“My parents got divorced. My mother went to work in Kyoto with someone and never came back.”
That day, Lu Siqiao was humming a song in the courtyard with her younger brother in her arms when Lu Sirou and her sister came to visit.
Although Huang Ling is wicked, her children should not be held responsible for her crimes.
Luo Xiaoxue went inside and brought out some delicious snacks to treat the sisters, saying with affection, "If you ever have any difficulties in the future, come and find your aunt."
She meant well, but when it reached Lu Sirou's ears, it sounded particularly sarcastic.
She was twelve years old. Huang Ling had been telling her since she was little that the eldest son's wife was at odds with the second and third sons' wives, and that they were not on the same path.
Their mother was forced to leave home, and their beloved uncle was framed and imprisoned by Lu Siqiao. All these misfortunes began when Lu Siqiao was adopted by the eldest son's family.
Lu Sirou's slightly childish face was filled with hostility.
But only for a moment, she turned into a pitiful little girl again, tears welling up in her eyes, choking as she spoke of how Huang Ling had just gotten divorced, and Lu Mingyuan was already eager to marry his stepmother.
"Your dad is going to remarry again?" Luo Xiaoxue was stunned; it had only been less than three months.
Lu Sirou lowered her head, her hands clenched tightly, and sneered: "It's Widow Liu from the next village. She's pregnant with my father's child."
Not only did she get married, but she also became pregnant.
For the first time, Luo Xiaoxue, a woman herself, felt indignant on behalf of Huang Ling.
No wonder she's so strong-willed, having such an unreliable man by her side.
“I board at a middle school in the city, and my stepmother can’t do anything to me. But Sidi is still young, and he’s just like my mother. Once he gets stubborn, nothing can change his mind. I’d like to ask you to help take care of him.” Lu Sirou spoke tactfully and sincerely.
She didn't mention Lu Siqiao at all.
Luo Xiaoxue sighed, "You child, we're all family, why are you talking about looking after each other?" She looked at Lu Sidi and suggested, "Sidi, you're in the same class as Qiaowa, so you can look after each other. Since your grandma doesn't cook at home, you can always eat at your aunt's house."
Lu Zhenxing and his sister wanted to come to the eldest son's house for a free meal but were rejected. If the eldest son hadn't ruined their mother's life, would their aunt have been so kind to take care of them?
Lu Sidi glared at Luo Xiaoxue and said viciously, "Stop pretending to be kind here. My mother was driven away by you. I hate you!"
She ran up to Lu Siqiao and spat, "Lu Siqiao, you wait, I won't let you get away with this!"
They ran away in a flash.
Lu Sirou stood up and apologized to Luo Xiaoxue, saying humbly, "Auntie, my second sister just has this bad temper. She has offended me. Please forgive her. She is just a child and doesn't know any better. I will try to persuade her."
After saying that, he walked away without looking to the side.
Luo Siqiao curled her lips, not expecting her older sister to be so shrewd.
Meanwhile, Lu Sirou found Lu Sidi squatting on the ground in a daze and scolded her, "Second sister, if you keep acting like this, your eldest sister won't take care of you anymore!"
"Who cares what I say!" Lu Sidi said, hands on her hips. "Mom's only been gone a short while, and you're already surrendering to the enemy. I misjudged you!"
Lu Sirou slapped her hard across the face and said coldly, "Idiot! Do you think crying and making a scene like this will get revenge for our mother?"
Lu Sidi blushed and covered her face, but her eyes flashed with a defiant glint: "I hate the eldest son's family, but I hate Lu Siqiao even more!"
"Okay, remember what you said today." Lu Sirou pulled her and carefully examined the slap mark on her face, her eyes slightly red. "Especially at times like these, you must not do anything that hurts your loved ones and pleases your enemies."
Facing her sister's puzzled look, she said coldly, "Dad married a stepmother, and with a stepmother comes a stepfather. What's wrong with us yielding to the eldest son's family when we're not strong enough to protect ourselves?"
“Mom said that you should keep your hatred to yourself, but you can’t let the eldest son’s family know.”
"You eat their food, use their things, it's your right. They're the ones who made us like this."
"But you're all sullen, like someone owes you a fortune. Do you think they'll give you a friendly look?" Lu Sirou patted her head and said earnestly, "Before Mom left, she came to see me and said a lot to me—"
As she spoke, she choked up: "Our mother has had it so hard. She said that Qiaowa could have filed a lawsuit, but she refused, which is why my uncle went to jail. Mom had no choice but to work to earn money to pay off my aunt's family's debts."
"Big sister, I want Mom to come back. I don't want a stepmother, she'll beat me." Lu Sidi nestled in her arms and cried, "I don't want to have to smile at Auntie and the others."
"Second sister, besides enduring, we need to grow up quickly. As long as we grow up and earn money, our mother will come back." Lu Sirou carefully wiped away her tears, a cold glint in her eyes. "Even if our mother is gone, Aunt and the others won't have an easy time. Third Aunt and Grandma are not to be trifled with. If you stay by Aunt's side, you can..." She whispered in her ear.
Lu Sidi's eyes lit up.
When the sisters walked home hand in hand, they saw Lu Mingyuan leading a burly woman over.
Seeing the direction they were heading, it turned out they were going towards the eldest son's house.
Lu Sirou and her sister also rushed over to see what was going on.
"Sister-in-law, this is Liu Yan. We're getting married." Lu Mingyuan enthusiastically introduced the woman beside him to Luo Xiaoxue.
Luo Xiaoxue was still in shock. Just moments ago, Lu Sirou and her sister came crying to tell her that their father had found a stepmother, and now Lu Mingyuan was openly bringing a woman home.
She glanced discreetly at her slightly protruding belly, sighed inwardly, but greeted them with a smile.
Not only that, Lu Mingyuan also summoned Lu Siqiao and specially introduced Liu Yan's identity to her.
"Qiaowa, this is your new mother. Get along well with her from now on. Ayan is a very nice person, unlike Huang Ling, who is good at bullying people." As Lu Mingyuan spoke, he didn't forget to step on Huang Ling's foot.
Lu Siqiao remained completely calm and greeted Liu Yan in a low voice, "Hello, Auntie."
What kind of person is she? This widow Liu is no pushover either. In her past life, she heard Huang Ling gossip about her, that she only seduced married men. Now, she wonders if the child in her belly is Lu Mingyuan's.
Liu Yan was delighted and showered Lu Siqiao with praise, even giving her a bag of White Rabbit candy.
Most children would be overjoyed to see candy, but Lu Siqiao simply said thank you politely and put the candy on the table.
She came to Luo Xiaoxue's side, took the child, and quietly went to the side to play with him.
A look of disappointment appeared on Liu Yan's face.
Lu Mingyuan winked at her, indicating that she didn't need to worry about it.
When Lu Mingyuan talked to Luo Xiaoxue about the wedding banquet, his eyes flickered, and he stammered, "Our second branch of the family has been having a lot of bad luck lately. A master said we could try to bring good fortune, and besides, I don't want to make things difficult for Ayan. But the money for the banquet is a bit of a problem."
Haha, so all that nicety-seeking was just a pretext to borrow money.
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