Chapter 334: Chapter 327: Born as Mengshi, Why Also Sisi
The girl outside the car was none other than Sisi’s classmate, Meng Shi Song. At this moment, Meng Shi Song looked just as surprised; she had never imagined that He Sisi would live in this house—He Sisi—the He Family—Sisi Garden. Meng Shi Song let out a bitter smile; she should have realized it sooner.
Without even greeting Sisi, Meng Shi turned around and ran off, soon disappearing from view, leaving Sisi baffled. What was Meng Shi Song thinking? Not bothering to dwell on it, Sisi returned to the car and started the engine.
As the car slowly moved away, Meng Shi Song stepped out from behind a parasol tree, staring blankly at the small car getting further and further away.
The reason Meng Shi Song was known for her delicate and pampered demeanor was that she once had the means to be so—three years ago, she was the young lady of a house with a garden.
Indeed, before the Sisi Garden was returned to the He Family, it was occupied by the Song Family. Of course, the Song Family did not have the right to live in the entire house; they lived on the well-lit second floor, while the first floor was occupied by another family.
The Song Family had this privilege, naturally, because of Meng Shi Song’s father, Mr. Song, who was once the deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee in Xuhui District. That’s why they could live in such high-end villas, a treatment not available to just anyone.
Back then, Meng Shi Song had her own Princess Room, and every time her classmates visited, they would look at her with envy.
Her Daddy and Mama pampered her; she could have new clothes every season. At that time, she was the princess of the school, admired by male classmates and envied and resented by the girls. She relished the admiring and jealous gazes!
But all that shattered three years ago when a notice came that their family had to move out of the villa, as the rightful owners were returning, and the house had to be restored to them. Daddy even went to gift something to the director, but before long, he returned dejectedly.
Daddy said that even the director had no choice, mentioning that the director’s own house on Huaihai Road also had to be returned. Rumor had it that the He Family had connections with higher-ups, and they were a force to be reckoned with. People like them, mere shrimps and crabs, dared not disobey. It was wiser to move out quietly; otherwise, they might even lose their livelihood.
So, the Song Family moved out of Sisi Garden and into a crowded courtyard house. They were still relatively fortunate; thanks to their father’s position as a deputy director, they were allocated two rooms. But Meng Shi Song was far from satisfied.
No private bathroom, no private kitchen, no bathing room; and most importantly, she had to share a room with her younger siblings. She and her sister shared one bed, her brother had another, and a curtain divided them.
At night, she could hear her brother’s snoring and her sister’s teeth grinding—just as one ended, the other began, making her unable to sleep soundly since they moved into this courtyard.
By now, Meng Shi Song had completely forgotten the hardships of when their whole family crammed into one room. As the saying goes, it’s easy to go from frugality to luxury but hard the other way around. Meng Shi Song had been accustomed to the life of a princess for seven or eight years, and suddenly being thrown back to Qidian, how could she adjust!
What made her feel worse was that she no longer dared to invite classmates over. One time, a classmate accidentally discovered that she lived in such a courtyard, and she still remembered the expression on that classmate’s face, as if saying, ’Look, Meng Shi Song is just like us now, living in this kind of house.’
But in reality, all these were just Meng Shi Song’s overthinking. Having two rooms in Shanghai, the Song Family was already considered above average; many others only had one room. Everyone was in a similar situation; nobody would laugh at anyone else.
She always had a suspicious mind, and ever since then, she felt that her classmates at school were no longer as nice as before, and people would often gossip about her behind her back.
This situation persisted until 1977 when college entrance exams were reinstated. Song Mengshi put all her effort in and, surprisingly, performed exceptionally well, securing a spot at Tsinghua University. Only then did she feel a sense of triumph and exhilaration.
She had thought that with her looks, talent, and family background, she would once again be admired by male students and envied and resented by female students once she entered university.
Upon arriving at Tsinghua’s campus full of pride, as expected, what met her eyes were the colors blue, white, and grey, and then she looked down at her tailored one-piece dress, her slender figure, her elegant demeanor—clearly a girl from a big city. Feeling the admiration in the eyes of the male students she passed by, Song Mengshi’s mood was exceptionally delightful, as if she had returned to the days of living in the foreign-style house.
However, everything changed after He Sisi enrolled in school. She never imagined there would be another girl in her class who was prettier than her, with an even better figure (Song Mengshi’s legs were slightly short), and many more new clothes.
Most importantly, the other girl was a local Beijinger, superior to her in every way, casting a shadow over Song Mengshi’s two years of college life, often lamenting why fortune was so unfair. If there is a Meng Shi, why then is there a Sisi?
It was the quarrel between her younger brother and sister at home that prompted Song Mengshi to suddenly think of Huashan Road today. The quarrel gave her a headache, so she decided to visit the old residence. She had returned several times before, only to see the foreign-style house renovated to be very beautiful, with a sign hanging at the front gate that read ’Sisi Garden’.
Unexpectedly, this ’Sisi’ turned out to be the Sisi from the He family. It seems that He Sisi was the Miss He that Daddy often talked about. Song Mengshi still remembered what Daddy had said.
"Oh, Miss He really has a good fate. The He Family owns seven or eight houses like the ones we used to live in, especially that He Mansion on Fenyang Road worth ten such houses. Tsk tsk, it is said the He Family only has this one daughter, about the same age as our Meng Ya (Song Mengshi’s younger sister), whoever marries this Miss He will truly strike it rich!"
So, the Miss He with good fortune mentioned by Daddy is actually He Sisi? The He Family also owns the He Mansion, which is ten times the size of Sisi Garden. Ha, comparing oneself to others, why does it have to be so frustrating?
Song Mengshi returned home with a heavy heart; her brother and sister had stopped fighting. Mama was chatting with others in the communal kitchen, with bursts of laughter occasionally heard. Living in such a crowded compound, there was absolutely no privacy; even when a couple did something at night, the whole courtyard would know about it the next day.
All these noisy sounds made Song Mengshi extremely irritated. Why should He Sisi have so many houses to herself? Why does she have to share a small room with her brother and sister? She, Song Mengshi, is no worse than He Sisi. Why, just why!
At that moment, a young woman carrying a plate of food walked by. Passing by the Song Family’s residence, the woman smiled and called out, "Meng Shi, you’re back!"
The young woman was dressed in a floral dress with short curly hair, fair skin, and a voluptuous figure, radiating femininity all over.
Song Mengshi suppressed the irritation in her heart and forced a smile: "Sister-in-law De Biao, have you finished cooking lunch?"
"Yeah, I’m just by myself; something simple will do!" The young woman’s voice was slightly hoarse, unlike the delicate tones of Song Mengshi, but it had a charm of its own.
If Sisi were here, she would certainly recognize this young woman. It turned out to be Zhong Yuying, her nemesis. An adversary from a past life and an enemy in this one—it’s no wonder people say this is a melodramatic world!