Rebirth of a Top Student's Handbook

Don't you have many at home?

"But I haven't worn new clothes in so long, I don't care, I want them too."

"Look at you, you're being unreasonable again. You want everything that others have."

"Then buy two, I'll give you a discount if you buy two." As soon as the seller heard that Zhou Min was throwing a tantrum, he immediately encouraged Zhou's mother to buy two items.

"How much are those two items?" Zhou's mother asked immediately.

"I'll give you a 10 yuan discount on one item, and you can give me 140 yuan for two."

"It's so expensive, forget it, I'll think about it some more." As soon as Zhou's mother heard 140, she hesitated again and pulled Zhou Min towards home.

As Zhou's mother walked, she scolded Zhou Min: "Look at you, you have no manners at all! Your uncle treats you so well, what's wrong with me buying your cousin a dress? You ungrateful wretch, petty and narrow-minded, just like your grandmother..."

Zhou Min was genuinely angry at this moment, and said huffingly, "How has my uncle ever been good to me? Tell me, let me see where I've been an ingrate."

“Look at all your clothes, which one doesn’t belong to your cousin?”

"No, Mom, please be reasonable. Every time you buy new clothes for my cousin, she wears them out and gives them to me. Is that what you call being good to me? Think about it, how many new clothes have you ever bought for me in all my years?" Zhou Min shouted angrily.

"Keep your voice down, aren't you embarrassed enough?" Zhou's mother immediately stopped Zhou Min when she saw that the passersby were all staring at her.

“It’s not easy for your uncle to take care of your grandparents, so isn’t it only right that I buy some clothes for your cousin?”

"Then who will buy it for me?" Zhou Min asked expressionlessly.

"Then you'll have to ask your grandparents. It's their fault for not giving you more aunts."

Zhou Min was almost laughing at her mother's words. She looked at her mother and said, "No, Mom, you keep telling me that other people are sexist, but you're the one who's sexist the most. Is it because you don't have a son that you sent all your things back to your parents' home? Am I adopted?"

Whenever Zhou Min thought about her mother's favoritism over the years, she felt a surge of anger rising within her, and she spoke without thinking.

Zhou's mother was clearly surprised that Zhou Min would say such a thing. After all these years, Zhou Min had always been very considerate and obedient, never asking for things unnecessarily, and never spending a penny more than necessary. This had always been Zhou's mother's pride.

"You really are a descendant of the Zhou family, just like your father and grandmother. If I had known you were this kind of monster, I should have strangled you at birth. I raised you with such difficulty, only to have you expose my weaknesses like this! You debt collector, if it weren't for the fact that you're a girl, I wouldn't have a son..."

When Zhou Min first saw her mother start crying, she felt bad too. But as her mother's insults became increasingly offensive, she threw down what she was holding and left. It's important to understand that Zhou Min had only tried to be obedient and considerate of her parents' hard work when she was young. She had never been known for her good temper; otherwise, her grandparents and four uncles wouldn't have been so afraid of her.

After returning home, Zhou Min went straight into her room and locked the door.

When Zhou's father saw Zhou Min come home alone, he was a little surprised. He came over, knocked on the door, and asked, "Minmin, where's your mother?"

"I don't know," Zhou Min replied angrily.

Mr. Zhou turned the lock and found that Zhou Min had locked the door from the inside, guessing that something had happened. Seeing that Zhou Min didn't respond after calling her several times, Mr. Zhou went out to look for Mrs. Zhou.

On the way, Zhou's father saw Zhou's mother sitting by the roadside crying to someone, so he quickly went over to ask what was wrong.

"What's wrong? Look at the descendants of your Zhou family! I've sacrificed so much for you, and now the old and the young are all bullying me, just because I didn't give birth to a son. Now even my daughter is pointing her finger at me and cursing me..."

"Would Minmin scold you? You must have misheard," Zhou's father quickly explained.

"You misheard me. Look at the things on the ground. Your daughter caused all of this. What's the point of her schooling? Is this how she treats me?"

Seeing the deformed milk powder can and broken sesame paste box on the ground, Mr. Zhou quickly picked them up, carrying them in one hand and supporting Mrs. Zhou with the other, urging her to go home first.

Zhou's mother and father complained the whole way, complaining about how much they had sacrificed for the family, and what was wrong with buying some things to take back to their parents' home.

Zhou's father kept agreeing, saying, "It's alright, all the money in the house is yours. You can spend it however you want."

By the time they got home, Zhou's mother had calmed down considerably. However, looking at the deformed and damaged packaging boxes, she couldn't bring herself to give these things away, nor could she refuse them. In a fit of anger, Zhou's mother told Zhou's father to throw them away. He agreed and then picked up the things and left. Seeing him leave, Zhou's mother felt a pang of reluctance. After a moment's hesitation, she called him back and asked him to take the things to Zhou's grandparents.

After Zhou's father left, Zhou's mother looked at Zhou Min's locked door and thought about it carefully. She realized that Zhou Min hadn't bought many clothes, so her anger was understandable. However, thinking about the outburst Zhou Min had thrown at her, she felt she should teach Zhou Min a lesson.

When Zhou Min finally came out because she was starving, it was already 2 p.m., but all the pots and pans in the house were cold, and her parents were nowhere to be found.

If it were the Zhou Min of the past, she might have been nervous, after all, her parents disappeared without saying goodbye. But the Zhou Min of the present calmly made herself a bowl of fried rice, and after eating, she put the bowl and chopsticks back in their original place.

Back in her room, Zhou Min locked the door again. She decided she was going to teach her mother a lesson this time; since she'd already made a scene, she might as well make it bigger.

When Zhou's parents returned home in the evening, they found that almost everything in the kitchen was still there, and the pots and pans were in roughly the same place. Remembering how angry Zhou Min had been that morning, Zhou's mother felt a little worried.

"Minmin probably didn't eat lunch, right? Go check if she's in her room. I'll make dinner early."

Zhou's father called Zhou Min a few times but she didn't respond. He tried the doorknob and found it was still locked from the inside, which made him a little worried.

Mr. Zhou frowned as he came to the kitchen and said to Mrs. Zhou, "The door is still locked from the inside, and she doesn't respond when I call her. I told you not to argue with her, but look at you, what kind of mother are you?" Although Mr. Zhou usually indulged Mrs. Zhou, his worry for Zhou Min took over at this moment, and this was the first time Mr. Zhou had scolded Mrs. Zhou like this.

"How was I supposed to know she'd get so angry? No, I have to go check on her. You watch the fire for me." Zhou's mother said, turning to leave.

"I'll go instead, so you two don't start arguing again," Mr. Zhou quickly stopped Mrs. Zhou, knowing that both of them had fiery tempers.

Zhou's father called out a few more times but Zhou Min still didn't respond. Having no other choice, he went to the yard, grabbed a stool, smashed all the windows of Zhou Min's room, opened the window, and jumped in.

Zhou Min had been listening to English audio exercises when she was startled by the sound of breaking glass. Turning around, she saw her father jump in through the window. Zhou Min took off her headphones and asked her father, "Why did you come in through the window? You scared me to death!"

"I called you so many times, but you didn't respond. I was afraid something had happened to you," Zhou's father said, relieved to see that Zhou Min was alright.

"What could possibly happen to me in my own home?" Zhou Min replied dismissively.

"Next time you're listening to headphones alone in your room, don't close the door and windows completely shut," said Mr. Zhou, before opening the door and leaving.

"Is everything alright?" Zhou's mother was also drawn by the sound of breaking glass and stood anxiously at Zhou Min's door.

"It's alright, she's in her room listening to English with headphones on, she probably didn't hear you. Don't be angry with her later, try to comfort her. After all, she's our only precious daughter. If you upset her, you'll have nowhere to cry later." Mr. Zhou hadn't held his wife's behavior against her before, understanding that she had suffered a lot since marrying into the Zhou family. But now that his wife and Zhou Min had a conflict over this matter, Mr. Zhou was definitely on Zhou Min's side. After all, compared to outsiders, Mr. Zhou wanted his daughter to eat and drink well.

"I know, it's not good when kids grow up. They've become independent and can't be controlled anymore." Zhou's mother muttered to herself while thinking about how to coax Zhou Min later. As for apologizing, Zhou's mother said she couldn't bear the shame. What kind of parents apologize to their children?