Chapter 36 There are only people I want to give to.

"Happy New Year, Uncle! Wishing you prosperity and good fortune! Here's a red envelope..." Dan Si grinned and spread his hands at Dan Anwen, his meaning all too clear.

Dan Anwen raised an eyebrow, his eyes deep, and asked, "Dan Si, how old are you this year?"

Dan Si found it strange, but still answered, "You're sixteen years old, what's wrong?"

“Now that you’re sixteen, you’re considered a man, so there’s no red envelope.” Dan Anwen said calmly.

Dan Si never expected his uncle to be so stingy. Capitalists really aren't human! They're even stingy with red envelopes.

"Uncle, is it possible for someone to be considered an adult at eighteen?"

"So what?" The man walked into the room from the balcony.

Dan Si followed him around excitedly, shouting, "It's not fair! Why does Dan Shu get a New Year's red envelope? She's an adult now!"

Are you a girl?

Dan Si shook his head, still unconvinced, "Uncle, you mean we should have gender equality, right?"

Dan Si tried to persuade Dan Anwen, after all, the red envelope Dan Anwen gave him was the largest source of income for him every year, more than all the red envelopes his family gave him in total, so he naturally couldn't let it go.

Annoyed by his persistence, Dan Anwen transferred some money to him. "It's been transferred."

After saying that, the man disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Dan Si's eyes lit up as he opened the red envelope. A thousand yuan?

Unable to believe the amount he was seeing, Dan Si rubbed his eyes.

This is just a drop in the ocean compared to the amounts in previous years!

"Uncle, did they swallow the rest of the money?" A faint, mournful wail echoed in the stairwell.

The man who went upstairs curled his lips into a smile; he simply had someone he wanted to give it to.

Early morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year

When Gu Zhaodi returned from picking vegetables in the garden, she saw that her room door had been opened.

The girl frowned and strode inside, only to find her suitcase lying naked on the floor, its contents scattered and in disarray.

Clothes were carelessly thrown on the bed, and other things were scattered on the floor. Most importantly, Uncle Dan's two books were missing.

The girl quickly turned the entire suitcase over and emptied everything, but couldn't find the two books.

Gu Zhaodi hurriedly went to find her mother, her voice anxious, "Mom, who has been in my room?"

"Your cousin came by this morning, what's wrong?" Gu's mother asked, cracking sunflower seeds without looking up.

Did he take the books from my suitcase?

"You can just buy more, it's only two books." Gu's mother didn't care about the girl's anxious appearance at all, and looked indifferent.

The girl frowned and said expressionlessly, "Tell your cousin to give these two books back to me."

"What do you mean 'return it to you'? How can you take it back after giving it to your cousin? Aren't you embarrassing me?" Gu's mother said impatiently, glancing at the girl as if to say that she was being unreasonable.

"But this is my book, and you can't give it to anyone without my permission." The girl's suppressed emotions had reached their breaking point, and she no longer cared about her tone.

Mother Gu stood up abruptly, pointing angrily at the girl's nose and yelling, "You eat my food, wear my clothes, and now you're yelling at me like this because of two tattered books?"

The girl raised her moist eyes and stared straight at Gu's mother, "Do you even believe that yourself?"

The girl's cold gaze made Gu's mother feel a little guilty. Then she thought that she was the girl's mother. Could the girl possibly cause any trouble?

"Anyway, there's no book, so do whatever you want."

Seeing that her mother didn't want to talk to her anymore, the girl closed her eyes to hide the stinging feeling in them.

They hurriedly walked out the door and ran straight towards Linjia Village.

An hour later, when the girl returned to the Gu family home, she was greeted with a slap from Gu's mother.

With a "smack," the girl's head was turned to the side, her cheek instantly bulging high, blood red spreading across her entire face, and her disheveled hair obscuring her incredulous expression.

Her head was buzzing, and she felt like the wires in her head had completely broken and couldn't be reconnected no matter what she did. There was a noisy commotion around her, filled with the sound of her mother scolding her.

"Have you grown wings and think you're all grown up? You dare to go to your uncle's house to ask for books? Aren't you embarrassing me?" Gu's mother pointed at the girl and cursed her, occasionally hitting her.

Her brother just called and said that Gu Zhaodi went to his house to ask his son to return the book, and even made his son cry.

The girl was completely unconscious; the sudden slap had left her half-dead.

Hearing the commotion from inside, Mr. Gu rushed out and saw the two arguing, feeling somewhat at a loss.

"What's wrong?" Gu's father's voice rang out, pulling the girl back to her senses.

"Isn't she your good daughter? She made me lose face in my parents' home, running back to ask for two tattered books." Gu's mother's sharp voice pierced the girl's aching heart. "If I had known, I should have aborted her while she was still in my belly, so she wouldn't have come out and made a fool of herself."

With her hands on her hips, Gu's mother lashed out at Gu's father. Her gaze fell on the two books clutched in the girl's hands, and she was furious. She reached out to snatch the books away.

“I told you to go to your uncle’s house and ask for the book back, and I’ll tear it up.”

Just as Gu's mother's hand was about to reach for the book, the girl's dark eyes finally moved, and she grabbed Gu's mother's wrist.

"You brat, what are you doing?" Gu's mother's wrist was gripped so tightly that it hurt, and she grimaced.

"Don't touch my books."

The girl looked as if she had crawled out of hell, her eyes bloodshot and gloomy as she stared intently at Gu's mother. Her tone was as cold as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

Gu's mother was a little frightened by her stare and stood there stunned. When she came to her senses, she wanted to slap the girl's face.

The girl forcefully shook off his hand, causing him to sway and almost lose his balance.

Mother Gu rubbed her wrist, which had been gripped so tightly it was red, and said fiercely, "You brat, are you trying to rebel? Get out of this house!"

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Gu's father said softly, "Zhaodi, apologize to your mother. You were wrong to do what you did today."

After saying that, he gestured to the girl to apologize obediently, looking like a kind and good-natured person.

The girl gave a mocking laugh, the veins on her hand gripping the book bulging, the bluish-black veins standing out starkly against her fair skin.

She could feel her fingernails digging deep into her palms, and warm blood slowly flowing through them, but she felt no pain whatsoever.

The girl's eyes were lifeless as she stared intently at Gu's mother, her hoarse voice like plastic cutting on a steel wire, "I will never come back to this house again."

After saying that, the girl quickly ran into the room, stuffed all the things she had brought back into her suitcase, and within a few minutes, she dragged her suitcase out of the Gu family's gate.

Behind her were Gu's father's shouts and Gu's mother's curses, wishing her to die as far away as possible.

This time, Gu Zhaodi didn't look back at the village where she had lived for more than ten years, and left without looking back.

She boarded the same train as before, but all the girl wanted was to find a place to have a good cry.

The two books were just the tipping point; she was already feeling suffocated by the pressure of her family.

Even with Gu Bao, her little sun, warming her heart, she found it hard to keep going.

Thinking of my younger brother, I haven't said goodbye to him yet, but it doesn't matter anymore, does it?

Gu Zhaodi's eyes were red and swollen, and half of her face was swollen so much that the surrounding passengers kept turning around to look at her.

After all, it's only the second day of the Lunar New Year, and there aren't many people taking the train. It's hard for the girl to go unnoticed when she looks like she's being bullied.

Even the flight attendants came over to ask if I needed any help.

Seeing that the girl wouldn't speak, the flight attendant had no choice but to bring her an ice pack to reduce the swelling.

The girl stared quietly at the ice pack in her hand, a hint of mockery in her eyes. Even the concern of a stranger was more welcoming than that of this family.

Unlike my feelings when I came to Nan'an City in the summer, when I was full of anticipation, now my whole body is stiff and numb, just like the cold air outside, without any warmth.

The girl kept her eyes open, staring out the window. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the white skin at the corners of her mouth was slightly upturned.

With her mind completely blank, she sat there for several hours until she arrived in Nan'an City.

The train station was nearly deserted, and even taxi drivers were enjoying a rare moment of leisure at home.

At the snow-covered train station entrance, the girl seemed to have lost her way again.

Nan'an Middle School hasn't started yet, so students aren't allowed to stay at the school. Jingjie went back to City B for the Chinese New Year, so she can't go to the dessert shop either.

Now Gu Zhaodi realizes that there seems to be no place for her in this world.

The cold wind lashed against the girl's fair cheeks, and the messy strands of hair at her temples playfully tried to hide her sad eyes.

She has no idea where she is going. A few hours ago, she was only thinking about leaving that home and leaving Lin'an City, but she didn't think that Nan'an City didn't seem to have a place for her either.