Chapter One: Return

  "Xiao Lan, Xiao Lan..." The anxious female voice echoed in Fu Pei Lan's ears, causing her to furrow her brow and flutter her eyelashes. A pair of bright eyes slowly opened, directly facing a familiar yet impossible face that appeared before her eyes.

  "...... are you...... San Jie?" Fu Pei Lan called out hesitantly.

  "Xiao Lan, are you awake?" Fu Pei Yao didn't notice her sister's strange tone, but was overjoyed to grasp her hand, and the heart that had been hanging in suspense slightly relaxed. She got up and quickly mixed a cup of malted milk on the side, "Come, you haven't eaten all day, drink something to fill your stomach."

  "You damned girl, you've ruined things again!"

  The loud roar from the door startled Fu Pei Yao's hand holding the bowl, and some of the white rice spilled out onto Fu Pei Shan's thin quilt. Fu Pei Yao quickly put down the bowl, using her sleeve to wipe away the stain while anxiously asking, "Little Shan, didn't you get scalded?"

  Fu Peilan shook her head dazedly and shifted her gaze to Fu Mama, who was standing at the door with her hands on her hips.

  Seeing her little daughter staring at herself in surprise, Fu's mother's face flashed with a hint of discomfort, and then she puffed out her chest again, glared fiercely at Fu Pei Lan, rushed to the edge of the bed, snatched the ceramic bowl containing milk powder, and slapped Fu Pei Yao's back with her other hand, scolding, "You stupid girl, do you know how much a can of milk powder costs? You're wasting it like this?"

  This is the good stuff she uses to entertain guests. Normally, even her youngest son Fu Pei Qi can only have a bowl when he's not feeling well.

  "Mom, Xiaolan is sick..." Fu Peiyao knew her mother was particularly protective of things, so she muttered an excuse, hoping that she would spare the milk powder because her sister had been unconscious for a day.

  "Fallen ill? Miss, your body is as fragile as a flower, and you can fall ill with just two hits? Are you showing off your illness to me?" Fu Mama coldly smiled at Fu Pei Lan, "You're the one who's always craving for food, yet you dare to say you're ill, where did you get such a delicate body from?"

  Listening to her mother's scolding, Fu Pei Lan's heart grew colder and colder. Her eyes wandered aimlessly around the room, taking in the old house, the broken doors and windows, and the simple furnishings - just one table and one cabinet. The most striking thing was that beneath her wasn't the familiar Simmons mattress, but a solid earthen bed.

  Along the open gate, you can see the clothesline in the courtyard with a few floral blouses and two men's shirts hanging on it. In the corner of the wall opposite, there is a rusty 26-style bicycle leaning against the wall. The familiar style makes Fu Pei Lan's eyes redden at the corners.

  She only remembered that she had a heart attack and was sent to the hospital by her parents for emergency treatment, but why did she return to her home in her previous life after opening her eyes? Back to that house, she would rather give up her life to escape.

  "Oh, what's wrong with our little chili pepper today? She's even crying!" Fu Mama wiped her face with a hint of embarrassment and put down the bowl of oatmeal on the edge of the bed, "Alright, alright, if you want to drink it, then drink it, so you won't complain behind my back that I'm biased."

  "See what mom said, who dares to blame you?" Fu Peiyao smiled and handed the bowl to her sister's lips, "Xiaolan, drink it while it's hot."

  Fu Peilan shook her head and refused in a hoarse voice, "Third sister, no need."

  "Xiao Lan..." Fu Pei Yao squeezed her eyes, hinting at her sister to stop being stubborn.

  Fu Peilan ignored her sister's explicit and implicit hints, lowering her head to think about the situation in front of her.

  "Hey, you're still eager to drink it, aren't you? You don't want to drink it, but others are drooling. " Fu's mother snatched the porcelain bowl, tilted her head and poured the whole bowl of malted milk into her mouth, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, hugged the malted milk can beside her, and coldly said, "Let you drink, you don't drink, don't think about stealing a sip later."

  After saying that, she carried the jar back to her own house and then came back shouting, "Since you're fine, hurry up and get back to work. We don't raise idle people in our family!"

  "Mom, Xiaolan's body is still weak..." Fu Peiyao said hastily.

  "You're just a weakling, you've been beaten before, why are you acting like Lin Daiyu now?! Fu's mother said with a scowl, one foot on the doorstep. "I told you last night, don't think that secretly taking the university exam and filling out the application will make it a done deal. Our family can't afford for girls to go to school, you'd better get a job and earn money ASAP."

  When Fu Pei Lan heard her mother's words, she suddenly raised her head. She finally remembered why the scene in front of her was so familiar. Ah, how could she have forgotten? Twenty years ago, it was on this very day that she had jumped into the river to commit suicide. After drifting for a while, her soul had strangely awakened in another family, where she was still called Fu Pei Lan, but only six years old. Time had also miraculously shifted back to 1995. In that household, not only were there loving parents who doted on her, but also an adorable younger brother.

  But what's going on now? She died and yet returned to her previous life...

  In the spring of 1989, the head of the Fu family, who was also Fu Pei Lan's father, suddenly died of a cerebral hemorrhage, causing the Fu family, which had been living a relatively comfortable life, to be plunged into difficulties.

  Fortunately, among the six children of the Fu family, two elder daughters had already married and moved out, and the eldest son Fu Pei-lin and third daughter Fu Pei-yao had also started working. Although they had lost their mainstay, life was still manageable. However, for Fu Pei-shan, her father's passing was a collapse of the entire world.

  Fu Sheng's parents had six children in their lifetime. After giving birth to her eldest daughter Fu Pei-ning and second daughter Fu Pei-ju, Mrs. Fu gave birth to her eldest son Fu Pei-lin three years later, who was eagerly awaited by his grandmother.

  Fu's mother, who had been ridiculed by her mother-in-law for many years, only gradually gained status in the family after giving birth to a son. This also deepened her idea of preferring sons over daughters. However, as the youngest daughter, Fu Pei-lan was born into this world together with Fu Jia's youngest son, Fu Pei.

  The dragon and phoenix fetus was originally a great auspiciousness, but Fu's mother, who loved boys more than girls and especially doted on her youngest son, didn't welcome this daughter very much. She even thought that the daughter had robbed her son of nutrition in the womb, which is why Fu Pei Qi grew up to be so thin and small, with a malnourished appearance.

  But as the head of the family, Fu's father was extremely fond of this clever daughter. Fu Peilan had been intelligent and sensible since childhood, with a straightforward personality, speaking very logically at a young age, which delighted her father.

  The Fu family's living conditions were average, and in the 1970s and 1980s, education was not highly valued. As a result, several of Fu's older children did not like to read books. Except for his eldest daughter, Fu Pei-ning, who had a junior college diploma, Fu Pei-ju, Fu Pei-lin, and Fu Pei-yao all only graduated from primary school before entering the workforce, which greatly disappointed their father, who had a high school education.

  But Fu Peilan was not like several of her older brothers and sisters, from the first day she started school, the little red flower and three good students had never fallen off her, in junior high school, she even scored first place in the grade many times, and smoothly entered Qingcheng's best experimental high school.

  But as the younger brother of the dragon and phoenix twins, Fu Pei Qi did not have the same good qualifications as his twin sister. He also liked to read books, but since he started elementary school, he has been constantly chasing after his sister's footsteps. Even though Fu Pei Lan spent one or two hours every night tutoring her younger brother after she grew up, Fu Pei Qi's grades were only hovering around the edge of 80 points.

  He was stubborn and refused to give up, reviewing his lessons every day until dawn, which made the boy's already frail body even weaker.

  When Fu Peilan was admitted to the Experimental High School, Fu Peiqi also received an admission notice from a ordinary high school in this city. The huge mental gap made Fu Peiqi seriously ill, which made Mother Fu dissatisfied with her daughter.

  A young girl, what's the use of studying so well? Isn't it still necessary to rely on a man to set up a household?

  Fu Pei Lan has his father's backing, and at most, Fu's mother would just complain a few sentences behind his back, or secretly cook some delicious food to nourish her youngest son.

  But after Fu's father passed away, the situation changed completely. Fu's mother tried every means to stop Fu Peiran from taking the university entrance exam. Firstly, she wanted Fu Peiran to start working to support the family and reduce expenses. Secondly, she wanted to alleviate the pressure on her beloved youngest son, Fu Peiqi.

  Fu Peilan would not allow her mother to do so, after several struggles she still could not persuade her mother, Mrs. Fu firmly believed that a girl having a high school education was enough, learning was a man's business.

  Fu Peilan saw that her mother could not be persuaded, so she secretly signed up for the college entrance examination. However, her university admission letter did not bring joy to this family because her younger brother Fu Peiqi failed to pass the exam.

  The stark contrast between the twins made Fu Pei Qi unbearable, and upon seeing Fu Pei Lan's admission letter, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Meanwhile, Fu Mama, who had high hopes for her children, was disappointed and anxious, feeling that her daughter's high school experience had traumatized her younger son. She grabbed a stick and beat Fu Pei Lan severely, knocking her unconscious.

  If she hadn't misremembered, the next scene should have been her mother, Fu Mama, sneaking out her admission letter and tearing it to pieces to prove that she would never let her daughter attend school. After discovering this, she had a huge fight with her mother, resulting in not only getting beaten again but also being humiliated by the eloquent Fu Mama for two whole hours. At that time, young as she was, she couldn't bear her mother's scolding and the blow of not being able to attend school, so in desperation, she jumped into the river.

  Thinking of this, Fu Pei Lan made an effort to suppress the sadness and resentment in her heart. After so many years, she thought she had already forgotten these painful and humiliating experiences. When she died and saw her mother holding her corpse and being overcome with grief, even wanting to jump into the river to die for her daughter's sake, she had thought that she had already forgiven her. But only now did she discover that in fact, she still harbored resentment in her heart.

  "What's wrong with you, Xiao Lan?" Seeing Fu Pei Lan's pale face and her body slightly trembling out of control, Fu Pei Yao was shocked. She quickly climbed onto the bed and hugged her sister into her arms, gently patting her back. Turning around, she saw her mother still wanting to speak up, knowing that she wouldn't say anything good, so she hastily said, "Mom, please don't say any more, can't you see Xiao Lan is ill?"

  When she saw her gentle and warm third daughter also lose her good temper, Mrs. Fu turned around and left with a humiliated expression.

  "Alright, mom's gone, don't be sad anymore." Fu Pei Yao hugged her little sister and softly coaxed, "Where does it hurt? Tell third sister, and third sister will go to the factory hospital tomorrow morning to get you some medicine."

  Listening to her sister's gentle and soothing words of comfort, Fu Pei Lan couldn't help but bury her head in Fu Pei Yao's arms and burst into tears, trying to release the fear, panic, and confusion that had been pent up inside her.

  "What's wrong? Where does it hurt, speak up?" Fu Pei Yao was anxious and hastily searched for her sister's shoes to put them on her, "Is the pain severe? I'll push a cart and take you to the hospital right now."

  Fu Peilan shook her head with tears all over her face, sitting on the kang and hugging the quilt, crying non-stop.

  The woman in the next room, Fu Mama, heard her little daughter wailing and crying. The needle she was using to sew clothes accidentally pricked her finger, causing her to grit her teeth in pain. Seeing that her daughter was still crying nonstop, she was afraid that she might have hurt the child badly yesterday. After pacing back and forth on the floor for two rounds, she rummaged through her drawer and quickly fetched some pain relievers and band-aids to the next room, saying "Here are some pain relievers and band-aids. If it still hurts a lot, just stick on two pieces and take one pill."

  "What illness is it that you don't even know yet and you're already taking painkillers? What if you make things worse?" Fu Pei Yao also lost her good temper, and couldn't help but think to herself, if Pei Qi was crying like this, probably their mother would have cried out loud and ordered them to send the person to the hospital immediately, just like yesterday when Pei Shan was beaten until she fainted, but Fu's mom only took care of taking her son who vomited blood to see a doctor, while for Pei Shan, she only found a small clinic doctor on the street corner to take a look and then gave up.

  Thinking of this, Fu Pei-yao couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart. If she were the one lying on the kang now, her treatment would probably be no better.

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