Chapter 111: A Headache

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: A Headache

Since graduating, Hua Buwan had kept in touch with Teacher Lin; they were practically friends.

A couple of days ago, Hua Buwan had reached out to Teacher Lin to ask about financial aid. She wasn’t looking to apply for it herself, but rather wanted to sponsor a student in need. In the past, she had been on the receiving end of such help; now, she wanted to be the one giving it. She knew all too well what it was like for students who had worked incredibly hard to get admitted to a good school, only to be held back by their families’ circumstances. She understood them perfectly, because she had lived through it herself.

However, Teacher Lin didn’t reply right away. Checking Teacher Lin’s Moments, Hua Buwan saw that she had gone off the grid to grade exam papers. It suddenly dawned on her—it was college entrance exam season. Because of this, Hua Buwan wasn’t in a rush. She knew Teacher Lin would see the message once she was done, so she simply waited.

Today, she finally received Teacher Lin’s reply.

Teacher Lin had sent a massive wall of text that read more like a formal letter. At a glance, it looked to be over a thousand words long. Hua Buwan read it carefully, taking in the incredibly detailed, step-by-step process her former teacher had outlined.

The simplest method was to go directly to the Education Bureau and find her. The sixth floor handled financial aid matters, and everything from application reviews to final processing could be done in person. Handling it online, on the other hand, would be much more of a hassle.

Hua Buwan agreed, and since she wanted to visit her former teacher anyway, she replied, "Understood, Teacher Lin. Thank you for the detailed explanation. Would you happen to be free next week? I can come over then."

To her surprise, Teacher Lin replied immediately. They agreed to meet at the Education Bureau next Wednesday.

With that settled, Hua Buwan looked at her next unread message. It was from her younger sister, Hua Ying’er, who had bombarded her with texts.

"Sis! How could you speak to Mom like that? She’s your mother! Do you have any idea how hard it was for her to raise you? Can’t you be a little more sensible? Come home and apologize to her right now! Mom has been miserable these past two days, and it’s all your fault! How could you make her so mad? You’ve gone too far, Sis!

"Why aren’t you replying? Are you really not planning on coming home? This is your home. Mom, Dad, our little brother, and I are all here. What’s the point of you living outside all by yourself?

"I’ll find some time this weekend to come see you. You’re at the supermarket, right? Don’t even try to hide from me. If you do, I swear I’ll sit right outside your supermarket and refuse to leave."

Reading Hua Ying’er’s messages, Hua Buwan’s earlier joy completely evaporated, replaced by a heavy, suffocating weight in her chest. She felt like her family existed solely to make her life miserable. She had only just sent her mother packing, and now her sister wanted to come bother her.

Just reading Hua Ying’er’s words made it obvious what had happened. Her mother must have returned home and twisted the facts to make Hua Buwan look like the bad guy. As a result, her stubbornly naive sister had successfully been brainwashed yet again—and was now planning to come over and attempt to brainwash her, too.

Hua Buwan sighed. Just thinking about her younger sister gave her a headache.

Her parents had always favored boys over girls, doting exclusively on their youngest son. Whatever their brother wanted, he got. All of his clothes were brand new. Meanwhile, the two sisters grew up wearing nothing but hand-me-downs from their older female cousins. They never had a single toy to call their own, while their brother’s room was stuffed to the brim with them.

From a young age, their parents had drummed it into their heads that their brother would eventually be the pillar of the family. Therefore, he was entitled to all the best things, and they always had to surrender their favorite snacks to him.

She had studied relentlessly to escape all of that, and her education had indeed been her ticket out. She had even tried to pull her younger sister out of that toxic environment, but instead of taking her hand, her sister had tried to drag her back down.

There had been so many times when Hua Buwan simply couldn’t bear to abandon her, yet every single attempt had ended in crushing disappointment.