Shen Hanning looked at her listless appearance. The dark circles under her eyes made him think she had been up all night and had finally come to her senses.
“It’s good that you’ve thought it through,” he said. “A family shouldn’t hold grudges overnight. Sit down and have breakfast with us.”
Pang Dongling immediately stood up with a warm smile.
“That’s right. Come, come, let’s eat.”
But when she turned around, she realized there wasn’t an extra chair or a set of dishes.
She smiled awkwardly.
“You never used to eat at the table, so we never prepared a place for you. I’ll have Aunt Wu bring over a chair.”
Shen Xiaoyuan let out a cold laugh.
“No need. I’m not hungry.”
She truly wasn’t. She had eaten a little too much already.
Shen Hanning pulled a document from beneath the table and handed it to her.
“Sign this. Tiantian and Jiaxing have already signed it. The Xiang family has already been sent to the countryside, so we’ll have to notify them by telegram.”
Shen Xiaoyuan glanced at the agreement.
“I don’t mind signing it. But after the marriage swap, I’ll be living in the countryside with the Xiang family.”
“I know exactly what life in the countryside is like. I’ll need money, especially since I’m being sent there as someone under political supervision. There’ll be plenty of people I’ll have to grease the wheels with.”
“So…”
“How much are you planning to give me?”
She asked bluntly.
Shen Hanning answered,
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll give you three thousand yuan, along with some grain coupons. I’ll hand them over after breakfast.”
Only three thousand?
Was he trying to buy her off?
Three thousand yuan to buy out the entire life of a young, beautiful girl?
“Dad, that’s not enough.”
“What do you mean, not enough?” Shen Hanning frowned. “Do you think you’re going to the countryside to enjoy yourself? What expenses could there possibly be? Even if you need to smooth things over with people, that’s more than enough.”
Pang Dongling chimed in,
“That’s right, Xiaoyuan. Our family has already been branded as capitalists. Your father’s two factories have been shut down. The Shen family isn’t what it used to be. We have to save every penny now.”
“I’ll consider signing the agreement after you agree to my conditions.”
Shen Xiaoyuan took an elegant sip of tea.
Shen Jiawei exploded first.
“What conditions? What gives you the right to negotiate with us?”
“If you hadn’t come into this family, none of this would’ve happened. You’re nothing but bad luck!”
Shen Jiawei had been having relationship troubles recently. His girlfriend wanted to break up with him, and he was already in a foul mood.
The timid little sister annoyed him no matter how he looked at her.
A girl raised outside the family was still an outsider, even if she was his biological sister.
How could she compare to the sister they’d raised themselves?
“Dad, Mom, I told you from the beginning not to bring her back.”
“She’s cursed. Everyone around her ends up suffering.”
“You just wouldn’t listen. And now…”
Smash!
A teacup flew straight at Shen Jiawei.
Fortunately, he dodged in time.
Otherwise, his head would have been split open.
The impact was so powerful that it left a dent in the cabinet behind him.
Shen Tiantian, who sat beside him, jumped in fright.
“Big Sister, what are you doing?”
“Don’t call me ‘Big Sister.'”
“We were born on the same day. Stop making me sound older than I am.”
Shen Xiaoyuan shot her a sidelong glance.
“You… you actually dared hit me?”
Shen Jiawei stared at her in shock and anger.
“I hit you because I wanted to.”
“Do I need to consult the almanac and pick an auspicious day first?”
Shen Xiaoyuan slammed her palm on the table and stood up, looking ready for a fight.
“Just look at the garbage pouring out of your mouth.”
“Your mouth smells worse than an asshole.”
“What girl would ever fall for someone like you?”
“You… you…”
Shen Jiawei had been stabbed right where it hurt.
He was so furious that he couldn’t form a complete sentence.
With a roar, he raised his fist and charged at Shen Xiaoyuan.
Pang Dongling hurriedly grabbed him.
The girl had finally agreed to the marriage swap.
She couldn’t let Jiawei ruin everything with one punch.
“Sit down. All of you.”
Shen Hanning spoke coldly.
Remembering yesterday’s kick to his chin, he decided it was wiser not to provoke Shen Xiaoyuan.
“So,” he asked, “what are your conditions?”
“Besides the three thousand yuan…”
She paused deliberately.
“I want this house.”
The space might be overflowing with supplies.
But what if it disappeared one day?
Real estate was far more reliable.
She had already decided.
This house was non-negotiable.
“What?”
Shen Hanning and Pang Dongling cried out at the same time.
Pang Dongling’s voice even cracked from shock.
“You must be dreaming!”
Shen Jiawei couldn’t help laughing.
“What a joke.”
“Big Sister,” Shen Tiantian added, fanning the flames, “you can’t be so heartless. If you take this house, where are we supposed to live?”
Ignoring all their protests, Shen Xiaoyuan spoke calmly.
“Dad. Mom.”
“I already know about your plan to move to Hong Kong.”
“Since you’ve already made up your minds, I won’t try to stop you.”
The four of them exchanged startled looks, each wondering who had leaked the secret.
Pang Dongling quickly forced a smile.
“Xiaoyuan, who told you that?”
“We’re not abandoning you.”
“We’re only going there temporarily to hide.”
“When everything settles down, we’ll come back for you.”
Shen Xiaoyuan smiled.
“You don’t have to explain.”
“I actually understand.”
“Hong Kong has much looser policies.”
“Given the current situation, hiding there is the smartest choice.”
“As for whether you’ll ever come back…”
“That’s another matter.”
The smile slowly disappeared from her face, replaced by sadness.
“I understand how you feel about me too.”
“A so-called biological daughter suddenly appears after twenty years.”
“Of course that’s hard to accept.”
“But no matter what…”
“I still carry the Shen family’s blood.”
“You can’t just leave me homeless.”
“You missed the first twenty years of my life.”
“Now you’re forcing me into a marriage swap and sending me to the countryside.”
“Surely… you owe me some kind of compensation.”
A trace of guilt flashed across Shen Hanning’s and Pang Dongling’s faces.
Seeing that, Shen Tiantian hurriedly interrupted.
“Big Sister, Mom and Dad didn’t mean for you to suffer all those years in the countryside.”
“It was all because the hospital nurses mixed up the babies.”
“You shouldn’t blame them.”
“We’re family. We should all get along.”
Listen to that.
Such masterful green-tea manipulation.
On the surface, she sounded like she was mediating.
In reality, she was subtly painting Shen Xiaoyuan as unreasonable.
Shen Xiaoyuan shot her a sharp glare.
“Shut your mouth.”
Shen Tiantian instinctively shrank back.
The needle wounds on her body still stung.
Shen Xiaoyuan continued,
“The three thousand yuan is compensation for sending me to the countryside.”
“The house is compensation for the life I’m sacrificing because of this marriage swap.”
“That’s not unreasonable, is it?”
“You’ll be going to Hong Kong.”
“You’ll rebuild your lives.”
“You’ll have more houses and more money in the future.”
“But I’ll be the one suffering through labor and political reform in the countryside.”
Sadness deepened in her eyes.
“The Shen family home is my only connection to this family.”
“It’s proof that I belong to the Shen family.”
“When I finally finish my reeducation and return to Shanghai…”
“If my family is gone…”
“And my home is gone too…”
“Mom. Dad.”
“Can you really bear to do that to me?”
As she finished speaking, her long, raven-like eyelashes lowered.
Two crystal tears rolled gently down her cheeks.
Shen Xiaoyuan: I deserve an Oscar.
Seeing how pitiful she looked, the stern expressions on Shen Hanning’s and Pang Dongling’s faces quickly softened.
Shen Hanning sighed.
“Xiaoyuan…”
“Don’t blame your father.”
“We only managed to get four tickets to Hong Kong.”
“So many people are trying to sneak across.”
“Tickets are incredibly difficult to obtain.”
“I spent a fortune just securing these four.”
Shen Xiaoyuan sniffled softly.
“I don’t blame you.”
“I only want the house… as something to remember my family by.”
“As for everything else…”
“I won’t ask for another cent.”
Pang Dongling was visibly moved.
She quietly nodded toward Shen Hanning.
After a long moment of hesitation, he finally gritted his teeth and made his decision.
“…Fine.”
“This house…”
“It’ll be yours.”