“What? You’re saying your older sister got married?”
“How can this child have such a big mind of her own? Why doesn’t she discuss anything with the family first? Go call her out. I want to ask her whether she even has any respect left for me as her father!”
The shouting was so loud that it woke Ji Yang from her peaceful sleep. She ran a hand through her sweat-dampened hair, feeling extremely irritated.
Ji Yang was a little grumpy when woken up. It wasn’t too serious, but being disturbed in the middle of a good sleep naturally put her in a bad mood.
She opened her eyes and stared impatiently at the bedroom door, which had suddenly been thrown open.
Ji Man, who had spent the day washing clothes and cleaning the house, looked unhappy too.
“Dad’s calling you. Hurry up!”
Ji Yang got up, casually tied her hair back, and walked out.
“What is it?”
“Ji Yang, let me ask you something. Did you just go out this morning and casually find some random man to register a marriage with?”
“Yes.”
“You actually dare to say yes! Ji Yang, have you no shame? Why didn’t you come home and discuss such a major matter with your mother and me? Do you even know what kind of person he is? How could you marry him just like that?”
“Why should I discuss it with you?”
Ji Yang frowned.
“When Ji Man stole my boyfriend, did she come and discuss it with me first? When my mother died and you married another woman, did you discuss it with me? When you had your second and third children, did you consult me? You never discuss anything with me, so why should I discuss my affairs with you?”
Seeing that her father was about to speak, Ji Yang cut him off.
“Don’t tell me you’re my father. Have you ever acted like one? Forget about whether you’ve ever cared about me in your daily life. Just look at what happened yesterday, when Ji Man stole my boyfriend. What was your attitude? You wanted to keep the peace and make me back down. That disgusting look on your face was absolutely revolting!”
“And you expect me to discuss things with you? Let me ask you this: are you even qualified? If you walk east from here, there’s a key-cutting shop at the neighborhood office. They can make you a key for ten cents. Just look at yourself. What the hell are you even qualified to do?”
Ji Yang’s father felt his blood pressure shooting up. His heart pounded wildly, and his breathing grew rapid. He pointed at Ji Yang, but for a long time, he couldn’t get a single word out.
This was outrageous! Over such a trivial matter, his eldest daughter had dared to defy him like this. Not only had she gone and married some random man, but now she was talking back to him after returning home!
Fine! He would rather not have such an unfilial daughter!
Ji Yang’s mother supported him and spoke with a hint of reproach.
“Yangyang, how can you talk to your father like that? He’s only doing this for your own good. Listen to yourself! The food you eat, the drinks you have, the clothes you wear, and the things you need for school all of them were paid for with your father’s money. How can he treat you so well and still receive no appreciation? Instead, you’re turning around and blaming him!”
“None of your damn business!”
Ji Yang folded her arms across her chest.
“You just said it yourself. I eat my father’s food, use my father’s things, wear clothes bought with his money, and go to school with his money. So what does my attitude toward my father have to do with you? Do you really need to add fuel to the fire and make everything worse? From now on, stay out of my business. You’re annoying!”
When Ji Yang had first arrived yesterday, she hadn’t felt entirely secure, so she had kept her temper in check and played along with their little family drama.
But now she had her marriage certificate. What did she have to fear from them?
At worst, she could simply move into Jiang Ye’s home.
Besides, although the original Ji Yang had been treated equally with the other two children in terms of basic material needs, she had certainly never received equal treatment emotionally.
Her stepmother ignored her at home. Her younger sister and younger brother weren’t close to her. Her father believed that raising children was the responsibility of the women in the household and that men had no need to concern themselves with such matters.
As a result, the original Ji Yang had spent years enduring a kind of chronic emotional coldness within her own family.
When an adult experiences emotional neglect, they can often find ways to regulate their emotions and actively distance themselves from the people causing them harm.
But when a child experiences it, they may begin to doubt and invalidate themselves.
They may come to believe that their very existence is a mistake, and that the other four members of the Ji family are the only real family.
They may shut themselves away in a tiny world of their own, convinced that all the beautiful things in the outside world have nothing to do with them.
Perhaps the original Ji Yang had turned against everyone because she desperately wanted to escape this family. When the female protagonist stole her boyfriend, she had lost the last bit of hope she had left and fallen into despair.
The family’s reaction to Ji Yang’s behavior was completely different from what she had expected.
Her father simply thought that his daughter had become disobedient and was starting to rebel against her parents.
Her stepmother, meanwhile, felt that Ji Yang was trying to break free from her control.
Ji Man watched Ji Yang with suspicion.
If she herself could have been reborn, was it possible that Ji Yang had also returned from the future?
Ji Yang didn’t care what any of them thought. In her previous life, she had been a celebrity and had cared far too much about maintaining her public image. Now that she had already died once, all she wanted was to live in a way that made herself happy.
“In your eyes, I’m nothing but a piece of crap. You don’t care at all whether I’m sent to the countryside or not. But now you’re standing here, going on and on at me. Let me tell you something: I don’t want to hear it! I’ll do whatever I want. Starting today, nobody better provoked me. Otherwise…”
Ji Yang let out a soft laugh.
“Otherwise, I’ll go to the neighborhood broadcasting station and use their loudspeaker to announce everything about our family. For example, my dear father stealing spare parts from the factory, my dear mother taking advantage of public resources, and my dear younger sister kissing a man in public. And that’s just the beginning!”
Everything she had mentioned was true and came from the original Ji Yang’s memories.
Her father worked at a machinery factory and had stolen screws from the factory before. Her stepmother worked as a kitchen helper in the canteen and had taken food home.
Other people did such things too, but if these incidents were exposed publicly, her father and stepmother would certainly lose face.
And beyond the humiliation, they might even lose their jobs.
After hearing her words, Ji Yang’s father felt a splitting headache and struggled to breathe. His voice was filled with indescribable disappointment.
“Ji Yang, how did you become like this?”
“What do you mean, how did I become like this? I didn’t grow up this way all by myself. It’s all thanks to the way you raised me! I’d like to thank my dear mother and father for all the hardship you endured while raising me, for turning me into the fearless person I am today!”
Then she suddenly thought of something and smiled before continuing.
“But don’t be afraid. What I mentioned just now was only an appetizer. At worst, you’d lose your jobs. I still have some much more powerful tricks up my sleeve that I haven’t even mentioned yet.”
Ji Yang’s father didn’t want to hear another word.
Her stepmother furrowed her brows even more deeply.
Ji Man silently observed Ji Yang.
“Come to think of it, I do have some affection for my father, mother, and younger sister. I think a loving family should stay together, right? So if someone has to go to the countryside, we should all go together!”
Ji Yang’s stepmother felt her heart skip a beat.
“When the time comes, I’ll report my mother for engaging in feudal superstition. After all, a few days ago, she said at home, ‘How can Sun Guihua’s son, who looks like such a useless fool, actually become a soldier? Heaven must be blind!’”
“But look at the times we live in. Where is this so-called Heaven? Surely what my mother said counts as feudal superstition, right?”
“As for my father…”
Ji Yang’s father felt his heart skip a beat too.
“I’ll report him for having politically incorrect thoughts. He looks down on rural people and believes they contribute nothing, that they’re poor and filthy, and that they’re far inferior to factory workers.”
“The country is currently promoting unity between workers and peasants, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between these two major classes for national development. My father’s behavior clearly goes against national policy. It undermines the worker-peasant alliance and amounts to questioning and challenging the socialist development path.”
“So I’m going to report him!”
Ji Yang’s father fell silent.
He felt that the political label she was trying to pin on him was far too serious. His thin neck simply couldn’t bear such a heavy burden.
There was nothing wrong with making a few private remarks, but if those words were reported, a farm in some remote region might very well become his final destination.
At this point, he no longer wanted to say anything. He was afraid that if he continued arguing with his eldest daughter, she might end up getting the entire family sent away.