Lian Yanbin’s casual remark left Lian Shuguo and Wu Xiuzhen feeling as though they had fallen into an ice cavern. Was Lian Qiao’s presence really so faint? She had been away from home for so much of winter vacation, and Lian Yanbin had not even noticed?
Or had their own habitual neglect of Lian Qiao led Lian Yanbin to ignore her just as completely?
Leaving aside the chaos in the Lian home, Jiang Chan was entirely at ease in Old Tang’s household. During the few days she spent there over the New Year, the principal’s wife fed her so well that she grew fair and rosy, her cheeks rounding out.
When term began, Jiang Chan even rode straight to school in the principal’s own car. Such treatment was beyond most people’s imagination.
With the new term beginning, the school was bustling. Jiang Chan’s tuition and other fees were all waived. Basically, she only needed to sit down in the classroom and do nothing else.
Lian Yanbin had unusually accompanied Wu Jin to register that day. Naturally, he had come for Jiang Chan. She had not gone home at all over the New Year, nor had she made a single phone call, as though she had truly cut ties with the family.
As her older brother, Lian Yanbin felt it was essential to have a word with her. How could she treat her elders like that? Once she came home, she would need a proper talking-to.
Lian Shuguo and Wu Xiuzhen went to pay Wu Jin’s tuition, while Lian Yanbin followed her directions to Class One. He intended to talk things through with Lian Qiao first. If they could not reach an understanding, he would consider using public opinion afterward.
Lian Yanbin stopped outside the second-year Class One classroom. His sharp, 5.0 vision swept quickly around the room, but he did not see the dark, thin girl he remembered.
Instead, by the window in the last row, he saw a very familiar-looking girl surrounded by several girls who were chattering and laughing happily. He raised an eyebrow. Could Lian Qiao not have arrived to register yet?
He knocked on the door. “I’m Lian Qiao’s older brother. Hasn’t she arrived yet?”
At his words, the bustling classroom fell completely silent. Most of the students looked at him in disbelief. Lian Yanbin frowned. Was there something wrong with his clothes?
He looked himself over. He was dressed quite appropriately. Why were they looking at him that way?
A girl who had an arm around Jiang Chan’s shoulders spoke bluntly. “So you’re her older brother? You’ve really opened our eyes. You can’t even recognize your own younger sister and have to ask us.”
“Exactly. Your whole family really is something else.” A boy was indignant and could not help speaking up for Jiang Chan.
Her classmates’ defense filled Jiang Chan’s heart with warmth. She patted the back of the girl’s hand. “All right. Why get angry over someone who doesn’t matter? I’ll go out and say a few words to him.”
However foolish Lian Yanbin might be, he now knew she was Lian Qiao. He stared at her wide-eyed, suddenly wishing he could disappear. Back then, he had thought Jiang Chan looked familiar. So she had been Lian Qiao all along?
How had she changed so much? Jiang Chan stood up. “Whatever you have to say, say it outside. If you aren’t afraid of embarrassing yourself, you can say it here too.”
Lian Yanbin was just about to step out when Wu Jin, Lian Shuguo, and Wu Xiuzhen arrived outside Class One. Wu Jin held Wu Xiuzhen’s arm. “Little sister, you didn’t come home for the New Year. Where did you go?”
Jiang Chan gave them a faint, mocking smile. “I told you long ago that I’m not your daughter. Why should I go back? Is there a place for me there? I’m relaxed and free on my own. Why should I go to your home to make myself miserable?”
Mindful of the crowd, Wu Xiuzhen barely suppressed her anger and forced a smile. “You have no particular skills. What could you do out there? Where exactly were you fooling around over the New Year?”
“Look at your clothes and shoes. Could you buy those for anything less than several hundred yuan? What exactly have you been doing all this time?” Wu Xiuzhen’s critical gaze swept from Jiang Chan’s head to her feet, her words full of scorn.
Jiang Chan’s lips curved into an exceptionally cold smile. When she saw Old Tang by the window, she suddenly smiled.
“Old Tang, you’re just in time. Tell me, where did I spend this winter vacation?”
Old Tang raised an eyebrow. “You worked in sales at a company before the New Year. I introduced you myself. You spent the New Year at my home. Our mom and dad liked you so much they wished you were their biological granddaughter.”
Jiang Chan asked again, “How much did I earn over winter vacation?”
Seeing the four members of the Lian family, Old Tang understood what Jiang Chan meant. He smiled, showing a mouthful of white teeth. “Hundreds of thousands, at the very least. Capable people can make a living wherever they go. Even with a bad hand, they can play it like a pair of jokers!”
The students below chimed in obligingly. “Wow, Qiaoqiao is that amazing? Hundreds of thousands in one winter vacation?”
“So,” Jiang Chan tossed her head, smiling wickedly at the shifting expressions on the four Lian family members’ faces.
“I can earn money. After leaving that cage, I’m actually living better. Why should I go back and put up with your moods, making myself unhappy for no reason?”
Lian Yanbin barely regained his composure. “But they’re your parents, after all. They gave birth to you and raised you. Is this how you repay them?”
Jiang Chan raised one finger and wagged it. “I said long ago that when I become an adult, I’ll repay everything they’ve spent on me in one lump sum, adjusted for inflation. When they grow old, I’ll pay exactly as much toward their support as you do.”
“As for giving birth to me, I’m not Nezha. I can’t carve out my bones to return them to my father and cut off my flesh to return it to my mother. I’m already angry that you brought me into this world without my consent. Becoming your daughter truly took eight lifetimes of bad luck.”
“You failed to fulfill your responsibilities as parents, yet you demand that I fulfill my duties as your child. Rights and obligations aren’t equal here. Where’s the fairness in that? The law gives me an independent identity, not permission for your family to mistreat me.”
“As for you,” Jiang Chan glanced at the self-righteous Lian Yanbin, “what grounds do you have to criticize me? Don’t forget, you and Wu Jin have played no small part in making my position in your family what it is.”
“After all, you’re his son, and she’s her daughter. Since you’ve always stood by and watched coldly, remain bystanders forever. Have the sense to keep your mouths shut.”
Jiang Chan did not soften her words at all. Looking at Lian Shuguo and Wu Xiuzhen, she said very seriously, “Let me repeat myself. I’m not your daughter. Family ties endure because of affection. Without affection, blood ties are meaningless too.”
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