Chapter 489 - 168: ’80s Drama Queen Forced to Operate and Become a Top Student (3)
Chapter 489: Chapter 168: ’80s Drama Queen Forced to Operate and Become a Top Student (3)
’Was this still the same daughter who, just like her late husband, was so quiet you couldn’t beat a peep out of her?’
Even though she had been a terribly neglectful mother, she had watched this child grow up. From the moment the girl could walk, she had been ordering her to fetch this and that. She had truly exploited the tiny child to the fullest, enslaving her to this very day.
She knew this child she had personally "trained" all too well.
That’s why Ren Xingchen had never imagined that a helpless, uneducated, nine-year-old girl would dare to shout at her in this unfamiliar train car!
Ren Xingchen had been beautiful since she was a little girl and had high standards. When it was time for her to marry, she had ultimately chosen Father Sheng, a man from her village with a promising military career.
With the generous allowance Father Sheng mailed home clutched in her hands, her life became comfortable and pleasant, and she soon forgot how she had ever endured her past poverty.
With her husband providing for her and her daughter toiling away at home, the two of them spoiled Ren Xingchen rotten, making her even more demanding and unreasonable.
She despised her husband for being too coarse and inconsiderate, and she despised herself for having a daughter instead of a son. No matter how the two of them devoted themselves to her, the selfish woman wouldn’t give them a second glance.
How could she possibly tolerate such infuriating disrespect now?
"Sheng Leyun, don’t think you can do whatever you want just because your father is gone!"
"People forget easily, you know. Heh, after all these years, that life-saving debt has been more or less repaid."
"If you had any sense, you’d just obediently help me with the housework. We could finally settle down in the Capital City, just the two of us. What’s so bad about that?"
"Or are you really that attached to your grandmother’s house, with its endless chores and piecework?"
"Heh," Ren Xingchen didn’t bother to hide her disgust. "You’re from the Sheng Family. You should have stayed back in your family’s hovel in the mountains. I’m taking you with me when I remarry. What more could you possibly be unhappy about?"
"Believe it or not, I could dump you just about anywhere, and you’d never find your way home!"
Sheng Leyun was a pitiable sight at home. Even when she was just a baby in swaddling clothes, hardly anyone had bothered to care for her properly.
They would often just toss her onto a pile of sand and disappear for hours on end.
The child, hungry and uncomfortable, would cry until she was breathless. With her throat raw, all she could do was miserably chew on her own hand.
Other than Father Sheng, no one had a shred of patience for her. So it wasn’t so much that the original owner of her body had a dull personality as a child; it was that she’d never had the chance to develop any skills at all.
Just look at the situation now. Ren Xingchen was completely confident that if she abandoned Sheng Leyun, the girl would never find her way back. ’She’s a dim-witted fool who only knows how to work with her head down. She’s never left the house and doesn’t even know her own address. There’s no way she could find her way home, let alone make it to the Capital City to disrupt my life.’
The more she considered it, the faster Ren Xingchen’s heart pounded—with excitement, impatience, and anticipation. Fear and guilt never even crossed her mind.
’Yes, I am Sheng Leyun’s mother. Bringing her into this world is enough of a service to the Sheng Family and the child herself.’
’Now that Sheng Leyun is older and can fend for herself, why should she continue to be a burden, dragging down my chances at a happy life?’
An absurd idea—one she deemed best for herself, for Sheng Leyun, and for the Xiao family—suddenly broke through the fog in her mind and took firm hold.
Just then, the train’s broadcast system crackled to life: "Attention passengers, we will soon be arriving at Anqing Station. Passengers disembarking at Anqing, please prepare to exit the train... Anqing is a temporary stop. We will be stopped for five minutes. We ask that passengers whose destination is not Anqing please remain on the train..."
Ren Xingchen glanced at her watch, then at her suddenly rebellious, vexing daughter. She sighed softly. "All right, all right, you win. I’m scared of you, okay? Come on, let’s go get some fresh air."
As she spoke, she took the initiative, pulling Sheng Leyun’s arm and moving with the flow of people getting off the train. All the while, she muttered, "You silly girl. I’m your mother. Of course I’m on your side, not theirs."
"I just want us to have a more comfortable life. There’s nothing wrong with doing a little extra work. When you grow up and get married, won’t you have to work then, too?"
"I’m only making you work for your own good. You’ll see. Your Uncle Xiao’s children are completely spoiled. They have a hard life of suffering ahead of them!"
"Your Uncle Xiao still feels indebted to your father for saving his life. That’s why he’s bringing us from the countryside to the Capital City to live a better life."
"There are many ways to repay a life-saving debt. Your Uncle Xiao chose the most difficult one because he wants to take good care of you."
"But if we keep bringing up your father right from the start, no matter how great the debt he feels, we’ll just wear out our welcome..."