Chapter 166: She Can Only Rely on Herself
Chapter 166: Chapter 166: She Can Only Rely on Herself
The police’s words were like a bolt from the blue, scaring Chen Dali so much his legs went weak; he never imagined the crime would be so severe. "I...I know I’m wrong, I really do know I’m wrong, I don’t want to get shot."
"Now you know fear, but what were you doing earlier?" Fu Xiaoxiao sneered, rolling her eyes. "If you had harmed my Sister Chen Xiu, all your lives wouldn’t be enough to atone."
The police officer glanced at Fu Xiaoxiao, noted her demands, and prepared to take Chen Dali away.
"Then we’ll take him away now." A police officer saluted Fu Xiaoxiao, seeking her approval.
"Thank you for your trouble, coming all this way so late." Fu Xiaoxiao nodded to the four officers.
"No trouble, serving the people." The four officers chuckled, carrying Chen Dali away under the gaze of the onlookers.
Li Yanan waved her hand. "Alright, alright, everyone go back and sleep! We still have work tomorrow!"
"We’ll head back now!" Upon hearing Li Yanan’s words, the villagers began to disperse; however, many turned back to glance at Fu Xiaoxiao.
Fu Xiaoxiao wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt the villagers were looking at her strangely.
"Godmother, why are they looking at me like that?" Fu Xiaoxiao asked Li Yanan, puzzled.
"You know, in the eyes of the people, the police are officials." Li Yanan laughed at Fu Xiaoxiao. "And those officials were consulting you just now, do you understand now?"
"...That’s a big misunderstanding." Fu Xiaoxiao chuckled awkwardly.
"What’s there to misunderstand? They’ve never left the village all their lives; the police coming in is a rare occasion, they inherently have a sense of fear when they see the police." Li Yanan patted Fu Xiaoxiao’s hand; even she would feel anxious seeing the police.
Fu Xiaoxiao’s calm demeanor earlier made the villagers quite baffled; she was the first to dare speak with the police so casually.
"Ah, this..." Fu Xiaoxiao smiled awkwardly; she indeed didn’t have the innate fear others had of the police.
"It’s so late, you all should get some sleep! If there’s anything, let’s talk tomorrow." Li Yanan patted them, signaling them to hurry to their rooms and sleep.
Fu Xiaoxiao and Chen Xiu checked on the four kids, seeing them sprawled out in their sleep; despite all the noise outside earlier, it didn’t affect their slumber at all, and Fu Xiaoxiao envied their quality of sleep.
Back in their room, lying down, Chen Xiu looked at Fu Xiaoxiao. "Weren’t you scared at all? When Chen Dali came in, I nearly died of fright."
"I’ve learned a few moves from Lu Feng, so I’m braver; don’t learn from me." Fu Xiaoxiao replied with a smile, comforting her; from a young age, she had no one to rely on, had to manage everything herself, with no option to retreat.
Chen Xiu was different; she was raised with familial love, never facing danger.
In times of peril, naturally, she wouldn’t be as composed and rational as Fu Xiaoxiao.
She had a tempering of mind that was unique.
"Xiao Xiao, you give me the impression... have you been through a lot of grievances?" Chen Xiu felt she couldn’t compare to Fu Xiaoxiao despite being several years older, just like her mother said; she truly fell short compared to Fu Xiaoxiao, seeing what happened tonight was evident, she only knew to hide in fear, while Fu Xiaoxiao, who should have been protected by her, rushed out to protect her.
"...Is it that obvious?" Fu Xiaoxiao was startled, thinking she hadn’t shown it at all.
"Not obvious, just that I feel like you always rely on yourself for everything, never thinking of relying on others." Chen Xiu gently held Fu Xiaoxiao’s hand and said.
"I truly have no one to rely on." Fu Xiaoxiao didn’t deny it; whether in her past life or this, she had no one.
"Is it convenient to talk about it? Maybe saying it out might make you feel better." Chen Xiu lay beside Fu Xiaoxiao, speaking softly.
"It’s actually nothing much. I was originally the second child in the family, with an older brother and a younger sister. The child in the middle tends to be overlooked; I thought by doing more work, I could get my parents’ attention, I thought being considerate, helping with the family’s chores, being an obedient child, no matter how much my wages were, I’d hand it over to my mother, never kept a penny for myself. I thought if I did well enough, they’d like me, even if not very much, just giving me a bit of love would be good." Fu Xiaoxiao gave a self-mocking laugh.
"Later, my sister was supposed to go to the countryside, but she refused to go, my parents felt bad for her, asked me as her elder sister to make concessions for my sister, arguing about how young she was and what would happen if she went to the countryside..." Fu Xiaoxiao recalled the faces of the Fu Family back then, making her feel nauseous.
Only in times of need would they show affection and closeness to the original owner, as if the emotional connection between them was so deep.
Once used up, she’d be discarded like trash.
"You didn’t give your job to your sister, did you?" Chen Xiu pursed her lips, just hearing it made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I didn’t want to, but my mother planned to cause trouble at my workplace, leaving me no choice but to give it up." Fu Xiaoxiao gave a bitter smile; the job was something the original owner had sought out herself after visiting many places, waiting patiently to finally find this temporary position.
If it had been arranged by the Fu Family, perhaps she wouldn’t have such resentment, yet the Fu Family did nothing and directly handed her well-earned victory to a sister who had never contributed.
"That’s too outrageous... what kind of family is this!" Chen Xiu had never heard of such an absurd family; it was completely contrary to Li Yanan’s teachings since childhood.
Filled with scheming and moral coercion.
[Family should unite to exert force.]
This was a phrase Li Yanan often said.
"After giving my job to my sister, I wanted not to go to the countryside, and my sister said getting married was an option; it was seven days before the countryside trip, I had to get married within those seven days." Fu Xiaoxiao recalled this when she just crossed over and faced this dilemma.
"I met quite a few guys, none of them suitable, yet on the last day, I met Lu Feng; he needed a wife to take care of Lu Lin and Lu Chen, while I needed his identity to avoid going to the countryside." Fu Xiaoxiao remembered startling Lu Feng with her boldness that day.
"Originally, I thought about bringing Lu Feng home to meet them, but..." Fu Xiaoxiao said bitterly. "I found my parents had prepared nothing for me for the countryside trip, even wanted to drive me out of the house, let alone offer a place to sleep which my sister occupied, when I asked for an explanation, my parents annoyed by my fuss finally told me, I wasn’t their biological child."
"What?" Chen Xiu’s eyes widened in disbelief as she sat up hastily.
"You heard right, I’m not their biological daughter, so they’ll pamper my brother and sister, but never me." Fu Xiaoxiao said indifferently.
"Oh my god, that’s...that’s so bullying..." Chen Xiu was so angry that her eyes turned red; she hadn’t expected Fu Xiaoxiao’s background to be so difficult.
She also hadn’t expected the family she’d lived with for over ten years to have been exploiting her all the while; when there was no value left, they kicked her out.
At a time when she needed help the most, they chose to reveal the most heartbreaking truth, cutting off her last retreat, driving her from the house.