The darkness behind her instantly swallowed her whole, carrying a faint smell of dampness and dust.
Reaching behind her, Lin Xiaxia felt around for the mechanism she had just triggered. Her fingertips soon touched a protruding wooden button. She pressed it lightly.
Click.
The wall slowly slid shut again, completely blocking out the light from outside. The secret room was immediately plunged into pitch-black darkness.
Lin Xiaxia steadied herself, put on a mask, and took out a flashlight. Only then could she clearly see her surroundings.
The secret room wasn’t large, only about half the size of an ordinary room. Several locked wooden chests were piled in one corner, their surfaces covered in a thick layer of dust. Clearly, no one had touched them for a very long time.
She activated the scanning function.
In an instant, the screen before her was flooded with dazzling red light, so intense it seemed ready to spill beyond the display.
There were far more treasures in here than the gold ingots she had found earlier!
Her heart pounded wildly.
Suppressing her excitement, Lin Xiaxia walked over to the nearest wooden chest.
With a casual movement, she opened it. Inside were neatly arranged scrolls that appeared to contain paintings and calligraphy.
She didn’t dare waste any time. Afraid someone might come in from outside, she hurriedly used her mind to transfer everything into her storage space.
Only when the secret room was completely empty did she press the mechanism again and quietly slip back out.
As the wall closed behind her, she quickly straightened her clothes and casually walked over to the window as though nothing had happened.
Looking at the setting sun outside, she finally let out a long breath of relief.
After leaving the park, Lin Xiaxia rubbed her growling stomach and decided to stop by the state-run restaurant on the street corner.
There weren’t many customers inside. The wooden tables and chairs had been polished until they gleamed, while the tempting aroma of cooked food filled the air.
She walked up to the counter and called out to the young woman in blue work clothes behind it.
“Comrade, I’d like half a jin of pork and cabbage dumplings.”
The young woman looked up, and her brows immediately knitted together. She gave Lin Xiaxia a disdainful once-over.
“Where did this beggar come from? This is a state-run restaurant. Look at the way you’re dressed. Do you really think this is a place you can just walk into? And you want half a jin of dumplings? Do you even have money and food coupons?”
Only then did Lin Xiaxia lower her head and look at herself.
She was still wearing the old patched jacket she had worn when she left the Lin family. The cuffs had been worn shiny with age, and there were spots of mud on the hems of her pants.
She hadn’t had a proper bath in quite some time either, so she did indeed smell of sweat and dust.
No wonder the woman disliked having her around.
Lin Xiaxia patiently kept her voice as calm as possible.
“Sorry, Comrade. I ran into some trouble and didn’t have time to change my clothes. I have both money and food coupons. Look, I can sit in the corner to eat. I won’t bother anyone.”
As she spoke, she pulled several small-denomination bills and a one-liang food coupon from her pocket and handed them over.
The young woman frowned, pinched her nose, and quickly took the money and coupon. Then she called toward the serving window.
“Half a jin of pork dumplings! For the one in the corner!”
Before long, a steaming plate of dumplings was brought out.
Dumplings in those days were generously made. Each one looked like a tiny silver ingot, with thin wrappers and plenty of filling. One bite released piping-hot juices from inside.
Lin Xiaxia was starving.
She didn’t even care that they were hot and quickly devoured them one after another.
After finishing half a jin of dumplings, her stomach was finally full, and she felt as though she had come back to life.
An elderly man sitting at the next table watched her with amusement and couldn’t help asking, “Young lady, what kind of work do you do? You sure can eat. Half a jin of dumplings, and you finished them like it was nothing.”
Lin Xiaxia wiped her mouth and grinned.
“Manual labor. I burn a lot of energy, so naturally I eat a lot.”
With that, she got up and left.
Catching a whiff of herself, even she found the smell unbearable.
She found a secluded alley and made sure no one was around. Then she took a clean blue cotton jacket and a pair of trousers out of her storage space, along with a bar of soap and a small bottle of shampoo.
Afterward, she headed straight for a nearby public bathhouse.
Steam filled the bathhouse.
Lin Xiaxia thoroughly enjoyed a hot bath, scrubbing away all the grime that had accumulated on her body over who knew how many days.
When she saw her messy, bird’s-nest-like hair in the mirror, she simply pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
Within moments, she had cut her hair into a short, ear-length style.
Afterward, she examined herself in the mirror.
She did look a little unattractive.
She was painfully thin and deeply tanned.
Still, the short haircut looked neat and refreshing, giving her a much more energetic appearance.
After changing into clean clothes, Lin Xiaxia took a deep breath. With her entire body feeling fresh and comfortable, even the air seemed cleaner.
She tossed her dirty clothes into her storage space, planning to dispose of them when she had the chance, then headed toward the Xue family home with light footsteps.
There were only two days left before she was scheduled to leave for the countryside.
She needed to make the most of her remaining time and prepare everything she would need.
The moment Lin Xiaxia pushed open the Xue family’s front door, she sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere inside.
Zhang Shufen was sitting on the sofa, wiping away her tears.
When she looked up and saw the person standing at the doorway, she was just about to start scolding her when the words suddenly died in her throat.
Her eyes widened as she stared at Lin Xiaxia from head to toe in disbelief.
“You’re… Xiaxia?”
Lin Xiaxia answered indifferently, “Mm.”
“How did you end up looking like this?” Zhang Shufen’s voice rose sharply, as though she had seen something unbelievable.
“Your hair, your clothes… Where did you get the money for all this?”
A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Lin Xiaxia’s lips, and she made no attempt to hide the mockery in her eyes.
“What? You actually care whether I live or die?”
“You brought me back two days ago, yet you didn’t even give me a decent set of clothes, much less bother helping me clean myself up. All you’ve been thinking about is how to drag me to the countryside so I can work myself to the bone serving all of you and making your lives easier, isn’t that right?”
Her gaze turned colder.
“If no one else cares about me, then I’ll care about myself. Even if I’m all alone, I can still live perfectly well.”
“You…”
Zhang Shufen was rendered speechless. Her face alternated between pale and livid.
Beside her, Xue Jianguo could no longer contain his anger.
He slammed his palm against the table and sprang to his feet, pointing furiously at Lin Xiaxia.
“You’ve become completely lawless! You’re coming with me to the neighborhood office right now! Tell them you’re not going to the countryside anymore. You must come with us to the place where our family is being sent!”
“Can’t do that.”
Lin Xiaxia raised an eyebrow and casually patted her brand-new jacket.
“I’ve already spent the money they gave me for going to the countryside. See these clothes? I bought them with it. Besides, my placement has already been finalized. It can’t be changed.”
“You… You…”
Xue Jianguo’s fingers trembled with rage, and his chest heaved violently. For a long moment, he couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
“What about me?”
Lin Xiaxia stared directly at him, not a trace of fear in her eyes.
“I’m doing great. I’m eating well, dressing well, and all I have to do now is wait until the day after tomorrow. Then I’ll leave for the countryside and live my own life.”
Her stubborn attitude, coupled with her deliberate choice of words designed to infuriate him, was like a match thrown onto the anger Xue Jianguo had been suppressing.
It exploded instantly.
He pointed toward the door and roared so loudly that his voice cracked.
“Get the hell out! The Xue family has no place for a disobedient beast like you!”
The word “beast” struck Lin Xiaxia like a poisoned needle.
Her expression twitched before turning completely cold.
Years of suppressed fury surged in the depths of her eyes.
Before Xue Jianguo could say another word, she raised her foot and kicked the washbasin stand beside her.
Crash!
The enamel basin hit the floor and spun several times. The wooden stand collapsed into pieces, sending water splashing everywhere.
“I’m a beast?”
Lin Xiaxia’s voice was as cold as ice.
“Then what does that make you? An old beast?”
“You think I actually want to stay here? If you people hadn’t begged me to come back, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend even one extra second in this house!”
With that, she turned and walked toward the door.
Her back remained straight, and she didn’t show the slightest hint of reluctance.
Behind her came Xue Jianguo’s furious curses and Zhang Shufen’s tearful cries.
But to Lin Xiaxia, their voices seemed muffled behind a thick wall.
She shut them out completely.