But still, for some unknown reason, in Huo Yan's dreams, her mother always disappeared. It wasn't an instant vanishing but a slow process where her mother's body gradually became transparent until she was gone.
After this scene, the terrifying version of her mother would appear. The mother who returned was no longer the one from before. This mother would shout and scold at Huo Yan, and all the household chores were dumped on her.
But as long as Huo Yan did something even slightly wrong, her mother would immediately get angry.
Compared to the number of beatings she endured in reality, Huo Yan was beaten much more often in her dreams. Her mother always found all sorts of reasons to hit her, sometimes even without any reason at all.
What annoyed Huo Yan the most was that in her dreams, her mother always punished her while holding Huo Cheng in her arms. Although Huo Cheng was already several years old in reality, in Huo Yan's dreams...
Huo Cheng was still a few - month - old baby in swaddling clothes. But every time her mother held Huo Cheng and scolded her, Huo Yan could see Huo Cheng smiling at her.
That faint, mocking smile didn't look like an expression a few - month - old baby would have at all.
Sometimes in the dream, Huo Yan would suddenly hear her mother's voice, followed by the words she disliked and didn't want to hear the most:
"Stop crying. You're already grown up. Girls should be strong. Tears are worthless."
At first, there was only one mother, but then there were more and more. Several mothers surrounded Huo Yan, their mouths constantly repeating:
"Stop crying. You're already grown up. Girls should be strong. Tears are worthless."
Often at this moment, Huo Yan would wake up with a start. The long night seemed endless, and she couldn't fall asleep again.
Huo Yan had this dream several times. Sometimes when the pressure was high, she had it frequently. Once, she had this dream for a whole week in a row.
Early the next morning, she still had to watch her mother and Huo Cheng sitting across from her having breakfast. She watched as her mother kept picking up food for Huo Cheng, but there was not a single glance for her.
Huo Yan couldn't say she wasn't disappointed, but she would pretend not to notice at all. In Huo Yan's eyes, since her mother treated her like this, she still had to maintain her dignity.
This was exactly why Huo Yan disliked Huo Cheng.
But the reason her mother disliked Huo Yan was what she heard at the door. She always thought Huo Yan was a smart child and wanted to cultivate her well. But unexpectedly, she was calculated by Huo Yan.
Huo Yan had someone investigate her, which her mother couldn't accept. And looking at Huo Yan, it wasn't just a one - time thing. As the eldest daughter of the Huo family, Huo Yan was already like this.
Her mother didn't dare to imagine what Huo Yan would do if she was given more power in the future.
But what her mother didn't realize was that she was only disappointed in her daughter Huo Yan, but never thought about why her daughter would do such a thing.
The misunderstanding between the two started from Huo Yan's misunderstanding of her mother at first, and then her mother's misunderstanding of Huo Yan. The misunderstanding deepened and became insoluble.
If it was just this, Huo Yan wouldn't hate Huo Cheng so much. The most crucial thing was that since childhood, there had always been people around Huo Yan sowing discord. Since Huo Cheng became a well - praised child and the synonym for "smart", Huo Yan often heard these words:
"Yan'er, now Cheng'er is more capable than you. How come you, the elder sister, are not as good as your younger brother?"
"Sure enough, girls are not as smart as boys. Yan'er was quite smart when she was a child, but after her younger brother was born, she seems to be outshone."
"Yan'er is a girl. She will get married one day anyway. This family will ultimately be handed over to her younger brother, Huo Cheng."
"..."
Just thinking about those words from the past, Huo Yan clenched her fists until her fingertips turned white.
A proud person like Huo Yan couldn't stand such remarks from others.
Huo Cheng... Huo Cheng...
Since childhood, it had always been about Huo Cheng. Since his birth, Huo Yan had gradually felt the changes in herself, or rather, the changes in the attitudes of the people around her.
First, it was her mother. Her mother had a difficult pregnancy with Huo Cheng, so she doted on him. At that time, Huo Cheng was the youngest child in the family. Generally speaking, even in an ordinary family, the youngest child was favored.
Huo Yan, who was always placed first and spoiled, couldn't bear it. Just like all children who disliked their younger siblings, Huo Yan disliked Huo Cheng.
Then there was her father. Huo Yan couldn't understand why, although Huo Cheng had run out to play, invaded the family's system, and modified the surveillance, which should have been a punishable offense.
But after her father found out, instead of punishing Huo Cheng, he was overjoyed, thinking it was remarkable that a child so young could do such a thing. This was what Huo Yan couldn't understand the most.
She wondered why things that were originally hers were being taken away by Huo Cheng. In Huo Yan's eyes, this was a great humiliation. Her things should only be hers.
From that moment on, the seed of hatred for Huo Cheng was sown in Huo Yan's heart. She always thought about getting revenge when the opportunity arose. All this started when Huo Cheng left the family independently.
No, it should be said that was when Huo Yan really started to take action. When Huo Cheng was still at home, she had also done things, but they were just small actions that Huo Cheng either didn't notice or chose to ignore.
That time, Huo Yan knew that she had a very bad falling - out with Huo Cheng, which directly led to his leaving the Huo family. For this, Huo Yan was satisfied. She didn't care whether the relationship with Huo Cheng was good or not. Anyway, she had never liked this younger brother since childhood.
But Huo Yan didn't expect that after Huo Cheng found out, he would start to fight back and cripple her right - hand men. This was a great blow to Huo Yan. In her eyes, her right - hand men were far more important than this younger brother. Apart from the blood relationship, Huo Yan didn't want to have any other relationship with Huo Cheng.
This time, she was determined to make Huo Cheng pay the price.
Just thinking about what Huo Cheng had done to her right - hand men, Huo Yan got angry. Why? Why should her people be treated like this by Huo Cheng?
Huo Cheng, once a person has a weakness, he is no longer as tough as before and is no longer invincible.
Just wait and see, Huo Cheng. I will definitely make you pay the price and regret what you did back then.