonstrated her favoritism towards Xie Qingqing with her actions, "Qingqing, are you hungry? Come on, eat more. I've told you before, if you get bullied at school, just tell me. Don't be shy. You're a member of this family, why should you be afraid of an outsider?"
Everyone present knew who the outsiders were.
Xie Wan'er was so angry that she cried. She wanted to put down her chopsticks and go upstairs to hide, but she didn't dare to do that, because the old lady would dislike her even more.
"Don't you know how to use the phone watch I gave you? If you don't know how, you can ask your aunt. Honestly, you can contact me by pressing this button, understand?"
Caught off guard by such warm treatment, Xie Qingqing was momentarily stunned. She stared blankly at the other woman and asked involuntarily, "Auntie, why are you so kind to me?"
"Because you're my niece! I've always been good to the younger generation of the Xie family, and I've always treated Xie Wan'er the same way. But... I'll be good to you from now on too!"
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