Chapter 91: Returning to Aunt’s House
Bai Cha took her luggage and went back to her aunt’s house.
She had mainly lived with her aunt before she came of age.
This time, she went back to tell her aunt that she wouldn’t be staying with them anymore and would return to her own home.
Because she needed to find a job.
Her aunt was a good person, but no one liked living under someone else’s roof. After her father passed away, the only inheritance he left was the house.
In today’s intensely competitive society, having a house was already a much higher starting point than others.
But in the eyes of her relatives, it wasn’t safe for a young girl to live alone, and she wouldn’t be able to take good care of herself. So her aunt, as her guardian, had taken her into her own home.
So she had to think about how to tell her aunt.
And… her aunt always avoided talking about her parents’ death.
In fact, she had always had a better memory than others. She had memorized more than two thousand Chinese characters by the age of two; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to get into a key university at the age of sixteen.
With her memory, her childhood and her parents’ lives were quite blurry.
Although people always forget many memories as they grow up.
So Bai Cha hadn’t paid much attention to it before.
But… she could even remember the kindergarten children discussing how big a newborn baby was. Why was her early family life so vague?
In her memory, she had lived quite happily, except after her mother left.
To this day, she didn’t know if her mother had passed away or gone missing. In any case, after so many years, everyone had just accepted it as a death.
Now, being dragged into this game, she had a strange feeling that maybe she had been targeted from the very beginning.
Just like Gu Baixue.
She had been targeted from a very early age until her death.
And the addresses of the two families were so close. Even though they weren’t in the same city, they were too close.
Her aunt’s family lived in the city. When Bai Cha arrived, her aunt was playing mahjong with a group of old friends in the house.
“Aunt, I’m back.”
“Oh, Old Bai, your genius niece is back.”
These aunties were also very familiar with Bai Cha. They had always kept in touch with her aunt. When she was little, Bai Cha had often been surrounded by them.
“Aiyo, Chacha, why are you back?” A smile appeared on her aunt’s face. “You go back to your room first. Take whatever you want to eat. Wait for me to finish this round!”
“Okay,” Bai Cha replied obediently.
Her room wasn’t much different from when she left. There weren’t many things in it.
Taking out the bedding from the closet and making the bed, while listening to the lively sounds outside, Bai Cha took out her laptop.
She had already started applying for jobs.
Her major was computer science, and her current career plan was naturally in this field, although she didn’t actually like it.
But she needed to find a way to earn money first, otherwise how would she eat?
The school had also held job fairs before, but unfortunately, she had been in bed for two days due to health reasons.
“Knock knock—”
Someone knocked on the door, and then it was pushed open.
“Sis, my mom said you’re back and told me to come talk to you.”
It was her aunt’s daughter, Xu Shengsheng.
Three years younger than Bai Cha, seventeen this year, in her second year of high school.
Xu Shengsheng’s face clearly showed displeasure. This wasn’t directed at Bai Cha, but she argued with her aunt every day, so she had probably just been told off.
Bai Cha didn’t need to think to know that her aunt had definitely told Xu Shengsheng, “Go talk to your cousin, learn from her, and improve your grades.”
“Come here,” she smiled gently at her and patted the bed.
Xu Shengsheng sat down. Today was Saturday, and school was off. But she had gone to tutoring in the afternoon and had just returned.
Her expression still showed unhappiness as she complained, “Why does my mom control me? She plays mahjong at home every day and still wants me to study hard!”
“It’s so annoying. I wish I could be as excellent as you. Then I could confidently ignore her.”
Bai Cha listened quietly.
She had heard these kinds of words many times.
She couldn’t say anything. No matter what she said, it wouldn’t be appropriate. If she advised Xu Shengsheng to study, Xu Shengsheng would definitely be unhappy. If she spoke ill of her aunt, she couldn’t do that.
However, the way to usually end this kind of conversation was simple.
“Be content. At least your parents are still alive. I even envy you being able to argue with them every day.”
Xu Shengsheng instantly shut up.
She hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “So every family has its own problems. Actually, I’ve been working very hard to study. I’m just not good at science. Why won’t they let me study humanities? They keep saying the college entrance exam is important, but they won’t let me choose the subjects I’m good at and can get high scores in… Sigh…”
Xu Shengsheng shook her head and sighed as she left.
Bai Cha smiled and watched her go.
Her left wrist suddenly hurt.
She looked down at it. The skin on her wrist showed no changes, and the pain seemed to be just a momentary illusion.
Bai Cha frowned, a bad premonition in her heart.
In the evening.
Bai Cha helped with cooking and brought the dishes to the table.
Her uncle hadn’t returned yet; he was out driving.
Her aunt enthusiastically served Bai Cha food. “Eat more, child. Look how thin you’ve become after going to university. Your chin is so sharp.”
“You came back without saying anything. I could have prepared some good food in advance. But it’s okay, we’ll eat well tomorrow, it’s the same!”
Bai Cha thanked her and ate the dishes she didn’t particularly like.
“Aunt, I had a dream last night,”
Bai Cha said casually.
“I dreamed of my dad.”
Her aunt paused while eating, then continued putting food in her mouth as if nothing had happened. “Why did you suddenly dream of your dad?”
It wasn’t strange for her aunt to ask this. Bai Cha rarely dreamed of her family.
Even if she did, she usually wouldn’t say anything.
“I don’t know, maybe I was homesick…” Bai Cha looked down at the food with a low voice, then looked up at her aunt as if she had mustered her courage. “Aunt, I’m going to start working now. I’m already twenty. I plan to move back to my own house.”
Her aunt looked up at her, frowning. “You’re just a young girl living alone. It’s not safe. If you ask me, you should rent out that house. It could bring in a thousand or two thousand yuan a month. That’s better than anything. Your income will definitely be low when you first start working. This will be enough for you to eat.”
Her aunt had wanted to rent out the house before. But Bai Cha had disagreed, so they had let it go.
Bai Cha really couldn’t accept renting out the house.
Because that was her home, the only place where she could temporarily take off her mask, without having to be obedient and sensible every day like she was now, living under someone else’s roof.
“No, it holds memories of me and my parents,” Bai Cha knew how to refuse her relatives’ good intentions.
As long as the other party had morals, they would definitely be emotionally blackmailed.
Hearing this, her aunt really didn’t know what else to say and sighed. “Alright. Anyway, I’ve been going to clean your place regularly. If you want to move back, these next few days, I’ll have your uncle find some time to help you move your things.”
After a pause, her aunt looked up at Bai Cha, her expression complex. “I know you’re a thoughtful child, and maybe you don’t like hearing what I have to say. But no matter what, I’m your family. Don’t try to be strong-willed.”
“If… I mean, if you encounter anything, you must tell me, okay? I promised your mother.”
Bai Cha was slightly stunned. “My mother?”
Her aunt waved her hand, unwilling to continue the topic. “Eat your food. After you’re done, you can pack your things if you want.”
