My sister-in-law is a strict vegan. She insisted on raising her baby exclusively on a plant-based diet. She even planned to replace my nephew's baby formula with soy milk. As a pediatrician, I strongly advised her to ensure a balanced diet with both meat and vegetables, advocating for science-based parenting. In the end, my nephew grew up healthy and strong. But whenever he faced any difficulties in life, my sister-in-law would tell him: "You were supposed to be a pure vegan baby from the womb, blessed with good karma. It was your aunt who ruined your vegan blessings." Because of this, he resented me for years, and one night while I was fast asleep, he smothered me to death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day my sister-in-law asked for my advice. This time, I smiled and said: "You're the mom, you have the final say." 1 I was reborn on the day of my nephew's one-month celebration. My sister-in-law, Chloe, was holding the baby, bragging to a table full of relatives about her "pure vegan from the womb" baby. She proudly declared that she had stuck to a strict vegan diet for two years. Even during her pregnancy, she hadn't touched a single egg or drop of dairy. She proclaimed that the baby would also be raised exclusively vegan—no formula, only soy milk. The relatives thought it was absurd. They chimed in, urging her that growing children need proper nutrition and asking how he could possibly survive without formula. What if it affected his development? Chloe brushed them off, unimpressed. "You guys just don't get it. Babies who are vegan from the womb are blessed. They're bound to be much smarter than ordinary kids!" "Isn't that right, Aria? You're a doctor. Why don't you tell them? Isn't a vegan diet better?" As she spoke, she turned her gaze toward me. I drifted off for a second, then the memories came flooding back. In my past life, she had asked me the exact same question in front of everyone. Back then, driven by professional integrity, I told her the truth. In the pediatric ward, I had treated countless children suffering from malnutrition. I had seen those "pure vegan from the womb" babies that were so trendy in extreme vegan circles. Most of them were shorter, more lethargic, and had weaker immune systems than their peers. Children need a variety of trace elements for growth, many of which simply cannot be provided by a pure vegan diet. A balanced diet of meat and vegetables is essential, and parenting must be grounded in science. Chloe's face fell, and she stayed silent. Eventually, persuaded by the elders, my brother finally decided against forcing the child to be vegan from birth. My little nephew grew up safe and healthy. But what I didn't expect was that from then on, every hardship he faced in life would be blamed on me by his mother. If he hit a roadblock in his studies or had a fight with a classmate... Chloe would tell him, "You were supposed to be a pure vegan baby from the womb, blessed with heavenly karma to succeed in everything. But your aunt ruined your blessings." This led to him resenting me from a very young age. Finally, during one of my visits home, he slipped sleeping pills into my milk and smothered me with a pillow in my room. The security camera in the living room caught a glimpse of it. When Chloe discovered it, her first action was to have my brother delete the footage. Then, they told everyone I died of a sudden heart attack. My mother cried until she lost her voice at my funeral, but after all the guests had left... She held my portrait and whispered, "Aria, I'm sorry. Mom has already lost a daughter; I can't lose my grandson too." She knew everything, but she chose silence. These were the family members I had treated with genuine love. Thinking back to this, I looked at Chloe's eager eyes and offered a mild smile. "There's no parent who doesn't want the best for their child. How to raise him is, of course, up to the mother." She was extremely satisfied with my answer. "See? Even the doctor agrees! What more is there to question!" Yes, this time, I wanted to see just how much "good karma" your pure vegan baby could muster. 2 After the banquet, my mom pulled me aside on the sofa. "Aria, you know we live out of state and it's not convenient. We're counting on you for the baby's formula and things like that from now on." In my past life, whenever it was time for formula or baby food, they made me buy it. Their excuse was, "Since you're the one advocating for science-based parenting, naturally, you should be responsible for it." During that time, my money flowed out like water. When I tried to settle the expenses with my brother and sister-in-law, my mom would intervene, "We're all family, why are you keeping such strict accounts?" So, more than half of the expenses of raising their child were siphoned from me. But this time, I wasn't going to be their cash cow. "Mom, Chloe said she's doing a pure vegan diet. Which formula on the market is vegan?" Her smile froze. She glanced at Chloe, too afraid to offend her daughter-in-law. "Then... what should we do?" What should you do? Feed him soy milk, of course. I took her hand and smiled warmly, trying to comfort her. "Oh, come on, Chloe knows how to raise her child. You just relax and stop worrying." She looked embarrassed and had to let it go. Then, she watched helplessly as Chloe ordered a massive sack of soybeans online and commanded her to make soy milk every single day. 3 Two months later, in the dead of night, I received a phone call from my hometown. It was my brother, Mark. "Aria, Noah has a high fever that won't break! Hurry back and take him to the hospital!" Noah was my nephew's name. It was the same in my past life. Whenever he had a slight headache or fever, my brother and sister-in-law's first instinct was to call me. They wouldn't even go to the hospital themselves; they just dumped the responsibility entirely. And I, brainwashed by my mother's "we're all family" rhetoric, would take charge of everything. But now, looking at the fact that my shift was over, I leisurely took off my white coat and stretched. "I can't, Mark. I'm on call and have patients to see. I can't leave!" The voice on the other end grew frantic: "What patients? Do you not understand prioritization? Who could be more important than your own nephew?" I smiled faintly. "Mark, don't worry. Didn't Chloe say that vegan babies are blessed and have stronger immune systems than normal babies? I figured he wouldn't get sick, so I didn't make any preparations." Mark was furious and started yelling at me. Then, he turned his anger on Chloe: "Didn't you say a vegan diet makes him healthier? Why is he sick?!" Chloe refused to back down: "It's just a minor illness. It's no big deal if we don't go to the hospital. This child has good karma; he'll be fine." An argument erupted on the other end of the line. The sound of things breaking and doors slamming echoed back and forth. By the time they finished their commotion and took the baby to the clinic, his temperature had spiked to 106 degrees. 4 However, no one died. Small clinics are best at routine fever reduction. A few bottles of antibiotics, and the effect is immediate. In contrast, major hospitals have strict regulations on IV fluids and prohibit the abuse of antibiotics, so fever reduction isn't as fast. In my past life, I was even subjected to Chloe's passive-aggressive remarks because of this. "Big hospitals just know how to make money. A simple IV could solve it, but they always want to admit you!" But she didn't know that the dependency caused by long-term antibiotic use is a disaster for a child's immune system. This time, I wouldn't interfere. Let him get as many IVs as she wished. A child's destiny is inherently proportional to their parents' understanding. There is absolutely no need to force a change. 5 The day after the IV, Noah's temperature returned to normal. Chloe was thrilled, increasingly convinced this was the result of his vegan diet. She immediately posted an update on social media. [Other babies take ten days in the hospital for a cold and still aren't better. My vegan baby's fever broke in one night!] She declared that not only would she stick to the vegan diet even more resolutely, but she would also promote the benefits of being vegan from the womb to more pregnant friends. And in the comments section, her circle of friends were all uniformly saying: [Rejoice and praise, boundless merit.] I swiped past casually and calmly turned off the screen. Let her continue wasting her time like this. 6 Time flew by. When I saw Noah again, he was already seven years old. He looked vastly different from my impression of him in my past life. His complexion was sallow, his hair dull and dry, and he was a full two or three inches shorter than kids his age. He stood blankly in the corner, unwilling to communicate with anyone. But Chloe remained as proud as ever. Over these years, under her strict training, no one in the family dared let Noah have a single bite of meat. Even on his birthday, when my mom added a tiny bit of lard to his longevity noodles, Chloe scolded her mercilessly. She was very proud of this, bragging to everyone she met: "Our Noah is just like me. He wants to throw up at the smell of meat." I pursed my lips and stayed silent. Why do extreme vegans always take pride in being unable to stand the smell of meat? That's a sign of liver damage. 7 After dinner, my mom held my hand, her eyes eager. "Aria, this is your only nephew. You can't ignore his elementary school enrollment." They wanted me to pull some strings to get Noah into the prestigious private Oakridge Elementary. In my past life, with my tutoring, he successfully got into that school. Because it was close to my workplace, he lived with me after starting school. I was responsible for his food, clothing, and daily expenses. I took care of him for nine whole years, until he got into a top high school and secured a guaranteed admission to a prestigious university. And on the day the family threw a celebratory banquet for him, he murdered me with his own hands. Before I died, I heard him say: "If it weren't for you meddling and taking me away from my parents, I wouldn't have suffered so much for so many years. "If I had just followed my mom's vegan diet from a young age, studying wouldn't have been so hard!" It turned out that my pouring my heart out to provide him with educational resources his original family lacked was, in his eyes, "suffering." All the money spent on him over those years didn't earn a single word of gratitude, only accumulated endless resentment. In nine years, I had successfully raised an ungrateful monster. Thinking of this, I spoke calmly: "Mom, it's just an entrance exam. "With the intelligence of a baby who's been vegan from the womb, he'll definitely ace it. Right, Chloe?" As I spoke, I looked at Chloe. She raised her eyebrows proudly: "Of course. An exam like this is a piece of cake for my son." I smiled. I also wanted to know what score he would get in this life. 8 On the day the exam results were announced, Chloe scrolled on her phone for ages but couldn't find her son's name. It wasn't until she scrolled to the very end of the dense Excel spreadsheet that she finally saw the name "Noah Thorne." Reading: 52, Math: 34, English: 41. The maximum score was 100. She exclaimed it was impossible. "The school must have made a mistake. How could my son score so low?" 她 paced around the living room, muttering to herself for a long time. I almost wanted to laugh. The multiple elements needed for a child's brain development cannot be provided by a pure vegan diet. For example, DHA, which affects intelligence, can only be obtained from fish. Being a vegan since childhood, it would be a miracle if his IQ were normal. But Chloe clearly lacked this knowledge base. After muttering for a long time, she turned to me again: "Aria, go talk to the school leadership. Ask them to check if there was a mistake. Otherwise, someone must be cheating!" I was instantly speechless. So the over 300 students ahead of him were all cheating? My mom glanced at Chloe in dissatisfaction but didn't dare say anything. She could only look to me for help: "Aria, you're the most successful one in our family. You have to figure something out for your nephew." Mark chimed in: "Yeah, why don't you go buy a gift for the principal and ask for a favor? One more student won't hurt." If gifts could secure admission, wouldn't the parents of the other 300-plus students be doing the same? If it's so easy to use the back door, why doesn't he do it himself? This brother of mine is always so unrealistic. 9 I sighed, looking troubled: "It's not that I won't help Noah. Chloe said vegan babies are the smartest and exams are no problem. I didn't prepare anything. Now that admissions are closed, it's too late to ask for favors." Hearing this, Mark's face darkened, and he pointed at Chloe, starting to complain: "Didn't you say that as long as he ate vegan, exams wouldn't be an issue? What happened now?" Chloe rolled her eyes, put her hands on her hips, and started scolding: "Why are you blaming me? It's definitely the school's problem. Don't I know my own son? He's always been the brightest. "If you ask me, these private schools just give tricky and weird questions to make things difficult for people. It's better not to go!" The two started cursing and arguing again. I slowly stepped forward to mediate: "Chloe is right. True gold shines everywhere. As long as the child is smart, it doesn't matter what school he goes to." This farce ended with their argument. And Noah in this life would never have the chance to enter Oakridge Elementary. He could only stay locally and attend the most ordinary school. High-quality educational resources were forever out of his reach.
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