Chapter 3 — The Scales Are Finally Balanced

He immediately choked up.

“What about Noan Noan?”

"I will still pick my child up from school every day. About the future... let me think carefully before continuing."

I pulled my suitcase out the door. From behind came Tan Hao's voice:

“You will regret it.”

I didn't turn back.

"Maybe. But if I continue to stay here, I'm afraid I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

The phone in the elevator suddenly rang. It was Tan Duc Hau calling. I picked up the phone.

"Tieu Dao, please go back to the villa this afternoon. Dad wants to eat the sweet and sour fried ribs you made."

My hand holding the phone trembled. Yesterday he even said I was an outsider. Today he called me back to cook rice.

“Dad, I'm not free today.”

“Are you still mad at me?”

“I'm not angry.”

“Then come over here, your mother keeps reminding you.” Tan Duc Hau's voice was still full of matter-of-factness, as if it was wrong for me not to come.

"Dad, you told me yesterday, I'm an outsider. It's not convenient for outsiders to enter and leave your house."

I hung up. The moment my finger pressed the button to end the call, I suddenly felt something in my chest being removed. When I got home, my mother was cleaning the windows. Seeing me pulling my suitcase in, she didn't ask anything.

"Are you hungry? Let me cook you a bowl of noodles."

I sat down at the old table that had been with me since childhood, looking at the childhood photo hanging on the wall, tears streaming down my face. Mom brought out the noodles and gave me a package of tissues.

"If you want to cry, just cry. After you cry, tell your mother."

That night, I told everything from beginning to end. When I mentioned the sentence "only people with Qin blood can enter", I burst into tears again. Mom was silent for a long time.

“Son, I actually wanted to tell you for a long time.”

“Say what?”

“The old man of the Qin family… is not a simple person.” Mother sighed softly. "When you got married that year, I was already worried. But you liked Tan Hao, so I didn't say much."

“Do you know about their family?”

“Know a little.” Mom looked at me. "Do you remember your cousin Chu Linh? Previously, she worked as an accountant at Tan Duc Hau's trading company for a year and heard many stories."

“What's going on?”

Mom looked at me for a moment, as if deciding whether to speak or not.

“Mom, just say it.”

"I heard from Chu Linh that in the past, Tan Duc Hau worked as a construction material worker and then made a fortune. He made a lot of money, but he highly valued his bloodline. As long as he was someone other than his family, he was guarded against."

Mom paused for a moment then continued:

"He had a cousin who worked with him for more than twenty years, more loyal than his own son. Later that person wanted to contribute capital to do business together, but he refused to let them, saying that outsiders were not allowed to touch the Qin family's assets."

I felt a chill down my spine.

“But that's not all.” Mom continued. "His three previous daughters-in-law all treated him very well. But every Tet holiday, he only gave lucky money to his sons and grandchildren, absolutely no daughter-in-law portion."

"There were five uncles-in-law who just accidentally asked a question, and he scolded them for half an hour, saying that outsiders were looking at the Qin family's money."

“So how was the eldest uncle-in-law after that?”

“Just hold on, how can you still live?” Mom looked at me. “Son, there are people, no matter how well you treat them, they will never see you as family.”

I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes for a long time. It turns out that in Tan Duc Hau's eyes, everything I spent was a matter of course. The phone vibrates. It's a message from Tan Hao: Dao Dao, my dad said he wanted to apologize to you. Can I go home tomorrow? I stared at the screen for a long time. In the end, he only replied: Tell your father to tell me himself. Ten minutes later, Tan Duc Hau called.

"Tieu Dao, what dad said yesterday was too harsh, don't take it to heart. Go home."

"Dad, I accept your apology. But for now I won't go back."

“Because I need to think clearly about a few things.”

"What else do you think? Isn't it just a group chat with a will..."

“Not only that.” I said softly. "Dad, you see me as an outsider, I don't blame you. But since you're an outsider, you should keep a little distance, do you think that's right?"

“I don't know why this girl is so stubborn.” He sighed. “Okay, when you think clearly, come back.”

Hanging up the phone, I looked at the street lights outside the window. Mom came over and gently patted my shoulder.

"I support you. Whatever you decide."

That night, I slept until I suddenly woke up. First time in seven years. The next morning I went to pick up Noan Noan from school. As soon as she saw me, she shook her small bag and ran over.

"Mom! Are we going to grandma's house today?"

"That's great! Has grandma's cat given birth to kittens yet?"

“You'll know when you get back.”

I was about to take Noan Noan away when Tan Hao appeared at the kindergarten gate. His face was gray, his beard was unshaven, and his shirt was wrinkled as if he had been wearing it all night.

“Let's talk.”

I told Noan Noan to go play on the swing first, then turned to look at him.

"My father's blood pressure rose so high last night that he almost fainted."

My heart tightened slightly.

“Is it serious?”

"The doctor said we need to rest, we can't continue to be agitated." He looked at me. “Dad said he wants to eat what you cooked.”

I was silent for a few seconds.

“Tan Hao, do you think I should go back and cook for him now?”

“I know you feel sorry for yourself…”

“You know?” I interrupted him. "My father said you were an outsider, but I didn't speak up. Now that he has high blood pressure, I came to find you again, wanting you to come back and cook. Tan Hao, tell me, what exactly are you?"

“You are my wife.”

“So have you ever protected me?”

He was speechless.

“I'm not an ungrateful person.” I said slowly. "But I'm a person with self-respect. He said I'm an outsider, so I'll use an outsider's way to handle this matter. He wants to eat, you guys can hire a nanny, or cook it yourself. Don't come looking for me."

“You what?” I looked at him. "Do you think I'm in love? So when you guys kick me out of the group and remove my name from all inheritance matters, who is the one in love?"

He took a step back, his expression indescribably complicated.

“If you don't come back…” He lowered his voice. “This marriage of ours… maybe we really can't keep it anymore.”

“Sometimes that's good.”

I called Noan Noan then turned around and left.