Chuzheng arrived relatively early; Lu Qian had just moved into her house.

It was Chinese New Year, and Uncle was bringing the whole family over to celebrate.

This happened every year; they said it was to celebrate New Year, but realistically they would stay for several days. Whenever they came, the original protagonist’s mother and father could only give them their room and sleep in the living room.

But Uncle’s family felt it was only natural, not only staying but also ordering Mother Lu around, eating this today, that tomorrow.

Lu Qian came over with them, and brought her luggage along; she would be living here from now on. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Today, as soon as they arrived, Lu Qian sneaked into the original protagonist’s room while she was out buying things, and wore her Lolita dress.

Not just wore, she even got it dirty.

The dress was a limited edition series, now unavailable for purchase, not likely to be found even at a high price.

When the original protagonist returned, she saw the dress in miserable condition and angrily argued with Lu Qian.

Lu Qian shrugged it off: "It’s just a dress, what’s the big deal? I’ll compensate you."

Lu Qian always said this when she ruined the original protagonist’s things, but she never actually compensated.

Either Father Lu would buy the original protagonist a new one, or give her money to buy it herself.

But that dress held special affection for the original protagonist, and wasn’t cheap. With Lu Qian’s indifferent attitude, the original protagonist got very angry and fought with Lu Qian.

During their scuffle, Lu Qian accidentally pushed the original protagonist against the nearby cabinet, hitting her forehead.

Though it was Lu Qian’s fault, now the original protagonist was injured.

Uncle’s family, like Lu Qian, felt they weren’t at fault, dismissing the original protagonist’s complaints as making a fuss.

Eventually, it escalated to Uncle’s family claiming they weren’t welcome by Father and Mother Lu.

The argument turned into a list of grievances: how they paid for Lu’s education back then, now he’s successful but looks down on them and so on.

Father Lu, being soft-hearted, always chose to resolve matters peacefully, prioritizing harmony.

Thus, the whole matter was left unresolved, and the original protagonist didn’t even receive an apology.

Chuzheng exhaled heavily.

The original protagonist’s parents were utterly passive, letting everyone walk all over them!

Chuzheng applied ointment to the bump on her forehead and listened to the noise outside.

Aunt was criticizing her, saying how an adult like her buys such dresses; it’s not what normal people wear.

Aunt’s voice was sharp and harsh; just by listening, you could imagine the sort of person she was.

Chuzheng put down the ointment and surveyed the original protagonist’s room.

The figures displayed by the original protagonist, and the various dresses in the wardrobe — altogether they probably amounted to a house down payment.

These items weren’t purchased all at once by the original protagonist; they were bought over the years, slowly accumulated.

Using New Year blessings, rewards for good test scores, and saving scholarship money to buy them.

The original protagonist’s parents rarely intervened in her hobbies and never said anything about her spending money on these things.

Now Aunt was directing things outside, acting like she was the master of the house.

Thankfully, Aunt didn’t speak for long, as someone seemed to arrive outside.

After listening for a while, the person appeared to be Father Lu’s younger brother, the original protagonist’s Little Uncle.

This Little Uncle was lazy, at his age still hadn’t found a partner.

Similar to Uncle’s family, treating Father Lu’s place like a supply station.

None of them were any good.

Chuzheng mused for a moment, no longer paying attention to the outside, and organized the original protagonist’s memories.

-

Knock, knock, knock...

"Xiao Chu, come out to eat."

Mother Lu’s voice came from outside the door.

Immediately followed by Aunt’s sharp voice: "Let her eat if she wants, why do you spoil her? Girls aren’t family’s, they should figure this out themselves, who would spoil her after marriage?"

Mother Lu didn’t respond.

Click—

The bedroom door opened, bringing sudden silence to the living room.

Chuzheng first saw Mother Lu standing at the door, wearing an apron, her hair tied up. Though she was already aging, it wasn’t hard to see that Mother Lu was a beauty when she was young.

Mother Lu came from a good family, well-educated, exuding long-cultivated grace and elegance beyond ordinary people’s reach.

"Quickly, come out to eat." Mother Lu spoke gently, glancing at Chuzheng’s forehead: "It’s swollen, Mom will take you to the hospital later."

Aunt immediately asserted herself: "To see a doctor for a small injury, how precious."

Mother Lu: "..."

Chuzheng noticed the flash of anger on Mother Lu’s face but ultimately she endured.

Over the years, she became accustomed to it.

There was no reasoning with Aunt’s family; they would shout you down regardless of what you said, making a big scene for the neighbors.

Chuzheng didn’t know what to say about such parents.

They definitely loved the original protagonist, but when faced with these relatives, they always made her yield, choosing peace...

She could only say some people prioritize kinship above all.

Especially since Uncle funded Father Lu’s education back then, it became a debt of gratitude.

Chuzheng looked towards the living room, where two men and one woman sat on the sofa.

The woman was Aunt, who had been speaking earlier, with legs crossed, eating melon seeds. Her features were all sharp and domineering, looking as if she were the master here, whereas Mother Lu resembled the nanny.

Sitting next to Aunt was Uncle.

On the other side, a slightly younger man was Little Uncle Lu, Uncle and Little Uncle were smoking, filling the living room with smoke.

By the dining table sat a girl about the same age as the original protagonist, that was Lu Qian.

Lu Qian was playing a game, background noise blaring, mixed with the TV sounds, nothing but noise.

Chuzheng bypassed Mother Lu and walked directly towards Lu Qian.

As someone approached, Lu Qian glanced up briefly, realized it was Chuzheng, and continued playing her game.

Bang!

Chuzheng pressed Lu Qian’s head, slamming it onto the table.

Lu Qian’s phone clattered to the ground, the living room fell bizarrely silent for a second.

Next moment, Aunt screamed: "Lu Chuzheng, are you crazy!"

Aunt charged over from the sofa.

Chuzheng had already released Lu Qian, stepping back, making space for Aunt’s performance.

"Qianqian, are you alright?"

Lu Qian was likely stunned by the hit; Aunt asked several times before she reacted, the pain in her forehead spreading, and she cried out in pain.

"Mom, it hurts."

"Don’t worry, let Mom check."

Aunt anxiously conducted an examination.

Chuzheng controlled the force, just enough to create a bump like hers, not causing a concussion, but definitely painful.

After all, if the original protagonist hurt this much...

This shouldn’t be borne by a poor, helpless little victim like me alone, right?

Good things must be shared with sisters, naturally.

[...] Ridiculous idea of sisterly sharing.

"Lu Chuzheng, are you insane?" Aunt finished checking Lu Qian, immediately directing her wrath at Chuzheng: "How could you lay a hand on your sister!"