The Xi family's secret

Yu Chen: "It was not your fault."

Xi Hua: "It kind of was. I was in such a position that normal birth was going to be extremely difficult and tricky. But my grandmother insisted on natural birth. So all the burden fell on my mom. At one point, the doctor even had to ask my father who to save if they could only save one, the mother or the child? And guess what his answer was...."

Yu Chen looked at the ground and said in a small voice, "He decided to save you, thinking you were a boy."

Xi Hua nodded and said, "Well, finally I was born and the lucky thing was that my mother was basically fine, but her uterus could not conceive any more."

Xi Hua choked and Chen hugged her. "It's all right, Hua."

Xi Hua: "No, listen to me Chen. Now that I've begun, I think it will be better if I say it all."

Yu Chen hugged her even more tightly as Hua said, "My father has hated me, ever since the day I was born. I think he might be the first father that did not even see his daughter in the hospital."

Yu Chen looked at Hua with a scared expression, "Hua, don't tell me. He abused you?"

Xi Hua: "Not physically, no. My mother loved me regardless of the fact that I was a girl and she made sure that I was never beaten. But can you imagine the pressure on the mind of a five year old when her whole family looks at her as though she's some kind of disgusting bug when she comes down to dinner."

Xi Hua suddenly shook her head and said, "Anyway, about Han. Well, my dad bought their baby from a farmer couple."

Yu Chen was shocked.

Xi Hua: "Actually, it was more like he took their child and gave them some money while they begged on our doorstep."

If Chen was shocked before, she was dumbfounded now. Her mouth was literally open.

Xi Hua: "So yeah. The people had no power. They tried to go to the police, but my dad suppressed it all."

Yu Chen: "Does Han know?"

Xi Hua: "No, he doesn't. But I plan to tell him when he turns 18. He will be old enough to understand everything and decide if he wants to live with us or go back to his parents."

Yu Chen: "So you know where his real parents are?"

Xi Hua: "They returned to their village. A year ago, I tracked them down and met them. I showed them pictures of Han and told them I would one day tell Han about his real family."

Xi Hua had calmed down by now. She wiped her tears and said, "They are a nice couple. They were happy and satisfied with seeing Han's pictures and occasionally getting info about him. You know Chen...."

Hua gave Chen a bitter smile, "At first I used to hate Han. I was envious of all the love he used to get that I did not. But I slowly understood, that it was not his fault. I believed, I still do, that if God has given me hardships in childhood, I'll surely get it's reward. And once I started trying to get to know Han....."