Chapter 4: Sisters

In the evening hours.

Li Lan returned with a basket of pigweed slung over her shoulder.

As expected, she hadn’t escaped the sudden downpour—her soaked clothes clung tightly to her graceful figure, revealing the rounded contours of her upper body and the perfect lines of her lower half.

Zhang Zhiyong barely managed to steal two glances before Li Lan sharply caught him.

She stood motionless, right hand gripping a sickle used for cutting pigweed, its blade still dripping raindrops, fixing him with a deathly stare.

This fool, who claimed to fear nothing—not even wolves on the mountain or dogs on the ground—was terrified of beautiful girls.

And the more beautiful the woman, the more he feared her. It was truly bizarre.

Precisely because of this flaw, in his past life, this idiot suffered greatly at the hands of women.

Unable to withstand Li Lan’s fierce aura—having been beaten by her since childhood—Zhang Zhiyong could not escape the childhood terror, his heart trembling, and chose to flee.

Li Heng called from behind: “Old Yong, it’s almost dinner time—have a meal before you go.”

Zhang Zhiyong bolted out the door, trembling, not even turning back: “Eat? Screw that—my life’s at stake!”

Zhang Zhiyong fled, leaving only the two siblings staring at each other in stunned silence.

Though Li Heng and Li Lan were biological siblings, their childhood relationship was far from harmonious.

Living under the same roof, they often went days without speaking.

The reason was simple: ever since childhood, she believed her mother, Tian Rune, favored boys over girls, always letting her brother eat first when there was good food.

When there was plenty, Li Heng didn’t finish it all, so she could still scavenge a bite at the end; but when there was little, she could only sit there, glaring helplessly.

Over time, her inner fury exploded completely.

If Tian Rune was home, Li Lan would deliberately provoke Li Heng into cursing, then beat him soundly as if it were only natural.

If their parents were away? She didn’t even bother pretending—she’d find any excuse and start beating him.

Li Heng wasn’t one to take abuse either—he naturally fought back, but it was useless.

Because girls grow faster, and Li Lan was older, there was always a height gap between them—he was always brutally crushed, enduring endless suffering inside.

This went on for years until she entered middle school, when she finally began to tone it down.

But due to the weak sibling bond formed in early years, they remained strangers throughout their entire middle school years.

Back then, he didn’t understand why his second sister always bullied him.

Only when he grew up did he realize: outside Shangwan Village, his second sister was always poised, tactful, and emotionally intelligent; but before their mother, her greatest wish was to receive the same maternal love he got.

Yet in this era of feudal thinking, in this remote, impoverished backwater, how difficult was it to obtain equal love?

Even now, in her fifties, she sometimes still brought it up to complain.

The turning point in their relationship came after college graduation, around 1996.

At that time, Li Heng, working in the city, wanted to buy a house and settle down, but his funds were tight and he couldn’t manage it.

Later, Li Lan heard the news, packed a black bag, took a train, and delivered 80,000 yuan to him.

This was 80,000 yuan in 1996—a fortune for most families!

And this fortune came from his second sister!

It relieved his immediate crisis and struck deep into his heart.

In his past life, Li Heng had always sought an opportunity to repay her, but she refused to accept it.

Only on her 35th birthday, drunk, did she murmur to him: “I’m sorry I hurt you as a child—it was my fault.”

Past memories flashed through his mind like a film—his heart had long since healed—and Li Heng spoke up:

“Second sister, go change your clothes—it’s cold, don’t catch a chill.”

???

A row of question marks floated on Li Lan’s forehead; she stared at Li Heng sideways, silently wondering:

What nerve is this kid on today, actually speaking to me?

Did I beat him stupid?

Or did years of relentless beatings somehow forge affection?

Didn’t he always turn away and pretend not to see me before? Why is he suddenly showing concern?

This scene was like a iron tree blooming—a first in history. Li Lan felt something was off, but couldn’t pinpoint what.

After observing him for a while and seeing his expression was genuine, she softened, her coldness fading, and asked: “Why did Mom and Dad go next door?”

Li Heng replied: “Uncle Chen came over in person to invite them.”

Li Lan turned her head, glaring at him like he was an idiot: “Mom suffered so much humiliation from the Chen family—how can you still call him ‘Uncle Chen’?”

Wow, that attack was sharp!

This was truly the second sister he knew—hating evil, loving good, holding grudges against anyone who ever wronged the Li family for life.

But in his past life, Chen Gaoyuan had always treated him well—he simply couldn’t bring himself to call him by his first name like his sister would.

Seeing her brother stay silent, Li Lan sneered, her tongue sharp: “Weakling gives birth to weakling—a whole nest of spineless cowards!”

Li Heng was speechless—now she’d insulted even their own parents.

By the time Li Lan emerged from her bath, he had already measured the rice and started cooking.

With their parents away and no one to stop him, Li Heng, starved for meat after so long, gritted his teeth and sliced off half a pound of fatty pork.

These days he’d been eating nothing but sweet potato rice and corn—his throat hurt, nutrition was nonexistent, and he was constantly weak from hunger, starving every other day.

He washed the pork, sliced it into translucent thin pieces, and stir-fried it with smoked bamboo shoots and garlic greens into a full bowl.

This pork was Tian Rune’s treasure—meant for selling, her lifeline—she never dared eat it. She barely touched it all year. Seeing her brother waste it, Li Lan instinctively wanted to stop him.

But she herself was a foodie, more envious of the hanging pork than anyone else—finally, she swallowed hard and surrendered to the mouthwatering aroma.

She was even more ruthless than Li Heng—she bent down, scooped up a handful of soot from the bottom of the pot, and smeared it over the fresh, pale cut.

That way, it wouldn’t look suspicious.

Still not satisfied, she climbed onto the stove, moved the shortened piece of pork to a dimmer corner, and replaced it with a larger piece in front.

“The Chen family slaughtered a pig—they’ve got meat to eat. We’re studying hard, so a little won’t hurt.”

She jumped off the stove, muttering to herself—as if comforting herself, or perhaps speaking to Li Heng.

Li Heng understood: this sister never wasted words—her goal was to unify their front, avoid exposure.

According to her plan, they had to at least hold out until school started.

Once they vanished into the school, far from their mother’s reach, even if Tian Rune found out, she couldn’t do a thing.

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(End of chapter)