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Chapter 78: Chapter 78: It was her father who indirectly killed our father
Hearing Lin Fengying telling her to return the dress, Si Xiaohui hugged the clothing tightly and retorted, "Why would I give the dress I had made to her? I won’t."
Being scolded by the whole family, yet ending up with nothing, what’s in it for her?
"This should have been your sister-in-law’s." Lin Fengying snatched the clothing from Si Xiaohui’s hands and gave it to Tong Yao.
Tong Yao accepted the clothing without politeness. She was determined today to teach Si Xiaohui a lesson, so she would learn and wouldn’t create more trouble in the future.
Si Xiaohui felt extremely wronged, with her resentful eyes staring at Tong Yao. Tears rolled down her face as if she had suffered a gross injustice.
A thief in the house, Si Boyi felt humiliated and turned to walk out.
"I hate you all." Si Xiaohui stomped her foot angrily and also walked outside.
"Stop." Si Chen called to stop her.
Si Xiaohui wanted to continue running but couldn’t move. She bit her lips and looked at Si Chen, saying, "What else do you want to do? Beat me for your wife?"
Si Chen’s dark and deep eyes looked at her and uttered in a heavy tone, "Apologize to your sister-in-law."
"Brother, you are so biased." Si Xiaohui bit her lip as tears started to pour down again. It was even harder for her to apologize to Tong Yao than taking a beating. "I’ve been wronged so much and none of you feels bad for me but give me a hard time. Am I not your real sister?"
Before, everyone in the family doted on her, but ever since Tong Yao arrived, she had been scolded over and over again for her sake. The family revolved around Tong Yao. With the arrival of a second daughter-in-law, would there be a place left for her in this house?
"Deal with one thing at a time."
"What if I refuse to apologize?" Si Xiaohui stubbornly asked.
"I will no longer meddle in your affairs." Si Chen said calmly, but his gaze was firm and decisive.
Si Xiaohui was scared. She knew her elder brother was not bluffing. If she didn’t apologize this time, he really wouldn’t care about her in the future. However, it was really hard for her to apologize. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
Lin Fengying knew her eldest son’s temperament and got anxious. She pushed her daughter and hurried her, "Xiaohui, hurry up and apologize to Yaoyao, everything was your fault this time."
Si Xiaohui’s lips were almost bitten through. She hoped Tong Yao would give her a way out, but there was none. After several thoughts, she bowed her head reluctantly but disrespectfully.
With a stiff tone, she said, "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have touched your things."
Tong Yao looked slightly pleased with her words, but then she retorted, "I didn’t necessarily want an apology, I just didn’t like you touching my things, acting so righteous afterward. Let’s forget it this time, but if it happens again, I will spread the word throughout the village."
"..."
Si Xiaohui bit her lip and remained silent. She was clearly not convinced, but she also feared that Tong Yao would indeed spread rumors in the village.
Seeing that the matter was almost solved, Lin Fengying hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Yaoyao, it’s my fault for not watching Xiaohui, I am sorry. You calculate how much it will cost and I’ll pay you right away."
Si Xiaohui was after all her own daughter. Although Lin Fengying knew what she did was wrong, seeing Si Xiaohui’s tear-stricken face hurt her like a needle.
"Mom, we’re all family, let’s forget about the money. In fact, if Xiaohui had asked me directly, I wouldn’t have minded giving her these things, I just didn’t like her taking them without asking." Tong Yao put the clothes on the bed, then closed the box as it was before, "Since the sheets have been made into clothes, Xiaohui, you keep it."
Looking at Tong Yao’s generosity, Lin Fengying felt quite ashamed, "Xiaohui, aren’t you going to thank Yaoyao?"
"Thank you." Although she was forced to say it, hearing that Tong Yao had left the dress for her, Si Xiaohui’s mood had indeed improved a lot.
At least, she could now wear the dress out in broad daylight.
After the dress was made, she dared to wear it only before bed to indulge in her beauty. Now, she couldn’t wait to wear it outside.
"Xiaochen, you and Xiaohui talk a bit. You rarely come home and I am going to buy some meat in town to make dumplings for lunch." In rural families, eating pork dumplings was a treat reserved for festive occasions. Regular families couldn’t afford to eat it often. Her eldest son was back, she had to make dumplings, as he loved them.
"Ride a bicycle there!" Si Chen said lightly.
"Okay." Lin Fengying responded and left the room smiling.
She invited her eldest son to come back this time to have him advise her daughter. This was the perfect excuse to let the siblings chat privately while she went out to do the shopping.
"You guys talk! I should use the bathroom." Tong Yao excused herself and went outside.
With only Si Xiaohui left in the room to confront Si Chen, she felt afraid and wronged, thinking her elder brother might once again lecture her. There weren’t any outsiders present now, so her pride wasn’t at stake anymore. With her eyes red and tugging at her clothes collar, she said in a low voice, "Big brother, I’m sorry. I know that what I did was wrong, but I just can’t control myself. Ever since she came to our house, my vanity has only grown stronger."
Once she started talking, it wasn’t as difficult. Si Xiaohui sniffled, "I used to think that being thrifty was a good virtue of the farmer, even though our family was not as well-off as others, but everyone wore similar clothes, worn for several years, patched when torn, and then continued to wear. But after she came, I realized that for the money spent on one of her dresses, I could buy several. Her little leather shoes could be wiped clean with a wet cloth after walking on a muddy road, and she wouldn’t even get wet. Among her two suitcases full of clothes, none of them were discolored or had patches. And her lipstick and hairpin, they couldn’t even be found in our town. We’re all humans, why is there such a big difference?"
These words had been bottled up in her heart for a long time. Si Xiaohui hadn’t said them before, but she knew her second brother had the same thoughts, which is why he never dared to look directly at Tong Yao. When in front of Tong Yao, her second brother would feel inferior.
She wasn’t sure if her eldest brother had the same feelings, which was why he was so good to Tong Yao, treating her like a golden phoenix, hence caring and cherishing her so much.
Although Si Xiaohui’s words were somewhat incoherent, Si Chen understood them perfectly.
A young woman who grew up secluded in the mountains, suddenly exposed to the outside world, it was difficult for her to accept, understandably. But this wasn’t an excuse for her wrongful actions.
"The good things Yaoyao has are given by her parents, not stolen from you, and you can’t target her out of jealousy."
On hearing this, Si Xiaohui looked triggered and raised her chin to retort, "Who says she didn’t steal from me? If it weren’t for our Dad saving her Dad, our life would be much better, at least we wouldn’t be so poor. I could have also grown up wearing colorful dresses. If it had been her who lost her Dad back then, could she have lived like a princess all these years? To put it bluntly, her father indirectly killed our father."
