Chapter 114
When Gu Xi returned home, she saw her two younger sisters squatting in the vegetable garden in the yard.
One was pulling weeds, the other was catching bugs; the atmosphere between them was somewhat subdued, as if they had been arguing.
"What's wrong?" Gu Xi asked with a smile. "Did you two have a fight?"
Xu Huaisheng quickly stood up, called out "Big Sister," threw the insects he had caught into the chicken coop to feed the chickens, and then followed behind her, muttering, "We won't fight, because Second Sister will only hit me and scold me, she won't argue with me!"
"When did I hit you or scold you?" Xu Yuansheng glared at her angrily.
Xu Huaisheng made a face at her and hid next to Gu Xi, which made Xu Yuansheng so angry that she reached out to pinch her. The two sisters circled around Gu Xi.
Gu Xi was so dizzy from being turned around by them that she grabbed one of them in each hand and led them to the courtyard to wash their hands.
"Alright, alright. If you're too free, Huaisheng, go do your homework, and Yuansheng, go practice your calligraphy. Yuansheng hasn't been practicing calligraphy much lately; he needs to practice more."
The two sisters finally stopped for a moment.
The two sisters, who had been suppressed, sat down in the main room and turned on the light.
People these days generally wouldn't light an oil lamp or turn on a light until it was completely dark, but Gu Xi was worried about their nearsightedness, so she would turn on the light as soon as the room got dark.
Xu Huaisheng took out his homework, did some homework, and then began to secretly look at Gu Xi.
Xu Yuansheng didn't practice calligraphy at all; he just sat there in a daze.
"What are you doing?" Gu Xi said with amusement. "This is so strange. Just say what you want to say."
Xu Yuansheng put down his pen and said seriously, "Big sister, I didn't expect we look so much like her."
Xu Huaisheng pouted. When she realized there was someone in the world who looked so much like her and her sisters, she felt a little uneasy.
“Of course, you all have the same mother.” Gu Xi accepted it readily, with a smile on her face. “Gu Yuanxiang was quite pretty when she was little. The fact that you look so much like her proves that you are also great beauties.”
Since joining the army, Xu Huaisheng has probably been eating well, so he's not as thin anymore, but he still looks a bit dark-skinned, probably because he doesn't pay attention to sun protection.
But it also shows that if she grows up well, she will definitely be good-looking.
Xu Yuansheng, on the other hand, had been covered up all winter, and her skin had become much whiter. Now that she didn't need to work in the fields, she spent most of her time in her room making clothes and didn't get much sun. Her skin became even whiter, and although it wasn't as white as Gu Xi's, it still stood out in the crowd. She was clearly a beautiful young woman.
Gu Xi looked Xu Yuansheng up and down, and thought about how sometimes when she chatted with the women in the family compound, they would talk about how Xu Yuansheng was of age and should find a partner, and they would introduce her to someone. She felt a little sentimental.
Her younger sister is also reaching the age where she'll be pressured to get married.
The Xu sisters beamed with joy at her words; what girl doesn't like to hear compliments and be told she's pretty?
Especially when the older, prettier woman said that to them, it gave them a sense of confidence, making them feel that they weren't bad-looking either.
She had only been laughing for a moment when Xu Yuansheng realized that she had been coaxed by her sister again, and immediately put on a stern face.
She said with a straight face, "I don't care if she's pretty or not, I just think... why is her personality so weird? I just can't stand it."
Xu Huaisheng nodded, "I can't stand it either."
She really didn't know how to get along with people like Gu Yuanxiang, who was either a gentle and tolerant older sister like her eldest sister, or someone like her second sister who was decisive and clear about her likes and dislikes.
I feel uncomfortable all over.
Perhaps it's because they are so unfamiliar, yet related by blood, that they can't be completely ignored.
Gu Xi said, "People have a thousand faces, you'll get used to it. Anyway, you don't have to live with her, she'll leave soon, so don't worry about it."
She truly believed that Gu Yuanxiang couldn't stay in the military forever.
Unless she marries into the family, which is unlikely, since Gu Yuanxiang was sent to the countryside in her previous life and didn't marry into the military.
Xu Yuansheng looked at her sister and said, "You lived with her for five years. With her personality, you must have had a hard time, right?" As she said this, she became a little sad again, "Big sister, we look so much like her. Don't you feel sad when you see us?"
Will it be offensive?
Xu Huaisheng also became nervous, rushed to Gu Xi, grabbed her hand, and said pitifully, "Big sister, please don't hate us!"
Gu Xi was both amused and exasperated by them, and she began to understand why they had acted that way when she returned earlier.
It's likely that she was provoked by Gu Yuanxiang, and given that the three are blood relatives and look so alike, it's understandable that people suspect she might dislike them because of Gu Yuanxiang.
She said with a serious expression, "What are you talking about? You are you, and Gu Yuanxiang is Gu Yuanxiang. No matter how similar you look, she has nothing to do with you. I can tell the difference very clearly."
Although she disliked Gu Yuanxiang, she didn't hate her to the point of wishing her dead, and she would never take her anger out on her two younger sisters because of Gu Yuanxiang.
She, Xu Yuansheng, and Xu Huaisheng once struggled together in a family that favored sons over daughters, growing up together, comforting and supporting each other... nothing would affect the bond between the sisters.
Xu Yuansheng stared at her intently, then turned his face away and muttered, "Don't you have any lingering resentment?"
Is she really not in pain?
After finally returning to his real family, he discovered that there was a girl who had already replaced him. The girl had lived a wealthy life since childhood, never having to worry about food or clothing, and was pampered like a little princess by the whole family. Her lifestyle was completely different from that of the girl who grew up in a poor, ignorant, and backward family.
How stark is the contrast? So stark that it inevitably breeds resentment, anger, and jealousy.
Poverty and ignorance are truly the most terrifying things in the world; they can crush a person's body and even their spirit, turning them into something twisted and ugly.
If given the choice, who wouldn't want to grow up in a wealthy family, free from worries about food and clothing?
Being pampered by parents and siblings, not having to go hungry, not having to work from a young age, not having to be beaten or scolded by adults, living such a repressed and miserable life.
The more Xu Yuansheng thought about it, the more wronged he felt for her.
Gu Yuanxiang, who has lived a carefree life since childhood and has never had to worry about food or clothing, has nothing to be aggrieved about.
No matter how aggrieved she felt, was it as aggrieved as Gu Xi, who grew up in a place like the Xu family? That was a terrifying place where both her body and mind were brutally trampled upon as she grew up, almost destroying her spirit and body together.
If she were in her sister's shoes, Xu Yuansheng felt that she would be irreconcilably at odds with Gu Yuanxiang and would make a scene to send Gu Yuanxiang away the moment she returned to the Gu family.
She also wanted Gu Yuanxiang to experience the life Gu Xi had once lived, all of which Gu Xi had suffered for her.
She even told Gu Yuanxiang to go back to the Xu family. She had lived a comfortable life in the Gu family for fifteen years in place of Gu Xi, which was enough. Gu Xi didn't owe her anything; on the contrary, she owed Gu Xi something.
But Gu Jia couldn't bear to part with it.
How despicable! She doesn't love her own child, but instead loves someone else's child. Even if she has raised her for more than ten years and developed feelings for her, shouldn't her own child love her and make up for the many hardships she suffered in the countryside?
How much pain must her sister have felt at the time, given all of this?
-
Gu Xi understood perfectly well that Xu Yuansheng was standing up for her.
She deliberately didn't tell her two younger sisters about her involvement with the Gu family, hoping to avoid making them overthink things. But Xu Yuansheng was too clever to easily guess what was going on, and her extreme personality meant she would always overthink things.
“Yuan Sheng, I really don’t care.” Gu Xi said earnestly, “I have never confused her with you, and seeing her will not remind me of you. You are all my sisters, and that will never change.”
"Really?" Xu Huaisheng asked eagerly.
Gu Xi nodded, a smile appearing on her face, and said easily, "Besides, five years ago, you two were both dark-skinned and thin, and you really didn't resemble Gu Yuanxiang at all. I couldn't possibly associate her with you, and I didn't think she had any connection to you..."
When she returned to the Gu family and saw Gu Yuanxiang, she did feel a certain fondness for her.
The main reason is that she, Xu Yuansheng, and Xu Huaisheng are blood sisters.
Back then, when she occasionally thought of her two younger sisters, she would look for traces of them in Gu Yuanxiang and couldn't help but wonder if her two younger sisters would be as beautiful as Gu Yuanxiang when they grew up.
“I haven’t seen you for five years, and I didn’t even know what you looked like. I didn’t care whether you looked like Gu Yuanxiang or not.” Gu Xi patted their heads. “You’ve all grown up in five years.”
She didn't know how she would feel if she hadn't died in her past life and saw the two sisters again, and how much they looked like Gu Yuanxiang.
But she hadn't seen them for decades, so she would cherish her two younger sisters even more, rather than caring about these things.
Upon hearing this, the Xu sisters immediately frowned.
She was absolutely right. Five years ago, the two sisters were both dark-skinned, thin, and blond-haired girls. They certainly didn't look like Gu Yuanxiang, who lived a life of comfort and ease in the city.
The two sisters finally let go of the matter.
They were indeed quite conflicted about how much they resembled Gu Yuanxiang, and how annoying Gu Yuanxiang's personality might make Gu Xi dislike them as well.
But Gu Xi was very good at talking, and the two sisters were easily comforted by her.
**
Although Xu Yuansheng wanted to put Gu Yuanxiang out of his mind, he couldn't help but be wary whenever he thought that she was still in the family compound.
She felt that Gu Yuanxiang would cause trouble and create problems for Gu Xi.
Xu Yuansheng has an extreme personality, with clear likes and dislikes, and always tends to think the worst of people. Although she only had a short time with Gu Yuanxiang, she learned some things about her personality. It's really hard to say what will happen.
One day, two days, three days...
Gu Yuanxiang remained well-behaved and did not go out.
But Xu Yuansheng did not relax; she could not rest easy as long as this person was still there.
These past few days, she has reduced the time she spends working from home and spends her free time strolling around the residential compound and chatting with people.
Gu Xi noticed her tension and her frequent attempts to run outside, realizing that she might be influenced by Gu Yuanxiang. She couldn't help but sigh and said, "Yuansheng, no matter what she says outside, I don't care. Let her be."
Having already been a ghost, why would I care about those rumors and gossip?
The only things you can say about her are that she was switched at birth with Gu Yuanxiang and that she lived in the countryside for fifteen years.
What's wrong with keeping these things a secret? Whether she grew up in the city or the countryside, what difference does it make? She hasn't committed any crimes or done anything immoral. She has a clear conscience and there's nothing to worry about.
If anyone comes over and criticizes her because of this, Gu Xi can simply kick them out.
Xu Yuansheng glanced at her and said, "But I do care."
She didn't want anyone to hurt her older sister anymore. When her sister suffered injustices in the past, she was far away in Xujiatun and too young to help. But now that her sister was married and had come to the military base with him, how could she let her suffer any more injustices?
As her younger sister, having grown up under her protection, shouldn't she protect her when she has the ability to do so?
**
Gu Yuanxiang waited anxiously for Gu Yuanyang to return, as she was unfamiliar with the area and didn't go out much.
On this day, she finally went out.
Gu Yuanxiang went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some daily necessities.
She knew this wasn't Beijing, nor was it where she grew up. She was just a passerby. The people in the residential compound were more familiar with Gu Xi and Xu Yuansheng, so it wouldn't be appropriate for her to say anything. Therefore, she didn't gossip with anyone in the compound.
When she returned, Gu Yuanxiang was stopped and talked to by some enthusiastic older women. She managed to respond with some reluctance until they learned that she had been staying at Commander Gu's house for some time and asked her what she was doing there.
Gu Yuanxiang paused for a moment, then said, "Something happened at home, so I came to ask my older brother for help."
"What's up?"
"this……"
"It's nothing," Xu Yuansheng said as he walked over. "Just some family matters."
Gu Yuanxiang glanced at her but said nothing.
People around them, seeing the two standing together, thought they looked even more alike and said with a smile, "Aren't you really sisters? You look so alike."
Xu Yuansheng laughed and said, "Actually, we were born to the same mother."
"Huh? You two are really sisters? Why don't you have the same surname?"
Xu Yuansheng said, "She grew up in someone else's home and has a different surname from ours."
"Was she raised by someone else's family? Could she have been adopted out?"
"Not really, it was just taken to someone else's home to be raised."
"..."
Gu Yuanxiang stood aside, watching Xu Yuansheng handle the enthusiastic older women with ease. He answered every question, but held back, subtly guiding everyone to think in another direction.
It turned out that her younger sister had this kind of personality—strong and intelligent, even the knowing look in her eyes when she looked at her was more embarrassing than any sarcastic remarks.
It's like he sees through himself.
After everyone around her left, Xu Yuansheng glanced at her calmly, then turned and left.
"I wish to live." Gu Yuanxiang quickly chased after her, looking exhausted. "You don't need to do this. I won't say anything outside..."
Xu Yuansheng gave a curt "Oh," clearly indicating that he didn't believe her.
Gu Yuanxiang bit her lip. "Although I don't know what Xixi said to you that made you hate me so much, I really didn't mean to do anything to Xixi. I just... I just..."
"You're just jealous because my sister is the real daughter of the Gu family, and you're just someone with no blood relation to her, so you're jealous of her, right?" Xu Yuansheng's gaze was sharp. "You've always been jealous of her, making things difficult for her. You're very proud of seeing the Gu family favor you more and ignore her, aren't you?"
Gu Yuanxiang stared at her, speechless, and opened her mouth, "I...I didn't think that..."
"Whether you think that way or not, you know it yourself." Xu Yuansheng couldn't help but laugh. "Although I really don't want to admit it, blood ties are really a strange thing. We share the same blood, and we both have the same despicable things in our bones. I know what you think."
Because she herself is not a good person, she always thinks of people as very bad and dark.
Therefore, she could easily guess Gu Yuanxiang's thoughts.
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