CHAPTER 757: CHAPTER 757 HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT SHE MIGHT NOT BE YOUR BIOLOGICAL MOTHER?

Even among the Xia Family themselves, if anyone wanted to bully Xia Chuyi, they had to do it behind others’ backs—after all, she was the orphan of a martyr with a protective uncle.

If they openly oppressed her, wouldn’t they be spit to death by the villagers?

Moreover, her uncle would not let them off either.

Many times, it was because the main branch of the Xia family acted covertly, coupled with Mother Xia’s muddling through, that Uncle Xia remained unaware of some truths.

Or rather, even if he knew, the secretive nature of their actions meant that Uncle Xia could not directly confront them.

Thus, once she grew a bit older and could afford to lose face to make a fuss with the main branch, her life immediately improved quite a bit.

As for Xia Lan—she was blind to human nature and failed to recognize people’s hearts.

Luckily, in this life, having learned from past experiences, she was determined not to make the same mistakes again.

Therefore, for Xia Chuyi now, her childhood life wasn’t too harsh; to her, it was rather more of a fortune.

That was what Xia Chuyi thought, but Ou Jun didn’t see it that way.

Ou Jun shook his head and asked her, "Chuyi, you say your uncle and aunt dote on you, but what about... your mom?"

That was the real question he wanted to ask.

Just the two of them, mother and daughter, the love of a mother must be what a daughter desires the most, right?

Upon hearing Ou Jun’s question, the joy Xia Chuyi just felt reminiscing about the past swiftly vanished.

However, she wasn’t the least bit sad, just calmly stated, "My mother, in her eyes, there was only my dad."

The implication was that in Mother Xia’s eyes, there had never been something called "daughter."

Ou Jun’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he said, "So, she treated you poorly, right?"

Hearing this, Xia Chuyi was somewhat surprised by Ou Jun’s emotional openness.

"Big brother, it’s not like that," Xia Chuyi shook her head and said, "My mom, she wallows in self-pity, unable to step out of the shadow of my dad’s death all these years."

"She, too, is a pitiable person."

It was only because Xia Chuyi no longer had feelings for Mother Xia that she could speak so detachedly—as if talking about a stranger.

This calm demeanor in itself was quite telling.

"She treated you badly," Ou Jun stated, his face stern.

Xia Chuyi didn’t expect him to be so blunt; she ran her fingers through her hair and said, "It wasn’t exactly bad or good..."

"She treated Xia Chengzong better than she treated you," Ou Jun said, slightly angrily.

"Ah?" Xia Chuyi was very surprised that Ou Jun had brought up this point.

"This, in the countryside, most people are somewhat biased towards sons over daughters..." Xia Chuyi explained—not to excuse Mother Xia, but that was the era.

Xia Chuyi had always felt torn about those who grew up in a culture favoring sons over daughters—whether to hate them or pity them.

Ou Jun frowned noncommittally.

To not cherish your own "biological" daughter but to care for an "adopted son" who had just been taken in less than two years ago?

This was beyond mere preference for males over females.

Finally, Ou Jun looked deeply into Xia Chuyi’s eyes and asked, "Chuyi, have you never thought... maybe you are not really a child of the Xia family? Not actually born to your ’mother’?"

Ou Jun was extremely serious, and upon hearing this, Xia Chuyi was at first stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Seriously, I have thought about it," said Xia Chuyi seriously.