When I was eight years old, my parents were discussing having another child, even though they already had three. They were worried about fines.
"Move the second child's household registration to the younger brother's house. When the time comes and they get pregnant again, it won't matter if it's a boy or a girl; there will be a place for them," my dad suggested.
My mom hesitated, "But the Xichun Family also has two boys. Aren't they afraid of fines?"
Dad waved his hand dismissively, "If we send a girl over, they'll definitely be happy."
Both of my parents laughed.
That day, my sister and I were doing our homework when these words drifted into my ears with the wind.
My sister poked my notebook with her pencil, "Little Er Ya, soon your name will be written on Uncle's House."
"Stop talking nonsense."
She jabbed the pencil tip into my flesh, "Do you believe that once your name is on Uncle's House, Mom and Dad will start to dislike you?"
"Impossible." I turned away uncomfortably.
I argued stubbornly, "Mom and Dad said that even if I’m registered at Uncle's House, I will always be their child."
"Yeah, right!"
My sister raised her voice sharply and poked my arm with the pencil tip, "You're just a Broom Star; Mom and Dad dislike you the most!"
"No!"
I raised my voice as tears welled up in my eyes, "Mom and Dad said I'm their favorite."
Before I could finish speaking,
"Bang—"
Dad kicked me to the ground, "Are you trying to get yourself killed with all that noise!"
I fell heavily to the floor, knocking over the chair in the process.
The chair hit Sister.
She cried out loudly.
Mom jumped up from the stool in a fit of rage, "Enough of the noise! Have you all eaten shit? Can't you let the adults have a moment of peace?" Her hair was shaking, and her eyes burned with anger.
I sniffled and repeated what my sister had said, "Mom, my sister said you all hate me..."
Mom slapped the back of my head, "Stop whining! We already find you annoying enough!"
Seeing that I didn't get up, Dad kicked the leg of my chair. I fell hard again, hitting the back of my head painfully. The pain made my vision go dark.
"If you cry again, I'll beat you to death!" Mom shouted, pointing at my nose.
I quickly sniffed and held back my tears, enduring the pain as I got up from the floor, ready to run away.
I stood outside for half the night, my little face freezing cold. In the darkness, I saw the warm yellow light inside and heard laughter. That was my home, with my dad, mom, sister, and younger sister. But they all disliked me.
I wanted to go inside, but my stubbornness and resentment held me back. They didn't like me, and I didn't like them either. But it was too cold and too dark outside.
I cautiously moved back into the house. It immediately felt warmer inside. I climbed onto my bed, still feeling very sad and wronged. I didn't know what to do.
Until a week later, when Auntie smiled at me and said, "Little Er Ya, from now on you are our daughter."
I reluctantly pouted and stubbornly denied it, "I'm not."
Then I ran home.
My mother was mending a shoe sole and shot me a glare, "You ran out to play again, always causing trouble."
I lowered my head and didn't dare to speak.
My father casually picked up the broom and tossed it at me, "All you do is cause trouble. One day, I'll send you to the mountains to feed the wolves."
I shivered in fear and quickly climbed into my bed.
I couldn't understand why my parents didn't like me.
Clearly, I was their child, and clearly, I hadn't done anything wrong.
But I was scared, and I didn't know who to ask.
Comment 0 Comment Count