Chapter 2

“Xiaoyu, Mom’s here. If she won’t give you money, we don’t have to endure this!”

The door opened.

Xiaoyu had changed into clean clothes. Her eyes were swollen like peaches.

She threw herself into her mother’s arms, sobbing so hard she could scarcely breathe.

My mother-in-law glared at me.

“Happy now? You’ve driven her so far she can’t even eat!”

“She ate two bowls of rice last night.”

“Are you talking back?”

“I’m stating facts.”

A relative surveyed the living room and tried to mediate.

“Su Yun, eight thousand is a lot, but she’s just been admitted. She shouldn’t begin university worrying about money. Your family’s comfortably off.”

“That doesn’t make me responsible for all four years of her living expenses.”

My mother-in-law put her cloth bag on the table.

“You married into the Zhou family. Lei’s sister is your sister. If she succeeds, won’t that bring honor to your family?”

I looked at her.

“Her success depends on her, not on my surrendering my bank card.”

Xiaoyu lifted her head from her mother’s arms.

“You didn’t used to say that. You said if I studied hard, the family would support me.”

“I said I’d help you finish high school and get into university. I never promised eight thousand a month.”

“So you’re breaking your word?”

“There was no such agreement. What word am I breaking?”

Her tears fell again.

My mother-in-law pointed in my face.

“You just don’t want her living better than your daughter! Ningning has her own mother. Of course she gets everything.”

“What does Xiaoyu have? Only a brother and a sister-in-law!”

“She has her own parents, too.”

Silence fell.

My mother-in-law’s face changed color.

That evening, Lei returned to find her waiting on the sofa.

She portrayed me as a cruel sister-in-law who refused to help, and Xiaoyu as an orphan thrown onto the street.

He rubbed his brow wearily.

“Yun, how about three months first? Four thousand a month. Once she finds a part-time job, we’ll talk.”

“You’re still making decisions for her.”

“I’m solving the problem.”

“Your solution is to take twelve thousand from our joint account, give it to her, and expect me to keep pretending I don’t see?”

His expression changed.

“We’re family. Don’t bring up the joint account every time.”

“What should I bring up? My salary? The tuition I saved for our daughter? Your sister’s tears?”

My daughter came out and stood beside me.

“Dad, Mom has been clear. If you want to help Aunt Xiaoyu, use your own money.”

After a few seconds’ silence, he snatched the car keys from the coffee table.

“You two are ganging up on me. Whatever I say is useless!”

He slammed the door.

The house fell quiet.

I watched the door still trembling. The last softness in me slowly cooled.

My daughter hugged me from behind.

“Don’t be afraid, Mom. You have me.”

At ten the next morning, the doorbell rang again.

This time, my mother-in-law, Xiaoyu, and even more relatives stood outside.

They hadn’t come to negotiate.

They had come to make me submit.

The instant I opened the door, my mother-in-law pulled Xiaoyu in.

“Don’t be afraid. Mom will stand up for you.”

She held her daughter and wailed as though I’d beaten her black and blue.

Against her shoulder, Xiaoyu sobbed.

“She says I have to move out by the end of the month. I’m a girl, and I won’t even have somewhere to live before term starts.”

My mother-in-law shouted at me.

“She’s your husband’s sister, not a stranger!”

The relatives joined in.

“After five years, how can you throw her out?”

“She’s just been admitted. This is when she needs family most.”

“A married woman should treat her husband’s sister like half a daughter.”

I stood in the living room and waited until they finished.

“Done?”

My mother-in-law stared.

“What sort of attitude is that?”

“This is my home. Hear me out first.”

I looked at Xiaoyu.

“Five years ago, your mother said you would stay for one year.”

“I gave you a room and paid your fees. I attended your parent-teacher meetings.”

“You lived here for five years. I never once asked you to leave.”

“Now you’re admitted to university and suddenly want eight thousand a month. I refuse, and I become the villain.”

She bit her lip.

“I only want to live like Zhou Ning.”

“Ning doesn’t get eight thousand. She’ll tutor and apply for work-study.”

“You can do the same.”

My mother-in-law slapped her thigh.

“Why should my daughter have to work? You’re not short of that little money!”

“Then you pay.”

Her hand stopped in midair.