Chapter 185: Warmhearted Neighbor Li Cuihua

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Warmhearted Neighbor Li Cuihua

If Fu Minghua’s hypocrisy weren’t so apparent, she might have truly believed how beautifully it was written, full of a father’s caring heart and concern for his daughter away from home.

The dim light cast a mocking smirk on her face.

"Home is always dependable? Quite a nice saying." Fu Xiaoxiao muttered softly, her voice full of disdain.

Fu Xiaoxiao’s gaze wandered, her thoughts drifting back to the past years of the original owner.

Fu Minghua never showed genuine care during her childhood, and Mrs. Fu’s constant beating and scolding coupled with his indifferent neglect were like scars etched in her heart.

Owing to the original owner’s memories, she never felt the warmth of home.

——

In the early morning, just as the sky was breaking light, the original owner scrambled up from the bed, her small figure bustling between the communal kitchen and home.

The stove’s fire blazed vigorously, and her tiny self struggled to stand on tiptoe, adding water and rice to the pot, preparing breakfast for the whole family.

After finishing breakfast, she softly called her parents, elder brother, and younger sister to wake up for breakfast, yet still, she could receive Mrs. Fu’s sudden reproach and scolding.

"You dead girl, moving so slow, trying to starve the family, huh!"

Every mealtime, she endured torment because she never got enough to eat.

She could only watch longingly as Fu Xiaojun and Fu Xiaocui had hearty meals in their bowls, while hers always had porridge thin enough to reflect her face, under the pretense that Fu Xiaojun and Fu Xiaocui needed more food for their growth spurt, and she herself could only eat peacefully after they finished.

The most laughable part was attending school, revealed only when neighbors noticed Fu Xiaojun and Fu Xiaocui went, one to primary school and the other to kindergarten, while she was left home doing chores.

Young as she was, she washed the family’s clothes, striving to wring them dry.

It was when neighbors asked her why she didn’t attend school that she found out the other two children attended, and the neighbors felt indignant for her. Under their persuasion, Mrs. Fu reluctantly allowed her to go to school.

For this, she took a beating from Mrs. Fu, who thought she played the pity card with the neighbors, forcing them to pressure her.

From childhood to adulthood, Fu Xiaojun never needed to do chores, whatever he wanted only required a word, Fu Xiaocui always had beautiful new clothes, while she couldn’t even receive a fraction of care. The original owner never understood why, despite being their children, the disparity was so vast.

Whenever Fu Xiaoxiao recalled the original owner’s memories, it was nothing but chores, endless housework, with Mrs. Fu’s constant beating and scolding, Mr. Fu only showed indifference.

The original owner’s memories juxtaposed with this ’family letter’ full of fatherly care seemed even more laughable.

This letter was Fu Minghua’s probe, a ’pathfinder.’

He wanted to know if she still held any attachment to that home.

Fu Xiaoxiao’s gaze was resolute, she wasn’t the original owner, wouldn’t be deceived by false affection.

He got her address to write, fearing this was just the first step.

She would like to see what moves he had next.

"Playing this trick, are you! Coincidentally, I can too." Fu Xiaoxiao smiled slightly, returning to the desk, pulling out stationery and writing out her situation.

Previously, she never spoke of her hardships, never complained about her parents’ unfairness, resulting in the neighbors being unaware of how hypocritical Fu Minghua’s facade was.

Fu Xiaoxiao wrote two full sheets of stationery, packed them into an envelope, and wrote down the address.

The address was still the same, only off by a house number, and as for the recipient...

It became the neighbor next door.

Known as Granny Li, the ’tightest-lipped’ in the family compound.

She was also the warm-hearted neighbor who once helped her fight against neighborhood interveners to ensure her schooling, one of the few good people in the original owner’s memories.

-

"Iron Mouth Li, you’ve got mail." When receiving the mail, Li Cuihua was just preparing to cook, she wiped her hands with her skirt hem, curiously taking the letter.

"My mail? Who’s sending it to me?" Li Cuihua stared at the name on the letter, paused for a moment, set aside her task, and took the letter back to the room.

"Who wrote to you?" Li Cuihua’s husband looked up and asked.

"The second girl from the Fu Family." Li Cuihua carefully opened the letter while answering.

"Isn’t that girl said to have gone to the countryside?" Hearing it was Fu Xiaoxiao, Li Cuihua’s husband paused, walked over.

"Don’t disturb me, let me see what she says, that girl left hurriedly, I didn’t even see her before she was already gone." Li Cuihua felt a pang for Fu Xiaoxiao.

That child could be counted as having grown up under her gaze, from the time she struggled to carry a bucket larger than herself to clean, through these years, her time at the Fu Family was all seen by her.

"Why are you crying?" Li Cuihua’s husband saw her crying while reading the letter and paused, quickly came over.

"I don’t know how to phrase it, see for yourself!" Li Cuihua wiped her tears, handed the letter to her husband for him to see on his own.

She couldn’t articulate it, always knowing Fu Family weren’t as kind as they appeared, what kind of people would let a teenage girl do all the household work and claim it’s because the girl was willing, helping reduce the family’s burden.

Yet she’s never seen Fu Family’s elder son or little daughter doing any work.

Now Fu Xiaoxiao’s letter further solidified her belief in the Fu Family’s hypocrisy.

"Unexpected that Old Fu seems kind on the surface but turns out to be this kind of person in private..." Li Cuihua’s husband, Li Jianlu, an old employee at the same factory as Fu Minghua, higher by half a rank, always liked the Fu Family.

"I told you before, it’s you who didn’t believe me." Li Cuihua snorted lightly hearing her husband’s words.

"How was I supposed to know you were telling the truth! Even more surprising that Xiao Xiao wasn’t born to the Fu Family, explaining why they favored the other two but not Xiao Xiao, turns out she wasn’t theirs from the beginning." Li Jianlu remarked.

"I’ve always suspected this family didn’t appear so good on the surface, look at their eldest son and little daughter, well-fed and rosy since young, and then remember Xiao Xiao, always skinny over the years."

"Turns out she wasn’t biological, and this was only revealed to Xiao Xiao when she was switched jobs, forced to go to the countryside, only then did they tell her." Mentioning this point, Li Cuihua grinded her teeth.

"Was it the temporary job you found for her?" Li Jianlu looked at his wife, that temporary job for Fu Xiaoxiao was arranged through her connections, discreetly revealed to Fu Xiaoxiao pretending it was on her own merit.

"Ha, I wondered why that girl was so foolish, leaving the city to go to the countryside. Next door also says it’s her sisterly love for the younger sister, voluntarily giving the job to the sister, what nonsense." Li Cuihua spat in the direction of the Fu Family.

"Luckily the girl got through hardship and is having good days now, married to a serviceman." Li Jianlu chuckled.

"How good are they! Didn’t you see in the girl’s letter? Next door got her address, writing ’caring’ letters to her!" Li Cuihua sneered, "They don’t plan to let her go, and the girl wants me to watch if there’s anything happening in the Fu Family..."