Coo… coo… Coo… coo…
Accompanied by the rising and falling growls of her stomach, a wave of intense hunger struck. An Ran groggily clutched her stomach, wanting to get out of bed to find something to eat. To her surprise, her foot missed its mark, and with a thud, she fell flat on her face. The pain was so sharp it took An Ran a long time to recover, but when she finally opened her eyes, she was stunned!
Wasn’t this her childhood room?
Looking down at her skeletal body, An Ran rushed to the mirror in disbelief. Seeing her youthful face reflected in the glass, she couldn’t help but gasp: “Hiss—”
Coo, coo, coo, coo…
The intense hunger struck again. An Ran didn’t have time to think. She dragged her weak, starving body to find something to eat.
As soon as she opened the door, An Ran smelled the aroma of food. She immediately followed the scent to the dining table, sat down, picked up a bowl, and started eating.
An Quan looked at his second sister in shock: “That’s my food!”
His second sister actually snatched his food!
Yang Huixian glared at An Ran angrily: “Who told you to snatch your brother’s food? Weren’t you going on a hunger strike? It’s only been one day and you’re already stopping? Put that bowl down for me!”
Hunger strike?
She had only gone on a hunger strike once in her life.
That was the summer of 1974. She had just graduated from high school. The policy at the time encouraged educated youth to go to the countryside, but after seeing a neighbor’s sister return for a visit after two years looking twenty years older, she had resolutely refused to go. Therefore, even before graduating, she had begged her parents to help her look for a job, and she had been asking around everywhere herself.
As luck would have it, just as she graduated, a classmate’s relative wanted to sell their job position. Since that classmate was on good terms with her, they asked if she wanted to buy it.
In those days, jobs were scarce and highly sought after. She naturally jumped at the opportunity. However, when she told her parents, they refused to buy the job for her on the grounds that the family had no money—even when she promised to hand over her entire salary for the next ten years. To completely cut off her hopes, her mother secretly signed her up to go to the countryside behind her back. By the time she found out, the notice had already arrived at their door. In a fit of rage, she went on a hunger strike in protest, but her mother said that unless she died, as long as she had a breath left in her, they would carry her onto the train to the countryside. Later, she really was carried onto the train.
Thinking of this, a flicker of hatred flashed in An Ran’s eyes. In her past life, she could never understand why her mother, who had four children, was so heartless only to her. Later, she finally understood—she wasn’t her biological daughter. Because Yang Huixian was jealous that her own twin sister had married the man she liked, she had switched their babies. On her deathbed, she confessed to her, saying she regretted it after the switch. But the twin sister had finished her confinement period and moved with the child to follow her husband’s military posting. By the time the twin sister returned with the child, both she and that child were five years old, and there was no way to quietly switch them back. Fearing she wouldn’t be forgiven if she spoke out, she decided to let the mistake stand.
Haha.
What a convenient “let the mistake stand.”
If she were truly repentant, she should have been even better to her. Because she should have grown up like a little princess, yet Yang Huixian had made her grow up like a little beggar. It would be one thing if she couldn’t provide a wealthy life, but she didn’t even let her feel the warmth of a family. What kind of repentance was that?
In her view, the woman had simply done something wicked and feared going to hell after death, so she feigned repentance to beg for her forgiveness.
Seeing that An Ran was ignoring her, Yang Huixian reached out in a rage to snatch the bowl: “I told you to put that bowl down!”
An Ran gripped the bowl tightly and refused to let go, all while desperately shoveling food into her mouth. This attitude made Yang Huixian feel that her authority was being challenged, so she angrily raised her palm and slapped An Ran hard on the back of the head.
Under the momentum, An Ran’s nose slammed into the bowl, and blood immediately began to pour out.
The father, An Hegui, let out an “Oh!” at the sight and criticized Yang Huixian for using too much force.
Yang Huixian felt a bit guilty at first, but when she saw An Ran glaring at her with pure malice, her temper flared instantly: “What’s with that look? What? Do you want to hit me? Hit me if you have the guts!”
An Ran put down the chopsticks, and under the shocked gazes of everyone, she picked up the bowl and smashed it hard at Yang Huixian.
After throwing it, still not satisfied, she directly flipped the dining table over.
Everyone was stunned by An Ran’s ferocious appearance, especially Yang Huixian. Feeling the large bump forming on her head where she’d been hit, she looked at An Ran in disbelief: “You actually dared to lay a hand on your mother? You… aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”
An Ran grabbed Yang Huixian’s collar and yanked her close: “You’d better pray you’re my biological mother. Otherwise, I—will—kill—you!”
Yang Huixian’s pupils dilated in shock. What did An Ran mean? Did she know something?
An Hegui, An Quan, and An Jue—the father and two sons—were once again stunned by the murderous intent emanating from An Ran. Even if Yang Huixian was excessive toward An Ran, she was still her mother. What kind of child hits their mother and shouts about killing her?
Without waiting for the three to react, An Ran let go of Yang Huixian, went back to her room to grab her secret savings, and ignored everyone’s stares as she walked out the door.
As soon as she stepped out, An Ran saw the old woman from next door peeking around.
Seeing her walk out with a bloody nose, the old woman gasped and hurried forward to ask what happened.
Seeing the gossip-hungry glint in the old woman’s eyes, An Ran’s eyes instantly turned red: “Granny Liu, do you think I’m my mother’s biological daughter? Why is she so good to my big sister and my two brothers, but so terrible to me? Is it just because I look like my maternal aunt? But she dislikes my aunt so much, so why does she like my aunt’s daughter? Is it just because my aunt’s daughter looks more like her? Granny Liu, do you think it’s possible that An Shu is her biological daughter, and I’m actually my aunt’s?”
Granny Liu perked up upon hearing this: “To be honest, we’ve actually discussed this among ourselves over the years. But back then, although your mother and your aunt went into the delivery room at the same time, your aunt hadn’t given birth yet when your mother came out. So the hospital definitely wouldn’t have made a mistake. Besides, your mother always says you’re a case of atavism, which sounds plausible enough. But why are you suddenly doubting your parentage? And what’s this about your mother disliking your aunt? I thought they got along quite well~”
An Ran had been raised by Yang Huixian to believe that family scandals should never be shared outside. Therefore, no matter how much she was wronged or what happened at home, she never breathed a word to anyone. She used to be proud of being tight-lipped, not knowing that others had long labeled her as a “silent gourd.”
Now that she was reborn, An Ran naturally wouldn’t suffer in silence again. She had no intention of covering for Yang Huixian. She immediately told Granny Liu about all the grievances she had suffered over the years, as well as the recent ones. Because of the time, An Ran kept it brief, but it was enough to make Granny Liu’s heart ache for her:
“No wonder you’re doubting your parentage. Hearing about your experiences over the years, even I’m starting to doubt it. Why don’t you go to the hospital and check your blood type to see if you’re really hers?”
Setting aside the grievances An Ran had suffered since childhood, just looking at the job situation—if Yang Huixian had even a shred of maternal love for her, she wouldn’t have refused so bluntly. Not to mention she secretly signed An Ran up for the countryside. Who doesn’t know that going to the countryside is a trap these days?
Two years ago, when An Ran’s older sister An Xin graduated high school, Granny Liu still vividly remembered how Yang Huixian had begged everyone she knew to find her a job.
They were both daughters, yet Yang Huixian treated them so differently. It was no wonder An Ran doubted her birth~
Even she was starting to doubt it now, alright?