"You shameless girl!" he screamed at her. "Taking things from strangers? Smiling at men in the street? What were you doing out there, sitting alone? Is this apartment not enough for you?"
Cixi's tiny body shrank against the peeling wallpaper. Tears immediately filled her wide eyes, spilling down her flushed cheeks before she could blink them away.
She had never seen her father like this. As long as she remembers, her parents had barely spoken to her, let alone raised their voices at her. This was the first time she witnessed the anger twisting his face into something monstrous, and the sheer terror of it locked her limbs in place.
"Why did you take ice cream from a stranger?" This time, he yelled so loudly that his voice echoed outside the apartment, rattling through the thin corridor for the neighbours to hear.
Cixi's tiny body lost its balance in sheer fear, and she fell backwards onto the wooden floor, landing hard on her tailbone.
