The Year My Mother Remarried, I Got a Genius Stepsister

When my mother was forty-two, she scored twice and married Uncle Zhou, who was in the building materials business. Everyone said that she had a good life. She had been selling vegetables all her life and could still live in a villa when she reached middle age. I also dragged oil bottles from a village in the city and transformed into the "eldest lady of the Zhou family". On the day of the wedding, I stood in the corner and looked at a room full of wealthy relatives I didn't know. They were wearing my most decent down jacket—39.9 Yuan, bought on Pinduoduo. The cuffs were already balled up. Uncle Zhou's daughter Zhou Yanshu stood in the center of the crowd. At the age of fifteen, she won a gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad and skipped a grade to finish high school. She was praised as a "genius girl" by everyone. I wisely didn't move forward. Then she walked through the crowd and walked up to me. She looked up at me with a very indifferent expression: "Your name is Xu Zhiyi?" "Yeah." "I am Zhou Yanshu." "I know." She was silent for two seconds, then took out a White Rabbit toffee from her pocket and stuffed it into my palm: "It's for you. In this family, you are the only one who has no blood relationship with me." At that time I didn't quite understand what she meant. Until later—— Uncle Zhou's business failed and he started drinking heavily. Every time he got drunk, he would point at my mother's nose and call her "a freeloader." My mother called me with red eyes: "Zhiyi, Mom is fine, your Uncle Zhou is just stressed." A relative of the Zhou family said in front of me: "An outsider is an outsider and cannot be raised well." I endured it. Because my mother said that if you endure it, it will pass, and things will get better. Until that day, Uncle Zhou came home after drinking and pushed my mother to the ground because of a trivial matter. I rushed up to block my mother, and Uncle Zhou raised his hand—— "Crack." A document hit him in the face. Zhou Yanshu stood at the door. He hadn't changed into his school uniform, his schoolbag was thrown on the ground, and he held up a newly printed document in his hand. "Dad," her voice was low, but the whole living room was quiet, "this is the agreement I asked the lawyer to draw up." "First, in case of divorce, Aunt Xu and Xu Zhiyi's alimony cannot be less." "Second, when you recommended Aunt Xu, I have already taken a photo and archived it." "Third - oh yes, I forgot to tell you, I turned sixteen last week." She tilted her head and smiled slightly: "So now I choose the guardian, and Aunt Xu ranks first." The whole place was dead silent. She bent down to pick up the schoolbag on the ground, patted the dust, and then turned to look at me dumbfounded: "Sister, let's go, I'll treat you to a barbecue tonight." That night, she and I sat at a roadside barbecue stall. She was chewing on grilled chicken wings, her mouth was shiny, and she was completely different from the genius girl who was elegant and calm in everyone's eyes. I looked at her and asked, "Why do you want to help me?" She finished chewing the last stick, wiped her mouth, then looked at me like she was an idiot and said: "Because I knew from the toffee you stuffed me back on the wedding day——" "You are too embarrassed to ask for a piece of candy, but you can only endure it when you are wronged." "But in this world, someone has to stand up for you." The smoke from the barbecue stall made my eyes hurt that day. I lowered my head and tears fell on the disposable plate, causing a small splash of oil to splash. I have lived for eighteen years and this is the first time I know what it feels like to be protected. Purpose: Blood is not the only proof of family. Two girls who were pushed together by the calculations of the adult world found their true belonging in each other - family is not who gave birth to whom, but who is willing to stand by your side when the storm comes.