Chapter 1
Gu Xi suddenly opened her eyes.
Faint voices drifted in from outside the door, accompanied by laughter, which gradually cleared her sluggish thoughts.
She... came back to life?
As she was thinking this, she sat up abruptly. Because she stood up so suddenly, her vision went black and she almost fell back down. She braced herself on the bed with her hands and it took her a while to recover.
She touched her forehead; it felt hot.
Her body felt very weak, uncomfortable, and unfamiliar, which made her clearly realize that she had indeed come back to life.
Gu Xi turned to look around and was momentarily stunned.
This room is familiar; it's the room she lived in after she came to the Gu family when she was fifteen, and she lived there for five whole years.
The room wasn't large and didn't have many things. Facing the window was a desk piled with books. Next to it, on the yellowed wall, were several old-fashioned certificates of merit. There was a wardrobe with peeling paint, a tripod with bags and clothes hanging on it, a chair, and a single bed. That was about it.
It's so simple it doesn't seem like a place a girl would live in permanently; it's as if she's just a passerby here.
After sitting for a while, feeling that her strength had returned, Gu Xi threw off the covers and got out of bed, walking towards the door in a daze.
When I opened the door, the voices downstairs were clearer.
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"Second brother, is this watch really for me? My watch broke and I was just thinking of buying a new one."
Gu Yuanxiang raised her wrist, looking at the watch with delight. She recognized it as a foreign brand and was very happy.
"Of course, this is a high-end item that I saved up for more than half a year to buy. It's a belated birthday gift for you," Gu Yuanzheng said with a smile. "It's an apology for not being able to come back to celebrate your birthday last week."
Gu Yuanxiang said happily, "Thank you, Second Brother, I love it so much!"
Gu Yuanhui, who was eating snacks next to her, said with a hint of jealousy, "Sis, you only thanked Second Brother, what about me? I also gave you a birthday present, but you didn't thank me back then!"
Gu Yuanxiang immediately replied, "Of course, thank you Yuanhui too! I really like the pearl hair tie you gave me!"
She really liked that pearl hair tie; it was beautiful and fashionable, and looked very expensive.
"That's good. Junzi and I picked this out at the department store. It was really expensive, and it used up all my recently saved allowance. I haven't had any money for food lately, so Junzi and the others have been treating me. I'll have to pay them back later..."
Gu Yuanhui complained. He was still a junior high school student and didn't have much pocket money. In order to buy Gu Yuanxiang a birthday present, he not only spent all his pocket money, but also had to borrow some from others.
I really don't understand how a hair tie with a few pearls can be so expensive. Girls are such a hassle.
Gu Xi slowly walked over to the stairs and saw three people sitting on the sofa in the living room downstairs.
The three of them were talking at an uncontrolled volume as they looked at the things Gu Yuanzheng had brought back from his business trip to Shanghai.
Last week was Gu Yuanxiang's twentieth birthday. Although elders don't pay much attention to children's birthdays these days, the Gu family still prepared a birthday gift for Gu Yuanxiang. Gu Yuanzheng was away on a business trip to Shanghai, but he remembered the gift and specially brought her a birthday present from Shanghai.
Gu Xi calmly watched the three siblings downstairs, who were getting along well.
If she had seen this scene in her past life, she might have felt very upset, or even felt inferior.
She and Gu Yuanxiang were born on the same day and share the same birthday. However, neither her second brother, Gu Yuanzheng, nor her younger brother, Gu Yuanhui, prepared a gift for her. Only her biological mother, Jiang Huijun, bought her a silk scarf.
Of course, Gu Yuanxiang also has the same style of scarf.
Gu Xi and Gu Yuanxiang were switched at birth in the hospital. One became the well-off daughter of a cadre in a high-ranking compound, while the other became an illiterate country girl.
Gu Xi didn't return to the Gu family until she was fifteen years old.
The Gu family raised Gu Yuanxiang for fifteen years and couldn't bear to let her leave. Even though Gu Xi returned, they still kept her in the Gu family, and she was still the Gu family's daughter.
Human emotions are strange. Even if Gu Xi is the real daughter of the Gu family, the Gu family prefers the lively and cheerful Gu Yuanxiang. Perhaps this is the affection cultivated by fifteen years of living together day and night.
The fifteen-year gap cannot be filled by blood relatives alone.
However, once a person has died, they will let go of all their love, hate, and grudges, and will no longer crave things that do not belong to them.
Gu Xi held onto the escalator and slowly walked downstairs.
Upon seeing her, the laughter of the three people who were talking stopped abruptly.
Gu Yuanzheng glanced at her, his smile fading slightly, and picked up the cup on the table to take a sip of water.
Gu Yuanhui clicked his tongue, curled his lip, and said, "Lazy woman, what time is it? She's still sleeping. She didn't even come out to see her second brother when he came back. What kind of behavior is that!"
Gu Yuanxiang didn't say anything, but pretended to be busy adjusting the watch chain on her wrist.
The Gu family consists of seven people: Gu Maowen and Jiang Huijun, their eldest son Gu Yuanyang who is serving in the army, their second son Gu Yuanzheng who works in a steel factory, their eldest daughter Gu Xigang who has just graduated from high school, their second daughter Gu Yuanxiang who is currently in college, and their youngest son Gu Yuanhui who is sixteen years old this year.
Apart from Gu Yuanyang, who is in the military, all the other members of the Gu family live here.
Summer vacation had just begun, and Gu Xi, Gu Yuanxiang, and Gu Yuanhui usually stayed at home.
Gu Xi ignored them and went to the bathroom to wash her face.
While washing her face, she looked in the mirror and was somewhat dazed when she saw her reflection.
Perhaps she had been dead for too long, and hadn't seen her own face in a long time. She felt as if she were in another world, and everything seemed so unfamiliar.
After washing my face, I finally felt more refreshed and had a deeper and clearer understanding of myself being alive again.
Since we've been given a second chance at life, let's cherish it!
After dying, he spent decades as a ghost. Being a "person" was too lonely. The loneliness of having only himself in the whole world was terrifying. It seemed like there was no end in sight. He just kept enduring it, as if he was going to endure it until the end of the world.
Gu Xi rallied her spirits, walked out of the bathroom, ignored the three people in the living room, returned to her room, changed her clothes, and picked up her handbag from the shelf.
As she came downstairs again and was about to leave, Gu Yuanxiang suddenly called out to her.
"Xixi," Gu Yuanxiang said with a smile, "Where are you going? Are you looking for a job?"
Gu Xi stopped and turned to look at her.
Gu Yuanxiang said with a smile, "Actually, you don't need to be in such a hurry. You just graduated from high school, so you can rest at home for a while. Your parents don't mind supporting you. You don't need to work as hard as your second brother."
Gu Xi didn't speak, but just looked at her, as if she was thinking about what she wanted to say.
Her face was flushed with an unnatural blush, which made her eyes appear hazy and watery. Her thick black hair was simply tied back, and she wore a white shirt and black trousers. She stood there gracefully, like a lotus flower in full bloom in summer, possessing a quiet and elegant beauty.
Gu Yuanxiang's smile faltered slightly, and she felt a pang of unease.
Gu Xi is very beautiful, but she doesn't look like anyone else in the Gu family. I heard she looks more like Jiang Huijun's mother, the old lady Jiang who is the maternal grandmother of the Gu siblings.
It is said that when Grandma Jiang was young, she was a stunning beauty. Unfortunately, none of her children resembled her. Only her granddaughter Gu Xi inherited her beauty. This is why Gu Xi was discovered and recognized by the Gu family five years ago.
No woman is indifferent to her appearance, and Gu Yuanxiang is no exception.
She was jealous of Gu Xi's appearance, and even more jealous that Gu Xi was the real daughter of the Gu family, while she was just a fake heiress who had been switched at birth. When Gu Xi was first recognized, she was a complete country bumpkin, thin, dark-skinned, and short, with dry, yellow hair, looking malnourished. Only her face was exceptionally beautiful, though not exactly pretty.
Who would have thought that after a few years of raising her, she would grow taller, have fairer skin, and develop more striking features – truly a case of a girl changing dramatically as she grows up.
She felt sad whenever she saw Gu Xi, whose appearance had changed so much.
This discomfort made her want to do something.
Fortunately, although Gu Xi is the real daughter of the Gu family, her parents and brothers still side with her and like her more.
Perhaps this is also related to Gu Xi's eccentric temperament.
So what if she is the Gu family's daughter? Gu Xi was tormented by poverty and hardship in the countryside for fifteen years, raised to be timid and cowardly. She usually doesn't like to talk, is quiet, and is clumsy with words. She is really not likable, and elders generally don't like such children.
As Gu Yuanxiang secretly comforted herself, Gu Yuanhui clicked his tongue, crossed his legs, and said, "What kind of job is she looking for? With her cowardly appearance, what kind of job can she find? Nobody will respect her. She shouldn't go out and embarrass herself. She should stay at home and work hard to serve us! If she serves us well, we'll pay her a salary. Anyway, she's used to doing this kind of work in the countryside."
“You can’t say that,” Gu Yuanxiang said. “Xixi graduated from high school with great difficulty, which is quite impressive.”
You should know that when Gu Xi was first recognized, she was completely illiterate and couldn't read a single character. Now she has actually graduated from high school, which is quite impressive.
Gu Yuanhui said with disdain, "When she was fifteen, she was crammed into class with a bunch of elementary school students. It was really embarrassing. I don't know why my parents had to bring her back. She's a disgrace to our family."
Gu Yuanxiang exclaimed "Oh dear!" and scolded him for talking about Xixi like that.
But Gu Yuanhui just had a penchant for going against people's wishes. The more she tried to persuade him, the more unforgiving he became, criticizing Gu Xi to the point of being worthless and even saying that her existence was a mistake.
Gu Yuanzheng didn't speak. He checked the time and said to Gu Xi, "Gu Xi, go cook. Mom and Dad should be back soon."
The Gu family used to have a nanny, a distant relative. She wasn't really a nanny, but just helped with housework. Later, the nanny had a grandson and went back to her hometown. They were thinking of finding another one, but when they learned that Gu Xi could cook, they didn't hire her again. Whenever Gu Xi was home, she would cook.
Gu Xi looked at them expressionlessly.
Seeing that she was standing still, Gu Yuanhui got a little angry and said imperiously, "Hey, your second brother wants you to cook! Your second brother just came back from a business trip to Shanghai, go and make him something to eat."
Gu Yuanxiang found a biscuit box and handed it over, saying reproachfully, "Second brother, why didn't you say you were hungry? Have some biscuits to tide you over! How about I let Xixi make you a bowl of noodles? Xixi's noodles are really delicious."
"Okay." Gu Yuanzheng was indeed tired and hungry, so he wasn't picky.
Gu Xi remained motionless, her gaze falling on the items on the table. She asked, "Is there a birthday present for me?"
Gu Yuanzheng was taken aback, a rare moment of surprise, as if he hadn't expected her to ask him for a birthday present, because she would never ask if they forgot in the past.
It was as if they were afraid of causing them trouble.
Since she didn't ask, they naturally didn't need to bother.
"No," he said casually. "I don't have enough money. I'll buy it for Xiangxiang first, and I'll buy it for you next time."
As for when the next one will be, I don't know.
The Gu family has a habit of neglecting Gu Xi, not only because they missed fifteen years of her life, but also because Gu Xi is too quiet and introverted and doesn't take the initiative. Relationships are mutual and require nurturing. Even blood relatives won't unconditionally approach you or consider your needs in everything. If you don't actively cultivate the relationship, no one will care about you, and they may even gradually ignore you.
This is the case between Gu Xi and the Gu family.
Perhaps they felt guilty when Gu Xi first returned, but that guilt wouldn't last forever; it would simply disappear with time.
Ultimately, this is nothing more than a blood relative, a stranger who even caused the Gu family to lose face.
Gu Yuanhui was surprised that she would actually ask for a gift. He scoffed, "I've never seen anyone ask for gifts like you. Shameless! What, you want a watch too? Can you afford it?" He sized up Gu Xi, then suddenly remembered something, and his face showed disdain. "I heard that some shady young men came to your school the other day, and you even went out with them... You've already disgraced our family. Don't do anything to shame the Gu family. What if someone reports you as a slut someday..."
"That's going too far," Gu Yuanzheng frowned.
Just as he was about to reprimand him, Gu Xi walked over, grabbed Gu Yuanhui by the collar, and punched him, knocking him off the sofa to the ground.
Gu Yuanhui let out a howl, tears streaming down his face from the pain.
Gu Yuanzheng and Gu Yuanxiang were both stunned, as if they couldn't believe that she would actually hit someone.
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