Chapter 6: Better to Die than Not to Change!_1

He Tiantian returned to the room and mulled over the events she had encountered. Her gaze landed on the calendar on the wall: July 8th, 1970.

That's right, her previous life had boarded the train from Nan City to Huai City of An Province on July 9th, 1970.

In her past life, absorbed in grief, unwilling to leave her parents and home, and reluctant to part with Huo Yingjie, she had been weepy and dispirited, never asking her parents why they had sent her away so abruptly.

Having been reborn, she couldn't be that weak; she needed to ask and understand the reasons to have a clear mind.

That evening, He Tiantian's father, He Jingyu, rushed home from outside, his complexion pale, and his usually well-kept hair slightly disheveled. Even upon arriving home, He Jingyu was still gasping for breath.

"Shuping, pack Tiantian's things and send her on the train to Huai City tomorrow," He Jingyu said breathlessly, his anxiety betraying his usual calm demeanor.

He Tiantian came out of the room and looked at her father who appeared just as young as in her memories; his square face, black hair, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and taut skin free of wrinkles.

Many who saw her father for the first time thought he was a man with a strong personality, but those who got to know him would find that He Jingyu was a very gentle and modest scholar. He was particularly dedicated to his research, having cultivated many good strains of fruit trees and received numerous awards.

"Dad," He Tiantian stepped forward and hugged her father whom she hadn't seen for decades, unable to hold back any longer, "Dad, Dad..."

With each call, He Tiantian poured out the longing, grievance, and unresolved remorse in her heart...

He Jingyu thought his daughter didn't want to leave home, for she was only eighteen, still a child not yet grown up, leaving her parents, friends, and familiar places for a completely unknown place; it would scare anyone, stoke fear in anyone's heart.

"Good girl, Tiantian, don't cry," He Jingyu gently patted his daughter's back, soothing her in a soft voice, trying to make it as gentle as possible, not to frighten his timid and well-behaved daughter.

But He Tiantian's tears fell like beads off a broken string, pattering down non-stop.

"Why do you bring her back, only to send her off to the countryside right away?" Wang Shuping also couldn't understand, especially seeing her daughter cry like this made her heart ache even more, "In our family, Tiantian is the only child. It's not necessary for her to go! We're both working; can't we support just one child?"

He Jingyu looked troubled, unsure of how to explain, as he didn't want his daughter to bear a burden in her heart as she left.

After a while, He Tiantian's sobs subsided, her eyes red and swollen, she kept hiccupping.

"Tiantian, you go inside first; I have something to discuss with your mother," He Jingyu said, deciding after a moment's thought to keep He Tiantian in the dark and send her away, explaining it clearly to his wife. If he couldn't convince his wife, he wouldn't be able to send his daughter away quickly.

"No... I'm not going away," He Tiantian stated firmly, but with her red nose, teary eyes, and slightly pouting lips, she looked like a little princess throwing a tantrum.

"Tiantian..." He Jingyu frowned; his daughter was being disobedient today. This was a serious matter, not a time for her to act wilfully.

"Dad, I'm already eighteen years old, and just yesterday you and Mom said I'd grown up," said He Tiantian. "Since I've grown up, why won't you let me know what you're talking about?" she continued, "The situation outside is even more chaotic in the city than in the countryside, you want to send me away to avoid the city's turmoil. But have you thought about me, a girl who knows nothing about life in the countryside, whether I can survive or not?"

Upon hearing their daughter's words, Wang Shuping and He Jingyu were stunned. The daughter they had sheltered and pampered was actually not as weak as they had imagined.

Wang Shuping thought for a moment and said, "Jingyu, Tiantian has grown up and is our only child; if we must send her away, we should make her understand why she's being sent away."

"Yes, Dad, just tell me, and I will obey," added He Tiantian. "I'll get on the car and leave without a fuss," she said, powerless to change the situation, but determined to understand the truth.

In her previous life, she had lived in a daze.

In this life, if she could not know the truth and could not change the fate of her parents and herself, she would rather die.

Defeated under the gaze of his wife and daughter, He Jingyu sighed and said, "Today I heard from some external workers that they are going to investigate our family. My father, who studied abroad in the past, although he has passed away, our family has that connection, I estimate there will be chaos for a while, and I have no idea what will happen, which is why I thought of sending my daughter to the countryside to avoid this calamity."

He Jingyu's concern stemmed from his father's old friend who had studied abroad with his father and had been arrested; the old professor's family, where they had been sent was unknown.

Even though his father was no longer alive, He Jingyu worried that their family could face the same fate. Rather than wait passively, he had come home late after securing a place in the countryside for his daughter through a classmate.

Wang Shuping covered her mouth, her eyes wide with tears, but she forced herself not to cry for fear of frightening He Tiantian.

After hearing her father's explanation, He Tiantian thought of the bits and pieces she had learned in her previous life; her parents' deaths were greatly related to these matters.

"Dad, those things at home related to Grandpa, like his old letters, either burn them directly, or hide them somewhere no one knows about. Don't tell anyone, they must not be found," said He Tiantian. "Since we can't stay in the city, can we go to the countryside together?" she asked. "By leaving this place of trouble, perhaps we can escape it."

He Jingyu patted his daughter's head and replied, "It's not that easy, but you go first. Your mom and I will figure something out and we'll try to come to you as soon as possible."

He Tiantian detected the soothing intentions in her father's words; she was the one who had to leave. However, before leaving, she wanted to tell her parents some things from her previous life, so they would be aware.

These were her parents, and she was not afraid that they would consider her a monster upon knowing the truth. He Tiantian believed in her parents' love, that it could accept everything that happened to her.

As long as her parents were mentally prepared, she trusted they would be ready and not repeat the same old path of the past life, He Tiantian had no regrets!

"Dad, what I'm about to tell you, you may not believe, but please believe that your daughter would not lie," He Tiantian said. "I have been reborn from thirty-five years in the future. It was like a dream in which I returned home on July 8, 1970, and you told me to go to the countryside. I was very scared at that time, crying and sobbing until I got on the train and couldn't adjust. I couldn't adapt to the life in the countryside and suffered a lot. A man in that village deceived me, and the letters you sent to me were hidden by them. Two years later, Liu Lingli, a girl from the neighboring district who was also sent to the countryside, received a letter from home mentioning you. She told me that you had passed away, so I came back to the city, but you... you could only lay silently in the urns at the funeral parlor..."

By this point, He Tiantian was already choking with sobs.