Chapter 321 - 319: Dream or Reality? (Part 2)

Chapter 321: Chapter 319: Dream or Reality? (Part 2)

Gu Nuan Nuan’s gaze swept over her mother’s face. The scar was still as shocking to behold as ever, and her full head of white hair made her look ancient, but her overall spirit seemed quite good. Her expression was no longer the stern, emotionless mask she wore all day, the one Gu Nuan Nuan remembered from her past life. Instead, it was full of love, carrying a peace and composure that could only come from the wisdom of experience and a deep acceptance of life.

She felt a wave of relief, but at the same time, her nose tingled with the urge to cry. ’I know why,’ she thought. ’It’s because after I passed away, Mom still had Shengnan by her side.’ Shengnan had been so young then, needing someone to pour all their heart and soul into caring for her. That’s what kept her mother from being completely consumed by the unbearable grief of outliving her own child, unable to recover. A person’s spirit is completely different when they have a purpose, when they are needed.

An indescribable mix of emotions welled up inside her. Her gaze shifted to the little girl beside her mother—that was clearly her own young daughter, Shengnan. She was the child whose grown-up face Gu Nuan Nuan had imagined countless times in her mind since her rebirth.

Shengnan was wearing a pink, ruffled-trim shirt paired with khaki pants that had a giraffe embroidered on the left cuff. She had inherited the best features of both her parents, and with her tidy clothes, you could already see the budding beauty she would become.

Gu Nuan Nuan closed her eyes. ’Mom has raised her so well.’ At only five or six years old, her daughter already seemed exceptionally well-behaved and sensible. At least they seemed to be doing alright. In that respect, Luo Hongyi hadn’t lied or exaggerated in his letters.

The conversation between the grandmother and granddaughter continued.

"Don’t worry, Grandma. I know. I won’t say those things in front of anyone else. I won’t even say them in front of Dad."

Luo Shengnan’s little face scrunched up as she pouted, her words carrying a maturity beyond her years. "After all, even Dad doesn’t really like them, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re his parents. Ugh, it’s just my bad luck to be their granddaughter. Even if I don’t like them, I can’t be too obvious about it."

"I find that strange, though," Zhang Minzhen said, looking at her granddaughter in confusion. "They only visit about once a year, and every time, Granny Shan says they treat you well. They bring you food and even make you clothes, so why would you dislike them? There’s always someone home, so it’s not like they could be secretly hitting or scolding you. Did you hear something from someone else?"

"Grandma, one time I overheard someone say that my mom and big brother were actually killed by them, and that’s why Dad is so sad now. Is that true?" Luo Shengnan asked, looking up at her grandmother with a very serious expression on her little face.

"Who did you hear that from?" Zhang Minzhen instinctively glanced around. Seeing no one nearby, she breathed a small sigh of relief. Her reaction was all the confirmation Luo Shengnan needed. The little girl clenched her fists, her face filled with grief and indignation. "I knew it. They’re not good people."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Startled, Zhang Minzhen gave the girl’s head a light, chiding tap. "It’s not what you think. You’re still too young. There are too many things involved, and I can’t possibly explain it all to you right now."

"I knew it. You don’t want to say bad things about them, but you don’t like them either, right? Don’t try to fool me, I already know. Every time they visit, you make sure you’re not at home." Luo Shengnan sighed like a miniature adult. "Grandma, I really wish I could hide like you do. They don’t like me at all. In front of Dad, they act all nice, bring me snacks, and pretend they adore me. But last time, they insisted I tell Dad myself that he should get me a stepmom to take care of me and have a baby brother. When I refused, they pointed at my nose and called me an ungrateful wretch, just like my mom. They scared me, saying I was just a worthless girl who would be married off someday, and that if I didn’t have a little brother, everything our family owns would go to my cousins back in their hometown. They said that when I get married and kicked out, if my husband’s family beats me half to death, they won’t let my cousins help me, and that I’d deserve to be bullied to death..."

Luo Shengnan’s lips trembled. The memory of the words spoken by the people she was forced to call "Grandpa" and "Grandma" made her want to cry. But she couldn’t. She had to be strong, strong enough to protect her grandma. So, she forcefully held back the tears welling in her eyes. The hurt, however, was still plain to see. She tugged on Zhang Minzhen’s sleeve. "Grandma, is what they said true? It’s so scary... I don’t want to be kicked out and married off to some other family! I don’t want to be beaten and yelled at by in-laws! Can I just stay here at home and we won’t let those cousins from their hometown come and take everything, okay?"

"They really said that to you?" Luo Shengnan’s words sent a jolt of fury through Zhang Minzhen, and she couldn’t stop her voice from rising.

"Grandma, you know I don’t lie."

Though startled by her grandma’s reaction, Luo Shengnan quickly realized the anger wasn’t directed at her, and she calmed down. Afraid Zhang Minzhen still didn’t believe her, she nodded emphatically like a chicken pecking at grain. "It’s true. But I’m not stupid. I’m not going to listen to them and tell Dad to get me a stepmom and a baby brother. Everyone around here says stepmoms are evil. Some people even give me these pitiful looks, like they think I don’t understand what’s going on. And Yu Mumei! The other day, she showed me a Cinderella storybook and told me I was going to turn into her—bullied by my stepmom, hiding in the kitchen to tend the fire, with no one to love me."

Luo Shengnan waved her hand dismissively, her small face flushing red. "She even said that since there are no kings nowadays, no king is going to throw a ball and make me his Empress. I’d just be stuck as Cinderella my whole life, ’oh, how pitiful.’ Who needs their pity?! I refuse to be Cinderella! That’s why I got mad and beat up Yu Jincheng."

Zhang Minzhen: "..."

Gu Nuan Nuan, floating in mid-air and grinding her teeth with rage, was also: "..."

After a pause, Zhang Minzhen swallowed hard and asked with some difficulty, "Yu Mumei was the one who said that. Why did you go and hit her brother?"

"Yu Mumei said that since I was going to be a pitiful kitchen maid bullied by a stepmom, I might as well marry her brother and be the kitchen maid at their house. She said at least then no one would hit me. Her brother was standing right there and he even nodded along! He said as long as I’m still this pretty when I grow up, he’d be willing to ’do a good deed’ and marry me, just so I could be his family’s kitchen maid. So I got really angry and beat him up."

The memory alone was enough to make Luo Shengnan clench her fists in renewed anger. "Neither of them is any good. Yu Jincheng can’t even beat me in a fight, and he wants me to be his family’s kitchen maid? In his dreams! So I told him he’s way too ugly. Even if *he* wanted to come to our house and be *our* kitchen maid, I wouldn’t have him!"