Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I had caused a massive scene at the graduation banquet. Once the county leaders learned the truth, they immediately arranged a grave-sweeping ceremony.

Everyone followed us up the mountain, forming a dense, dark line of people that stretched all the way to the foot of the hill.

The village cadres were highly efficient. Before long, the grave was covered in various offerings; they had even hauled over the large pig’s head from the ancestral hall.

The small hillside was more bustling than it had ever been.

The leaders also arranged for photographers. They had me personally place my admission notice in front of the grave, capturing the moment in a still frame, intending to turn this into a major publicity piece.

Chen Youfang dawdled as he made his way up the mountain.

He was a man who prized appearances above all else. In front of the leaders, he even changed his tune, praising me for being filial since I was a child.

My stepmother followed beside him, her smile stiff and formal, looking every bit the respectable lady.

“Even though this girl isn’t my own flesh and blood, we’re closer than most biological mothers and daughters!”

Hearing her words, an old memory suddenly surfaced, and I decided to recount it in front of everyone.

“When I was in sixth grade, I didn’t take that fifty yuan you lost.

“Your son stole it. That wasn’t the first time he’d stolen something, either. He’s had sticky fingers since he was little.”

She had indeed never laid a hand on me herself, but she knew how to make others do it for her.

That was why I had received the first beating of my life back then. She had personally ‘testified’ against me, and Chen Youfang had been the one to swing the rod.

My stepmother’s face turned the color of pig liver. Her mask slipped, and she began to curse at me.

“You little brat with a mother to give birth to you but none to raise you! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

The leaders all frowned.

But my expression remained unchanged as I continued, “Your daughter had a mother to raise her, but can she get into university?”

In the past, her daughter had repeated her final year of high school three times. Each time, I had used my spare time to tutor her.

In the end, she still failed to get in, but the blame was shifted onto me.

My stepmother was the most vicious curser for miles around; no one in the surrounding villages dared to provoke her.

But my single sentence had struck her greatest sore spot, leaving her so livid that her eyes rolled back in her head.

Chen Youfang acted like a bystander, maintaining his grace and dignity in front of the leaders.

He wanted to do what he had always done: pat me on the shoulder, talk ‘reason’ to me, and use a mix of kindness and authority to make me apologize so the family could be ‘reunited.’

I didn’t say a word. Instead, I suddenly shoved him toward the grave.

Caught off guard, he tumbled to the ground. His forehead slammed against the stone monument, and he began to bleed on the spot.

The scene turned into chaos. Some people rushed forward to break up the ‘fight,’ while others just watched the drama unfold.

My gaze remained fixed on the man on the ground. The moment he looked up and saw the tombstone in front of him, his face turned deathly pale.

What I saw in his eyes wasn’t anger-it was terror.

A thought flashed through my mind.

If Mom really died from an accidental miscarriage, then what exactly was he so guilty about?

I looked down at him, scrutinizing him, and sneered. “You sent me to school when I was five just because my mom was dead and there was no one to look after me, right? Because preschool let out early and you found it a nuisance, you just sent me straight to first grade.”

I was never some kind of genius. I only studied like my life depended on it because it did.

From the age of five until I finished my doctorate, I never dared to stop for a single moment, terrified that if my grades weren’t good enough, I would be discarded like trash.

The crowd fell silent, as if the answer was an open secret.

Adults often cooperate with each other’s lies. They wouldn’t ruin the social harmony between them just out of pity for a child.

When Chen Youfang looked up at me, the fear in his eyes intensified.

He pointed at me, his body shaking like a leaf, and suddenly screamed, “You’re not Chen Ran! You’re not her at all! Who are you?!”

Everyone thought he had been driven mad by anger and quickly arranged for people to carry him down the mountain.

Only I knew that he wasn’t mad at all. He simply knew me too well.

The sixteen-year-old me wouldn’t have even dared to straighten her back in front of him, let alone commit such ‘rebellious’ acts.

As the ritual drew to a close and the sun began to set, the crowd dispersed. Only the village women and a few young cadres remained to keep watch with me.

I could finally burn joss paper for my mother properly.

Yet, I still couldn’t remember her face.

As we walked down the mountain, a female cadre walked beside me. She comforted me, saying, “Chen Ran, I’m truly happy for you. Being able to get into such a prestigious university… if your mother knew, she would be so proud.”

I looked at the woman. She had a round face and freckles, and she looked familiar.

Seeing my confusion, a gentle smile appeared on her simple, honest face.

“You don’t remember me?

“I was one of Teacher Luo’s students.

“Back then, my family wouldn’t let me go to school; they wanted me to stay home and herd cattle. She ran across several hills to find me and bring me back to class.

“After you were born, your grandmother refused to take care of you because you were a girl. So, your mother used to carry you on her back while she taught. I even held you back then!”

Memories, like long-lost letters, slowly unfolded as she spoke.

I had seen her at my mother’s funeral!

I remembered now. My mother had been the village’s substitute teacher. Her surname was Luo, and everyone called her Teacher Luo.

The woman’s voice was full of regret. “When Teacher Luo was pregnant, my classmates and I used to tease you. We’d say, ‘Ranran, you’re going to have a little brother soon, aren’t you happy?’

“You were so well-behaved and quiet back then. You just kept nodding and saying you were happy.

“It’s a pity that child couldn’t be saved in the end. Because of that, Teacher Luo never came back to teach again.”

I listened in a daze. After a long while, a flicker of confusion crossed my mind.

“How did you all know it was a boy?”

The woman froze for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.

“Back then, your mom already had you. Everyone just naturally assumed the one in her belly was a son.”

But I didn’t quite understand.