She looked down at her hands, which were only in their early twenties and covered with cracks caused by the cold winter weather. The skin covered the bones, and the calluses on the sides of her fingers from when she was studying were already lighter than the calluses on her palms from when she was working. The marks were getting fainter and fainter, just like what she once wanted to grasp would eventually disappear with time. She would also be swept up by this so-called "fate" and would never have a chance.
Every year she looks forward to the Lunar New Year, yet each time she feels heartbroken. Every time she goes back, she can't help but cry secretly, wondering what would have happened if she had been the one in school back then.
But she wasn't the kind of person who complained or blamed others. On the contrary, she had a strong will and opened a steamed bun shop in town with her own skills. With the money from the steamed bun shop, she bought three or four houses in her forties.
She wanted to prove that she was doing better than her sister, even though she hadn't gone to school and her son had been admitted to university. She was always comparing herself to her sister—their children, their earnings, everything. It seemed she wanted to prove that even without going to school, she was still just as good as her sister.
She knew perfectly well that it had nothing to do with her sister, that it was all just some kind of bullshit fate, but the events of that year were like a scar that wouldn't be healed no matter how much money she made.
The scar was strangely removed in the park where her son had enrolled; the scar faded and new flesh grew. She passed the exam too; she could have passed. Unlike what people said, that even if she went to school, she wouldn't have passed, she was no worse than her sister, not at all.
Wang Cuihua comforted her, "Sister Xiuqin, you are very smart. If you had been the one chosen in the lottery, you would definitely have been able to get into university."
Sheng Xiuqin waved her hand, she no longer cared so much. What she cared about was already beyond the reach of time.
But the heavy weight on her heart disappeared when she received her acceptance letter.
She's already in her forties, almost fifty, and she's long understood that the past is gone and only the future is in her own hands.
No matter how tough or tiring it was over the years, she persevered through it all. She was stubborn and determined to prove to others that she was not weak.
But she didn't need to prove her strength and intelligence to anyone else.
Looking at the two young girls beside her, Sheng Xiuqin thought about how she had managed to run a successful business in the park and had so many loyal customers. She realized that she was truly exceptional!
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