“Zhi Xin, I’ve told you since you were little to keep your feet on the ground. Only when you have real ability can you stand firm in this world. But you always love to take shortcuts. Do you really think everyone else is a fool and doesn’t know when you’re trying to trick them?”
“Even if you manage to fool others, can you fool yourself? You know best how much effort you put in. It’s clearly only thirty percent, so why do you insist you gave eighty percent? And then when someone else gives eighty percent, you always feel like they only gave thirty.”
“And look at the result. You see it now. Zhi Qiu is the lead dancer, Shuang Shuang is the second lead. And you? You got kicked out.”
Bang!
“Get out!”
Kang Zhi Xin couldn’t stand hearing Kang Zhi Miao say these things. She angrily threw the mug she had in her hand toward Kang Zhi Miao and pointed at the hospital room door. “You’re not my sister! You get out of here!”
“Right, right, right. Since we were little, you’ve only ever seen the good in others, never the good in me. No matter how well I do, you’re never satisfied. So fine, why should I even try to do that well anymore?”
“Thirty percent isn’t good enough, and eighty percent still isn’t good enough. What’s the difference? Why should I bother giving eighty percent? I’ll just give thirty percent. At least I won’t be tired.”
“Me getting kicked out? I bet you’re the happiest one about it, aren’t you?”
“If there’s anyone in this world who wants me to fail, who wants me to be miserable, it’s you!”
“You’re better than me at everything. You love it when people say I’m not as good as you. Ever since we were little, every time you heard something like that, you were secretly laughing inside, weren’t you?”
“The neighbors say it, the leaders in the art troupe say it too. I tried hard, but no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t measure up to you!”
“You married the commander’s son, your life is perfect. I said I wanted to marry the commander’s son too, and you gave me all kinds of excuses, even saying my ambitions are as high as the sky but my fate is as thin as paper.”
“Why do you get to have that kind of luck, and I don’t? What am I lacking compared to you?”
“I’m younger than you now, and prettier than you. Let me tell you, Kang Zhi Miao, I will marry the commander’s son. You just wait and see.”
Kang Zhi Xin’s words were like arrows, piercing into Kang Zhi Miao one after another.
For the first time in her life, she felt the pain of a thousand arrows stabbing through her heart.
So this was how it was. All her good intentions, all her heartfelt efforts, in Kang Zhi Xin’s eyes, they were nothing but malice.
“Zhi Xin, if that’s how you feel, then I wish you all the best. I hope you get what you want.”
Kang Zhi Miao turned and left. Once she was outside the hospital room, she leaned against the wall, and the tears in her eyes finally couldn’t stop themselves from rolling down her cheeks.
She was fourteen years older than Kang Zhi Xin. Back in those turbulent times, everyone was scared for their own safety.
Their father was drowning in the pain of their mother’s death and the fear that something might happen to him, so he just drank all day long.
Her second and third brothers ran around everywhere every day, taking part in all kinds of activities.
She couldn’t stop them; all she could do was pray that nothing bad would happen to them.
In those days, dance was her only comfort.
By that time, she had already joined the art troupe. But to take care of Kang Zhi Xin, she ran back and forth between home and the troupe every single day.
She was woken up several times each night by Zhi Xin and would make rice porridge for her with her eyes half-closed from exhaustion.
Once, she was so sleepy that she almost fell face-first into the boiling hot porridge. Luckily, she tripped on something and fell to her knees instead.
That’s how she got the injury on her knee. She had already been confirmed to perform in an upcoming show, but because of this, she was replaced.
The troupe leader said her physical condition wasn’t ideal. So she thought to herself that hard work could make up for a lack of talent. She was the first one to arrive at the practice hall every day, training two hours longer than everyone else.
Later, afraid that something might happen again, she forced herself to practice while making the porridge. When she got tired, she’d prick herself with a needle somewhere not too noticeable.
With that kind of perseverance, she finally achieved her goal of becoming the lead dancer. And it was during a performance that Xu Xun noticed her.
Xu Xun was ten years older than her, and by then, she was already twenty-four.
She had been in a relationship with a man who played the trumpet in the troupe, but when they were about to get married, his family found out about her situation and absolutely refused to agree, so they broke up.
She couldn’t get over it for a long time, and with all the family issues on top of that, she ended up becoming an ‘old maid.’
Xu Xun had been married before. His first wife was a signal corps soldier. They lived apart for a long time and had no children. Later, she died in a flash flood. It was several more years before he started looking for someone new, and that’s when he found her.
I heard they were childhood sweethearts, grew up together, and had a very close bond.
Xu Xun treated her fairly well, but in some ways, he was very domineering. He just wouldn’t listen to her opinions at all.
And early on, the Xu family all looked down on her. Especially her sister-in-law, Xu Wan. Her personality was particularly difficult to deal with; she wasn’t easy to get along with at all.
Her family didn’t know any of these hardships. She never told anyone outside about them either. Everyone just saw that she had married the commander’s son.
She cried the whole way home. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. If she hadn’t cried it out, she wouldn’t have even realized how much suffering she had truly endured.
Seeing that the Xu family home was just ahead, just across the intersection, Kang Zhi Miao got out of the car and used her handkerchief to wipe away her tears.
The wind had picked up. Her face felt very dry, and her eyes were terribly uncomfortable. She knew without looking that they must be red.
Just as she was thinking about how she would explain things to the Xu family when she got home, she heard arguing coming from inside.
She forgot about everything else and hurried back. When she entered the living room, she saw Xu Wan smashing things.
Just like Kang Zhi Xin, Xu Wan had also been spoiled rotten by her family.
Right now, her heart was set on Chen Can, and nothing her family said could change her mind.
Originally, Kang Zhi Miao had thought, since Xu Wan had liked Chen Can for so many years, maybe they should just let her have her wish.
She had to admit, she also had her own selfish reasons. She hoped that by helping with this, her relationship with Xu Wan might improve a little.
Of course, she also hoped Xu Wan would get married and move out as soon as possible, because she really couldn’t handle her strange temperament much longer.
Xu Wan wouldn’t say anything overtly rude. If she did, that would almost be easier, because a family like the Xus wouldn’t tolerate such bad manners, and at least Kang Zhi Miao would be in the right. But Xu Wan was the type to give strange looks and say strange things. You couldn’t quite point out a specific fault, but she just made you feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Especially sometimes when she and Xu Xun had any kind of intimate moment, Xu Wan would start making snide, sarcastic comments.
After that, Kang Zhi Miao actively kept her distance from Xu Xun. If he tried to put his arm around her, she would dodge, afraid of provoking Xu Wan.
But that made Xu Xun misunderstand and think she was avoiding him. Because of this, their relationship had problems for a while.
Things only got a little better after their son, Xiao Rui, was born.
“Zhi Miao, quick, stop her!”
Xu Wan was about to run out. Xu Xun saw Kang Zhi Miao just outside the door and called out to her.
Snapping out of her memories, Kang Zhi Miao spread her arms to block Xu Wan. Who would have thought that Xu Wan was holding a knife? She stabbed it straight into Kang Zhi Miao’s stomach.
It took a moment for the pain to register. Kang Zhi Miao touched the spot with her hand and saw it covered in blood. She was terrified.
Xu Xun didn’t bother chasing after Xu Wan. He quickly took Kang Zhi Miao to the hospital.
The knife hadn’t hit any vital spots, but she still needed a minor surgery.
When the anesthesia wore off, Kang Zhi Miao woke up from the pain.
Remembering what had happened, she was still trembling with fear.
