Chapter 1

In the family group chat, my mother-in-law announced triumphantly:

“I’ve spent twelve years helping my daughter raise her child. I’ve done my duty. From now on, I’m moving in with my eldest son to enjoy my retirement!”

My husband, Zhao Ming, immediately responded with a celebratory emoji and urged me to go buy a premium mattress.

I could only laugh.

The year I gave birth to twins—a boy and a girl—I nearly died in labor and begged her to stay and lend a hand.

She only rolled her eyes, turned around, and went to care for my sister-in-law’s child. For twelve years, she never showed her face.

Had she already forgotten how hard I struggled back then?

I opened the group chat, photographed the inside page of the property deed, and sent it straight to the group, tagging Zhao Ming as well:

“If you want to be filial, buy a house yourself! This home is my premarital separate property.”

“I will not agree to her moving in. Say one more word and both of you can get out!”

When my mother-in-law sent that message, I was in the kitchen making noodles for the children.

There were twenty-seven people in our family group chat. In just three sentences and nine bright-red congratulatory emojis, my mother-in-law turned her wish to move in with me for retirement into a great blessing our family had supposedly been granted.

My sister-in-law, Zhao Xue, was the first to reply.

“You’ve worked so hard, Mom. Now you can finally enjoy life. Big Brother and Sister-in-law will surely be filial and take good care of you.”

Then she sent a photo of herself with my mother-in-law.

In the picture, my mother-in-law wore a new cashmere sweater and had her arm linked through Zhao Xue’s, smiling so broadly her mouth nearly reached her ears.

Zhao Ming immediately sent a folded-hands emoji.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve arranged everything for you at home.”

Then he tagged me privately.

“Wanqing, go look at mattresses at the mall tomorrow. Mom’s back isn’t good, so buy an expensive one.”

I turned off the stove and carried two bowls of noodles to the table.

My daughter, Zhao Nian, looked up.

“Mom, is Grandma going to live with us?”

“That’s what the group says.”

My son, Zhao Hang, held his chopsticks and asked quietly, “How long will she stay?”

I looked at him.

The twins were twelve years old. They had lived with me since the day they were born. Their memories of their paternal grandmother amounted to red envelopes at New Year’s and a few admonitions to behave and listen.

The last time my mother-in-law had visited was three years ago, when Zhao Xue bought a house and invited everyone over for dinner.

That day, from the moment she arrived until she left, my mother-in-law spent exactly twenty minutes at our home. Zhao Xue had called to say she wanted dumplings made by her mother, so she left.

After I put the children to bed, I picked up my phone and replied with one sentence:

“I don’t agree.”

The group chat fell silent for a few seconds.

Zhao Ming immediately sent me a private message.

“Could you stop embarrassing me in front of everyone?”

“The one being embarrassed is me.”

“Mom didn’t have it easy raising me. What’s wrong with her moving in with her son for her retirement?”

“What does her raising you have to do with living in my house?”

Zhao Ming’s tone turned stern.

“What do you mean, your house? We’ve been married for over ten years. Everything in the home is marital property.”

I opened the cabinet and took out the property deed from the bottom drawer.

Only my name appeared on the certificate of ownership.

My father had bought the house for me two years before I married. He sold our old house in the countryside and added the savings he had accumulated over many years to afford it.

When we married, the Zhao family had given 88,000 yuan as the bride price. My parents covered the wedding expenses, and my father and I paid for the renovations.

After Zhao Ming moved in, he only covered the utility bills and household expenses each month.

The mortgage had been paid off long ago. The ownership had never changed.

I photographed the inside page of the deed and sent it to the group.

“If you want to be filial, buy a house yourself! This home is my premarital separate property.”

Someone in the group immediately sent a question mark.

Then my mother-in-law sent a voice message, her voice shrill and piercing.

“Song Wanqing, what do you mean by that? Do I need to watch your expression just to live in my own son’s house?”

I converted the voice message to text and replied directly.

“This house is in my name. If you want a place to live, ask Zhao Ming to buy one.”

Zhao Ming called.

I didn’t answer.

He called five times in a row, then finally sent a message to the group.

“Wanqing, don’t take things so far that there’s no way back.”

I looked at the message, picked up my phone, and replied:

“Once you’ve changed the name on the deed to yours, come talk to me about filial piety.”

Someone in the group sent a clapping emoji.

My mother-in-law immediately kicked that person out of the group.

Then she sent a long message.

“I worked hard to raise my son, and now he’s married an outsider who won’t even let me have a place to stay.”

My children’s chopsticks paused in midair.

Zhao Nian looked up. “Mom, is Grandma calling you an outsider?”

I put my phone down.

“Eat your dinner.”

That night, Zhao Ming stood outside the door for more than twenty minutes.

Through the peephole, I saw him holding a thermos and messaging my mother-in-law.

“Mom, stay at Zhao Xue’s for now. I’ll talk to her slowly.”

My mother-in-law replied at once.

“I raised you all these years, and in the end I still have to live by your wife’s mood. Think carefully about that.”

Zhao Ming put away his phone and knocked.

“Wanqing, open the door. Let’s talk.”

I said nothing.

Half an hour later, he sent me a message.

“Tomorrow I’m bringing Mom over. Whether you agree or not, you’ll have to accept it.”

The next morning, just after I dropped the children off at school, Zhao Ming called.

“Mom has left Zhao Xue’s place. Remember to come home and open the door at noon.”

“Which room will she stay in?”

“Of course, the main bedroom. It gets good light, and the bathroom is close.”

“That’s my room and the children’s.”

“Switch to another room. Mom’s back is bad.”

I stopped by the roadside and watched the students streaming through the school gate.

“I’ve already told you I don’t agree.”

Anger began to creep into Zhao Ming’s voice.

“So you want to throw her out onto the street?”

“She has a pension, a home, and a daughter.”

“Mom gave her home to Zhao Xue a long time ago.”

I knew about that.

Five years earlier, Zhao Xue had married a man in the building-materials business. Her in-laws looked down on her, and she had cried her way back to her mother’s home for help.

My mother-in-law transferred her two-bedroom apartment to Zhao Xue and even made Zhao Ming sign a document giving up his inheritance rights.

Back then, Zhao Ming came home and said his sister had married into a bad situation, and that family should help when it could.

I didn’t argue.

The apartment had been where my in-laws lived. After my father-in-law died, my mother-in-law had moved in with Zhao Xue to help care for her child.

Later, Zhao Xue bought a villa. My mother-in-law continued to live with her and care for her granddaughter for twelve years.

Now Zhao Xue’s daughter had started college, and she was sending their mother back. She had only one reason:

“Mom’s getting old. It’s more convenient for her to live with her son.”

When I got home, my mother-in-law was already sitting in the living room.

Three large suitcases stood beside her. Her clothes were piled across the sofa, and the coffee table was covered with health supplements Zhao Ming had just bought.

Zhao Ming stood next to her, looking as if he expected me to praise him.

As soon as she saw me, my mother-in-law looked the house over.

“These curtains are too dark. An old person will feel gloomy living here.”

“I’ve already had Mingming clear out the main bedroom. I’ll sleep there. The bed is comfortable.”

I changed my shoes and set down the children’s schoolbags.

“Who let you in?”

My mother-in-law’s expression changed at once.

“Do I have to report to you before visiting my own son?”

“This is my home.”

“You married Mingming, so this is the home of both of you. Why keep distinguishing what’s yours from what’s his?”

“My name is on the deed.”

She slapped the table.

“Talking about the deed every day—what kind of family does that?”

Zhao Ming pulled me aside.

“Let Mom stay for now. Don’t bring this up in front of her.”

“I want her to leave.”

“Wanqing!”

He raised his voice.

The children poked their heads out of their room.

My mother-in-law immediately clutched her chest.

“I’ve lived this long, and it’s the first time a daughter-in-law has thrown me out.”

Zhao Ming hurriedly turned to support her.

“Mom, don’t get worked up.”

At that moment, I saw that while my mother-in-law lowered her head, her eyes were perfectly clear.

She knew that as soon as she pretended to be hurt, Zhao Ming would take her side.

I went into the main bedroom, took out her clothes one by one, and put them back into her suitcases in the living room.

Zhao Ming raised his hand to stop me.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing her out.”

My mother-in-law tugged at his sleeve.

“Mingming, do you see? She doesn’t accept me at all.”

Zhao Ming stood in front of her.

“Song Wanqing, if you throw Mom out today, tomorrow we’re going to buy a house.”

I looked up at him.

“With what money?”

He paused.

“I’ll figure something out.”

“Your salary card is with me. You know how much you have left each month.”

“I can borrow money.”

“Who’s going to lend you money to buy a house for your mother-in-law?”

Zhao Ming had no answer.

My mother-in-law immediately cut in.

“Your father died young, and Mingming worked alone to support the family. We never expected your family to help. Now you’re using this house to bully him. Does that make you feel good?”

I placed the property deed on the table.

“When we bought the house, your family only gave 88,000 yuan. My father paid for the renovations. After we married, Zhao Ming never contributed a cent to the mortgage. I have all the records.”

My mother-in-law picked up the deed, glanced at it, then threw it hard back onto the table.

“Does having a house in her own hands mean a woman can do whatever she wants?”

A child’s voice sounded from the doorway.

Zhao Hang stood there, his expression dark.

“Grandma, why do you want to live in our room?”

My mother-in-law turned around.

“This is your father’s home.”

“Dad said this house belongs to Mom.”

Zhao Ming immediately scolded him.

“Go back to your room! Adults are talking. Children shouldn’t interfere.”

Zhao Hang didn’t move.

Zhao Nian came to stand beside her brother and looked up at Zhao Ming.

“Dad, are you moving our beds?”

My mother-in-law said coldly, “The two children can share one room. Give Grandma a room.”

I took out my phone and started recording.

“I’ve recorded what you just said.”

My mother-in-law’s face darkened.

Zhao Ming suddenly looked at me. “You’re recording too?”

“Since the moment your mother walked in.”

He stared at me as if he were meeting me for the first time.

I opened the main bedroom door and pointed outside.

“Please have her leave before five this afternoon.”

My mother-in-law sat back down on the sofa and raised a hand to her chest.

Zhao Ming took out his phone and called for an ambulance.

A few minutes later, he stood in front of me.

“If anything happens to Mom, I won’t let you get away with it.”

I watched him help my mother-in-law out.

As she passed me, she lowered her voice.

“You think owning a house means you’ve won? My son has the Zhao name, and both children have the Zhao name too.”

My mother-in-law never went to the hospital.