Jiang Huijun’s expression grew somewhat forced.
She averted her gaze awkwardly and handed over the cup in her hand, speaking softly, “Your stomach isn’t well. Drink some Malted Milk Powder to nourish it. Drink more in the future—don’t be so frugal.”
Malted Milk Powder was a precious thing in this era, a nutritional supplement that could be used to strengthen the body.
Families like the Gu Family weren’t exactly short of money, and they usually kept Malted Milk Powder on hand. On ordinary days, the children at home would make some to drink casually or serve it to guests.
But this was the first time Jiang Huijun had personally prepared it and brought it over for her.
Gu Xi felt no stir of emotion. She said, “Thank you, but I don’t want to drink it.”
“You don’t want to? What’s wrong?”
Jiang Huijun looked confused.
“I have no appetite.”
Gu Xi lowered her eyes, her expression listless. Under the light, her face appeared somewhat pale.
Concerned, Jiang Huijun asked, “Xi Xi, where do you feel unwell?”
“Everywhere.”
She wasn’t lying. Ever since she had come back to life, after a severe illness, her spirit was weak. Every day felt like a haze. She didn’t know if it was the aftereffect of being a ghost for so long or the cost of resurrection.
Otherwise, how could someone die and then come back to life?
Such an unfathomable thing must surely come with a price.
Gu Xi accepted this reality calmly, even thinking that maybe one day heaven would just take her life away.
Living one more day was a gain, and that was good enough.
Jiang Huijun grew anxious, quickly placing the cup on the table and grabbing Gu Xi’s hand.
“Where do you feel unwell? Tell Mom, and Mom will take you to the hospital to have a look.”
Gu Xi pulled her hand away and sat down by the bed calmly.
“No need. I’m not going to die.”
Her expression was so calm it bordered on indifferent, giving off a sense of apathy.
There was no visible sign of discomfort on her face.
Jiang Huijun began to suspect: was this another way Gu Xi wanted to torment them?
Or was her claim of feeling unwell just an excuse because she didn’t want to drink the Malted Milk Powder Jiang Huijun had brought?
Was she really that resentful of them?
Now Jiang Huijun understood that Gu Xi was no longer the obedient and compliant daughter she once was. It seemed she harbored grievances against them—resenting Gu Yuanxiang for replacing her as the daughter of the Gu Family and enjoying fifteen years of privileges, as well as their recent favoritism toward Gu Yuanxiang and neglect of her.
That was why she hit Gu Yuanhui, smashed their room, upset Old Gu, and because Gu Yuanzheng spoke harshly, she even hit him…
“Xi Xi!”
Jiang Huijun said helplessly, “Don’t be like this. Can’t you speak nicely? Mom’s not here to argue with you!”
Gu Xi looked at her expression and immediately knew what she was thinking. Perhaps she believed Gu Xi was pretending on purpose just to torment them.
A wave of weariness flooded her heart.
“Enough. If there’s nothing else, you can leave. I want to sleep.”
They didn’t see eye to eye, and she didn’t want to waste more time.
Jiang Huijun didn’t leave. She came here hoping to talk with her and, hopefully, make her realize her mistakes so she would stop tormenting them. Wasn’t it better to be like before?
She pulled a chair from the desk and sat opposite Gu Xi, looking like she wanted to have a long conversation.
Jiang Huijun decided to start with a safer topic.
“Xi Xi, you graduated from high school. What are your plans next? Do you want to continue studying at university? Or find a job? Or get married?”
At twenty years old, a young woman was no longer young. Many had already married; those who hadn’t often had prospects lined up, like Gu Yuanxiang, who had to attend university but could still meet potential matches.
If Gu Xi wanted to marry, that would be normal.
She wondered when the Shen Family would come to discuss the marriage between the two children. If Gu Xi could be married off, that would be good, and the household wouldn’t be so chaotic.
Though Gu Xi was reluctant to answer, since Jiang Huijun asked, she replied at once, “If I want to continue studying at university, can you get me a Gongnongbing University Recommendation Quota?”
The recommendation quotas for Gongnongbing University were few and highly coveted.
Though the value of Gongnongbing University would decline in the future, at this time, it was still highly desired by many students.
Jiang Huijun shook her head.
“We don’t have any quotas, but I think the Shen Family should have some.”
With the Shen Family’s influence, obtaining a quota should be easy. Feng Min liked her very much and would surely try to find a way.
With the Shen Family involved, there was no need to worry.
Hearing this, Gu Xi raised her eyes to look at her and sneered, “So you don’t want to get me a recommendation quota yourselves. You want me to go to the Shen Family for one? Why should the Shen Family? Just because Aunt Feng is protecting me, you take it for granted that they have to be the ones to pay? Am I your daughter, or am I the Shen Family’s child?”
“You people really are—” she spoke each word deliberately, “disgusting to the extreme.”
“Xi Xi!” Jiang Huijun was shocked.
“How can you say such things?”
Gu Xi’s face was cold and indifferent.
“Isn’t it the truth? Can’t you handle it?”
Jiang Huijun’s face darkened.
She came from a good background. Rarely had anyone ever spoken to her so harshly, and it was even more painful coming from her own daughter. It pierced her heart and left her utterly cold inside.
Looking at Gu Xi’s impassive face, she felt hurt and wronged, her eyes burning with heat.
“Xi Xi, I’m your mother! How can you say that…”
Gu Xi didn’t want to hear any more and stood up. “Fine, I know you’re my mother, and I’m your biological daughter. That’s something that can’t be changed! But look at what you do every day—do you act like a mother?
Or are you like those people outside who like raising other people’s children?
Maybe you’d rather be a mother to someone else’s kids, isn’t that right?”
She smiled bitterly, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
Jiang Huijun’s eyes widened, utterly heartbroken.
“Xi Xi!” Her voice choked, her eyes red as she gritted her teeth, “You—you can’t say that! I love you! No mother who loves her child would ever say such things…”
Even if she showed favoritism to Gu Yuanxiang, it didn’t mean she didn’t love her own daughter. This was her flesh and blood she had carried for ten months!
She just sometimes wished Gu Xi could have grown up by her side.
If only when Feng Min taunted her mockingly, she could have had her real mother’s support.
After all, she wasn’t raised at home and wasn’t close to her…
“You’re wrong. There really are mothers who don’t love their own children,” Gu Xi confirmed.
“My foster mother didn’t love her own daughter. Before she knew I wasn’t her biological daughter, she didn’t love me, nor Gu Yuanxiang, nor the two younger sisters.”
Having been a ghost for so long, she had witnessed every miserable tragedy. The saying “There is no parent who doesn’t love their child” was simply wrong—parents didn’t necessarily love their own children.
Jiang Huijun was again left speechless, a sudden wave of shame and anger rising in her heart. She felt humiliated.
She had been compared to the ignorant, foolish Xu Family Couple.
Jiang Huijun hated many people in her life, and the Xu Family Couple was definitely near the top.
She despised their ignorance and greed, their mistreatment of Gu Xi, and their raising her to be uncultured and ugly, like a petty little person, unpresentable and causing her to lose face among friends and relatives.
She never thought she could be lumped in with the Xu Family Couple. She was a city woman, cultured, educated, a university graduate. How could she be put on the same level as those muddy country bumpkins?
Jiang Huijun was furious.
“Xi Xi, how did you become like this? You not only hit people and swear, but you disrespect and are unfilial to your parents… Aren’t you afraid the Shen Family will know what you’ve done and be disappointed in you?”
Even if Feng Min liked Gu Xi, she wouldn’t accept this.
In this day and age, the reputation of an unmarried young woman was still very important. A family like the Shen Family wouldn’t want a daughter-in-law with such poor character.
Gu Xi’s expression turned icy cold. Indifferently, she said, “It’s fine. At worst, the engagement will be broken.”
Hearing her speak so lightly about a broken engagement, Jiang Huijun was stunned again and finally realized Gu Xi had really changed, indifferent to everything.
It was as if, in her heart, these relatives no longer mattered.
Jiang Huijun was angry and anxious, but this Gu Xi truly left her at a loss.
Her chest rose and fell violently, wanting nothing more than to escape, to avoid Gu Xi’s humiliation, to avoid this aggressive daughter, to pretend she hadn’t heard the words just now, to pretend today’s events never happened…
“Aren’t you really afraid of losing the engagement?”
Jiang Huijun asked stubbornly.
“If the engagement is broken, where will you find someone as good as the Shen Family? Aren’t you afraid people will gossip, that you won’t marry, that people will mock you?”
Gu Xi was unconcerned.
“Let them laugh. Our family’s lost face a long time ago. Do you think there’s any shortage of people mocking us outside?”
Her words struck straight to Jiang Huijun’s heart. She couldn’t bear it and suddenly stood, eyes red, turning to leave the room.
As she walked out, she wiped the corners of her eyes and saw the three children hiding not far away, looking over at her.
They stared at her in surprise.
Jiang Huijun quickly put down her hand, her voice hoarse.
“What are you all doing here?”
The three said nothing but stared at her face, confirming that she was really crying. No one needed to ask—it had to be Gu Xi who made her cry since she had just come from Gu Xi’s room.
“Mom, did Gu Xi make you cry?”
Gu Yuanhui asked angrily.
Jiang Huijun didn’t want to speak. She was proud and couldn’t let her children see her cry from anger. She immediately turned her head and said, “All of you go back to sleep.”
“But…”
“No buts! Listen carefully. All of you go back!”
Thinking of something else, she reminded them, “Don’t go looking for Xi Xi.”
She was afraid the youngest son would impulsively go find her and get beaten again.
Gu Xi didn’t hold back when she hit people; even her own mother could be provoked, so hitting her brothers was nothing.
After giving her instructions, Jiang Huijun hurried away, unwilling to stay longer and make things more embarrassing for herself.
Returning to her room, she saw Gu Maowen lying on the bed, applying medicine, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness. She said with grievance, “Old Gu, I…I…”
Gu Maowen could tell from her expression that her conversation with Gu Xi had collapsed.
Frowning, he angrily pounded the bed’s edge and said unhappily, “What’s wrong with her? Does she have to stir up the whole family’s peace?”
Jiang Huijun said bitterly, “She’s resentful toward us. She feels we’re biased and have neglected her.”
“What reason does she have to resent? Have we ever deprived her of food or clothing?”
Gu Maowen was unconcerned. Since he acknowledged her into the Gu Family, he never considered shortchanging her. What was there to complain about?
He didn’t take Gu Xi’s outbursts seriously. A young, unmarried girl without a job or money couldn’t escape her parents’ control.
Even if she made a fuss, it would only last for a while.
Although Jiang Huijun was upset to tears because of Gu Xi, she calmed down when facing Gu Maowen.
She suddenly said, “Actually, she’s right. Our family is almost a joke! Today, that woman Wu Yinglan deliberately came to ask me what the commotion was about yesterday. I didn’t even know how to answer her…”
Gu Maowen’s expression froze. He also recalled what Gu Xi had said earlier.
Raising other people’s children happily?
He was a very traditional man who cared about his bloodline. Of course, he only wanted to raise his own biological children. Who would happily raise someone else’s children?
Back then, Gu Yuanxiang was allowed to stay only because she was a girl.
Raising a child to this age took a lot of effort. Even if she wasn’t their biological child, there was no way they would send her back to her birth parents.
In the future, marrying her off to a good family could also be a valuable connection.