Zou Xuezheng had always known what she wanted.
When she was in kindergarten, there was once a Children's Day celebration where the teacher prepared different gifts for each child. All the kids swarmed to the front to grab the gifts they liked, even coming to blows over them. Only she stood to the side so as not to wrinkle her little skirt, waiting until most had picked before going up and randomly taking one. There were none she liked anyway.
Unexpectedly, when the teacher saw her actions, she praised her for being modest, not caring too much about gains and losses, much better than the other children who only thought of their own happiness. From then on, Zou Xuezheng knew how to get others to like her.
All she needed was a contrast.
After a younger sister was born, her parents focused all their energy on taking care of the little one for a period of time. But as Zou Xuezheng taught the mischievous and ill-mannered Zou Xuerong more and more tricks, parental affection swung back in her favor again, even more so than before.
When Zou Xuerong was a little older, Zou Xuezheng would often tell her she was wrong, that she couldn't do that, and that she was so stupid. Over time, Zou Xuerong became less and less self-confident, often bowing her head and fading into the background at home.
Human hearts were biased. As long as there was contrast, she was the best. Zou Xuezheng had always believed in this principle.
She came on this show having tired of her docile little sister, looking for a new toy.
Gaining affirmation through comparison with others was the only way for her to enjoy supreme happiness.
In order for her parents to like her more, for everyone who met her to like her, she needed a foil to perfectly highlight her personality and charm.
So when Shen Yue first appeared, Zou Xuezheng noticed her.
The introverted little sister of a famous celebrity with a bad personality, ill-mannered and hard to fool.
As long as she could get involved with Shen Yue, there would definitely be a chance to take advantage of her.
But Zou Xuezheng didn't expect she had misjudged Shen Yue's dangerousness, leading to her own miserable defeat. If she'd known earlier, she should have just used the simplest contrast - her silly little sister.
But Zou Xuezheng also understood at this point, it was too late to try to curry favor again using a foil. She could only take a gamble.
Become a contrast to herself.
After Shen Shuangyi bluntly finished speaking, seeing Zou Xuezheng still sobbing, he continued, "Miss Zou, they're just children. What are you still trying to accomplish with your tears?"
"Teacher Shen, Miss Zou didn't mean it. When emotions run high, who can control themselves? You don't have to put it so harshly," Li Xing seemed unable to bear listening anymore, reluctantly looking at Shen Shuangyi before speaking up.
"If she didn't mean it, then that proves Miss Zou feels genuinely wronged. But whether it's me or these children, none of us are in the wrong. As I said earlier, we've just been doing what we should, and people should know themselves." When it came to scolding others, Shen Shuangyi had never feared anyone.
He perfectly suppressed Li Xing's words almost instantly without needing to think much.
Seeing that Shen Yue had finally finished her last bite, he grabbed her hand to go outside.
However, unexpectedly to Shen Shuangyi, despite looking so small, he couldn't budge Shen Yue!
Shen Shuangyi: ?
Shen Yue: ?
Shen Shuangyi looked back, only to find that Shen Yue had wedged her feet against the table.
"Shen Yue, come outside with me for a walk. You laid around all day yesterday." He couldn't say that after Shen Yue had lain around yesterday, his older brother had smashed gifts and messages all day telling him to bring her back out.
After running around all day yesterday selling his looks and manual labor, the welcome Shen Shuangyi received upon finally completing the mission and returning was the so-called "gold master" messages presented by the program team.
Since the show had opened up live gifting, naturally those who gifted enough would receive benefits.
The program team would transcribe all the messages from the top gifters for the cast to see, since the cast currently had no cell phones to get online.
Heaven knew the despair in Shen Shuangyi's heart when he came back yesterday and saw his older brother's long nagging.
It seemed even more worrisome than when he'd taken care of his third brother back then!
But he had to listen, that was big brother after all.
Shen Yue pretended not to hear Shen Shuangyi's words. She even shifted back on the stool a little, clearly conveying an attitude of I'll stay put here no matter what you say.
Shen Shuangyi instantly understood the reason his older brother had said to put Shen Yue on this show.
What Shen Yichen had said at the time was, "She lacks too much motivation."
Shen Shuangyi didn't think much of it then. Lacking motivation was none of his business, one less person to split the family fortune with.
Shen Yue had performed well enough on the show the past two days, even grabbing the hidden eggs. She probably just put on an act of obedience in front of big brother because she knew his personality.
Until now, he suddenly understood.
This little sister only seemed willing to make a short-lived effort for food and sleep.
Shen Shuangyi tentatively tugged at Shen Yue's hand again but couldn't budge her. Amidst Zou Xuezheng's muffled sobs and Li Xing's soft consoling, he suddenly felt irritated.
He recalled a message from Shen Yichen yesterday and instantly had an idea.
"This village has a lot of local special snacks you can't find outside. Do you want to go out with me and eat them?"
As soon as Shen Yue heard this, she was no longer sleepy, immediately standing up and pulling Shen Shuangyi outside.
Shen Shuangyi: ?
Audience: ?
[It's well-known Sis Yue's autism is real autism, and her love of food is real too.]
[Reasonably suspect Eldest Bro Shen worked so hard earning money yesterday just to lure Sis Yue out for a walk today.]
[On Sis Yue's selective deafness.]
[How does Sis Yue make autism look so cool? It's hard to imagine this personality being bullied.]
[Hurry up and take her to eat!!]
As soon as Shen Yue stood up, Jiang Shiwen followed and stood too. "Sis Yue wait for me! I'll go help you carry stuff!"
Seeing Jiang Shiwen follow along, Zou Xuerong immediately stopped hesitating and chased after them too.
Dong Nuo also took a small step to follow, but immediately pulled his foot back pretending nothing had happened. There were a lot of people around Shen Yue today already, he'd try again next time.
The previously lively dining hall instantly became quiet with Shen Yue's departure, only Zou Xuezheng's faint sobbing could still be heard.
Dong Nuo felt a bit uncomfortable. The program team hadn't arranged any tasks today, and the others hadn't arranged anything for him to do either. Once idle, he couldn't help but be painfully aware of how awkward his current circumstances were.
"Little Nuo, I'm sorry, it's all my fault today." Zou Xuezheng sobbed and apologized again. But after Shen Yue and the others left, her tears finally stopped.
Dong Nuo wasn't as antagonistic towards Zou Xuezheng. He couldn't admonish her and could only say, "It's not Sister's fault. It was me who didn't thoroughly understand before getting shaken."
Zou Xuezheng looked deeply moved, and kept Dong Nuo engaged in conversation for quite a while, successfully lowering his guard.
She casually brought up as if on a sudden impulse, "Did you already know Yueyue before coming on the show?"
