Sweet Nostalgia of the 80s

Marrying off to Wang Er the fool, once An Shuchao gave his approval, Bai Xue couldn't do anything about it.

Thinking about the good days ahead flying away, she felt upset the entire afternoon.

An Hao's headache was still rather severe. After simply uttering a few words, she turned and went back into the room, lay down on the kang bed, pulled the quilt over her head, and fell asleep again.

When she woke up again, it was already dark.

She got up, washed her face, and walked out after lifting the cotton curtain.

The kitchen fire had been extinguished, and after glancing inside, she went directly to the north room.

The north room was where An Shuchao and Bai Xue lived. They usually ate in this room, which had a small low table in the center already set with food, waiting just for her and her brother, An Ping, who hadn't arrived home yet.

"An Hao, come and eat," Bai Xue greeted her with a smile as soon as she saw her. There wasn't the slightest unhappiness on her face, and with her indifferent attitude, it seemed as if the afternoon's events had never happened.

Since she was acting this way, An Hao didn't give her a dirty look either, but sat down with a grin as well.

She glanced at the food on the table, corn porridge with flatbread and pickles, a meal that was quite a bit worse than usual. Clearly, Bai Xue was annoyed.

Even though the family was poor, it wasn't bad to this extent.

The soup in the bowl was so watery it could reflect a person's image, the flatbread had been reheated several times and changed color, obviously tough and not tasty. The grains of salt on the pickles hadn't been washed off properly, suggesting the meal wouldn't be very good.

An Hao didn't point this out, and the family sat at the table waiting for An Ping.

It was time for him to come home.

Indeed, after a short wait, An Ping came back from a classmate's house where he had been doing homework. As soon as he got home, he threw his backpack aside and sat at the low table without even washing his hands.

"You don't even wash your hands before eating," An Hao frowned and reprimanded him, "Be careful or you'll get sick."

An Ping, a sixteen-year-old lad with thick eyebrows and big eyes, bore a slight resemblance to An Hao. Hearing her say this, he glared: "You always make a fuss over nothing."

Their relationship hadn't been very good anyway. Back when their mother was alive, An Ping was mischievous to an extreme, and An Hao would always scold him, which made him particularly resent her.

After their mother passed away and stepmother Bai Xue entered the house, she quickly noticed that An Shuchao favored sons over daughters.

She skillfully indulged An Ping, always catering to him with the best food and drink. Sure enough, the boy, as witless as she had been in a past life, was easily won over.

Once their father died, An Ping was kicked to the curb without a penny to his name, and he even dared to gamble.

Fortunately, he finally saw the light. When debt collectors came chasing and blocked their door, he stood in front of her, taking a knife to his death.

The blood that spilled everywhere, the regretful look in his eyes as he stared at An Hao before dying, uttering his last words in life: "Sis, I was wrong! It was me who harmed you! I'm sorry,"—the blood and those final words of remorse and tragedy pierced An Hao's eyes and heart.

Even though she had been reborn, the memory of her past life still caused her heart to ache faintly.

In this life, she absolutely wouldn't let her brother be spoiled by Bai Xue into those bad habits of dependence, she would ensure her dear brother trod a different path.

When An Hao came to her senses, Bai Xue was already standing up with a smile, taking a towel from the rack, scooping some hot water from the iron pot on the stove, dunking the towel into it, and handing it to An Ping: "An Ping, your sister is right. Here, wipe your hands."

"Mom is always good to me," An Ping took the towel, wiped his hands carelessly, and handed it back.

"You're spoiling him," An Shuchao said this despite feeling pleased inside. They say stepmothers are heartless, but Bai Xue was an exception, quite good to his own son.

Bai Xue just smiled: "They are all children after all."

An Ping reached out to start eating, but upon seeing only a dish of pickles on the table, his face immediately soured: "Why is our food getting worse and worse? Even pigs eat better than us! I'm growing right now, how can I manage if I don't eat well?"