Chapter 4 — My Mother-in-Law Tore Up My Application

I ended the call. Not long after, a representative from Chu Jia Shu contacted me, their tone exceptionally polite and formal.

"Ms. Hua, Chu Jia Shu mentioned that the documents were once received on his behalf by you. We would like to look into the situation."

I replied calmly, "Certainly. I have complete video footage."

The person on the other end clearly faltered. "Video?"

"Yes. From the moment of signing to the placement in the cabinet, all the way to the tampering of the seal, and someone subsequently gluing it back together."

Silence stretched on the other side for a few seconds. "Would it be convenient for you to provide it?"

"Very convenient."

I sent the video, the chat history, and photos of the delivery receipt right over, not adding a single extra word. That very afternoon, Chu Yan came home early. I had also taken time off work, having already printed out the divorce agreement in advance. The very first words out of his mouth as he stepped through the door were an accusation:

"Hua Qing He, how dare you install cameras in our house!"

I pushed the agreement across the table toward him. "Sign it."

He was momentarily stunned. "What is the meaning of this?"

"We are getting a divorce."

Qian Yu Fen lunged out from the kitchen, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Get a divorce! Hurry up and divorce! Our Chu family has no use for a jinx and home-wrecker like her!"

I looked straight at Chu Yan. Yet, he did not immediately refute her words. In my past life, when I fell so ill that I had to be hospitalized, all he had ever said to me was: "My mother has a sharp tongue, but she doesn't mean it. Don't take it to heart."

Now that his younger brother was in deep trouble, the gaze he fixed upon me was that of an enemy. Suddenly, I felt not a shred of sorrow anymore. Chu Yan picked up the agreement, his complexion turning livid. "Just because of this matter?"

"No," I replied, looking right into his eyes. "It is because I have finally realized that this family has never once regarded me as a human being."

His grip tightened, crushing the paper in his fist. "Hua Qing He, you will live to regret this."

I let out a quiet laugh. "The single thing I regret the most is waking up to reality far too late."

Three days later, my name officially appeared on the public roster. Hua Qing He. In black and white. I stared at it for a long, long time before a slow smile spread across my face. The heavy boulder that had weighed so heavily upon my heart for ages had finally been lifted away by my own hands. I sent a screenshot to my parents. My mother immediately replied with a voice message, her voice choked with tears: "Qing He, this is wonderful, simply wonderful."

My father only sent four words: "Come home for dinner."

That same day, Chu Jia Shu's side received their verdict. The decision was temporarily suspended. Because the seal was abnormally tampered with, his testimonies were inconsistent, pages of the documents were missing, and the incident involved the concealment of disciplinary offenses at the university, Qian Yu Fen completely lost her mind. First, she broke down crying in the extended family WeChat group.

"I simply didn't understand, I just touched the wrong things by mistake, and Hua Qing He wants to ruin my son's life!"

At the very beginning, some relatives within the group tried to mediate and advise me. "Third brother's wife, let it go, don't take it too far." "The old lady is uneducated and knows nothing, child, don't be so vicious." "Jia Shu hasn't had it easy either, if you can help him out, just put in a good word."

I offered no explanations. I simply forwarded the video directly into the group chat. Silence instantly blanketed the chatroom. Half a minute later, the second aunt sent a message: "And she still dares to claim she didn't understand?"

My cousin chimed in right after: "She knew how to extract documents, she knew how to reseal them—she understands quite a lot, actually."

Qian Yu Fen sent another voice message, weeping so hard she could barely catch her breath. "I truly didn't mean to do it! How was I supposed to know those belonged to Jia Shu!"

This time, not a single person spoke up to defend her. That very afternoon, she came to make a scene right at the entrance of my workplace. This exact scene had played out in my past life as well. Back then, when I lost my job allocation opportunity, she had rushed over to my former workplace, pulling my colleagues aside and crying: "My daughter-in-law failed her exams and now she blames me, frightening me at home every single day."

At that time, terrified of losing face and dreading the gossip of others, I could only cower and hide. This time, however, I remained seated in my office, finished the last sip of my water, and only then leisurely descended the stairs. Qian Yu Fen was sitting right by the main gate, slapping her thighs and wailing dramatically.

"Everyone, come and judge this for yourselves! My daughter-in-law gets ahead in life and immediately turns her back on us! She ruined her brother-in-law's career and is now forcing her mother-in-law to her death!"

The security guards blocked her path. A crowd of onlookers had gathered around. I walked up to her, my voice entirely composed, "Mother, will you leave on your own, or are you waiting for the police to arrive?"

The moment she laid eyes on me, she wailed even louder. "You ungrateful wolf with white eyes! I cooked meals and washed clothes for you, and this is how you repay me!"

I took out my phone and showed the video to the security guards and the supervisor who had just rushed over. After watching the footage, the supervisor furrowed his brows deeply. "Did you cut this open?"

Qian Yu Fen reverted to her old routine. "I am uneducated, I don't understand these things!"

A security guard standing nearby couldn't help but interject, "Auntie, if you didn't understand, how did you even know how to use glue to seal it back up?"

A ripple of laughter escaped from the surrounding crowd. Qian Yu Fen's face flushed crimson as she pointed a trembling finger at me, shrieking, "She set a trap for me! She deliberately didn't tell me those belonged to my own son!"

I nodded. "That's right, I didn't mention it."

The crowd quieted down for a moment. I continued, "However, I did tell her not to open them. She thought the documents belonged to me, so she cut them open. Now that she discovers the things she destroyed belonged to her own son, she comes to blame me for not reminding her not to sabotage her own flesh and blood."

As soon as those words fell, the gazes of everyone in the surrounding crowd shifted instantly. Qian Yu Fen opened her mouth, still wanting to hurl abuses, but the police gently escorted her aside. All the way there, she continued to sob, "I really didn't understand..."

I watched her retreating figure, suddenly finding the whole spectacle deeply absurd. Her favorite excuse of "not understanding" had finally run its course. Chu Yan was waiting for me outside the police station gates. He looked utterly exhausted, his chin covered in a thick shadow of dark stubble.

"Qing He, let's talk."

I walked right around him. "There is no need."

He reached out a hand to block my path.