TEDWR: Chapter 19

 Glossary

· Zhang Yansheng (张雁声): The female protagonist, the reborn eldest daughter.

· Zhang Huan (张寰): Zhang Yansheng's father.

· Liang Yingying (梁莹莹): Zhang Yansheng's stepmother.

· Zhang Shuocheng (张硕成): Zhang Yansheng's seven-year-old half-brother.

· Zhang Heling (张鹤翎): Zhang Yansheng's nine-year-old half-sister.

· Wang Yi (王姨): The nanny who cares for Zhang Shuocheng. Referred to as Auntie Wang.

· Luo Yi (罗姨): The family nanny who has cared for Zhang Yansheng since birth. Referred to as Auntie Luo.

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Chapter 19

The nannies in the kitchen covered their mouths, stifling laughter, not daring to be too loud.

"The master's voice was practically roaring through the phone. I was bringing her the milk and oatmeal and heard it clearly. Told her to get lost and go change her clothes."

"I was taking the dishes over and saw her slinking upstairs, looking utterly defeated."

"Hey, Old Wang, you came in with her from the outside. Was she always like this before?"

Everyone knew Auntie Wang had entered the household with Liang Yingying and were curious.

Auntie Wang curled her lip. "Don't even mention it. When we were outside, Hehe and Shuoshuo were still little, so it was whatever. But when I came in and saw Miss Yanyan was already such a big girl, I thought she'd have to rein it in a bit. Who knew that as soon as the master left for work every morning, she'd still be like this every single day, without a care."

Auntie Luo had been dissatisfied with this for a long time and immediately chimed in. "Exactly! It's enough to make your eyes sore. When the previous mistress was here, she was always dressed properly and neatly. Even later, when she was too ill to walk, she'd still wear her wig combed perfectly in place. She told me she didn't want the master and the child to see her looking dispirited, and especially wanted Yanyan to know a girl should always be presentable."

Auntie Wang also said, "Now that sounds like a proper mother. Sigh, look at ours..."

Thinking of how Liang Yingying had just been cursed out by her man, the women covered their mouths and laughed again. This Miss Yanyan had grown up. When she was little, Liang Yingying would secretly try to disgust her, and she didn't understand. Now she was starting to wise up. From now on, she wouldn't be so easy to bully.

That day, Liang Yingying, for the first time ever, turned down her invitations and didn't go out, staying obediently at home waiting for Zhang Huan to return.

Zhang Shuocheng had finished his homework in the morning, so in the afternoon he could play as he liked, and Zhang Yansheng didn't bother with him. At most, she would prevent him from becoming a criminal in the future. As for managing him to become a well-behaved, diligent, studious good child? That was expecting too much.

However, Zhang Shuocheng pestered Liang Yingying to get his game console out for him. Having just been severely scolded by Zhang Huan over the phone and afraid Zhang Yansheng would tattle, Liang Yingying refused to get it out for him.

Zhang Shuocheng threw a tantrum, rolling on the floor. Liang Yingying was already on edge because of Zhang Huan's anger, and he annoyed her. She grabbed him and spanked his bottom a few times—in Liang Yingying's mind, her precious son certainly couldn't be hit by others, unless she was the one doing the hitting.

The result was that Zhang Heling took pity and lent her brand-new game console to Zhang Shuocheng.

As soon as Zhang Shuocheng got it, he wanted to run off and play. Right then, Zhang Yansheng, carrying her backpack, was about to head out and bumped into them. Zhang Yansheng barked on the spot, "Stop right there!"

Zhang Shuocheng was so frightened he didn't dare run.

Zhang Heling hurriedly told Zhang Yansheng, "I lent it to Shuoshuo on my own this time. He didn't snatch it."

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Zhang Shuocheng also nodded vigorously. "I didn't snatch it!"

Zhang Yansheng rolled her eyes and asked, "Did you say thank you to your sister?"

Zhang Shuocheng was taken aback. "She's my sister. Why should I say thank you to her?"

Zhang Yansheng glanced at Zhang Heling. This silly girl looked bewildered, clearly also not thinking her brother needed to thank her. This was the result of Zhang Huan washing his hands of child-rearing and Liang Yingying teaching them all wrong.

With parents like these, Zhang Yansheng even felt Zhang Shuocheng wasn't quite so detestable anymore.

"No matter who it is—even if it's your biological parents, or your own sister born from the same mother, the nanny who takes care of you, a classmate who helps you, a waiter in a restaurant, or even a stranger on the street—anyone, as long as you've received help or care from them, you should say thank you."

"She is your sister, that's true. But she's not obligated to let you play with her game console. It's her belonging; she has the full right to decide what to do with it. Even if she doesn't let you play with it, she doesn't owe you anything."

"But precisely because she's your sister, she has feelings for you and can't bear to see you cry, so she lent you her own."

"This is because she's being good to you, not because she owes you. You need to understand: your sister doesn't owe you anything. She's being good to you; shouldn't you say thank you?"

Zhang Yansheng's tone was stern, her brow tightly furrowed.

Under her intimidating pressure, the two children didn't dare speak much. Moreover, what Zhang Yansheng said was fundamentally correct. Not just Zhang Shuocheng, even Zhang Heling couldn't refute it.

Both little kids had a feeling of "Oh, so that's how it is."

Zhang Heling looked at Zhang Shuocheng. "Quick, say thank you to me!"

Zhang Shuocheng felt awkward but remembered that kindergarten and elementary school teachers had actually taught this too. It's just that in the past, when he said thank you to Zhang Heling, Liang Yingying would poke his head with her finger and say, "Why say thank you to your own sister?" and then tell Zhang Heling, "He's your own brother; what's with the thanks?"

Over time, the siblings got used to it. One grew accustomed to not showing gratitude, the other to not receiving any.

Zhang Shuocheng fidgeted for a moment but, under Zhang Yansheng's gaze, still said to Zhang Heling, "Thank you, sister."

Zhang Heling was very happy, feeling the sense of being an older sister, and said with a smile, "You have to say thank you to me from now on!"

Seeing her little tail practically wagging, Zhang Yansheng rolled her eyes, pressed down on her head with a finger, and asked, "If that day Zhang Shuocheng hadn't come to snatch it but had properly asked to borrow your game console, would you have lent it to him?"

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Zhang Heling said as a matter of course, "Of course I would. I would've lent it to him if he'd just asked me. But he just grabbed it right out of my hands, so I got mad and chased him to get it back."

Zhang Yansheng placed her whole hand on top of Zhang Shuocheng's head. "Did you hear that?"

This hand was very strong and had spanked his bottom terribly hard. Zhang Shuocheng, recognizing the situation, said, "I heard."

"Can you snatch other people's things in the future?"

"No."

"What should you do when you want to use someone else's thing?"

"Ask them properly."

The great demon Zhang Yansheng finally released the little mushroom-like Zhang Shuocheng, warning him, "Remember that."

She adjusted her backpack strap and headed downstairs to go out.

"Sister, where are you going?" Zhang Heling chased after her, leaning over the stair railing to ask.

"Going to practice,"Zhang Yansheng said.

Zhang Heling asked,"Don't you have piano class this afternoon?"

Zhang Yansheng stopped and looked up at the top of the stairs."How do you know that?"

Zhang Heling was puzzled."You have it at this time every week."

Zhang Huan probably didn't even know eighty or ninety percent of her class schedule.

Ever since her mother passed away, Zhang Yansheng had been coordinating her own class times. It wasn't until high school, when she started skipping school, that she suddenly discovered a whole new world. So it turned out that even if you didn't attend classes on time, even if you skipped school and classes, even if you dropped all those courses her mother had arranged for her before, no one would actually say anything to her?

Because no one cared about her at all.

Zhang Yansheng said, "I dropped the piano class."

Zhang Heling was a bit surprised. "Huh? Why did you drop it?"

"Don't want to learn anymore."

"But... hasn't sister been learning for many years?"

Zhang Yansheng smiled and said, "I don't like it."

She actually never liked the piano; she only kept learning because her mother had her do it. Now, reborn, she still didn't like it.

She certainly didn't plan to waste her life, but she also needed to make adjustments. She had long been without a mother; no one would care about her or make arrangements for her anymore. She had to plan her own life properly.

She looked up and asked, "Do you like learning piano?"

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

The artistic pursuits she had learned, Zhang Heling was also learning them. In Liang Yingying's mind, these were just standard requirements for a rich family's daughter. She had arranged the same courses for Zhang Heling, mirroring Zhang Yansheng's schedule.

However, while she arranged them and paid for them, as for how Zhang Heling was actually progressing, she didn't really take it to heart.

As she put it herself, finding such a rich father for the children, giving them a good start in life, was already doing right by them.

But Zhang Heling nodded and said, "I do like it. I really like the piano."

After all, people are different. Zhang Heling naturally liked the piano. Liking and not liking something cannot be forced.

However, both of their piano lessons were taught at home by teachers who came to the house. Zhang Yansheng had heard her lessons before. That teacher's skill level was only so-so. Upon realizing the parents of this household paid no attention to the child's lessons, she took advantage of Zhang Heling being a child and was quite perfunctory in her attitude.

After all, when Liang Yingying found a teacher for Zhang Heling, she hadn't put in much thought herself, unlike how Zhang Yansheng's mother used to personally research, carefully compare, and accompany her.

"In that case, your teacher isn't good enough," Zhang Yansheng said after a moment's thought. "Let's talk about it when I come back tonight. I'll see if my old teacher has any openings. If she hasn't scheduled that time, I'll ask her to come teach you. We'll change your teacher."

"Really? Sister, you're the best!" Zhang Heling was both shocked and delighted. "I told my mom the teacher wasn't serious, and she didn't believe me at all."

Students actually have some sense of whether a teacher is good or not. Zhang Heling had told Liang Yingying before, "My teacher doesn't seem very serious." Without any investigation, Liang Yingying subjectively decided Zhang Heling just didn't want to attend class properly and was making up bad things about the teacher to get a change, and instead scolded her.

Zhang Yansheng's brow furrowed slightly. She suddenly asked, "Have you told Dad about it?"

Zhang Heling shook her head. "No. What's the point of telling Dad? He doesn't get involved anyway."

The little child's tone was utterly matter-of-fact, revealing exactly what kind of hands-off figure Zhang Huan was in his children's hearts.

Zhang Yansheng said, "From now on, if something happens and telling your mom doesn't work, go tell Dad. If he doesn't listen or pay attention, come tell me, and we'll force him to listen."

Zhang Heling hesitated. "But... is that okay? Won't Dad get annoyed with me?"

Zhang Yansheng sneered. "If you have children but don't raise them, then why have them at all?"

When she was little and her mother was ill, she truly had no energy to manage her. Zhang Yansheng managed herself impeccably. Zhang Huan often praised her, "Yanyan is so great, never gives Dad any trouble." Thinking back now, how helpless her mother's gaze had been then.

But she was young then, and Liang Yingying's family of three hadn't appeared yet. She loved her parents wholeheartedly and genuinely loved hearing Zhang Huan praise her like that, striving to do even better and not cause trouble for her dad.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Thinking of it now, she could only sneer.

Truly a classic case of absentee parenting.

"This is what he should have been doing all along. A responsible adult shouldn't shirk their duties," Zhang Yansheng said. "We'll talk more when I get back tonight."

With that, she headed downstairs.

Zhang Heling leaned over the railing and called out, "Come back early, sis!"

Come back early, Yanyan.

Zhang Yansheng's steps faltered for a moment.

When her mother's health was very poor, whenever she went out for classes, her mother would call out to her like that from the stairs. Back then, she was in a wheelchair, wearing a wig; chemotherapy and radiation seemed to have drained her vitality.

Later, after she was gone, whenever Zhang Yansheng went out, no one would ever tell her to "come back early" again.

Zhang Yansheng looked up. The little girl was still leaning over the railing, looking down at her. Seeing her look up, she broke into a flower-like smile, sweetly waving at her.

Zhang Yansheng made an acknowledging sound, lowered her head, and went downstairs, leaving.

(End of Chapter)

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