Chapter 4 Life Reset
Although they didn't like Shen's father, the elderly couple believed the child was innocent.
Since we've already agreed to leave the child here, and we're new here, we can't let the child be sad so soon.
Shen Xuewei was still holding her bowl, quietly eating her meal.
The elderly couple glanced at the well-behaved Shen Xuewei, barely suppressing their dissatisfaction, not wanting to frighten the child.
After being scolded by Grandpa Chen, Father Chen's mind cleared a bit, and he said with an embarrassed smile:
"If it's my fault, then we'll talk about it later."
Shen Xuewei has a sensitive stomach and is still young, so she can't eat much.
He only ate a small portion of the bowl before quickly putting down his chopsticks.
She first looked at Grandpa Chen, then at Grandma Xi and said, "Grandma, I'm done eating."
Grandma Xi was taken aback. "There's still so much rice left in this bowl. How can you eat so little? You'll stunt your growth. Weiwei, be a good girl, let's eat a few more bites, okay?"
Shen Xuewei touched her belly, smiling shyly, "But Grandma, I feel uncomfortable if I eat too much."
Mr. Shen glanced at her and said casually, "Mom, don't worry about her. If she doesn't want to eat, let her go hungry. She'll want to eat when she gets really hungry."
Grandma Xi sighed. This father really doesn't care about his child at all.
She put down her chopsticks, hugged Shen Xuewei in her arms, and asked softly, "Is it because Grandma's cooking isn't good? What does Weiwei like to eat? Grandma will make it for you, okay?"
Shen Xuewei shook her head, leaned against her grandmother's chest, and explained softly:
"It's because Weiwei has a sensitive stomach. She can't eat too much at once, or her stomach will hurt."
Grandma Xi understood; the child had a weak stomach and would probably need to eat small, frequent meals.
"Okay, Grandma understands. Weiwei, how about you go out and play with Dahuang first? Grandma will eat first, and then boil water for you to take a bath, okay?"
She patted Shen Xuewei's bottom lightly, signaling Shen Xuewei to get down.
Shen Xuewei nodded, slid off her lap, and slowly walked out of the house.
Grandma Xi scolded, and Da Huang stretched and came out of the doghouse, slowly following behind Shen Xuewei.
Outside the mud-brick house, there was a muddy area about two meters wide.
The mud was firmly ground by people walking around, with several basketball-sized stones standing on it.
Beyond the muddy ground lies a rectangular drying yard made of poured cement.
Rice and corn are usually dried on this surface.
On the edge of the drying ground, several wooden poles support bamboo poles, which is where clothes are hung to dry after washing at home.
Shen Xuewei sat on a rock in the drying yard, the feigned obedience on her face fading away. Looking at the dim light inside the house, her eyes were somewhat vacant, lost in confusion.
She knew why her grandmother had sent her away; after all, she wasn't really six years old.
She felt no reluctance at leaving her father and mother, after all, this wasn't the first time they had abandoned her.
She is the only girl among three children in her family.
However, being the only girl does not necessarily mean that she is favored at home.
But in the eyes of outsiders, she was the one that Mr. Shen and Mrs. Chen loved the most.
Wherever Mr. Shen goes, he will say, "My daughter is very well-behaved. I want to buy her something as a reward. My son is not as considerate as my daughter. My daughter is my favorite."
Chen's mother would also say that she would always give in to her daughter's opinions on everything at home, and that her daughter's happiness was the most important thing.
Everyone would say that this couple favors daughters over sons, treating their son like dirt while only their daughter is a treasure.
But is that really the case?
After buying the items, they were divided among the two sons first, and what remained was for Shen Xuewei.
All three children were of school age, but the two sons were left in the city to study.
When they got to Shen Xuewei, they said they had no money and sent her to study in the countryside.
Of course, the official explanation was that Grandpa Chen and Grandma Xi missed their granddaughter, and since the girl was well-behaved and didn't cause trouble, they sent her back to keep the elderly couple company.
All they had to do was talk and act like doting fathers, showing off their uniqueness, and they would receive praise from everyone. How could the two of them not want that?
Since Shen Xuewei started school, she has always lived a life of dependence on others.
There are three children in the family, but she is the only one who is a left-behind child.
According to her past life experience, after she attends primary school here for six years, she will be taken away from here because she does not have a household registration and her parents do not want her to register at her maternal grandparents' house.
Then... he left her alone in his hometown, while he went to junior high school alone, only returning to the countryside once a year during holidays.
The whole family only has one chance to meet once a year.
Then comes high school, and it's not until after they graduate from college that they realize... oh, they also have a daughter, and to reunite the family, they should bring their daughter along too.
Perhaps it was because they had never received their attention, and at the same time, they were influenced by the voices of their relatives.
Shen Xuewei desperately wanted her parents' approval, so after she started working, she gave them most of her salary every month.
It wasn't until Chen's mother lied and claimed that she had a terminal illness that Shen Xuewei, in a panic, transferred all her savings to her and even borrowed money from many people to pay for her treatment.
However, the result was simply to buy a house for their youngest son, Shen Xuewu.
Shen Xuewu bought a house, while Shen Xuewei was all alone and even heavily in debt.
It was at that time that Shen Xuewei finally woke up.
If she doesn't love him, she doesn't love him. No matter how hard she tries, it's not as important as the hair on her two sons' heads.
Shen Xuewei wasn't unaware of it, but as a child who had never received parental love since childhood, she desperately craved it, so much so that she threw herself into it, only to end up battered and bruised.
She even thought that as long as Chen's mother returned the money she had swindled from her, everything could be pretended as if nothing had happened.
But Chen's mother refused, and even accused her of secretly hiding the money.
Under the weight of all these blows, Shen Xuewei was utterly despondent, and she even contemplated suicide.
Standing atop the high-rise building, she had even stepped halfway out, and she looked down at the building below.
A mother and daughter happened to be passing by downstairs, which made her pull her foot back.
Don't jump off buildings, don't scare others, and don't affect other people's happiness.
Besides, she wasn't at fault, so why would she punish herself with death?
Since then, she has cut off contact with her family and never paid attention to her parents again.
She changed jobs, worked several jobs at the same time, and spent two years paying off the money she had borrowed. She continued to work hard to save money to buy a house and a car, and everything was moving in a positive direction.
She returned to this point in time when she felt happiest.
Looking back on her past life of thirty-two years, most of her days were filled with bitterness.
Having been given a second chance at life, she no longer wanted to follow their arrangements.
Since we've sent her to her maternal grandmother's house, she'll stay here often from now on.
As for that home… Shen Xuewei lowered her eyelids and a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips.
Her life will restart here.
She doesn't like the word "well-behaved" when used to describe her.
However, her obedience could also be a disguise.
By putting on a docile facade, she can more easily get what she wants.
Dahuang squatted down beside her, looked up at Shen Xuewei who was lost in thought and looked unusually determined, tilted its head, and stuck out its tongue to lick her.
Shen Xuewei snapped out of her daze and reached out to pat its forehead.
Just as I was about to play with Da Huang a little longer, my second maternal grandmother, who was eating in front of the house next door, called out loudly:
"Weiwei, your second maternal grandfather just pooped and Dahuang ate it right afterward. It probably hasn't even washed its mouth yet. Don't play with it, it's very dirty right now."
Shen Xuewei slapped Da Huang's head away as it leaned in, and cried out in a panic, "Grandma, I don't want to play with Da Huang, I want to take a bath!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com