Chapter 63: Thunderstorm
Mu Kaizhu said Tang Wu had always bullied her when they were little, around five or six. Two or three years later, she had fought back forcefully, speaking ill of Tang Wu to their aunts on plenty of occasions. As a result, everyone formed an impression of Tang Wu as someone protected by the Mu family elders, so cold she could cut people, and arrogant about her talents.
When she was thirteen, their third aunt brought her and Tang Wu to Shanghai for the summer vacation and arranged for her to attend school there. Their eldest uncle's daughter, Zheng Yixi, was pretty and popular, but she favored Tang Wu alone. Instead, she disliked the tale-bearing Mu Kaizhu and distanced herself from her, deliberately or otherwise.
Mu Kaizhu had always believed this was the result of Tang Wu bad-mouthing her behind her back, and reported it all to her mother. Their third aunt then angrily summoned Tang Wu and subjected her to cutting sarcasm. She looked less like an adult confronting a child than a woman condescendingly unleashing her worldly instincts to strike at another woman.
Tang Wu never explained herself from beginning to end. Later, when she went to bed that night, she heard their second aunt outside the door, pulling Mu Kaizhu aside and calling her shameless. Why didn't she take a look at what sort of older cousin Tang Wu was, instead of throwing away her dignity to fawn on someone who gave her the cold shoulder? If she wanted respect in the family, she needed to find some way to win it back herself.
Tang Wu pretended to be asleep that night, biting her lip. Her eyes grew a little red, but she never cried.
Later, they all grew up. She and Zheng Yixi