Chapter 54 Making a Secret Phone Call
Shen Xuewei came in first place in the fifth grade. After the principal rambled on for a while, she returned with a few thin notebooks and workbooks, as well as three ten-yuan bills.
Of her three friends, Wu Yuhong and Zhong Shiqi remained the same, while Ye Meiling seemed to have suffered some kind of trauma at home.
Her personality has remained cheerful and optimistic, seemingly unchanged, but her grades have gone from being in the bottom ten to the bottom three.
Seeing that her grades were falling further and further behind, Shen Xuewei and the other two tutored her, but her grades remained the same.
She wasn't unintelligent; she just had no interest in studying and gradually gave up on herself.
Despite experiencing a failed marriage, Chen Fanglan's career has been on the rise.
Because of her excellent performance, skillful techniques, and continuous learning of new beauty techniques, she is loved by many clients.
Not only did she accumulate customers, but her boss even gave her a two hundred yuan raise every month in order to keep her.
She's busy with her promotion and career, so she doesn't spend much time at home.
But every time he comes back, he makes a point of choosing a weekend, because Shen Xuewei is also at home at that time.
Once bitten by a snake, twice shy; after a heartbreak, she never dared to fall in love again.
Especially when she saw her best friend, Wu Yufen, living a messy and quarrelsome life after marriage.
Wu Yufen married him while pregnant, and as soon as she reached the legal age, she immediately got a marriage certificate with him.
But after the child was born, neither her husband nor her mother-in-law cared. She was raising the child alone and had a huge argument with her mother-in-law. So she took the child and went back to her parents' home.
She stayed at her parents' house for half a month before her husband came to coax her.
She didn't last long before going back with her husband.
Then...then she got pregnant with her second child...
At that time, Shen Xuewei was on summer vacation and was helping with chores at home.
One late night, a phone call came in.
She glanced at the incoming phone number and realized it was an unfamiliar number, but she still answered the phone and said "hello."
Hello, which one are you looking for?
These days, there aren't many scam calls. Those who know the Chen family's phone number are probably close friends or relatives.
There was no sound from the other end of the phone for a long time. Just as Shen Xuewei was about to hang up, a voice finally came from the other end.
"younger sister."
The voice was both familiar and unfamiliar, and Shen Xuewei froze on the spot.
There is only one person who would call her that.
"Brother," she called softly, her voice a little hoarse.
This is a call from her brother, Shen Xuewen.
Hearing her call him "brother," he was pleased. The nervousness in his voice faded, and his tone became warm and friendly.
"Little sister, are you doing well at Grandma's? I... I've been wanting to call you, but I don't have a cell phone, and I'm too scared to use Dad's. But I recently secretly found Grandma's phone number, and I'm calling you from my classmate's phone..."
Or perhaps they knew the opportunity was rare and had a lot to say to Shen Xuewei, so they spoke quickly and urgently.
Shen Xuewei listened quietly, her eyes soft and brimming with tears.
He spoke for a long time before stopping abruptly, embarrassed. "Little sister, are you still listening?"
Shen Xuewei blinked, holding back her tears.
"Yes, I'm listening, I've been listening the whole time."
"Are you doing well at your grandma's house? Have you been bullied?"
"I'm doing well. I haven't been bullied, and I'm not unhappy."
Shen Xuewen's voice lowered, "But I'm not happy. My parents don't like me. They think I'm stupid and my grades are bad. They only like my third brother and don't like me."
Shen Xuewei comforted him, saying, "How could your parents not like you? You're their child too. It doesn't matter if your grades aren't good, as long as you try your best..."
A faint voice came from the other end of the phone, "...Xuewen, are you done yet? My mom's coming back soon, I can't lend you the phone anymore..."
Shen Xuewei heard Shen Xuewen shout, "Okay, okay, I'll be done soon."
He hurriedly said, "Little sister, I have to go now. I borrowed a classmate's phone. I'll call you again next time I find a chance."
Before Shen Xuewei could reply, the call was disconnected.
Shen Xuewei dejectedly put down the microphone.
Shen Xuewen is an introverted and shy person. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to call by borrowing a classmate's phone.
In fact, both of them knew that they didn't know when they would have the chance to make another phone call.
During the meal, she couldn't help but ask, "Grandma, can you talk to my mom and ask my brother to come here and study with us? If he can't adapt, I'll take care of him."
She knew the chances were slim, but she still wanted to ask.
Grandma Xi put down her chopsticks and sighed.
"Grandma knows Weiwei misses her brother, right? Your mom said your brother has been studying over there for several years, so it's not convenient for him to come over. When Grandma has some free time, how about she takes Weiwei to visit them?"
She casually offered words of comfort.
Children forget things easily, so I figured that in a few days, Shen Xuewei would forget about it.
Shen Xuewei spends her days at school with her peers, and she has indeed become quite childish.
But she wasn't a real child after all; she could tell from the adults' tone of voice and knew that what Grandma Xi was saying was just to appease her temporarily.
She didn't say anything more, but her mood clearly dropped.
Grandma Xi glanced at her sideways, and seeing her dejected look, her heart softened, and she coaxed her:
"How about Grandma asks your mom for you?"
As expected, when the call was made, Chen Fangmin's scolding and complaints came from the other end of the line.
"Mom, Xiaowei is being silly, why are you joining in? Xiaowen has been studying with us for so many years. Do you know how much this will affect his studies if we transfer him to another school?"
"Besides, you know how remote Mingda Town is. How can the teaching staff there compare to those in big cities? What family wouldn't think about the child's well-being and send them to the mountains?"
After a barrage of complaints, he almost turned Grandma Xi, who was supposed to be his mother, into his grandson.
Grandma Xi held the receiver. "Amin, don't worry. It has nothing to do with Weiwei. I just thought of it myself. Since it's inconvenient for him to come over, then he won't. Don't tell the child, so as not to affect the child's studies."
"Okay, Mom. I've said this so many times. Oh, by the way, could you let Xiaowei answer the phone?"
Shen Xuewei knew she wouldn't get anything nice from her mother, so she turned to leave.
However, Grandma Xi was faster, grabbing her hand and shoving the phone into it.
"Weiwei, what are you standing there for? Your mother wants to talk to you. Go and say a few words to your mother."
Grandma urged.
Shen Xuewei reluctantly said "Hey".
Chen Fangmin's tone was somewhat sharp:
“Shen Xuewei, you’re at your grandma’s house. If we’re telling you to go to school, then go to school. Don’t do all this nonsense all the time.”
"Your grandparents are getting old. Don't just think about coming back every day or going out to play. Help them with chores and be more diligent in everything you do. Do you understand?"
"I don't expect you to get great grades, just don't let me hear that you've gotten into any trouble outside. Focus on your studies, and in a few years, when you're in junior high, we'll bring you back..."
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