At this moment, Kang Xiaoqiao was lazily half-lying and half-sitting on a wooden chaise lounge in the courtyard.
Zhen Aiyin was shocked by the decorations the moment she entered the courtyard. The path was paved with clean and tidy bricks, and there were flowers and plants on both sides. Through the hanging flower gate, she saw a square courtyard.
The courtyard was even cleaner. It looked spacious, especially the houses in the courtyard. After being modified, the courtyard looked bright and grand.
Aunt Zhou had already reported to Kang Xiaoqiao, so when Zhen Aiyin walked closer, she saw a beautiful, fair, and elegant little girl lying lazily on the chaise lounge.
She was wearing a white blanket with a very soft texture and a wide dress that covered her ankle, revealing a pair of fair and tender jade-like feet.
Her long hair was scattered on her shoulders, and she was eating a bunch of grapes. When she saw someone approaching, she glanced at them and didn't take them seriously at all.
Zhen Aiyin was shocked at first. Such a natural beauty with a good temperament and her every move was full of seduction. It was really... It was really that...
Looking at her face, which was almost the same as her second daughter's, the two of them had vastly different temperaments.
Although the girl in front of her wasn't very elegant, even so, she was still much better than her daughter, who had been raised by her for many years.
It was a bunch of laziness and self-confidence that came from deep within her bones. It was a suppression of her realm.
Zhen Aiyin's initial surprise turned into a livid expression. The other party's actions could be said to be a slight to her. The other party did not even put her in their eyes.
This made Zhen Aiyin, who had always been admired by others, feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, Aunt Zhou knew her limits. She smiled and said, "Ms. Zhen, please take a seat. I'll go make you a cup of tea."
Zhen Aiyin nodded politely and sat in front of Kang Xiaoqiao.
Kang Xiaoqiao finished a grape and used her fair and delicate hands to place the grape skin on an exquisite small plate beside her. Then, she raised her eyes and looked at the woman sitting in front of her.
She was pretty and elegant, with a sense of closeness in her quietness. She had a kind smile on her face, but her eyes were distant.
She was well-dressed and not ostentatious, but she was very virtuous. After Kang Xiaoqiao looked at her, she smiled and said, "Mrs. Miao, why are you here?"
"Let me guess. Are you here to reminisce or to send me money?"
Seeing Kang Xiaoqiao's frivolous tone, Zhen Aiyin's heart sank and her eyes darkened. Kang Xiaoqiao's words made her feel uneasy.
At this moment, Aunt Zhou came over with tea. Zhen Aiyin picked up the teacup and calmed down. Then, she looked sad.
After a while, she said, "Your name is Xiaoqiao, right?"
As soon as she said that, her eyes became moist. She looked at Kang Xiaoqiao with love and affection. "You, you have been living well for so many years. How are you?"
Kang Xiaoqiao was about to eat a grape when she heard that. She turned to look at Zhen Aiyin and suddenly smiled. After a while, she said, "Don't you know how I am?"
Kang Xiaoqiao's words made Zhen Aiyin's face turn red. Kang Xiaoqiao decided not to eat the grape. She threw the grape into the fruit plate and turned around. She looked at Zhen Aiyin and said, "What are you doing?"
"Are you really here to reminisce about old times?"
Zhen Aiyin's tears fell and she cried uncontrollably. She didn't speak and just cried. Kang Xiaoqiao used her arm to support her face and blinked at Zhen Aiyin. Indeed, a beauty was a beauty. Even when she cried, she looked so pretty.
Unfortunately, other than her face, she didn't look like her at all. Thinking of her past life, she looked like her mother the most.
Zhen Aiyin cried for a long time. However, other than looking at her curiously, she didn't ask anything. She didn't even pass her a tissue.
This made her a little embarrassed. She didn't know if this little girl did it on purpose or if she didn't understand the ways of the world?
Obviously, the former was more likely, which made her a little angry.
She stopped crying and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. Then, she said gently, "Child, you have suffered all these years."
Hearing that, Kang Xiaoqiao nodded seriously. "I have suffered a lot."
Zhen Aiyin was stunned. "Ah?"
However, Kang Xiaoqiao didn't care about this at all. She continued, "While you were eating white noodles and rice, eating delicious food and drinking spicy food, I was in the Kang family. I ate the cornflour nest and the cornbread every day. The cornflour was so thick that it burned my throat. But even so, sometimes I couldn't even eat these and could only starve."
"Not to mention the clothes. It's so cold in the northeast. It'll be freezing soon in autumn, but there's not even a cotton-padded coat. The clothes you wear are patched. At that time, I really envied you people in the city. There were always so many new clothes to wear, and all of them could be warm."
"Poor little me. I've been in poor health since I was young. I'm already eight years old, but I'm thin and small, like a five-year-old child. I'm always sick, and I don't have the money to treat it. At that time, the villagers all said that I couldn't support myself!"
...
Kang Xiaoqiao calmly talked about the suffering that she had suffered one after another. Zhen Aiyin's expression became worse and worse as she listened. In the end, the cold sweat on her forehead dripped down.
Kang Xiaoqiao looked at her coldly. Humph, how interesting. Now you're talking about suffering with me. What were you doing earlier?
Since you want to hear it, I'll tell it to you?
After saying this... Kang Xiaoqiao said with a face full of disappointment and fear, "That's not the worst part. The worst part is that I didn't even know why I was being scolded and beaten. They call me a jinx every day, an ingrate, and a freeloader. They scold me for not dying--"
As she said this, she turned to Zhen Aiyin and said, "Tell me, why is my life so tough? I've suffered so much but I still don't die--"
Zhen Aiyin wiped her cold sweat and swallowed her saliva. It took her a while to calm down. She clutched her hands tightly with a mournful look on her face. With tears in her eyes, she choked with guilt and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's all my fault, it's all my fault--"
"Wu, I can't believe I made you suffer so much. It's all my fault, it's all my fault, wu--"
"Xiaoqiao, it's all mom's fault. It's mom's fault. Wu... but... but... mom didn't have a choice."
"As long as mom had a choice, she wouldn't want my good daughter to suffer like this. Wu... it hurts my body, and it hurts my heart. After hearing what you've been through all these years, mom... mom really wanted to bang her head against the wall and die. Wu..."
...
Zhen Aiyin cried her heart out. The pain in her heart wasn't fake. Her repentance came from the bottom of her heart. However, knocking her head against the wall was just an excuse.