A Gilded Cage of Love - Chapter 7

After Teacher Zhou confiscated my diary, she called me into her office.

I was a bit afraid.

My diary was filled with secrets I could not speak aloud, and dreams that seemed too wild and shameful to show anyone at that time.

My nervousness and apprehension quickly melted away under her gentle smile.

She handed the notebook back to me.

“That period was a physics class. You shouldn’t be doing other things in class.”

She paused, then smiled and said, “I just read one page. It’s written very well. You have a lot of talent.”

“Promise me you’ll write during reading class next time, all right?”

I was very surprised and quickly looked up to meet her eyes.

Teacher Zhou was about the same age as my mother, but her gaze was different from the way my mother usually looked at me.

When she looked at me, there was only gentleness in the lines around her eyes.

My eyes felt hot, and I nodded vigorously.

I had always thought that as long as I worked hard enough, I could gradually escape my predicament.

Until one day, I overheard my Parents talking to Aunt Zhang next door.

Aunt Zhang said:

“Once nine years of compulsory education is over, you’ve fulfilled your duties as parents. Girls go to school just so they can teach their sons in the future.

“Girls ultimately aren’t part of the family. It’s better to send her to the factory to earn money to support Zongyao as soon as possible. She’s already grown-if she’s not earning money and still spends it, what family raises a daughter like that?

“Yaoyao is pretty, and there are plenty who envy that. When the time comes, ask for a higher bride price, and then it’ll be easier to get Zongyao a wife later. Once Yaoyao is married off, she can settle down, have a child, serve her husband, and live her life. Isn’t that what life is? When Zongyao’s wife gives you a big fat grandson, you’ll be able to enjoy your days.”

There was laughter and cheerful voices outside.

It was the first time I had seen my mother so happy, full of longing for the life Aunt Zhang described.

But standing behind the dirty, narrow window, all I felt was a chill in my limbs.

So, even though I had such good grades,

My Parents still didn’t want me to continue my studies in high school.

I knew what the girls who quit school early ended up like.

They got married and had children young, the stretch marks on their bellies became nightmares that haunted my dreams at midnight.

The lucky ones had hardworking husbands; those without caring husbands would just lie down on the bed after coming home, waiting to be waited on.

Some of the girls weren’t even twenty, a crying baby strapped to their back, their hands working skillfully over pots and pans, while the man behind them, dissatisfied with their slowness, played games on his phone and kicked them from behind, as if driving a mule-

Worse yet, some had a daughter for their first child, and before they had recovered from childbirth, they got pregnant again, needing to produce a son.

And daughters were often given names related to “brother,” hastily and sadly chosen.

When they grew up, they would repeat their mother’s life all over again.

I had heard my Parents’ plan.

But I had no way to resist.

I could only pretend I didn’t know, and study like a madwoman.

I silently did all the chores, and from my already meager living expenses, I managed to save up a bit more, hoping to pay for high school tuition.

No one could know how envious I was of Ruan Zongyao,

Or how much I resented him for having the chance to study, yet still choosing to waste his time, playing with the family’s only smartphone without a care in the world.