Father Zhou frowned with clear displeasure. As the head of the household, whatever he told Zhou Mingzhu to do in the past, she had always obediently done without a word. Today, perhaps she was simply too angry, which was why she was starting to act out of line.
Mother Zhou, however, asked, "What are your demands? Just name them. Anything the family can manage, we will certainly arrange for you."
Zhou Mingzhu remembered what the novel had written: ever since Gu Yan enlisted in the army, his maternal family had been splitting his salary sent back home in half every month and mailing it to the Zhou Family.
Gu Yan had been in the military for five years. Even if his initial salary had been small, by his second year he was already a platoon leader, and by his fourth year, he had been promoted to company commander.
The money the Zhou Family received from the Gu Family totaled at least eight hundred, if not a thousand yuan.
Zhou Mingzhu stated directly, "First, I want eight hundred yuan."
Father Zhou and Mother Zhou remained silent, but Zhou Jianye flew into a rage first: "Zhou Mingzhu, have you lost your mind?! With just a flap of your lips, you're asking for eight hundred yuan!"
"Our dad's monthly salary is only thirty-six yuan and twenty-eight cents! Our mom's monthly salary is only eighteen yuan and sixty-four cents! Second sister needs money to go to college, and I'm still in school myself! Why don't you just go rob a bank?!"
Zhou Mingyue also frowned, speaking in a soft, fragile tone, "Sister, if you don't want to marry into the family, just say so. You really don't need to put Mom and Dad in such a difficult position."
Zhou Mingzhu sneered, "When you all forced me to marry in Zhou Mingyue's place, you didn't care about putting me in a difficult position. The money I'm asking for is what the Gu Family has all along been sending to Gu Yan's future wife, yet suddenly you think I'm in the wrong?"
"You want me to marry in Zhou Mingyue's place, but you don't want to give me what rightfully belongs to me. Why don't you spend a few hundred yuan to buy another woman to marry into the Gu Family and take care of Gu Yan instead?"
Father Zhou twitched his lips, and Mother Zhou had nothing to say.
Zhou Jianye also knew that the Gu Family sent money to their household every month, and Mother Zhou always told Zhou Mingyue that this money was being saved for her.
Zhou Mingyue also clamped her mouth shut.
In the end, Mother Zhou mustered the courage to break the heavy silence that filled the room: "This... this is the betrothal gift money. How can you ask for all of it to be given to you...?"
Zhou Mingzhu cut Mother Zhou off immediately, "Are you selling a daughter or marrying one off? Aren't betrothal gifts and dowries supposed to be put up by both families' parents to set up the household for the newlywed couple?"
"Usually you told Zhou Mingyue that those funds were untouched and would all be taken with her when she got married in the future. Why is it that as soon as I'm the substitute bride, you want to pocket every last cent sent by the Gu Family?"
Mother Zhou's chest heaved with anger, yet she found it hard to refute her, as she indeed used to say those very words to Zhou Mingyue quite often.
Father Zhou kept his head down in silence.
Yet Mother Zhou refused to give up, "Your younger sister needs to cover her expenses for college, too. You are her own older sister, and you know our family's situation..."
Zhou Mingzhu waved a hand dismissively, "Save it. You always expect me to be the one to understand your situation, yet when Zhou Jianye pushed me to the ground and I bled this much, not a single one of you offered to take me to the hospital."
Zhou Mingzhu grabbed her pillowcase, holding it up so the dried blood on it was in plain view of everyone.
"Besides, the state provides a living allowance for college students—nineteen yuan and eighty-five cents every month. What kind of money does she need? I haven't even asked you for that monthly twenty yuan, which already shows how magnanimous I am! Furthermore, I earned that college admission myself!"
With that single remark, Zhou Mingzhu left all four of them utterly speechless once again.
Father Zhou sighed and asked, "Then what is your second demand?"
Zhou Mingzhu looked at Zhou Mingyue: "The heirloom jade pendant from the Gu Family must be handed over to me right now!"
In the novel, it was only when Zhou Mingzhu and Gu Yan had quarreled to the point of divorce that Gu Yan finally asked her for this jade pendant.
At the time, the original owner felt that since Gu Yan's legs had healed, he was looking down on her, and because she had never even seen the jade pendant before, she got into a massive fight with him over it.
In the end, rather than losing face, the Zhou Family forced Zhou Mingyue to return the jade pendant to Gu Yan.
As a result, once the jade pendant fell into the hands of the female protagonist, it accidentally bonded after a drop of blood fell onto it, turning out to be a Jade Pendant Space.
Zhou Mingzhu had never seen anything so magical before, and she certainly couldn't allow Zhou Mingyue to keep wearing it. Just in case some butterfly effect caused Zhou Mingyue to bind with the Jade Pendant Space, Zhou Mingzhu would literally be sick to her stomach with regret.
Zhou Mingyue tightly gripped the jade pendant hanging around her neck—a piece carved with auspicious cloud patterns in a gradient of pink and white—unwilling to let go in the slightest.
Father Zhou glanced at Zhou Mingyue and asked in a deep voice, "What is your final demand?"
Looking straight into Father Zhou's eyes, Zhou Mingzhu replied, "Write me a formal statement of severance!"
Father Zhou's wrinkled eyes widened in shock, his lips trembling slightly.
Mother Zhou froze in place without a word, Zhou Jianye raised an eyebrow at Zhou Mingzhu, and Zhou Mingyue pressed her lips together, hiding the smug smile at the corners of her mouth.
"Mingzhu... W-what are you talking about?" Mother Zhou's voice trembled, her eyes turning red as if she had suffered the greatest grievance in the world.
Zhou Mingzhu waved her hand, "Cut the useless act. Fulfill these three conditions, and I'll leave for the Gu Family tomorrow."
Father Zhou frowned and glared at Zhou Mingzhu, "Nonsense! Out of nowhere, severing family ties? If word of this gets out, what will others think of our family? They'll think something is wrong with us!"
Zhou Mingzhu couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for the original owner. The novel described how she labored day after day like an old ox for the Zhou Family—sweeping, washing, cooking... taking care of every household chore.
Yet when she quarreled with Gu Yan over a divorce and was killed by a car, not a single person from the Zhou Family bothered to collect her body.
In the end, it was Gu Yan and the female protagonist who handled everything.
Zhou Mingzhu demanded a severance of ties because, to begin with, she was a complete stranger to these people. Their values clearly did not align with hers, and she certainly didn't want some inexplicable relatives coming out of the woodwork to bleed her dry in the future.
After all, the original book mentioned that later on, Zhou Mingyue and Zhou Jianye sought Gu Yan's help; even though Gu Yan did his utmost to assist them, they still felt that because he hadn't helped them leap to success overnight, he hadn't put genuine effort into helping.
Zhou Mingzhu truly did not want such family members draining her mental energy.
Yet Father Zhou's very first reaction wasn't heartache over why Zhou Mingzhu wanted to cut ties, nor was it any reluctance to lose her; instead, his first thought was the reputation of the Zhou Family.
Zhou Mingzhu said bluntly, "It's just a written paper proof of severing ties. I'm not going to broadcast it, and nobody outside the family will know."
Red-eyed, Mother Zhou sat down on the edge of Zhou Mingzhu's bed, "Then why on earth do you want to sever ties?! Once you're married off, this is still your home. If you're ever wronged, you can still come back to your maiden home."
Zhou Mingzhu almost rolled her eyes right then and there. If she hadn't read the novel, she might actually have believed that.
No, just from this brief interaction with the Zhou Family, she had already seen through what kind of people they were—how could she possibly believe Mother Zhou's words? Only a fool would believe that!