Chapter 230: Chapter 212: Getting Sick

On the first day of classes, Mo Shuixia was called out of her classroom by her homeroom teacher before the morning reading session had even finished. Another teacher, one from the second year, led her toward the second-year girls’ dormitory. It was only on the way there that she learned Mo Yaxuan was sick.

’What does that malicious girl’s illness have to do with me?’ Mo Shuixia grumbled to herself. ’If she’s so good at stealing Xiao Man’s biological parents and tricking them into disowning their own daughter, she should be running to them now that she’s sick!’

The second-year teacher said, "Her dorm mates said Mo Yaxuan was coughing all last night, so she probably started getting sick then. She couldn’t attend morning exercises today, and the teacher on duty only discovered her during room inspections. Her forehead is burning up, and we can’t wake her. Our school doesn’t have a doctor, so the principal wants to send her to the clinic at the mine. Teacher Zhao has already gone to find a rickshaw. I saw on her registration form that her home address is Gongdao Village, but she doesn’t seem like a village girl. She usually says she’s from Wancheng. Since there’s no one else from Gongdao Village in her dorm, I just asked around, and your homeroom teacher mentioned you’re from there. You both have the surname Mo, so you must know each other, right?"

Mo Shuixia nodded. "Yes. Our families live close by, and we’re from the same clan."

"Oh, that’s perfect. Do her parents work in the city?"

"No, her parents are my uncle and aunt, part of my extended clan. They’re farmers in the village. Teacher, you may have heard about it, but there was a bizarre incident in Gongdao Village recently—the one about the two babies being switched at birth. Mo Yaxuan was one of them. She did grow up in the city, but her identity was mixed up. Now the other family’s elders have demanded they switch the girls back. Mo Yaxuan doesn’t want to acknowledge her parents who are farmers in the village, so she tells people she’s from the city."

"Is that so? Yes, yes, I think I have heard about it! Goodness, this Mo Yaxuan... Of course a mistake has to be corrected. Biological parents are biological parents. How can she refuse to acknowledge them? What’s wrong with being a farmer? Without farmers, city folk would have nothing to eat, right? That way of thinking is just wrong. It’s so vain. Once she recovers, I’ll have to give her a serious lecture! Hmm, Mo, could I trouble you to run to the village and ask her parents to come?"

"Sure. It’s just quite far, so I’ll have to request leave from class."

"I’ll speak with your homeroom teacher for you. You can ride my bicycle... Thanks for your help!"

Mo Shuixia rode the teacher’s bicycle and hurried back to Gongdao Village. She notified Liu Fengying, then returned to school to attend her classes.

When Liu Fengying heard that Xuanxuan was back at school and now so sick she couldn’t move, she was secretly overjoyed. ’You damn girl,’ she thought. ’Let’s see you try to escape my grasp this time!’

In her youth, Liu Fengying may not have been exceptionally beautiful, but she was healthy, with a rosy complexion and a vibrant, youthful energy. In the village, she was considered a prime catch, admired by many young men. She had her moment of glory. As the eldest daughter, she was used to having a say, which cultivated a domineering personality. After she married Mo Guoqiang, he doted on her and let her have her way, making her word absolute law in their home. She was the undisputed head of the household; no one could rein her in. But ever since she lost her grip on Mo Xiaoman, it felt as though everything had been turned upside down. Her life was in shambles. Even her biological daughter, now returned to the family, refused to submit to her control. Amid her disappointment, Liu Fengying was overcome with regret, resentment, and fury.

’I should have never let Xiao Man go with those two old fossils,’ Liu Fengying thought. She’d had a vague feeling about it even then. Although she and her husband had never treated Xiao Man as important, the reality was that the family only felt whole and orderly when Xiao Man was around.

’Every herd needs a leader. Xiao Man was the eldest daughter. No matter how wild the other kids were, as long as the eldest was in her place, they wouldn’t dare act up! It allowed me, their mother, to keep them in line with more authority.’

’What has this house come to? Ever since Xuanxuan showed her face here, Xiao Feng and Xiaoqiang do nothing but bawl all day, Xiao Neng sets up "traps" everywhere, Xiao Zhi won’t listen anymore, and even Xiaohua dares to talk back to me!’

They all shared the same justification: Why should Xuanxuan get to do no work, receive all their parents’ affection, and still get money for school!

And Xuanxuan? She was openly and stubbornly trying to sever all ties with her biological parents and siblings. Liu Fengying had gone to the school to find her many times, but Xuanxuan always avoided her. She hadn’t even come home for a single visit when Mo Guoqiang was arrested and sent to prison for forced labor!

Liu Fengying seethed, grinding her teeth. ’That ungrateful little brat. I lost my hold on Mo Xiaoman because of her, and now I can’t even control my own flesh and blood. What is the meaning of this?!’

’This could not be tolerated!’

’Xiao Man is gone, and I might never be able to get a handle on that damn brat again!’

’But Xuanxuan is my own flesh and blood, my eldest daughter. She can forget about escaping her responsibilities. No matter what, she will stand by my side, her birth mother’s side, and help me hold this broken family together!’

Liu Fengying headed to the commune middle school to see Xuanxuan. Mo Xiao Zhi and Mo Xiaohua insisted on coming along, and after a moment’s thought, Liu Fengying agreed. She even decided to bring Xiao Feng with them.

’Xuanxuan is always trying to disown us, isn’t she?’ Liu Fengying thought. ’Well, I’ll let her classmates have a good look. With a resemblance this strong, they’ll see for themselves if we’re her real mother and sisters!’

Whenever Liu Fengying had gone to the school looking for her, Xuanxuan would refuse to see her, even telling her classmates that Liu Fengying was just a relative, not her mother. She wouldn’t come home on Sundays, and she disappeared completely during the busy farming season holiday. Liu Fengying had asked Mo Shuixia and found out that Xuanxuan was getting money sent from the city. ’That damn girl!’ she fumed. She wasn’t using it to support the family but was just squandering it. The money she spent on travel was enough to buy oil and salt for the whole family for a month. The nerve of her to be so wasteful!

’Now you’re sick and can’t even move,’ she thought grimly. ’Let’s see where you can hide now!’

Tang Yaxuan’s illness started after she spent too long in the sun outside Xiao Man’s old home in Gongdao Village, which she followed up with a cold shower back at school. But there were psychological factors, too. After Grandma Tang’s cold, cutting remarks, she had suffered from nightmares for two consecutive nights, soaking her pillow with tears. It began as a cold and a cough, then developed into a fever that left her unconscious. It felt as if she were trapped in a nightmare from which she could not wake. The dream was filled with all kinds of bizarre scenes that felt strangely familiar, even though she was sure she had never experienced them.

She could sense, and even vaguely see, people coming and going by her bedside. There were teachers, the principal, and even Mo Shuixia, that girl from the village who always glared at her. Then, finally, Liu Fengying arrived. Trailing behind her were Mo Xiao Zhi, Mo Xiaohua, and... Mo Xiaofeng!

The sight of Mo Xiaofeng’s dead, fish-like eyes, rolled back to show the whites, made Tang Yaxuan’s skin crawl. The yellow sleep crust caked in the corners of Mo Xiaofeng’s eyes was so nauseating that Tang Yaxuan rolled over and vomited. The violent retching shocked her fully awake, finally freeing her from the grip of the suffocating dream.

Seeing Mo Yaxuan open her eyes, her homeroom teacher breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. It’s a good thing your mother came. Yaxuan, she’s here to take you home to rest. Come back to class when you’re all better. I’ve already arranged for your leave!"

When Tang Yaxuan heard she had to return to that house in Gongdao Village, she refused. "Teacher, I don’t need to take leave," she said, struggling. "I... I can go to class!"

Liu Fengying quickly held her down and started wiping at her eyes. "Oh, child, you’re so ill. Don’t try to be brave. You wouldn’t want to get your classmates sick, would you? Be a good girl and listen to the teacher. Let’s go home so you can take your medicine and get a shot. You can come back when you’re all better, all right?"

The other students who had gathered around nodded in agreement. "Yeah, your coughing kept us up all night. Yaxuan, you really should go home and rest!"

The teacher recalled what Mo Shuixia had told her and understood that Tang Yaxuan was simply ashamed of her rural family. With a heavy heart, she began to lecture her earnestly. Overhearing this strange tale, the other students started whispering to one another. Their gazes toward Tang Yaxuan shifted instantly from the usual admiration to looks of disdain and contempt. Tang Yaxuan felt like crying but had no tears left; she wanted to explain herself but was unable to. In the end, she had no choice but to submit to the arrangement and let Liu Fengying pack her belongings for the trip home.

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