Chapter 3: Correcting Big Sister's Attitude

These words sounded very wrong.

Stopping in her tracks, she looked at the little girl who had her head bowed, seemingly lost in thought: "Why would you say that?"

"It's nothing," Pandi replied curtly.

Ding Xuewei raised an eyebrow: This was a classic case of "guilty conscience."

As if afraid she would discover something, the little girl kept her head down, refusing to look up at her.

After a moment's thought, fearing that if this child were hiding something it might affect her future, Ding Xuewei first led her to the edge of the hill. Only after observing the waterline again and confirming that the floodwaters were not rising did she begin to guide her patiently.

"Our parents are gone. As your eldest sister, I have the responsibility to raise you. If one day someone told me that my younger siblings were bullied because of my negligence, I think I would feel very terrible!"

As long as there was food, unless they absolutely had to rush to find the eldest daughter of the Ding family, they could stay on this hill until the flood receded.

But no matter how urgent things were, one could not ignore a child's psychology.

"Pandi, you must believe in your eldest sister. I have never thought of letting you get hurt or anything like that!"

Facing her eldest sister's melancholy mood, Pandi's previously relaxed heart tightened again.

After a long time, once she was certain her eldest sister truly wanted to know, she gripped the blades of grass at her feet and said slowly, "That time... after you scolded me, I tested things a few times and discovered that Third Aunt isn't what we thought she was!"

"Which time was that?" Ding Xuewei was bewildered.

She did not possess the original host's memories, and this statement contained a significant amount of information.

Ding Xuewei felt a bit nervous—not because the original host had scolded the little girl, but because of the girl's differing perception.

"How is Third Aunt not what we thought she was?"

Facing her eldest sister's interrogative tone and serious expression, Pandi jumped up suddenly like a cat that had stepped on its tail: "If you don't believe me, why are you asking me?"

Startled by Pandi's agitated emotions, Ding Xuewei: "......"

Realizing she had frightened her sister, she took several deep breaths in succession and then slowly sat down.

Just when Ding Xuewei thought she wouldn't speak again, her awkward yet irrepressible, indignant voice rang out.

"I heard Wanxin's grandmother teaching Third Aunt how to endure us that time."

"Wanxin's grandmother teaching Third Aunt to endure us?" The word "endure" made Ding Xuewei feel it was inconceivable.

Wanxin, the eldest daughter of the third branch, was the cousin who got along best with the female supporting antagonist.

Wanxin's grandmother was the mother-in-law of Ding the Third, and the maternal aunt of the second branch's daughter-in-law in the Ding family.

The second branch's daughter-in-law and the third branch's daughter-in-law were cousins.

The main storyline of the book focused on the female lead; the antagonist, as the second female lead, didn't have many depictions regarding her family members.

However, the Ding family's role in assisting the antagonist against the female lead appeared very frequently in the novel, so the family members and their relationships were quite clear.

The Ding family had five sons and one daughter.

Except for the eldest son, Ding Wenbo, who was born to the legal wife, the remaining four sons and one daughter were all born to the second wife, Lady Li.

Lady Li was thirteen years younger than Grandpa Ding. Coming from a farming family, she ate well after entering the Ding household and possessed a robust constitution. After the eldest son was born, she gained her husband's recognition through her talent for bearing two children in three years. After she married off the children of the second marriage to suitable wives, she received her husband's sincere treatment.

Holding full control over the Ding family, Lady Li never let her husband worry. She didn't force the children to study if they had no interest, having arranged matches for them early on.

None of the wives in the various branches of the Ding family came from good backgrounds, but each was sensible and understood the principle of shared prosperity and shared ruin. In the matter of helping the antagonist, they were all serious and diligent.

How could someone who would remember a debt of gratitude as large as a doorplate be cold-blooded toward the immediate kin who treated her sincerely?

Aside from blaming them for not protecting the second sister and the younger brother, there must be something else!

As her mind raced, Ding Xuewei gently rubbed the girl's head: "It's not that your eldest sister doesn't believe you, but rather that she is a bit surprised. Usually, Third Aunt is so good to us!"

"She is so good to us only for the sake of our landholdings." This statement by Ding Xuewei was a huge provocation to Pandi; her hard-won calm began to fluctuate once more.

"Eldest sister, I wasn't lying to you then. Wanxin's grandmother really did tell Third Aunt to learn from Second Aunt and Grandma. Wanxin's grandmother really said that only if we knew Third Aunt treated us better than Second Aunt would we feel safe handing over the land Grandpa left us to her to manage after he dies. Once the land Grandpa left us siblings falls into Third Aunt's hands, whether we siblings end up round or flat will be up to her to knead..."

As if remembering something, tears welled up in those beautiful phoenix eyes.

She wiped the tears sliding down the corners of her eyes with a resentful force, gritted her teeth, and continued word by word: "I clearly heard it clearly that day, yet you wouldn't let me tell Grandpa and Grandma. I was scared in my heart, so later I often went to eavesdrop on Third Aunt.

I never intended to steal money at all, but those two times she caught me, she said I wanted to steal her money. Before everyone could hear her hitting me, I wanted to expose her scheme, but she said if I dared tell Grandpa and Grandma those words, she would take my little brother and give him to a kidnapper~"

Ding Xuewei, who only knew that Pandi held resentment toward her family for failing to protect her brother, and only knew that Pandi held a grudge against Lady Li because her twin sister had been worn down to death by her husband's family, was stunned: "......"

As expected, her twisted personality did not happen overnight.

With her current personality of being grateful for kindness, the only way she could watch her family die with eyes wide open was if there was a high probability that these family members were not as good to her as they appeared on the surface.

Only someone who was lost in childhood and returned with dazzling brilliance... or someone who was poisoned by mushrooms... would speak harshly to a side consort of a Prince's mansion!

Having read many novels, Ding Xuewei had a lot of feelings regarding people who were one way on the surface and another behind people's backs.

Behind every reborn female lead, there was always a best friend or relative who was a master of pretense!

It was obvious that this Step-Grandmother and the two aunts were not simple people. The parts not detailed in the novel were the key points of how the antagonist would drag them down.

"I'm sorry." Ding Xuewei sincerely apologized to Pandi on behalf of the original host.

The word "steal" was a malicious term for a child, no matter what world it was.

She hadn't believed her sister before; how could she believe now that her sister hadn't intended to steal!

She was not the original host, but she had taken over everything the original host had; therefore, she had a responsibility to resolve the historical issues left behind.

As someone with a spatial dimension, she could not allow herself to be ruined at the hands of the protagonist's antagonist sister!

Regarding the male lead, the sense of awe Ding Xuewei maintained was comparable to that of her own ancestors.

Thinking of that massive space whose end was unknown, Ding Xuewei's attitude became even more sincere: "I'm sorry. Your eldest sister shouldn't have relied only on her eyes, and she certainly shouldn't have misunderstood you."

"...It's okay." Holding back tears, Pandi managed to squeeze out those three words.

Relaxing her facial expression, Ding Xuewei stated: "From now on, your eldest sister will look with her heart and will not be deceived by surface phenomena."

"Okay." Pandi nodded through sobs.

After suppressing it for a moment, Ding Xuewei couldn't help her inner curiosity: "If your eldest sister misunderstood you so much and didn't believe you so much, why are you still so good to her?"

"Ugh~" The girl suddenly broke down, throwing herself into Ding Xuewei's arms: "You are my eldest sister, you are my eldest sister!"

(End of Chapter)