“You cut ties with them. As long as I see the disownment document, I’ll let them off for now.
Otherwise, for every single thing they’ve done, I will make sure they’re utterly disgraced. I won’t stop until they’re ruined!”
Li Yang’s eyes were filled with indifference.
Li Qinghui hadn’t expected his daughter’s resentment toward him to run so deep, nor her hatred for her grandmother and eldest uncle’s family.
All these years… had he really been wrong?
“If you don’t agree, I’ll have my mom divorce you. I’ll live with her and cut off our father-daughter relationship.”
Hearing this, Zhao Wanrou didn’t doubt her daughter’s determination for a second.
Her heart trembled fiercely, but she understood—her daughter mattered most.
Li Yang closed her eyes. Having transmigrated to this critical point, she was determined to change the tragic fate of their family of three.
She also wanted to see how these villains from the 1980s would fare against a genius girl from the future with both high IQ and EQ.
Li Qinghui was stunned for a long time. He had never imagined that his usually obedient daughter would say something so defiant.
“When the time comes, my mom and I will go stay with my uncle. You can stay here alone and continue your foolish filial devotion to your mother and your useless, rotten elder brother’s family. Whether you give them your house, your job, or even sell your blood to please them, we won’t spare you a single glance of sympathy.”
Li Qinghui carefully considered his daughter’s words.
That’s right. If their branch of the family compromised this time, what about next time?
His father had died early. He had always sympathized with his mother’s hardships in raising the family, constantly yielding and tolerating. Back then, when he returned from the army and was assigned a job, he had even begged his superiors to give it to his elder brother—just so his nearly thirty-year-old brother could marry a good wife.
He had thought life for the whole family would get better and better.
But more than ten years had passed, and it seemed only his own family had become more and more miserable.
Thinking of his wronged wife and his daughter who had once chosen death so resolutely, Li Qinghui realized he could no longer endure it.
All these years, he had truly lived like a joke.
His mother had always favored his elder brother, but his wife and daughter only had him.
Which mattered more—he knew the answer.
That night, Li Qinghui did not appear in the hospital ward.
Instead, he went home and caused a huge scene, declaring that if they refused to sever ties, he would publish everything in the newspaper and let the entire nation judge who was right.
Li Qingsong, who had lived comfortably for years and cared deeply about his reputation, naturally refused to let him make a scene outside.
…
Zhao Wanrou, who had long been suppressed and disliked by the harsh old lady Li Xiuqin, had already been forced to quit her job and stay home to take care of the entire household.
Now that both mother and daughter had been wronged, she simply stayed by Li Yang’s side to take care of her. At mealtimes, she would go to the state-run restaurant, buy food, and bring it back to the ward. The two of them ate with great appetite.
Early the next morning, Li Qinghui entered the ward carrying steamed buns and porridge.
There had been no one else in the ward the day before, but now a new patient had arrived, so he couldn’t openly discuss family matters.
“It’s done. Yangyang, eat breakfast and rest first. If anything comes up, call the nurse. Your mom and I need to go home and move our things.”
Li Yang remained stubborn. She didn’t take the porridge. Instead, she reached out her hand, asking for something.
Li Qinghui quickly took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
Li Yang hadn’t expected him to obtain the disownment document so easily.
She skimmed through it quickly, frowning slightly.
Not only did her father get nothing, he also had to give that vicious old woman twenty yuan a month as support.
In this era, filial piety could crush people.
But Li Yang knew this was already the best outcome. Twenty yuan was something they could still afford.
Looking at the pale yellow paper stamped with several official seals, she finally smiled faintly.
The first step to changing their fate had succeeded.
She only hoped those people wouldn’t regret it once she rose to success. If they dared come crawling back, she would slap their faces hard.
“I’m fine now. I want to be discharged.”
The couple had only extended her hospital stay out of fear she might do something foolish again.
Now it seemed she was truly fine.
So the family of three packed up, completed the discharge procedures, and headed back to the residential compound.
The Li family was large and prosperous. Aside from the room originally assigned to Li Qinghui with his job, the two brothers had pooled money over the years to buy the adjacent room.
So now, out of the six households on the first floor, the Li family occupied two.
Before the family split, everything had been shared. Now that the disownment document was signed, aside from the belongings in their own room, they couldn’t take anything.
Li Qinghui had hurriedly asked a colleague to help rent a small independent courtyard near the newspaper office.
Li Xiuqin had made it clear—since they were severing ties, they had to move everything out before noon. Once the time passed, Li Qinghui’s family would not be allowed to step into the main house again.
That was why he had been in such a rush all night.
Perhaps out of sight, out of mind—there wasn’t a single person at home now. Even the kitchen was locked tightly, as if to prevent them from taking anything.
Zhao Wanrou felt indignant seeing such treatment, but noticing that neither father nor daughter seemed upset at all, she simply went to pack.
They didn’t let Li Yang help, and she was happy to take it easy.
Thinking of her plan, she folded her arms and knocked on the door of the west-side household.
“Grandma Zhang, it’s me, Li Yang!”
“C-can I have a bowl of water at your place?”
When the old woman opened the door, she saw Li Yang’s delicate, pale face—made even more so by her recent hospitalization.
For a moment, she thought she was seeing a fairy.
“That old hag Li Xiuqin’s granddaughter is really quite charming,” she thought.
Though she never got along with Li Xiuqin, she was relatively kind to Li Qinghui’s family.
“Oh! Yang girl, come in. Grandma Zhang will get you some water.”
After hearing Li Yang’s tearful account, even she, an outsider, was furious.
“Bah! That black-hearted family! Your uncle’s job was given by your father, and that east room was originally assigned to him too. Even the west room—your father paid for half of it! Everyone in this compound knows that!”
“Your grandmother and uncle are truly shameless! Why should they take both rooms? Locking the kitchen before you move out—can’t even let a child have a sip of water! Such a good child, and they wanted to marry you off to a fool. They even drove you to hang yourself…”
Even someone like her, who didn’t consider herself kind, was enraged.
Li Yang showed a lifeless expression.
“There’s no helping it. My cousin… she’s already involved with Chu Tianci. Marrying me off to a fool ensures I won’t get in their way.”
Grandma Zhang was shocked.
“That lazy girl Li Yao is involved with Director Chu’s son from the sixth floor? But wasn’t your engagement to Chu Tianci arranged because of your father’s favor to their family?”
Li Yang gave a faint smile.
“It was only a verbal agreement. Who knows? Maybe I just don’t have that fate. Chu Tianci only likes my cousin.
I should go. Thank you, Grandma Zhang. I’ll visit when I have time. I need to help pack—they said we’re not allowed back into my uncle’s house after work.”
Grandma Zhang personally escorted her back.
Seeing that their belongings barely filled half a cart, she glared at Li Qinghui and left, shaking her head.
Li Yang curled her lips slightly.
She was certain—the Li family would soon become infamous in Nancheng.
The nearby residential buildings all belonged to different work units, and everyone was somehow connected.
With Grandma Zhang leading the gossip network, this explosive scandal about the Li family had already been planted.
As for Chu Tianci—even if she couldn’t deal with him yet, the label of ingratitude would stick whether he liked it or not.
That night, the family slept late while arranging their new home.
Li Qingsong never expected that he would still lose face—just that it spread more slowly than if it had been published in the newspaper.
In his mind, blood ties couldn’t truly be severed. His younger brother’s family was just temporarily angry. Once they calmed down, they would still be useful to him.
Besides, they had only mentioned cutting ties, not Li Yang’s marriage.
If they caused trouble later, he could simply claim they had exchanged their daughter’s marriage for one thousand yuan in order to sever ties with their mother.
After all, their mother stood on his side.
He wasn’t the one cutting ties—if anyone got criticized, it would be his younger brother.
That one thousand yuan had to be given to Zhang Xiaoping, the head of the singing department of the cultural troupe, so that Li Yao could enter.
Once his precious daughter married well in the future, he too would enjoy the benefits.
And so, Li Qingsong persuaded their mother to sign the disownment document.
With those troublesome relatives temporarily out of their lives, Li Yang finally had time to calmly think about her situation.
In the book, it mentioned that shortly after the original host’s suicide attempt, the local news reported that the Nancheng Cultural Troupe would be sent to the Northwest Military Region for a one-year tour.
Li Yao’s entry into the troupe had relied on this opportunity—paying a large sum to secure a temporary position.
As long as she stayed for a year, she would gain a permanent spot.
But Li Yang would never resort to bribery.
Still, she wouldn’t miss this chance to deal with Li Yao.
Didn’t Li Yao love stealing what belonged to her?
This time, she would show her—on her own turf—who truly deserved to be called the nation’s goddess.
The first step was to secure a spot in the Nancheng Cultural Troupe.
Li Yang was absolutely confident.
But first, she needed to confirm whether this recruitment was open to all talented youths in the city.
“Mom, has the Nancheng newspaper mentioned anything about the cultural troupe these past few days?”