Chapter 632: Zhai Hua’s Double Standard
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhai Hua was annoyed that Zhai Sheng blocked her way, preventing her from leaving. “How do you know?”
“Are you trying to ask if Nan Nan told me about it?”
“It’s good that you understand. Tell me right away so that I will know what happened.” It was necessary for her to be suspicious of Qiao Nan and to sound her out. As expected, she had shown her true colors.
For people like Qiao Nan, who was unable to suffer any grievances, even though it would not be a big issue, she would tear the Zhai family apart.
“Mom said that after returning from the Qiao family’s residence, you decided to cancel the leave and came back to the camp. I remember clearly I used the sh.e.l.l casings that grandpa gave me to a.s.semble a model when I was seven years old. After you broke it, you fled from the house like what you did today.”
Back then, that model was Zhai Sheng’s favorite.
The sh.e.l.l casings were from the days when Old Master Zhai fought in the battle against the enemies. They held a very special meaning.
Old Master Zhai doted on Zhai Sheng, so he was willing to give them to him. Otherwise, no matter how worthless the items were, he would treat them as his precious belongings and put them safely aside.
Zhai Hua was unhappy, thinking that her grandpa should have given her the present instead of giving them to Zhai Sheng since she was older than Zhai Sheng.
After receiving the sh.e.l.l casings from his grandpa, Zhai Sheng studied the photo of the tank used in the army and made use of the dirty and ugly sh.e.l.l casings to glue them together to form a small model of the tank. Zhai Hua, who was pa.s.sionate about the army, could not get her hands off the tank model.
Though Zhai Sheng did not allow her to play with it, she just had to land her hands on them.
Later, Zhai Hua broke the model accidentally. She was worried that Zhai Sheng would be angry with her, so she ended her elementary school summer break ahead of time and went back to Ping Cheng, saying that she had to finish her homework so that the teachers would not have any excuse to scold her.
“That was ages ago, yet you still remember them.” Zhai Hua was embarra.s.sed. She had really forgotten all about it. It turned out that when she was young, she already had the bad record of fleeing after making mistakes. It was no wonder that Zhai Sheng knew something was wrong right away. “Qiao Nan didn’t tell you anything?” She did not believe it.
“I will let you choose. You can either come clean or let’s fight it out. If you lose, you will surrender.” Zhai Sheng exercised his wrists. There was a ferocious glint in his eyes.
Zhai Hua knew that Zhai Sheng was serious. He was not joking with her. She turned serious. “I won’t come clean, not without putting up a good fight. I don’t believe that after so many years, I still can’t win against you.” Then, Zhai Hua took off her coat and threw it on the ground.
As soon as Zhai Hua was ready, Zhai Sheng started the fight as if he was a ferocious and menacing leopard who was ready to pounce on his prey.
Zhai Hua was not an easy opponent either. At least, she was better than s.h.i.+ Qing.
The siblings engaged in a fierce fight. It was as if they were the martial arts swordsmen in the novels who fought their opponents using ruthless strokes, not giving any leeway to each other.
If someone were to witness the fight, they would be in awe to have seen such a splendid display of martial arts prowess. Their moves were quick, ruthless, and varied. It was as good as the martial arts that were aired on the television.
Both Zhai Sheng and Zhai Hua sustained injuries from the fight, but Zhai Sheng had the upper hand.
Zhai Sheng dealt Zhai Hua with a hard blow and she dropped to the ground. Drenched in sweat, she laid on the floor, gasping for air. “It’s no wonder that grandpa dotes on you and keeps saying that you are made out to be a soldier. In the end, he even gifted you with his precious sh.e.l.l casings.”
“Even though you envy me, you should not break my tank model. This is unlike what the people from the Zhai family will do.” Zhai Sheng sat down, looking grim.
Zhai Sheng had never taken issue with Zhai Hua for the pranks that she pulled on him or the fights that she engaged with him. However, he would not budge this time, especially when it concerned Qiao Nan.
Zhai Hua sat up unhappily. “I may be older than you, but I’m your elder sister.”
In other words, she was a woman.
Since Zhai Sheng knew that she was envious of him, why did he not give her the sh.e.l.l casings? In the end, she had to resort to breaking the tank model and fleeing after making a mistake.
Zhai Hua could not figure out why her younger brother refused to give in to her.
Zhai Sheng snorted. “Insatiable.”
“Hey, how am I being insatiable? Make things clear.” Zhai Hua was not convinced. She was never a greedy person, but she did not like it when people were biased.
Since Zhai Hua wanted to know, Zhai Sheng decided to make things clear. “Since a young age, you feel that grandpa dotes on me and neglects you, and that the men in the Zhai family favor boys over girls. You never feel that you are weaker than boys, or even weaker than me. You are very outstanding, but you keep working hard to prove yourself.”
“Yes!” Zhai Hua did not hesitate to admit. “I am a woman, but one not only needs to be physically strong to carry out the missions, but one also needs to have brains as well. I am not as strong as you, but I am quick to adapt and respond. Besides, I won’t compare with you. Compared with other people, I will not lose to them. Why is it that I am not cut out to be a soldier just because I am a woman?”
“The problem is, there are only two of us at home. Grandpa will naturally compare you to me. You have also admitted just now that my fighting prowess is better than yours. At least, this proves that grandpa was not wrong back then.”
It was Old Master Zhai who taught Zhai Sheng and Zhai Hua martial arts skills.
It was also Old Master Zhai who taught them about the army. Old Master Zhai could be seen as their teacher who guided them into the army.
“When you were an only child in the family, grandpa had sung your praises as well. But after I was born, coupled with the fact that I am better than you, what’s wrong with grandpa praising me and saying that I was born to be a soldier? He did not lie but told the truth.” Zhai Sheng pursed his thin lips and looked at Zhai Hua unhappily. “Can you accept the fact? As a soldier, are you so petty?”
“But he cannot put me down.” Zhai Hua refused to admit that she was wrong.
“Did grandpa put you down in front of others? When you said that you wanted to join the army, grandpa was in favor of it, and he praised you in the army. He said that the new recruits from the same batch as you, as well as the soldiers who have been in the army for two years, are not your opponents. Grandpa has praised you for your abilities.”
Zhai Hua frowned. She had to admit that her grandpa had praised her for her efforts.
“When grandpa praises me, you feel that he is favoring boys over girls. But when you are making a fuss, you say that I should not take issue with you because you are a woman. If I am to take issue with you, it will be my fault.”
When it was about one’s performance, she would feel that men and women should be treated equally, and that she was just as good as anyone else.
But if she was losing, she would say that as a man, one should give in to a woman. Zhai Hua had made every situation to her advantage, yet she said that she had suffered grievances.