Chapter 7 — Half a Life Lost, Half a Life in Peace

The other student just fought back. The woman immediately raised her voice.

"See?"

"It was your son who struck first!"

I nodded.

"How much compensation must be paid according to the procedure."

"Here's the bill for the medicine, I'll pay."

The other woman was stunned. Obviously I didn't expect me to be so calm. She continued:

"There's also money for mental damage!"

I turned to the homeroom teacher.

"How does the school handle it?"

The teacher replied:

"Co Niem was the one who started the trouble first."

"She needs to apologize and write a review."

I looked at Co Niem.

"Sorry."

His face was red.

"I'm not sorry!"

I calmly said:

"If you don't apologize, I will call your father."

It immediately roared:

"Mom, besides gossiping, what else can I do?"

I looked at it. The pain in my heart rose again. But this time, I didn't back down.

"I also know how to make my children responsible for what they do."

The whole office immediately became quiet. In the end, Co Niem still had to bow her head and apologize. On the way home. He sat in the passenger seat and said coldly:

"Mom doesn't love you at all."

If it was a previous life... This sentence is enough to kill me. But now, I just calmly ask again:

"So do you love me?"

Co Niem was stunned. I look at the road ahead.

"Love is never a one-sided affair."

"Raising children is a mother's responsibility."

"But mom is not the place for you to vent your anger."

He turned his head to look out the window. After a long time, he said softly:

"Mom was never like that before."

I nodded.

"So now people are not used to it."

After her mother-in-law was discharged from the hospital, she returned home to recuperate. The Co family's drama has just really begun. She did not want to stay at Co Minh Xuyen's house. Said niece was too noisy. Saying that Trieu Lam's cooking is not to his taste. She also doesn't want to hire a nurse. Criticize outsiders for being clumsy. Fear of having things stolen. Criticized for not being clean. The only person she recognizes... Is still me. In my previous life, I welcomed my mother-in-law into my home. The year Co Niem took the transfer exam, every day I had to cook for my children, clean and bathe my mother-in-law. In the middle of the night, she complained of leg pain, and I had to wake up to massage her. Co Niem was so annoyed that she got angry and slammed the door, echoing throughout the house. Co Minh Vien only said:

"Mom is old."

"I'm also studying important things."

"I'll try to shoulder both sides a little more."

Again, it's a burden. In this life, just the third day after my mother-in-law was brought to Co Minh Xuyen's house, Trieu Lam called me. She gets straight to the point:

"Sister-in-law, let's talk a little."

"You say it."

"I know you were miserable before."

"But this time I don't want to be the one making excuses."

I laughed.

"What a coincidence."

"I don't want to either."

Trieu Lam was silent for a moment then suddenly asked:

"Actually, I always wanted to ask you."

"Why were you able to hold back so well before?"

I don't answer. Because the me in my previous life didn't know the answer either. Perhaps from a young age I was taught to understand things. When you get married, you are taught to take care of your family. After giving birth, I was taught to be strong for my child. A woman just needs to be patient... Countless people will praise her for being gentle and capable. Until she died. Trieu Lam says:

"I can pay for a nurse."

"But absolutely don't take care of it yourself."

"And Co Minh Xuyen must definitely put in the effort strength."

I nodded. She was a bit surprised.

"Aren't you scolding me for being unfilial?"

Trieu Lam burst out laughing.

"No wonder you seem to be a different person lately."

"Isn't change good?"

She paused for a moment then continued:

"Sister-in-law, I actually didn't mean to push that mess on you before."

It sounds a bit fake. Because she definitely did it on purpose. But at least she's better than the Co family in that... She knows she's selfish. Don't use intimacy as a cover. I calmly replied:

"The old story is not mentioned anymore."

Very quickly, we reached an agreement. The two brothers from the Co family split the entire cost in half. Each person rotates caregiving two days per week. For the remaining days, hire a nurse. Only visit occasionally. Not participating in care. After the agreement was printed, I gave it to Co Minh Vien and Co Minh Xuyen to sign. After reading, Co Minh Vien's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Even this matter must be put in writing?"

I calmly replied:

"Because your verbal promises are not trustworthy."

Co Minh Xuyen muttered:

"My sister-in-law is really no different from an outsider now."

I nodded.

"That's right."

"So stop using the words family to tie me down anymore."

The mother-in-law was so angry that she threw the glass of water on the ground.

"I'm not dead yet!"

"Have you calculated it so clearly?"

Trieu Lam immediately responded:

"If you're not satisfied, then just choose a new house to live in."

"We all listen to mom's advice."

The mother-in-law immediately fell silent. She wants to direct every home. But I don't want to really stay with anyone long term. In the end, the agreement was still signed. On the surface, everything seemed to be resolved well. But I know. Mother-in-law will not be so willing. Three days later. A video suddenly appeared in the group of relatives. In the video, the mother-in-law sits in a wheelchair, crying and describing her suffering.

"I broke my leg and am paralyzed."

"My daughter-in-law called me dirty so she refused to take care of me."

"I struggled to raise my children."

"When I get old, I don't even have a hot meal to eat."

The person who posted that video... is Co Minh Vien's biological aunt. In the group, someone immediately criticized me.