Chapter 14 A Clash Once More 2

“You studied before? How come I never knew that?”

Wei Ci chuckled awkwardly. The original Wei Ci probably hadn’t learned much, but she wasn’t the same—she had the advantage of an extraordinary mother. Although her mother had said that being too unconventional in ancient times wouldn’t do, she had still taught her the essentials.

Things like Chinese, math, and English—Wei Ci had put in real effort into learning them. Her mother once said that her level of knowledge was on par with that of a modern middle schooler.

Looking at Wei Qingfeng, who didn’t show the slightest doubt, Wei Ci pressed her lips together. Toward this brother who truly treated her wholeheartedly, she hadn’t deliberately hidden much.

The rice jar that suddenly filled up with grain, the spice jars that were always topped up, the oil jug that never emptied—Qingfeng wasn’t a fool. In fact, he was very smart. He knew his sister had secrets, but he never pried. If she wanted to tell him, he’d listen. If she didn’t, he pretended to be deaf and dumb. To him, she was simply his sister—his real, blood sister, born from the same mother, whom he had cherished since childhood.

Everyone has their fortunes. His big brother had his, he had his, and naturally, his little sister could too.

“Forget it. Since you already know your studies, then I won’t force you to go to school. But… have you thought about maybe taking the college entrance exam?”

College entrance exam?

Wei Ci tilted her head in confusion. The term sounded oddly familiar.

She thought for a moment and then realized—her mother had once told her some historical facts. She seemed to recall her saying that the college entrance exam had been suspended for ten years… but she couldn’t remember clearly whether it was in ’65 or ’67.

“Brother, what year is it now?”

Wei Qingfeng didn’t overthink it and answered immediately, without hesitation:

“1975, of course. Why?”

Wei Ci was speechless. It was already July of this year. If the exam was held this year or next, her brother—now a second-year high school student—might already have missed it. And if the exam really was suspended next year, then it meant he was destined not to go to college at all.

She looked at him with some pity. He did have a bit of luck on him… but apparently, not much.

“Brother, what will you do if the college entrance exam is suspended next year?”

“How could that happen? If a country stops holding even the college entrance exam, what kind of future would it still have…”

Suddenly, Wei Qingfeng’s words came to an abrupt halt.

He thought of the recent stormy atmosphere at school, the teachers’ uncharacteristic tension, the restless excitement among the students. He fell silent. Even if the exam were still held, in such a turbulent environment, how could anyone focus on studying for it?

The siblings finished their meal in silence. Wei Qingfeng only left behind one sentence—“Stay home and behave”—before leaving like a gust of wind.

Wei Ci sighed. In her past life, she had always sighed because of her charming, troublesome mother. In this life, she sighed because of her second brother. Two lives, and not a single one let her have peace of mind.

Hands on her hips, she glanced at the empty patch of land in the courtyard. Taking out a planting manual from her space, she began selecting seeds, planning to grow some vegetables. Later, she would ask her brother to trade for two chickens to raise. Thinking of this, she glanced at the two scrawny hens clucking in the yard. After a moment’s thought, she waved her hand and sent them into her spiritual spring space. She even set aside a special area just for raising them.

At first, the two hens, startled by suddenly being transported into a different world, puffed up their feathers and clucked in panic. But in the next instant, they sensed the incredibly comfortable aura all around them. They squatted on the ground at once—plop, plop—laying two eggs straight from their behinds.

“Wei Ci, where’s your brother?”

At the gate stood her second aunt, carrying a plump three- or four-year-old boy in her arms. She craned her neck nervously, trying to see whether Wei Qingfeng—the family’s feared troublemaker—was home.

Wei Ci froze mid-sowing, lifted her head, and looked at her second aunt, whose face screamed ill intentions. Pressing her lips into a polite smile, she spoke softly:

“Second Brother isn’t home. Do you need something?”

Her second aunt curled her lip, eyes darting sideways with disdain.

“So now you don’t even greet your second aunt when you see her? Gone off to see the big world, have you? You look down on us poor relatives now?”

In the courtyard, Yuanbao (the little piglet) twitched his ears, catching the faint sound of two neighboring households opening their doors.

Wei Ci’s eyes reddened, her expression flustered. Her voice trembled.

“But… didn’t you sell me off? You said I wasn’t your niece anymore. So why should I still call you Second Aunt?”

Her second aunt stiffened instantly. This was the thing she feared most being brought up. Yet this wretched girl had no scruples about ripping open their dirty laundry in public. Truly, she was her mother Jinmei’s daughter—fox-faced and hateful from head to toe.

“You wretched girl! What nonsense are you spouting! Give back the grain your brother carried off from my house! Can’t you see our Qingbao is starving skinny? Do you two siblings even have a conscience, or are you deliberately trying to starve our Qingbao to death?”

Wei Ci covered her face with a handkerchief, hiding the upward curve of her lips. But the words that came out were tinged with a faint sob, so convincing that the tall men passing by the small road frowned at once.

“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have come back. If I had just obediently let myself be sold off, Brother wouldn’t have gotten angry when he found out you tried to sell me. If you must blame someone, then blame me for being ungrateful. But… we really don’t have much grain at home either. My brother is still growing and there’s barely enough to feed him. If we gave our food to you, then the two of us siblings would starve to death.”

Second Aunt’s eyes bulged, and her words were filled with biting sarcasm:

“And what does it matter to me if you starve? I only want the grain that little bastard Wei Qingfeng carried off from my house!”

“What a mighty tone, Second Aunt!”

A cold, mocking voice cut in.

Second Aunt froze on the spot, cursing endlessly in her heart. That useless Wei Qingmiao! Wasn’t she supposed to keep watch for her, to see if Wei Qingfeng was around? How come he had returned and this dead girl didn’t give her any warning at all?

But when she turned her head, she met a pair of phoenix eyes, sharp and filled with killing intent.

“Ah!” she screamed, almost dropping the boy in her arms.

Dear heavens! Why was this calamity star Wei Qingshan back?!

Wei Qingshan stood there in his green military uniform, a large duffel bag slung in one hand. At nearly 1.9 meters tall, he looked down at her from above. His words sounded calm and even polite, yet they made cold sweat break out on Second Aunt’s forehead, her calves trembling uncontrollably.

“What was it Second Aunt just said? I didn’t quite hear. Could you please say it again?”

Second Aunt’s lips trembled for a long time before she managed to squeeze out a forced, ingratiating smile.

“It was all just a misunderstanding,” she stammered, and clutching her son tightly, she turned tail and ran. Her retreating figure looked as if a ghost were chasing her—she even lost a shoe in her hurry, but didn’t dare stop to pick it up.

Heavens above! The eldest Wei had come home! She needed to hurry to her mother’s place to hide before he found out what they’d done to his sister!

Wei Qingshan watched her flee into the distance before turning his gaze toward the courtyard. There, standing straight and delicate, was a girl with clear, bright eyes and fine features. His expression instantly softened several degrees.

“Ah Ci? Do you still remember me? I’m your eldest brother, Wei Qingshan.”

When he had left, she had only been eight. Now, he had been in the army for eight years, and she should be sixteen. She had grown into a young lady, more and more beautiful, looking very much like their mother.

Wei Ci was dumbstruck. Who could tell her why, just as she had arrived here, this cheap eldest brother who hadn’t been home in eight years suddenly came back? What was she supposed to do?

Go forward and bow? No, that would make her look insane! Reach out for a hug? Impossible! She was too easily embarrassed—even if it was her real brother, she couldn’t.

Suddenly, she was pulled into a warm embrace that smelled faintly of dry tobacco. A gentle hand patted her head, and above her came Wei Qingshan’s low, husky voice:

“Sorry, your big brother came back too late.”

For some reason, Wei Ci’s chest suddenly tightened with sorrow. Huge teardrops welled up and spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Dazed, she touched the icy dampness on her face with her fingers, staring blankly at the clear water shimmering on her fingertips. Looking up at Wei Qingshan’s somewhat familiar brows and eyes, she felt utterly lost.

Was it… the lingering memories of the original body still within her?

Otherwise, why did her heart ache so much right now?

It hurt even more than the first time that scumbag father had beaten her.

“B… Big Brother?”

“I’m here.”

His rough, callused hand gently brushed the tears from her face. Wei Qingshan carefully looked her over, then slowly pushed her back a little. After all, she was now a grown young lady. It was only proper to keep some distance.

“Ah Ci, are you back to normal? Do you still remember your big brother?”

The cold, stern “King of Hell” face was today filled with rare tenderness and patience. The soldiers in green uniforms standing behind him were left dumbfounded. They almost wondered if they had hallucinated on the train. Had they really just seen their iron-blooded commander… smiling?