Chapter 18

Seeing the smug look on An ZhiAng's face, An ZhiRen deliberately asked An ZhiXian, "Youngest brother, since we have to give this money anyway, why don't we just give it to little sister directly instead of having it go through this brat first when the money is clearly from us? He's trying to take credit for our generosity!"

An ZhiXian smiled and said to An ZhiRen, "Then why don't you be the nice guy and give me the money to pass along?"

An ZhiRen quickly waved his hands, "Please spare me. It's only Tuesday and I still have classes. I'll be up late grading assignments tonight too. Where would I find time to go shopping with little sister?"

"I'm busy too. We have no choice but to let this brat take advantage." An ZhiXian sighed.

An ZhiAng knew they would say this. He rushed them, "Stop wasting time and go get the money. I still have to think about where to take little sister after shopping tomorrow."

The two reluctantly shook their heads but were rushed off to take money anyway.

After handing the money to An ZhiAng, An ZhiRen couldn't help but warn him, "This money is for little sister. Don't you dare pocket it yourself."

An ZhiAng quickly took it, grinning from ear to ear, "Look at what second brother is saying. What kind of person do you take me for?"

An MeiYun had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and happened to see this scene on her way back to her room. Her heart instantly soured.

She of course knew this money was not for her. Even the term "little sister" had been snatched away by An ZhiXia. How could she not feel resentful?

An ZhiXia had only returned home for a few hours, yet they didn't seem to consider her feelings at all.

In another room, An JingZhi and Zhou Nan were discussing taking An ZhiXia shopping tomorrow for some things and to the hospital for a checkup.

An JingZhi and Zhou Nan were both tall, and all their sons were quite tall too. An ZhiXia looked thin and frail in comparison. Considering the child's difficult past, Zhou Nan worried she might have hidden health issues and wanted her checked out at the hospital for some peace of mind.

Even if she was healthy, some supplements and treatments would be good.

An ZhiXia naturally did not refuse something that would benefit her. Looking at Zhou Nan's appearance and temperament, she guessed Zhou Nan must be quite beautiful herself. An ZhiXia also wanted to take better care of herself and become gorgeous.

First off were her figure and skin. Her body was too weak and undeveloped. This needed to be addressed through diet. If she tried hard, maybe she could still catch the last train of growth and gain some height. Even if not, having some meat on her bones would make her look less emaciated.

As for her skin, it wasn't just dark but yellowish too. Likely from sun exposure, overwork, and malnutrition.

But now she had dimensional space and the trading device, so she didn't need to worry about food and drinks. She was confident her condition would improve quickly.

Hearing them discuss plans for tomorrow, An ZhiXia patiently waited a while longer. When they still hadn't brought up arrangements for An MeiYun, she couldn't help but look at An JingZhi and remind him, "I recall when I agreed to return, you also promised me..."

An JingZhi pursed his lips and looked at An ZhiXia without speaking for a long time. It was Zhou Nan who realized something was wrong. She nudged his arm and asked, "Does ZhiXia have other requests?"

"I promised her I would make MeiYun leave the family." After a long pause, An JingZhi finally sighed and replied. Then he looked at An ZhiXia again, "ZhiXia, I know you must resent MeiYun for taking your place, but what happened wasn't something any of us wanted. MeiYun was just a baby then, unable to decide for herself. If you want to blame, you can only blame that heartless couple. Dad promised you about MeiYun leaving and won't go back on his word, but you must also give the family some time. After all, we raised MeiYun for so many years now and have feelings for her, even if she were just a kitten or puppy. I hope you can understand this. The Gaos have been arrested, so we can't just kick her out now to be homeless, right?"

"So you mean now that I've returned, I won't leave? Or you regret your promise to me because blood relations win out over adopted ones after all?"

"That's not what Dad means, don't misunderstand." An JingZhi quickly explained, "What I mean is, please give me some time. I will find a way to arrange a job for her. She's a girl who will need a place of her own after leaving our family, right?"

An ZhiXia rubbed her forehead wearily, "I can't stand living with my enemy under the same roof. Ten days. Either she leaves or I do."

Zhou Nan was anxious, "ZhiXia, even if you two can't be sisters, calling her your enemy is too much, isn't it? MeiYun didn't know anything back then either. She's a victim too..."

Zhou Nan tried to persuade but was interrupted by An ZhiXia, "You're wrong. She's not the victim, she's the beneficiary."

"Do you know what a victim should be treated like?" An ZhiXia rolled up her sleeves, revealing the old and new scars on her arms. "See this? This is how victims deserve to be treated. Do you know the Gaos never intended to let me live? Li Xiuming had milk but didn't let me have a single drop. Back then Gao Grandma was kept in the dark, thinking they didn't like me because I was a girl. Whenever someone in the village had a baby, Gao Grandma would carry me over to nurse a little, and paste me some flour paste from time to time, I guess I was fated to live because even that didn't manage to starve me to death. I just lived from famine to feast, getting smarter from experience. Ever since I can remember, washing clothes, cooking, feeding pigs and chickens were all my chores. I'd get beaten and scolded if I was idle for a moment. That kind of life was bearable at first, I was used to it anyway. But starting two years ago, they kept trying to get me killed. When I washed clothes, Gao Second Sister would push me into the river. Just because Gao Dazhuang was in a bad mood after drinking, he took a burning coal stick from under the pot and threw it at me, leaving these burn scars still on my chest today. I should be grateful they didn't dare directly murder me, so they drugged me and sold me to a bald old man who once beat his wife to death. Do you know how disgusted I felt that day when I regained consciousness?"

At this moment, An ZhiXia's words contained resentment, including towards An JingZhi and Zhou Nan who couldn't bear to part with An MeiYun.

They didn't know how tragically An MeiYun caused the An family to suffer in her past life.

If they knew An MeiYun would falsely accuse them, causing Grandpa and Grandma to die of anger, and all 4 sons to suffer and die with even the daughter-in-laws and cute little grandson meeting such tragic ends, would they still be so sympathetic towards An MeiYun?

Hearing An ZhiXia's words, Zhou Nan was already crying inconsolably, collapsing to the floor. "Stop it, stop talking..."