"Wow, your second brother got into college?" Liu Mei’s eyes flashed with envy.
Xu Jiaojiao was even more proud when she mentioned her own brother, saying, "My second brother has especially good grades in school, he’s sure to get in."
"Got the admission notice yet?" Liu Mei pressed.
"Not yet, but it might come in the next couple of days."
No sooner had Xu Jiaojiao’s words fallen than Liu Mei lavished more praise, saying, "Your second brother is really amazing, he also has good grades in school."
Liu Mei’s flattery made Xu Jiaojiao exceptionally happy.
Standing to one side and overhearing the conversation, she couldn’t help but curl her lips. How could Xu Jiaojiao have the audacity to claim that Xu Zhiyuan’s grades were especially good?
But, was her diarrhea attack during the toilet break related to Liu Mei?
Xu Nianhua could not remember such a distant incident clearly, but seeing their conversation just now, she felt it might be related.
When Liu Mei mentioned Xu Zhiyuan, her eyes were full of admiration. As for her praise for Xu Jiaojiao, it made even her skin crawl.
No sooner had Liu Mei left than Xu Nianhua immediately blocked Xu Jiaojiao’s path.
When Xu Jiaojiao saw it was Xu Nianhua, a hint of guilt flashed in her eyes. She instinctively took a step back and forced a smile, her hands tightly clasped together, saying, "You, you’ve come to the county too, huh."
"Yes," Xu Nianhua said, her gaze intently fixed on Xu Jiaojiao. In the Xu family, both being granddaughters, Xu Jiaojiao was coddled in the palm of their grandparents’ hands, while she was treated like a weed.
She had the love of her parents, and that didn’t bother her, but...
"Xu Jiaojiao, that day of the foreign language exam, the bun you gave me, the one filled with meat, I haven’t had the chance to thank you properly," she said.
On the last day of the college entrance exam, the foreign language section, Xu Nianhua had a bout of diarrhea which ruined her performance. In her previous life, she had been suspicious, but Xu Jiaojiao denied it, and besides, the meat-filled buns were Liu Sanmei’s act of kindness, one for each of the four kids.
But the ever-absent Xu Jiaojiao after the exams made Xu Nianhua feel something wasn’t right.
Xu Jiaojiao, three years younger than Xu Nianhua and perturbed by the statement, let the guilt flash through her eyes. She said unhappily, "I brought you a bun and it was bad? You don’t appreciate kindness, a dog that bites the hand that feeds it."
Xu Jiaojiao’s voice was loud, trying to stare back with righteous indignation, yet as she looked up, she met Xu Nianhua’s clear black and white eyes, she instinctively avoided her gaze.
"Xu Jiaojiao, you think I don’t know?" Xu Nianhua said calmly, her eyes steady as if she had caught Xu Jiaojiao red-handed.
Taken aback by her words, Xu Jiaojiao took another step back, saying, "Don’t talk nonsense, don’t try to smear me. I’ll go home and tell Grandma, claim you ate something bad yourself, and then blame the bun I gave you."
Xu Nianhua didn’t say a word, her lips slightly uplifted as she stared unblinkingly at her, as if to say: I know everything, no need to hide it.
"It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it," Xu Jiaojiao, feeling unnerved by her stare, turned and ran off.
"What happened?" Xu Nian’an came back with candied haws and saw Xu Jiaojiao running off. He looked at Xu Nianhua and asked, "She didn’t bully you, did she?"
Xu Nianhua rolled her eyes helplessly. How weak must she have been to get bullied by her own cousin, three years her junior?
But, could it really have been Xu Jiaojiao who did it?
Did she think that if she didn’t get into college, Xu Zhiyuan would?
She had noted this score to settle.