Chapter 2 — Blindly Dutiful

The long journey was grueling, and I only managed to push through it thanks to that kind stranger. Knowing I was returning, my parents had been eagerly anticipating my arrival for days. Yet the moment they laid eyes on me—frozen stiff, shivering, and entirely alone—the joyful smiles that had graced their faces instantly vanished, replaced by profound anxiety.

Why are you frozen like this? Quickly, come inside, you are covered entirely in snow! Where is Ming Xuan? Did he not come back with you?

Unable to restrain myself a moment longer, I threw myself into my mother arms and wept bitterly. I poured out every grievance, every ounce of humiliation I had suffered along the way. My father s already sallow complexion immediately darkened. He remained silent for a long, heavy moment before letting out a weary sigh.

My foolish daughter, you have suffered so much. Divorce is the right path; a man of that caliber is simply not worthy of entrusting your entire life to.

While fetching clean clothes for me, my mother wiped away her own tears. That wretch Gu Ming Xuan is truly blind! His mother pretends to be sick year after year, does he really think he is ignorant of her tricks? Yet for the sake of such nonsense, he actually had the heart to abandon you stranded on the highway!

That night, I curled up beside my parents. Just like when I was a little girl nursing some childish hurt, I listened to my mother soft, rambling words of comfort and felt the warmth of my father calloused palms. The biting cold in my chest slowly began to melt away. On New Year Eve, my mother was up before dawn making preparations. The kitchen soon filled with the rich, mouth-watering aromas of dishes that both my father and I loved best. My father spirits were unusually bright; after sipping a couple of cups of wine, he became far more talkative than usual. He regaled me with tales of his youth as a technician in the research institute, and recounted how my mother had once defied her own family to marry a penniless young man like him. Sitting beside him, my mother laughed and interrupted:

You are dragging up all those old stories again, aren't you afraid our daughter will laugh at us?

Gazing at the fine lines around my parents eyes and looking upon the steaming table of food, I suddenly realized that such ordinary, peaceful days were the most precious treasure in the world. Gu Ming Xuan did not send a single text message, nor did my mother-in-law, leaving me in absolute, blissful tranquility. This meant I could devote myself entirely to my parents, welcoming the New Year by their side. By the third day of the Lunar New Year, I held a virtual meeting with my department head. Once again, I presented my proposal regarding the company partnership firms, and the boss nodded, approving my second alternative. He also graciously agreed to let me postpone my annual leave. When the call finally ended, I felt an overwhelming wave of lightness and invigoration wash over me. At long last, I had the precious time to spend uninterrupted days with my parents—a fitting reward for the entire month of frantic, late-night overtime I had endured before the holiday.

Yet that very afternoon, the doorbell rang in a sharp, urgent clamor. My heart plummeted. Peering through the peephole, I saw none other than Gu Ming Xuan and his mother. Opening the door just a tiny crack, I spoke in an icy tone:

This place does not welcome the two of you. Leave, now.

My mother-in-law held up a gift box, casting a reproachful look my way.

Tu Nian, why must you be so devoid of basic manners? We came to pay our respects to the elders, how could you possibly block us out? Open the door this instant!

I already said you are not welcome.

Unwilling to let them disturb my father, I moved to slam the door shut. But a sudden, violent force shoved against it from the outside. Caught off guard, I staggered back a couple of steps as the heavy door slammed into my shoulder. Seizing the moment, they forced their way in. My mother-in-law limped across the threshold, her face contrived into an expression of aggrieved martyrdom. She deliberately thrust her injured leg forward so everyone could clearly see the scrape on her knee. The wound was trivial—barely a graze with a hint of redness. Yet under her theatrical, exaggerated movements, she acted as though she were on the brink of death. Collapsing heavily onto the sofa, she began dabbing at dry eyes, her voice dripping with poisoned insinuation:

Tu Nian, mother truly never imagined you could be such an unfilial, ungrateful wretch.

I suffered a car accident and my body is in this miserable state, yet not only do you show no concern whatsoever, but you actually try to throw us out into the street.

Is it a crime for a mother to simply visit her in-laws? No matter how desperate you are to monopolize your own parents, you have no right to treat elders with such malice. My heart is completely broken.

She laced her words with pathetic sobs, deliberately raising her volume so the entire neighborhood could hear every syllable. Startled by the commotion, curious neighbors began poking their heads out of their doorways, and a few even stepped directly into the hallway to gawkan. Whispers immediately began to ripple through the crowd.

Usually Tu Nian seems so gentle and mild-tempered, how could she treat her own mother-in-law like that? Such an ingrate.

Indeed, the poor woman is already injured yet she still drives them away, that is far too cruel.

Hearing the tumult, my mother emerged from the kitchen. Seeing the chaotic scene unfolding in her living room, her expression darkened into a scowl. My father also leaned against the hallway wall, slowly stepping out of the bedroom. Though his body was frail and weak, his gaze remained fiercely sharp.

Madam, what exactly are you playing at? Coming to our home to stir up trouble during the New Year?

Stir up trouble? How on earth am I the one stirring up trouble?

My mother-in-law voice pitched up several octaves.

I came to visit the elders and, incidentally, to settle accounts regarding Tu Nian. She abandoned my son stranded on the highway and drove off by herself—where is the decency in such behavior?

Standing awkwardly off to the side, Gu Ming Xuan looked exhausted and deeply embarrassed.

Mother, please, say a little less.

Say less about what? Today this matter must be made completely clear!