Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Unexpected Trouble

During lunch break, right after they had finished eating, Luo Qianqian and He Wenyu were leaning on the desk, talking about the animated film from yesterday.

”Qianqian, someone is looking for you,” Zhang Sheng pointed towards the classroom door, saying, ”It’s a young girl.”

”Who is it?” Luo Qianqian’s face was full of curiosity. If someone was looking for her, they could come in directly; what were they doing outside? With curiosity in her heart, Luo Qianqian stepped out of the classroom.

”Zhang Jingjing?” Luo Qianqian looked at the girl leaning against the door, head bowed, and called out in surprise, ”What are you doing here? Are you looking for me?” Seeing no other familiar faces outside, Luo Qianqian approached Zhang Jingjing, but her expression was guarded.

”Luo Qianqian, you came,” Zhang Jingjing lifted her head to glance at Luo Qianqian then lowered it again, ”Everyone says you’re smart. I don’t know what to do anymore, can you help me?”

Even though it was just a fleeting moment, Luo Qianqian still saw the tear streaks on Zhang Jingjing’s face, her eyes swollen and bloodshot, and she asked in astonishment, ”What happened to you?”

”You hate me too, don’t you?” Zhang Jingjing leaned against the wall and slowly squatted down, ”I don’t like myself either, I don’t know how I ended up like this,” she said as sobs intermittently shook her small frame.

”Um... what exactly happened to you?” Even if she really didn’t like her, she couldn’t just say it outright under these circumstances. If it were truly her younger self, disliking someone usually meant walking away upon sight.

”Does my mom look pretty?” Zhang Jingjing didn’t seem to wait for Luo Qianqian’s response, continuing on her own, ”My mom came to our house last year. I didn’t like her initially, feeling that this woman was definitely after our money. But later, mom was really good to me, better than my own mother ever was. She never scolded me; she gave me everything good, and I could have as much pocket money as I wanted. I slowly accepted her because having such a mom didn’t seem so bad. My dad saw we got along well, so he trusted her more and handed the household to her, and she was completely in charge of my affairs. Normally, having a mom who never scolds me should make me happy, right? But things started to change last week,” Zhang Jingjing looked at Luo Qianqian, each blink shedding a tear the size of a soybean.

Luo Qianqian frowned, having always felt that woman was too young; so she was the stepmother.

”Last week, I saw mom cuddling with a man at home. I was supposed to go to a hobby class, but I felt unwell at the last minute and didn’t go. After I saw that, I didn’t let my mom notice me, and I went to class. When I got home, I asked who that man was, and mom’s face changed. She asked what I had seen.” Zhang Jingjing pursed her lips, trying to keep her voice steady as she continued, ”I didn’t say anything, but that night mom complained to dad that I had become more disobedient, unreasonable, and that I lied and bullied my classmates. Dad didn’t quite believe her as I had always been an exceptionally well-behaved child, so he just advised her, no, advised that woman to teach me well since I am still young. Then, last weekend, the same weekend you went to the competition, she found out she was pregnant. The ultrasound showed it’s most likely a boy, and dad was very happy; I was too since I would have someone to play with, seeing how you have a brother made me quite envious.” Zhang Jingjing wiped the tears on her face with her sleeve and used a tissue, which had been used on her nose countless times, to dab at her nose which had now swollen like a clown’s.

”Give me a tissue,” Luo Qianqian stuck her head back into the classroom and stretched out her hand to a classmate sitting in the front row. After receiving the tissue, she handed it to Zhang Jingjing, ”Clean yourself up.”

”The next day after I got back home, she fell to the ground just as dad was about to come home. I hurried over to help, worried about the little brother, and then I heard dad opening the door. She yelled at me loudly, ’Ming Tian I’ll just go abort the child, okay? Afterward, mom will only love you, so stop pushing mom.’ When dad entered, he saw her continuously backing away, covering her stomach, tears streaming down her face as she looked at me, and I maintained a gesture that in dad’s eyes, might have seemed like I was pushing her. Dad slapped me, told me to get out, her complaining the whole time about stomach pain and wanting to abort the child. Dad then took her to the hospital.” Zhang Jingjing wiped her tears with a hopeless look and continued, ”I didn’t go home this weekend, ate out on my own. I was worried but didn’t know which hospital they went to, and I was scared to go in case dad hit me. Just now, dad came to school, talked with Teacher Wang and my classmates about how I have been doing, slapped me in front of the class saying I am ’wicked and evil-minded at such a young age, scheming against my own little brother,’ but I really didn’t do it,” she said as tears started to fall again, ”What do I do?”

The coddled stepdaughter? Luo Qianqian uncertainly said, ”Your stepmother, is she ’killing you with kindness’?” That explains all the weirdness from before.

”’Foster to kill’?” Jingjing, lost in confusion, stared at Luo Qianqian, not understanding the term.

”I don’t know if I’m right, just listen first.” Luo Qianqian gathered her thoughts, took a deep breath, and continued, ”Did your stepmother start being extraordinarily nice to you, showering you with affection and supporting everything you do, even when you knew it was wrong? Then raised you to become the spoiled, unreasonable, and domineering person you are today?” Luo Qianqian knew her words could hurt Jingjing’s self-esteem, but she thought it was better for Jingjing to face the reality.

”... She did support me.” After listening to Luo Qianqian, Jingjing, already teary-eyed and red-nosed, blushed even at the ears. It took her a moment before she said, ”Before you, when I was unhappy that a classmate had better grades than I, I secretly tore up his workbook. I knew it was wrong but felt like I should always be the best, and no one else could surpass me. That’s also why, when you came, I disliked you all.”

”What do you think now? Even though you know the truth and your dad doesn’t believe you, you’re still helpless,” Luo Qianqian said with a shrug and a helpless look, ”Either you keep your head down, behave, and be a good kid, or you find a way to expose her true face.”

”Whether the child in her belly is your dad’s may still be uncertain.” He Wenyu emerged from the back door, ”You were speaking too loudly, it’s not like I was eavesdropping.”

Luo Qianqian gave He Wenyu a disgruntled look. What kind of show was this now, even discussing whether the child was the biological father’s?

”Ah? Not my dad’s? But didn’t they get married? How could it not be my dad’s?” Jingjing’s astonished voice echoed in the hallway. Luo Qianqian felt her face blush as the surrounding eyes looked over, definitely not the right time to explain genetics and ’environmental’ influences to Jingjing.

”Yes, it’s like this—A child is born, if it looks like your dad, then it’s a genetic issue; if it looks like your uncle whom you have seen, then it’s an environmental issue,” Luo Qianqian said as her gaze drifted aimlessly, unable to believe she was the one making such a cold joke.

”It’s about cheating, mistresses, affairs, you’re speaking so vaguely, who can understand? You should read more novels and comics,” He Wenyu bluntly explained.

Luo Qianqian looked at He Wenyu speechlessly; was it really okay to be so straightforward? He had just revealed his comic-reading habits, and if his stepmom found out, his behind would be in trouble. She then turned to Jingjing and asked, ”So, why did you come to see me exactly?”

”Isn’t it because everyone says you’re clever?” Jingjing sat squatting in the corner with her arms crossed, twiddling her fingers and looking down. Luo Qianqian, looking up, could just make out her uneasy eyes, ”I wanted you to help me come up with a plan.”

”I don’t know if my idea will work, but the first thing is, you must change your ’self-centered’ personality. Can you do that?” Luo Qianqian frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest, supporting her chin with her other hand and asked gloomily.

”If I couldn’t, who would come to see you?” Jingjing’s voice, quiet as a mosquito, reached Luo Qianqian’s ears, making Luo Qianqian smile.