Chapter 4: I'm your mother? Then I won't acknowledge her!

"How is it? What did she say?" Ling Hui asked hurriedly.

Guan Xuemei hung up the phone, exhaled, and smoothed out the hair she had messed up in her rage. "Same as always, a few words and she was pacified."

Ling Hui looked at Guan Xuemei with resentment. "If I'd known that a few kind words would stop her fussing, I wouldn't have wasted my breath. My lips are dry."

"I was just so furious that I didn't think of it at the time. Come, come, drink some water." Guan Xuemei served tea and water to her precious son.

Ling Guofu, who had been silent, felt a pang of guilt. "Are we going too far? After all, Ling Yue is still sick."

Guan Xuemei shot her husband a sideways glance. "If you have money, you pay it."

"Where would I get money?!"

"Then shut up!"

Ling Guofu mumbled something, then went silent.

He made an excuse about needing the bathroom and went to the washroom.

He lifted the washing machine, fumbled around underneath, and pulled out a plastic bag.

He unwrapped the layers and layers of plastic to reveal a thick stack of red bills.

One hundred, two hundred, three hundred... a total of twelve thousand eight hundred.

Thank goodness, his secret stash was still there. It hadn't been confiscated by that old hag.

Ling Guofu felt relieved, put the money back in its place, washed his hands, and returned to the living room. Everything went unnoticed.

*

A year ago, when Ling Hui brought his girlfriend, Hu Shiyao, to Hangzhou for a trip, Ling Yue had handled the reception, booking the hotel and treating them to meals. In the process, she had added Hu Shiyao on WeChat.

After adding her, the two hadn't chatted. Today was a good day, suitable for having a nice chat with her future sister-in-law. It was only right to let the girl know what kind of family she was about to enter.

Hu Shiyao was at work. Her phone on the table kept vibrating. She thought it was Ling Hui sending loving greetings. She felt pleased, thinking, 'This man is so clingy!'

During a bathroom break, she happily opened WeChat. She was stunned by what she saw. Ling Hui's sister had sent her 20 messages? While murmuring about how strange it was, her finger curiously tapped on them.

As she scrolled and tapped, the young woman's expression shifted unpredictably. After reading everything, she felt a sense of nausea, as if she had swallowed a fly.

Hu Shiyao: "What do you mean by this?"

Ling Yue: "The 188,000 yuan bride price given to you includes 80,000 yuan of my salary. I have stomach cancer now and need money for treatment, but they are using my life-saving money to get Ling Hui a wife. I am unwilling to accept this, so I want to ruin the marriage."

Even so, this was too blunt!

Hu Shiyao: "Your mom talks about me like this behind my back?"

There were a full 20 screenshots of complaints. She simply couldn't associate those vicious words with that kind-looking woman.

Ling Yue: "She also said things like you're a spoiled miss with a big temper, no manners, that you dress gaudily and don't look like a proper person, and that your small frame means you won't be able to bear a son."

Hu Shiyao: "Very well. What about Ling Hui? What does he say?"

Ling Yue provided several screenshots, along with a few audio recordings. So much for the importance of keeping records at work; she hadn't used that skill for her job, but instead used it on her own family first.

Hu Shiyao skipped the images and opened the recordings.

"Sis, give me 3,000." "I don't have any money left, ask Mom." "Mom told me to ask you. Didn't you just get your salary?" "I turned it all in. After paying rent, I only have 3,000 left." "Isn't that perfect then?" "Don't I need to eat?" "Tsk, don't you have a boyfriend? Let him support you!" "What do you need 3,000 for?" "It's Hu Shiyao again. She took a fancy to a bracelet and is fussing about buying it! Women nowadays, not one of them isn't a gold digger! If it weren't for the fact that I've invested so much already, and I'd hate to lose that money if we broke up... Forget it, just give me the money quickly!" "Whoever's girlfriend it is, let them support her! I'm going to work."

The first recording ended there. It was immediately followed by the second, the third... One of them was the argument between Ling Yue and the Ling family today.

After listening to everything, Hu Shiyao's chest ached with anger, and she felt a chill run through her entire body!

If they could be so cold-blooded and ruthless to their own daughter, even cheating her out of life-saving money, wouldn't she, as an outsider, be falling into a den of demons if she married into that family? They were such good actors; she had always thought the Ling family was a loving, big family. In reality, they were rotten to the core!

Hu Shiyao clicked on the images again. They were complaints Ling Hui had made while asking Ling Yue for money, and every excuse for needing money was because of her, because she was a 'gold digger'?! But she had never received any bracelets, lipsticks, or perfumes! What a despicable man, daring to ruin her reputation!

*

"Why is there still no movement in the group chat?" Ling Hui checked the family group chat from time to time. Fifteen minutes had passed, and he still hadn't seen Ling Yue come out to explain.

Guan Xuemei took out her phone. "Your sister must be held up by something. I'll call her and urge her."

Just then, Ling Hui's phone rang first. "Shh, it's my girlfriend calling. Don't make any noise."

Ling Hui hunched his back and pitched his voice high: "Hey~ Baby~"

"Baby your mother!" Hu Shiyao—a person with such a gentle name—was so angry that she started cursing.

"You shameless, cheap man! If you don't have money, what the hell are you getting married for? Calling me a gold digger? I only asked for 188,000 yuan as a bride price. I didn't ask for the five gold items, I didn't ask for a house, and I'm even bringing a 200,000 yuan car as a dowry. There are people lining up outside who want to marry me, and they earn more than you do, yet you're still not satisfied, damn it. You talk about 'investing too much' and 'hating to lose the money' if we break up? In the two years we've been dating, how much money have you actually spent on me? Does it even add up to 5,000? You stingy, broke loser, your heart is as small as a bird's; keep it to thread needles for your mother! Pfft! Your mother is also a bitch, two-faced and hypocritical. She tells me I'll have endless happiness when I marry in, but turns around and tells your sister that once I marry in, she'll set eighteen rules and make me live in your mother's 80-square-meter dump. Does she think she's an Empress Dowager? Does your mother even deserve that? You old witch, saying I'm not diligent because I don't wash dishes when I visit. What, do you have to help scrub the toilet when you visit someone else's house? It's laughable. You're all disgusting. You don't even care that your own daughter has cancer, and you use her blood and sweat money to put on a front. A family like yours that feeds on human blood is so dirty I'd hate to even step on you. In the dating market, you're just trash that everyone looks down on. If I hadn't seen the truth before the wedding, I would have been tormented to death if I actually married you. Ling Hui, I'm telling you, I'm not marrying you. We're breaking up!"

Hu Shiyao hung up immediately after finishing her rant. She didn't give the scumbag a second to explain. When Ling Hui called back, the line was constantly busy; she had clearly blocked him.

"It must be Ling Yue, it has to be her! How many more screenshots does she have?! Now look, the wife I spent two years playing the subservient fool to win over is gone because of her. It's all your fault for not even being able to control your own daughter! What are you going to do?!" Ling Hui was so angry he wanted to smash his phone. Then he remembered it was new and couldn't bear to throw it away.

Guan Xuemei's mood was like a roller coaster, up and down, and at this moment it had plummeted to the bottom; she nearly passed out from the shock. That damn daughter was completely ruined! She angrily called Ling Yue.

Ling Yue walked out of the hospital room and into the corridor. She tapped the answer button and waited for a long time before the phone responded: "Hello."

"You wretched girl! You've really grown wings, haven't you? Why are you spouting nonsense to Hu Shiyao for no reason?"

Oh my. The voice was too loud. Ling Yue lowered the volume.

"Wasn't it you who said to let me explain? I thought I'd touch base with Hu Shiyao first, lest Aunt run to her and say nonsense. I didn't exaggerate a single word; I told it exactly as it is. But Hu Shiyao isn't a robot, of course she's going to have her own thoughts~"

Guan Xuemei was furious. Ling Hui grabbed the phone, his eyes splitting with rage. "Ling Yue, you are so heartless, truly vicious! I am your own brother, do you really have to destroy me?"

Ling Yue scoffed, full of sarcasm. "A real brother wouldn't use his sister's life-saving money for a bride price. I suspect you've been possessed by an evil spirit; otherwise, why would you love to suck my blood, eat my flesh, and harm my life? Mom, Dad, you need to open your eyes wide and not be deceived by this evil spirit."

"Ling Yue!" Ling Hui's eyes were bloodshot.

Ling Guofu sighed on the side, calling it a sin.

Guan Xuemei leaned into the phone and loudly demanded: "Fine, fine, fine! You want to completely break ties with us, is that it?!"

"Do you even have a face?" Ling Yue laughed twice, then became serious. "How have you treated me since I was a child? You called me fat and made me eat plain rice until I was malnourished, yet told outsiders I was a picky eater, while the meat and good food all went into Ling Hui's stomach. Ling Hui and I are only one year apart, yet you made me take care of him at school. If he ever had a headache or fever, you blamed it all on me. I grew up wearing hand-me-downs from my older cousins, but Ling Hui had new clothes every season. I helped with housework from a young age, while Ling Hui didn't have to know anything or do anything. When I was on my period, you gave me the cheapest sanitary pads, which made me feel unwell, and when you scolded me for being 'improper,' you wouldn't even take me to the hospital, yet you were willing to spend 2,000 to buy Ling Hui basketball shoes. When I reached high school, you told me to go out and work, saying there was no money at home, so I took out loans to go to college myself. You didn't give me any living expenses, so I worked while studying to earn money. At my hungriest, I hadn't eaten for two days. I asked you for 100 yuan, and you told me to drop out if I had no money. I held on for three days, eventually fainting from hypoglycemia and being sent to the school infirmary. It was my roommate who lent me money to get me through to next month's paycheck. After I graduated, my first year's salary was all subsidized to Ling Hui for his living expenses, wasn't it? Otherwise, how could I have only saved 80,000? This time, you took my life-saving money to make up the bride price for Ling Hui, breaking the last shred of hope I had for you. I don't deny you gave me life, but I am also very clear that in your heart, I am like worn-out shoes. That is who you are, Guan Xuemei. You have no love for me, yet you hope I will drain myself dry to repay you. As far as I'm concerned, you lost your 'face' a long time ago."

"But I am your mother!"

"Then I won't acknowledge you!"

Guan Xuemei's hand holding the phone trembled. "Unfilial! Unfilial! You deserve to get cancer! This is your retribution!"

In this world, what kind of parents would curse their own child, saying cancer is retribution? Ling Yue couldn't help but laugh out loud: "So what if I have cancer? It's early stage and curable, which means Heaven favors me. You lot look like you committed many sins in your past lives, which is why your minds are so vicious in this one. Be careful; you died this time, but who knows what you'll be reincarnated as next. Oh, I forgot, generally, things that are lower than pigs or dogs can't be reincarnated as humans in the next life anyway, which suits your temperament quite well. I'm cursing you right here and now, may your retribution arrive immediately. When it does, I hope you can maintain a good attitude like me; don't get so angry that you die. It would be so boring to just croak like that."