Chapter 10 The First Step of Turning Point: Changing Classes Not Schools (1)

When Ouyang's parents woke her up, Ouyang Xiasha had no idea how long she had slept, nor did she care to ponder over it. The previous splitting headache and soreness throughout her body had vanished without a trace! Moreover, seeing her parents alive and well, standing before her, confirmed that everything that had happened wasn't just a figment of her imagination. The thrill was beyond words, and she had even less interest in worrying about any other minor matters!

Seated at the dining table, with explicit instructions not to help with serving dishes in the kitchen, Ouyang Xiasha began to take in the familiar, yet long-forgotten home, feeling an endless sense of nostalgia and emotion. She had moved to this home right after turning three, and her memories of the previous home were hazy due to her young age at the time. Her first clear memories of home started from this house, and though they had moved several times since, a two-bedroom apartment of over eighty square meters was considered very spacious during the late eighties and early nineties. It was in this eighty-square-meter house that Ouyang Xiasha spent fourteen years of her life, from the age of three to seventeen!

"Sasha, eat up, will you! Why are you spacing out? Are you still not feeling well?" Mother Ouyang, anxious after talking to her daughter for quite a while and seeing her still staring blankly at the wall, touched her daughter's forehead, worried that her fever had not subsided. While checking Ouyang Xiasha's forehead, she spoke up loudly.

"Mom, I'm fine. I was just scared and reflecting on things for a moment. I got really sick, and if you hadn't been by my side to bring down my fever, I might have come close to leaving you. I realize now how utterly wrong I was beforehand! What was the point of saying hurtful things and harming my own flesh and blood, just to please people who don't care about me and have no connection to me?" Ouyang Xiasha's spirit was brought back to reality by her mother's words. Seeing her mother's worried expression and hearing her caring words, she felt more determined to protect her loved ones. However, since she was going through a rebellious phase, a quick change in behavior would make her parents feel guilty, just like in her previous life. Even though Ouyang's parents never spoke about their guilt, they would always look at her with a sense of remorse, as if she changed because of them. She didn't want to become the obedient daughter in this life mainly because she didn't want to see that look in her parents' eyes again. So, this illness gave her an excuse not to change her personality too much, but it was an excuse to greatly improve her grades. Then, pretending to be very serious, she said.

"Husband, our daughter has grown up!" Mother Ouyang said sentimentally.

"Indeed! Come on, Sasha, eat first. After dinner, your parents have something to discuss with you. But first, finish this bowl of soup. Your mother has spent several hours in front of the stove for this soup, worried about getting the heat wrong!" Father Ouyang brought a large bowl of rib soup in front of Ouyang Xiasha, saying with a bright smile.

Ouyang Xiasha looked at her tender mother, not saying much, but at the same time, she saw her father who always stood by her like an immense tree. Glancing at the bowl of rib soup before her, her eyes blurred a little. Even though the family's living conditions had greatly improved and she had eaten many delicacies, the meals at home couldn't compare to the significance of this bowl of rib soup. During that period, the family had no savings due to buying the house, and Ouyang's parents' salaries were meager. Not only did they have to provide for themselves and repay the money borrowed for the house, but they also had to support their grandparents in the countryside. Meat was seldom seen at their table, let alone such a hearty bowl of rib soup. She couldn't remember the last time her parents had eaten any meat; what little there was had undoubtedly ended up in her stomach. Choking back tears, she said, "Dad, Mom, how can Sasha finish such a big bowl? I'm already starving. If I drink all this, I won't have space for the meal, and then I'll be hungry at night. Let's divide the soup into three smaller bowls, so each of us can have one. We all need to be nourished. Especially since you have been so worried about me lately, you both need it too! And if I nourish myself too quickly, I'm afraid it won't be absorbed well. We wouldn't want to end up with a nosebleed, that wouldn't be worth it!"