Rebirth to Save Myself

Chapter 127 Investigation (1)

Returning to Putian, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar streets, Su Xia couldn't help but search. That was the road she took in high school; that side was the road to her high school classmate's house, and this side was the road to her parents' house.

She had already inquired with Su Yue before she arrived. Su's parents were still living with Su's mother's older sister, while Su Yaoche was currently being sent to the town's middle school by Su's parents through their money.

Su Xia recalled a similar incident from her previous life. Su Yaoche wasn't particularly bright from a young age; passing exams was considered a success. However, his parents believed that boys mature later and would naturally become smarter as they grew older. They kept spending money on learning tablets, taekwondo lessons, and swimming lessons for Su Yaoche, trying to get him to master more skills. However, Su Yaoche spent his time watching cartoons on the tablet, gave up taekwondo after a short time, and the same went for swimming.

Later, Su Yaoche failed his high school entrance exam. Su Xia originally thought they would send him to a vocational school, but Su's parents spent the whole summer using their connections to find someone and eventually spent tens of thousands of yuan in school selection fees to get Su Yaoche into a local private high school.

Before Su Xia and Su Yue took the high school entrance exam, their mother told them, "We don't have enough money to buy you a school to continue your studies, so if you pass the exam, you can go to school; if you don't, you can go to work and earn money."

Su Xia finds it laughable now that her mother put pressure on her daughter when she was facing the high school entrance exam, and even acted proud of it. It was utterly disgusting. When Su Xia's high school entrance exam results came out, she almost didn't get into high school. She thought she would have to go to work, but then her mother stepped in and said, "If all else fails, go to a nursing vocational school. It'll be easier to find a job after you graduate."

Perhaps it was these words that made Su Xia realize that her mother wasn't so heartless after all, and that her words before the high school entrance exam were meant to motivate her and help her do better?

This kind of "slap and then sweet" approach is acceptable to Su Xia, who hasn't been reborn. She even tries to make up for it herself, fantasizing that her parents also love her, but that she didn't grow up by their side and wasn't as close to them as Su Yue and Su Yaoche.

Now she understood that the only person Su's parents truly loved was Su Yaoche. She preferred a boy because it was their first child, but a girl was fine too, as she could take care of her younger brother. Su Yue herself couldn't have stayed, but now she realized that perhaps Su's parents thought the bride prices for two girls would be higher, so they kept Su Yue as well.

Su Xia first checked into a hotel, then disguised herself and went to Su Yaoche's school. Soon it was time for classes to end, and many parents were waiting for their children at the school gate, including Su's father. He stared intently at the gate, afraid of missing Su Yaoche's arrival.

"You really put your heart into it. When my bicycle broke down, you always made excuses to take me to school." Su Xia said sarcastically. For six years, including her three years of junior high and three years of high school, she rode her bicycle to and from school by herself, rain or shine. Her father never even considered taking her to school, nor would he bring her an umbrella if she didn't have one. When her bicycle broke down, she had to push it around for ages to find a repair shop.

A moment later, Su Yaoche appeared at the door. Su's father quickly stepped forward to take Su Yaoche's schoolbag and asked, "Are you tired from class?"

Su Xia didn't go back with them; instead, she found a small restaurant and had lunch there. In the afternoon, she went to Su Yue's school to ask about her situation. It was Friday, and Su Yue didn't have many classes, so she packed her things early to go home.

Seeing this, her roommates were a little puzzled. Su Yue was usually the least enthusiastic about going home, so why was she packing so enthusiastically now? So they asked, "Su Yue, are you going home this week?"

"I'm not going back," Su Yue said without turning her head, but her hands didn't stop moving.

"Then why are you packing your clothes?" My roommate was even more puzzled. Why are you packing so enthusiastically if you're not going home?

"I'm going to find my sister, I'm off now, bye-bye." Su Yue slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed out the door with light, quick steps.

"Bye-Bye."

After Su Yue left, the roommates exchanged glances and began to discuss:

Does Su Yue have an older sister?

"She never said that. I thought she only had one younger brother."

"Should we follow them and take a look?"

"You can go if you want, I'm going home."

"Yes, it's a rare weekend, and my mom said she's going to cook something delicious for me."

"If you're not going, what am I supposed to do?"

Su Yue jogged to the school gate and began looking around at the passersby. She hadn't seen her sister in a long time and had even forgotten what her sister looked like. There weren't any recent photos of her on her sister's social media either. The last time they video-chatted, her mind was preoccupied with seeking adoption, and she hadn't paid much attention to her sister's appearance. Now, thinking about it, she felt incredibly regretful. Her sister was currently her only way out, and she had to make the most of it.

"What are you looking at?" Su Xia asked from behind her.

"Sister, you're so beautiful!" Su Yue turned around, saw Su Xia, and then flattered her with delight.

"Be serious, is school over?" Su Xia asked, just in case she skipped class.

"Okay, school's over. Where are we going now, sis?" Su Yue nodded, then blinked at Su Xia.

"Let's go eat." Su Xia knew perfectly well that she was trying to please her, but she pretended not to see it and replied.

"Yay! I'm so tired of eating at the school cafeteria. I'll take you to a hot pot restaurant near our school. If we only eat vegetables, it'll only cost twenty yuan to fill us up." Su Yue bounced around next to Su Xia, as if she would take her there immediately as soon as Su Xia asked.

Su Xia frowned, stopped, and looked at Su Yue: "How much is your weekly allowance?"

“Fifty,” Su Yue said dismissively.

"Then you go to a hot pot restaurant and it costs twenty yuan a meal. Where would you get the money?" Su Xia couldn't help but suspect that Su Yue had stolen money.

"Just don't eat at the cafeteria! Let me tell you, you can just buy a big box of instant noodles online for thirty yuan, and it will last you a long time. And I don't eat breakfast, so I save half of the instant noodles I make at noon for dinner, and then I can use the remaining twenty yuan to have a hot pot meal!" Su Yue proudly shared her money-saving tips with her sister, waiting for her sister to praise her.

Su Xia fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Is your family struggling financially? Can't you even afford a hundred yuan a week?"

"Mom bought a piece of land in the provincial capital with my second uncle to build a house. She borrowed from all her relatives and friends, and even found a boss on Dad's side. So Mom told me that's all she could give." Su Yue didn't hide anything and told him about her family's situation directly.

Su Xia then remembered that something similar had indeed happened in her previous life. Her second uncle had contacted her mother, saying that someone was selling land near their home and asking if she wanted to buy it and build a house. Su Xia's mother was tempted. However, the land was too large, and Su Xia's mother couldn't afford that much money on her own. But her father's relatives were unwilling to come to the provincial capital with her to build a house, feeling that since they were from Nancheng, they would be better off buying a house in Nancheng's urban area with that money.

Even when Su Xia's mother went back to borrow money, her uncle said to her, "I'm telling you, second sister-in-law, you're so short-sighted. You spent so much money building a house in the provincial capital. You might as well buy a two-bedroom apartment in the city. Your two daughters will get married in a few years, and you and your second brother can share a room, and your son can share a room."

Su's mother ignored Su Xia's uncle's words and only cared about borrowing money. She would lend if she could, and if she couldn't, she would let it go. In those years, because of the money spent on building the house and the fact that the borrowed money could not be repaid, the family lived in a state of constant anxiety. Su's mother often said, "We don't have money at home, so we have to be careful with our spending."

"Is the house finished yet?"

"It was completed last year, and we even went to the provincial capital for the Spring Festival."

"Hmm, besides hot pot, what else would you like to eat?"

"Barbecue, but that's too expensive. My classmate said it costs fifty or sixty yuan per person, I can't afford it."

"I want to eat barbecue, will you come with me?"

"it is good."

Su Xia took Su Yue to a barbecue buffet restaurant in the mall where the average cost per person was around 100 yuan. Su Yue had never been to such a restaurant before, and she felt it was very high-end. When she heard that she could take whatever she wanted, she was immediately tempted.

"Sis, can I really just take whatever I want? Are all those drinks, fruits, and snacks okay?"

"Yes, but only if you can finish it. Buffet buffets don't allow takeout, so if you take too much and can't finish it, you'll be fined."

"Ah, I see."

"Go ahead and get it. Take whatever you want to eat."

"it is good."

Watching Su Yue's retreating figure, Su Xia couldn't help but think that in her previous life, the Su family hadn't been building their house this late. It was built when she was in junior high school, so by the time Su Yue entered high school, the family had already paid off most of their debts, and there hadn't been this situation of deducting from Su Yue's food expenses.

What Su Xia didn't know was that in her previous life, she went to school in Pucheng. When she was older and could help with housework, her mother went out to work to earn money. Two people earning money is definitely faster than one person, and in addition, Su Xia occasionally tutored Su Yaoche, which prevented Su Yaoche from having such poor grades that no school would accept him when he was about to enter junior high school.

In this life, Su Xia didn't go to the past. Su's mother could only stay at home to take care of Su Yaoche. She herself didn't have much education. At first, she could tutor him, but later she had no idea how to teach him. The family relied on Su's father to earn money, but the industry he worked in was relatively lucrative at first, but later it declined, and it was difficult to even support the family.

So the matter of buying land and building a house was delayed for a long time. My second uncle had asked Su's mother before whether she wanted to buy land, but at that time Su's mother really didn't have that much money, so she asked my second uncle to keep an eye out and talk to her if there was any cheap land.

Su Yue brought back a large pile of meat of unknown origin, along with fruit, drinks, and cooked food. When she returned and saw Su Xia sitting in her seat without moving, she asked, "Sister, aren't you hungry?"

"You've taken so much, what if I go get more? We won't be able to finish it all. Just get me a Coke, I'll grill the meat. We can get more after we finish this."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Su Xia used tongs to place the grilled meat on the grill pan, making a sizzling sound. After a while, she flipped it over, sprinkled it with pepper and barbecue seasoning, and finally added some cumin before it was ready to eat.

Seeing that Su Yue's mouth was practically watering, Su Xia picked up some food and put it in her bowl, saying, "Be careful, it's hot."

"Whoosh, it's so hot. It's really delicious, sis, your cooking is amazing!" Su Yue slurped up the grilled meat while giving Su Xia a thumbs up.

"Eat slowly, you have two hours."

"Uh-huh."

After finishing their meal, Su Yue, patting her round belly contentedly, took an ice pop and walked out with Su Xia. Then she asked Su Xia, "Sis, where do we go next?"

"I'll take you home." Su Xia looked at her phone, checking the route.

"Ah, I don't want to go back." Su Yue's face fell instantly, and she said with a worried expression.

"Where are you going if you don't go back?" Su Xia asked, glancing at Su Yue.

"Sister, can I sleep with you tonight?" Su Yue leaned close to Su Xia, took her hand, and asked eagerly.

"You've misunderstood me. It's you who wants to go back, not me who wants to go back," Su Xia said coldly, pulling her arm away from Su Yue's.

"But if my mom smells like barbecue on me when I get back, I'll definitely get a beating." Su Yue tugged at her clothes with some difficulty; she could smell it as soon as she stepped out of the store.

"If you don't go back, where will you get your food allowance for next week?" Su Xia felt that Su Yue would never give up that fifty yuan.

"Mom will have the neighbor bring it to me," Su Yue said casually.

"Is it that auntie you mentioned who's jealous that your grades are better than her daughter's?" Su Xia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, that's her. She goes back home every weekend. I told my mom I was going to work part-time to earn money, so she didn't force me to go back. Otherwise, the fare would be a lot of money." Su Yue really didn't want to go back home to do housework, endless laundry, and cooking. She preferred to stay at school.

"Do you really want to leave the Su family?" Su Xia asked Su Yue earnestly.

"Really." Su Yue nodded seriously, looking at Su Xia with anticipation.

"So what are your thoughts or plans now?" Su Xia asked, ignoring the expectation in her eyes.

"I...I don't know." Su Yue's mind went blank when she was asked that question.

“If you only have this idea but no plan, you will definitely not succeed. Don’t pin your hopes on others. They can help you once or twice, but they can’t help you every time.” Su Xia felt it was necessary to let Su Yue know the current situation so that she wouldn’t keep pinning her hopes on her.

“But I really don’t know. That’s why I came to you. You successfully escaped the Su family, and I want to learn from your experience.” Su Yue looked at Su Xia shyly.

“I was first in my grade for all six years of elementary school, I was admitted to the top high school in the province through a national competition in junior high, I was in the honors class for all three years of high school, I went to a 985 university, and I have now successfully passed the postgraduate entrance examination. What about you?” Su Xia directly shattered Su Yue’s fantasy and told her not to have unrealistic ideas.

"What should I do?"