Chapter 2 — After My Cousin Moved In, My Family Almost Destroyed

My guess is not wrong. The next night, my father's phone rang. Two words appeared on the screen: My father's whole body immediately tensed up. He looked at my mother, then looked at me, then hesitantly pressed the listen button. He turned on the speakerphone. The other end of the line immediately heard the high-pitched cry of my grandmother.

"Ve Quoc! My son! You don't need this old mother anymore, right?!"

My father's face immediately turned pale.

"Mom, what are you saying? What's going on?"

"Are you still asking what's wrong?! My younger brother came home last night, didn't eat anything, drank an entire bottle of white wine by himself, and said he didn't want to live anymore! He said his biological brother despised him and wanted to cut ties with him!"

I laughed coldly in my heart. Uncle Hai's ability to change white to black and play the victim first has truly been practiced to the ultimate level. My father quickly explained:

“Mom, it's not like that, it's Ve Quan…”

“Shut up!”

Grandma interrupted directly.

"I know everything! Isn't it just letting Tieu Nha come to your house to stay for three years? Is your house a royal palace or a golden palace? Can't accommodate a child?!"

"When I was a child, our family was so poor. Who was it that fasted and left half a tortilla for me? It was my younger brother!"

"Now that you have a future, living in a big house in the city, you can't accommodate your younger brother's daughter anymore?!"

Each question was like a whip hitting my father in the face. His head bowed lower and lower. Lips trembled, but could not refute a sentence. The mountain named "filial piety" crushed him to the point of suffocation. My mother sat next to me, her face expressionless, continuing to knit a sweater as if the crying on the phone had nothing to do with her. But I see clearly. The knitting needle in her hand missed several stitches in a row.

"Ve Quoc, your younger brother is useless, he will probably be like that for the rest of his life. But Tieu Nha is the one with the most future in our Trieu family generation!"

"If in the future he passes into a prestigious university, it will be the blessing of the Trieu family's ancestors!"

"Let's say you love your little brother a little, love this old lady a little... is that okay?"

Grandma's voice gradually turned from blaming to pleading. My father's defense line is collapsing little by little. I saw his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles white from the force. He is torn. On one side is the biological mother who gives birth and nurtures. On one side is the wife who has struggled to support this family for many years. He had difficulty opening his mouth.

"This... I can't decide this alone... I have to... discuss it with To Tinh first..."

He kicked the ball over to my mother. Sure enough, Grandma immediately found a new target to attack.

"To Tinh? It's that woman again!"

“I knew right away that he instigated the pillow!”

“Trieu Weiguo, let me tell you, the matter of the Trieu family is not up to anyone outside the family to decide!”

“Tomorrow, immediately go pick Tieu Nha back!”

“If you don't pick me up, then don't accept me as your mother anymore!”

"Tomorrow I will buy a ticket to the city and hang myself right in front of your house! I'll see if you and your good wife have the face to live on in the future!"

“Tut… tut… tut…”

The phone was hung up. The living room fell into dead silence. My father's forehead was full of cold sweat. He looked at my mother blankly.

"To Tinh... see... what should I do now?"

My mother finally put down her sweater. She got up and left Go to the balcony, pull the curtains and look at the night outside. A long time later, she turned around.

“Ve Quoc, do you think I'm too heartless?”

My father said nothing. Consider it a tacit admission.

“I'll make it clear today.”

My mother looked straight at him, every word clear.

“What kind of person Trieu Ve Quan is, you understand better than me.”

"Today he can bring his daughter here, tomorrow he will bring himself here, and the day after tomorrow he will bring his wife here as well."

“My house is not a motel, nor is it a charity camp.”

“And mom over there…” My mother sighed softly. "She's old and soft-hearted. She believes whatever Ve Quan says. It's useless for you to talk to her about logic."

“But… but mom said she would come tomorrow…” My father's voice carried a bit of fear.

“If you want to come, just come.”

My mother's voice was strangely calm.

“You can't hide.”

“If there's something you need to face, just face it.”

She walked up to me and gently patted my head.

“Van Van, don't be afraid.”

“The sky hasn't fallen yet.”

I nodded. What I'm afraid of is not my grandmother coming to cause trouble. But my father will compromise. Just through the phone call just now, I heard it. His defense line was shaking violently. This family's seemingly strong fortress, its greatest weakness... is the person who should be the strongest. Uncle Hai and grandmother understand that very well. They are focusing all their firepower, aiming straight at the weakest link. A real battle... I'm afraid it's inevitable.