Reborn:1983

Chapter 2: Then Kick Me Out!

A knot of anger tightened in CEO Xia’s chest.

She hadn’t managed to call out “Mom,” yet Liu Fen was kneeling and pleading for her sake. She was now “Xia Xiaolan,” inheriting the original’s identity and most of her memories, but she felt suffocated by the injustice of her predecessor’s situation – “Xia Xiaolan” possessed a face fit for a fox-spirit, but her head was utterly empty. Her every smile held a hint of seduction; in thirty years, she’d be a celebrated beauty. In the 80s, however, women like her were called “loose”!

Villagers didn’t use such sophisticated terms. They had one word for Xia Xiaolan… slutty!

Because of her looks, Xia Xiaolan’s reputation was already shaky. Then, she’d committed the scandalous act of trying to steal her cousin Xia Ziyu’s fiancé, stripping n***d in broad daylight to seduce her future brother-in-law. Not only was she drowning in the village’s scornful gossip, even the Xia family couldn’t stand her.

The business about stealing the fiancé might be debatable.

But the part about stripping n***d to seduce her future brother-in-law? That absolutely did not happen!

The problem was, no one would believe her denials. Some even swore Xia Xiaolan hadn’t just seduced her brother-in-law, but had also been caught rolling n***d in a haystack with the local good-for-nothing from the neighboring village. The rumors spread through the village and beyond. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t defend herself against the tide. The Xia family fanned the flames. Finally, Xia Xiaolan chose to smash her head against a pillar.

CEO Xia had seen it all. She knew injustice was rampant in the world; she couldn’t intervene in every case. But now she was “Xia Xiaolan,” and she refused to carry this burden.

The Xia family members stood there, faces twisted with malice, wanting to hound her to death. The woman kneeling on the floor was this body’s birth mother, the person who loved the original “Xia Xiaolan” most in this family. CEO Xia decided she wouldn’t take it anymore.

“Mom, get up first!” She hauled Liu Fen up from the ground. Liu Fen, afraid of hurting her wound, didn’t resist.

Saying “Mom” aloud wasn’t as difficult as she’d imagined. CEO Xia envied “Xia Xiaolan” two things most: one, her stunning beauty (far beyond ordinary); and two, having a birth mother who adored her. CEO Xia had lost both parents young and never experienced such familial love!

She was CEO Xia, the formidable businesswoman.

She was also Xia Xiaolan of the 1980s, driven to suicide by slander.

There was no choice. The two identities had to merge into one.

“Xiaolan, listen to Mom, apologize properly to your grandma…” Liu Fen’s face was etched with misery. She was used to enduring her mother-in-law’s temper, her sisters-in-law’s jabs, her husband’s and even her own daughter’s anger. Her instinct was always to yield and endure. Sadly, the Xia family saw this only as weakness. The more she endured, the more they bullied her – and the original host hadn’t been any better in this regard.

Grandma Xia shrieked, “I have no granddaughter who’s a town bicycle! Shameless little s**t, even trying to steal Ziyu’s man!!”

Xia Xiaolan’s temples throbbed.

As she’d climbed the corporate ladder, it had been years since she’d directly confronted such low-level shrews.

But the skills she’d honed tearing down pretty salesgirls and wrestling payments from deadbeat suppliers were still sharp!

“Grandma!” She mustered all her strength to shout, finally momentarily silencing Grandma Xia. “You may not recognize me as your granddaughter, but I still call you Grandma. I have deep feelings for our Xia family…” Her voice turned icy. “But you keep calling me a town bicycle, a little s**t… aren’t you just inviting the whole village to laugh at our family? My reputation is already mud, but what about the other girls in the family? Do you think it’s respectable to be sisters with a town bicycle? Who’ll want them?”

Xia Xiaolan genuinely didn’t understand this self-sabotaging bias. Hurt the enemy a thousand, damage yourself eight hundred? Why not present a united front instead of trying to crush her? In the village, if Xia Xiaolan’s name was mud, which unmarried Xia girl could hold her head high?

Grandma Xia was instantly choked silent. Third Aunt’s expression also darkened.

The three eldest girls: Xia Ziyu, 20, was not only in university but had a perfect match for a fiancé. Xia Xiaolan, 18, looked destined to remain the unmarriageable town bicycle. Third Aunt’s eldest daughter, Xia Hongxia, was already 17, about to enter the marriage market.

Third Aunt hated Xia Xiaolan with a passion, but had to lower her voice, spitting the words through clenched teeth: “You still have the face to say that? You’ve ruined our Hongxia’s chances! Why didn’t you just die?!”

Cousin Xia Hongxia glared with pure hatred behind her mother, itching to join in.

Liu Fen flushed crimson with anger. “Sister-in-law, Xiaolan just woke up…” Her thin frame shielded her daughter. She wanted to argue back, but her timid nature left her tongue-tied and stammering against their aggression.

Xia Xiaolan gently pulled Liu Fen behind her. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m not here to fight them. I’m a reasonable person.” She swept her gaze over the hostile crowd, then smiled, a dangerous glint in her eyes. “I bashed my head once, but the King of Hell wouldn’t take me. Now, I intend to live well. If anyone makes that difficult for me, I’ll make sure they suffer first.” She looked directly at Grandma Xia. “Since my presence at home makes everyone miserable… why not let me move out?”

Move out?

Where could she possibly go?

Liu Fen panicked. An unmarried girl moving out? Unthinkable!

Xia Xiaolan, surviving the head wound, seemed even more troublesome than before – a veritable tough nut now. Her attitude nearly made Grandma Xia faint from rage.

But Xia Xiaolan had never been docile. Grandma Xia was vicious, Third Aunt was spiteful, and Xia Xiaolan herself had always been a fighter. Third Aunt was thrilled at the prospect of Xia Xiaolan disappearing, saving the family further shame.

“Where could you even go? Don’t think you can hide at your grandma’s place and come crawling back in a few days!” Moving out was perfect! The house was cramped, and Xia Xiaolan selfishly had her own room. Freeing it up meant Third Aunt could finally move her own daughter, Hongxia, in there – a girl needed her own space when she was about to marry.

“There’s that old house by the riverbank, right? One end of the village to the other. I’ll live there. That way, I won’t be an eyesore!” Xia Xiaolan stated her plan.

Grandma Xia remained stubborn. “After the shame you’ve brought? Not beating you to death is mercy enough! And now you want a house too?!”

Even though the old house on the riverbank was dilapidated, swarming with mosquitoes in summer, freezing in winter, and reeking from its proximity to the village cow shed, Grandma Xia refused to give in easily. She didn’t want Xia Xiaolan to feel comfortable. She sensed a change in Xia Xiaolan since waking up. She was still troublesome, but now there was a method to it… Grandma Xia, sharp as a tack, didn’t want her slipping out of control.

Xia Xiaolan’s smile widened. “Fine. I won’t move. Staying home with food and shelter sounds good. Since my reputation’s already ruined, I’ll just settle in as the family spinster! Big Sister Ziyu is a precious university student… surely she won’t let her little sister starve to death in the future?”

Xia Xiaolan truly was a menace. Even Big Aunt, who had stayed silent so far, felt her eyelids twitch violently. Was Xia Xiaolan trying to latch onto her Ziyu?!

“Aiyo, Big Aunt doesn’t believe all that gossip, Xiaolan,” Big Aunt said quickly, forcing a semblance of concern. “You’re just angry with the family right now. How could a young girl survive leaving home? Let Big Aunt talk to your grandma. We all need to take a step back and calm down.” She practically dragged Grandma Xia out of the room. Third Aunt scurried after them.

The younger generation left in the room glared at Xia Xiaolan with undisguised hatred. Liu Fen wept softly. Xia Xiaolan sighed.

“Please stop crying. Staying here… I won’t survive.” She could endure the a***e; the Xia family probably wouldn’t actually kill her. But Xia Xiaolan refused to endure. She’d been given a second chance at life; why should she live in such suffocating misery?!

Before long, Grandma Xia and the others returned.

“The old house is yours,” Grandma Xia spat, her face like thunder. “Whether you live or die has nothing to do with the Xia family from now on!”

Xia Xiaolan pressed her advantage, demanding basic furnishings to set up her new home. Faced with this immovable tough nut, Grandma Xia had no choice. She finally flung a small sack of sweet potatoes at Xia Xiaolan’s feet.

“Now get out!”