Chapter 7 — My Wife Is Not An Outsider

Luc An An opened her mouth: "You... you don't have that much money in your hand..."

“Then pay half in advance, the rest next month.”

“You!” His voice was high-pitched, his eyes were red: "I didn't mean it, I'm just stuck with money..."

“This year I bought seven pairs of shoes and three bags.” I said: "Your Tieu Hong Thu account is not set to private mode, your main account and secondary account have the same avatar."

His mouth closed tightly. My mother stood up. The chair's legs rubbed against the tile floor, emitting a harsh sound.

“Luc Tu Chu, you are fully grown, right?” She pointed her finger at my face, her fingertips trembling: "For a stranger, do you want to settle accounts with your biological mother?"

I'm still sitting on the sofa, not standing up. He tilted his head up to look at her.

"Mom, she is not a stranger. She is my wife and children. This house is also her home."

“What is it…”

“What the hell is she?” I interrupted her, my voice lowered: "Every month she spends her own money to buy food for her mother to cook. Every weekend she cleans this whole house. For half a year, she has been ordered around like a sin by her mother without making a sound. She can't even bear to eat lunch properly, because all the money has gone into this house. Tell me, mother, what kind of woman is she?"

My mother's finger retracted. She stood there, her lips trembling, as if about to cry.

"Mom worked hard to raise you..."

“Those are two different things.” I stood up: "I will remember your gratitude for raising me for the rest of my life. But that is not a reason for you to bully my wife."

I turned to look at Wen Duong. She remained silent all this time, sitting on the sofa, her hands clasped together on her knees. Finger joints turn white.

“Wen Duong, do you want to say anything?”

She raised her head, looked at me, then looked back at my mother.

“Mom,” her voice was a bit choked: “I don't want to cause trouble. I just... want to eat a piece of hot rice.”

That sentence fell in the middle of the living room, heavier than any words I had just said. My mother's lips twitched. She turned around and went straight into the bedroom, the door was closed, not slammed, but closed very strongly. There are four people left in the living room. Luc An An lowered her head and used her fingernails to pry the edge of the phone case. My father held a cup of tea, his eyes staring blankly into an unknown space. On Duong's eyes were red, but there were no tears. I sat down next to her, holding her hand. Her hands are still very cold. But my fingers no longer tremble. * 【Chapter 4】 My mother locked herself in her room all day. Don't go out to eat at noon. Not at night either. Luc An An brought in a bowl of porridge, was cursed and then chased out, eyes red and crawled back to his room. My father stood on the balcony for a long time, smoking half a pack of cigarettes. Normally he smokes up to three cigarettes a day. On Duong wanted to knock on the door, but I stopped him.

“Let me digest it a bit first.”

"But mom hasn't eaten anything all day..."

“How many leftover meals have you eaten?”

She fell silent. The next day, my mother went out. His face was sullen, his eyelids were puffy, it looked like he had cried a lot. But she didn't mention it again. Don't even bother to cook. The kitchen counter was cold, pots, pans, bowls, and chopsticks were neatly stacked on the shelves, clean as if they had never been used. At six o'clock, Wen Duong came home from work - I called her department head, saying there was something at home, and asked for Wen Duong to come home an hour early this week. She changed her slippers Walking in, seeing the empty kitchen counter, I stopped for a moment.

“Mom, let me cook tonight, okay?”

My mother sat on the sofa, her eyes glued to the TV screen, her head not bothering to turn around.

“No need, I won't be able to swallow it even if you cook it.”

Wen Duong's fingers tightened on the apron string. I walked out of the bedroom: "If you don't cook, that's fine. I'll order delivery." I opened my phone and ordered four dishes. Half an hour later the food arrived. I placed the food on the table and called out, "Let's eat."