Chapter 4: Sever ties and never have any further contact

As soon as Gu Xiao returned to the military compound, he headed straight home.

“Xiao-ge, why are you so slow? How come you’re only just getting back to the compound?”
On the way, he bumped into an old childhood friend, also a soldier, who waved and called out to him.

“Mm.”
Gu Xiao was still lost in thought and merely nodded in response.

After walking a few more steps, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and dragged his poor friend along.

“Come with me.”

“Huh? What for? Why are you in such a rush?!”

“You’ve been married before—you’ve got experience. Come help me write a marriage report.”

“What experience?! You’re my Xiao-ge, of course I’ll help you… wait.
Wait a minute!”

“Did you just say what I think you said? A partner? A report?? I mean—what the—?”

“Shut up.”

“…Okay.”

Inside the room.

Following the format his friend provided, Gu Xiao seriously and carefully wrote out the marriage report, word by word.

Then, he meticulously checked it from top to bottom, several times.

His friend watched, expressionless.

If he didn’t already know it was just a marriage report he helped write, seeing how seriously Gu Xiao was treating it—he’d believe he was drafting a top-secret national document.

After making absolutely sure there were no issues, Gu Xiao carefully folded the report and handed it over to his buddy.

“You head to the base first and help me submit the marriage request.”

Toolman friend: “…”

“Xiao-ge, don’t we only have one day off today? Are you not going back to the base tonight?”

“I can’t go back just yet.”

Gu Xiao patted his good brother on the shoulder and smirked.
“Unlike you, my wife asked me to come home for dinner tonight. I’ll head back to the base later tonight.”

Poor buddy: “…”

Please put away that smug, show-off look.
This is not the version of Xiao-ge I know!!

After taking care of that important task, Gu Xiao headed straight for the Song household.

Only then did the floating, dream-like feeling in his heart settle down.
Everything finally started to feel real.

——

Evening.

After a full day’s work, it was finally dinner time. The streets were filled with the mouthwatering aroma of food.

Song Father came home from work, stomach growling, only to find the kitchen cold and quiet—lifeless, just like the atmosphere in the house.

“What now?”

“You’re finally back, Old Song! Come quick—look at our Baozhu!”
Song Mother immediately began complaining as soon as her husband walked in.

“Youyou—she pushed Baozhu into the lake! She’s still crying in her room!”

“What happened?”

“Baozhu left a note today saying her sister was mad at her and wanted to meet at the lake outside town.”
“I thought something was off as soon as I saw that note. And sure enough, when I got to the lake, I saw that Youyou had pushed Baozhu into the water!”

The more Song Mother spoke, the deeper her frown became.

“Old Song, tell me, ever since Baozhu came back, how could Youyou turn into someone like this?”

“And what does Youyou say?”

Song Father felt a headache coming on.
He came home hungry, no food in sight, and now he had to deal with drama.

“Of course she denies it! But Baozhu told me herself—how could you not believe your own daughter?”

Song Father frowned. “Could it have been a misunderstanding?”

“Mom! You hear that?! I told you Dad always sides with outsiders and not his real daughter!”

At some point, Song Baozhu had come out and instantly started crying again when she heard her father’s words.

Song Father’s headache pounded harder. “I didn’t say I don’t believe you…”

Song Mother was instantly furious.
“Old Song, let me tell you something—if you’re not going to believe your own daughter, then fine! You live on your own. I’ll live with Baozhu!”

“What are you two doing!?”

Watching the two of them gang up and sob in unison, Song Father’s head throbbed.

“So what do you want to do about this?”

“Cut ties with Song Youyou!”

“Cut ties?”

“Yes!”
The guilt of losing her daughter as a child was something Song Mother never got over. All these years, she’d carried that blame in her heart.

Now that her real daughter had come back, she’d decided to side with her no matter what.

As far as she was concerned, Youyou—who she’d raised all these years—should have been grateful, should have dedicated herself to the family, and served her real daughter like a maid.

But instead of doing that, she tried to harm her?

That felt like a knife to her heart.

“Baozhu’s been living in fear, always saying her sister wants to hurt her! My heart is breaking!”
As she spoke, Song Mother began crying again.

Song Father knew about her unresolved guilt.
Lately, the house had been full of shouting and crying—never a moment’s peace.

Seeing both his wife and biological daughter crying nonstop, Song Father rubbed his temples and snapped:

“Fine, fine! If you insist on cutting ties, then do it. What’s the use of crying?”

That was the moment Song Youyou returned.

But hearing their decision from outside the door, she didn’t feel angry anymore.

Maybe… she had already given up on them the moment they helped Song Baozhu cover up a murder.

Since her heart was already dead to them, their cruelty could no longer hurt her.

Song Mother also saw her standing at the door and immediately scolded:
“Why are you only getting back now? All that time raising you was a waste! Now you’re getting lazy, huh? Can’t even be bothered to come home and cook dinner!”

At home, it had always been Song Youyou who cooked.

But this time, in the face of the verbal abuse, she acted like she didn’t even hear it.

She simply replied, cool and calm:

“It wasn’t for nothing.”
She hadn’t taken advantage of them for free.

From the moment she was tall enough to reach the stove, she had been the one cooking for the family. After graduating high school, she handed over her entire salary every month to the household.

Even the job she had earned on her own merit—just recently, under Song Mother’s strong insistence—had been transferred to Song Baozhu.

Not to mention the years of wages she’d handed over, that job alone would have been worth several hundred yuan if she had sold it outside.

So yes, she acknowledged the grace of being raised.
But she hadn’t taken anything for free.
Had she?

---

“Hah! Look at you now, huh? One little word from me and you dare talk back?”

“Alright, alright,” Song Father cut off his wife’s scolding and brought Song Youyou into the study.

“Youyou,” he began, “you must know by now… ever since your sister came home, there’s been a lot of tension between you two. A peaceful family is the key to everything. All this constant fighting—it’s not good.”

“So… it’s time for you to move out and be independent.”

He laid out the reasoning for her.
But there was something Song Father didn’t say.

According to current policies, if a household had three or more children, one of them was required to go to the countryside for labor, or else they risked being reported.

The eldest son worked at a steel factory, Baozhu had taken over Youyou’s former bookstore job, and now she was the only one unemployed. It was only a matter of time before she’d be the one sent away.

And once a girl was sent to the countryside, chances were she’d be stuck there for life.

Not only would a daughter living in the countryside be of no benefit to the family, they might even have to keep sending money or food coupons her way from time to time.

And if she became a burden they couldn’t shake off?
That was unacceptable.

It was this cold calculation that had ultimately made him agree with his wife’s demand to sever ties.

As he weighed how to keep persuading her to agree, he was interrupted by Song Youyou’s calm voice:

“Alright. Then write the severance letter now. I’ll sign it, and tomorrow we’ll go to the police station to notarize and update the household registry.”

She even listed off the procedures smoothly, like she’d done it before.

“…”

Song Father’s words got stuck in his throat.

“…Uh, don’t you have anything to say?”

She had agreed far too easily. As if this severance meant absolutely nothing to her.
It almost felt like she had initiated it—not them.

“And what exactly do you want me to say?”
Song Youyou let out a faintly mocking laugh and returned the question.

Truthfully, in her past life, she had said a lot.

She said she was innocent.
She said she didn’t push anyone.
She said she’d give in to her sister from now on.
She said she couldn’t bear to leave her parents.

And what was the result?

She had been thrown out just the same.

Her words only gave them a chance to act generous while standing high and mighty.
They never changed the outcome.

Because she was just a foundling—a child they had picked up.

---

“Dad! Here’s the severance document—I already wrote it!”
Hearing her father’s hesitation, Song Baozhu, who had been eavesdropping at the door, couldn’t wait any longer and burst in with the document.

Seeing her so eager, the cold sarcasm at the corner of Song Youyou’s lips deepened.

Song Father’s face turned dark. “Who told you to barge into the study like that?!”

He fancied himself a proper city gentleman and a mid-level official, someone who valued rules and decorum.

But this newly recovered daughter from the countryside was simply too uncultured.
He’d told her multiple times to knock before entering—but she never listened.
How uncouth!

His chest heaved with anger.

When he glanced back at Song Youyou—the adopted child—she sat with perfect posture, calm and composed, her demeanor gentle and graceful.

This only made him angrier.

And in terms of appearance—one was a plain little girl, while the other…

As Song Youyou grew, her features had become increasingly stunning, her figure graceful and elegant.
For the first time, Song Father began to doubt whether severing ties with her was the right decision.

But Song Youyou couldn’t care less about what calculations were running through his mind.

With her slender fingers, she picked up the fountain pen on the desk without hesitation and signed her name boldly and freely across the severance document.

She didn’t even bother reading it again—
After all, she had seen it before in her previous life.

There was one line in it that she still remembered vividly:

“Song Youyou is an abandoned child taken in by the Song family. As of today, all familial ties are severed. No contact will be maintained in the future.”

As if they were afraid she might come back to cling to them someday.

—

Off to the side, Song Baozhu watched Song Youyou sign her name stroke by stroke, and the corners of her lips curled up uncontrollably into a wide, smug grin.

Finally!

She would now become the future mayor’s daughter.

And the noble military officer’s wife—
That would also be her!