The Vicious Aunt of the Genius Twins

The faint, broken sobs of a little child kept drifting into Qiao Lan's ears.waking her up from the terrifying dream she was having. She wondered how, she has been living as a bad and vicious person for over twenty years, she had ended up as a vicious role, that has been abused her dead sister children, the world they live in a novel and she is a supporting character in the novel. This was a story about genius twins and their wealthy stepmother. Years ago, the twins’ mother had fled while pregnant, gave birth, and then passed away from illness. On her deathbed, she entrusted her two children and a substantial sum of child support to her younger sister. But who could have guessed this sister would turn out to be heartless? Not only did she squander every penny of the support money, but she also abused the twins, subjecting them to beatings and constant scolding. The children, starving and poorly clothed, had no choice but to rely on their clever little minds to earn money and survive—all while trying to find their biological father. Miraculously, the twins managed to hold on until the domineering CEO finally tracked them down. But the younger sister, greedy and shameless, even set her sights on the CEO, scheming to become the twins’ stepmother. Unfortunately for her, the CEO was cold-hearted and meticulous in settling scores. Not only did he force her to return every cent of the child support, but he also found ways to blind her, cripple her limbs, and ultimately send her to prison. The outcome was predictable—she died a miserable death in jail not long after. Qiao Lan was so scared, She had just checked her bank balance earlier—great. At this point, forget squandering money; she couldn’t even afford next month’s utilities. What kind of luck was this? why didn't she had the dream earlier before spent all the money, and now she was left to deal with the fallout. Not a single day of luxury, but every bit of the blame. Was she some kind of cosmic joke? Outside the door, the crying gradually weakened until it faded entirely. Unable to resist, Qiao Lan hurry opened the door. A tiny, frail little girl—likely Lan, the younger of the twins—was curled up beside the sofa, barely three years old. Her small head drooped weakly, her hair tangled and unkempt, her face pale. Her half-closed eyes were swollen from crying. Truly the child of protagonists. Even though Qiao Lan wasn't’t fond of kids, she couldn’t bring herself to dislike such a beautiful little one. She couldn’t fathom how a child so small could possibly go out and earn money to survive. Her thoughts were tangled, unsure what to say or do, so she lingered in the doorway without approaching. Sensing movement, little Qiao An hugged herself tighter, flinching away from the carpet. Her aunt always said she and her brother were too dirty to touch it. But she missed her brother so much, and she was so, so hungry. No matter how hard she tried to endure, her instincts won out—tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Seeing her aunt hadn’t come closer, she whispered a plea, “Auntie… I’ll eat less from now on. Can you… can you bring my brother back?” Too weak from hunger, her voice was barely audible. Qiao Lan only caught the word “auntie.” She walked to the sofa and bent down slightly. “What did you say?” Qiao An flinched, but for her brother’s sake, she mustered the courage to look up. “I said…” Her whisper-thin voice trailed off, her tearful, fearful yet strikingly clear eyes filled with confusion. But Qiao Lan noticed something was wrong after having that dream she had plenty of life experience as if she is living a second life and knew how to take care of herself—and others now. The child’s breathing was too hot, her eyes too red. “What’s wrong with you?” Dislike aside, the child was still young. Since she had taken the second awakening, she has promised herself to treat the children well as a good aunt, so she couldn’t just ignore her. As she spoke, Qiao Lan's hand reached for the child’s forehead—burning. “You have a fever.” She frowned, hesitating only a moment before scooping the child up. “Where’s the first-aid kit?” Qiao An remained dazed, unresponsive. Realizing she was dealing with a three-year-old, Qiao Lan mentally scolded herself. She had planned to take the child to her room first, but when she pushed open the other door, a blast of cold air made her shiver. Unlike the her room which is well-furnished walk-in closet of a room, this one was barren. The child had no wardrobe—just a few neatly folded clothes in the corner. The bed had only a thin blanket, and there was no air conditioning. No wonder she had a fever. Qiao Lan decided that her previous self eyes being gouged out wasn’t entirely unjustified. She turned and carried the child back to her own room, bundling her in thick blankets.… dirty.” Qiao An squirmed slightly. Qiao Lan pinned the blankets down. “Stay still.” She didn’t have the patience to soften her tone, so it came out a bit harsh. Qiao An froze, but fear crept into her voice. “I’m......dirty" "…” Qiao Lan didn’t respond. She wasn’t good at comforting kids anyway. After scouring the house, she found nothing but alcohol and cosmetics. With no other choice, she used the pitiful hundred-something yuan left in her account to order medicine. While waiting for the delivery, she fetched a basin of water to wipe the child down. Perhaps because she’d been ignored earlier, the child stayed silent now, not uttering a word—just staring at her with red, swollen eyes. Qiao Lan preferred it this way; less hassle. But little Qiao An was terrified inside. Her aunt… didn’t seem like her aunt anymore. The old aunt had always looked at her and her brother with nothing but disgust and curses. She never let them touch the carpet, let alone carried them or allowed them into her room. This new aunt barely spoke, but so far, she hadn’t thought a single hateful thing about her. It was so strange. Though young, Qiao An had always been able to see people’s truest thoughts in their eyes—a secret her brother told her to keep. So she had hidden it carefully all this time. Never had she imagined she’d see a different side of her aunt. With her brother gone, Qiao An didn’t dare speak, staying perfectly still. But her empty, starving stomach betrayed her—a loud growl echoed in the quiet room. Qiao Lan, who had been sitting nearby planning her next steps, heard it. When she turned, she saw the child desperately sucking in her stomach under the blankets. As if that would stop the hunger. “Hungry?” Qiao An pressed her lips together and shook her head hard. I don’t like kids who lie.” Qiao Lan stood and walked out, pausing at the door to add, “Stay put.” The fridge was empty—no surprise her previous self won't cook. With a sick child at home, Qiao Lan couldn't leave. Luckily, the kitchen had basic seasonings, a few eggs, and a pack of noodles—still within expiry. She quickly boiled a simple bowl of egg noodles. When she returned to the room, the threatened child hadn’t moved an inch—only her eyes followed Qiao Lan's movements. Amused, Qiao Lan lifted the bundled-up child and brought the noodles to her lips. “Blow on it until it’s cool enough to eat.” Qiao An stared at her for a long time. After confirming there wasn’t a trace of resentment in this aunt’s heart, she finally gave in, clamping her tiny mouth around the chopsticks and devouring the entire bite. She was just too hungry. She hadn’t eaten a thing since her brother left. She took a bite but immediately burned her mouth. Afraid of being scolded by her aunt if she spat it out, she stubbornly forced herself to swallow. The next second, a slender hand held out a tissue in front of her, and her aunt tapped her cheek lightly with chopsticks. "Spit it out." Qiao An reflexively opened her mouth, and all the noodles landed on the tissue. Without changing her expression, Qiao Lan folded the tissue and tossed it into the trash. Then she looked up at the child. "What did I just say?" What had she said? What had Qiao Lan said? Qiao An couldn’t remember at all and could only stare back helplessly. After a few seconds, Qiao Lan sighed in resignation, blowing on the noodles to cool them before holding them to the child’s mouth. "Are you kids even capable of taking care of yourselves?" Those books must have been lying. This kid didn’t seem particularly bright—what kind of "genius twins" were they supposed to be? Qiao An didn’t understand. Right now, her little head was filled only with the aroma of that delicious bowl of noodles. She’d never known her aunt could cook, let alone make something this tasty. She wanted to eat every last bite. Qiao Lan had never seen a child eat so well—no fussing, no mess, no food smeared all over their face and hands like those other kids who even dogs avoided. In the end, the child even held the bowl herself. When the doorbell rang, Qiao Lan assumed it was the medicine and stood up. "Hold onto this. I’ll feed you when I get back." The child nodded obediently. But when Qiao Lan returned with the medicine, she found the bowl placed neatly on the bedside table, half the noodles untouched. Maybe she was full—being sick could kill an appetite. Qiao Lan didn’t think much of it. After securing the thermometer under the child’s arm, she poured a glass of water, blowing on it first to cool it down, worried the kid might gulp it down recklessly again. As she blew, she noticed something odd—the child kept stealing glances at the half-eaten noodles, hesitant. Qiao Lan asked, "Still hungry?" The child shook her head hurriedly. Kids this age couldn’t hide anything. Qiao Lan set the water glass aside and opened the medicine box, speaking softly. "I told you I don’t like children who lie." Sure enough, Qiao An panicked, fidgeting as she struggled to explain. Finally, with a little strength back from eating, she lowered her head and whispered, "If I eat less… can you bring my brother home?" Bring him home? Qiao Lan paused, confused. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen the other child around. Qiao Lan had only just wake up from the her dream and was still figuring things out. Between the sick child and her own disorientation, she hadn’t had time to wonder—she’d assumed the other kid was out earning money, just like in the novel. As she considered this, her phone buzzed with a notification. The screen lit up, and her eyes caught the message—a bank transfer notification, followed by several zeros. "…" After a brief moment of suffocating silence, she remembered. her previous self had spent every last penny. Used to a lavish lifestyle, she couldn’t bear the sudden financial freefall—so she’d turned to the children. She’d sold one of them for temporary comfort. Oh no. This was bad. Really bad. Qiao Lan looked down at the medicine in her hand, struck by the impulse to shove all of it into her mouth and end everything. How had she become a criminal in this mess? She took a deep breath, steadying herself before feeding the fever-reducing medicine to the child. "Take this first." [Just give me a little more time to sort through the chaos in my head and figure out how to bring my brother back.] Little Qiao'an, who had been secretly observing her aunt's reaction, widened her eyes slightly upon hearing this inner monologue. Auntie was acting really strange today—but why? Yet her young mind couldn’t dwell on anything too complicated. Afraid her aunt might change her mind, she quickly grabbed Qiao Lan's hand and swallowed the medicine, then hurriedly reached for her little purse. "Auntie, I have money here," she said, holding up her tiny phone. "Can... can we buy Brother back?" Her previous self had never liked taking care of children, seeing them as burdens. She’d given the siblings a phone just to contact her when necessary..