Chapter 8: This Clock Juying is not that Zhong Juying
Several girls introduced themselves to each other; they all bore the last name Zhong. The eldest was Zhong Lanying, 12 years old, dressed slightly better, from a family of middle farmers. The one who called for her was Zhong Lianying, 9 years old, rich peasant, and the one hiding the peanuts was Zhong Juying, 11 years old, rich peasant. These girls were all cousins and were also closely related kin to Zhong Yuying and Zhong Meiying.
Tian Sisi glanced at Zhong Juying with surprise and asked, "Are there many in our village named Zhong Juying?"
"There's just one Juying," replied Zhong Lianying. Because Tian Sisi was particularly amicable today, she felt more courageous.
"Then what are your parents' names?" Tian Sisi directly asked Zhong Juying. She was very eager, startling Zhong Juying who answered in a low voice, "My dad is Zhong Shigen, and my mom is Zhao Manxiu."
The same names, her maternal grandparents also bore these names, but why was the person completely different? This Zhong Juying was not her birth mother at all; neither age nor appearance matched. Moreover, there wasn't another Zhong Juying in the village. Tian Sisi felt extreme disappointment. Although she did not want to admit it, she understood that her mother would not appear in this life.
"Zhaodi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Zhong Juying looked worriedly at Tian Sisi, who was pale.
"It's nothing, I'm fine. By the way, I've changed my name. From now on, call me Tian Sisi, the 'Si' as in 'longing'. Remember it well!" Tian Sisi no longer pondered the issue of her birth mother. She always had an optimistic disposition, not dwelling on unsolvable matters; the most important thing was to live well in the present.
"Tian Sisi sounds really nice, like a name from the cityfolk. It suits you well, Zhaodi—err, Sisi." Zhong Lanying praised unceasingly, while the other girls nodded in agreement. Zhong Lanying seemed somewhat shrewd, good at ingratiating herself, but it wasn't annoying. Her eyes were clean, not like Zhong Yuying's, filled with schemes.
Although Tian Sisi was not a capable person, perhaps because she had not enjoyed much family warmth since childhood, she was very sensitive to the goodness and malevolence of the people around her. She could generally sense who was trying to use her and who was sincerely kind to her. This intuition meant she had few true friends in the hyperactive society of her later life. Connections were made with ulterior motives, resulting in a contact list full of names but devoid of sincere friends.