Afterward, two neighborhood aunties escorted her back home, filling her in on everything that had unfolded after she left for the hospital.
“Xiuya, you have no idea!” one of them gushed. “Right after we took you to the hospital, huge drama broke out at your place!”
Wen Ya glanced at the speaker, recognizing her as the compound’s premier gossipmonger. She had likely insisted on walking her back just to extract some juicy first-hand scoop.
“Auntie, what happened to my home? Did something go wrong?”
“Oh, it was your—”
“Alright, Zhang Honghua!” the other woman cut in sharply. “Xiuya hasn’t even recovered yet. Why are you dragging all this up to stress her out?”
“I was just making conversation…”
“Well, make conversation somewhere else.”
Chatting as they walked, they soon arrived at Wen Ya’s front door. Noticing it was locked, she fished her key out to unlock it.
Stepping inside, the women saw two sets of bedding spread out on the living room floor. It was clear her scumbag father and his new wife hadn’t dared sleep in the master bedroom last night. Having a guilty conscience really did make people terrified of nightmares.
Yet, oddly enough, they hadn’t moved into her room either—no doubt paralyzed by fear.
Wen Ya walked straight to her bedroom, unlocked the door, and verified that her belongings remained untouched. After thanking the aunties for seeing her home, she slipped inside and lay down on her bed.
Finally alone, she had time to inspect the loot inside her spatial dimension.
When she had raided her father’s room, she had searched through every wardrobe and nightstand. Apart from their clothes and bedding, she had uncovered cash, ration coupons, and precious little else. Most notably, the family registration booklet was missing.
Remembering her father’s plan to sign her up for the countryside program today, the piece fell into place: he had taken the booklet to register her.
Dammit! What a lowlife!
Farm work in the countryside was grueling, and a young girl living far from home was vulnerable to bullying. He was a monster through and through.
It appeared she had no choice but to go down to the countryside now—once a name was submitted to the youth bureau, it was practically impossible to undo.
No one returned home for lunch, so she enjoyed a peaceful meal inside her spatial dimension before heading back out to nap.
The injury to her head was taking a physical toll; feeling overwhelmed by fatigue, she closed her eyes and let sleep take over.
It was evening when she finally woke to the sound of her scum father and stepmother returning.
Her father pushed open her door and handed her an official deployment notice.
“Xiuya, don’t blame me,” he said, avoiding her eyes. “I didn’t want to do this either, but I’m getting old. I need a son to take care of me in my old age.”
“Are you saying you won’t need me to care for you when you’re old?”
“Yeah. I won’t need you.”
“So my reward for being off the hook for your elder care is getting shipped off to the countryside?”
Her father’s expression darkened, but Wen Ya paid him no mind.
“Then give me my household registration document.”
“What do you need that for?”
“I’m already being sent to the countryside,” she sneered. “If you hold onto my registration, are you planning to turn around and sell me off a second time?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” he snapped defensively. “You’re my daughter—how could I ever do something like that?”
“You’ve already done it once,” she countered coldly. “Withholding my registration now—is it really so crazy for me to think that way?”
“Fine, I’ll give it to you right now!”
Reaching into his pocket, her father pulled out the household registration booklet. Wen Ya immediately snatched it from his hands. Realizing it was the entire family booklet, she knew he would throw a fit if she tried to keep the whole thing.
“I want to change my name.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I want to change my name.”
“You’re my daughter! Why on earth would you change your name?”
“Because you don’t want me anymore!” Wen Ya declared. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she turned her head away in pouting, spiteful anger, looking every bit like an aggrieved child. “You traded me away to the countryside for them! I’m changing my name to take my mother’s surname. I won’t share a name with you anymore.”
Seeing her tearful outburst, her father assumed she was just throwing a childish tantrum.
“Xiuya, look… your dad didn’t want it to be like this either,” he reasoned, his tone softening slightly. “I just want someone around to carry out my funeral rites when I pass away.”
In most traditional places, people were obsessed with having a son to provide care in old age and shatter the ceremonial basin at their funeral. Even decades later, that backwards mindset persisted, ignoring the countless single-daughter households where daughters fulfilled those exact duties with honor.
“I don’t care—I’m furious!” Wen Ya sobbed dramatically. “I’m changing my surname to Mom’s! At least my mother would never sell me out.”
The moment she mentioned her late wife, the father felt a prickle of guilt.
He had acted tough a few days ago, but ever since returning home to find the master bedroom completely stripped bare and smeared with bloody warnings, his courage had evaporated. He was terrified that abusing their daughter would cause his late wife’s ghost to return for vengeance. After experiencing something so supernatural, he no longer had the nerve to bark at her.
“If you won’t let me change my surname, is it because you really do plan to sell me off later?”
“I don’t!”
Though Liu Min had brainwashed him into planning to sell Xiuya off for a hefty betrothal price down the road, he didn’t dare entertain the thought anymore.
“If you don’t, then let me change it,” she insisted, lowering her voice ominously. “Last night, my mom visited me in a dream. She told me to take her surname so you wouldn’t be able to sell me for money.”
She watched as her father’s face drained of color at the mention of the dream visitation.
“If you don’t agree, I’ll go back into my dream tonight and tell Mom that you’re still planning to sell me for cash.”
“Let… let me think about it,” he stammered, hurrying out of the room.
Outside, Liu Min had been craning her neck to eavesdrop. Seeing her husband come out, she immediately rushed over.
“How did it go? She didn’t make a scene, did she?”
“No scene,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead. “She just says she wants to change her surname—takes her mother’s instead.”
“Sigh, the poor child is just holding a grudge against me,” Liu Min lamented smoothly. “Old Chen, I think you should just let her change it. Even with a different surname, she’s still your daughter. Nothing can alter that blood bond.”
“She’s my daughter, but she won’t carry the Chen name anymore!”
“Think about it,” Liu Min urged softly. “She’s asking for your permission now, but once she goes down to the countryside and holds her own individual registration file, she can change it without your consent anyway. Why not agree now and leave her with a good impression of you?”
Neither of them realized that the original soul was long gone. The girl standing before them felt zero affection for them—only pure, unadulterated disgust.
Wen Ya had just sat up when her father knocked and re-entered her room.
“Xiuya, I owe you for what happened this time. If you want to change your surname, go ahead.”
“I just looked at the papers and realized something,” Wen Ya said, looking up with sudden suspicion. “The youth bureau gives out a settling-in allowance for signing up for the countryside, right? Are you planning to pocket my allowance and leave me with nothing? Wow… are you really my biological father, trying to drive me into a corner like this?”
As tears welled in her eyes once more, her father felt a crushing weight of guilt.
Pulling out the settling-in allowance that he had intended to give to Liu Min—before the bloody room had wiped his memory clean—he thrust it toward her.
“I’m not! Here, take it,” he said hurriedly. “The allowance is a hundred and fifty yuan, plus these ration coupons for buying supplies.”
He dumped the cash and coupons into her hands before turning toward the door.
“We’ll go together tomorrow morning,” he added, walking away quickly. “I’ll help you file the name change.”
Wen Ya brightened instantly. Examining the notice in her hand, she saw that her departure was set in five days.
Checking her assigned location, her jaw dropped: Xiangyang Commune, X County, T City, L Province.
(Author’s Note: This location was promised to my readers who requested a story set in their home province!)
The Northeast was absurdly far away! Her scum father couldn’t even bother finding her a decent location—he had picked the absolute coldest region in the country.
Given how utterly rotten he is, I can’t let him off easy, she vowed silently. Even after I leave, I’ll make sure their lives are an absolute misery.