Chapter 3 — After Being Kicked Out of the Retirement Party, I Went to Germany for 50 Days

An Kha's volume immediately skyrocketed.

“Wake up!”

“People have never considered you family!”

“The guest list includes a maid, but not you!”

“This is no longer a mistake!”

“This is a public humiliation!”

"I'm telling everyone that you're not worthy Diep Tri Thu!"

Those words were like a sharp blade. Exactly pierced the last layer of illusion that I was still trying to deceive myself. An Kha opened the laptop. Create a new statistics table.

“I plan to help you with some money.”

“In the past five years, how much have you spent on the Phuong family?”

“To repair the wedding house, you spent 80,000 yuan.”

“The money was loaned to my sister-in-law who broke the family without interest, 100,000 yuan.”

"When my father-in-law was hospitalized, you paid the hospital fee in advance, 50,000 yuan."

"Every week you buy food to cook for the whole family. Calculated at the lowest level, including food and labor, five years is at least equivalent to 24,000 yuan."

“Three months of taking care of my mother-in-law, lost wages due to quitting work and mental damage, at least 30,000 yuan.”

“Not including other miscellaneous expenses, these amounts with clear evidence alone amount to 284,000 yuan.”

An Kha turned the computer screen towards me. The number above makes people startled.

“So what do you get in return?”

She looked straight into my eyes. I opened my mouth. But couldn't say a word. The home ownership certificate does not have my name on it. The family's savings are tightly held by Tu Phuong Tien's mother-in-law. I don't even have a decent piece of jewelry. The wedding ring that year had been worn out for a long time because of doing too much housework.

“Stay in Germany for a while.”

An Kha's voice calmed down.

“Let them know if it wasn't for you, their sky would really fall or not.”

She gave me a business card. It belongs to a friend who is a lawyer.

“If you have time, try consulting.”

“Learn about marriage and property law a little.”

"Lest when you get divorced, you work as a maid for free for five years and don't even get paid."

That night. I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. As if possessed by a ghost, I turned on my phone. Right at the moment of starting the engine. Countless messages and missed calls poured in at once. 99+ unread messages. Available from Phuong Vu Hang. Yes from mother-in-law. Yes from my husband's brother. I opened it to see. Not unexpected. All are questions.

"Where did you run off to? Are you playing missing?"

"Diep Tri Thu, what do you mean? Without saying a word, you left. Can you see what this house is like?"

“Sister-in-law, my mother is looking for you everywhere, quickly pick up the phone and call back!”

There wasn't a single question. Not even a word of concern. Just blame and condemnation. I calmly scrolled through each message. Then send Phuong Vu Hang a line.

"I'm working abroad, arranged by the company. Roaming signal is not good, don't bother."

I turned off all notifications directly. Throw the phone aside. Lie down on the big soft bed. For the first time in many years. I had a really peaceful sleep. Two o'clock German time. At this time in the country it was already eight o'clock in the evening. The Phuong family's retirement party must have already begun. I sat in an outdoor cafe in the square Marienplatz in Munich. Warm sunlight gently covers you. I opened the chat group "Phuong family". Inside is extremely bustling. Each photo appears consecutively. My mother-in-law, Tu Phuong Tien, wore a brand new dark red cheongsam. She sat in the chair position with a radiant face, looking like a queen mother. Aunt Luu, the maid, wore elegant and elegant clothes. She wholeheartedly stood next to Tu Phuong Tien, picked up food, and poured wine for her. And my sister-in-law, Phuong Vu Tinh, was holding the phone leaning close to her mother. The mother and daughter puckered their lips and took a friendly selfie. Aunt Bay sent a voice message. The flattering tone is clearly evident:

"Phuong Tien is truly blessed! Successful son, filial daughter, and such a thoughtful maid by her side. Truly a winner of life!"

Aunt Tam immediately chimed in:

"That's true. But... why can't I see Tri Thu's daughter-in-law? Why doesn't she come to such an important occasion?"

The atmosphere was silent for a few seconds. Then, my mother-in-law herself sent a voice message. I pressed open. That familiar voice rang out. There is a hint of satisfaction and indifference that is hard to detect.

"Tri Thu, she's very busy with work, we have to support her. Young people today should still put their career first."

How thoughtful. How to understand people's hearts. With just one light sentence, she pushed all responsibility to my "work". As if my non-appearance was due to pursuing a career. Not because she never invited me in the first place. I enlarged the recording. Listen over and over again. I could clearly hear the contempt and sense of superiority she tried to hide in her voice. Right at that moment. Phuong Vu Hang's private message appeared.

"Mom is very happy today. Don't worry about the guest list anymore. Wait for her to stop being angry, and I'll ask her to make it up to you another day."

Make up for a lavish party that doesn't include my presence? Or compensate for the respect that was due to me from the beginning? I laughed coldly. No reply. Immediately after that, Phuong Vu Tinh's friend circle was updated. Nine photos. Every photo is carefully edited. The photo shows her being intimate with her mother-in-law. Family photo taken together. Of course not me. Along with that is the image of a banquet table filled with delicious dishes. The status line reads:

"Thank you, Mom, for nurturing and sacrificing for us over the years. Wishing you a happy retirement! A family is supposed to be this big!"

Below is also intentionally attached the location of the Phuong family's old house. Not long after, someone left a comment:

“Vu Tinh, where is your sister-in-law?”

Phuong Vu Tinh replied almost immediately:

“She had something to do so she didn't come.”

On the back is also attached a helpless shrugging symbol. Really good acting. It would be a pity if this whole family didn't become actors. I calmly saved all those conversations and screenshots. One by one. An Kha sat opposite and glanced at my phone screen. She took a sip of coffee and said:

“Just keep it all.”

“Later, all of this will be evidence of their lies.”

I nodded. Put your phone in your bag. Raise your head and look at the church tower in the distance. Sunshine just beautiful. Pigeons spread their wings across the sky. Leave a free shadow in mid-air.