Chapter 2 — The Invisible Girl

"Or I won't buy it anymore. Come with me."
His brother refused without thinking.
"What are you talking about? How can you go out without dressing nice?"
After speaking, he seemed to feel that his words were biased, so he threw the decision to me.
“Tieu Tinh, can you tell me?”
I raised my head to look at his face. His eyes carried a tense expectation. I suddenly felt very tired. From the looks of it, they were waiting for me to decide. But we all know clearly that the right to decide has never been in my hands. I was silent for a few seconds, then smiled slightly.
“You go.”
The brother breathed a sigh of relief. My sister ran to kiss me on the cheek.
“Thank you.”
"Nothing."
I went to get vaccinated alone. After finishing, I booked a bullet train ticket for the next day. When I got home, my sister was sharing with her parents the items she bought today. After showing off everything, she took out the clothes she bought for her parents. Mom kept praising me. When the corner of her eye saw me, the smile on her face immediately disappeared.
"Tieu Tinh, I don't mean to tell you, but look, your sister still understands things better. She even knows how to buy gifts for mom and dad, but you never think about us."
“Where do you get the money?”
The reason why her sister was able to buy gifts for them was because before she left, her mother gave her two thousand yuan. She borrowed flowers to offer to Buddha. Mom clearly knew in her heart, but still wanted to stab me with a knife.
"What do you mean? Are you criticizing your mother for not giving you money? How old are you and you still compare yourself with your sister?"
It seemed like my mother didn't expect me to ask back. She was stunned for a moment, then became so embarrassed that she became angry and kept questioning me.
“I'm twenty-four years old, one year older than my sister.”
"Enough!"
Dad shouted at me.
"You're so old, why are you still arguing with your mother?"
My brother also looked at me with complicated eyes.
“Tieu Tinh, lately your temper has become more and more hot-tempered.”
Someone stood on my side, and my mother's eyes immediately turned red. She felt sorry for herself and turned around to go into the bedroom.
“Sister, you should go and apologize to your mother.”
My sister blocked my way, grabbed my arm, and said seriously:
“Let go.”
She shook her head, judgment in her eyes looking down from above.
"She is your mother, the one who gave me life. How can you treat her like that? You are too filial."
A sadness suddenly arose in my heart. In this house, the person most unqualified to criticize me is her. I always give in and stay silent. But even protesting when feeling uncomfortable is not allowed. Everyone loves her, so whatever she does is right.
“You are so noble.”
My voice was light, I didn't even look at her. But as soon as those five words were said, her face suddenly changed, as if she had just suffered an insult, and angrily shouted at me:
"No wonder your parents don't like you. You're such a freak."
After saying that, she pushed me away and rushed into the bedroom. I hit the corner of the table, in so much pain that I had to bend my waist. The brother hurriedly went to comfort his crying sister. Dad turned around to find his unhappy mother. No one cares about me. That's good. I held my stomach and slowly walked to the bedroom. That night, still no one called me out for dinner. I was in so much pain that I really had no appetite and couldn't go out. But when you go out hygiene, all dirty dishes are still placed on the table. They are waiting for me to clean up. Perhaps he even thought he was giving me a step down. They thought I would be like before, working as a maid because I wanted to please them. But I don't need it anymore. The next day at noon, my parents and sister happily prepared to depart. When they saw me, their chatter fell silent for a moment. Right after that, mother snorted coldly.
“All day long he puts on a funeral face, like someone else owes him money.”
My brother followed me into the bathroom. He looked at me through the mirror. His voice is very low.
"Are you really not going to apologize to your mother? Are you cruel enough to see your mother unhappy and go on a trip?"
“She was very happy.”
I splashed water on my hand, dried it, then pushed the door open. His brother's face darkened and he followed behind, just about to open his mouth to say something. Mother spoke directly:
"Don't waste any more words on him. He's a dog that bites everyone he meets."
This time, my father and brother, who would normally say a few words for me, were silent. I was the first one out the door. When they met downstairs, her sister was suddenly stunned.
“Where are you going?”
"Where else can he go? Go to work."
Mother's voice was full of contempt. She pulled her sister into the car. But suddenly, Dad was stunned. He discovered I was dragging a suitcase. If I go to work and the supermarket is near my house, why do I bring luggage? Dad's heart suddenly sank. He quickly waved at me. Seeing that I couldn't see him, he sped up and walked towards me.
“Tieu Tinh, where are you going?”
But the next second, a shrill whistle sounded. His steps immediately stopped, his face turned pale. The car had departed, leaving only car smoke surrounding him. The brother stuck his head out of the car.
"Dad, what are you doing standing there blankly? Get in the car!"