Chapter 6 - 006 Besties from a Past Life

"Poor Tian Sisi had only received the original owner's memories for about ten days; how could she remember who this girl was? She was about to laugh and politely say a few words when Donghua whispered beside her: "Sister, don't play with Zhong Yuying, she always tricks you out of your things. The hair flower on her head was tricked away from you, and that hair flower was specially brought back from the province by Uncle, there were only four in total." Donghua didn't like Zhong Yuying at all, always using sweet words to trick Sister out of her money and possessions. It was only because Sister was naive that she always regarded her as a good friend, treating Zhong Yuying even better than she treated him and his brother. Donghua anxiously looked at Tian Sisi—would Sister leave them again to play with Zhong Yuying? "Zhong Yuying!" That name sounds so familiar. Didn't Zhu Ai Qing just ask me to learn from her during breakfast? That's right, isn't Zhong Yuying the one who later stole the original owner's man and company? Tian Sisi finally remembered why the name was so familiar. She looks quite pretty indeed. So, Zhong Yuying has had the habit of stealing from the original owner since childhood, what a silly girl. And she was her close friend? Humph, I am not the fool Tian Zhaodi. What you ate of mine, you'll have to spit it out. I'll let go of the past, but what's in front of me now must be taken back. Tian Sisi pouted and said, "Zhong Yuying, I am now Tian Sisi, as in 'miss.' Don't call me Tian Zhaodi anymore, got it?" "Zhaodi, why did you suddenly change your name?" Zhong Yuying was extremely surprised. There was something different about today's Tian Sisi, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. In front of Tian Sisi, she only had a nice name that could outshine Tian Zhaodi. Every time she called her Zhaodi, she felt a sense of superiority. A peasant will always be a peasant, even the name carries a hint of mud. "Call me Tian Sisi, do you have a bad memory? Right, give me back the hair flower you wore on your head, it's been a full month now." Tian Sisi's tone was not very nice, she was now a pampered little princess, thus there was no need to be polite. "Ah? Zha... Sisi, didn't you say you gave them to me?" Zhong Yuying was obviously not expecting Tian Sisi would ask for the hair flowers back. Those two hair flowers had made her stand out for a whole month, what does it mean to ask for them back now? When has she ever returned anything she took from Tian Zhaodi? "When did I say I gave them to you? They were specially bought for me by my Uncle, I myself only have four, but since there was nothing on your head, I lent them to you for a few days. Who knew that you wouldn't return them even as the year is about to end." By then, quite a few people were holding basins and coming to the river to do laundry, and hearing the argument between the two girls, Tian Sisi and Zhong Yuying, stopped curiously. Upon hearing Tian Sisi's words, a girl loudly mocked: "Zhong Yuying, don't shame the Zhong family! Borrowing things from others and not knowing to return them, do you deserve to wear such beautiful hair flowers?" That girl was Zhong Meiying, the daughter of Zhong Yuying's uncle. Zhong Yuying's family were middle farmers, while Zhong Meiying's family were poor lower-middle farmers. The two families usually didn't interact much, and Zhong Meiying always disliked Zhong Yuying for taking advantage of Tian Sisi, often mocking her. Tian Sisi smiled friendly at Zhong Meiying, which excited her immensely. In the eyes of the girls of Yuequan Village, Tian Sisi was like a princess out of a fairy tale, envied and admired, yet someone they wanted to approach. Tian Sisi had been indifferent to her before under the instigation of Zhong Yuying, but now she was actually taking the initiative to be nice to her, which made Zhong Meiying very happy, challenging Zhong Yuying with a sneer. The others also chimed in, urging Zhong Yuying to return the hair flowers to Tian Sisi. One was the granddaughter of an anti-Japanese revolutionary, with a notable lineage; the other was a lagging individual from a middle farmer family—everyone unanimously leaned towards Tian Sisi. Zhong Yuying's face turned ashen and green, her hands tightly holding the basin, blood seeping from the cracked edges. Although she was from a middle farmer family, she was always sweet-talking and sociable, well-liked in the village, but when had she ever lost face like this? "Tian Zhaodi, the humiliation you brought me today, I will surely reclaim it one day," Zhong Yuying vowed in her heart. However, she made a sad face and said, "Sisi, I wanted to return them to you, but you haven't been out recently, and I couldn't find you. I thought since we were so close, wearing them a few more days wouldn't matter, I didn't expect you to be upset. I'm sorry, please don't be mad." Zhong Yuying, while speaking, took off the flower in her hair and handed it to Tian Sisi, "Wow, this girl is incredible, only about 10 years old and already so manipulative, making herself look so humble that others might think they're bullying her! No wonder the original owner was so devastated by her, but now I am Tian Sisi, and I'm not going to be charmed by your sweet words!" Tian Sisi took the hair flower and put it into her pocket, seeing the disbelief in Zhong Yuying's eyes made Tian Sisi extremely proud, thinking I'd be embarrassed? Hmph, I'll definitely take the flower back. "I was sick, weren't I? Couldn't you have brought the flower to my house? And you call yourself my best friend. I was bedridden for about ten days, and you didn't come to see me once, hmph, and I thought I treated you so well, what an ingrate!" Tian Sisi decided to distance herself from this viper, she couldn't outplay someone as scheming as her, better to keep a respectful distance, and this was a good reason to cut ties with Zhong Yuying. "Right, after taking so much from Zhaodi, not even bothering to visit when Zhaodi is sick, truly heartless," Zhong Meiying chimed in, never missing a chance to pick on her cousin. "I, I, I really couldn't spare the time, I was actually planning to visit you today, I didn't expect you to be well already," Zhong Yuying stammered her explanation, but it was too feeble to be believed. Zhong Yuying didn't expect Tian Sisi to take not visiting her so seriously; she usually wasn't one to fuss over such a small matter. Definitely, someone must have been filling her ears with nonsense, otherwise, Tian Sisi wouldn't have turned against her. Who could it be? Which bastard? Zhong Yuying first suspected Zhong Meiying, who was making the biggest scene just earlier, thinking Zhong Meiying could cozy up to Tian Sisi by pulling her down. What a fantasy, that silly girl Tian Sisi, just give her a few days to cool off, sweet-talk her a bit, and she'd be wagging her tail by my side again, Zhong Yuying was confident. Now that she knew the reason Tian Sisi was upset was her absence, she knew how to appease her, having such a fool by her side would definitely make her own life much easier. "Sisi, I'm really sorry, don't be angry, blame me, I'll go wash clothes, you go have fun with Donghua and Qinghua," Zhong Yuying said pitifully before hurrying off towards the river. Tian Sisi couldn't be bothered with Zhong Yuying; she wasn't afraid of this woman at all. With her status as Mr. Tian's granddaughter, in Yuequan Village, even if she wanted to strut around, no one would dare object, let alone someone of Middle Farmers status like Zhong Yuying. So she didn't care about Zhong Yuying at all, this lifetime she definitely won't end up with the scumbag the original owner did, nor would she consider Zhong Yuying her best friend. Zhong Meiying gathered her courage to greet Tian Sisi, really wanting to befriend Tian Sisi, "Zhaodi, you shouldn't trust Zhong Yuying, she's very cunning, has more tricks than a honeycomb, never a true word." "Mm, I know, thanks for the heads-up, I won't be playing with her anymore. Oh, and from now on, call me Sisi, the Sisi of 'miss'," Tian Sisi reminded Zhong Meiying with a smile. "Sisi? Tian Sisi, what a nice name, sounds like a Shanghai name, I'll remember it, I'll call you Sisi from now on," Zhong Meiying was somewhat flattered, the princess actually spoke to her. "Could you help spread my new name around the village, so people won't call me Zhaodi anymore, from now on, everyone should call me Sisi, okay?" Tian Sisi thought Zhong Meiying seemed like an enthusiastic and straightforward girl, the right type to make friends with. "Sure, Sisi, don't worry, I'll definitely spread the word," Zhong Meiying didn't mind at all, instead, she felt happy to be able to do something for Tian Sisi. PS: Please recommend and favorite, currently updating twice a day. The female protagonist of this story is not a pushover, but she's also not an overly assertive girl. She has a golden finger, so you can rest easy jumping into this pit. Old Yang already has an upcoming completed novel "Goddess Can Pinch and Calculate".