Wen Kai laughed at Wen Ying’s words.
Though he wouldn’t abandon his plan to repeat the year just because his cousin opposed it, her support made him feel less alone, lifting his spirits.
He’d scored 569, his parents were thrilled, relatives praised his promise, but it seemed their expectations stopped there.
Wen Kai wanted more.
A rural kid dreaming of university in the capital.
If his parents could move from the countryside to the city, why couldn’t he go from a small town to the capital and make his mark?
Cutting the topic short, he asked about Wen Ying’s tutoring in Rongcheng, “Didn’t expect you to do so well in the middle school exam, if you keep this up for three years, your高考 might outshine mine.”
There was no envy in his tone, just genuine joy for his cousin.
He saw himself as the big brother of the younger Wen kids, duty-bound to look out for them.
Only a loser feared being outdone by siblings, a good family thrived on healthy competition, if he did well later, he’d help them like Second Uncle had, if he flopped, successful siblings wouldn’t ignore him.
Wen Ying’s life in Rongcheng was far fuller and more exciting than Wen Kai imagined, as for高考, she wouldn’t measure against him, only herself, aiming to beat her past life, she couldn’t regress after rebirth, right?
Wen Ying only stayed for lunch at her uncle’s, she had to head back to Rongcheng that afternoon, the food festival was nearing, pre-events already starting, and she was keen on it.
At lunch, her parents joined, and her aunt quizzed Chen Ru about studying in Rongcheng.
Grandma Wen had three sons and a daughter, Wen Dongrong the second son, with an older brother, younger brother, and sister, thanks to Wen Dongrong, all four siblings now lived in the city.
Compared to the steady eldest uncle and his wife, Wen Ying’s aunt was less grounded, her husband Shu Guobing restless, both once factory workers, but Shu grew envious of traders striking it rich while he earned a pittance, soon clamoring to quit and start a business.
Unable to rein him in, Aunt Wen went along.
In three or four years, Shu Guobing’s ventures drained their savings, while Wen Ying’s three uncles, even her youngest uncle, bought homes in the city, Aunt Wen’s family still rented.
Last year, desperate, Aunt Wen bypassed her siblings, contacting Chen Li directly, asking Deng Shangwei to take Shu Guobing into his business.
Deng Shangwei had refused kin from his hometown seeking jobs at his seafood company.
But for Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong’s sake, he let Shu Guobing work in Rongcheng at his firm.
Shu got cocky fast, Deng Shangwei was the boss, but Shu acted like royalty, toning it down when Deng was around, turning lordly in his absence.
If Shu had skill, Deng might’ve tolerated it, but Shu was useless, all talk, no action, botching big clients in months, swapping their premium seafood orders for profit, caught by Sister Fang with proof, Deng sacked him on the spot.
Shu slunk back home.
He wouldn’t admit fault, claiming Deng Shangwei couldn’t stand him, never meant to help, stuck him with grunt work, wasted his months, pure malice.
“He’s petty, scared I’d out-earn him!”
Shu spoke with conviction, Aunt Wen demanded answers from her brother and sister-in-law, Wen Dongrong briefly wondered if Deng half-assed it, but recalling Shu’s track record, sided with Deng.
Chen Ru laughed privately about it for a while, Wen Dongrong felt embarrassed.
Without Wen Dongrong “sorting it,” Shu dropped his hardworking act, openly loafing at home, drunk daily, blaming everyone for his failures, last life, when Chen Li and Deng Shangwei divorced and Deng sold his company, Shu gloated loudest, trashing Deng mercilessly.
Wen Ying had hated Deng’s infidelity, but also despised Shu Guobing kicking him when down, compared to Deng, Shu epitomized petty ugliness, no hint of an elder’s grace.
Today, relatives gathered to celebrate Wen Kai, Shu Guobing didn’t show, Aunt Wen brought Wen Ying’s cousin Shu Lu.
Since Shu’s “unemployment” last year, Aunt Wen often cried poverty to Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong, Wen Dongrong had funded the family’s move to the city, years later, the eldest and youngest uncles stood on their own, yet Aunt Wen still leaned on him.
Her excuses never changed, daughter’s registration fees, tutoring costs, living expenses, Aunt Wen married young, Shu Lu just a year younger than Wen Ying, not a Wen by name, but practically raised by Wen Ying’s family these past few years as Shu squandered their means.
Chen Ru resented it, Wen Dongrong argued, what else could he do, let his niece drop out?
No way.
With deadbeat parents, kids needed education more, without it, surviving society was brutal.
Though Aunt Wen loved playing the victim, Wen Ying held no grudge against Shu Lu, her parents’ money was theirs to spend, she had no say.
But Shu Lu resented Wen Ying.
Whatever Wen Ying had, Shu Lu wanted, even what Wen Ying didn’t have, Shu Lu demanded too.
At school, Shu Lu claimed Wen Ying’s background, saying her dad worked in a government office, her mom at a bank.
Last life, Wen Ying defied her parents’ plans, insisting on chasing dreams in a big city, Wen Dongrong, furious, handed her prepared path—training, civil service exam, a leader’s son as a match—to Shu Lu instead, Wen Ying didn’t want it, so he gave it all to his niece.
Did Wen Ying hold a grudge?
No.
In a way, she felt Shu Lu took the hit for her, Wen Ying chafed at her parents’ control, Shu Lu thrived under it, each got what they wanted.
