The Troubles and Reconciliation in Growth: The Ups and Downs and Warmth in the Family
Dad said solemnly that although our family was wealthy, I still needed an academic degree. He thought that at my age, I could start studying from the first year of high school. However, my foundation was really poor. Dad went to great lengths and finally managed to get me into high school. Lucy was also in this school, but we were not in the same grade. She was in the key class of the second year of high school, with excellent grades and attracting a lot of attention, while I was in an ordinary class of the first year of high school, trying hard to adapt to the new learning environment. My brother Alex was also here, but he was already in the third year of high school, facing the upcoming college entrance examination and under great pressure.
My brother accompanied me all the way to my class. Everyone had heard about our family affairs. He explained that since Dad was a very famous entrepreneur, all this was quite normal. When I walked into the classroom, my classmates immediately surrounded me tightly and asked all kinds of curious questions one after another. But the questions they asked were so profound that I couldn't understand them at all. I could only helplessly nod or shake my head randomly, feeling a bit flustered and at a loss.
During the lunch break, my brother came to look for me, and my sister came too. But it seemed that she came to find my brother. With tears in her eyes and a look of great grievance on her face, she said, "Since sister came back, brother... you've ignored me...". My brother replied indifferently, "Really? If you think so, then so be it." I quickly walked over, separated them, and said worriedly, "Are you two quarreling? We are a family and should get along harmoniously." Lucy, however, shouted angrily, "Who is in the same family with you? Since you came back, Dad and brother don't love me anymore. I hate you." After saying that, she ran away without looking back. I looked at my brother in confusion and said with distress, "Why is sister angry? I knew I was clumsy with words..." My brother looked at me with a look of hating that I couldn't make any progress and said, "You're not only clumsy with words, but also stupid in the head."
In the evening, Dad came to pick us up and take us home. Lucy kept her mouth shut all the way and didn't say a word. In the car, it was all my voice. I excitedly talked about which friends I had met today, what new knowledge I had learned, and what my brother had bought for me. But Lucy's face became darker and darker, as if covered by a layer of dark clouds. As soon as we got home, she opened the door, got out of the car quickly, and shut herself in her room. Mom hurried to knock on her door and asked gently what was wrong with her. Dad and brother didn't pay attention to her, as if they were used to her behavior. Late at night, Mom found me and called me seriously, asking me not to bully Lucy. I looked at her blankly, surprised and said, "When did I bully my sister?" Mom said softly, "When you chat with Dad and brother in the future, you should include your sister. She's still young and will be jealous." I looked at Mom eagerly and said expectantly, "Then can Mom feed me in the future? I was so envious when I saw you feeding my sister today." Mom touched my head and gently agreed. I slept very soundly that night, as if surrounded by warm love.
Sure enough, the next morning Mom came to wake me up, fed me biscuits, and brought me a cup of hot milk. Dad was especially happy when he saw Mom doing this, with a happy smile on his face. However, Lucy was unhappy. She angrily threw the plate on the ground and shouted loudly, "Ask Dad and Mom to send me away." Oh, I thought she must be missing her parents. I could understand her feelings. So during the lunch break at school, I borrowed my brother's phone. According to my memory, I called my adoptive father and told him that Lucy missed him. He seemed quite happy and asked for the school address, saying that he would come to pick up Lucy today. My brother pinched my face and said with a smile, "You're not that stupid after all." I said happily, "Really? Hehe, I've always thought I was quite smart." In the evening, Dad came to pick us up, and my adoptive father also came. Dad looked at my adoptive father with a guarded look, as if he was guarding his precious treasure. My adoptive father told Dad that he came to pick up Lucy because he heard that Lucy missed him. Lucy stared at him in horror and quickly said no. I asked in confusion, "Sister, don't you miss your biological parents?" Dad also looked at Lucy, and she forced a very reluctant smile and said, "Yes." I knew it. She just didn't dare to say it. It's normal for a girl to be a bit shy. Then Dad gave my adoptive father a sum of money, saying that he had feelings for Lucy over the years and asked him to take Lucy back and treat her well. On the way home this time, there were only the three of us left, and we were all smiling all the way, with no one looking angry. When we got home, Mom asked where Lucy was. Dad said that she had been picked up by her biological parents. Mom quickly blamed Dad, "You also know what kind of people that couple is! How could Lucy bear it?" Dad got angry at Mom, "Do you know it too? Didn't you see all the injuries on Ellie's body? Were they not caused by them? Have you ever cared about Ellie since she came back?" It seemed that they quarreled because of me. Mom's momentum immediately weakened, and she looked at me with a guilty look. I walked forward, took their hands, and gently told them not to quarrel, saying, "It's all in the past, and my injuries are almost healed." As I said that, I started to cry. They hugged me together, and I felt very warm, as if all the grievances and pains disappeared at this moment.
A week later, Lucy came back crying. With tears all over her face, she said heartbrokenly, "My adoptive father Zhang Qiang wanted to hit people and forced me to kill fish every day after class." She was crying so sadly that I was almost affected by her emotions. I walked forward to hug her, wanting to give her some comfort. Unexpectedly, she pushed me away, and I fell to the ground. Mom quickly walked forward to hug me and asked me with concern how I was and if it hurt. I smiled sweetly and said, "It doesn't hurt. I got used to it a long time ago." Dad and Mom had raised Lucy for so many years and couldn't bear it after all, so they took her back. I clapped my hands and cheered, happy that my sister could come back. My brother pulled me aside with a black face and gave me a thick book called "How to Fight Back Against Green Tea Bitches". He seriously told me that I must read it carefully. I looked at my brother's earnest eyes and nodded vigorously. I opened the book. In the first chapter, it said what a green tea bitch was. A green tea bitch was used to describe those who seemed pure, cute, and pitiful on the surface but were actually full of schemes. I sort of understood it and fell into deep thought. Recently, my sister had been as obedient as Duoduo. She would eat whatever I put on her plate. She didn't cry or get angry every day anymore. But my Duoduo was missing. One night when I got home, Duoduo didn't come out to greet me. I quickly asked Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang didn't know either. My sister secretly told me that Duoduo didn't like staying at the Li's and had gone back to the Zhang's. My sister also said, "Ellie, you sound better with the name Zhang Miaomiao." Fortunately, Duoduo came back by itself, but it was dirty. While I was bathing Duoduo, I remembered what Lucy had said. Now I knew what my sister was like. She was like the green tea bitch described in the book. I remembered that the second chapter said that the way to deal with a green tea bitch was to be even more pitiful than her. I quickly found Dad and told him exactly what Lucy had said. Dad was angry when he heard it and looked at Lucy severely, saying, "You've only been away for a week and already learned that shrewishness. You're more suitable to be called Zhang Mingyue." Lucy knelt down and begged for mercy, crying and pleading, "Don't send me back. I was just angry at that moment and didn't really mean what I said." I saw that she was crying pitifully, so I asked Dad to forgive her. Although she still lived in the Li's family, Dad stopped giving her pocket money. Lucy knocked on my door at night, looking pitiful and asking me to give her some money, or Zhang Qiang would beat her to death. But hadn't she come back to the Li's family? I still gave her a thousand yuan, which I had earned at the Zhang's family and was now giving it back to the Zhang's family.