When Ning You returned home, no one was there. The adults were at work, the children were at daycare, and she was the only idle person in the house.
Fulfilling little Ning You’s request, she began sorting through the things the original owner had left behind.
Yesterday, she had only packed everything away without looking closely, thinking the little girl might come back. But now these things belonged to her, so naturally she wanted to know what was inside.
Ning You opened the tattered little bag.
Inside was a yellowed, battered notebook with curled corners, a half-finger-length pencil, a few patched-up clothes, a toothbrush so worn its bristles were nearly gone, a ragged washcloth…
There were very few belongings, and every single one was shabby.
Ning You wanted to force the Ning family to eat shoe leather. A whole family of trash.
She casually flipped through the notebook. The pages were densely packed with writing.
“Dad, the new auntie poked me with needles. Why don’t you believe me when I tell you? It hurts so much. Mom is gone… does Dad not care about me anymore either?”
“…I didn’t break the bowl. Ning Yu did. Why am I being blamed?”
“Today I didn’t even get half a cornbread bun. I’m so hungry. Mom, I miss you so much.”
“Guo Hong changed her surname. She’s Ning Hong now. Dad said I’ll have an older sister from now on, but this sister always bullies me. I don’t like her.”
“Dad says I’m immature and unlikeable. Maybe I really am immature and unlikeable…”
“Mom, I’m so tired.”
“Mom, I’m sorry. I’m starting to hate this world…”
…
Probably to save paper, little Ning You had written the words very tightly together. The later entries became increasingly messy, revealing the turmoil in her heart.
Ning You touched the line saying “I’m starting to hate this world”, and her chest tightened painfully.
No wonder little Ning You had chosen to leave without hesitation…
So she had wanted to escape this world for a long time already.
Her emotions churned violently.
After a long while, Ning You carried the belongings into her spatial dimension.
Near the entrance of the commercial street inside the space, she dug a hole in the ground and placed the items inside one by one.
When she picked up the notebook, her hand brushed against the last page, and she noticed something odd about its thickness. Her gaze paused.
After examining it carefully, she discovered two pages glued together, with something hidden inside.
Ning You cautiously tore them apart. Between the pages was an old document.
It was a written guarantee, along with something similar to a will.
The guarantee roughly stated that, in exchange for one thousand yuan, Ning Zhongyi was to raise Ning You and Ning Dan to adulthood and send them to school.
As for the will, its contents could easily awaken greed in anyone who saw it.
“…Ten gold bars, one chest of jewelry, one chest of paintings and calligraphy, one chest of silver coins, and several antiques… all are to be left to my granddaughter Ning You and grandson Ning Dan. The exact division shall be decided by the two of them. In principle, Ning You should receive more than Ning Dan. This is my special instruction.
— Written by Wen Yizhi.”
Wen Yizhi was Ning You and Ning Dan’s grandfather.
Back when the Wen family met disaster, Grandpa Wen had hurriedly made arrangements, preparing an escape route for his grandchildren.
But he never expected Ning Zhongyi to be more heartless than a wolf.
Of the two children Grandpa Wen had wanted to protect, one struggled to survive like a servant, while the other had vanished without a trace.
“Ning Zhongyi, you piece of trash. You don’t deserve that name. You’re worse than an animal!”
Ning You’s expression remained calm, but blazing fury burned in her dark, bright eyes. The urge to stab someone was impossible to suppress.
At that moment, a scene suddenly surfaced in her mind.
It was a night seven years ago—
Ning Zhongyi had been called outside. When he returned, his face was full of excitement. Even now, inheriting the original owner’s memories, she still remembered the strange gleam in his eyes vividly.
Back then, little Ning You had even asked why her father was so happy.
At that time, Wen Yizhi’s situation was still uncertain, and relations hadn’t completely broken down yet. How had Ning Zhongyi answered?
With hypocritical gentleness in his eyes, he had said:
“Yoyo, you really are Daddy’s good daughter. That old bastard really loves you.”
He muttered the second half quietly, so little Ning You hadn’t heard it.
She had only thought her father had become the loving dad he used to be again, and she had been so happy.
But less than a week later, Wen Yizhi was exiled to a labor farm, and Ning Zhongyi completely changed his face.
What happened afterward?
And Wen Ya?
Ning You tried to remember, but couldn’t recall the details.
She only remembered that one day, when the original owner returned from school, people told her she no longer had a mother…
And a few days later, even her younger brother disappeared without a trace.
Such a coincidence?
Even a dog would know something huge was wrong.
“Ning Zhongyi, you beast worse than pigs and dogs. If heaven won’t deal with you, then sooner or later I will make you understand how cruel the world can be!” Ning You’s anger exploded.
Calling Ning Zhongyi an animal was an insult to animals!
After receiving so many treasures from their grandfather, he still betrayed his promise and made little Ning You and Ning Dan suffer so much…
Even dying three hundred times wouldn’t be enough for him!
After putting away the two documents, Ning You buried the remaining belongings and returned to her room.
Since Ning Zhongyi had heartlessly sent Ning Dan away, getting information from him probably wouldn’t be easy. At critical moments, she would still have to rely on the neighbors.
With a plan forming in her mind, Ning You took out half a jin of brown sugar coupons, planning to visit the neighbors that evening to ask around.
But for now…
She needed to go to the barbershop first.
Her long hair was such a tangled mess it looked like a mop!
Pampered like a little princess by her grandfather and mother, yet ending up unable to even afford a haircut… The fact that little Ning You had endured for seven years was truly not easy.
The barbershop’s business was mediocre. After waiting two minutes, it was finally Ning You’s turn.
Ning You had no interest in the uniform braided hairstyles and student cuts everyone on the street wore. She had her own sense of aesthetics.
Seeing that the barber looked like he was practically ready to retire—and seemed to have many years of cutting experience—she thought he should be reliable, right?
“Comrade, I can make requests, can’t I?”
The old barber glanced at her and lightly twirled his scissors.
“Sure. How do you want it cut?”
His attitude wasn’t particularly warm or cold, but compared to the salesclerks who acted like they were above everyone else, he was much better.
Ning You’s eyes curved upward, her watery gaze sparkling like stars.
“About shoulder length, not too blunt at the ends, and thin it out overall a bit. Can you do that?”
The barber shot her a sideways glance and snorted.
“I thought you were gonna give me some impossible request. That’s all?
You little girl are underestimating Master Ge here. Of course I can do it!
Don’t worry. I guarantee once you come here once, you’ll want to come back a second time.”
He sounded extremely confident.
Ning You, however, was terrified.
If you didn’t brag so much, I wouldn’t be panicking!
Especially when a sentence suddenly popped into her mind:
“No one walks out of a barbershop smiling…”
Ning You felt like she was about to shatter.
“Aren’t you gonna wash it first?”
The barber rolled his eyes at her.
“Wash what? Water’s free, is it? Trust my skills and sit down already!”
Ning You: “…”
No. I only trust half of it. The other half depends on the result.
She sat down like a warrior marching into battle and closed her eyes.
If she couldn’t see it, it couldn’t hurt her.
The snip-snip sounds filled her ears, accompanied by the barber’s chatter.
“If you’d sat down earlier, I’d already be almost done. So much dawdling. I’ve been a barber for decades—how could I not handle your tiny little request? You young people really look down on others…”
Bar… ber…
Ning You: “…”
If you’d said that one minute earlier… I would’ve cut it myself!
Panic completely set in.
She no longer held any hope in her heart. Fine. Let the old man do whatever he wanted.
Worst case scenario, she’d buy a hat and wait for it to grow out before fixing it herself.