Chapter 3 Family Situation

After a while, Housekeeper Liu went into the kitchen, spoke with the people inside, and came out to tell Xia Yue and Zhuang Xi to wait a moment.

Xia Yue asked if the old master and mistress were eating in their own small courtyard. The housekeeper nodded in confirmation.

A few minutes later, the servant brought out the food - four dishes and a soup.

Xia Yue and Zhuang Xi quietly finished the meal.

After eating, Xia Yue invited Zhuang Xi to walk with her in the courtyard to help digestion.

"Do you have something you want to talk about?" On the way, Xia Yue often sneaked glances at Zhuang Xi, seeming to want to speak, but she never did.

Zhuang Xi had noticed this early on and waited for her to say something, but she remained silent.

Xia Yue led her to a double swing chair in the garden, and both of them sat down.

"Big brother, I want to talk to you about family matters, especially those pertaining to our smaller family. I'm afraid you might misunderstand me, so for a moment, I didn't know how to say it." Xia Yue looked at her and said after they were seated.

"Well, go ahead, I'll decide for myself." Zhuang Xi seemed a bit startled, but then responded.

"Okay then." Xia Yue nodded, and began to talk about their family affairs, focusing primarily on their immediate family.

Xia Linsong and Song Qin originally wanted only two children, one boy and one girl. They hadn't planned on a third child but, unexpectedly, they had another. Abortion wasn't an option because it would have severely harmed Song Qin's health.

So, Song Qin had no choice but to carry the baby for nine months. When it was time for her to give birth, there were complications. She and the baby had almost died, but were fortunately saved in the end.

At that time, all of the family's attention was on Song Qin, which is why Zhuang Xi and Xia Yue were so easily swapped.

Xia Linsong and Song Qin thought this child (who is actually Xia Yue) was inauspicious. When she was a baby, she was never breastfed or held, and was handed directly to a nanny. As she got older, they paid her less attention; materially and financially, she lacked nothing, but compared to Xia Yu and Xia Qing, she was heavily neglected.

Especially when it came to Xia Qing - they gave her whatever she wanted. Xia Qing herself also wasn't very nice to Xia Yue. Xia Yu was the only person in the family who treated her well. He used to buy her candy and snacks, and would always cheer her up.

Actually, when Xia Yue was a child, she also longed for parental affection. But after seeing a classmate's parents being controlling, she suddenly found that not having parental control was also good. Furthermore, she had read countless novels and thought that parental love was just what it was – a mutual non-interference was perfect. Just saying hello when they meet was enough.

She has a sweet mouth, so the other elders in the Xia family are quite fond of her. Especially since her uncle's family doesn't have a daughter, they cherished her even more.

When Xia Yue grew a little older, she liked to study gourmet food and would send some to these elders, somehow compensating for the lack of parental love.

Xia Yue chattered away about family matters to Zhuang Xi and then watched for her reaction.

Zhuang Xi was digesting the information from Xia Yue's side, her face remaining quite calm.

"You mean my parents feel that my existence harmed my mom, thus they don't really like me, as the third child?" Zhuang Xi asked Xia Yue.

"Yes. Of course, it could also be because I don't look like them, and am not as good-looking, so they despise me. You, on the other hand, are quite attractive. They should like you." Xia Yue nodded, then realizing she was putting herself down and puffing Zhuang Xi up.

"I see, thank you for telling me all this. Actually, my teacher asked me to come back this time. Even after acknowledging my famil, I won't stay at home for too long." Zhuang Xi expressed gratitude to Xia Yue and then said.