Chapter Eighteen: The Deep Bonds of Sisterhood-Após ter sua máscara de oxigênio retirada, renasci e não serei mais um saco de sangue, viverei só para mim(O som da flauta é suave e prolongado.)

Li Meilan could not stand the sight of the two sisters’ mutual affection and couldn't help but snap, "How old are you two? Still fighting over food? Leave some for Xiang Hao."

Xiang Yu didn't budge, acting as if a breeze had just blown past.

Xiang Di hurriedly picked out the lean meat with her chopsticks and offered it, "Here, Xiao Hao."

Xiang Hao took it as a matter of course, ordering like a little tyrant, "Pick me another piece." Having someone else serve him was the most comfortable way to eat.

Xiang Di complied immediately. Having been away for a while, she still doted on her brother, and this small request was nothing to her.

Xiang Yu showed no reaction, but she secretly resolved that if Xiang Hao ever fell into her hands, she would make him pay dearly. She would teach him a real lesson.

Li Meilan managed to calm her temper, shot a glare at the quiet Xiang Yu, and said nothing more.

Before bed, under her sister’s urging, Xiang Di proposed to Li Meilan that she wanted to go to the market tomorrow.

Li Meilan frowned. "You can go, but bring back three jin of pork belly, two jin of tofu, and some fruit. Xiang Yu shouldn't go; let her stay home and do chores."

She let Xiang Di go because she wanted to use her daughter’s private savings to buy things. Her philosophy had always been that daughters were outsiders; spending their money was a bargain, and it made her feel comfortable. She preferred not to spend a cent of her own, and if she had to spend, it should only be on her own kin—her beloved son, her husband, and herself.

Xiang Di persuaded her, "Mom, Xiang Yu and I will get up early tomorrow, finish the chores, and then go. We’ll go early and come back early; we won't miss making lunch. I haven't seen my sister in a long time; please let her come out and walk around with me. Besides, with so much to buy, I'll need someone to help me carry it."

Li Meilan finally agreed. "Fine, but don't buy anything for Xiang Yu. She can just wear your old clothes; you’re both girls. If you have money, buy an outfit for Xiang Hao. He’s growing, and he goes through clothes quickly."

Xiang Di dared not argue and obediently went out. The two sisters shared a room, with one side used for storage, and the other containing their bed and an old wardrobe.

Xiang Di quietly counted out two hundred yuan and handed it to her sister.

Xiang Yu pushed it back. "Sis, I don't want it. You keep it."

She knew her sister saved every penny from her meager earnings. Now that she was clear-headed, she felt embarrassed to take it.

Xiang Di whispered, "Actually, I didn't tell you, but during my four days off each month and after shifts at the factory, I wash dishes and help in the kitchen at a small restaurant across the street. I earn a thousand a month, and they provide eight meals."

"I started doing this a year ago and have already saved ten thousand. I was keeping this money for your schooling, but if you don't pass the entrance exam for a key high school, it doesn't matter. If you come to the factory, I won't let you suffer too much."

Hot tears streamed down Xiang Yu’s face. She knew how much hardship her sister must have endured to save that ten thousand. No wonder in her past life, when she went to the factory, her sister had provided everything for her—new bedding, new bowls and basins, new clothes, and even a new phone. That was the depth of her sister's genuine love.

She had failed her sister.

Xiang Yu struggled to suppress her sobbing. Xiang Di panicked and hugged her, "What’s wrong today? Why are you so sad? Did Ye Nuanxin bully you?"

Xiang Yu nodded and shook her head. She wanted to use her sister’s pity to save her from the fire pit. Let her believe she had been bullied.

The next morning, as the rooster crowed and the dawn light barely touched the sky, Xiang Di got up, and Xiang Yu followed.

The sisters boiled pig feed, let out the chickens and ducks, cleaned the house, cooked breakfast, and washed clothes. They were as busy as spinning tops, while the other three slept soundly.

In her past life, the sisters had lived like this; if they slacked off even a little, they would be scolded by their mother for being lazy. Only Xiang Hao could live a life of being served hand and foot; his only duty was to study hard.

As long as he did his homework for one day, he would be praised to the heavens.

When everything was nearly done, Xiang Fuqiang got up to go to the latrine, and Xiang Hao was still fast asleep.

Li Meilan, while brushing her teeth, repeatedly reminded Xiang Di to also buy melon seeds, peanuts, and candies, as the groom's family and the matchmaker were coming tomorrow.

Xiang Yu felt indignant and secretly rolled her eyes. She had never seen a mother so lazy and so adept at leeching off her own daughter, yet this was her biological mother.

The sisters finished breakfast quickly and caught the village tricycle.

Ye Fen and her daughter were also on the vehicle, with a large basket of eggs and a fertilizer bag full of chickens at their feet, likely on their way to sell them.

Upon seeing the two sisters, Ye Fen and her daughter looked at them with pure disdain. Xiang Di, having learned last night what Ye Nuanxin had done to her sister, uncharacteristically kept a straight face and ignored Ye Fen, only greeting a few other villagers.

Relying on her mother’s presence, Ye Nuanxin repeatedly glared at Xiang Yu, hoping to provoke a fight to vent her frustration.

Xiang Yu treated her like a vicious dog—neither afraid nor retreating—and instead stared back with a cold, mocking gaze.

Ye Nuanxin backed down. Frustrated and helpless, she couldn't understand why this damned Xiang Yu had such a menacing aura. It was as if she were possessed by an evil spirit; it was truly terrifying.

Ye Fen thought the same as her daughter. She saw how Xiang Yu looked at her daughter and felt annoyed, but she didn't lose her head enough to pick a fight. She was afraid Xiang Yu would expose what happened at school, which would ruin her daughter's reputation.

A vicious plan began to take shape in her mind. She would make Xiang Yu suffer, if not to the point of death, then at least to the point of losing layers of skin.