Chapter 152: 154: Nowhere to Live

The Wei family lived in the oldest communal housing, where each unit consisted of one room and one living room, partitioned by a small room and shared a common water pipe and toilet.

As soon as the door opened, Tang Yuxin heard someone inside calling for mom. Then, a small figure came barreling over to hug Sang Zhilan’s legs.

“Mom, where did you go? Why are you back so late? Dad’s food isn’t good. I want mommy’s food.”

The little girl was soft, adorable, and tender like a sprout. How could any mother not love her?

“Nini, look your mom’s back.”

Sang Zhilan hugged her daughter. Even though her daughter had grown, she still felt small in her mother’s heart, just like she was when she was first born. No matter how big she got, her mother could still lift her, could still carry her.

Wei Jiani was being held by her mother. She was dressed in the most fashionable clothes, wearing small pink leather shoes and her hair was styled into two braids with huge flower-shaped hair accessories – each larger than her head.

This is what was currently considered aesthetically pleasing.

Upon noticing Tang Yuxin standing behind Sang Zhilan, Wei Jiani’s face immediately puffed up. Perhaps out of instinct, she felt a sense of crisis, as if someone was going to take her mom, her toys, and her delicious food away from her.

“Mom, who is she?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Pointing at Tang Yuxin, she stopped smiling and her voice even became a bit piercing.

Tang Yuxin purses her small lips. When she met Wei Jiani in her past life, she was just two years old, domineering and temperamental, but also unruly. Truth be told, it was Tang Yuxin who raised Wei Jiani, who was still only half grown up. The Wei family’s sense of superiority was still evident in Wei Jiani’s attitude.

As for everything related to the Wei family, Tang Yuxin was not interested at all – that included Sang Zhilan. Now Wei Jiani showed signs of resembling Sang Zhilan, and they were all deceived by Sang Zhilan for their whole lives.

In the past, she didn’t understand why Sang Zhilan treated her adopted daughter better than her own flesh and blood. It was as if Sang Zhilan would turn the world upside down for her adopted daughter, but would merely give her own daughter a skin-deep love.

It wasn’t until later that she discovered the supposed adopted daughter was actually the illegitimate child of Sang Zhilan and the man she loved.

“This is Nini’s sister,” Sang Zhilan smiled and patted her daughter’s head. “From now on, your sister will be living with us. How about you share your room with her?” She thought about Wei Jiani’s small bed; even though it was small, it could fit two children comfortably.

“I don’t want a sister,” Wei Jiani gripped Sang Zhilan’s neck tightly, her eyebrows furrowed and her face full of resentment.

“Mom, I don’t want her. Ask her to leave, send her away now, I hate her.”

As she said this, she intermittently patted Sang Zhilan’s back and her tears dropped one after another. It was easy to tell that she was a spoiled child, one from China’s first generation of single child policies. So in their homes, they were showered with love and affection, regardless of their gender. They were the apple of their family’s eye, the world revolved around them. The common problems of single children are evident: selfishness, temper tantrums, mood swings, and a dislike for sharing.

As expected, even though she was hit, Sang Zhilan didn’t scold her daughter but instead spent a long time placating her. It was only after promising her many things that Wei Jiani finally calmed down.

“Don’t worry, your sister won’t take your clothes, your toys, nor will she snatch what you like to eat.”

While comforting her daughter, Sang Zhilan kept giving hints to Tang Yuxin by sending her signals with her eyes. Sang Zhilan had told Tang Yuxin when they first came that there’s a 7-year-old pampered little girl at home and asked Tang Yuxin to accommodate her due to her young age.

She wanted Tang Yuxin to admit that she will not take Wei Jiani’s things otherwise Wei Jiani won’t stop. Sang Zhilan knew her own daughter, Wei Jiani’s behavior had become spoiled through pampering. On normal days, she acts like a little princess at home, no one dared to provoke her…

But when she looked into Tang Yuxin’s eyes, which were cold as two glass balls, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt in her heart.

“Yuxin, you won’t take your sister’s stuff, right?”

Even though Sang Zhilan felt guilty, she still plucked up the courage to ask, signaling to Tang Yuxin to say no.

“No,” said Tang Yuxin, her lips pursing slightly, “My dad said not to take other people’s stuff, he can buy anything for me. Other people’s things contain germs–it’s dirty.”

The disdain in her voice when she said the word ‘dirty’ was evident. Wei Jiani being young, didn’t catch on and felt satisfied, thinking all of her belongings belonged to her and this sister could not touch them.

However, Sang Zhilan’s face changed upon hearing this. From her surface, deep into her bones, her face was filled with embarrassment.

“Nini, how about leading your sister to your room? From now on, you’ll sleep together.”

Sang Zhilan stroked her daughter’s face and every time she saw this child who resembled her, she would shower her with love. After all, it’s her own child. If she didn’t love her, then who would?

“I don’t want to,” Wei Jiani shook her head forcefully, “Mom, I don’t want to, I won’t allow her to room with me.”

“Listen to me,” Sang Zhilan said to her daughter with a bit more sternness in her voice. “From now on, your sister will be living with us. If you don’t want to room with her, who should she room with then?”

Their household did not have much space. Soon they would have four people living together; adding another bed was obviously impossible. Sang Zhilan had thought it over many times before they arrived – the only place they could possibly accommodate another person was Wei Jiani’s room. Otherwise, where could Yuxin sleep?

Upon hearing this, Wei Jiani sat on the ground, kicking her legs and wailing. After a while, she slapped Sang Zhilan’s thighs off. She kicked her small shoes off, rolled around, and raised a ruckus. Sang Zhilan was truly helpless at that point.

Sang Zhilan, appearing weary and frustrated, tried to calm her daughter down. However, Wei Jiani was simply unwilling.

On the side, Tang Yuxin watched them coldly. They could fuss however they want.

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to share your room,” Seeing her daughter still crying her eyes out, Sang Zhilan finally relented, to put an end to the tantrum. She knew her daughter’s capsized temper very well, Wei Jiani was extremely spoiled, spoiled to the point of throwing tantrums at a moment’s notice. If this happened every day, it would be unbearable.

Therefore, she could only accommodate Wei Jiani.

As for where to let Tang Yuxin sleep, Sang Zhilan felt just as troubled. She could not room with Wei Jiani, so she obviously could not room with her and her husband. That would be even more foolish. And even putting her in the living room was not a practical solution. There was really no place for her to sleep.