"I’m asking you something." Xiao Shumei spoke as if she hadn’t heard her question, only preoccupied with her own words, her face utterly expressionless, and her tone as dead as her demeanor, lacking any inflection, "That day at the scene, how exactly did Dad start acting up, tell me the truth."
Xiao Shuzhu knew she was hiding some secret. After much consideration, thinking that the youngest sister already knew, it might be better to just come out with it, she said, "Actually, it was about the argument between Dad and Yebai—the night our mom fell down the stairs—" For origınal chapters go to 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Mom fell down the stairs and then died in a difficult birth, didn’t she?"
Hearing Xiao Shumei speak as if she’d known about it all along, Xiao Shuzhu was surprised, "How, did big sister know? I thought this secret was unknown to all of us, with only Yebai and Dad being aware."
"I knew. If Yebai knew it, then it must have been that person who told him."
"Who?" Xiao Shuzhu was astonished, feeling like she was listening to a story.
Xiao Shumei seemed to drift away in her expression, as if she wasn’t even here.
What actually made Xiao Shuzhu more nervous was another matter. Now, the fate of the company, the destiny of the family, seemed far more significant than the long-past event of their mother’s death. She nudged Xiao Shumei, asking, "Big sister, how is the company doing?"
This question was like a needle prick to Xiao Shumei, almost making her jump up.
Xiao Shuzhu got quite a fright from her big reaction, thinking that the situation must be really bad, so she said, "Big sister, don’t panic, let’s all think of a solution together."
"What solution? Your husband, the third sister’s husband, the second sister’s husband, none of them can help, can they?" Xiao Shumei said.
Xiao Shuzhu was taken aback, as if Xiao Shumei knew everything.
At last, the corners of Xiao Shumei’s mouth curled into a bitter smile, "The second sister won’t say because she’s greedy. The third sister is foolish, thus easily played by Lin Jiale. And you, you’ve always just done your own thing. No matter what your husband does, you think it’s none of your business."
It seemed that this eldest sister really had a clear view of everyone in the family.
But why didn’t she mention their brother?
At this, Xiao Shuzhu slightly disagreed, saying, "Mad as Yebai may be, he is still the only man in our family."
"He’s been deceived just like me, do you get it?"
"Deceived? Who deceived you, big sister? What did those people deceive you of?" Xiao Shuzhu asked, completely not understanding Xiao Shumei’s words.
Xiao Shumei wiped her face with both hands.
Xiao Shuzhu felt her entire face twitching, and what was more frightening was the face that was well-maintained seemed to have aged a lot in an instant.
Sniffing, Xiao Shumei said, "It’s . I’ve always had doubts about my own origins."
"Big sister, you’re saying you’re not our birth parents’ natural child? That can’t be," Xiao Shuzhu was shocked by her words.
How could Xiao Shumei have such thoughts? It was unbelievable. Was there someone in the family mistreating her?
"When all of you were born, I was already born, so I know you are all the natural children of our parents. Perhaps it’s because of this, the other party took advantage of me."
As she spoke, Xiao Shumei’s voice grew hoarse, clearly straining to get the words out. Thinking of her own foolishness, she didn’t know how to describe everything that had happened. Was it all her fault? She didn’t think so.
Xiao Shuzhu waited for her to continue.
"You are all the natural children of our parents, but Dad could tolerate you choosing your own husbands. He couldn’t allow me the same freedom for my own life. As for Yebai, needless to say, he was pampered by Dad and Grandma. The only thing is that he earned the envy of all us sisters. Regardless, I’ve always felt that I was different from you."