Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 103: The Burden

His father, Sun Qiang, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly scowled and smacked Sun Zhenhai hard on the back of his head.

The slap landed without mercy.

"What’s with that rotten look on your face?!"

His voice was incredibly stern.

"Sun Zhenhai, you stand up straight! Your big sister is visiting, and more importantly, your brother-in-law. He’s a man of status and ability. A single, casual word from him is all it would take to get you a job in a factory or arrange for you to join the army! But look at you! You’re almost twenty, yet you have absolutely no ambition. All you know how to do all day is sulk and throw tantrums!"

"When your brother-in-law gets here, you’d better be on your best behavior."

"So he’ll be willing to help you out."

Sun Zhenhai had met Fei Jin a few times before.

To be honest, aside from his constantly nagging father...

This brother-in-law was the person he feared and respected the most.

He might have been the kind of guy who strutted around school like he owned the place.

The kind of guy no one dared to cross. But when it came to his brother-in-law, he always felt a bit spooked.

He might not have taken Song Qingya seriously on a normal day, but he was definitely spooked by her husband.

Not only did his brother-in-law hold a significant official post, but more importantly, his presence was just too powerful.

He even remembered one time they were having dinner at home; his brother-in-law was just sitting there quietly, and he’d almost been too scared to eat.

At his age, when he was used to acting like a top dog, Fei Jin was the most imposing person he had ever met.

That natural air of authority, an intimidating presence without any hint of anger, truly made it impossible to relax around him.

What’s more, Fei Jin was nearly 1.9 meters tall, his towering figure almost blocking out the light.

Even when Fei Jin was just speaking normally, he felt like he was being interrogated. The pressure was immense.

Standing up straight became an unconscious reflex.

He wouldn’t dare pull any of his usual slacking-off antics from home in front of Fei Jin.

Whenever he saw him walk through the door, Sun Zhenhai would silently shrink back into his room.

If his mother hadn’t insisted over and over again today, he probably wouldn’t have come downstairs on his own.

The thought of his high-ranking brother-in-law made Sun Zhenhai brace himself and continue waiting downstairs.

Time seemed to stretch on, and his palms began to sweat.

Every time he heard the DING-DONG of the elevator, his heart would give a violent lurch.

He had no idea how long he’d waited before he finally saw two figures approaching in the evening sun.

The pair rounded the street corner.

They walked shoulder to shoulder, drawing closer with each step.

Song Qingya was slightly ahead and to the left, a faint, relaxed smile on her face.

Behind her, Fei Jin maintained his usual steady pace.

Sun Qiang was the first to rush forward, reaching out with a beaming smile to take the two suitcases from Fei Jin’s hands.

"Xiao Fei, Qingya, you’re finally here."

As he took one of the suitcases, he continued cheerfully, "Coming all this way and bringing gifts, too! You really shouldn’t have."

The moment Yang Yunhua saw that Song Qingya was empty-handed, not carrying a single thing, her temper flared.

Standing under the eaves of the back porch, her expression soured, and her eyes hid her displeasure.

But her daughter was a married woman now, part of another family. Even if she was unhappy, she didn’t dare scold her too openly.

She could only suppress her bellyful of complaints, turning them into a series of passive-aggressive remarks.

"This child, Qingya, is so thoughtless."

She sighed loudly on purpose as she turned to walk back into the house.

"Don’t you feel sorry for your husband? Letting Xiao Fei carry all this by himself. How could you?"

Then, her gaze shifted to Fei Jin, who was standing to the side.

"Xiao Fei, you shouldn’t spoil her so much."

Yang Yunhua said earnestly.

"She’s perfectly capable of doing all sorts of chores at home. How is it that once she’s at your place, she doesn’t lift a finger? That’s not really fair, is it?"

The moment those words left her mouth, Song Qingya sneered inwardly.

’Perfectly capable?’

’How could she say something like that without even blushing? The nerve.’

The original owner of this body had been in poor health since she was a child.

In truth, it wasn’t because she was born with a weak constitution.

Rather, she had gradually become frail from the constant abuse she suffered while growing up.

When she was four, Yang Yunhua was already busy remarrying into the Sun Family.

Sun Qiang’s mother had always looked down on the original owner, this "burden," and would often fly into a rage over trivial things. She vented all her anger on the original owner’s mother, complaining about having to support another freeloader in the house.

To secure her position in her new in-laws’ family...

Yang Yunhua always chose to remain silent about her mother-in-law’s abuse of her own daughter, pretending she didn’t see or hear a thing.

At times, to demonstrate her loyalty to her new family...

She would even take the initiative to hit the original owner in front of her mother-in-law, as if that was the only way to prove she had cut ties with her deceased husband’s daughter.

This continued until the original owner was ten years old, when her mother-in-law finally passed away.

Only then did her life improve slightly, and she no longer had to live in constant fear.

But in the long six years before that, the original owner had lived under day after day of oppression.

During that time, she had developed an ability far beyond that of other children her age.

She understood that in a family like this, the only way she could have any right to exist was to work tirelessly and desperately take care of her younger brother.

And so, after school each day, she never went out to play with other children.

The first thing she did upon waking was run into the yard to help feed the chickens and cook for the family...

She scrambled to do every household chore, terrified she’d be scolded for being a step too slow.

Whenever she recalled this bitter past, Song Qingya couldn’t suppress the emotions welling up in her heart.

She could hardly stop herself from feeling a deep sorrow for the original owner.

’A girl who had never even eaten a decent piece of meat growing up—how could her body possibly be healthy?’

She woke up before the chickens, getting up before dawn to cook and sweep the yard.

Only then could she sling her bookbag over her shoulder and go to school.

She couldn’t stop after returning home from school either—she had to fetch water, feed the pigs, do the laundry, and cook.

All the heavy labor fell to her. She worked harder than an ox.

Every day was a blur of endless chores, with not a single ray of light.

Only the time she spent in the library allowed her a brief moment to breathe.

It brought a tiny speck of light into her otherwise bleak life.

Back then, children’s publications still paid for submissions.

So she secretly asked her language teacher at school to help her submit her writing to some children’s literature magazines.

She couldn’t bear to spend the few cents she earned each time, using it all to buy second-hand books to keep reading.

Despite her family’s harsh conditions and the lack of learning resources...

Her grades were always at the top of her class, never once slipping.

By all rights, she should never have had the chance to attend high school.

Because Yang Yunhua and her stepfather, Sun Qiang, both believed it was useless for a girl to get too much education since she would eventually get married and run a household anyway.

It would be better for her to start working early to help supplement the family income and lessen their burden.

But several of her teachers at the time truly cherished her talent.

They especially couldn’t bear to see such a diligent and intelligent child drop out of school so early.

Several teachers even came to their home to persuade Yang Yunhua and Sun Qiang, promising that not only would the family not have to pay a single cent...

But that they were also willing to pay out of their own pockets to help the original owner complete her education.

Thanks to the teachers’ strenuous efforts, the original owner finally, just barely, secured the chance to go to high school.