Chapter 4: My Daughter Is My Last Line

“If you have something to say, say it plainly.”

Du Mei’s smile stiffened for an instant.

Chu Duc Thuan cleared his throat.

“We came to see Doa Doa.”

“She’s at school.”

Du Mei said at once, “All the better. The adults can talk.”

She pushed her way inside, sat down, and immediately started wiping away tears.

“My life has never been easy. I raised two sons all by myself. Yao isn’t capable, so what’s wrong with you helping him a little as his sister-in-law?”

I poured myself a glass of water and drank it.

Her sobbing stopped.

“What kind of attitude is that?”

I asked, “Where’s your apology?”

Du Mei gritted her teeth.

“Didn’t I make Yao apologize yesterday?”

“What about your apology?”

She glared at me. “I’m your elder. Why should I apologize to you?”

“Not to me.”

I looked at her.

“To Doa Doa.”

Du Mei’s face darkened.

“She’s just a child. What does she know?”

“She knows pain.”

The room fell silent.

Chu Duc Thuan finally spoke.

“An Thu, what’s done is done. If you keep clinging to it, the ones who’ll get hurt are your own family.”

I laughed.

“Your own family?”

I opened Du Mei’s call history from the day before and set the phone on the table.

There was no audio.

Just the time and call log.

“On the phone yesterday, you said raising a girl was useless and told me to have another child—a boy.”

Du Mei’s eyes wavered.

“I only said it offhand.”

“So because you casually said one thing, Doa Doa has to be looked down on by you for the rest of her life?”

Chu Duc Thuan was getting impatient.

“What old person doesn’t want a grandson? Don’t be so sensitive.”

I nodded.

“Fine.”

I took out a sheet of paper.

“If you want a grandson so badly, then from today on, you don’t have to claim this Chu-family granddaughter.”

“Don’t interfere in Doa Doa’s daily life, her school, or her care.”

“Don’t come to her birthday.”

“Don’t ask about her when she’s sick.”

“And don’t expect to benefit from her success when she grows up.”

Du Mei’s expression changed sharply.

“How dare you!”

I looked at her.

“Isn’t it true you don’t value girls?”

“I’m giving you what you want.”

Someone knocked at the door.

I went to answer it.

It was Doa Doa’s kindergarten teacher.

Doa Doa stood behind her, eyes red, holding a drawing in her hand.

The teacher looked very upset.

“Doa Doa’s mom, someone came to the kindergarten today to pick her up. They said they were sent by her paternal grandmother.”

I turned to look at Du Mei.

She avoided my gaze.

Doa Doa handed me the drawing.

In it, her grandmother stood at the door. Beside her, she’d written a few words:

Grandma said she was taking me to Uncle’s house.

I set the picture on the table.

Du Mei still tried to play dumb.

“I missed my granddaughter, so I asked a relative who was passing by to pick her up for a bit.”

I stared at her.

“You were just sitting in my home, talking about family affection.”

“Then behind my back, you sent someone to take my child.”

“Du Mei, do you really think I’m an idiot?”

At the sound of her name from my mouth, her face flushed.

“I’m your mother-in-law!”

I said, “The moment you started plotting against Doa Doa, you stopped deserving that title.”

Chu Duc Thuan slammed the table.

“Ha An Thu! Don’t go too far!”

Doa Doa hid behind me in fear.

I picked her up and lowered my voice.

“You scared her.”

Chu Duc Thuan stiffened.

But Du Mei didn’t care. She pointed at me and cursed.

“Stop using the child as a shield! Doa Doa has the Chu family’s blood. We’ll pick her up whenever we want!”

I looked at her.

“Go ahead and try.”

The teacher at the door also turned stern.

“Without her mother’s consent, the kindergarten will not release her to anyone.”

Du Mei turned on her.

“This is our family’s business! Who are you to interfere?”

The teacher went pale.

I handed Doa Doa to her.

“Could you take Doa Doa downstairs and wait for me for five minutes?”

The teacher nodded and led Doa Doa away.

The door closed.

I turned around.

Du Mei was still cursing.

“Stop pretending to be pitiful in front of other people! You’ll divorce my son and take a daughter with you—let’s see how you manage!”

I walked toward her.

She instinctively stepped back.

The slap I’d given her the day before had taught her exactly how much it hurt.

I didn’t hit her.

I only placed a list on the table.

It itemized all the money her family had taken from me over the years.

Chu Yao’s school fees.

Chu Yao’s motorcycle.

Du Mei’s medical expenses.

A new phone for Chu Duc Thuan.

Every item had been compiled from my transfer records.

Du Mei’s expression changed.

“What are you trying to say?”

“From today on, you’ll pay back everything you’ve taken from me.”

Chu Duc Thuan glared at the pages.

“You’re keeping score with your own family?”

I said, “Didn’t you say I wasn’t family?”

Du Mei shouted, “You gave us all that money willingly!”

“That’s right,” I nodded.

“I gave it willingly before, because I thought you had some humanity.”

“Now I know better.”

Du Mei lunged for the papers.

I put them away before she could reach them.