Rebirth to Save Myself

Ever since staying at Chen Yuan's house that summer, both Chen Yuan's and Chen Wenwei's parents had taken a liking to Su Xia and encouraged their children to befriend her. With Su Xia supervising their studies, both children's grades stabilized, which would make any parent extremely happy.

As promised, Mr. Chen returned with two sets of Fuwa dolls, one for Chen Yuan and one for Su Xia.

"Why don't you invite Su Xia over for dinner sometime? Dad hasn't met her yet," said Mr. Chen, seeing that Chen Yuan planned to bring Fuwa to school for Su Xia.

“Great! Let me tell you, Su Xia’s cooking is amazing! I ate so many delicious things during summer vacation. Some of them you guys took me to eat, and some you’ve never even seen before,” Chen Yuan said excitedly.

“We invited her over for dinner, not to cook for her, silly child.” Chen’s father didn’t stop Chen Yuan, but waited until she finished speaking before reminding her.

"Oh, then Dad, you're out of luck!" Chen Yuan happily carried Fuwa upstairs.

"How can this child talk like that?" Chen's mother shook her head helplessly, then looked at Chen's father: "How long can you stay this time?"

"About a month, I'll be back around Chinese New Year."

"That's so little! How's the house?"

"It's almost finished. After a year or two of ventilation, it will be perfect for Yuanyuan to live here when she goes to high school."

"Yeah, not bad."

"How is that girl named Su Xia doing?" Mr. Chen asked.

"I heard her mother is back. I wonder if she'll be any better. She was really pitifully thin before."

"Sigh, it's not our child, there's nothing we can do."

"Yes, all I can do is ask Yuanyuan to pay more attention to her."

"Uh-huh."

Chen Yuan told Su Xia about this at school. Su Xia explained that her mother had recently returned and she needed to help take care of her, so she was busy on weekends. Chen Yuan was also curious why Su Xia seemed to have less freedom now that her mother was back, when she seemed quite free when she was with her grandmother.

"Take your time, I'll talk to you when I have time," Su Xia said, unable to bear seeing Chen Yuan upset.

Since Su's mother returned home, and because her grandmother was often nowhere to be seen, or said she had to take care of Chen Wen and Chen Xin, Su's mother started ordering Su Xia around. She ordered Su Xia to wash her younger brother's diapers, empty the chamber pot, and cook. So Su Xia was basically busy as soon as she got home, and she could only find time to read a book in her room at night.

Because she shared a room with Chen Xin, Chen Xin would complain that she was disturbing her sleep if she came back and turned on the light to read. Chen Xin would often say sourly, "So what if you're good at studying? You're disturbing other people's sleep. I'm in my final year of junior high, and if I can't sleep well, it's your fault."

Su Xia was helpless, so she turned off the light and took the book outside to a brighter spot to continue reading. In previous years, she had her own room and no one bothered her about how late she read. Now, her mother needed to rest, and her cousin kept nagging her, saying she'd fallen behind a lot. In this situation, all the progress she'd painstakingly made was useless.

Su Xia could only go to her mother's room and cautiously ask, "Could you buy me a desk lamp?"

Su's mother raised an eyebrow and asked Su Xia, "What do you need that for?"

“Reading with the main light on will disturb my cousin’s rest, so I want a desk lamp.”

"She's already resting, why aren't you resting? Do you think you have more elementary school homework than she does in her final year of junior high?"

"No, I come back as soon as get out of class is over to help you wash diapers, clean the toilet, and cook. I don't have time to do my homework."

"Are you complaining that I didn't let you study?" Su's mother asked rhetorically, and then started crying: "Why is my life so miserable? My own daughter won't even help me. Asking her to do even the smallest thing will affect her studies."

"That's not how it is, I am..." Su Xia tried to explain, but her mother wouldn't listen and continued to cry and shout.

Su Xia was helpless and could only keep quiet. She went downstairs to get her mother's dinner, but her grandmother hadn't even heated the food properly. She had to light a fire and steam the leftover chicken soup and a bowl of rice from lunch. By the time everything was ready, her grandmother had returned. Seeing that Su Xia was about to put out the fire, she said she would cook, so Su Xia took the food upstairs to her mother.

"You still know how to feed me? Why don't you let me starve to death?" Su's mother grumbled, clearly still angry.

"Eat it while it's hot, or it'll get cold." Su Xia said this and left the room, adding as she left, "I'll come back for it later."

Su's father only stayed for a few days before going out to work again. After all, he was the only one working in the family, and it was difficult to support such a large household. Fortunately, Su Xia and Su Yue both attended public elementary schools, which had lower tuition fees and didn't require the purchase of supplementary materials, saving them a lot of money.

Su Xia went downstairs and ate dinner by herself. Then, judging by the time, Su's mother had almost finished eating, so she prepared to go upstairs to get the bowl.

"Your brother just pooped, go wash his diaper," Su's mother said, lying on the bed and holding Su Yaoche.

"Okay, my teacher asked me and a few other classmates to stay behind tomorrow to help grade papers, so I'll be back a little late." Su Xia made up a lie, planning to go to Chen Yuan's house tomorrow. Chen Yuan had already asked her out several times, saying that her father wanted to see her.

"You're making such a fuss over something as simple as reading a book every day. Your teacher is just being lazy," Su's mother said dismissively.

"Only those with good grades can help the teacher."

"Then go ahead." Clearly, Su Xia's words pleased her mother, proving that her daughter was indeed a good student. However, the earlier mention of needing a desk lamp for studying was simply forgotten.

The next day, Su Xia told Chen Yuan that she could come to her house that evening. Chen Yuan immediately ran home after school at noon to ask her parents to prepare dinner.

"What does Su Xia like to eat? Let's buy some of her favorite foods," Mr. Chen asked Chen Yuan.

"Ah, I don't think I know. Xiaxia isn't picky about food; she eats everything except for scallions, ginger, and garlic." Chen Yuan was stumped by her father's question. Thinking back, Su Xia had only cooked what she liked during the summer vacation, so she really didn't know what Xiaxia liked to eat.

Mr. Chen understood that his daughter had been spoiled and pampered since childhood, which naturally made her a bit self-centered. However, this kind of long-term friendship couldn't work, so he said, "It's okay if you don't know yet; you can learn about her gradually. But you need to understand that friendship is an equal relationship, not one where one person flatters the other. That kind of relationship isn't friendship, and it won't last, understand?"

Chen Yuan thought about what her father had said and nodded: "Yes, I understand."

"Also, you and Su Xia come from different backgrounds, so you can't judge her by your standards. Sometimes what you think is simple and ordinary might be difficult for Su Xia. Dad will say it again: you are friends, not Su Xia blindly going along with you, nor you blindly helping her and giving her things you think are good."

"Okay, Dad. I will take this seriously and correct my mistakes."

"Yes, Dad knows Yuanyuan is the best."