WBSGVS Chapter 140 V2

The friend shivered. That look gave him chills. He quickly shifted away and rubbed his arms. “Dude, why are you looking at me like that?”

Xia Zhihao didn’t answer. He clenched his jaw, then abruptly got up and ran home.

College applications weren’t due immediately—he still had time. But right now, he didn’t care about that. He just needed to vent.

Because today was an important day, Yang Qing and Xia Yong were both at home.

But years of disappointment had eroded their once-loving marriage.

Whenever they were together, they argued.

Today, it was this decision they regretted.

Tomorrow, it would be that choice they had made.

One complaint led to another, until, exhausted, they both fell silent.

And in that silence, they quietly reminisced about the daughter they had once been so proud of.

A while ago, Qingli called home and mentioned that she had a boyfriend abroad and was living happily. In contrast, their own lives were a complete mess.

As they talked, Xia Yong suddenly recalled something and said nostalgically, “Speaking of which, when Ali took her college entrance exams, we didn’t seem to pay much attention, did we?”

“I thought she would get into a good university, so I didn’t worry about it,” Yang Qing replied.

Xia Yong fell silent. That wasn’t the case for him—he had simply forgotten. By the time he realized it, someone had mentioned that the exams were already over. When he finally asked about it, he heard that his daughter had done well, so he didn’t give it another thought.

At that moment, the front door swung open.

Xia Zhihao rushed in, drenched in sweat.

No matter how disappointed Yang Qing was in her son, she couldn’t help but feel concerned. “Why are you running so fast? Did the results come out? You have a phone, don’t you? You could’ve just called home.”

Xia Yong, on the other hand, was full of anticipation. “Son, how did it go? Did you make the undergraduate cutoff?”

Heaven help them—once, they had dreamed of him getting into the top universities like Tsinghua or Peking. Now, they would be satisfied if he simply met the basic undergraduate requirements.

But Xia Zhihao’s face was dark as he shook his head, his eyes locked onto them.

Xia Yong’s heart dropped. “You didn’t make it?”

“Not even 400 points,” Xia Zhihao said hoarsely. “I didn’t make it…”

Both Yang Qing and Xia Yong’s expressions darkened. Still, despite her disappointment, she tried to comfort him. “It’s not the worst outcome. At least you can still go to a vocational college—”

But before she could finish, Xia Zhihao exploded. The 18-year-old boy lifted his head and shouted, “I don’t want to go to a vocational college! I told you before—art students get extra points! My classmate, who got a similar score to mine, studied painting and earned enough bonus points to get into a second-tier university. If I had studied art and passed the proficiency exam, I might have been able to get into an undergraduate program. But you didn’t let me!”

“It’s all your fault!”

Those four words echoed in the room like an endless loop.

Yang Qing wavered, stumbling onto the sofa, her face pale. She hadn’t fainted, but her heart clenched painfully with guilt. “It’s our fault…”

Xia Yong, however, wasn’t as soft-hearted. His temper flared, and he shouted back, “What’s the matter with you?! You blame us because you couldn’t achieve anything? Your sister never learned any special skills. From childhood to adulthood, she spent far less money than you do in a single year! And she still got into an excellent university! What do you have to say to that?”

“My sister?” Xia Zhihao sneered. “She doesn’t even acknowledge you anymore, yet you still bring her up?”

Xia Yong’s mind went blank. His embarrassment and fury boiled over, and he raised his hand, ready to strike. “If it weren’t for you, do you think she would have cut us off?! For your sake, your mother and I drove her away! And this is how you repay us?! You ungrateful little—”

SMACK!

A slap rang through the room.

Xia Zhihao clutched his burning cheek, his mind going blank. His eyes were filled with nothing but hatred as he glared at the nearly seventy-year-old man before him and shouted, “I never wanted to be born into this family!”

“What did you just say?!” Yang Qing gasped, her face twisting in shock and hurt.

No matter how much her son had tormented her before, she had endured it because she was his mother.

But this…

Was he denying everything she had sacrificed for him?

Xia Yong froze as well. He had placed all his hopes on his son. For his sake, he had worked on construction sites well into his fifties, wrecking his body in the process. Even now, at seventy, he hadn’t dared to retire and was still working as a security guard to make ends meet.

And now, his son was saying he wished he’d never been born into this family?!

Then what had all their sacrifices been for?

But Xia Zhihao didn’t stop. Tears streaming down his face, he screamed, “I said I never wanted to be born into your family! I never wanted to come from you!”

Yang Qing and Xia Yong both went rigid, struggling to breathe as they stared at him.

But Xia Zhihao wasn’t finished.

“You’re so old! Why did you even have another kid?! Since I was little, everyone has said I’m inferior to my sister, that I’m too stupid! Everything other kids had, I had to fight tooth and nail to get! Everyone else’s parents looked like parents—mine were always mistaken for my grandparents! Do you know how humiliating that is?! You say you sacrificed for me, that you even drove my sister away because of me—but was it really for me?”

“It was for yourselves!” He wiped his tears and let out everything he had bottled up since his rebirth. “Do you know how scared I am? I’m only eighteen, and you’re already seventy! You’re old—too old! I’m terrified that one day I’ll go to sleep and wake up to find you gone! How long do you think you can stay with me?! Why did you even have me?!”

In his past life, he had always struggled with school, never understanding the material. People had always compared him to his brilliant older sister, blaming his parents for having him so late in life, saying their genes were already deteriorating.

But back then, life had still been okay. His sister had supported him, and he had never truly suffered.

This time, however, his sister had abandoned him. His life had crumbled. He couldn’t take it anymore. The resentment he had once ignored now surged forth like a tidal wave.

Why had they even given birth to him?!

Yang Qing and Xia Yong exchanged a silent, agonized look, already knowing the answer deep down.

They had wanted a child.

A son.

They had wanted to shut up their relatives and prove they had an heir.

They had believed that once he was born, things would naturally work out.

But why had raising him turned out to be so hard?

They had already done everything they could, given him everything they had—yet he still resented them?

Overcome with anger and grief, both elderly parents clutched their chests. Their faces turned pale as they collapsed in unison, their eyes wide open, staring blankly into the distance.

“Ah Li—”