There came the hurried tapping sounds of hard-soled plastic sandals downstairs.
Ye Zhao put the train ticket in the book, locked the drawer, put the key tied with a red rope into her trouser pocket and put it close to her body. Then she stood up, opened the window and looked out.
The streets were sparsely populated. The sun at noon in July was scorching, making people's heads smoke. Ye Zhao saw his little cousin Ye Xiaoqin running towards the door of her house with a popsicle in her mouth and another in her hand.
Footsteps entered the house, and the wooden stairs rang. Not long after, the door opened, and Xiaoqin ran in breathlessly, stuffing a half-melted popsicle into her hand.
"Big sis, hurry up!"
Ye Zhao quickly opened his mouth to catch it, and tasted the familiar sweet taste of the old popsicle.
Ye Xiaoqin licked the ice water on her hands, then stuffed her popsicle back into her mouth and ate it hastily. She was afraid that her family would find her eating the popsicle secretly and she might get beaten again, so she ate it in a hurry.
Ye Zhao carefully looked at the wound on Xiaoqin's forehead and asked softly, "Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt."
Xiaoqin is 9 years old this year. She has a sallow complexion and is thin and small like a quail. She looks younger than her actual age.
The wound on her forehead was caused by her second sister and younger brother beating her yesterday. In this family where boys are favored over girls, the little girl is stuck in the middle with an older sister and a younger brother. Everyone can bully her, and she has become numb.
It was the end of July 1988, and it was the 9th day since Ye Zhao traveled through time. She traveled to the world of a Mary Sue novel. The original owner had the same name as her. She was a 17-year-old girl who had just missed the opportunity to take the college entrance examination due to illness.
The original owner's mother was an educated youth who went to the countryside to work in a small fishing village in the south. She returned to the city after giving birth to her. Her father regarded her as a burden and threw her back to his hometown, Wancheng, to be raised by his second uncle and his wife.
They were poor back then and her father gave her little living expenses. Her second uncle and his wife treated her like a piece of trash. They nominally raised her, but in reality Ye Zhao started doing housework at the age of four or five. Later, she also took on the responsibility of taking care of her younger siblings. She was basically a paid nanny.
There was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, accompanied by a shrill female voice, "Ye Xiaoqin! I saw you! You bought two popsicles, and you still said you didn't steal my money! I'll beat you to death!"
It was her second sister Ye Xiaozhen who came back. Xiaoqin was so scared that she chewed the popsicle in a hurry and then threw the stick out of the window.
Ye Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly. Xiaoqin's frightened and pitiful appearance was very similar to the look on her face when she was a child and was bullied by other older children when she first entered the orphanage.
"Don't be afraid."
There was a small bowl of sweet potato flour at the door. Ye Zhao had an idea. She never suffered a loss and had fought wits and courage with others in the orphanage. In a flash, she put the popsicle in her mouth, half opened the door, stepped on the stool, and put the plastic bowl of sweet potato flour on the door frame.
Xiaoqin was so frightened that she exclaimed, "Big sister!"
"Shh!"
Ye Zhao kicked the stool away, walked back to the window and ate his popsicle leisurely.
"Do you think I won't dare to hit you just because you have someone protecting me?!" Ye Xiaozhen's voice was getting closer and closer...
Bang! The door was pushed open!
At the same time, with a "dong" sound, half a basin of sweet potato flour poured down, and Ye Xiaozhen instantly turned into a snowman in the boiling water.
"Ah!!!!!" Ye Xiaozhen screamed in horror.
Xiaoqin opened her mouth wide and almost laughed. When she realized something was wrong, she immediately covered her ears with both hands, hid behind Ye Zhao, and muttered quietly: "My elder sister gave me the money for the popsicles."
Ye Xiaozhen wiped the white powder off her face, yelled twice in anger, and almost cried.
She knew Xiaoqin didn't have the guts to tease her, that was Ye Zhao!
Ye Xiaozhen is three years younger than Ye Zhao, but she is much bigger than Ye Zhao. She has always been the one to bully Ye Zhao, and Ye Zhao almost never fights back or refutes her. I don't know what happened in the past few days. This cousin of hers, maybe because she has money and her father is coming back, has suddenly become more powerful.
The small fishing village where Ye Zhao's parents went to work is thousands of kilometers away from Wancheng. After the reform and opening up ten years ago, the small fishing village was transformed into the big city of Shenzhen. Her father took advantage of this favorable situation and opened a factory and made a lot of money in recent years.
After his father became rich, he gave more living expenses. Second aunt-in-law didn't dare to be as harsh to him as before, and on the surface she treated Ye Zhao better.
It was just a little better, not so much that Ye Xiaozhen should worry about it, let alone that she was bullied!
"You guys teamed up to bully me!" Ye Xiaozhen gritted her teeth and was ready to fight Ye Zhao to the death.
Ye Zhao timed it perfectly and shouted to the door, "Second Mom, you're back!"
Ye Xiaozhen was so scared that she immediately retracted her hand. She turned around and found her mother standing at the stairs. Her arrogance immediately subsided a little. Her mother had warned her not to make Ye Zhao unhappy recently.
Second Aunt Zheng Qiuxia put down the fruits, vegetables and meat she bought from the market and saw the sweet potato flour scattered all over the floor at the door. She couldn't help but jump up and down: "Are you guys rebelling?! Ye Xiaozhen! I told you to put the sweet potato flour away, and look at what you did."
“Mom! It’s not… It’s not me…” Ye Xiaozhen was so angry that she didn’t know how to defend herself.
Zheng Qiuxia ignored the fight between the children and said, "What time is it? Hurry up and clean up! Your uncle should be back soon!"
Ye Zhao was unmoved. Ye Xiaozhen sat aside stubbornly wiping her tears. Xiaoqin was the most obedient and picked up a short broom to sweep the sweet potato flour.
In the past, Ye Zhao and Ye Xiaoqin were the ones who did all the chores at home, but recently Ye Zhao has not done any work, and Zheng Qiuxia is feeling guilty. Ye Zhao's father will be back from Shenzhen in the afternoon. She wonders what's going on with Ye Zhao, the usually listless coward. Does he have a problem with his second aunt-in-law and want to complain to her father, or does he have any other ideas
Zheng Qiuxia wiped her sweat with a yellowed towel. She walked over and asked, "What do you think when your dad comes back later?"
Ye Zhao pretended to be stupid and smiled, "Second Mom, what do you want me to do? I'll listen to you."
Ye Zhao was fair and tender, and spoke softly and well-behaved. Zheng Qiuxia believed that she could control her well, so she immediately whispered, "Your father came back this time to get a marriage certificate with your Aunt Bai. It may be difficult to ask your father for money in the future..."
Zheng Qiuxia was afraid that Ye Zhao's father would not give him living expenses in the future. After all, Ye Zhao could go out to work after graduating from high school, but it was difficult to arrange a job in Wancheng, the salary was low, and there were many unknowns, which was far less secure than getting living expenses.
After Ye Zhao finished the last bite of ice, she stared at Zheng Qiuxia without saying a word. The plot of the original book was that this second aunt forced Ye Zhao to go to Shenzhen City to dig her father's money to subsidize their family. She constantly provoked the relationship between Ye Zhao and his stepmother and stepsister, and step by step forced Ye Zhao to become a vicious female supporting role.
"Why are you staring at me?" A fly flew in from the window. Zheng Qiuxia took a towel and tried to shoo it away. "When your dad comes back this time, ask him for more living expenses."
"How much?"
Zheng Qiuxia stretched out her palm and compared it with the front and back. "You have to ask for at least one thousand. Although you have graduated from high school, you still have to continue to eat in this family, right?"
Second uncle's monthly salary was only over 70 yuan, and 1,000 yuan was enough for the family's living expenses for two years. Ye Zhao couldn't help but laugh and said sarcastically, "Second mother, you have a big appetite."
Zheng Qiuxia paused. She didn't expect that Ye Zhao, with such a heartless and harmless expression, would actually say such a hurtful word.
"If it weren't for me, how could you be here? You were just a premature baby, brought home when you were as small as a mouse, and I raised you. It was not easy for me? Are you feeling sorry for your father's money now? You ungrateful little bastard! Didn't I save the money I asked from your father for you? Wasn't your name written on the passbook? I'm doing this for your own good."
Zheng Qiuxia had said countless times that all the money saved belonged to Ye Zhao, but in the end, she gave all the money to her own son.
Ye Zhao is automatically immune to this kind of PUA. Poor original owner, because no one loved him since childhood and he was afraid of losing the "love" of his second aunt, he was willing to be mentally controlled by Zheng Qiuxia for a long time.
Zheng Qiuxia smiled with satisfaction. She patted Ye Zhao on the shoulder and did not forget to fan the flames, "Change into better clothes, don't lose to your stepsister."
"There are no nice clothes in my closet." Ye Zhao muttered softly, and then said, "The new clothing store next door has nice ones, more than 20 yuan a set."
Zheng Qiuxia sighed, reluctant to spend money on her after all, "Just wear something clean, you're pretty, you can wear better than her in anything."
Ha! Ye Zhao had expected it.
It was nearly five o'clock when Ye Zhao's father, Ye Dingguo, got home. His second uncle went to the train station to pick him up. His father's fiancé, Bai Yunlian, also came back with him.
Bai Yunlian is also from Wancheng. She has been with Ye Dingguo for many years. She is in a hurry to get married this year because her daughter Bai Lu will take the college entrance examination next year. Only if Bai Yunlian marries Ye Dingguo can the mother and daughter’s household registration be moved to Shenzhen. Otherwise, Bai Lu will have to return to Wancheng to take the college entrance examination.
Stepsister Bai Lu is the heroine of the original book. She is smart and capable. After graduating from a prestigious university, she inherited Ye Zhao's father's business and later married a wealthy nobleman from the Hong Kong government. She is the one that Ye Zhao's original self had never been able to defeat in his entire life.
Bai Lu didn’t come back this time. It was said that she was taking tutoring classes at school and had no vacation.
The dinner party in the evening was very lively. In addition to the family, there were also several good friends of Dad and Aunt Bai. The adults sat at one table, and the children sat at a separate table on the coffee table.
Except for the time when Ye Dingguo asked Ye Zhao to buy cigarettes and talked to her when he first came in, he never even looked at her after that.
In his father's eyes, Ye Zhao seemed transparent and non-existent.
There is something even more heart-wrenching in the original book. Every year, the father and stepmother would celebrate the stepsister's birthday, but they had never celebrated for Ye Zhao. No one remembered the original body's birthday, and she had never eaten a birthday cake in her life.
The original owner's father and daughter had a distant relationship, which was exactly what Ye Zhao wanted. She grew up in an orphanage and had never had any hope or yearning for family affection, which she had never experienced.
She is afraid of dealing with overly close relationships.
Ye Zhao filled a bowl with rice and ate quickly. During the meal, she heard her father's friends asking about her situation.
Ye Dingguo snorted contemptuously, and then said, "You pretended to be sick and didn't take the college entrance examination. You won't pass it anyway, what a shame."
Ye Zhao took the opportunity to throw the bowl, scaring Xiaoqin, who was eating the braised pork next to her, so much that she shivered. The poor little girl quickly pulled her sister's clothes with eager eyes.
Hearing the sound of bowls breaking, Ye Dingguo turned around and gave her a fierce look.
Ye Zhao pulled Xiaoqin's hand away and went back to his room.
Bai Yunlian didn't dare to add fuel to the fire at this time. They hadn't even got the marriage certificate yet. It would be petty if she added fuel to the fire. She couldn't help but smooth things over by saying, "Xiao Zhao is really sick. Don't listen to what Old Ye said."
Ye Dingguo shook his head: "Not even as good as Bai Lu's toes!"
Everyone smiled and advised Ye Dingguo not to be angry, saying that it was very good enough that he could raise his daughter to this age and let her go to high school.
Zheng Qiuxia didn't expect that Ye Zhao's temper was getting worse and worse, and he even lost his temper in public, so she hurried into the room.
Ye Zhao was squatting on the ground rummaging through something, and her second aunt was sitting on the edge of the bed, pinching her hard.
"Why did you break the bowl? Who gave you the courage?!"
"Get out of here!" Ye Zhao moved back in pain.
The words "get out" were particularly harsh. Zheng Qiuxia glanced outside the door, but couldn't get angry, so she could only gently warn him, "Don't get angry again, or you won't get a penny, and you'll be starving. Your second uncle and I can't afford to support you."
Throwing the small piece of mosquito coil back into the plate, Ye Zhao looked up at his second aunt's wife. The light bulb in the room was low-wattage and dim, and his second aunt's wife's face was completely blurred.
"I won't argue with him."
Zheng Qiuxia suppressed her anger and coaxed him softly, "Be a little sweeter and coax your dad first, then talk about it after you get the money."
Ye Zhao hummed, and she scratched her neck, "Give me money to buy mosquito coils."
"I still have a little in my room, under the cupboard. Go get it yourself." Someone knocked over a bowl outside, and Second Auntie stood up and reminded Ye Zhao, "Come and comfort your father and stepmother first, remember!"
Having said that, the second aunt-in-law hurried out.
With his second aunt's words, Ye Zhao entered the room of his second uncle and his aunt across the street openly.
She took out a mosquito coil from under the cupboard and glanced at the door. She heard the sounds that the adults at the table had started the second round of drinks, her younger brother seemed to have knocked over the bowl of food, and her second aunt was scolding Xiaoqin.
Ye Zhao took out the spare key she had prepared long ago and quickly opened the lock of the drawer. She had observed it many times and knew where the passbook was placed.
There were two passbooks, a red one belonging to the second aunt's wife, and a green one with Ye Zhao's name on it, which was used to store the living expenses given by Ye Zhao's father. Ye Zhao took the one that belonged to him.
The system, which had been dozing off, suddenly popped up a warning: "Hey, hey, hey, you can't steal! You can't do anything illegal."
Ye Zhao questioned in return: "Are the original owner's things mine?"
System: "It's yours, but..."
"It's fine as long as it's mine," Ye Zhao interrupted directly: "My name is on this passbook. I took it, not stole it."
System: "It's not stealing, but you're sneaking around..."
"Shut up!" This time it was Ye Zhao's turn to warn, "Don't interfere with my work at this critical moment."
The system's facial features were distorted: "…"
Just as he was about to close the drawer, Ye Zhao heard his second aunt-in-law beating and scolding Xiao Qin on the balcony again. Since there were guests around, she was much more restrained. Xiao Qin's experience was exactly the same as Ye Zhao's past experience.
Ye Zhao looked at the burn scars on her hands. They were caused by her second aunt when she was a child. The original owner's memory seemed to awaken in her blood. She pulled out the red passbook, tore it into pieces, crumpled it into a ball and threw it on the top of the closet.
The system helplessly shouted: "You can't do this!"
It's up to her to decide whether it's okay or not.
Taking the passbook is a small matter. Bai Yunlian wants to be her stepmother easily. Has she asked her
(End of this chapter)