When discussing the topic of household registration, tears stream constantly down 24-year-old Liu Qin's face.

Liu was born at home, meaning that she lacked the birth certification provided by hospitals that is required to formally register. A paternity test is an acceptable alternative, but when Liu proposed a paternity test to her parents, they simply refused.

In fact, Liu's parents tried to abandon their daughter, since they wanted to have a son. In the end, Liu's grandparents took her in and raised her.

Liu lived with her grandparents for eight years. During that time, her mother did give birth to a son--Liu's younger brother. Liu's grandmother decided to send her back home after her brother was born, but her parents still resented her presence. To compensate, Liu took over most of the housework. Her parents resorted to physical violence over the slightest matters, and Liu's arms were fractured many times by her father's beatings.

At the age of 15, Liu left home for four years. She worked in a restaurant until the restaurant closed down, at which time Liu returned to live in grandparents' home.

Liu knows that she cannot do basic things like take the train or get a proper job without household registration and an ID card. She has attempted to persuade her parents many times to do a paternity test, but they always shy away from making a commitment. Liu's father finally agreed to the paternity test on the impossible condition that his daughter provide 100,000 yuan for her brother's marriage.

Liu asked her grandparents to intervene on her behalf, but her grandmother, too, was unsuccessful in extracting any sort of compromise. Liu's father, Liu Chuansong, said that his dauther lives with her grandparents and they are barely in contact. He consequently refuses to do anything to help her, and he believes that she is just bringing him trouble by asking for help with household registration. Liu's mother said that she has almost no connection with Liu's grandparents.

The real reason her parents won't help her, Liu believes, is that she and her parents simply have a bad relationship. And, she added, they resent her for not turning over the money she earned working in the restaurant.

Police inspector Gao Liang said he has investigated Liu's situation. Police even tried to convince Liu's parents to do a paternity test, but they steadfastly refused. After investigating, however, authorities are certain that Liu Qin is Liu Chuansong's biological daughter. Therefore, the story has a happy ending: police granted Liu a special exemption. Soon, she will finally receive the household registration that she has been waiting for her entire life.