Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 112: Wrongly Blamed

Sun Qiang chuckled and rubbed his hands together, smiling as he spoke.

"You two must be hungry, right? I’ll go pour Xiao Fei a drink. We can have a good chat."

"No need. I’ve quit drinking."

Fei Jin said coolly.

"Oh, oh! Good for you! It’s good for your health!"

Sun Qiang nodded hastily.

"Then tea is fine, or a soft drink. In any case, we two have to liven things up! I’ll go heat up the food. I just made it, so it’s probably a little cold by now."

"Don’t bother heating it up."

Song Qingya cut in, a somewhat helpless expression on her face.

"I’m sorry, Mom, Uncle Sun. We left in a hurry and forgot to tell you beforehand. We had dinner with one of Ajin’s army buddies and his family tonight. We’re completely stuffed, so we really can’t eat another bite."

Then, she took her mother Yang Yunhua’s hand.

"Mom, are you mad at me?"

Hearing this, Yang Yunhua, who had been all smiles just a moment ago, froze.

However, before she could respond,

a loud noise suddenly erupted from behind them.

CRASH!

A dull thud mixed with the sound of shattering glass exploded in the dining room.

Sun Zhenhai shot to his feet, knocking his chair over in the process.

His face was beet red, his eyes wide.

"Song Qingya, what’s the meaning of this?"

He suddenly roared, his voice jumping an octave.

"If you don’t want to help, just say so! Don’t be all coy about it! What do you mean by avoiding us?!"

Sun Qiang and Yang Yunhua rushed forward, grabbing him from either side.

"Zhenhai, what nonsense are you spouting? That has nothing to do with anything! Just shut your mouth!"

But Sun Zhenhai wasn’t buying it.

He struggled but couldn’t break free from his family’s grip and continued to air his grievances angrily.

"I’m not spouting nonsense! Has anyone ever let me finish? Song Qingya can obviously help me find a job, but she just won’t give me a straight answer! Just tell me, yes or no—can you help me or not?!"

In Sun Zhenhai’s mind, it was only natural that everyone in the family had to cater to him and coddle him.

Even if his older sister, Song Qingya, had already married and left the family.

She still had an obligation to be the sister who obeyed his commands unconditionally.

Fei Jin, standing to the side, spoke coldly, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"Is this how you used to speak to your sister? With this kind of attitude?"

Hearing this, Sun Zhenhai instinctively wanted to retort but found himself at a loss for words.

"I..."

After blurting out that single word, he couldn’t manage to say another.

He didn’t dare meet Fei Jin’s knife-like gaze and slowly lowered his head.

"This is just how our family is. We don’t like to beat around the bush. Being direct isn’t a big deal. We’re not like some people with all their rules."

"Ha, so this is what you call being ’direct’?"

Song Qingya finally spoke, her laughter laced with sarcasm as she shot back at her brother.

"When I was the one being direct, how did you all ’teach me a lesson’?"

The moment she said this, the air seemed to freeze.

The atmosphere grew tense once more.

Yang Yunhua clearly felt overwhelmed. She quickly waved her hands placatingly. "You child! We were just angry back then and only hit you a few times."

But as she spoke, her voice trailed off, growing quieter and quieter.

Song Qingya’s eyes were now icy cold.

"Is that really what happened?"

"When I was seven, while Grandma was still alive, you beat me for supposedly stealing money to buy snacks. I never actually took the money, but not only did you refuse to believe me, you even forced me to confess and give a detailed reason, all while the neighbors watched and commented."

"And what happened in the end? The money was eventually found under a corner of the stove. Grandma had just forgotten where she put it. At the time, no one thought such a misunderstanding would cause such a scene."

Yang Yunhua stammered, "But Grandma knew she had wronged you that time."

Li Hai wanted to use that as an opportunity to give Song Qingya a way out and save some face for his own side.

But Song Qingya mercilessly shot him down with a single sentence.

"You say she admitted she was wrong? She just told you the money was found! But what about me? Did any of you ever say you were sorry? Forget an apology, you didn’t even care where I was hurt after the beating. I was sick for half a month, and you wouldn’t even give me medicine."

"And another time, when I had just gotten into high school, a teacher was willing to waive my tuition so I could study."

Her voice dropped a little.

"But you stood in my way and refused to let me go."

"I knelt in the snow for a whole day and night until I collapsed from sickness. And what did you tell me then? You said it was useless for a girl to study. Even if tuition was free, I couldn’t earn money for the family, so I might as well get married early."

"I was only fifteen then, not even of legal age to marry, but you secretly took money from a matchmaker to settle my future. In the end, I had to go to the subdistrict office and cause a scene to ruin the arrangement."

Of course, all she got in return for that was another severe beating...

The original owner of this body had truly lived a difficult life at home.

Song Qingya didn’t need to embellish or be overly dramatic. Simply stating the facts was shocking enough.

She had only chosen three particularly memorable incidents to recount.

Ever since they were children, Yang Yunhua had made the original owner serve her younger brother, fetching water for him to wash his feet. Not only did she force her to do chores, but she was also harsh with her in every way.

She wouldn’t let the original owner eat meat, always saving the best things for her brother, and even withheld money for her medical treatment.

And this seemingly insignificant but long-term torment ultimately led to her poor health over the years, leaving her chronically ill. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Every one of these things was true, leaving Yang Yunhua and Sun Qiang unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.

They could only lower their heads, their lips trembling, but not a sound escaped them.

A deep look of pity shone in Fei Jin’s eyes.

He had heard that Song Qingya’s position at home was negligible and that she had never received genuine affection, but he never imagined that her suffering was a hundred times more painful than he had thought.

All the scenes from the past resurfaced in his mind.

Gazing at her downcast eyes, Fei Jin’s heart ached with sorrow.

Seeing the husband and wife speechless and pale-faced, the anger in Fei Jin’s heart reached its peak.

’In a family environment like this, what affection is there to speak of?’

’What is there left to be attached to?’

"Qingya, let’s go. Let’s go back to our home."

He reached out and took Song Qingya’s slightly cold hand.

’Others may not understand you or cherish you.’

’Then let me be the one to dote on you.’

’I will treat you as the world’s only treasure and never let you suffer the slightest grievance again.’

Hearing Fei Jin say "go home" so gently and solemnly,

her heart suddenly warmed.

However, Song Qingya was not one to back down weakly.

’The original owner had endured years of oppression and indifference. How could the scars from that suffering be erased just by walking away?’

’She wasn’t about to let this chance to reclaim her dignity slip away so easily.’