Chapter 1 — The Rain Stops, I Also Awake From Dreaming

My mother-in-law and I had a few arguments because the chicken thigh was salty or bland. Without saying a word, my husband kicked me and made me fall onto the highway. My mother-in-law lowered the car window and looked down at me from above: "Kneel down and apologize, Mom, we will come back to pick you up." The car sped away, leaving me alone standing in the pouring rain. When morning came, my husband drove back to pick me up, with a smile still on his face as if he was giving me grace. But when he saw the scene before his eyes, his whole body immediately stiffened in place. 01 In the restaurant at the rest stop, braised chicken thighs are placed on a white ceramic plate, the shimmering oil steaming hot. Phuong Mai picked up the largest one and put it in Tham Hao's bowl, then pulled the remaining one in front of her. In front of me there was only a bowl of cold rice and a few leaves of vegetables soaked in sauce. Tham Hao lowered his head and scrolled through his phone, his fingers clicking continuously, as if even glancing at me was a waste of effort. Phuong Mai took a bite of chicken thigh and immediately frowned. “What kind of meat is this salty?” She threw the chicken leg onto the plate, the bone hitting the porcelain made a sharp sound. Tham Hao raised his head and looked at me. “Didn't you go order food just now?” I stopped chopsticks. “The food is made by the chef at the counter, you just pay.” Phuong Mai smiled coldly. “Is it terrible to pay?” “I said salty, do you still dare to argue?” I held back for a while and then said softly: "Mom, if you think it's salty, I'll go change it for you." “Change what?” Phuong Mai slammed the tissue on the table. "I just don't like the way you look. On the outside, you're polite, but on the inside, you don't know what you're saying to me." Guests at the surrounding tables all turned to look. My hand holding the chopsticks tightened. Tham Hao turned the phone face down on the table, his voice already impatient. “Manh Duong, can you say two less sentences?” I looked at him. “What did you say?” "Mom said it was salty, I said I would change it for her. Is that okay?" Phuong Mai's eyes immediately turned red. “Tham Hao, listen, how is he talking to mom now?” “Mom worked hard to raise you, so you get married and let him bully you like this?” Tham Hao's face darkened. What he couldn't stand the most was the sight of Phuong Mai crying. From the first day of marriage, as long as Phuong Mai wiped her tears, all mistakes would fall on me. I put down my chopsticks and the little feeling of hunger in my stomach disappeared completely. “Mom, don't say that.” “I don't bully mom.” Phuong Mai suddenly stood up. “Do you still dare to say no?” “You can argue with me with just a chicken thigh, are you still an adult in your eyes?” I looked at that chicken thigh and suddenly felt extremely ridiculous. It had been bitten into a piece, the sauce running down the bone. The cause of this quarrel was not even the house, not the money, nor the savings I had spent on the Tham family for three years. Just a slightly salty chicken thigh. Tham Hao stood up and took the car keys. “Don't eat anymore.” “Get in the car.” I didn't move. He walked next to me, lowering his voice. “Haven't you felt embarrassed enough yet?” I raised my head to look at him. "What's embarrassing is the argument, not you." Tham Hao's eyes turned cold. Phuong Mai stood next to her and wiped her tears. "Well, don't worry about me anymore. A mother like you is redundant." Tham Hao took a deep breath. “Manh Duong, apologize to your mother.” I looked at An
My heart, my chest, felt like it was being squeezed tightly by a cold hand. “Why do you have to apologize?” He stared at me, his voice even deeper. “Just because she's my mother.” Suddenly there was a rumble of thunder outside the window. Raindrops hit the glass, turning the outside white. I remember before leaving, the weather forecast said there would be heavy rain tonight. Today, Tham Hao must go to the neighboring city to discuss the project. Phuong Mai resolutely followed, saying she wanted to see with her own eyes how her son's life changed. And I didn't want to go. As Tham Hao said, no matter how cold a husband and wife are, when they go out they still have to appear together so that outsiders can look at them like a family. Now it seems that the three words "one family" are only used to silence me. I picked up my bag and followed them out. Rainwater makes the ground at the stop slippery. Phuong Mai deliberately walked forward, holding Tham Hao's arm tightly. I opened the umbrella and was about to cover her when she pushed me away. “Don't touch me.” Tham Hao turned his head to look at me. “Can you stop making mom angry?” I stood in the rain, the umbrella was blown away by the wind, one shoulder was immediately soaked. I don't respond. Because I know, if I say one more sentence, tonight won't be peaceful. But I didn't expect that the truly insurmountable thing was not tonight. It's the highway that was swallowed by the heavy rain. 02 The car is stuffy and uncomfortable. The windshield wipers continuously swept across the windshield, and the headlights of the car in front were drawn into blurry streaks by the rain curtain. Phuong Mai sat in the passenger seat, constantly sniffling. She didn't really cry hard, she just deliberately let Tham Hao hear. Tham Hao's hand holding the steering wheel tightened even more. I sat in the backseat, took off my wet jacket and placed it on my knees. The heat in the car was turned on very loudly, but I still felt cold. Phuong Mai suddenly spoke up. “Tham Hao, tell me, is it true that I'm old so I'm not even allowed to say a single sentence anymore?” Tham Hao immediately replied: "No." Phuong Mai sighed. “I know, he hates me.” “Hate that I have no culture, hate that I live in your house, hate that I eat your food.” I closed my eyes. Tham Hao looked at me through the rearview mirror. “What should I say?” I raised my eyes. "For the past three years, your mother has been living in the house, dressing and living, which things are not my responsibility to take care of?" Phuong Mai immediately turned around. “What do you mean?” “Are you saying I'm idle?” I said, “I didn't say that.” “So why do you mention this?” Her voice became shrill. “If you marry my son, shouldn't you serve this family?” “If Tham Hao didn't need you, do you think you could step foot in the door of the Tham family?” Looking at her rational expression, I suddenly burst out laughing. “Before entering the Tham family, I had a house, a job, and savings.” "After I got married, I paid for the house repairs, I paid for the car loan, and I took care of her while she was in the hospital." “If that's called climbing high, then I really can't learn.” The car body suddenly vibrated strongly. Tham Hao stepped on the brake suddenly. The sound of the car's horn from behind sounded shrilly amid the rain. “Meng Duong!” He roared. “Do I have to say such harsh words?” The seat belt tightened on my shoulder, causing pain. “Is it hard to hear the truth, or is it you telling the truth?” Phu's cry
Mai immediately grew bigger. “Did you hear that?” “He just looks at his mother like that!” "What's the point in me being alive anymore? Or should I get out of the car now and let the car crash and die!" As she spoke, she pulled the car door. The car was driving on the highway, the speed had just slowed down, it was raining and windy outside and cars were rushing past. My heart sank, I instinctively shouted: "Don't open the door!" Tham Hao quickly held Phuong Mai's hand, then turned his head and glared at me. “Are you satisfied?” I held on to the seat belt. “It was she who wanted to open the door.” “If it weren't for you disobeying, would mom have done that?” That sentence hit me and I suddenly lost the ability to argue. Phuong Mai leaned against the chair, hugging her chest, panting. “Stop the car.” Tham Hao's face was ugly. “Mom, you can't just stop on the highway.” “I don't want to sit in the car with him.” Phuong Mai looked straight ahead. "If you have it, you don't have a mother. If you have a mother, you don't have it." The car was immediately silent. But the sound of the rain became even louder. I watched the sign pass by out the window. The nearest exit is still more than twenty kilometers away. I know Phuong Mai is doing it on purpose. She clearly understood who Tham Hao would choose. It's the same every time. The last piece of ribs in the meal, she said I took too much. The scarf I bought, she said the color looked like mourning. I worked late and came home late, she said it was not clean for women to go outside. Tham Hao never asked the reason. He just made me apologize. This time too. Tham Hao slowly drove the car into the emergency stop lane. I heard the tires roll over a puddle on the side of the road, making a heavy sound. I sat up straight. “Tham Hao, what are you going to do?” He didn't answer. Phuong Mai stopped crying. She looked at me through the rearview mirror, the corners of her eyes still had tears, but the corners of her mouth showed the slight curve of a winner. When the car stopped, the whole world seemed to shake in the rain. Warning light flashes continuously. Tham Hao unfastened his seat belt and turned to look at me. “Get off the bus.” I thought I heard wrong. “What did you say?” He said: “Get out of the car and calm down.” My hands immediately turned cold. “This is the highway.” “Do you know what time it is?” Tham Hao gritted his teeth. “Then apologize to your mother.” Phuong Mai turned her face away. “Don't force it.” “His bones are so hard, I can't accept that apology.” I looked at the mother and child and suddenly realized that what they wanted was not an apology. They wanted me to bow my head, wanted me to admit that I had no self-esteem. Rainwater pounded on the glass window, like countless hands were knocking. I said every word clearly: "I'm not going down." Tham Hao pushed the car door open and heavy rain immediately swept inside. He went around to the backseat and pulled open the door on my side. The cold wind brought rainwater straight to my face. His face in the darkness was strange and scary. “Manh Duong, I ask you one last time.” “Are you sorry or not?” 03 I sat in the back seat, not moving at all. The seat belt was still attached to me, like the last thing that could keep me in the car. Tham Hao bent down and crawled in, rainwater dripping from his hair. “Don't force me.” I looked at him. “It's you who's forcing me.” Phuong Mai coldly said from the front row: "Tham Hao, ignore it." “Isn't he very good?” “Let him walk home on his own.” My heart is cold. There are railings on both sides of the highway, and further away are the noon roads
n the mountains are in darkness. The rain curtain was so thick that the sign from ten meters away could not be seen clearly. My phone was in my pocket, just over ten percent battery left. But even if the phone is fully charged, where can a person be safely abandoned on the highway? I tried to keep my voice calm. “Tham Hao, think carefully.” "If you leave me here tonight, it's no longer an argument, it's a crime." Seemingly stimulated by those two words, he reached out and pulled my seat belt. I kept the clasp tight. “Don't touch me.” His movements stopped, anger flashed in his eyes. “Now you still dare to threaten me?” “I'm not threatening you.” “I'm reminding you.” Phuong Mai suddenly turned her head. “Reminder of what?” “Are you still going to report your husband to the police?” I said, “If he leaves me on the highway, I will call the police.” Tham Hao's face completely changed. He grabbed my wrist, so hard that my knuckles hurt. “Manh Duong, do you really think I don't dare?” I frowned in pain but didn't scream. “What do you dare do?” “Dare to chase your wife out of the car in the middle of a rainy night on the highway?” “Dare to let your mother sit and watch you do this?” Phuong Mai immediately raised her voice: "Don't drag me in!"