CEO Xia felt a knot in her heart.
She hadn't been able to utter the word "Mom," but Liu Fen had knelt and begged for her sake.
Now, as "Xia Xiaolan," she had inherited the original owner's identity and most of her memories, yet she felt stifled by the original owner's plight.
"Xia Xiaolan" had the face of a temptress, but she was an empty-headed beauty.
Every gesture and smile was a little alluring; in 30 years, she would undoubtedly be a sought-after siren, but in the 1980s, she was considered "frivolous"!
Villagers didn't use such sophisticated adjectives; they had only one word to describe Xia Xiaolan… wanton!
Because of her looks, Xia Xiaolan already had a bad reputation.
She had also committed the scandalous act of stealing her cousin Xia Ziyu's boyfriend and stripping naked in broad daylight to seduce her future brother-in-law.
Not only was she drowned in the villagers' spittle, but even the Xia family couldn't tolerate her.
However, the matter of stealing a boyfriend was still debatable.
But stripping naked in broad daylight to seduce her future brother-in-law? That absolutely did not happen!
Yet, no one believed her when she said it, and some even swore that Xia Xiaolan not only seduced her brother-in-law but also rolled around naked in a haystack with a hooligan from the next village.
The rumors spread throughout the village, even to the surrounding areas.
Xia Xiaolan was unable to clear her name, and the Xia family fanned the flames, leading Xia Xiaolan to finally choose to commit suicide by hitting her head against a pillar.
CEO Xia was well-traveled and knew that there were countless injustices in the world; how could she interfere in every single one?
But now that she had become "Xia Xiaolan," she was unwilling to bear this burden.
The Xia family members, each with a ferocious expression, wanted to force her to her death.
The woman kneeling on the ground was the biological mother of this body, and also the person in the Xia family who loved the original owner the most.
CEO Xia decided she wouldn't tolerate it anymore: [www.biqugetv.xyz] "Mom, get up first!"
She pulled Liu Fen up from the ground with all her might.
Liu Fen, afraid of touching her wound, didn't struggle.
Actually saying the word "Mom" wasn't as difficult as she had imagined.
CEO Xia envied "Xia Xiaolan" for two things: first, her exceptional beauty; second, having a mother who loved her dearly.
CEO Xia's parents had died when she was young, and she had never experienced such maternal affection!
She was the powerful CEO Xia.
And also Xia Xiaolan, who committed suicide amidst rumors in the 1980s.
With no choice, the two identities could only merge into one.
"Xiaolan, listen to Mom, apologize properly to your grandma…"
Liu Fen's face was filled with sorrow.
Liu Fen had always suffered at the hands of her mother-in-law, her sisters-in-law, her husband, and her daughter, always preferring to be submissive and tolerant.
Unfortunately, no one in the Xia family appreciated this; the more she tolerated, the more these people bullied her—the original owner wasn't a good person in this regard either.
But Old Lady Xia shrieked, "I don't have a slut for a granddaughter, you shameless little hussy, even trying to steal Ziyu's boyfriend!!"
Xia Xiaolan's temples throbbed.
As her position climbed higher and higher, it had been many years since she had directly confronted a low-level shrew.
But Xia Xiaolan's skill at tearing apart pretty saleswomen and punching deadbeat suppliers was still intact!
"Grandma!"
She shouted with all her might, finally momentarily overpowering Old Lady Xia:
"You may not acknowledge me as your granddaughter, but I must call you Grandma.
I am full of affection for our Old Xia family… You keep calling me a slut and a little hussy; aren't you just waiting for the villagers to watch our family's drama?
My reputation is already ruined, but the other sisters in the family still need to get married, right?
Is it really honorable to be sisters with a slut?"
Xia Xiaolan truly didn't understand why the favoritism was so unstrategic, harming a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of their own.
Why couldn't the family unite against outsiders and instead try to crush her?
In the countryside, if Xia Xiaolan had a bad reputation, how could any unmarried girl in the Xia family hold her head high?
Old Lady Xia was immediately choked, and Xia Xiaolan's third aunt's expression also turned ugly.
The three eldest girls in the family were Xia Ziyu, 20, who not only got into university but also found a compatible partner.
Xia Xiaolan, 18, was clearly an unmarriageable slut.
Third Aunt's eldest daughter was already 17 and would soon be looking for a husband.
Third Aunt truly gnashed her teeth in hatred for Xia Xiaolan, yet she had to lower her voice and say through gritted teeth:
"You still have the nerve to say that; our Hongxia has been delayed because of you!
Why don't you just die!"
Cousin Xia Hongxia's face was also full of resentment, eager to jump out from behind her mother.
Liu Fen's face turned crimson with anger, "Her aunt, Xiaolan just woke up…"
Liu Fen's thin frame stood in front of her daughter, wanting to argue with others, but she was naturally timid and couldn't even speak a complete sentence when being badgered.
Xia Xiaolan gently pulled Liu Fen behind her: "Don't worry, I won't argue with them; I am a reasonable person."
Old Lady Xia truly wished she could strangle this troublesome girl in front of her, yet the girl seemed oblivious, scanning her eyes around and then smiling: "I hit a pillar once, and the King of Hell wouldn't take me, so now I plan to live well.
I want to live well, and whoever makes me unhappy, I'll make them unhappy first—you say that if I stay at home, everyone will be unhappy, so why don't I move out?"
Move out?
Where could she move to?
Liu Fen grew anxious; how could an unmarried girl move out of the house?
Xia Xiaolan hadn't died, and she was even more difficult to deal with than before, like a stubborn piece of meat, almost making Old Lady Xia faint from anger.
But Xia Xiaolan had never been a submissive person.
Old Lady Xia was cunning, Third Aunt was malicious, and Xia Xiaolan herself was not to be trifled with.
Third Aunt wished Xia Xiaolan would get as far away as possible, so as not to embarrass the family at home:
"Where can you move to?
Don't tell me you're planning to go to your maternal grandmother's house to avoid the storm and then come back in a few days!"
Moving out was perfect; the rooms at home were not spacious, and Xia Xiaolan occupied one by herself, so it would free up a room.
Third Aunt looked at the clean, albeit dilapidated, room and had already decided to let her daughter, Xia Hongxia, move in—the girl was grown up and about to get married, so she should have her own room.
"Isn't there an old house on the riverbank at home?
One at the head of the village and one at the end, I'll just live there, so everyone doesn't find me an eyesore!"
Xia Xiaolan stated her original plan.
Old Lady Xia was relentless: "You're an embarrassment; it's good that you weren't beaten to death.
And you still expect a room to be given to you to live in?"
Even though the old house on the riverbank was already crumbling, had many mosquitoes in summer and was cold in winter, and was also close to the village's cowshed with a strong smell, Old Lady Xia simply didn't want to agree easily, to make Xia Xiaolan too comfortable.
She always felt that something had changed in Xia Xiaolan after she woke up.
She was still being unreasonable, but there was a method to it… Old Lady Xia was quite sensitive and didn't want Xia Xiaolan to escape her control.
Xia Xiaolan smiled, "Then I won't move; it's not bad to have food and drink at home anyway.
My reputation is already ruined, so I'll just stay at home and be a spinster!
Big Sister is a precious university student; she won't just watch her little sister starve to death, will she?"
Xia Xiaolan was indeed too difficult to deal with; even the eldest aunt, who had been silent, twitched her eyelids wildly.
Xia Xiaolan wanted to cling to her Ziyu's family?!
"Alas, Auntie doesn't believe what those people say.
Xiaolan, you're just angry with your family now; how can a grown girl live away from home?
Auntie will try to persuade your grandma; let's all take a step back and calm down."
The eldest aunt pulled Old Lady Xia out the door, and Third Aunt quickly followed.
The younger generation in the room all looked at Xia Xiaolan with hostile eyes, Liu Fen was sobbing, and Xia Xiaolan sighed:
"Don't cry; I can't survive by staying at home."
Enduring some insults, the Xia family wouldn't really kill her… but Xia Xiaolan was unwilling to endure.
She had a chance to be reborn; why should she live so stifled?!
Not long after, Old Lady Xia and the others came back in.
"You can live in the old house; whether you live or die has nothing to do with the Old Xia family!"
Xia Xiaolan pushed her luck, wanting to take some household items.
Old Lady Xia had no choice but to give her a small bag of sweet potatoes:
"Get out quickly!"