They were all people discussing million-dollar business deals – could it be that in Xia Xiaolan’s heart, her business partner was worth less than some high school teachers?

Zhu Suizhou couldn’t understand and naturally felt Xia Xiaolan was being perfunctory.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t care about his thoughts. After exchanging a few polite words, she left Chaoyang Real Estate and parted ways with Xu Zhongyi.

“Uncle Xu, I need to return to Anqing. If I leave now, I can still make it for dinner with the teachers.”

“Go ahead. Anqing is a small county town, and travel might not be convenient. Let me lend you a car and assign a driver to accompany you.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t refuse. Having a car would indeed be much more convenient. Besides, she had Little You with her – what if two young women were targeted? Though Anqing County’s thugs had been cleaned up during the crackdown, some might have slipped through. Security in small places wasn’t as good as in provincial cities, and Xia Xiaolan was very mindful of her safety.

In the last two days of December, it snowed in Yunan. Little You found a large umbrella from somewhere and struggled to hold it over Xia Xiaolan’s head, preventing snowflakes from falling on her.

Xia Xiaolan bent down to enter the car, and only then did Little You close the umbrella and sit in the front passenger seat.

The black car slowly drove away.

A teenage boy around 13 years old, pulling a small flatbed cart, stood dazed not far away.

Someone had sent a young boy out to buy cabbage in the heavy snow. The flatbed cart was piled high with Chinese cabbage, dragging through the snow-covered road. His hands were covered in chilblains, and the cotton stuffing showed through his worn coat sleeves.

“Was that Sister Xiaolan?”

The scene just now exceeded 13-year-old Xia Junbao’s imagination. He had seen his cousin Xia Xiaolan on Shangdu’s main street… His cousin who got into Huaqing University was a taboo topic in the Xia family, including his former Second Aunt who divorced his Second Uncle. Mentioning either of their names once would cause an argument in the family.

He had heard that his former Second Aunt had married a high-ranking official.

So didn’t that make Cousin Xiaolan the daughter of a high-ranking official?

No wonder she had so many people around her, even someone holding an umbrella for her in the snow, and she rode in what looked like a luxury car—

Though they shared the surname, Xia, he and his cousin lived completely different lives.

Why was there such a gap?

Thirteen-year-old Xia Junbao couldn’t understand. He sniffled resentfully, and only after the car disappeared did he resume pulling his cartload of cabbage home.

Waiting for him wasn’t a warm charcoal basin, but a pile of diapers.

Both excrement and urine, not just from his little cousin but also from his grandmother who was completely bedridden after her second stroke and had lost control of her bodily functions.

He should have been in school today.

After Grandmother Xia’s stroke left her completely dependent, this caused many arguments between Xia Dajun and Fan Yu. Xia Junbao didn’t like this new Second Aunt at all and secretly hoped Xia Dajun would tell Fan Yu to get lost for Grandmother Xia’s sake.

But the outcome disappointed Xia Junbao. His Second Uncle was only angry for a few days, and Fan Yu won their arguments. Fan Yu’s trump card was threatening to remarry and take her son away, leaving Xia Dajun without a son to care for him in his old age!

After several such back-and-forths, Xia Dajun was again under Fan Yu’s control.

Fan Yu said she was too weak to care for the paralyzed Grandmother Xia and couldn’t manage her son alone while Xia Dajun was away driving long-distance routes. She demanded that 13-year-old Xia Junbao come home to help… so Xia Junbao was pulled out of school.

Was it temporary leave or dropping out?

Xia Junbao himself wasn’t sure.

He felt Second Aunt would never let him return to school.

What was Second Uncle’s reaction?

Second Uncle argued briefly, but as soon as Second Aunt threatened to leave, he silently agreed to this arrangement.

“You went out just to buy vegetables and took so long – were you being lazy and playing somewhere? Hurry up and wash the diapers, your grandmother’s soiled herself again, it stinks!”

It was too cold, and Fan Yu didn’t want to leave the room. Grandmother Xia had soiled her bedding, and the whole room reeked. Fan Yu wanted to drag this old hag out and abandon her.

Anywhere would do, as long as she didn’t have to see her!

But Xia Dajun would never agree… Fan Yu coldly watched the naked old woman. Why couldn’t she have just died when she had the stroke?

Fan Yu felt she shouldn’t be living such a life. Her discontent naturally made everyone in the Xia family miserable. Xia Dajun couldn’t bear to part with his son and wife, nor could he watch his paralyzed mother go uncared for, so he silently allowed Fan Yu to order his nephew Xia Junbao around.

Xia Dajun’s transformation was very practical. A niece couldn’t be more important than a daughter because daughters were money losers, and Xia Ziyu knew how to please people.

Similarly, though Xia Junbao was hardworking and sweet-talking, in Xia Dajun’s eyes, a nephew was not as important as his son.

Fan Yu made Xia Junbao wash diapers, criticized the cabbage he bought as not good enough, and complained to Xia Dajun when he returned home, saying Xia Junbao only played around and didn’t work.

Xia Junbao silently ate his noodles, hating Fan Yu to his core.

No, he had come to hate Xia Dajun as well.

Xia Dajun had promised to take care of him before – ha, what a liar!

After dinner, Fan Yu went to her room. Xia Dajun and Xia Junbao together bathed the paralyzed Grandmother Xia. Though Xia Junbao could wash diapers, he couldn’t lift Grandmother Xia alone – this task required two people.

Grandmother Xia whimpered, her speech slurred and unclear.

Xia Dajun felt bitter, wondering how life had turned out this way.

Xia Junbao lowered his voice: “Second Uncle, I saw Sister Xiaolan on the street today. She had many people around her, some holding umbrellas, others opening car doors for her – so grand!”

Xia Dajun froze.

After a while, he asked, “Did you see your Second Aunt then… I mean your former Second Aunt?”

His voice was also very low, afraid Fan Yu might hear. If she heard, she would certainly cause an uproar. While Xia Dajun feared Fan Yu’s temper, he couldn’t help wanting to know about the mother and daughter.

Unfortunately, Xia Junbao shook his head:

“Didn’t see Second Aunt. Second Uncle, if my parents hadn’t done wrong if my older sister hadn’t done wrong, Sister Xiaolan and Second Aunt wouldn’t have left, right? What kind of life do you think Sister Xiaolan is living now? It looked like something from TV.”

What kind of life was she living? It was because that unchaste woman Liu Fen had married the mayor!

Making him a cuckold!

Making him a laughingstock!

Leaving him with much resentment but no dare to seek revenge.

Xia Junbao didn’t continue to provoke him.

If Second Uncle wasn’t kind to him, why should he show genuine respect? Xia Junbao hated both Fan Yu and Xia Dajun, finding solace in making them uncomfortable.

…

Growing up in a bad environment, even good children become twisted, let alone those already crooked at the root.

Xia Junbao could recognize Xia Xiaolan at a glance because she just looked more well-dressed and elegant than before, but her face remained the same as in his memory.

In contrast, even if Xia Xiaolan had passed Xia Junbao face to face, she would hardly have recognized him. She didn’t have a deep impression of him, to begin with, and adolescents changed greatly.

Not noticing the teenage boy pulling a cart by the street, she wouldn’t know how psychologically dark Fan Yu had forced Xia Junbao to become, that at just 13 years old he knew to find pleasure in provoking Xia Dajun… Even if she did know, Xia Xiaolan would have praised him with a “Well done!”

The car stopped at Anqing County First High School’s gate. This place had really changed quite a bit.