Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Xia Xing thought of Xia Wangshi’s strength, ruthlessness, and shamelessness. She felt despair.

  “Cha Cha, it’s easier said than done to leave Grandma.”


  Firstly, it would not be easy to convince her parents. They were used to being enslaved and felt that such a life was normal.

  Secondly, Xia Wangshi had control over their family’s finances. Without money, they would not even be able to eat if they left the family.

  Xia Cha guessed Xia Xing’s worry. She held Xia Xing’s hand and said, “Second Sister, life is so bitter that death might be better. What could be more terrifying than death in this world?”


  Xia Xing bit her lip…… “Living a life worse than death is worse than dying.”


  “So, we have to change!”


  Xia Xing looked at Xia Cha, “How?”


  Xia Cha whispered a few words in Xia Xing’s ear and the latter’s dark eyes slowly lit up.

  She looked at Xia Cha in disbelief. “Is this… really okay?”


  “Of course.”


  “Cha Cha, you’ve changed so much.”


  “After I fell into a coma after my accident, a master showed me the way in my dream.”


  Xia Xing did not doubt Xia Cha’s words.

  Perhaps, it was because of the guidance of that master that Cha Cha had become so smart!

  …


  Since Xia Xing was still missing, Qiu Zhi was about to go crazy.

  Xia Cha hurried to Qiu Zhi’s side. Seeing that Qiu Zhi was about to faint, Xia Cha helped her to the side and whispered in her ear, “Mom, Second Sister has been found.”


  Qiu Zhi widened her eyes. “Really?” She held Xia Cha’s hand tightly. “Has Xing’er really been found?”


  “Yes.” Xia Cha looked at Qiu Zhi and helped her to sit on a pile of grass by the side. “Mom, Second Sister refused to come back with me and she didn’t want you guys to find her. She said that she would only come back if you agreed to one condition of hers. Otherwise, she would rather jump into the river and die!”


  Hearing the word ‘die’, Qiu Zhi tensed up.

  “What does Xing’er want us to promise her?”


  “Leave the Xia family,” Xia Cha said.

  When Qiu Zhi heard those words, her expression froze for a moment.

  It took her a while to react. “I-if we leave, our family will have a harder time. You three might not even be able to go to school anymore.”


  Of course, she wanted to get rid of Xia Wangshi and live alone too. However, the family’s finances were in the hands of Xia Wangshi. Besides, Xia Wangshi was too strong and they did not dare to resist at all.

  Xia Cha took her bag from Qiu Zhi. She opened it and took out the money for Qiu Zhi to see. “Mom, this is the money I earned. I can guarantee that as long as we live alone, we will have a good life in the future. I will earn enough for our school fees and living expenses.”


  “If we don’t leave Grandma and her family, we will always have to rely on their kindness to us. Sister and I don’t want to live that kind of life anymore.”


  “Didn’t Grandma say that she wouldn’t let Sister go to school after the college entrance examination? Grandma even wanted to marry her off. Besides, Second Sister and I might not be able to go to high school after we finish middle school.”


  “Mom, you and Dad work hard for the family every day, but what do you get in return? It’s tough for you, and it’s tough for us too. Don’t you want us to be happy?”


  Qiu Zhi looked at the money Xia Cha took out and frowned. “Cha Cha, where did you get so much money?”


  Xia Cha did not plan to hide it from Qiu Zhi, “Mom, I earned money from singing in Yan City. Don’t be in a hurry to ask how I can earn so much money by singing. Can you listen to me sing first?”


  Xia Cha sang a song softly.

  Hearing Xia Cha’s voice, Qiu Zhi’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

  “Cha Cha, I’ve never heard you sing before. I didn’t know you sang so well.”


  “Mom, when I was unconscious, there was a master who taught me.”


  “Did you really earn all this money by singing?”


  Xia Cha nodded. “It’s a new era now. Our Wenfeng County is still very undeveloped, so it isn’t that modern yet. But this society is the era of the Internet. With a phone and a computer, you can do many things without leaving your house.”


  “Let’s not talk about this for now. Mom, if you really want the three of us to be able to study and be successful in the future, promise me that after you convince Dad to ask Grandma to let us go!”


  Qiu Zhi looked at Xia Cha’s eager and expectant eyes. She was already biased toward Xia Cha.

  Although she did not know if Xia Cha’s singing was reliable or not, even if she could not earn money, the family still had her and Xia Zhenyuan to support them.

  The three children wouldn’t starve to death.

  If she continued to live with Xia Wangshi, her three children might leave her.

  Cha Cha had gotten into a car accident not too long ago, and Xing’er had almost jumped into the river to drown. Xia Wangshi had even planned to marry her Lan’er into the Huo family… In the past, she could endure whatever grievances and bullying she suffered.

  But she could not hurt her three children.

  Tears gathered in Qiu Zhi’s eyes. She raised her hand and wiped her tears, her usually gentle gaze becoming firm. “For the three of you, I have to make up my mind to split from the family!”


  Xia Lan found Xia Cha and Qiu Zhi. When she found out that Xia Xing had been found, she heaved a sigh of relief. Xia Cha had told Xia Lan about the separation of the family. Xia Lan agreed wholeheartedly, “Mom, even if we don’t have money and I can’t go to school anymore, I will still let my two younger sisters go to school. I’ll go out to work. We’ll will be happy even if we have to eat wild vegetables or sleep under bridges as long as we’re together and not have to live under someone else’s control.”


  Hearing Xia Lan’s words, Qiu Zhi nodded with tears in her eyes.

  “I’ll go find your father now.”


  Qiu Zhi was about to leave when Xia Cha pulled her back. “Mom, don’t expose us in front of Dad. Just say that Second Sister hasn’t been found, and that we can’t live in the Xia family.”


  Qiu Zhi nodded.

  …


  After Xia Xing fell into the river, no one had found her.

  After Xia Wangshi found out about this, she lay on the bed and claimed that she was not feeling well.

  The eldest and third branch looked like they were watching a good show. Anyway, they were not the ones who had killed Xia Xing.

  In the evening, Xia Zhenyuan still had not found Xia Xing.

  His heart hurt. Initially, he had been unwilling to leave the Xia family. But now that he could not find Xia Xing, and Xia Lan and Xia Cha were unwilling to return home, Xia Zhenyuan realized that if they did not agree to his wife’s request, his wife and daughters would really leave him.

  Xia Xing had disappeared. Apart from Xia Chuan, who had gone to the river to look for her, no one from the Xia family had appeared.

  It was too disappointing.

  When Xia Zhenyuan and Qiu Zhi returned home, Xia Lan and Xia Xing went to invite the elders of the Xia family and the elders of Wenfeng County over.

  Xia Zhenyuan and Qiu Zhi returned home first. Old Master Xia was sitting in the main room, smoking. Seeing Xia Zhenyuan return, he stood up and asked anxiously, “Have you found Xing’er?”


  Seeing the worry in Old Master Xia’s eyes, Xia Zhenyuan’s tensed face relaxed a little. He was about to say something when Qiu Zhi pinched his arm lightly. “Xia Zhenyuan, if you don’t say it today, we’ll get a divorce!”