Chapter 4 — No Longer Waiting For Someone To Remember Me

I looked at him. "You were so scared, why didn't you stop her just now?" Tran Hao was asked until his speech became speechless. The phone screen continuously lights up. Her aunt sent again: "We all know what kind of person Que Phan is. He has been frugal all his life, it is not easy." The older brother continued: "Young people, don't indulge too much. Whether the food outside is clean or not is unknown." A cousin sent a sigh emoji. "Sister-in-law, sometimes elderly people don't know the quantity when cooking. Don't overdo it." I bowed my head and looked at those words. Every sentence sounds like it has been rehearsed before. No one asked me these past few days if I was finally able to eat or not. No one asked where the money in the joint account went. They just need a conclusion. I don't understand. Tran Hao stood next to him, his expression clearly more relaxed. He thought that if many people put pressure on me, I would bow my head. I opened the message input box. Tran Hao immediately raised his hand to snatch the phone. “Don't send it.” I avoided his hand. “If you touch my phone again, I will report you to the police for stealing my personal belongings.” His hand stopped in midair, his face turned pale. “Manh Tinh, if you move a little now, will you make such a big deal?” I didn't look at him, I directly typed in the group: "Hello everyone, aunts and uncles." The group was silent for a few seconds. I continued to send: "If Mom has invited everyone here, then I will explain everything clearly." Tran Hao was impatient. “Manh Tinh!” I raised my eyes to look at him. “It's useless for you to call.” I sent every photo I took in the past few days to the group. The first picture is two bowls of rice on the dining table. The second picture is an empty rice cooker. The third picture is half a bowl of millet porridge so thin that you can see the bottom. The fourth picture is the receipt for the meals I ate out. The fifth picture is the history of money transfers from the joint account. After all the photos were sent, the group was completely silent. I sent another sentence: "I don't ask the elderly to serve me." "I just want to ask, while every month I transfer living expenses on time, the family often only cooks for the two of us. Is that called saving or rejecting me?" After this sentence was sent, Liu Quefen's crying outside the living room stopped. Tran Hao's face slowly darkened. Half a minute later, my aunt sent a recording. This time I opened it. Her voice was no longer as harsh as before. "Tinh Tinh, maybe your mother really didn't calculate the number correctly. She's a person who doesn't know how to speak." I answered directly: "So the money in the joint account was also accidentally miscalculated?" He didn't say more. A while later, the cousin sent: "Sister-in-law, there are some things you should sit down and talk about clearly." I turned off the group chat. Tran Hao stood in front of me, anger in his eyes. "Are you satisfied? You made my mother lose face." I said: "When you formed the group, did you leave a way out for me?" “You are an old woman!” “I am also human.” Outside the living room came the sound of chairs being pulled. Liu Guifen walked to the bedroom door. Her eyes were red, her lips pursed tightly. “Tinh Tinh, I really didn't expect you to send these things to your relatives to see.” I looked at her. “I didn't expect you to call my relatives to judge me first.” She choked. “I just want them to advise you.” “Do you advise me to continue fasting?” Her face stiffened. Tran Hao immediately said:
“Do I have to say something so harsh?” I turned to him. “The truth is hard to hear, but that doesn't mean you talk hard.” Liu Que Phan held the wall, tears falling again. "So what do you want me to do? Is it okay for me to cook for you tomorrow?" She said it like she was doing a favor. I don't answer. Tran Hao quickly continued: "Okay, Mom has said this much, I'm just fine." I asked him: "Did you hear her say tomorrow?" Tran Hao was stunned. I said: "I haven't had dinner at home for many days in a row." "There hasn't been a day when you two proactively asked me if I was hungry or not. It was only when I refused to cooperate with you two that you two remembered to cook for me." Liu Que Phan's eyes avoided. I picked up the phone. “From today, the rules for using joint accounts will change.” Tran Hao asked cautiously: "What regulations?" "The home loan is paid by each person proportionally. Electricity, water and management fees are divided equally based on the bill." “Whoever eats pays for their own food, whoever cooks eats.” He almost laughed coldly. “Do you plan with your husband to this extent?” I said: “You can also choose to continue combining.” He looked at me. I added: "The condition is that from tomorrow, the three people's meals must be shared by all three. The money must also be spent clearly by the three people." Liu Que Phan suddenly raised his voice: "I don't eat your food!" I nodded. "Okay." "So in the future, you two will arrange your own meals for Mom and Tran Hao." “My part, I arrange it myself.” She didn't expect me to agree so quickly, her whole body stood frozen in place. Tran Hao was so angry that his chest was heaving. “Manh Tinh, do you have to divide a family into two halves?” I opened the wardrobe and took out my pajamas. “It's not me who shares.”