"Auntie, if you don't want to eat this egg, you can give it to Wenyu. Times have been hard at home lately, and our food quality has dropped quite a bit. Wenyu has lost weight!" Zhao said as she walked over, reaching out to take the egg from Ye Jiu's hand, but Ye Jiu retracted her hand, leaving Zhao grasping at air.
Zhao's smile held a trace of embarrassment, "Auntie, what are you doing?"
Ye Jiu gazed steadily at Zhao, suddenly curling her lips into a mocking smile. The plump face, nurtured by He Shi, displayed a derisive grin, "Sister-in-law, I'm willing to give things to Wenxuan and Qingzhi because, after all, they call me 'auntie' and are younger. So, please do not take my affection as something you are entitled to, nor shamelessly feel at peace about it!"
Zhao's face darkened instantly, "Auntie, don't be fooled by Wenhao. He's being insincere with you, intentionally not taking your egg, pretending to care about you, all to gain more favors from you in the future. I, your sister-in-law, am straightforward and wouldn't stoop to such hypocritical flattery, but my feelings for you are genuine."
Zhao's small eyes narrowed, her face filled with disdain as she tried to justify herself while looking at Ye Jiu.
If it weren't for this girl being the favorite of He Shi, would she need to ingratiate herself with her?
Absolutely dreamlike.
If Ye Jiu had truly been a ten-year-old child, then she might indeed have been deceived.
Regrettably, with the additional eighteen years of experience from her past life, she wasn't the type to naively believe that the whole world was filled with good people.
Especially having been almost abandoned by her parents and raised solely by her grandmother, Ye Jiu understood better than anyone the ugliness and selfishness of certain aspects of human nature.
"Even if it is an act, at least someone is willing to put on the act. Unlike sister-in-law, who knows the wound on my head hasn't healed yet, but could still ask so directly for the nourishing items Mother gave me to recover. That straightforwardness is indeed a bit much," Ye Jiu said.
Zhao frowned. Previously, this auntie could neither speak nor was she healthy, practically akin to a useless person. Usually, it was either He Shi taking personal care of her or the servants from the main room lending a hand. Zhao really couldn't be bothered to interact with her.
Now, having barely recovered, she was so sharp-tongued; she really did resemble He Shi's own daughter.
Just as unsentimental, just as annoying.
Perhaps knowing she wouldn't get anywhere with Ye Jiu, Zhao huffed coldly and turned to leave.
When Ye Wenhao returned to the main room, he was all smiles. Zhang, unavoidably curious, asked, "What's the matter, being so happy about delivering medicine to your auntie?"
Ye Wenhao, sitting on the bed-stove, replied, "Mother, just now auntie gave me an egg to eat and even apologized for overlooking me when distributing eggs this morning."
"Did you eat the egg your auntie gave you?" Zhang hastily inquired.
"No, auntie is injured. How could I accept the nourishing item that's meant for her recovery?" Ye Wenhao responded.
"That's good, that's very good," Zhang patted her chest, addressing her children, "The person your grandma loves the most is your auntie. You must not covet her things with shallow intentions, or else, once your father returns from town, there will certainly be a commotion."
"Mother, you're just too cautious. Even my second aunt isn't afraid. Sometimes, I feel as if auntie is your real daughter, and I'm simply picked up from somewhere," Ye Qinghua said discontentedly.
She was two years older than Ye Jiu. Back then, because He Shi was older and had no milk, and Zhao refused to nurse someone else's child, Ye Jiu was breastfed by Zhang from birth, while the two-year-old Ye Qinghua was forced to wean early.