Xia Cha felt that Young Master Huo was strange.
He was so exquisite that even the waitress who had brought the food in was smitten by him. When she went out after delivering the food, she had almost bumped into the door.
When he smiled, it was a little naughty and devilish.
He asked her to eat with him, but he did not eat a single grain of rice.
He even looked at her with that strange and goosebumps-inducing gaze.
He was really sick!
However, Xia Cha’s frail body really needed nourishment.
Looking at the few home-cooked dishes, she swallowed her saliva unconsciously.
“Young Master Huo, are you… not eating?”
Huo Heng played with the lighter in his hand. “I was too hungry earlier, so I’m not hungry now.”
“Then, wouldn’t it be a waste if I can’t finish so much food alone?”
Huo Heng saw through Xia Cha’s thoughts and raised his eyebrows. “If you can’t finish it, take it back!”
Xia Cha’s eyes lit up. “C-can I?”
“I’ll tell the manager here later. You can come here to eat whatever you want in the future.”
Unexpectedly, Xia Cha did not dare to eat anything after hearing Huo Heng’s words. She stood up from the chair suddenly and ran to the door like a frightened rabbit. “Young Master Huo… My sister only wants to study properly now. Don’t have any ideas about her. I’m not eating anything you pay for. I’m going back.”
Xia Cha left quickly.
Huo Heng looked at her back and furrowed his eyebrows slightly.
He had been too anxious!
It had scared her!
Although he was not one hundred percent sure that the little girl was his Tangtang, he was at least 50 percent certain.
…
Xia Cha ran out of the restaurant.
However, she took more than an hour to walk home.
Xia Lan was extremely anxious and did not know where Xia Cha had gone. Seeing her return with sweat all over her face, her heart ached. “Cha Cha, where did you go?”
“After I bought the medicine, I walked around town.”
“Didn’t Sister ask you to buy a popsicle to eat? Why did you buy medicine for me?” Xia Lan took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat on Xia Cha’s forehead.
“It’s alright, Sister. Let’s go in. I’ll treat your wound.”
…
The Huo family had not eaten at the Xia family’s house even though the latter had prepared a table full of delicious food. The Xia family took out half of it and placed the other half into the refrigerator.
However, she did not call the people from the second branch to share the meal.
After the Huo family left, Xia Wangshi asked Xia Zhenyuan to work in the orchard. Qiu Zhi, who had cooked all the dishes, was only allowed to eat the remaining dishes from last night with her three children. They had no part in eating any of the good dishes made today.
When the three sisters were still growing up, they only ate the remaining food every day and lacked nutrition. Naturally, they were not as good-looking as the girls from the third branch.
Xia Lan’s personality was like Qiu Zhi. She was hardworking and did not dare to go against Xia Wangshi.
Xia Xing was a little shrewd and straightforward. Sometimes, she would talk back to Xia Wangshi if she did not agree with the latter, but what she got in return was a scolding from Xia Wangshi. After all, Xia Xing was only fifteen years old. How could she be a match for Xia Wangshi? After being defeated several times, she only dared to grumble in private.
Needless to say, Xia Zhenyuan was a coward.
Xia Cha soaked the rice in some hot water before eating it.
Looking at her frail mother and two older sisters, she lowered her eyes, deep in thought.
This situation had to change!
Why was it that her father had to do so much in the orchard and his monthly salary had to go into the pockets of Xia Wangshi?
Why did her mother have to do so many chores at home every day and not even be able to eat normal food?
This was not the ancient feudal era. Even if Wenfeng County was undeveloped and still retained some of its old traditions, wasn’t this going overboard?
…
In the main house.
After dinner, Ye Guixiang and Xia Zhenxiang returned to the east wing.
Xia Furong had been sick for a day and was lying on the bed weakly.
Ye Guixiang looked at Xia Furong with heartache. “Rong’er, are you feeling better now?”
An angry and mean expression appeared on Xia Furong’s pretty face. “Mom, after thinking about it, I suddenly had diarrhea and I was embarrassed in front of the Huo family. Someone must have done something behind my back.”
In front of outsiders, Xia Furong was dignified, proper and kind. However, in private, she often grumbled about others, especially her family.
When Ye Guixiang heard this, she nodded. “I think someone did it on purpose too, but who was it?”
“Mom, think about it. Who would benefit the most if I exposed myself in front of the Huo family?”
Ye Guixiang’s expression turned cold. “You mean those country bumpkins from the second branch?”
“The second branch didn’t want Xia Lan to marry into the Huo family, so they did it on purpose. They knew that our washroom was broken and secretly put medicine in the chicken soup to make me have diarrhea. They guessed that I would want to go to the washroom in the third branch’s wing, so they called that fatty Xia Guo back…” Today, Xia Furong had even been hit by Xia Zhenli’s broom twice. She marked this down in her heart.
Ye Guixiang was deep in thought. “The second branch are all fools. How could they be so scheming?”
While this ploy looked simple, it wasn’t exactly simple.
Especially for the second branch, who was so honest that they did not dare to resist when they were bullied.
Xia Furong frowned. “This is also what I’m confused about. Mom, no matter what, I was embarrassed today and I’m so angry. We can’t just let the people from the second branch off like this.”
Xia Furong leaned toward Ye Guixiang’s ear and whispered a few words.
…
The grapes in the orchard had ripened but there were not enough people to harvest them. After Xia Zhenxiang, who was in charge of the orchard, told Xia Wangshi about it, she arranged for Qiu Zhi to bring the three children to the orchard to help.
After the people from the second branch were not at home, Xia Furong found Xia Zi.
As the only daughter of Xia Wangshi and as the youngest, Xia Zi naturally did not have to do anything at home. She often spent her days lazing around watching television in an air-conditioned room.
Xia Zi was arrogant and willful. She usually acted arrogantly at home and talked to the people from the second branch as though she couldn’t even see them. But to the eldest branch’s Xia Furong, she acted completely differently.
In Xia Zi’s heart, Xia Furong was pretty, had a good figure and good grades. She was even studying in an art school, and knew how to dress up. She was very fashionable.
Every time she came back from vacation, she would buy her the most popular clothes and even teach her how to put on makeup, telling her what the outside world was like.
In the future, Xia Furong would definitely be the most promising person in the Xia family and would also become the most dazzling celebrity in the country.
Xia Zi’s dream in the future was to become a celebrity too. At that time, she would even need Xia Furong’s support!
“Furong, come in quickly.” Xia Zi pulled Xia Furong into her room.
Xia Furong sat beside Xia Zi and pulled her hand. After chatting with her for a while, she said, “Auntie Zi, there’s something I don’t know if I should tell you.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
“I accidentally found out that there was a treasure hidden in Second Aunt’s dowry box. Didn’t Grandma ask all of her daughter-in-law’s dowry to be handed to her? But Second Aunt didn’t listen to Grandma and secretly kept one.”
