Reborn:1983

Chapter 11: A Cornered Rabbit Will Bite

“Whoever dares bully Xiaolan again… I’ll… I’ll fight them to the death!”

Liu Fen was small, her words lacking any inherent threat. Yet everyone knew she wasn’t joking!

A cornered rabbit will bite.

Liu Fen was a mother rabbit pushed to the edge of a cliff. If she took one step back, it would be her daughter, Xiaolan, who fell first. How could she retreat?

Xia Dajun clutched his bruised waist. “Woman, have you lost your mind?!”

Liu Fen, shielding Xiaolan, did seem a bit unhinged. Xia Dajun clenched his fist but couldn’t bring himself to strike her down. One punch could knock Liu Fen flat. But what then? A sudden fear gripped Xia Dajun.

His daughter’s gaze was icy and devoid of warmth.

His wife’s eyes held hatred and terror.

“Mom, let’s go.”

Xiaolan lowered the scissors and stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Liu Fen’s shoulders. For all her past cowardice and timidity, in this moment, she was utterly courageous. Her fierce protection offered Xiaolan the familial love she’d craved but never experienced in her past life. For this reason alone, no matter how ignorant or fearful Liu Fen might be, Xiaolan could never abandon her.

Liu Yong spat viciously on the ground:

“Bastard! Not a decent person in your whole Xia family! Don’t want your wife and daughter? Think my niece needs to beg at your doorstep for scraps? I’m putting this out there today: Xiaolan has nothing more to do with the Xias!”

Xiaolan was 18, an adult.

Though rural areas were conservative, the broader societal environment encouraged female independence. “Women hold up half the sky” was a national slogan. Xiaolan moving out alone might invite gossip, but it broke no laws. It wasn’t like the old society needing kinship clan approval… and as for her reputation? Xiaolan had none left to lose!

Xiaolan practically pulled Liu Fen away.

It wasn’t that Liu Fen was reluctant to leave; her gaze was still burning with hatred. The confrontation had deeply shaken this long-suffering woman.

Xiaolan then walked up to her eldest uncle, Xia Changzheng:

“As for Ziyu-jie’s ‘care,’ I’ll settle that score with her in detail later.”

Getting into university wasn’t that impressive.

University students in 1983 were precious, but Xiaolan hadn’t been illiterate in her past life. She’d forgotten most textbook knowledge? Fine, she’d relearn it. Once her life was stable, she’d take the university entrance exam just for kicks.

Xia Changzheng involuntarily released Liu Yong.

Xiaolan’s demeanor was chilling. She wasn’t throwing a tantrum like before, yet she radiated an unassailable aura—naturally so. Xiaolan, after all, had clawed her way to the top as a multinational executive in her past life. Even if she had resorted to theatrics, her experience meant she’d outclass the Xias effortlessly.

The scissors in her hand could be pressed to her own neck, or plunged into someone else just as easily.

Generally, Xiaolan preferred solving problems with intellect over violence. She’d worked too hard for her success to risk precious jade against worthless rubble.

But right now, she wasn’t precious jade. To others, she was merely an easy target.

If she didn’t show fierceness, wouldn’t everyone feel entitled to step on her?

Xiaolan, with her enchanting beauty, now wore an icy mask. Xia Dajun couldn’t understand why he feared her. He could only watch as Xiaolan, Liu Fen, and Liu Yong pushed the bicycle out of Great River Village.

The gossipmongers, emboldened once the threat receded, swarmed back, their voices sharp with provocation:

“Dajun, why didn’t you just beat her?”

“No respect for elders! Lawless!”

“Your brother-in-law must be rich now, bold enough to stand up for your wife. Didn’t even bear a son! Only a kind man like you would tolerate her.”

“Is your mother really sick from anger?”

“Xiaolan’s gone too far, always threatening to die…”

The cacophony overwhelmed Xia Dajun’s thoughts. Adding to it, his eldest brother, Xia Changzheng, walked over and sighed, “Judging by Xiaolan’s tone, she’s holding a grudge against Ziyu too. That girl can’t tell good from bad. Ziyu isn’t even angry with her, yet she… Ah, enough of this trouble. Let’s go see how Mom is!”

Xia Changzheng’s few sentences filled Xia Dajun with shame and remorse, making him hang his head.

The three brothers closed the gate firmly, leaving the disappointed busybodies outside.

Xia Dajun hurried to attend to his supposedly bedridden mother. Wang Jingui pulled her husband aside, still fixated on claiming Xiaolan’s now-vacant room.

Whether Liu Fen came back or not was secondary. After such an ugly scene, that stubborn Xiaolan wouldn’t return. Wang Jingui wanted to secure the room first; the crowded Xia compound was cramped.

Xia Changzheng spent some time with his “ill” mother. Only his thick-headed second brother truly believed the act. Xia Changzheng knew it was fake, but why expose it? Only this way would his brother feel guilty, obey the old woman, and keep earning money for the family.

Apart from Xia Dajun, the other two brothers had their own agendas.

Zhang Cui, Xia Changzheng’s wife, was also in the room, soothing the “ailing” mother-in-law while occasionally dropping subtle remarks. Soon, Xia Dajun’s mind was once again clouded with rage, itching to drag the “unfilial” Xiaolan back for a severe beating.

Zhang Cui judged the moment right. Slipping out of the room while unobserved, she confided her worries to Xia Changzheng:

“That wretched girl ran off with her uncle. Ziyu told us to keep an eye on her…”

Zhang Cui and Xia Changzheng had a son, but their successful daughter, Xia Ziyu, was their guiding star. Xia Changzheng suppressed his anger: “You dare mention that? Didn’t you say Xiaolan cracked her head open and was practically dead? I deliberately delayed returning for a couple of days after hearing the news, only to find her alive and kicking, running off with Liu Yong!”

Ziyu was right. Xiaolan was petty and would surely hold a grudge.

But Wang Jianhua choosing Ziyu was because Ziyu was superior. Xia Changzheng didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

He trusted his daughter. If Ziyu said Wang Jianhua would achieve great things, then this man couldn’t be wasted on Xiaolan. How could a niece’s success benefit him, the uncle? Only his own daughter’s prosperity could secure his future comfort!

For now, Xiaolan pushed Great River Village out of her mind.

Her mother’s natal village, Qijing Village, was a three-hour walk from Great River Village—one located east of Anqing County, the other southwest. Xiaolan’s maternal grandparents had fled famine to settle in Qijing Village, passing away early and leaving three children without kin to care for them. Liu Yong, wild in his youth, had somehow raised his two younger sisters. Xiaolan had an aunt married into a neighboring county, but contact was infrequent.

Liu Yong himself had only married in his thirties. He had a son, Xiaolan’s little cousin, now only six years old—the sole heir to carry on the Liu name. Liu Yong brought Xiaolan and Liu Fen back to Qijing Village under cover of deep darkness, avoiding notice from the villagers.

Xiaolan’s aunt by marriage, Li Fengmei, was still awake in the main room, holding her child.

Hearing movement at the door, she rushed to open it.

“You’re finally back! How are Xiaolan and them?”

Liu Yong stepped aside, revealing Xiaolan, who stepped forward to greet her aunt. “Aunt Li.”

Hearing the strength in Xiaolan’s voice, Li Fengmei’s tone unconsciously lightened:

“I heard you hit your head at home, scared me half to death! But your little cousin Tao-tao had a high fever, I couldn’t leave him for a second… Thank goodness you’re alright, girl!”

Liu Yong had argued fiercely with her upon his return, furious she hadn’t gone to see Xiaolan immediately.

Li Fengmei felt wronged but mostly afraid. If anything serious had happened to Xiaolan, Liu Yong would never have forgiven her.

Seeing Xiaolan seemed okay, Li Fengmei hurried to explain.

Xiaolan understood. An aunt by marriage wasn’t the same as a blood uncle. Besides, wasn’t it natural to prioritize one’s own child? Thick-headed fools like Xia Dajun, who favored others’ daughters, were rare.

“Aunt Li, I’m fine. Is Tao-tao feeling better?”

Tao-tao, the little cousin, lay listlessly in Li Fengmei’s arms.

Liu Yong was impatient. “Inside! Talk inside! Little Sister is here too. She and Xiaolan will be staying with us from now on.”

Only then did Li Fengmei notice Liu Fen standing quietly behind Xiaolan. Liu Yong’s bicycle was loaded with belongings. Li Fengmei’s mind flooded with questions. This wasn’t the luggage for a short visit.

Had they completely broken with the Xias?