Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 26: This Little Sister Grows Up to Be a Lovesick Fool

Grandma Xu had two sons and two daughters. Chen Shulan was the youngest, with two older brothers and an older sister. Among the siblings, she was doing the best—after all, she owned a house in the city.

Xu Su’s eldest aunt was Chen Shumei. She had married into the neighboring village and had two sons and a daughter. In contrast to her own mother, Chen Shulan, it was this aunt who made Xu Su feel a greater sense of kinship.

Chen Shumei didn’t have an easy life either. She and her husband toiled on their land to support their three children through school. Yet, every time she visited her family home, she would bring some little treats for her niece, Xu Su—a few milk candies, a couple of oranges. She never arrived empty-handed.

Both of Xu Su’s uncles lived in mud-brick houses. The two brothers’ homes stood side by side, built with their father’s help before Grandpa Xu passed away.

Each family was allocated over a dozen acres of land. They lived off their harvest and saved up what they could by taking on odd jobs in the city during the farming off-season.

Life was hard for all of them, but they were never anything but kind to Xu Su. That included her two aunts-in-law, who never once gave her a hard time.

For the first sixteen years of her life, even though she was living under someone else’s roof, Xu Su had been very happy. It was only after returning to her biological parents that she began a life of walking on eggshells.

Her eldest aunt-in-law was drying something in the courtyard, and her eyes lit up when she saw Xu Su. "Susu, you’re back! Quick, come sit inside. My Nini was just talking about you, guessing you might come visit for the National Day holiday. I can’t believe you’re really here!"

Hearing the commotion, her cousin Chen Ni ran out from inside the house. She let out a happy cry at the sight of Xu Su and threw her arms around her. "Sis! You’re finally back! Is the city fun? How many days off do you get from school? How long can you stay?"

Chen Ni was the youngest daughter of Xu Su’s eldest uncle and was a year younger than her. She was in her third year of junior high. She also had an older brother, Chen Le, who had gone to work in Peng City after failing to get into a university. He only ever came home for the New Year.

"We get three days off from school. I can stay for two days, then I’ll take the bus back on the third." Seeing her cousin, who now looked more than a decade younger, Xu Su’s smile was genuine. She asked, "Grandma isn’t home. Do you know which field she went to?"

Grandma Xu was in her early sixties this year. Thanks to a lifetime of labor, she was still quite robust. She farmed two acres of land herself, with her sons helping out during the spring planting and autumn harvest. She also had several vegetable patches, and while Xu Su knew where they all were, she wasn’t sure which one her grandma was at right now.

Chen Ni said, "Grandma, my dad, and my youngest uncle went to the plot on the back hill to pick peanuts after lunch. I have to go help too once I finish my homework."

Chen Ni told her mom she was leaving, then went with Xu Su to her youngest uncle’s house next door. They gathered her two younger cousins who lived there, and the four of them headed to the fields to find Grandma Xu.

Her older cousin, Chen Dong, was also in his third year of junior high. The younger one, Chen Jun, had just started junior high this semester.

Back when Xu Su lived with her grandma, she would help her cousins with their schoolwork during holidays. She would patiently explain anything they didn’t understand, breaking it down piece by piece. In their own words, she explained things even better than their teachers did.

They were all thrilled to see Xu Su again, chattering excitedly as they ran to the fields to find Grandma Xu.

From a distance, they spotted her two uncles and grandmother in the field, pulling up peanuts. The patch wasn’t very large; three people could easily harvest it all in a single afternoon.

Spotting Xu Su among the children, Grandma Xu stood up, her voice filled with concern. "You’re back? How long can you stay this time?"

Seeing her grandmother alive and well for the first time in over a month, Xu Su couldn’t stop the tears from welling up. She fought back the lump in her throat and said, "I have three days off. I’ll take the bus back to the city on the afternoon of the third."

"What are you crying for? Did something happen in the city?" Grandma Xu’s brow furrowed. "Did your parents give you a hard time?"

Her eldest uncle, Chen Guohua, was a simple farmer. He was bent over, shaking dirt from the roots of a peanut plant, but he turned to look when he heard this. "Tell your uncle. If you’re really being mistreated, we’ll just transfer you back to the county school. Don’t you worry, your uncle will pay for your education. You don’t need them."

Her youngest uncle, Chen Guoqiang, nodded in agreement. "Honestly, your parents... They haven’t seen their daughter in ages, and they haven’t even thought about trying to make things right?"

Xu Su shook her head, her gaze fixed on the old woman before her, unwilling to look away for even a second. "They didn’t give me a hard time. I just missed you, Grandma."

In her past life, Xu Su hadn’t come back for the National Day holiday. She had only just arrived at her new home and didn’t dare ask her parents for anything.

At the time, she had hoped Chen Shulan would take her back to visit for the New Year, but the textile factory only gave them a six-day holiday.

The round trip was a hassle with all the transfers, so Chen Shulan decided not to go back to her family’s village for the holiday.

Once the second semester of her first year of high school began, her studies became even more demanding, and Xu Su had even less time to return.

Later, by her third year of high school, her eldest uncle had a phone installed. Xu Su had a decent living allowance by then, with enough money to call home every so often, but she never managed to go back and see Grandma Xu in person.

That is, until she got a call from her uncle on the eve of her college entrance exams. Grandma Xu had fallen, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, and been rushed to Chang City for emergency treatment. They saved her life, but a stroke left her partially paralyzed.

For years after that, Xu Su tried everything she could, but her grandmother remained paralyzed on one side of her body. She could no longer speak clearly, and she never stood up again.

All told, it had been fourteen years since Xu Su had last seen her grandmother able to speak a clear sentence.

Xu Su had always been reserved, so it was rare for her to say something so sentimental. Grandma Xu gave her a playful, scolding look. "Well, you’re back now, aren’t you? From now on, if you miss me, just come back and visit more often. Children grow up and have their own lives to lead. You can’t spend all your days in the countryside with an old woman like me."

"I still think she was mistreated at her parents’ house," her youngest uncle said bluntly. "Don’t I know our little sister? She only has eyes for that precious son of hers. There’s no room left for our Susu."

"That’s enough. Don’t talk such nonsense," Grandma Xu said, shooting her youngest son a glare. She turned back to Xu Su, pulled the key to the main gate from her pocket, and handed it to her. "It’s too hot out here. You go on back to the house. I’ll be home in a little while."

Xu Su glanced at the peanut patch, wanting to stay and help, but Grandma Xu shooed her away.

Her three cousins who had come with her were sent back as well.

Back in the farmhouse courtyard, the four cousins sat and chatted. Despite not having seen each other for over a month, there wasn’t the slightest bit of awkwardness between them. After a while, her eldest aunt-in-law brought out a large watermelon, set it on the table, sliced it up, and told them all to eat.

The watermelon was homegrown and had been chilled in the well, making it refreshingly sweet.

Chen Ni took a bite of watermelon and asked curiously, "Sis, have you met the relatives on your dad’s side yet? What are they like? Do you have any other cousins over there?"

"You have so many questions." Despite her slightly dismissive tone, Xu Su answered each one.

When she heard Xu Su had two male cousins and two female cousins on her father’s side, Chen Ni asked with a hint of jealousy, "Are you going to like your new cousins more than me now?"

The question reminded Xu Su. ’I almost forgot,’ she thought, ’this cousin of mine grows up to be completely obsessed with romance.’